#like it's a criticism of atheism not FOR atheism ...

[thekimspoblog]

How are we still making horror movies where the Christians are the good guys? WHY ARE WE STILL MAKING HORROR MOVIES WHERE THE CHRISTIANS ARE THE GOOD GUYS???

[sweetstarcollector]

Just watched a video of someone reading that “My Shadow is Purple” book. The basic premise is there’s a kid, and the kid has a mom with a pink shadow, a dad with a blue shadow, and the kid has a purple shadow. Why is this kid’s shadow purple? The book explains that this kid enjoys playing with girl toys and boy toys, enjoys dancing (with the pink shadows) and playing sports (with the blue shadows), so therefore the kid can’t be just pink or just blue. There’s one page where I think the author realized what they were implying and threw in a “also pink shadows can be strong and blue shadows can have emotions”, but the very next page is the kid saying that they must not be pink or blue because they like “sports, dancing, trains, ponies, glitter, and engines”. Not a single comment on this video was even slightly critical. Tons of people saying it described them as a non-binary person, that they wanted to read it to their kids. It’s so bizarre, it’s gender roles 2.0 being packaged as progressive. I remember when the push was for there to be no “boy toys” or “girl toys”, to the point some stores stopped separating them like that. Now, we’re telling kids that not only do “boy toys/activities/interests” and “girl toys/activities/interests” exist, but that the separation is so important that which ones you partake in literally determine your identity. It’s not just this book that does this either (Hello, “Jack not Jackie”). It’s just so strange.

[ihavea-tummyache]

Poem #1:

[timeisacephalopod]

The type of Christian who asks atheists how they don't like, murder people on the reg are so funny to me because they seem to think their religion makes them the Peak of Morality when statements like "if you don't believe in God how comes you don't do X thing" all but outright state they have no idea why shit like murder and rape is bad except that God doesn't like it lmao. Like way to admit you have no intrinsic sense of morality and need to be afraid of a higher power to be a decent person, but I promise if you're not a piece of shit it's actually very natural not to want to do heinous evil shit all the time potential punishment from a higher power or not 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

[captainjonnitkessler]

I've gotta say, repeatedly referring to Christianity as a "death cult" and acting like every Christian is a mindless sheep yearning for the apocalypse because they want all non-Christians to die kinda feels ruder and more reactionary than anything I've seen coming from the antitheists on this site

[ludinusdaleth]

theres something funny to me about a lot of fandom demanding this cr campaign be fully pro-exandrian gods, and using full blooded paladins as examples of how to enact it, ignoring deanna's humble take on faith. meanwhile. matt is smacking yall with how issylra’s rich religious institution they want to see take a righteous lawful good spotlight is a deeply fucked genuinely imperialist system

[spooky-dice]

“why doesn’t kristen just respec as a different class” the pedantic neurosis’s of a deconstructed believer is between her and god, man. i love you apostates i love you extians i love you agnostics i love you reclaimitory christians i love you cafeteria catholics i love you divine queerness and transgender transsubstantiation i love you blasphemers and heretics i love you people angry at god i love you nonpracticing believers i love you practicing nonbelievers i love you religious trauma havers i love you mass held solo in the abandoned parking lot of a church you’d rather die than enter, lit by streetlights at 2am

[arseniccattails]

Star Trek is a pretty non hierarchical world for humans, outside of Starfleet itself. No shit organized world religions withered away. All major religions today are passed down primarily coercively through children.

I do not think we have seen what religion looks like without some kind of significant coercion. Surely individual people believe in deities, but it doesn't come up, because they cannot be significant social forces in a utopia.

[i-cant-believe-its-not-silk]

Some of you, not all of you but some of you fuckass motherfuckers don't seem to understand.

God is real

But not in the sense that the sexist city destroying world deleting homophobic cunt actually has any power to answer your prayers and or make miracles happen.

God or more accurately the Abrahamic God-

(I know there are others but these jokes work better with the funny shrimp denier in the sky don't worry about it kitten)

-is what I would consider essentially a meme given too much power a fictional being people have convinced themselves exist

The god meme works based on the premise that if you don't believe in this God meme/ don't do what people say the God meme says then you will go too hell and burn forever

and if you believe/do the things people say the god meme tells you to do then you go to heaven forever (yippee)

The carrot and the stick essentially

The God meme thrives in echo chambers and amongst reactionary people who don't take the time to consider all the logical fallacies that come with the God meme

It is especially effective towards children because children tend to be gullible

Of course due to the nature of humans and the fact that everyone's experience with the God meme tends to differ

once the God meme has been around long enough we'll slowly start to see different groups of people believe in different versions of what the God meme says

This leads too conflict

You see if someone has been infected by a God meme that says 'Don't eat shrimp'

and someone else has been infected with a God meme that says 'you have to eat shrimp'

and both say that if you don't follow their specific set of rules you go too hell

well

we get conflict

hellish conflict

You see once someone who has the God meme lodged firmly in their skull realizes that a certain group of people are going too hell forever for not following their God meme. well the moral choice would be to spread the God meme further

The problem arises when those people think the same but for a different God meme, a different set of rules

Then what that person sees is suddenly, not a group of people who need too be saved, but a group of people actively condemning other people to hell forever and vice versa.

You can imagine the consequences

So

what the fuck are we to do about this?

What be the cure to the God virus?

Well the short answer is teaching the people afflicted about the scientific method and all the logical fallacies that come with believing in God

long answer

No God can be proven to exist anyone who tells you other wise is either lying or ignorant or both confirmation bias is really effective on religious people.

Most of the time pointing out that all the other religions have just as much proof as each other goes a long way towards making people think for them selves

(This also works for the Roko's basilisk because its just pascals wager for edgy Redditt atheists)

The argument 'Well my religion is diffrent because we do this diffrently than everyone else' doesn't work

doesn't make the likelihood of your specific version of the God meme being the right one any higher.

Religious experiences like seeing god or meeting a demon or whatever you think you've experienced can be harder to lodge from your brain

(It should be noted that literally every religion (yes even the false ones) have records and accounts of people seeing their God or a demon or having a prayer answered)

The supernatural miracles and God are by definition impossible therefore it is always and I mean fucking always going to be the least likely explanation

What's more likely Jesus Christ himself, holy holes and all showed up in your dream and told you to do x. Or it could have been just a dream about a topic that is widely spread and talked about a lot in popular culture. It might as well have been fucking Adam Sandler showing up.

Dreams are literally things that aren't real happening inside your brain

Or maybe you were fully awake when you saw god descend from the heavens and tell you to start doing x.

Whats more likely that it was God or that you hallucinated all of it

one short google search will tell you that hallucinating once or twice in a life time can be quite common even when its not born out of stress or drugs or you being an undiagnosed schizophrenic or lack of sleep or hell maybe your brain just decided to malfunction for a short moment and never did anything unusual ever again.

I mean fuck me people it doesn't even have to be a hallucination maybe someone just decided to fuck with you.

What's more likely you praying God will cure your cancer caused him to ignore all the other cancer patients, children with malaria, fucking world hunger, just to cure your scrawny ass.

Or the doctors could have misdiagnosed you. or maybe the chemotherapy worked or like a fuck ton of other reason

All of these things are more likely than a miracle, God, or the supernatural.

Which need I remind you are by definition impossible

My point being that you have to rule out literally fucking EVERYTHING before you can even think about thinking about the fact that it might have been God

Even if its one in a trillion as long as its possible its still more likely than God miracles or the supernatural.

And even then after you have definently 100 precent ruled out

every. single. fucking. explanation. EVER.

You still cant be sure it was your God.

[mbat]

ok im gonna be a little critical of religion here so if you dont like that dont read. also im pulling this from the weirdest of places but

earlier i watched a video that was talking a lot about christianity, specifically protestantism and its influences on american culture, how theres this whole thing about how everything you do should only be for god, not your own pleasure or any of that (extreme simplification and paraphrasing), and so all of that was still on my mind basically.

and now im rewatching the steven universe movie. hear me out, we already know the diamonds hold deep authority, theyre practically gods of their kind, i dont think that i need to explain why. and they definitely let that get to their heads, they treated their subjects like things that only existed to serve them and their wants and needs, and their subjects needed to be loyal or else.

and im not going to get into all the ways that could reflect my point, but im just thinking about how spinels story reflects my point.

she was in love with pink diamond, not romantically, but in the way one worships, because she was made to. everything was for pink, about pink, she was excited when pink got what she wanted (her colony) even when pink clearly didnt want her to be a part of it, she would do everything pink wanted of her.

even standing in place unquestioningly for several thousand years, waiting, not moving even when she questioned because surely pink would come back for her?

(but when the rug was pulled out from under her it changed her irreparably.)

and i guess my point is how people will do anything that they think that their god wants, even if it causes them the utmost misery, even when it ruins their whole life, all for that approval, the possibility of a reward. the only difference is that spinel at least knew pink was real, had felt her touch, spoken to her.

theres a lot of reasons im not religious, but that one is a big one that i just cant get over. i cant imagine spending every day of my life wondering if im doing right by someone ive never met, who i have no proof exists, and whos rules arent even agreed upon and only told to me by other humans.

i cant imagine being the person who is told to stand in place for 6,000 years, and i dont move an inch because im hoping for a reward that isnt guaranteed to ever come.

[megkuna]

love ordering books from the “controversial literature” subject category of the library. very confused about what’s in that in general actually

[memecucker]

American leftism needs to be injected with antitheist fedora atheism like badly. How is “oh these people supporting a genocide have a faith based org guess we can’t criticize them or treat them equally anymore” a common opinion like you’re not the government trying to tax something

[burningvelvet]

being a romantic era poet: a quick how-to guide

walk around in nature contemplating Things. start hiking, swimming, sailing, rowing, shooting, riding, etc. for inspiration

be obsessed with the french revolution and related enlightenment-era figures like rousseau, voltaire, mary wollstonecraft, and madame de staël. be more disappointed by napoleon bonaparte than you are by your own father. 

speaking of fathers, your parents and most of your other relatives are all either dying or dead or emotionally abusive. if you have any siblings (full, half, step, or adopted) who DIDN'T die tragically already, then you may choose to be close to them. you also may end up being much TOO close to them. various circumstances may also ban you from seeing them. 

be at least slightly touched by madness and/or some other severe illness(es) including but not limited to: consumption, horrors, syphilis, deformities, lameness, terrors, piles, boils, pox, allergies, coughing, sleep abnormalities, gonorrhea, etc. — for which you must take frequent bed rest and copious amounts of Laudanum (opium derivation)

consider foregoing meat and adopting a vegetable diet instead to purify the spirits. you may also abstain from alcohol for the same reasons. alternatively, you may attempt the veggie diet, end up rejecting it, and becoming a rampant alcoholic instead. in romanticism there is no healthy medium between abstinence and excess.

reject, or at least heavily criticize, christianity. refuse to get married in a church and consider becoming a fervent champion of atheism. alternatively, you may embrace catholicism, but only on an aesthetic basis. eastern religions and minority religions are also acceptable, only because they piss off the christians. 

if you’re not a self-hating member of the aristocracy and instead have to work for a living, do something that allows you to benefit society, be creative, and/or contemplate life. viable options include, but are not limited to: apothecarist, doctor, teacher, preacher, lawyer, farmer, printmaker, publisher, editor. there is also the possibility of earning a few coins from your art. if you were cursed to be born a She, no worries. we believe in equality. you may choose from these occupations: wife, nanny, housekeeper, spinster, amanuensis (copy writer for a man), lady’s companion, divorced wife, singer/actress/escort, widow, regular escort, tutor, or housewife. 

speaking of sexist institutions, try rejecting marriage entirely. Declare your eternal devotion to your lover by having sex with them on your mother’s grave instead.

if you do get married — elope, and only let it be for necessary financial reasons, or to try and save a teenage girl from her controlling family, or out of true love with someone you view as your intellectual equal, or because your life is so racked with scandals and debt that you can only clear your name by matrimony to a wealthy religious woman as your last resort before fleeing the country.

After marriage, quickly assert your belief in the powers of free love and bisexuality by taking extramarital lovers and suggesting your spouse follow suit. If they cannot keep up with your intellectual escapades then consider leaving them. Later on, propose a platonic friendship with them following the separation, or beg them for reconciliation.

If your marriage is happy, try moving in with another bohemian couple to shake things up. Alternatively, you may die before the wedding for dramatic effect.

If you beget children (whether in or out of marriage, makes no matter), do society a favor by choosing to raise them with your beliefs. Consider adopting orphan children, or even non-orphan children. If their parents are poor enough they probably won’t mind. Try kidnapp— I mean adopting — children off the side of the road if you can. 

DIE but do it creatively. ideally young. ideas: prophecy your own death, lead an army into war and then die right before your first battle and on your deathbed curse everyone and demand to see a witch, write a will leaving money to your mistresses or some random young man you have an unrequited romantic obsession with, carry a copy of your dead friend's poetry and read it right before you drown so that your washed up corpse can only be identified by his book in your pocket, die while staring at your lover's shriveled up heart that you keep wrapped up in a copy of his own poetry and then be buried with it, die of the poet's illness (consumption) while your artist friend draws you and then be buried with your lover's writing, get mysteriously poisoned (by yourself) after a series of scandals and accidents and then have your family announce that you were killed by god, die from romanticizing poverty or receiving bad reviews from literary critics, die from walking or horseback riding in the cold and the rain while poeticizing, etc.

[pocket-deer-boy]

online atheism ten years ago is so embarrassing like it's so easy to critically analyze christianity and its ties to colonialism by just going "christianity has done an untold amount of harm worldwide and often colonizers used their faith to further subjugate the colonized. They viewed their own moral superiority as self evident through their belief in their own god and justified forced assimilation as 'saving' people, which was all a thin veneer for gaining more colonial power through the eradication of indigenous cultures worldwide. This can still be seen in modern day christianity, especially in america". And instead of coming to obvious conclusions about the nature of religion and colonialism they all collectively decided that this must mean all organized religion, ever, is bad, and clearly we can't trust muslims either because some of them do terrorism and they all became racist as fuck

[txttletale]

🔥the hijab debate in France

i've seen one particular and very silly take on it repeated a lot in left-wing circles which is that the hijab ban is in any meaningful way the result of 'atheism'--like, people who inexplicably take at face value the french right's argument that this is a matter of 'secularism' and then proceed from there to 'well, guess secularism is bad'. like, if you think marine le pen's position on the hijab comes from her sincere ideological commitment to irreligiousity and is therefore relevant to forming a criticism of atheism i have an eiffel tower to sell you

[bonefall]

I know you don’t rewrite arcs until they’re done, but I love hearing about your early ideas while I brood over how badly this arc has let me down. Do you have any like super vague ideas about Splashtail’s motivations yet? He’s like a way worse Hawkfrost in my mind, because they’re both very young cats who Are Just Evil. But Hawkfrost had a genuinely interesting backstory that the Erin’s simply fumbled, meanwhile Splashtail is a cartoonishly evil atheist. I feel nothing towards him, he’s not intimidating or interesting or even funny. Save me Bonefall save me (if I got something wrong please ignore it, these books are so disappointing my brain is making me forget them to protect itself.)

If it helps at all, I'm staying sane with the observation that Hawkfrost is a high charisma character making critical failure rolls, while Splashtail is a cringefail loser with no stats rolling nat20s. He becomes 50% more sufferable when you imagine a long, pungent pause after anything he says, broken only by the sound of an offscreen player tossing some dice. When the silence is broken, it's whatever NPC has been charmed speaking in the beleaguered voice of the dungeon master.

SO my early thoughts are shaping up to be that I'd like to do a slightly more serious version of that.

BB!Splashtail is the Clan equivalent of a 19-year-old, desperate for more power and respect in his society. In terms of his stats, he's promising but not outstanding. A decent fighter, a competent leader. Even in terms of lineage; his father is Sneezecloud, a respected trader and negotiator, but his mother is Havenpelt. An ex-rogue who has sworn to live by the ways of RiverClan.

Curlfeather is the one with the plans. She's the one with vision. Daughter of Reedwhisker, grandchild of Mistystar, with grand leaders like Bluestar, Oakheart, and Crookedstar in her past, greatness runs in her blood. Scandal, too-- but for some reason it's acceptable that her great-grandparents were codebreaking traitors.

Splashtail hates Curlfeather, but he can't get anywhere unless he tries to be her. He steals HER plans. He acts like SHE does. Manages to snatch power from her paws, and then has no idea what to do with it.

I'm thinking that I want his reign to be going smoothly at first, actually, going from a bit of a bossy jerk, to trying to enact Curlfeather's ambitions by launching fights and doing it badly, to active tyranny as he tries to keep control over RiverClan. Depending on how Star goes, I might have Berryheart make some kind of move to seize power over him.

At the core of how I see him though, is that Splashtail has no plan. His ideology leans Thistle Law... in a sort of dumbass 4Channer kind of way. He talks a big game about the glory of battle, but folds fast when his enemy can punch back. The only person he could successfully manipulate was a traumatized child. He will bring back pureblooded glory to the Clan, except his personal family of course

As for the Evil Atheism stuff... lol. Lmao, even. Not needed. If I need to make him a more powerful and serious danger, it's not going to come from the fact he's godless. If being an atheist gave you super murder powers, Bill Nye would have used them to obliterate half of the US government by now.

Depending on how the last book of ASC goes,

The Harelight kill is probably going to get changed to Hallowflight. Harelight watches his dad die, and Splashstar is drenched in the blood of one of RiverClan's most famous heroes. No turning back after that.

On that note I'd also make the fight longer and bloodier. A butchery of an execution showcasing Splashtail fighting like a beast and Hallowflight like a trained warrior.

I REAALLY want to make Splashtail's death a drowning. Curlfeather, demon she is now, finishes him off by dragging him under. To protect her daughter. They will have to do something VERY satisfying for me to not do this.