I went out with a bunch of friends last night, Thanksgiving Eve, which apparently is the biggest drinking day of the year. As I talked with an old friend of mine in the parking lot, we somehow got on the topic of morality, and it was at this time I decided to "come out" to her about being an atheist. It's something I haven't done much in New Castle, probably because of how little I'm there and how most people there are religious.
As I did so, she became quite noticeably relived and excited - a reaction I wasn't expecting. She then said to me that she actually had never felt there was a god either. It was an interesting moment of deep understanding between us, and her reaction afterward was of a desire to learn more, to explain to herself and to others why she feels this way and how to defend these views.
I think this is a topic that deserves a lot of attention, and in fact I'm often asked to explain this. I'm going to lay out below the case for an atheist / rational worldview using evidence from science, anthropology, and history through a series of videos.
What is Atheism?
Richard Dawkins' TED Talk
- This talk is a great intro to exactly what atheists are, what they believe, and the issues that they encounter in modern society.
Science
How was the universe created?
- This first video is a very brief explanation, the latter ones give a lot more substance.
How did life start on Earth?
- This video is a great explanation of how we go from basic chemicals to self-replicating life. It puts to rest the Christian argument that life is "irreducibly complex" by showing that early life was very simple and through competition.
How did modern animals and humans come to be?
- This video picks up where the top one leaves off. It goes from the simpliest of pre-evolutionary life to modern humans. It provides a deep look into just how amazing and diverse life really is. To me, this is far more powerful than the Bible's creation story, and instills a sense of awe in our world.
Humanity
What was the origin of religion?
- Great video on the origins of religion. Further reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_origin_of_religions
How did religion spread?
- Great high level view of the spread of religion. Further reading on even earlier religions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_religion
How did morals come about?
- Great interview on primate morals. Further reading: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/20/science/20moral.html
How do we create and justify our morals?
Conclusion
The progression of this post, from origins of the universe, to primitive life, to humans, to primitive religious belief, to organized religion, to morality itself and finally how, in the absense of god, we can define morality, was to demonstrate a narrow core of a logical worldview of atheism and rationality. There is much more where this comes from, but I think this is good start down the rational road of atheism.
Now, I will go to eat Thanksgiving at a friend's house who are religious and will doubtlessly say grace. This should be interesting!
As I did so, she became quite noticeably relived and excited - a reaction I wasn't expecting. She then said to me that she actually had never felt there was a god either. It was an interesting moment of deep understanding between us, and her reaction afterward was of a desire to learn more, to explain to herself and to others why she feels this way and how to defend these views.
I think this is a topic that deserves a lot of attention, and in fact I'm often asked to explain this. I'm going to lay out below the case for an atheist / rational worldview using evidence from science, anthropology, and history through a series of videos.
What is Atheism?
Richard Dawkins' TED Talk
- This talk is a great intro to exactly what atheists are, what they believe, and the issues that they encounter in modern society.
Science
How was the universe created?
- This first video is a very brief explanation, the latter ones give a lot more substance.
How did life start on Earth?
- This video is a great explanation of how we go from basic chemicals to self-replicating life. It puts to rest the Christian argument that life is "irreducibly complex" by showing that early life was very simple and through competition.
How did modern animals and humans come to be?
- This video picks up where the top one leaves off. It goes from the simpliest of pre-evolutionary life to modern humans. It provides a deep look into just how amazing and diverse life really is. To me, this is far more powerful than the Bible's creation story, and instills a sense of awe in our world.
Humanity
What was the origin of religion?
- Great video on the origins of religion. Further reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_origin_of_religions
How did religion spread?
- Great high level view of the spread of religion. Further reading on even earlier religions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_religion
How did morals come about?
- Great interview on primate morals. Further reading: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/20/science/20moral.html
How do we create and justify our morals?
Conclusion
The progression of this post, from origins of the universe, to primitive life, to humans, to primitive religious belief, to organized religion, to morality itself and finally how, in the absense of god, we can define morality, was to demonstrate a narrow core of a logical worldview of atheism and rationality. There is much more where this comes from, but I think this is good start down the rational road of atheism.
Now, I will go to eat Thanksgiving at a friend's house who are religious and will doubtlessly say grace. This should be interesting!
The only thing we seem to know without a doubt about the time T=0 until T=10^-43 is that God absolutely was not involved.
Posted by: GuessWho | December 09, 2009 at 03:49 PM