In the ongoing battle between science and religion, the forces of rationalism have been hampered by an 800-lb gorilla firmly planted in its corner. The question of why the universe exists at all has variously been called “the first of all questions” and the “Primordial Existential Question.” It has been phrased by both Leibniz and Heidegger as “Why is there something rather than nothing?” while Steven Hawking wonders, “Why does the Universe bother to exist?” Religion triumphantly proclaims the answer: because God the Prime Creator made it all. Unable to come up with a counter argument, Rationalists have just shrugged and meekly suggested that the answer may be outside the realm of science.

As long as theism provides the only solution, it will continue to dominate debate and sway the public mind on the question of “creation.” However, I believe we may now be able to provide an entirely scientific and rational answer to this most profound of questions. The article below exposes how the “God answer” falls short and provides a 5-step analysis of how an eternal universe – with no beginning or end – can be understood through application of contemporary science. This revelation describes a universe that “bothers to exist” on its own terms, effectively eliminating the need for God as Prime Creator.

A 24-year-old ski lift operator who fatally shot the general manager of the Eldora ski area was determined to kill co-workers who weren’t Christian, according to court records obtained Thursday.

The documents, filed Wednesday in Boulder District Court, said witnesses told authorities that Derik Bonestroo walked into a building at work, fired a gun into the ceiling and said: “If you’re not Christian, you’re going to die.”

General manager Brian Mahon was shot and killed Dec. 30 at the ski area west of Nederland, Colo., in Boulder County.

Witnesses said when Bonestroo asked Mahon’s religion, Mahon said “Catholic” and Bonestroo shot him twice: in the chest and head.

If I were there, I would have said I was a Christian. I have no problem lying to a madman to save my life. If he didn’t believe me, I’d have asked Jesus into my heart right there to prove it. And then if I had a chance, I would have tried to get his gun and shoot him before he hurt anyone else. Psychopath.

Of course, he’s not a real Christian. Just a poser. He didn’t really believe. Thought I’d anticipate that comment in advance.

It’s not like God would ever want someone to do that. I mean, he didn’t ask Abraham to wrap up and kill his only son, did he? He never told his chosen people to massacre another nation and slaughter all their women, children and animals, right? God is love and would never ask a human being to hurt another!

(via)

Here are a few as a sample:

Frankly, I was disappointed. I expected more from God. Definitely not his best work.

* * *

It’s a great starter book. After which, by the time you’re around 12, I recommend some Mark Twain, working your way up to Milton at around 17, and then never looking back, except to read the Book of James to your war mongering Christian friends.

* * *

I give this two stars instead of one simply for the historical importance of The Bible, which is the most compelling reason I can think of for reading it. It won’t help you to understand Christians particularly, as they haven’t read it. It won’t entertain you particularly, and will at times bore you to unconsciousness. It won’t lift your morality as such, as most of the “heroes” are fairly immoral/amoral which befits the fact that they worship an immoral/amoral deity.

* * *

A supernatural thriller to the core, the monster in this book will thrill and chill you! A demonic entity named Yahweh sets humanity up with the perfect trap: the Tree of Life. Knowing they’ll eat the otherwise purposeless fruit, he slaps them with a generational curse that binds them to his malevolent will! What follows is the most twisted tale of evil ever written! Yahweh, egotistical and ragingly jealous, uses those under his control to rape and pillage cultures that don’t worship him. Men, women and animals alike were slain in these bloodthirsty raids. The only hope you had was being a virgin woman whom Yahweh encourages to be conquested [Deuteronomy 21:10-13], [Deuteronomy 20:13-16].

If you have a hard time reading about cruel animal and human sacrifices, perverted sexual references and the murder and abuse of children I suggest not picking this up. This is a true tale of horror and our villian is far from tactful! However, Yahweh’s not a transparent, homocidal manaic. To be so would be far too predictable and I commend the author on his skillful character development. What makes Yahweh so fiendish is that he commits his violent acts under the veneer of love! To fool humanity futher he sent down a hippy version of himself and later set that person up to die, quenching his bloodlust once again. But, that’s not where the horror ends! I hate to give away the ending but it’s far too devious to go unmentioned! In the end his cult followers will be sucked into an alternative dimension where they will toil and praise his ego to neverending extents. Those who choose not to accept his conditional, unconditional love will find themselves in a sadistic torture pit of his making.

It’s interesting how different people can look at the same book so differently. Even in my own life, I have swung from breathless reverence to amusement to complete disgust, depending on the story.

What’s your review of the Bible?

UF is #11, which means I need to spend more of my mornings reading FSM devotionals and praying to His Noodleness.

Or maybe I should give up on The Monster and try praying to Google. It’s so hard to know which deity is most effective!

• Do a lot of everyday people actually read the Koran?
• How does the average Muslim view other religious viewpoints?
• If a male martyr receives 72 female virgins in heaven upon death my question is, what does a female martyr receive?
• Do all Muslims, moderate and extremist, have the belief that the Qur’an is the actual word of god and not just “inspired” by him?
• How fervent is the belief in Islam that the punishment for apostasy should be exercised (as I know the penalty is death)?
• Why are Muslims are not satisfied with the Qur’an, and instead augment it with other sources?
• Is it considerably harder for Muslims to leave the faith than it is for Christians?

Her answers are worth reading.

Can Crushing — Put a small amount of water in a can, bring it to a boil, then put it in cold water. Voila, a crushed can.

Khmer Rouge Torturer on Trial — The chief torturer for the Cambodia regime is now on trial for crimes against humanity “for his role in the deaths of at least 12,380 prisoners at Phnom Penh’s notorious Tuol Sleng torture centre.” He is now a born again Christian. What makes me sick is that most Christians believe this man will go to heaven because he “repented and turned to Jesus,” while an atheist who has never killed anyone and has tried to do good goes to hell.

Psycho Kidnaps Woman to Preach to Her — Troy Brisport kidnaps a woman, puts a adult diaper on her and keeps her for three days. He feeds her nothing, tries to suffocate her a few times, and reads Bible passages to her. Charming guy, I’m sure.

Questions for Ex-Muslims — Mathurine is writing a post about Islam and is requesting “that atheists, freethinkers, agnostics, humanists … submit some questions about Islam and Muslims [to] have them answered by a few former Muslims who don’t have blogs.” If you have questions about Islam, here’s your chance to have them answered by former insiders.

Home Invasion FAIL — Good thing this guy had a surveillance system and a gun. It’s nice to see criminals run and their plans thwarted.

Surprise! O’Reilly is a hypocrite! — I love Jon Stewart.

Religious Fervor Between Nations  — Is there any surprise that the poorest countries are the most religious? This is the same poll as the most/least religious states, but I didn’t see the countries part before.

Astronaut Drinking Coffee in Space — So weird.

UF ranks #14 in the list. Obviously, we have some work to do!

Seriously though, thanks to all my readers for making this site as popular as it is. It’s only been 10 months since I started this blog, but I’ve been floored at the reception. You all are amazing.

Thank you for the gift of your attention each day. I will try and make it worth your time!

The Top 5

1. Pharyngula
2. Friendly Atheist
3. Cynical-C
4. Debunking Christianity
5. Atheist Media Blog

The Best of the Rest

(in alphabetical order)

1. Atheist Eve
2. Atheist Movies
3. Atheist Revolution
4. Bad Astronomy
5. Bad Science
6. By the Book Comics
7. Daylight Atheism
8. Derren Brown’s Blog
9. Dwindling in Unbelief
10. Edward Current
11. Evangelical Realism
12. Greta Christina’s Blog
13. Julia Sweeney
14. Mid-West Humanists
15. Negligible Knowledge Base
16. Religion Comics
17. Richard Dawkins
18. SkepChick
19. Skeptic Blog
20. Skeptico
21. Slacktivist
22. Panda’s Thumb
23. Primordial Blog
24. Why Won’t God Heal Amputees Blog
25. William Lobdell

Did I miss your favorite? If so, add it in the comments!

Update: I realize not all these bloggers are atheists or agnostics. I also included blogs I consider “skeptical.” The original title was a bit misleading in that regard.

* * *

Above Bloggers: Feel free to use this graphic on your blog if you want:

Here’s the code to display it on your sidebar:


<a href="http://unreasonablefaith.com/2009/02/05/the-top-30-atheistagnostic-blogs/"><img src="http://unreasonablefaith.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/blog-award.gif" alt="Named one of the top Atheist / Agnostic Blogs by Unreasonable Faith" width="170" height="50" /></a>


It’s great to see The Kingdom of God getting with the times, though I wish they’d use something other than tacky clip art. Maybe in a couple years they’ll have a 360º photo tour.

(via)

Oh, and be sure to check out “Why Be Blinded by Science and Materialism.” I’m sure you’ll all be convinced that scientific materialism just doesn’t cut it compared to, uh, “Greater Reality.”

That’s just a crop. Make sure you view the whole thing.