Facing our own mortality

Hello all, I am writing to you tonight about a serious topic that many people face when they lose their faith and develop an open, skeptical, rational mind. One that I faced myself when my mind was awakened. Our own mortality and life. Is there a reason to it? Do we have a purpose? This was sent to me yesterday by a fellow atheist and I was asked to respond.

"I can't process. I can't make sense of it. I just wonder why. Why are we able to partake in such magnificent, immense, grandeur thought processes; just to have it all wiped clean? Why do we bond? Why does our subconscious want our species to procreate; just to feel loss and end up torturing one another? Why don't we all just stop having babies and end the viscous cycle? Death leaves me feeling uncomfortable. Not because I'm scared of there being a hell; but the thought of being nothing, feeling nothing, thinking nothing...is unbelievably terrifying to me. How can everything just vanish in an instant? I'm overwhelmed."

This is a real issue that all of us face. Whether religious or not we all deal with our own mortality. After all we are mortal beings that have an expiration date we just happen to not know when. The differences between a theist and atheist answers are vastly different. A theist tells you that this isn't it, that there is more after we die. They will tell you this with an enthusiastic, gleeful cheer in their voice. I have no doubt that they truly believe this with all their heart. The problem with this explanation is they do not actually know. There are 4200 different religions being practiced today. All with their own versions of an afterlife. You have utopias in some, others state you spend eternity doing battle to earn your seat at the feasting table. There ares some that state you will get your own planet when you die, a few say that we are reincarnated into another living creature and the species of that creature depends on how you live your life. Some even combine a heaven and reincarnation, where you spend time in a utopia reflecting on the events of your life then you are reincarnated into another creature. There is even an afterlife where you must spend years upon years going through trials and tests to achieve utopia.

With so many different versions of an afterlife how do we know which one is correct? How do we prove which is real when the very ability to confirm it is to cease to live life as we know it. We cannot plain and simple. We cannot know which is correct and which ones are false. Are they all correct? Are they all false? We just cannot answer that question. Some Christians will claim that they have died, seen Jesus and then they came back to life. The issue with this is that this same thing happens to Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Norsemen, Greeks, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, and the list goes on and on. So, we have to go back to the original question. How do we know which is right?

This is where Science comes into play. Science is our way to understand reality, ourselves, the Cosmos and everything in it. The great Carl Sagan once said

“The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us, there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries.” Why does he say that the Cosmos is all that is, was, or ever will be? Because that's what we know. We know how time and space started, what we don't know is what happened before time began or what happens after it stops. But to say you don't know isn't admitting that it is unknowable but rather we are just being intellectually honest. I admit that an atheist cannot give you a comforting feeling by explaining to you the reality of life. But they won't lie to you. They won't lie right to your face just to make you feel better. A theist will lie to you, they will lie and smile while they are doing it. They may even want money to lie to you. This is one of the issues I have (among many) is the utter lies they will tell you to serve their own agenda.

Now back to the universe. There is no evidence to show what happened before or after. There are a few theories of what happened before the big bang happened like the multiverse theory which I personally think is the most logical explanation. We once thought that our planet was the center of the universe. That we were the only planet. Well then we discovered the other planets in our solar system. So, we thought surely we are the only solar system and have the only sun. Nope, we discovered there are millions of solar systems in our own galaxy with billions of stars. Then we believed that surely we are the only galaxy...wrong again there are billions of galaxies in our observable universe. Well, surely we are the only universe. Why? Why should we believe that nature creates anything in ones? The Cosmos has proven to us that the evidence vehemently points to the contrary. Our universe may be just one droplet of water in an ocean of universes.

(Below is a conversation between Joe Rogan and Neil Degrasse Tyson about the multiverse)

Now, think about that for one second. There could be billions of universes with billions of galaxies and trillions of planets of their own. How could we possibly say that we know for sure what happens after we die. How could we be so arrogant while also being so naive at the same time? This is one of the biggest mysteries in our existence.

To answer the question as to why we exist. I, nor anyone else knows. You, I and everyone else are merely a product of reproduction. I look at it like this. I am very thankful that I was one of the lucky ones that got to exist. How many eggs and seeds never became a living organism? How lucky are we that we get to be those very select few? Then you wonder why? Why me? Why was I chosen? You weren't, you were not "chosen" by anyone but rather the natural process of reproduction. Religion again will tell you that you were chosen. That you are special and important to some deity. Why would a deity allow you to be born into a home that is somehow capable enough that you survive to adulthood yet 15-20 percent of all pregnancies are miscarried in the U.S. alone. Is that the deity just playing tricks on us? Is he/she evil? Or are the miscarriages merely a sad product of reproduction? The answer is yes they are. Statistically speaking for every eight fetuses that make it to term there are two that do not. This is a tragic reality of nature. We should feel lucky that by the tiniest stroke of luck we are the ones that made it.

Reproduction is hard wired into our brains. The very survival of any species is predicated on its ability to survive. That is how evolution works. Survive long enough to pass your genes along. I wouldn't say that we are merely torturing ourselves by reproducing knowing that all we will do is die. There is no need to focus solely on death when the one life we get is so worth living. To answer the question of why we bond, this is another hard wired instinct that our ancestors needed to survive. We had to live in groups to survive. Just like our ape cousins live in large groups we do as well. These are leftover instincts that we no longer necessarily need to survive but we still do it subconsciously. We all have friends and family that we keep close. No one likes to be alone. This isn't by accident, we had to have this feeling or there is a huge possibility we would not be here today.

Being worried about there being nothing is a reasonable feeling. I often hate knowing that I won't be here in 200 years when major technological advances are made and amazing discoveries happen. This is a scary, saddening thought. But then I remember again that I am here now. I was one of the few. Ask yourself this, do you remember what it was like before you were born? That is the same thing that happens after you die. We should make the best of the life we were lucky enough to have and not worry about getting another one. I often think about the vastness of the universe. Sometimes my primate brain simply cannot wrap itself around it. Its so huge!! There is so much out there, waiting to be discovered, waiting to be known! We have a way to be immortal. Do something that transcends the limits of our mortality. Authors, scientists, discoverers, inventors, people that made a difference in one way or another. We still speak of Shakespeare, Newton, Galileo, Einstein, Tesla, Hitchens, Darwin, Epicurus, Alexander the Great, and many others. We must live on through our kids. Be something special to them at the very least. In closing I will leave you with a short excerpt from a speech given by Sam Harris. Please watch it, it is strikingly beautiful to listen to. I wish you all the best and remember life is what we make of it. You are living your own movie. Do you want your life to be a straight to DVD or a huge blockbuster? The choice is yours...choose wisely.

Misconceptions about evolution

Hello everybody. Figured I needed to write a new blog because I see misconceptions about evolution on a daily basis. Sometimes it's due to a lack of understanding about it, religious indoctrination teaching people that it didn't happen or plain willful ignorance which drives me absolutely crazy. Anyone that would rather be willfully stupid is beyond me. Let us start with the most common misconception.




1."If we evolved from monkeys why are there still monkeys?"

This is probably the most commonly spoken misconception about human evolution. We did not evolve from monkeys. We share a common ancestor with them.This means that at some point in the distant past we split off and went our separate ways. Let's take a look below.

This is a chart showing when we split from our great ape cousins. As you can see we shared a common ancestor not evolved from each other. They are our cousins not our ancestors.

Our family tree is very vast, whether you follow that line for Geckos, Giraffes, Parrots or Dolphins. If you go back far enough you will find common ancestors for every living thing on this planet that has ever existed. 

The second one is merely a basic lack of understanding.

2. "Evolution is just a theory"

Yes, at face value evolution by natural selection is classified as a theory. The issue with this statement is not knowing what a theory really is. A theory is a well substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that is acquired through the scientific method and repeatedly tested and confirmed through observation and experimentation. As a result, and inherent in its nature, a theory can be modified, tweaked, or even discarded when new evidence or results come along. In the case of the theory of evolution by natural selection, all of the evidence collected and tested over the past 150 years have supported its validity. 

There are no beliefs in science, no presuppositions or wishful thinking. Merely data. Empirical data gathered through numerous experiments and observations. There are a few other theories that I bet you have no issues with. Such as the theory of gravity, plate tectonics, germ, general relativity and special relativity. All are just theories but I hear no one saying earthquakes do not happen and that if they jumped off a building they would go up!

3. The eye is too complex to have evolved

People usually quote Darwin here when he said that the evolution of the eye seems "absurd in the highest degree". However, Darwin follows that statement with a three and a half page proposal of intermediate stages through which eyes might have evolved via gradual steps. Below is the list of steps the eye evolved through.

• photosensitive cell
  
• aggregates of pigment cells without a nerve
• an optic nerve surrounded by pigment cells and covered by translucent skin
• pigment cells forming a small depression
• pigment cells forming a deeper depression
• the skin over the depression taking a lens shape
• muscles allowing the lens to adjust

All of these steps are known to be viable because they exist in animals living today. The increments between these steps are slight and may be broken down into even smaller increments. Natural selection should, under many circumstances, favor the increments. Since eyes do not fossilize well, we do not know that the development of the eye followed exactly that path, but we certainly cannot claim that no path exists. Therefore we can see how the eye became complex.

4. The second law of thermodynamics says that everything tends toward disorder, making evolutionary development impossible

The second law of thermodynamics doesn't state that at all. It says that heat will not spontaneously flow from a colder body to a warmer one or that total entropy (a measure of useful energy) in a closed system will not decrease. This does not prevent increasing order because the earth is not a closed system; sunlight (with low entropy) shines on it and heat (with higher entropy) radiates off. This flow of energy, and the change in entropy that accompanies it, can and will power local decreases in entropy on earth. Entropy is not the same as disorder. Sometimes the two correspond, but sometimes order increases as entropy increases. Entropy can even be used to produce order, such as in the sorting of molecules by size. Even in a closed system, pockets of lower entropy can form if they are offset by increased entropy elsewhere in the system. In short, order from disorder happens on earth all the time. 

The only processes necessary for evolution to occur are reproduction, heritable variation, and selection. All of these are seen to happen all the time, so, obviously, no physical laws are preventing them. In fact, connections between evolution and entropy have been studied in depth, and never to the detriment of evolution.

Several scientists have proposed that evolution and the origin of life is driven by entropy. Some see the information content of organisms subject to diversification according to the second law. So organisms diversify to fill empty niches much as a gas expands to fill an empty container. Others propose that highly ordered complex systems emerge and evolve to dissipate energy (and increase overall entropy) more efficiently.

5. "There should be millions of transitional fossils"

You have to understand a few things about fossilization. Fossilization is not a very common event. It requires numerous factors in order to happen. First it requires conditions that preserve the fossil before it can be scavenged  or decays. These conditions only happen in a few habitats, such as river deltas, tar pits and peat bogs. Anything that has died outside these areas rarely fossilize. Many animals do not preserve well. Evolution of new species is fairly quick in geology terms so transitions will be uncommon. 

Other processes destroy fossils like erosion destroy millions of years of the geological record. Heat and pressure destroy fossils when they are buried deep underground. Even as rare as fossils are to find them is even more rare for the most part we find fossils when erosion exposes them or a job site digs one up. My paleontologist buddy Trevor Valle knows that all too well. There are also shortages in the people that dig for fossils. It can take up to a decade of work on one site! Also, only Europe and North America have been vastly searched for fossils thanks to the lack of paleontologists and political reasons. There are however plenty of transitional fossils that we have found. Such as Tiktaalik, Ichthyostega, Darwinopterus, Archaeopteryx, Dimetrodon, and then to our own evolution we have found Apidium, Aegyptopithecus, Ardipithecus, Australopithecus, Homo Habilis, Homo Erectus, and Homo Rhodesiensis. The fossil record clearly shows evolution by natural selection.

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask and I will gladly answer them! I hope you enjoy the read and learn a little more to help you understand your actual origins in this life.

"Homosexuality in nature."

This blog isn't about a question someone asked me but rather a question millions of people ask everyday. "Why does someone have the right to tell me who I wanna spend the rest of my life with" When it comes to homosexuality in nature we see it everywhere. We have discovered that over 85% of the animal kingdom display homosexual tendencies. By the law of averages if you go to a dog park every eighth dog has homosexual tendencies. Should we put those dogs down? Or tell them they must be alone forever? They are not allowed to experience the love and nuture that comes from companionship and family? There are animals that form life long relationships with same sex partners. Not just homo sapiens. These are some examples of homosexuality in nature besides humans. Please don't just skip this part I really want you to learn this when some Christian nut tries to tell you it's a choice and not natural.

Black Swans- An estimated one-quarter of all black swans pairings are of homosexual males. They steal nests, or form temporary threesomes with females to obtain eggs, driving away the female after she lays the eggs. More of their cygnets survive to adulthood than those of different-sex pairs, possibly due to their superior ability to defend large portions of land. The same reasoning has been applied to male flamingo pairs raising chicks.

Gulls- Studies have shown that 10 to 15 percent of female western gulls in some populations in the wild exhibit homosexual behavior.

Mallard Ducks- Mallards form male-female pairs only until the female lays eggs, at which time the male leaves the female. Mallards have rates of male-male sexual activity that are unusually high for birds, in some cases, as high as 19% of all pairs in a population.

Penguins- Penguins have been observed to engage in homosexual behaviour since at least as early as 1911. Zoos in America, Japan and Germany have also documented homosexual male penguin couples. The couples have been shown to build nests together and use a stone as a substitute for an egg. Researchers at Rikkyo University in Tokyo found 20 homosexual pairs at 16 major aquariums and zoos in Japan.

Dolphins- Dolphins of several species engage in homosexual acts, though it is best studied in the bottlenose dolphins. Sexual encounters between females take the shape of "beak-genital propulsion", where one female inserts her beak in the genital opening of the other while swimming gently forward. Between males, homosexual behaviour includes rubbing of genitals against each other, which sometimes leads to the males swimming belly to belly, inserting the penis in the others genital slit and sometimes anus. Janet Mann, Georgetown University professor of biology and psychology, argues that the strong personal behavior among male dolphin calves is about bond formation and benefits the species in an evolutionary context. She cites studies showing that these dolphins later in life as adults are in a sense bisexual, and the male bonds forged earlier in life work together for protection as well as locating females to reproduce with. Confrontations between flocks of bottlenose dolphins and the related species Atlantic spotted dolphin will sometimes lead to cross-species homosexual behaviour between the males rather than combat. The Amazon river dolphin or boto has been reported to form up in bands of 3–5 individuals enjoying group sex. The groups usually comprise young males and sometimes one or two females. Sex is often performed in non-reproductive ways, using snout, flippers and genital rubbing, without regard to gender.In captivity, they have been observed to sometimes perform homosexual and heterosexual penetration of the blowhole, a hole homologous with the nostril of other mammals, making this the only known example of nasal sex in the animal kingdom. The males will sometimes also perform sex with males from the tucuxi species, a type of small porpoise.

Bison-Courtship, mounting, and full anal penetration between bulls has been noted to occur among American bison. The Mandan nation Okipa festival concludes with a ceremonial enactment of this behavior, to "ensure the return of the buffalo in the coming season. Also, mounting of one female by another (known as "bulling") is extremely common among cattle. The behaviour is hormone driven and synchronizes with the emergence of estrus (heat), particularly in the presence of a bull.

Bonobos-Bonobos which have a matriarchal society, unusual among apes, are a fully bisexual species—both males and females engage in heterosexual and homosexual behavior, being noted for female-female homosexuality in particular. Roughly 60% of all bonobo sexual activity occurs between two or more females. While the homosexual bonding system in bonobos represents the highest frequency of homosexuality known in any species, homosexuality has been reported for all great apes (a group which includes humans), as well as a number of other primate species. We are related to Bonobos and Chimpanzees the most sharing over 98.5% percent of our DNA with them. Dutch primatologist Frans de Waal on observing and filming bonobos noted that there were two reasons to believe sexual activity is the bonobo's answer to avoiding conflict. Anything that arouses the interest of more than one bonobo at a time, not just food, tends to result in sexual contact. If two bonobos approach a cardboard box thrown into their enclosure, they will briefly mount each other before playing with the box. Such situations lead to squabbles in most other species. But bonobos are quite tolerant, perhaps because they use sex to divert attention and to defuse tension. Bonobo sex often occurs in aggressive contexts totally unrelated to food. A jealous male might chase another away from a female, after which the two males reunite and engage in scrotal rubbing. Or after a female hits a juvenile, the latter's mother may lunge at the aggressor, an action that is immediately followed by genital rubbing between the two adults.

Japanese macaque-also known as the "snow monkey", same-sex relations are frequent, though rates vary between troops. Females will form "consortships" characterized by affectionate social and sexual activities. In some troops up to one quarter of the females form such bonds, which vary in duration from a few days to a few weeks. Often, strong and lasting friendships result from such pairings. Males also have same-sex relations, typically with multiple partners of the same age. Affectionate and playful activities are associated with such relations.

Lions-Both male and female lions have been seen to interact homosexually. Male lions pair-bond for a number of days and initiate homosexual activity with affectionate nuzzling and caressing, leading to mounting and thrusting. About 8% of mountings have been observed to occur with other males. Pairings between females are held to be fairly common in captivity but have not been observed in the wild.

Hyenas-The family structure of the spotted hyena is matriarchal, and dominance relationships with strong sexual elements are routinely observed between related females. Due largely to the female spotted hyena's unique urogenital system, which looks more like a penis rather than a vagina, early naturalists thought hyenas were hermaphroditic males who commonly practiced homosexuality. Early writings such as Ovid's Metamorphoses and the Physiologus suggested that the hyena continually changed its sex and nature from male to female and back again. In Paedagogus, Clement of Alexandria noted that the hyena (along with the hare) was "quite obsessed with sexual intercourse." Many Europeans associated the hyena with sexual deformity, prostitution, deviant sexual behavior, and even witchcraft. The reality behind the confusing reports is the sexually aggressive behavior between the females, including mounting between females. Research has shown that "in contrast to most other female mammals, female Crocuta are male-like in appearance, larger than males, and substantially more aggressive,"and they have "been masculinized without being defeminized.” Study of this unique genitalia and aggressive behavior in the female hyena has led to the understanding that more aggressive females are better able to compete for resources, including food and mating partners. Research has shown that "elevated levels of testosterone in utero" contribute to extra aggressiveness; both males and females mount members of both the same and opposite sex, who in turn are possibly acting more submissive because of lower levels of testosterone in utero.

Sheeps and Rams- Sheeps and Rams have attracted much attention due to the fact that some rams seem to have an exclusive homosexual orientation. An October 2003 study by Dr. Charles E. Roselli et al. (Oregon Health and Science University) states that homosexuality in male sheep (found in 8% of rams) is associated with a region in the rams' brains which the authors call the "ovine Sexually Dimorphic Nucleus" (oSDN) which is half the size of the corresponding region in heterosexual male sheep. Scientists found that, "The oSDN in rams that preferred females was significantly larger and contained more neurons than in male-oriented rams and ewes. In addition, the oSDN of the female-oriented rams expressed higher levels of aromatase, a substance that converts testosterone to estradiol, a form of estrogen which is believed to facilitate typical male sexual behaviors. Aromatase expression was no different between male-oriented rams and ewes."
"The dense cluster of neurons that comprise the oSDN express cytochrome P450 aromatase. Aromatase mRNA levels in the oSDN were significantly greater in female-oriented rams than in ewes, whereas male-oriented rams exhibited intermediate levels of expression." These results suggest that "...naturally occurring variations in sexual partner preferences may be related to differences in brain anatomy and its capacity for estrogen synthesis."As noted before, given the potential unagressiveness of the male population in question, the differing aromatase levels may also have been evidence of aggression levels, not sexuality. It should also be noted that the results of this study have not been confirmed by other studies. The Merck Manual of Veterinary Medicine appears to consider homosexuality among sheep as a routine occurrence and an issue to be dealt with as a problem of animal husbandry.

Giraffes-Male giraffes have been observed to engage in remarkably high frequencies of homosexual behavior. After aggressive "necking", it is common for two male giraffes to caress and court each other, leading up to mounting and climax. Such interactions between males have been found to be more frequent than heterosexual coupling. In one study, up to 94% of observed mounting incidents took place between two males. The proportion of same sex activities varied between 30 and 75%, and at any given time one in twenty males were engaged in non-combative necking behavior with another male. Only 1% of same-sex mounting incidents occurred between females.

Elephants- African and Asian elephant  males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions, such as kissing, trunk intertwining, and placing trunks in each other's mouths. Male elephants, who often live apart from the general herd, often form "companionships", consisting of an older individual and one or sometimes two younger males with sexual behavior being an important part of the social dynamic. Unlike heterosexual relations, which are always of a fleeting nature, the relationships between males may last for years. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the other's back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Same-sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity.

Whiptail lizards- Whiptail Lizard females have the ability to reproduce through parthenogenesis and as such males are rare and sexual breeding non-standard. Females engage in sexual behavior to stimulate ovulation, with their behavior following their hormonal cycles; during low levels of estrogen, these (female) lizards engage in "masculine" sexual roles. Those animals with currently high estrogen levels assume "feminine" sexual roles. Lizards that perform the courtship ritual have greater fertility than those kept in isolation due to an increase in hormones triggered by the sexual behaviors. So, even though asexual whiptail lizards populations lack males, sexual stimuli still increase reproductive success. From an evolutionary standpoint, these females are passing their full genetic code to all of their offspring (rather than the 50% of genes that would be passed in sexual reproduction). Certain species of gecko also reproduce by parthenogenesis.

Insects and Arachnids- There is evidence of homosexual behavior in at least 110 species of insects and arachnids. Homosexual behavior in insects has been a matter of significant debate among scientists. Though various theories have been proposed, the leading explanation for why males, in some species up to 85%, engage in homosexuality is simply a case of mistaken identity. The cost of missing an opportunity to copulate with a female is greater than the risk of engaging in sexual activity with an insect or spider of the same sex.

This is an amazing amount of evidence that shows the naturalness of homosexuality in nature. Humans are no different. We are apes, whether you wanna agree or not in inconsequential. Facts are facts and they couldn't care less for your beliefs or presuppositions. We are a part of nature period. We may be the most intelligent species on this small rock we call a planet but that doesn't mean we aren't part of the animal kingdom.

When religious people want to assert that homosexuality is immoral and unnatural they are not only being a bigot but are vastly uneducated on the subject. Christians (yes I know all religions are against homosexuality but Christianity is what I deal with daily) try and state their bible as their reasons for believing that homosexuality is wrong and they shouldn't be allowed to get married. This uneducated issue rears it's ignorant head again here. Less that 20% of Christians have read their bibles, and 15% of those are preachers or some form of indoctrination instructors.

So, on average only 10% of Christians have actually read the book they profess to be so sacred and true. They want to say people cannot get married because the bible says so in Leviticus 20:13-"If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."

Also in Leviticus 18:22-"Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable."

They want to use these as justification in their bigotry. They use these as the reason they don't think homosexuals should be married. It's pure hypocrisy and Ill show you why. They never want to follow their book like it says they should but rather how they want to. They cherry pick that book to fit their own mental deficiencies and bigoted feelings. If you want to protest gay marriage why not protest Joe's Crab Shack or Red Lobster? Why not boycott and have marches against Smokey Bones and Texas roadhouse for their pork BBQ?

It says so right there in Leviticus 11:2-20 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Say to the Israelites: "Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat. You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them.

The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you. Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales.

But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to regard as unclean. And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean. Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you."

Leviticus 11:44-45 puts a stamp on any questions in case you were skeptical "I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground. I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy." Clearly you shouldn't eat these animals. So, why do you not only eat them but promote others to? You're willfully going against the words of your psychopathic leader. Want some others?

Leviticus 19:27 "Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard." So, by that one you need to boycott Great Clips and other hair salons.

Leviticus 19:35-36 "Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt." How many Christian women have ever lied about their weight? And even if you seen or heard someone lying about their height or weight if you do not report them your disobeying your lord.

Leviticus 5:1 "If anyone sins because they do not speak up when they hear a public charge to testify regarding something they have seen or learned about, they will be held responsible."

Leviticus 19:28 "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord." How many Christians have tattoos? Hell, how many have RELIGIOUS tattoos??? How hypocritical is that?!?!

Leviticus 19:19 "Keep my decrees. Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material." Any Christians have gardens? Are your seeds completely separate or do you have tomatoes next to cucumbers? Do you always make sure you wear one type of clothing? Are your shoes 100% cotton? If not you're just as guilty as a homosexual.

Leviticus 10:6 "Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become unkempt and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the Lord will be angry with the whole community. But your relatives, all the Israelites, may mourn for those the Lord has destroyed by fire." Ok, didn't 19:27 forbid haircuts but this one says you should? The bible has thousands and yes I mean thousands of contradictions but that's a topic for another blog. Do any of your clothes have a tear? Have you worn them? If so...Heretic!!

Leviticus 25:23 "The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers." Ever sold your land? A home? If so, get ready for Hell!

Leviticus 19:32 "Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the Lord." Do you stand up every single time an elderly person comes near you? If not, you better be buried in flip flops and thongs because it's gonna be hot where you're headed.

Leviticus 19:23 "When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden.For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten." Did you ask Kroger how old the tree that bore the apples was? If not and it was less that four years old you're doomed.

Leviticus 21 17-23 "Whosoever … hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, Or crookback, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken … He shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries." So, you believe that your god makes every person on Earth, you mean to tell me not only does he create people with disabilities and disfigurements but then punishes them for eternity after death? What kind of sick monster do you worship!?

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 "If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die." Have your kids ever spoken back or gotten an attitude with you? Did you take them to the edge of town and allow them to be killed by elders? You're an abomination to your lord if not.

Leviticus 15: 19-20 "When a woman has a discharge, if her discharge in her body is blood, she shall continue in her menstrual impurity for seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. Everything also on which she lies during her menstrual impurity shall be unclean, and everything on which she sits shall be unclean." Did your husband or children or anyone sit on your couch while you're on your period? If so, you're a hypocrite.

Just one more part, this one isn't laws but more of one of the most immoral parts of this barbaric, idiotic book. Slavery. The bible condones SLAVERY. Christians in this country used these very verses to justify the enslavement of Africans. How anyone can say this book is the best guideline on how to live your lives is preposterous and should be locked in a psychiatric ward for mental help.

Leviticus 25:44-46 "You may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way."

Ephesians 6:5 "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ."

Leviticus 19:20 "If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment.Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed."

Please read those a few times. Find the moral right in that. Please tell me how a Christian should have any right whatsoever to tell anyone how to live their lives? Everytime they have been able to people have been absolutely fucking miserable.

The only and I mean only way to live your life is how you fucking want to. As long as you are not hurting, oppressing, or damaging anyone else's lives in any way, no one should be able to get in the way of your happiness. If you truly care for your fellow humans, get out of their way. Promote equality for everyone. Guess what when people are truly happy in their lives others around them are happier even if it's ever so slightly. If your beliefs are not based in reality you have no business making laws that are governed and enforced in reality.

Religion is the most poisonous idea that humans have ever come up with. It does nothing but divide households, communities, friends, towns, states, and countries. It teaches kids to hate others simply because they are different. It teaches kids to be ignorant to the facts about the real world and the way it works.

Yes I said it teaches kids to be ignorant, I didn't mention adults because I am sorry if you're a grown adult and still think people can walk on water, raise from the dead, snakes and donkeys can talk, the earth is six to ten thousand years old, two of every species of animal fit on one boat that a six hundred year old man built, all humans descended from two white people in a garden, that people can march in a desert for forty years and no one dies or questions the guy to where the fuck he is going, or last but not least homosexuals shouldn't be able to have the freedom to love and live as you do then you're not ignorant you're willfully stupid. You're an utter moron.

The worst part is you're proud to be considered stupid. You're proud to say you believe magic is real. Hopefully the United States Supreme Court makes it unconstitutional to prevent homosexuals from being able to get married and show why secular morality will always trump the religious right. Thanks for reading! Please feel free to share with everyone. Help me get this out there to others.

Question #3

This question was posed to me by my sister Brittney.

When Scientists say that we are made of star stuff, what do they mean by that?
That's a great question and since I know more about biology and not astronomy I found a nice article that illustrates the answer. After the article Ill give my opinion on it.

All stars come from humble beginnings: namely, a gigantic, rotating clump of gas and dust. Gravity drives the cloud to condense as it spins, swirling into an ever more tightly packed sphere of material. Eventually, the star-to-be becomes so dense and hot that molecules of hydrogen in its core collide and fuse into new molecules of helium. These nuclear reactions release powerful bursts of energy in the form of light. The gas shines brightly; a star is born. The ultimate fate of our fledgling star depends on its mass. Smaller, lightweight stars burn though the hydrogen in their core more slowly than heavier stars, shining somewhat more dimly but living far longer lives. Over time, however, falling hydrogen levels at the center of the star cause fewer hydrogen fusion reactions; fewer hydrogen fusion reactions mean less energy, and therefore less outward pressure. At a certain point, the star can no longer maintain the tension its core had been sustaining against the mass of its outer layers. Gravity tips the scale, and the outer layers begin to tumble inward on the core. But their collapse heats things up, increasing the core pressure and reversing the process once again. A new hydrogen burning shell is created just outside the core, reestablishing a buffer against the gravity of the star’s surface layers. While the core continues conducting lower-energy helium fusion reactions, the force of the new hydrogen burning shell pushes on the star’s exterior, causing the outer layers to swell more and more. The star expands and cools into a red giant. Its outer layers will ultimately escape the pull of gravity altogether, floating off into space and leaving behind a small, dead core – a white dwarf. Heavier stars also occasionally falter in the fight between pressure and gravity, creating new shells of atoms to fuse in the process; however, unlike smaller stars, their excess mass allows them to keep forming these layers. The result is a series of concentric spheres, each shell containing heavier elements than the one surrounding it. Hydrogen in the core gives rise to helium. Helium atoms fuse together to form carbon. Carbon combines with helium to create oxygen, which fuses into neon, then magnesium, then silicon… all the way across the periodic table to iron, where the chain ends. Such massive stars act like a furnace, driving these reactions by way of sheer available energy. But this energy is a finite resource. Once the star’s core becomes a solid ball of iron, it can no longer fuse elements to create energy. As was the case for smaller stars, fewer energetic reactions in the core of heavyweight stars mean less outward pressure against the force of gravity. The outer layers of the star will then begin to collapse, hastening the pace of heavy element fusion and further reducing the amount of energy available to hold up those outer layers. Density increases exponentially in the shrinking core, jamming together protons and electrons so tightly that it becomes an entirely new entity: a neutron star. At this point, the core cannot get any denser. The star’s massive outer shells – still tumbling inward and still chock-full of volatile elements – no longer have anywhere to go. They slam into the core like a speeding oil rig crashing into a brick wall, and erupt into a monstrous explosion: a supernova. The extraordinary energies generated during this blast finally allow the fusion of elements even heavier than iron, from cobalt all the way to uranium. The energetic shock wave produced by the supernova moves out into the cosmos, disbursing heavy elements in its wake. These atoms can later be incorporated into planetary systems like our own. Given the right conditions – for instance, an appropriately stable star and a position within its Habitable Zone – these elements provide the building blocks for complex life. Today, our everyday lives are made possible by these very atoms, forged long ago in the life and death throes of massive stars. Our ability to do anything at all – wake up from a deep sleep, enjoy a delicious meal, drive a car, write a sentence, add and subtract, solve a problem, call a friend, laugh, cry, sing, dance, run, jump, and play – is governed mostly by the behavior of tiny chains of hydrogen combined with heavier elements like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and phosphorus. Other heavy elements are present in smaller quantities in the body, but are nonetheless just as vital to proper functioning. For instance, calcium, fluorine, magnesium, and silicon work alongside phosphorus to strengthen and grow our bones and teeth; ionized sodium, potassium, and chlorine play a vital role in maintaining the body’s fluid balance and electrical activity; and iron comprises the key portion of hemoglobin, the protein that equips our red blood cells with the ability to deliver the oxygen we inhale to the rest of our body. So, the next time you are having a bad day, try this: close your eyes, take a deep breath, and contemplate the chain of events that connects your body and mind to a place billions of lightyears away, deep in the distant reaches of space and time. Recall that massive stars, many times larger than our sun, spent millions of years turning energy into matter, creating the atoms that make up every part of you, the Earth, and everyone you have ever known and loved. We human beings are so small; and yet, the delicate dance of molecules made from this star stuff gives rise to a biology that enables us to ponder our wider Universe and how we came to exist at all. Carl Sagan himself explained it best: “Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return; and we can, because the cosmos is also within us. We’re made of star stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.”-Vanessa Janek 2014

We are a part of the universe. We are a very miniscule part of it, but we are intertwined. The universe often breaks my simple primate brain sometimes. When I look at the size of the planet I live on and think of its immensity and how small I am inside this sphere of rock and water. Then you think beyond that. We are a small, tiny, grain of sand sized piece of our galaxy. Then you think about our galaxy and realize that our galaxy is small in comparison to other galaxies, yet it is 100,000 light years across. Which means if you were travel at the speed of light it would still take you 100,000 years to go from one side to the other. That being mind blowing in itself is still only scratching the surface of the size of the universe. Imagine this if you will. There are over 100 billion known galaxies in the observable universe. All with hundreds of billions of stars and trillions of planets. On top of that 90% of the universe is empty space!! Empty!! With all those incredible galaxies and stars and planets it's so immense that 90% of it is still nothing! We belong to that. We are children of the universe. We are not the center of the universe as many would tell you. But that doesn't mean your life isn't special or important. You make your life worth living. Ill leave with a couple quotes by an amazing scientist named Carl Sagan.

"The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff."

"The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us -- there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries."

Thank you for reading. If you have more questions or need more elaboration please ask in the comments.

Question #2

Hello everyone. I am very happy at the response that I got from my first blog post. Most of your comments were very nice to read. I am gonna continue to write these as long as you guys will keep reading and wanting me to answer questions. This question comes from my friend and the one person that helped me with the questions I had when I gave up believing. Thank you Chris Martin for this question.

He asks, Where do you see humanity in the future? 

I have thought about this question for a few days now. I have been torn on my thoughts about an answer. On one hand I have hope for our species and think we can climb higher and higher than ever before. On the other hand from the help of social media I see the amount of idiocy and ignorance that we still have. We have about 1 in 1000 people in this country and probably 1 in 10,000 in the world that have the sense to be completely rational, free thinking, and have very humanistic and world advancing personalities. What you usually see online are people that get incredibly excited over a new season of Teen Mom. Think about that for a second. People, grown adults getting excited that an underage, high school, immature child is having a baby. A young woman that has no idea what she is getting herself into. We applaud this action then wonder why more and more teens are getting pregnant and dropping out of school ending up either on welfare or a minimum wage job or worse for the rest of their lives. These kids are made into celebrities for ruining their lives. I mean 16 and pregnant was so popular it caused numerous spin offs! Not surprising that most of the teen moms were from the south. The number of teens that end up living a good normal life is rare. It happens but is rare. Sometimes they end up finding a good guy or the guy that gets them pregnant is able to stay on the right track and get a good job. How many teen moms stay with the father? Even if the father can stay on track and get a good job guess who didn't get to stay on track....the mom. She has to now take care of a baby. If she had any dream of college or a career that is now put on the back burner for years and she may never go back to school or realize any dreams for herself. Now I am not saying it doesn't happen but it is far and few. Our society celebrates this and it is appalling to me. People boycott Gay marriage, meat eaters, abortion clinics, Marijuana legalization and other ridiculous things they have no reason to protest but yet they didn't feel the need to protest that show. Besides that issue that shows not only the idiocy but the blatant hypocrisy of our country that I should discuss. From a study done by The University Of Michigan in 2010 the United States boasts an disheartening 28% of our adults are scientifically literate. 18% of Americans believe the Sun revolves around the Earth. 39% of Americans believe the Earth is less than 10,000 years old. 42% of Americans believe in the Adam and Eve origins myth. This is a huge issue. The Sun DOES not revolve around the Earth, this has been known for hundreds of years yet 18% of Americans still believe it does. The Earth is NOT less than 10,000 years old. It is 4.54 billion years old. This has been proven through radiometric dating. This process focuses on the ratio between the number of carbon-14 and carbon-12 isotopes in any once-living being: that ratio indicates how long it's been since that being was alive. But carbon is not the only element that can be dated a whole host of others exist. In uranium-lead dating, for instance, the radioactive decay of uranium into lead proceeds at a reliable rate. These tests have proven the Earth is 4.54 billion years old give or take a few hundred million years. The Adam and Eve myth has been proven genetically impossible. We could not have descended from two white people in a garden. Our species could not have survived a genetic bottle neck that low not to mention the story says that Adam and Eve had two sons and if you understand reproduction you know we also could not survive the amount of incest that would have had to take place. We evolved through natural selection just like every other living thing on Earth now and every living thing there has ever been. We share a common ancestor with Chimpanzees, Orangutans, Bonobos, and Gorillas. We are apes! That is not a bad thing! We share 98% of our DNA with Chimpanzees and Bonobos. Is that even worth arguing? I mean if I gave you a sandwich that was 98% shit and 2% ham would you be willing to argue that I gave you a ham sandwich? No, you wouldn't. We are apes, and I find that vastly more fascinating than being derived through incest. These startling statistics all have a common denominator as to why people do not understand the natural world and how it works. Religion. The single most poisonous, detrimental, violent, progress hindering idea our species has ever had. From the oldest known Aurignacian Lion man of the Hohlenstein Stadel to the Annunaki of ancient Sumeria to the Egyptian God Ra to the mighty Zeus of the Greeks to Odin of the seafaring Vikings to Yahweh of the Israelis to Allah of the Muslims to Jesus of the Christians to Joseph Smith of the Mormons and Xe nu of Scientology. All these myths are man made and have a few things in common. First they all have no evidence to any of them, they all have sacred books or writings, they are all cults, they are all pseudo scientific, they all want money, they all want control and last but not least they all profess to be absolute truth yet require so little actual truth. Most of them subscribe to an afterlife, speak of an eternal judgement, speak of saviors to the fallibility of mankind. The saviors are usually demigods and are usually brutally murdered as a sacrifice. Yet when you speak to the followers of all these religions they all have the same reasons why they believe. They either had a traumatic near death event they survived, they feel better and get through their lives better with these beliefs, they have dreams of their gods or they see their gods work throughout nature. Yet not one ever professes to have demonstrable evidence to prove the existence of their gods. They will argue from ignorance and say things like "Well, I know my god exists and that's all that matters". But see the problem is that isn't all that matters. These religions oppress, murder, rape, torture, commit mental and physical child abuse, make women out to be second class citizens, teach people things about the world that cannot happen, cause wars among civilizations, divide homes and destroy families. Religion the reason is why I am hesitant about hope for our future. Innovation is the lifeblood of our ability to survive. We have populations growing faster than we can feed them what do we do? We genetically engineer crops to grow faster, bigger and more abundant to sustain the rate of growth. We need to store food longer than a couple days we invent refrigeration. We have people dying of heat strokes we invent air conditioning. The list goes on and on. Now on that same subject, we have diseases evolving more rapidly than we can keep up with because people don't agree with evolution and believe they only need god to protect them. These diseases are getting more and more lethal and religion is helping them by teaching these moronic ideas as facts. The Earth is heating up faster than any other time in its history and what do we do? Well, the science community is trying everything they can to try and reverse or slow down the warming and guess who denies it and fights the science community tooth and nail? Religious nut jobs and oil company bought politicians who say "God wouldn't allow anything to happen to us that would be harmful, God heats the Earth and cools it back off, it's all part of his plan" These people for one are not scientists and two are utter idiots that appeal to other morons. The scary part is these morons are our countries leaders. The worst part about these ridiculous ideologies is the violent parts. The main two religions today are Christianity and Islam. They both are derived from Judaism and both specifically state to kill others that disagree with their holy books. Don't believe me? Here are just a few passages from each 

First from the Christian Bible    

 Suppose you hear in one of the towns the LORD your God is giving you that some worthless rabble among you have led their fellow citizens astray by encouraging them to worship foreign gods.  In such cases, you must examine the facts carefully.  If you find it is true and can prove that such a detestable act has occurred among you, you must attack that town and completely destroy all its inhabitants, as well as all the livestock.  Then you must pile all the plunder in the middle of the street and burn it.  Put the entire town to the torch as a burnt offering to the LORD your God.  That town must remain a ruin forever; it may never be rebuilt.  Keep none of the plunder that has been set apart for destruction.  Then the LORD will turn from his fierce anger and be merciful to you.  He will have compassion on you and make you a great nation, just as he solemnly promised your ancestors.  "The LORD your God will be merciful only if you obey him and keep all the commands I am giving you today, doing what is pleasing to him."  (Deuteronomy 13:13-19)

 If your own full brother, or your son or daughter, or your beloved wife, or you intimate friend, entices you secretly to serve other gods, whom you and your fathers have not known, gods of any other nations, near at hand or far away, from one end of the earth to the other: do not yield to him or listen to him, nor look with pity upon him, to spare or shield him, but kill him.  Your hand shall be the first raised to slay him; the rest of the people shall join in with you.  You shall stone him to death, because he sought to lead you astray from the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.  And all Israel, hearing of this, shall fear and never do such evil as this in your midst.  (Deuteronomy 13:7-12)

 They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; and everyone who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.  (2 Chronicles 15:12-13)

But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them--bring them here and kill them in front of me.'" (Luke 19:27)

You should not let a sorceress live.  (Exodus 22:17)

 "If a man lies with a male as with a women, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives."  (Leviticus 20:13)

 "A man or a woman who acts as a medium or fortuneteller shall be put to death by stoning; they have no one but themselves to blame for their death".  (Leviticus 20:27)

 If one curses his father or mother, his lamp will go out at the coming of darkness.  (Proverbs 20:20)

All who curse their father or mother must be put to death.  They are guilty of a capital offense.  (Leviticus 20:9)

 If a man commits adultery with another man's wife, both the man and the woman must be put to death.  (Leviticus 20:10)

  A priest's daughter who loses her honor by committing fornication and thereby dishonors her father also, shall be burned to death.  (Leviticus 21:9)

If a man still prophesies, his parents, father and mother, shall say to him, "You shall not live, because you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord."  When he prophesies, his parents, father and mother, shall thrust him through.  (Zechariah 13:3)

  But if this charge is true (that she wasn't a virgin on her wedding night), and evidence of the girls virginity is not found, they shall bring the girl to the entrance of her fathers house and there her townsman shall stone her to death, because she committed a crime against Israel by her unchasteness in her father's house.  Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst.  (Deuteronomy  22:20-21)

 One day a man who had an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father got into a fight with one of the Israelite men.  During the fight, this son of an Israelite woman blasphemed the LORD's name.  So the man was brought to Moses for judgment.  His mother's name was Shelomith. She was the daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan.  They put the man in custody until the LORD's will in the matter should become clear.  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Take the blasphemer outside the camp, and tell all those who heard him to lay their hands on his head.  Then let the entire community stone him to death.  Say to the people of Israel: Those who blaspheme God will suffer the consequences of their guilt and be punished.  Anyone who blasphemes the LORD's name must be stoned to death by the whole community of Israel.  Any Israelite or foreigner among you who blasphemes the LORD's name will surely die.  (Leviticus 24:10-16)

Suppose there are prophets among you, or those who have dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles,  and the predicted signs or miracles take place.  If the prophets then say, 'Come, let us worship the gods of foreign nations,' do not listen to them.  The LORD your God is testing you to see if you love him with all your heart and soul.  Serve only the LORD your God and fear him alone.  Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him.  The false prophets or dreamers who try to lead you astray must be put to death, for they encourage rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of slavery in the land of Egypt.  Since they try to keep you from following the LORD your God, you must execute them to remove the evil from among you.  (Deuteronomy 13:1-5)

But any prophet who claims to give a message from another god or who falsely claims to speak for me must die.'  You may wonder, 'How will we know whether the prophecy is from the LORD or not?'  If the prophet predicts something in the LORD's name and it does not happen, the LORD did not give the message.  That prophet has spoken on his own and need not be feared.  (Deuteronomy 18:20-22)

So God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired.  As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies.  Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies.  So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever.  Amen.  That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires.  Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other.  And the men, instead of having normal sexual relationships with women, burned with lust for each other.  Men did shameful things with other men and, as a result, suffered within themselves the penalty they so richly deserved.  When they refused to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done.  Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.  They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful.  They are forever inventing new ways of sinning and are disobedient to their parents.  They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are heartless and unforgiving.  They are fully aware of God's death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway.  And, worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.  (Romans 1:24-32)

For the LORD had said to Moses, 'Exempt the tribe of Levi from the census; do not include them when you count the rest of the Israelites.  You must put the Levites in charge of the Tabernacle of the Covenant, along with its furnishings and equipment.  They must carry the Tabernacle and its equipment as you travel, and they must care for it and camp around it.  Whenever the Tabernacle is moved, the Levites will take it down and set it up again.  Anyone else who goes too near the Tabernacle will be executed.'  (Numbers 1:48-51)

  The LORD then gave these further instructions to Moses: 'Tell the people of Israel to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you forever.  It helps you to remember that I am the LORD, who makes you holy.  Yes, keep the Sabbath day, for it is holy.  Anyone who desecrates it must die; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community.  Work six days only, but the seventh day must be a day of total rest.  I repeat: Because the LORD considers it a holy day, anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death.'  (Exodus 31:12-15)

Now from the Quran 

Allah is an enemy to unbelievers. - Sura 2:98

On unbelievers is the curse of Allah. - Sura 2:161

Slay them wherever ye find them and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. - 2:191

Fight against them until idolatry is no more and Allah's religion reigns supreme. (different translation: ) Fight them until there is no persecution and the religion is God's entirely. - Sura 2:193 and 8:39

Fighting is obligatory for you, much as you dislike it. - 2:216

(different translation: ) Prescribed for you is fighting, though it is hateful to you.

..... martyrs.... Enter heaven - Surah 3:140-43

If you should die or be killed in the cause of Allah, His mercy and forgiveness would surely be better than all they riches they amass. If you should die or be killed, before Him you shall all be gathered. - 3:157-8

You must not think that those who were slain in the cause of Allah are dead. They are alive, and well-provided for by their Lord. - Surah 3:169-71

Let those fight in the cause of God who sell the life of this world for the hereafter. To him who fights in the cause of God, whether he is slain or victorious, soon we shall give him a great reward. - Surah 4:74

Those who believe fight in the cause of God, and those who reject faith fight in the cause of evil. - 4:76

But if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them wherever you find them. - 4:89

Therefore, we stirred among them enmity and hatred, which shall endure till the Day of Resurrection, when Allah will declare to them all that they have done. - 5:14

O believers, take not Jews and Christians as friends; they are friends of each other. Those of you who make them his friends is one of them. God does not guide an unjust people. - 5:54

Make war on them until idolatry is no more and Allah's religion reigns supreme - 8:39

O Prophet! Exhort the believers to fight. If there are 20 steadfast men among you, they shall vanquish 200; and if there are a hundred, they shall rout a thousand unbelievers, for they are devoid of understanding. - 8:65

It is not for any Prophet to have captives until he has made slaughter in the land. - 8:67

Allah will humble the unbelievers. Allah and His apostle are free from obligations to idol-worshipers. Proclaim a woeful punishment to the unbelievers. - 9:2-3

When the sacred months are over, slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them. - 9:5

Believers! Know that idolators are unclean. - 9:28

Fight those who believe neither in God nor the Last Day, nor what has been forbidden by God and his messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, even if they are People of the Book, until they pay the tribute and have been humbled. - 9:29 (another source: ) The unbelievers are impure and their abode is hell. (another source: ) Humiliate the non-Muslims to such an extent that they surrender and pay tribute.

Whether unarmed or well-equipped, march on and fight for the cause of Allah, with your wealth and your persons. - 9:41

O Prophet! Make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites. Be harsh with them. Their ultimate abode is hell, a hapless journey's end. - 9:73

Allah has purchased of their faithful lives and worldly goods, and in return has promised them the Garden. They will fight for His cause, kill and be killed. - 9:111

Fight unbelievers who are near to you. 9:123 (different translation:

Believers! Make war on the infidels who dwell around you. Let them find harshness in you. (another source: ) Ye who believe! Murder those of the disbelievers....

As for those who are slain in the cause of Allah, He will not allow their works to perish. He will vouchsafe them guidance and ennoble their state; He will admit them to the Paradise He has made known to them. - 10:4-15

Allah has cursed the unbelievers and proposed for them a blazing hell. - 33:60

Unbelievers are enemies of Allah and they will roast in hell. - 41:14

When you meet the unbelievers, smite their necks, then when you have made wide slaughter among them, tie fast the bonds, then set them free, either by grace or ransom, until the war lays down its burdens. - 47:4 

(different translation: ) When you meet the unbelievers in the battlefield, strike off their heads, and when you have laid them low, bind your captives firmly.

Those who are slain in the way of Allah - he will never let their deeds be lost. Soon will he guide them and improve their condition, and admit them to the Garden, which he has announced for them. - 47:5

Muslims are harsh against the unbelievers, merciful to one another. - 48:25

Muhammad is Allah's apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another. Through them, Allah seeks to enrage the unbelievers. - 48:29

Prophet! Make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal sternly with them. Hell shall be their home, evil their fate. - 66:9

The unbelievers among the People of the Book and the pagans shall burn forever in the fire of hell. They are the vilest of all creatures.Fight them so that Allah may punish them at your hands, and put them to shame. - 98:51

The people that subscribe to these books is one of the main problems with our society today. My honest opinion is until these books and ideologies are tossed to the wayside and understood for the abhorrent destructive fairy tales that they are I cannot see our species lasting more than a couple hundred more years at most. We will either destroy our planet to the point we cannot survive on it or some religious psycho that wants the end of the world to happen will get a hold of a nuclear weapon and eradicate us all. I hope you enjoyed reading this and Chris I hope I gave a very clear outline of what and why I feel the way I do about our future. I truly hope the millennials that are less and less religious and more and more scientific can change our path for the betterment of not only our species but our planet itself.

Question #1 from Will

This is my first blog post. I am gonna start writing these at least once a week, but I am gonna try to write a few a week. I will answer a single question per blog normally. Others may be just a thought on a particular subject or news article, These blogs will be about numerous subjects, but mainly they will be either religion,science, or sports. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you enjoy and take something away from it,

My friend gave me this question to answer. Your family raised you a Christian, most of your childhood and current friends are Christians, what happened in your life to change your outlook?
Most people have a tragedy and blame God and convert. What's your reason?

This is a very good question, He is correct, I was raised religious and most of my current friends are religious and I am not sure if any of my childhood friends were non religious because it never came up. The problem with his second statement that most people have a tragedy and blame God then convert is only half right. If you blame God for anything or hate him/her for a tragedy in your life then you are a Misotheist not an Atheist. A Misothiest hates God/Gods. But they still believe they exist. An Atheist rejects the idea that a God/Gods exist. You cannot logically hate something that you do not believe to exist. As far as for me, lets establish my worldview. I am an Atheist. I do not believe a God/Gods exist. I do not believe in a God due to the lack of evidence for one. I also will never say I am 100% certain that God cannot exist. A God may very well exist, but there is simply no evidence for one, I mean Zeus, Ra, Thor, Odin, Horus, Dionysus, Hera, Krishna,Bigfoot, The Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabra, The Flying Spaghetti Monster, Apollo, Jupiter, Wotan and Hanuman all may exist but without demonstrable evidence to prove their existence they simply shouldn't be believed as such. Now to why I stopped believing. I only know of one time in my life I truly believed in God (the Christian God). I was 15 years old and was attending a local Baptist church not far from my house. I attended for about a year and went on the vacation trips, the week long bible studies, the missions all that jazz. I felt in my heart that the God of the bible was real and I could feel him. I truly believed he was real. I wanted to tell others and spread this feeling I was having. I didn't question a thing. Before then I kind of always had issues with what I was taught about God and the bible and its explanations of the natural world. For instance I wondered why if we all came from two white people from a garden why were there so many different races? How did a male and female of every animal in the world fit on a single boat? Why was the answer "God did it" good enough? If the God I was taught was the only one why were there other religions? If the bible was written by man and I know men lie to gain favor how do I know the bible is true? These were all questions I had but when I would ask my parents they would scold me and then tell me about where people go when they question God. I was a kid! They let me know that if I questioned God in any way I could burn for eternity! Needless to say I buried all those thoughts. After my year long Jesus crusade I did what most teenage boys do at that age. I spent my time playing sports and chasing girls. I stopped having time for church and God. I still believed though. I still had that fear of hell to keep me from not believing. That is why most believe, it's not because it's proven to be true or the amazing beauty of it. It was simply because they are threatened with eternal punishment if they don't. It wasn't till a few years ago that I truly began to have my doubts. I began to remember these questions I had always had, But now I am an adult and no one will tell me what I have to do or they will punish me. So, I began to ask people. I asked preachers, friends, family and anyone that would answer, The issue with who I was asking was that they were all believers. They would instead of offer me answers to my questions would merely tell me how to have stronger "faith". That was my issue, I didn't want to believe in something without it being proven to be true. I finally asked a non believer and guess what? I got the answers I was looking for. I asked why were there other races if we came from two white people in a garden? Then they explained to me scientifically and by evidence that it was genetically impossible to have all the different types of people that we have from two single parents. Then I asked about the ark and I was again explained why it was impossible. So on and so forth. I was given actual answers not either believe it or burn, I don't know, or have faith. I was being given actual answers about how the world works and about reality. I have since learned so much more about the history of the world, about the true origins of religion, evolution, astronomy, the origins of the universe and lots of other things that actually happened. I now understand our origins as a species. I know how the Earth formed. I know now that religions aren't true but merely a product of culture. I feel happier now about my outlook on the world then I ever did when I did believe. I am more compassionate about my fellow humans. I don't look at people and think they are gonna burn in hell because of a lifestyle choice, I understand that homosexuality is just as normal as heterosexuality. I know that I share a common ancestor with every living thing that has ever lived on this planet. I find that way more beautiful than I have dominion over anything. The same elements that make up stars make up us. We are star stuff! So in closing, what changed my outlook was my desire for knowledge about the natural world. I just wanted to know what was true. Thanks for reading!