Monthly Archives: February 2016

Philosophy, Religion

The Problem With “Christian Values”

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The Problem With “Christian Values”

 

"Christian Values"

‘Christian values’, are completely subjective as one ‘Christian’s values’ are completely different than another’s ‘Christian values’, which begs the question, what is the definition of ‘Christian values’ when Christians can’t even agree on what they believe is the correct set of values.

Or view here https://youtu.be/703ZJSzyyOA
If your morals and values come from a fear of reprisal from a higher power and only act with decency to your fellow man because of that, you are no better than a rabid dog on an imaginary leash. If the only reason you act with kindness and compassion to your fellow man is your hope of reward from this supposed higher power then you are incredibly divisive and selfish.
-AAPN

GMO, Medical, Science

Responses to Popular Anti-GMO Arguments & Rhetoric

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Responses to Popular Anti-GMO Arguments & Rhetoric

 

 

Anti GMO march

The typical rhetoric from the anti-GMO crowd can range anywhere from harmless, benign questions to malignant, ignorant claims based on complete scientific illiteracy.

There are hundreds of questions, concerns, and claims from the anti-GMO movement, some more legitimate than others, but I will only be addressing a few of their main talking points.    Continue reading Responses to Popular Anti-GMO Arguments & Rhetoric →

Atheism, Social

One atheist’s view on eating meat

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One atheist’s view on eating meat

 

EYES

When it comes to a topic like eating meat, you have to be able to separate what is viewed as food and what is not. We evolved as being omnivores, meaning we hunted for our food when the opportunity arose. We share many aspects with predators, forward facing eyes for added depth perception, an intestinal tract with enzymes specifically designed to consume meat, the ability to think strategically (higher intelligence), canines and incisors for tearing meat, the list goes on.    Continue reading One atheist’s view on eating meat →

Logic and reason, Science

The Wolfe Howls Nonsense

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A plea to think.

When it comes to whole cloth nonsense, one can think of few better examples than David Wolfe. His fear mongering pseudoscience dupes people into believing the most outrageous of claims. It is scary to think that a man who actually believes that without salt being in water it would just ‘float away’. Of course anyone with a primary school education could understand that this is absolutely demonstrable nonsense, but what makes it so that people are drawn to the nonsense this man spews? David Wolfe engages in what’s called pleading to emotion, he makes claims that draws gullible people’s wishful thinking and allows them to believe the completely outrageous things Mr. Wolfe claims. Let’s dissect one of his videos and expose the plethora of nonsense he spouts off shall we?  Continue reading The Wolfe Howls Nonsense →

Atheism, Logic and reason, Religion, Science, Uncategorized

Logic, reason and pseudscientific nonsense

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Logic, reason and pseudscientific nonsense

Originally published on www.answers-in-reason.com as Logic, reason and pseudscience

The tripartite definition of knowledge states that propositional knowledge , i.e. knowledge that p , has three individually necessary and jointly sufficient conditions: justification, truth and belief. In short, propositional knowledge is justified true belief. The belief condition requires that anyone who knows that p believe that p. The truth condition requires that any known proposition be true. And the justification condition requires that any known proposition be adequately justified, warranted or evidentially supported.

 

Reason

The power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgements logically.

I guess we should define logic and a few other terms also

Logic

Reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity. Check or prove the validity or accuracy of,

“all analytical methods should be validated in respect of accuracy”

demonstrate or support the truth or value of.

Truth

That which is true or in accordance with fact or reality.

 Fact

A thing that is known or proved to be true.

Following through the above list of definitions to reason we need facts, which have been validated as such to show they are true. We have seen historically how a good premise can still present a faulty conclusion. For instance Aristotle concluded that the testicles were weights attached to the voice box because when a man’s testicles dropped his voice deepened.  This is obviously not the case which has been verified by biological experimentation which has shown this factually not to be true. Continue reading Logic, reason and pseudscientific nonsense →

Atheism

A possible link between the ultra religious and low IQ’s

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A possible link between the ultra religious and low IQ’s

ultra religious

A study from 2013

A study from Gallup Polling found religiousness across the U.S. in 2013 remained similar to previous years. With 61% of its residents classified as very religious, Mississippi held on to its position as the most religious state.

% of Population With Bachelor’s Degrees or Higher: 20.4%

Median Household Income (2013): $37,963 (51st)

Average SAT Score (2013): 1673

Average IQ and Ranking: 94.2 (50th)

Mississippi is the state of a bygone era. Prior to the Civil War, Mississippi’s agricultural economy — and reliance on slave labor — made it the fifth wealthiest state in the country. However currently it is near the bottom in most economic and educational measures. Mississippi residents received $2.02 in federal spending for every dollar they paid in taxes. The state has the highest poverty rate in the country at 20.1%.

Sources:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/167267/mississippi-religious-vermont-least-religious-state.aspx

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12712489/19/the-10-dumbest-states-in-america.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/poll-how-americans-feel-about-the-states-2013-8

Atheism, Science

Facts are Facts!

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Facts

 

Facts are Facts!

When the facts and evidence contradicts ones beliefs then you need to change your beliefs because facts are facts regardless of what you believe.

-Fact: We evolved from a common ancestor that we share with other great apes.

Evidence: Fossils found in Africa and DNA studies have consistently shown us this and is even part of the basic foundations of biology.

-Fact: The earth is roughly 4.6 billion years old.

Evidence: Radiocarbon dating and Lead Uranium Dating, this process focuses on the ratio between the number of carbon-14 and carbon-12 isotopes and is very reliable. Lead Uranium Dating method relies on two separate decay chains, the uranium series from 238U to 206Pb, with a half-life of 4.47 billion years and the actinium series from 235U to 207Pb, with a half-life of 710 million years. It can be used to date rocks that formed from about 1 million years to over 4.5 billion years ago with routine precisions in the 0.1–1 percent range. There are also very old zircon rock from Australia that are 4.374 billion years old.

-Fact: The universe is roughly 13.4 billion years old.

Evidence: The age of the universe is determined by using two different methods, by studying the oldest objects within the universe and measuring how fast it is expanding.

Saying “I feel something” or handing someone a religious text does not count as fact or evidence.

-AAPN

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Facts

Religion, Social

Religion’s abuse of the mentally ill

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abuse of the mentally ill

 

Religion’s abuse of the mentally ill

There has always been a stigma attached to mental illness and conditions such as epilepsy, which cause alarming seizures in otherwise healthy individuals. When society did not understand the cause of conditions that science has learned to identify and treat, people turned to religion to cope, and the results were at best scarring for the individual and at worst, deadly.

A young German woman that had suffered seizures all of her life was killed after ten months of exorcisms because her family believed that she was possessed by demons. Denied food and water, subjected to violent rituals, the 23 year old died horribly and needlessly at the hands of people blinded by their own ignorance.   Continue reading Religion’s abuse of the mentally ill →

Logic and reason, Medical

Beagle’s Plea For Reason

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Polio

Beagle’s Plea For Reason

It barely needs stating, but I will say it anyway. The person that chooses not to vaccinate their child is a selfish, narcissistic creature with no regard for others. They don’t care if their child falls ill because they are convinced that a potentially devastating disease is somehow better than the minimal risks associated with vaccines. They don’t care if your child falls ill. They don’t care that children with valid health reasons for not being vaccinated depend on herd immunity to survive. Instead, they cling to debunked and misleading “studies” to justify their dangerous and ridiculous decision. They make up insane conspiracies about the government attempting to control people through vaccines. They are irrational, arrogant enough to believe that they know better than actual doctors. They will even claim that God protects their children and yours from illness. I’m not kidding. I saw that on my newsfeed only a few weeks ago.   Continue reading Beagle’s Plea For Reason →

Atheism, Social

The Closet Atheist

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Closet Atheist

The Closet Atheist

Going to work and doing the normal routine comes simple for some people. They socialize, enjoy time with friends and try to live out their normal routine. For other people, life is a little more complex, and for some, live in the shadow of fear.
In the religious world people are free to flaunt their idealism, regardless of how eccentric or unfounded their beliefs are. There is a widely held view of acceptance to those who delve into the realm of beliefs in a higher power. At first glance, it is very soothing to think there is something beyond yourself and that there is more to life then can be explained.   Continue reading The Closet Atheist →