Monday, August 10, 2009
A Christian Analysis Of Atheism, Part 1
If the Middle Ages are to stand in history books as the Age of Faith, it could be equally asserted that the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries will no doubt be remembered as the Era of Unbelief. Whereas unbelievers in the Middle Ages were careful in how they expressed their theological doubts for fear of befalling persecution, theists (be they Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox Jew) have today learned selectivity in how they go about expressing challenges to the prevailing lack of belief impacting fundamental cultural institutions such as government, academia, and the scientific establishment. And like the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages, the atheistic establishment of today seeks to foster a worldview influencing all aspects of society and binds all individuals whether they wish to be or not. Such an assertion will become more obvious in the following analysis which identifies significant atheistic thinkers, clarifies why some chose to adhere to this particular belief system, and critiques this worldview and contrasts it with Christian monotheism.
As an intellectual tradition, atheism has captured the minds of some of history’s most formidable thinkers. Creation science apologist Ken Ham of Answers In Genesis has astutely pointed out that social issues and public policies rest upon a foundation of thought and belief. Keeping with this analogy, atheism proceeds from a theoretical base up through a practical program designed to influence various spheres of culture such as politics and education with prominent luminaries within the movement solidifying this mental edifice along the way.
As stated elsewhere within these introductory comments, atheism did not suddenly appear on the doorstep of the twentieth and twenty-first century fully formed demanding things like the removal of school prayer and the enshrinement of evolution as biological dogma. Rather like a weed strangling the other plants around it, today's culture of unbelief sprang from the soil in which it was planted. While atheism can trace its pedigree back throughout much of human history, a number of modern thinkers have ensured this system a place of prominence within the cultural consciousness.
One pivotal intellect laying a foundation for atheism was Ludwig Feuerbach. In "The Essence Of Christianity", Feuerbach set out to undermine the claims of the supernatural by providing religious belief with a naturalistic basis postulating that the idea of God is merely a mental projection of the goodness and nobility residing within man's own bosom (McGrath, 95). Once mankind realizes that there is no transcendent deity to rely on, Feuerbach argued, his sense of alienation could be overcome by reembracing the notions of perfectibility once reserved for God as an integral component of human nature (Lawhead, 399).
Attempting to solidify these claims regarding man's position atop a materialistic universe through a veneer of science was Charles Darwin. According to "The Cambridge Dictionary Of Philosophy", Darwin was among the first to popularize theories of materialistic gradualism or evolution with a naturalistic mechanism, namely the process of natural selection where adaptations are accumulated in surviving organisms and passed on to succeeding generations (177-179). According to Darwin in "The Origin Of Species", it is through the accumulation of these adaptations in response to varying environmental conditions that biologists find the diverse plethora of organisms that inhabit the earth today. Alister McGrath points out in "Intellectuals Don’t Need God & Other Modern Myths" that "The Origin Of Species" and its ensuing theory of evolution was not accepted as much for its scientific insight than for its justification of passionately believed ideological assumptions such as the free trade policies of the English Whig Party, various strands of socialism, and assorted theories regarding the perceived hierarchy of human races and ethnic groups (161).
Standing upon thinkers such as Feuerbach and Darwin who provided atheism with theoretical and allegedly scientific justifications were other formidable intellects pursuing the implications of a social order divorced from the influence of God. One such figure drawing upon the fonts of atheism for such a purpose was Karl Marx.
Marx served as a kind of intellectual middleman between the theoretically-inclined such as Feuerbach and Darwin and the later activists such as Lenin and Mao who would adapt Marx's own writings for the actual political arena. Borrowing from the materialism of Feuerbach, Marx believed that religion and the notion of God were devised by bourgeois elites in order to subjugate the proletarian masses. Borrowing from Darwin's theory of growth through conflict, Marx believed these religious notions would have to be swept away along side with most forms of private property in order to make a way for the pending socialist utopia. Marx's call for action and summary for analysis were sounded in "The Communist Manifesto"; his beliefs received further exposition through the massive "Das Kapital", much of which was compiled by Friedrich Engels after the death of his comrade.
Another prominent twentieth century thinker dedicated to the cause of atheism was Bertrand Russell. Though best remembered in academia as a foremost philosopher of mathematics, it could be argued that Russell's most widespread contribution remains as an influential proponent of applied atheism.
The core of Russell's objections to Christianity can be found in his "Why I Am Not A Christian", which seeks to justify his religious stance as well as highlight the ramifications of such beliefs as epitomized by Russell's sexual ethics sanctioning arrangements such as trial marriages and recreational promiscuity. Russell's views regarding family life were further elaborated upon in "Marriage & Morals", a publication whose radicalism contributed to costing Russell a professorship at the City College Of New York.
Russell's primary intellectual motivation was a burning contempt for God and His divine order for man. This conclusion can be drawn from Russell's social views, which were an eclectic mixture of totalitarian and anarchistic impulses.
On the one hand, Russell supported the establishment of a world government so intrusive it would decree who would be permitted to have children. Yet Russell participated in acts of outright civil disobedience in connection with the anti-nuclear movement, thinking that the modern state had grown too powerful and destructive for mankind's own good.
In most Christian investigations into atheism, it is common to highlight the affinity between contemporary sociopolitical leftism and religious atheism. However, the increasing popularity of intellectual iconoclast Ayn Rand proves that atheism can also serve as a temptation for those more prone to classify themselves as conservatives and libertarians as well.
Calling her philosophy Objectivism, Ayn Rand argued for the primacy of reason and the individual over all other human faculties and institutions, prompting some to characterize Star Trek's Mr. Spock as the embodiment of her worldview. However, in her quest to emancipate humanity from the dangers of totalitarianism, Rand went too far in elevating reason at the expense of faith and by characterizing the living God of the universe as just another dogma bent on enslaving the minds of men not all that unlike Marxist Communism.
Ayn Rand's thoughts find expression in a number of novels and polemical discourses. "Atlas Shrugged" is remembered as Ayn's signature work extolling the virtues of nonconformity and radical individualism in the guise of a novel about an architect bending to no standard but his own. In the novel "We The Living", Rand warns of the dangers posed by collectivism to the well-being of the individual. Rand's nonfiction works include "Philosophy: Who Needs It", "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal", and "The Virtue Of Selfishness".
Of Ayn Rand, it says in "Christianity For The Tough Minded", "her attempt to formulate a philosophy of creative selfishness will make no great impact (227)." Yet her impact cannot be denied be denied as her portrait adorns the walls of the Cato Institute and key national leaders such as former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Alan Greenspan and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas count themselves among her admirers.
Looking at the matter from a certain perspective, the beauty and appeal of atheism can be found in its ability to adapt to the needs of those building systems of thought and seeking to justify individual behavioral practices. Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky realized that, if there is no God, anything is possible.
The diminished guilt available through atheism may serve as a greater incentive to those flocking under its banner than any of the answers the system might provide to the universal questions asked by thinking individuals. D. James Kenendy points out in "Character & Destiny: A Nation In Search Of Its Soul" that Bertrand Russell may have been an atheist as much to ease his conscience regarding his numerous affairs and seductions as out of a desire for alleged rational consistency (173). The idea of God posits the notion that the right to order the moral structure of reality resides in a power beyond the level of the finite individual's control.
And control is the one thing the individual atheist is loathe to relinquish. Though one can't fault her, Ayn Rand was fifty-eight years old before stepping aboard an airplane for fear of giving up control over her own destiny to the pilots and mechanics she claimed possessed a faulty "modern psycho-epistemology" (Branden, "The Passion Of Ayn Rand, 318).
Anarchist Segei Nechayev wrote in "Catechism Of A Revolutionist", "The revolutionist knows only one science, the science of destruction which does not stop at lying, robbery, betrayal and torture of friends, murder of his own family." How much easier it is to topple the tower of morality once its foundation of concrete theism has been removed.
A classic truism teaches that if wishes were horses beggars would ride, and another piece of cherished wisdom reveals wishing for something does not make it so. These same principles apply to the longing for a deity-free universe as expressed by the thinkers profiled throughout this exposition. For even though atheists have gone to considerable lengths to implement their systems, Communists going so far as to slaughter millions of innocent individuals, atheism fails to standup to closer scrutiny on a number of grounds.
by Frederick Meekins
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Isn't Cardozo The First "Latino" Justice?
If liberals are going to counter that Benjamin Cardoza is not the first "Latin American" justice of the Supreme Court because the Portugese do not count, I hope they will boldly stand up and deny Brazilians coming here Affirmative Action benefits and set asides since they do not qualify then for Hispanic exemptions and set-asides.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Mother Fined For Ten Minute Bereavement
Wonder if the rituals of the adherents of the so-called "religion of peace" would be disrupted or penalized in such a manner.
Mohler Yet Again On Early Marriage High Horse
As much as he rides this issue, it causes me to wonder if there is some kind of profound unhappiness in the Albert Mohler household.
Has been my experience that the ones that nag single people the most about getting married themselves come from the worst of marriages.
It is like for some reason they have to hound you into their own state of misery.
Interesting how the argument is made to heep condemnation upon the docile and behaved not likely to leave the church rather than those that can't keep their pants on parenting the tidal wave of bastard births sweeping across the landcape.
How about a little more of minding one's own business, Dr. Mohler?
The Mohlerites and Dobsonians lift up as some kind of ideal the past where people married in their early 20's.
Perhaps they would also care to address how many unhappy marriages where formed where the partners would have been better off had they remained single simply because the parties no longer wanted to be snickered at as a fagot or a lesbian even though they were neither of these perversities.
Though it no doubt pains some of the uberpuritanical who crave to control every last detail of those around them, the Bible is remarkably silent as to by what age one MUST be married.
by Frederick Meekins
Not About Philosophy?
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors have authorized the expansion of the Saudi Islamic Academy.
Shysters on the school's payroll claim the matter was about land use and not curriculum.
Critics of the school claim the institution advocates violence against Jews and Christians, so much so that one valedictorian has been convicted of part of a conspiracy to assasinate George W. Bush.
Though one may believe whatever one wants under the First Amendment, I wonder if the fanatic multiculturalists assenting to this vote would have easily glossed over what this school teaches if the school was run by White folks from the Ku Klux Klan.
Since both the Klan and this school are both alleged to teach violence against Jews, I don't really see all that much difference between then.
More importantly, since it is not a matter of "philosophy", I wonder if the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will be as eager to grant requests made on the part of church groups, or does Christianity just happen to be the wrong religon.
by Frederick Meekins
Monday, August 03, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Headline Potpourri #3: Jackson Clones, Radical Profs, & Eldercide
Barack Obama has taken on the role of chief booze peddler. Hoping to smooth over the controversy that has erupted over the arrest of Henry Louis Gates, the President has invited the professor and the arresting office to the White House for a beer. Given the professor's temper, is it really a good idea to get him all liquored up?
Henry Louis Gates is hardly the harmless professor the media is making him out to be. Frankly, Gates is to the Ivy League what Jeremiah Wright is to ecclesiastical circles.
At Harvard, Gates is the director of the W.E.B Du Bois Institute for African & African American Research, named after a known Communist. According to a WorldNetDaily profile of this academic subversive, Gates has lured other leftist rabble rousers to campus such as Cornel West and advocates Afrosupremacist positions such as Affirmative Action, reparations, and liberation theology. If one is known for the company one keeps, Americans should be very concerned about what they have let into the White House.
Michael Jackson wanted to be cloned by a UFO cult. According to Jackson's chauffer, the King of Pop became obsessed with creating a duplicate of himself after attending with Uri Geller a conference hosted by Clonaid. Clonaid is the research arm of the Raelians, a sect that believes human beings are the result of extraterrestrial genetic experimentation.
Life is apparently no circus for Ringling Brothers elephants. PETA operatives have obtained footage of handlers allegedly beating their pachyderms as a matter of course rather than when simply out of line.
Hopefully, some as intrepid videographer will capture footage of the mistreatment of animals known to go on at the hands of this animal welfare front group. It has been conjectured that PETA would rather see animals dead than in human hands.
Freedom of thought and descent have been dealt another blow during these days of the Obama regime. According to Joseph Farah of WorldNetDaily, search engines such as Google are quietly dropping or downplaying links to articles questioning the validity of Obama’s birth certificate.
Some will respond that, as private enterprises, search engines should be able to establish criteria as to what information they will present as legitimate. However, should such a perspective continue to expand, what makes these tactics any more moral than those employed in Communist China were access to certain viewpoints is blocked in the name of the good of the social order?
More importantly, how long will it be until not only access to websites questioning the government disappear but people as well? Certainly an awful lot of trouble to go to if our exalted Caliph has nothing to hide.
Many no doubt think that I have gone too far by insinuating that things may get to the point where those criticizing the government in general and Obama in particular might meet with, shall we say, expedited ends. However, the foundation is now being set to neutralize in an efficiently permanent manner one segment of the population no doubt seen as being an impediment to the kind of policies Obama represents.
Tucked away within the chapters of the Obama Healthcare Bill is a provision for “end of life counseling” referred to as “Advance Care Planning Consultation”. This clause requires the elderly to meet every five years with medical authorities to determine whether or not the individual’s life is worthy of continuation.
Supporters will insist that such an assessment is simply to clarify the patient’s preferences regarding these complicated matters. However, in light of statements made by Obama and a number of his closest advisors, one must ask will medical professionals simply implement the wishes of the patient or rather pressure the patient into complying with the prerogatives of social engineers.
For example, White House Healthcare Policy Advisor Ezekial Emanuel is said to believe that public resources would be better directed towards arts spending than extending the lives of the elderly. Likewise, Obama has suggested the elderly might be just as well off simply given pain medication rather than treatments that might actually improve their conditions.
At the heart of each position is a philosophy known as utilitarianism, which determines an individual’s worth based upon what they contribute or give back to the COMMUNITY. For example, illegal aliens are valuable and deserving of healthcare for their labor as near slaves. Sodomites are valuable to the state because of their deep pockets and for eroding traditional morality and religion.
Conversely, under such a system, it is in the state’s interest to quickly shuttle the elderly out of this life. This is for the following reasons.
For starters, since they are infirm, the elderly are unable to tangibly contribute to society’s perceived economic needs. However, more importantly, the radical statist feels an overwhelming need to eliminate the elderly since, for the most part, as a bloc they represent the greatest opposition to the totalitarian agenda.
Even though I am still a relatively young man, I remember several years back receiving a comment over something I had written where the commenter remarked that they were glad people like me were eventually dying out. Before it is all over with, don’t be surprised if the healthcare you end up receiving is proportionally linked to your support of an Obamaist agenda.
by Frederick Meekins
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Germans Stockpiling Blackmarket Light Bulbs
Who ever thought Germans would ever be at the forefront of human liberty.
Tolerancemongers Threaten Neighbor Reporting Gates Incident
Would be the last time I'd ever go out of my way to help anyone.
Maybe this epitome of the typical behavior of the diversity fanatics should be the real story here.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Gyrations Of The Jungle Heathen Mar Church Weddings
It is one thing to have fun at a wedding, but shouldn't one be a bit solemn when taking vows before God and man in a house of worship?
Since this exhibits the couple's degree of seriousness about getting married, I bet the marriage doesn't last more than two years.
No doubt there will be readers who say how dare I comment on people's private affairs; however, I must point out they are the ones that have put this ribaldary online for the world to gawk at.
by Frederick Meekins
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Hosts Fired For Discussing Obama Birth Certificate
So much for the diversity of opinion our exalted Caliph claims to support.
I wonder if a "certificate of live birth" would be enough for the paperwork the average American needs to acquire the magical documents we are assured will somehow stop terrorism.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Life Is No Circus For Trained Elephants
Am no PETA fan, however, neither should the circus be allowed to ride rough-shod over animals either.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Mohler Sidekick Badmouthes Escapism
So long as the bills are payed, the kids fed, and forty hours worked, what's so bad about some "escapism".
Isn't that especially true if the Christian has cautiously gone out of their way to ensure that their sensibilities and convictions will not be undermined through extraneous sex or violence?
In many ways, the so-called "real world" can be highly overrated.
These radio personalities should be reminded that not everyone has the same degree of career fulfillment that they have and that it is largely those of us stuck in tedious jobs that make financing air time possible.
If one wants to nitpick, maybe we should chastise those feigning sophistication by poopooing the Christian liteary ghetto for not making it in the realm of secular broadcasting.
by Frederick Meekins
Galactica Conclusio Philosophicus
In one of the climactic scenes of the conclusion of "Battlestar Galactica", Gaius Baltar remarks that an unseen hand had been guiding events all along up until that point. Just as the characters were propelled by something from beyond themselves, the producers behind this show may have been driven by ideas originating from sources other than their own fertile imaginations.
Even in the original "Battlestar Galactica" from the 1970's, one of the underlying premises of the saga was that "Life here began out there with forefathers of the Egyptians, the Toltecs, and the Mayans. There are some who say there may yet be brothers of man who fight somewhere to survive among the heavens." In the series finale of the contemporary retelling of the sci-fi classic, viewers got to see a bit of how this vision might have played out.
Though most can watch these compelling dramas unaware of the underlying worldviews of the authors and not be impacted by them to any appreciable degree, there is indeed a philosophy being presented that if nothing else impacts the authors' approach to the material at hand.
In the original with the narration provided by Patrick Macnee who went on to play a devil-like figure in that versions mildly Mormonesque mythos, one assumes that, when mankind arrived here on earth, there was no other intelligent life.
However, in the recently concluded version, we realize that it is prehistoric Earth (not even the actual Earth in the reimagining and if you add a third you'll have to have a crossover show with the Thundercats) that the Galactica fleet has arrived at.
To the casual viewer, either version does not seem all that different. It may comes as a surprise, therefore, that each depiction presents a slightly different viewpoint as to how civilization originated here on Earth.
In the original "Battlestar Galactica" with Earth being the home of the lost 13th tribe of man, it could be said that human life here is the result of an anthropocentric panspermia, meaning we came from elsewhere and are not native to this planet. This has a number of implications, especially for those embracing the perspective of Deep Ecology.
Going beyond a traditional environmentalist standpoint, Deep Ecology holds that mankind is an invasive species infesting the planet. As such, ripping it out through any means necessary including mass death is perfectly acceptable. Prince Phillip, whose primary accomplishment has been marrying someone else who never had to work a day n her life, basically wishes he could be reincarnated as a killer virus to wipe your family out because his own was a total drain on world resources.
The view taken by the new Galactica is much more complex and seems to ape (or at least hominid) so many other science fiction narratives these days that if one was a conspiracy theorist one might easily conclude that some kind of interplanetary catechism was trying to be conveyed to the masses. Once the Galactica fleet arrives, one sees a crouching survey team consisting of the shows primary characters such as Admiral Adama and Dr. Baltar.
These two proceed to banter back and forth about the odds of human life originating at two distinct places in the universe with Baltar remarking how the humans of the twelve colonies were genetically compatible with those there on this planet that would come to be known as Earth. It was also noted how these humanoids had not yet developed language and how the new arrivals could bestow this rudiment of civilization upon their less-developed counterparts.
Thus, in this version of "Battlestar Galactica", the scenario presented is closer to that of the "Chariots Of The Gods" hypothesis. According to that theory, culture and technology were not developed over time by earth's native inhabitants but rather something bestowed upon us by an advanced civilization "from beyond the heavens".
Even more interesting, in the final scene of the series, the bottom of the screen flashes "150,000 years in the future". We then see the "angelic" versions of Six and Baltar reading a National Geographic article over the shoulder of producer Brian Moore about "Mitochondrial Eve", the earliest known ancestor from whom all human beings can trace our ancestry. Discussing the article between themselves, Baltar and Six reveal that the human race walking this earth today is actually a hybrid one the result of interbreeding between humans and genetically engineered Cylon synthoids.
A number in the viewing audience will conclude what an imaginative way to resolve the destructive Human/Cylon conflict with both sides getting what they want as prophesied with each of these civilizations being saved or continued through the hybrid child Hera. However, those more attuned to these messages will notice that this theme of human-”extraterrestrial” amalgamation has shown up in so many examples of speculative fiction the past few years that one would almost say it was cliché if it did not serve some higher propaganda purpose.
by Frederick Meekins
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Urban Dictatorship Planned For Washington DC Suburbs
Run from anything like the plague with words attached to it bantied about such as "Science City", limited parking, and high-density living.
Sotomayor Won't Let You Defend Yourself
Can't defend your body but can let the baby inside you be hacked to pieces.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Vaccination Fascists To Knockdown Your Door
Has anyone else noticed how many of these Obama proposals center around additional ways in which to violate your private property.
I guess all the platitudes about "my body, my choice" and "keep your laws off my body" only apply when you want to hack your kid to pieces.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Marines Ordered To Not Shoot Back At Taliban Terrorists
And no one is suppose to note Obama's middle name is "Hussein".
Toddlers Left As Orphans As A Result Of Reproductive Greed
See why now God likely doesn't want people reproducing after a certain age?
Military Robots Potentially Fueled By Dead Bodies
Why do I have the Terminator theme playing in my head and John Connor shouting "WE ARE DEAD!! WE ARE ALL DEAD!!".
Obama Befriends Qadaffi
Just think, 20 odd years from now, if America is still around there will likely be a President shaking hands and brown-nosing Bin Laden.
Sound outrageous, just look at the picture above.
For those with little historical perspective, the man above was at one time the Bin Ladin of that era (the one on the left. the one to the right is working on his legacy of infamy).
Episcopals Affirm Sodomite Clergy
I guess no big deal as no one is going to heaven anyway since the presiding witch, I mean bishop, denounced individual salvation as a heresy anyway.
Warren Downplays Christ To Placate Muslims
Sounds like his vaunted Christian/Muslim Alliance is more Muslim than Christian in nature.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
The Teleprompter Is Dead. Long Live The Teleprompter
Guess it knew too much or its conscience got to it and it offed itself.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Obama Apes Hitler's Blood & Soil Rhetoric
Why is talk of "racial blood" frightening when a White kook invokes it but applauded when a Black kook does?
Afrosupremacist Rabble Telling Whites To "Kiss My Black Ass"
Some will no doubt object to this use of language, but if this is the mindset of Afrosupremacists seizing power and demanding handouts, it is my patriotic duty to make sure the world knows the ugly truth. After all, a mere "you people" from the lips of Ross Perot lost him the 1992 presidential race.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Detention Camps Being Considered For "Hatemongers"
It should be remembered that, to the hypertolerant, a hatemonger is anyone that disagrees with the prevailing liberal consensus.