My grasp on scientific terminology is limited so forgive the simple verbiage.

The argument is that if there is no god or master plan regarding humanity (or life in general I suppose) then we are merely the sum of matter and energy. This implies that when we make a 'decision' we are not actually expressing free will or choice. Basically, if all we are is matter and energy responding to external stimulus that the choice we make is determined before we make it. We are incapable of making a choice outside that which our chemical make up and interpretation of experiences decides for us.

So far as I can tell, this is supposed to be a blow to the atheist ideal and show that atheism is merely the proof of absence of free will. This is a pretty offensive idea because we generally cling to our choices as meaningful. My instinct is (and I responded accordingly) to rebel from such an idea and to defend the idea that I make my own choices and that I am not a drone.

I had the unfortunate pleasure of watching the news the other night. You see, I don't enjoy watching the news and it's not for the reasons you probably suspect. It's not that the bad news is the problem, the world sucks and there is lots of bad news out there if you insist on wanting to hear about it. No, I don't watch the news because I am of the firm belief that the word "media" is simply simple way of saying "money grubbing, panic inciting, idiocy spreading propagandist".

At any rate, I was listening to these hacks talk about nonsense and they started taking about this story of parents and their child raising tactics. Now, this was a pretty extreme story so naturally it caught my attention. This mom and dad were apparently having sex and masturbating in front of their 8 or 9 (I can't remember) year old kid.

I was chatting with a friend of mine and he brought up some points that I think are pretty interesting. We were talking about how we were raised in regard to religious preference.

I have been what most consider to be an atheist since my early teens. My mother struggled with her faith all of my life, so I was never propperly indoctrinated into a particular set of beliefs. This left me sort of in limbo, dangling just outside the realm of faith but with no ideological structure to turn too.

I made a friend who was passionately atheist, anarchist, racist, you name it. He was a powerful figure. I was old enough to realize that his racism was not any good and that anarchism is a complicated issue... but he was unabashedly atheist. Now that was pretty exciting! I did not really learn to have much of an opinion about the topic of religion until years later, but I had already learned that I should not believe everything I hear. I was a skeptic.

The Virginia shootings are tragic, this is undeniable. People are so fricken nuts; it's amazing.

So, what do we do now?

We pray.

Huh?

That's right, we pray.

But why?

Because we need Gods help now more than ever.

Woh woh woh, hang on there sport. God? The same guy that had absolutely no power to stop the tragedy in the first place?

Yeh, him.

The guy that knows everything, the guy that knew this was going to happen and just let it? That sadistic prick?

Yep.

But...won't he just ignore you now also? I mean, if this dick ever had the power to grant wishes he sure has been pretty lax lately. Yunno, natural disasters, disease outbreaks, wars all over the world etc.

I keep hearing "but why are you guys trying so hard to end religion?" and "why do you hate Jesus so much?". I've seen this in each and every interview with all outspoken atheists. Do a search online and see if you can find an interview with an atheist in which these questions do not come up.

I don't hate Jesus and neither does anyone with the RSS or any other free thinking human that has half of a brain. How could we possibly hate something that is not real? What opinion would even be worthwhile about an imaginary idea? If someone were trying to argue with me that Lord of the Rings was true and that there is some alternate dimension in which these events took place I would not suddenly HATE Gandalf. Gandalf isn't real ... the issue is the assertion that he is. The only people that have a feeling about imaginary beings are the ones which believe they have some relevance.