The Consequences of Atheism
Posted on: August 23, 2008 - 1:14pm
Offline
The Consequences of Atheism
Now that the influence of these whacky religions is fading away, it behooves us to discuss the consequences of not believing. As I mentioned in another topic, I went to catholic high school with Rudy Guiliani, and was a freethinking outsider most of my life. It was a Christian Brothers school in Brooklyn, and I remember the brothers telling the kids over and over that life without God isn’t worth living. Although most of the students believed with a perfunctory amen, I felt like yelling out, “Bull crap. Utter fiddle-faddle.” These people are pro-life all right, pro AFTER-life. The fact that there’s no God makes this life all the more valuable and wonderful. And even if life is meaningless, what the heck is the matter with that? The purpose of life, our teleology, is to have fun and try to leave the world a better place. A recurrent theme of Mirror Reversal, my book propounding atheist views, is that we’ve been robbed of paradise. Imagine how wonderful life could be, if the political, religious and corporate alphas didn’t have such an anti-this-life worldview. You have to be pretty gullible to believe that we were born with original sin, we’re basically evil, sinful and destined to “toil in the mud.” That’s cool if you’re the landowner living in the protected castle, but it sucks being the share-cropping peasant. Opinions, pro and con, are welcome. Rich Goscicki, author of Mirror Reversal, Peppertree Press, 2007http://www.mirrorreversal.com
What a cruel ironic cosmic joke! Books written by goat herders and fishermen, determining the destiny of mankind and the entire planet.” Mirror Reversal, Rich Goscicki
- Login to post comments
After reading all the Amazon reviews and some excerpts, I say cool, provocative, needed, and a book generally only free thinkers could find value in, unfortunately. Good luck with sales and your future writing. Hope to see you posting here more.
Atheism Books.
Thanks for your kind words and interest in Mirror Reversal. I hope you weren't influenced by that career marine who called MR "crude and offensive." Here the guy was in an army that dropped Agent Orange and burning phosporus (napalm) on women and children and he's morally outraged because I use the "F" word and—in the days of internet porn— tastefully mention non-reproductive sex.
I can only defend MR by mentioning that Phil Zimbardo, the most celebrated social psychologist in the country, with over 40 years tenure at Stamford, NYU and Yale, thought my book was "scientifically sound."
As far as "ony for freethinkers" goes, what's the matter with that? We're gaining supporters every day, as people as finally beginning to realize that we, as a species, have to come out of the Dark Ages or self destruct.
What a cruel ironic cosmic joke! Books written by goat herders and fishermen, determining the destiny of mankind and the entire planet.” Mirror Reversal, Rich Goscicki
Thank you. Was just saying it's a shame that basically it will be the freethinkers that will openly digest your book, and your example of the cold blooded murderer marine is an example. Heck, as you know, atheist books have even been banned from reading by the "devil's" popes. ~ LOL good aristopus111
Atheism Books.
I agree. There's no evidence that there's a big after-party that's even better than this one. There are millions of corpses lying in cemeteries waiting for that big party in the sky that will never happen. And now they've missed the only party there was because they were so drunk with religion.
Rick
Frosty's coming back someday. Will you be ready?
We're on the same page, Rick. Only I'd rather use a more apt word than "drunk." I prefer "taken in" or even "brainwashed."
What a cruel ironic cosmic joke! Books written by goat herders and fishermen, determining the destiny of mankind and the entire planet.” Mirror Reversal, Rich Goscicki
Thank you for beinging a Cheech & Chong line to my head.
"Before I found the Lord, I was all messed up on drugs. Then I found the Lord and now I'm all messed up on the Lord"
"I do this real moron thing, and it's called thinking. And apparently I'm not a very good American because I like to form my own opinions."
— George Carlin
JC, Thanks. Talking about Cheech and Chong, I have an mj thread on the PETA board. I've been active in the medical mj movement many years.
http://www.rabble.ca/rpn/podcast.php?id=lop
The thread got nearly a thousand reads so far. The cited radio interview is unique in that a renowned scientist, and friend of mine, tells it like it is. Worth your time, truly unique.
I'm proud to say that I arranged the details of the show.
Rich
What a cruel ironic cosmic joke! Books written by goat herders and fishermen, determining the destiny of mankind and the entire planet.” Mirror Reversal, Rich Goscicki
Thank you for sharing the rabble rousing (book and interview) you've been doing! It's good to be reminded of different ways we can stand up and address the issues that affect our lives.
This may be a bit of a tangent, but I really wish modern historians like Howard Zinn were a more normal part of school curiculum. There is just such ignorance over how our lives now are a direct result of people fighting against organizations trying to take their rights in the past.
"I am that I am." - Proof that the writers of the bible were beyond stoned.
Thanks, Anniet
One thing is cool about the interview. Lester comes to the table with a pretty impressive resume: retired Dean of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School. At least we know we're not going to be refuted ad hominem.
I always enjoyed listening to Prof Zinn. If we had a more humanist philosophy in our school system, we're be teaching history from the point of view of the ironworker and blacksmith; tailor, slave and store owner—NOT the aristocrats and military alphas.
Orwell's 1984 is a great book, in that he showed how a small alpha elite has managed to rule over the vast majority throughout history by cunning and treachery—and religion is one of their most potent weapons. Religion's important benefit is that it leaves the poor with hope, while rationalizing the uneven distribution of wealth.
What a cruel ironic cosmic joke! Books written by goat herders and fishermen, determining the destiny of mankind and the entire planet.” Mirror Reversal, Rich Goscicki