More Snow... And Buses

Its still snowing! What a fun week this has turned out to be. I guess i was wrong about it all being cleared by yesterday, its great to wake up and see my hometown of Swindon covered in a thick white sheet, certainly makes a nice change from the usual grey theme!

Of course, while we should be enjoying ourselves and making the most of this rare treat, the BBC have continued to report this as "some of the worst weather in almost 20 years", personally i would call it some of the best snow since i was a kid. The BBC have definitely taken the throne as the champions of British propaganda this time, citing huge figures regarding the cost to our economy as the main tragedy in what they surely want to call the "snow crisis". You would think from the way they have been reporting that Britain had been hit by a tsunami or something.

But who's really losing out here? Those workers that are getting to spend the day with their loved ones surely aren't suffering, they should be entitled to pay for this time off if they physically can't get to work. The big corporations have got loads of money, enough to cover them for this week. I should think most of the rich fat shareholders are too busy having fun to worry about this (if they are worrying, they shouldn't). City traders selling up their stock in public transport companies know full well they can by them back next week cheaper and make a nice profit. Perhaps some of the small businesses and tradesmen might be having a hard time right now but that doesn't exactly account for the billions that the official statistics are giving us.

I reckon the BBC and everyone else like them are just out to make us feel bad for enjoying ourselves. Clearly they want to maintain the idea that our work defines us and that our jobs and our economy are so important that we should once again risk our lives and the lives of everyone else by trying to get to work by whatever means necessary. Then, of course, they can report about how the snow is causing all these road accidents.

I think i said more or less everything i needed to in my previous post here, nevertheless snow is fun for kids, why can't us grown-ups enjoy it too. Everything will be back to normal again next week, so make the most of it.

On a completely unrelated note, i read today that a Christian alliance are retaliating against the probably blasphemous Atheist Bus campaign with their own range of adverts claiming that "There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life". While we atheists, backed up by scientific knowledge, have had to compromise somewhat by using the word "probably", its seems completely wrong to me, and many others, that the Christians can be allowed to use the word "definitely" in such a way. Considering the foundation for much of the Christian complaints were that the “no God” claim could not be substantiated, surely then their own claims are even more unsubstantiated. I would suggest, in a fair compromise, their slogan should read "There might be a God...".

Maybe we should complain to the Advertising Standards Authority, i probably will.

Preaching to the Converted

We are all drawn to the things that interest us, we are all drawn to people that share the same interests and views as ourselves. As a musician, I spend a fare bit of my time online reading music forums and industry news. But there's more to me than just music..

As an atheist, I am generally interested in the subject of religion, yet there's only so much I can put up with the scaremongering that pours out from the vast majority of religious propaganda. Warnings of eternal damnation and hell-fire quickly bore me, I've heard it all before... A lot!! Yet, I seemingly never tire of hearing the same atheist arguments against science over superstition.

I don't doubt that people of any given faith find themselves in a similar situation, preferring instead to listen to a preacher of their beliefs constantly re-affirm their faith, rather than hear that “same old atheist argument” about us being related to monkeys.

On a similar note, its not uncommon for a group of weed smokers to sit around debating amongst themselves about how pot should be legal and that everyone would get on better if they were all stoned all the time. These “debates”are of course completely one-sided since invariably everybody there at the time agrees.

Herein lies the problem, much as I love listening to atheists defending our reasoning, I am already of the same opinion so in a sense these arguments are of no real consequence for me, although I still enjoy reading/watching/hearing them. If you read my blog and already share my opinions then I wonder whether it will be as thought-provoking as I hope it is. Of course, if you read this because you like my music then perhaps that's a different story.

For those of us who like to be vocal about our thoughts and share our views with the world, we need to think about our audience. Its all good and well voicing our opinions to the people that agree with us, but essentially we're just preaching to the converted. To challenge the preconceptions of those that blindly follow popular opinion, to encourage individual thought within people who may never have questioned the world around them, these are the goals I hope for here.

Music can unite people in ways that nothing else can, and once there is a mutual interest or common ground this can lead the way to healthy debates among different people with contrasting views. It doesn't have to be music, all sorts of arts, sports or hobbies can be a vehicle for discussion about anything else.

There's nothing wrong with sticking to the things you like and staying within your own (online or real world) community. But its always good to be open to different ideas, to form independent opinions based on both sides of the argument. If nothing else, you may learn something new and knowledge is always good.

A simple story...

Consider this situation:

You wake up in a strange town in a foreign country, you don't know how you got there or how to get out and you don't know why you are there, but nevertheless you are there and you are lost.

Out of the crowds of people (all of whom seem oblivious to your presence) a man walks up to you and tells you he knows the way you need to go. He talks passionately about this amazing place, full of beauty and perfection and says that you must follow him to find it. You ask him how he knows about this place, and he tells you he read about it and he knows deep inside of him that its there and this is the way.

So you start to think that this sounds like a good idea, you haven't got a clue where you are going and this guy seems pretty sure and confident about it.

Just as you are about to walk off with this guy, another man comes up to you and urges you to stop for a minute and think. He tells you that he has seen no evidence of this place you are heading, infact as far as he can be sure there is nothing there at all. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a map. He shows you the empty space where you are headed. He then points to the opposite direction and tells you that there is a quaint little guesthouse where you can eat and sleep, next to it there is a train station which will take you to the airport where you can fly back home.

The first man interjects, telling you that you must follow him, for his way is the only true way, and if you turn your back on him you will suffer for eternity. The second man tells you that he does not want you to make the wrong choice and gives you the map, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out several other maps which all show the same thing, he offers them to you along with a compass, a train timetable and a card with the name and number of the guesthouse on it. He asks you not to believe him because he claims to be correct but to study these items and choose for yourself which way you wish to go.

I'll cut this story off here, its fairly straightforward, what would you do next? The first man seems adamant of this perfect place he wants to take you but the second man has given you hard proof, not only of its non-existence but also showing you the way home.

This seems like a no-brainer to me. Yet, all over the world there are millions (if not billions) of people who reject proof and evidence in favour of blind faith in a mythological god. These people, when presented with the facts they need to further and better their own lives, choose to follow the first man no matter how long it takes, blindly obedient and never questioning, happy in the belief that they are heading the right way, the "true" way.

We all get lost sometimes, we all find ourselves wondering why we are here at some point in our lives. Religions offer answers without proof, science offers us evidence to make our own judgments. Our decisions and our lives should be based on facts not folklore. If you choose to follow the second man in this story, then think about your life and ask yourself whether you apply the same logic.

If you do follow a religion, ask yourself why, research the arguments for and against your faith, ask your friends what they think, ask people who don't share your belief, ask as many questions as you can and see what answers you find. Consider the facts and then ask yourself if religion is compatible with them.

In religion, blind faith may be a quality, but in the real world it pays to open your eyes.

What is karma?

Throughout my life i have met a lot of people who have proudly claimed their "belief" in karma, a philosophy that if you do good things, then good things will happen to you. In one sense this obviously good, sharing mentality could be in itself viewed as selfish, that the only motivation for "giving" is the reward, albeit indirectly, handed back by karma. This in many respects fits with human natures own tendency, as even the most altruistic of actions can be seen as being "selfish" if you consider the overall feeling of well-being as something of a reward.

It would be very cynical of me, however, to judge the generous acts of obviously nice people in such a way as selfish. For what its worth, followers of the karma principle are generally good people.

But what of the belief in some sort of mystical force that exists around us in the form of so-called karma? There can be no doubt that in our society shit things happen to good people, while good things happen to shit people. Its just the way of the world. Karma has been a bit of a twat to me over the years, and there are plenty of people far less fortunate than myself.

This isn't to say that the fundamental principle of karma should be ignored, after all there is a kind of truth in it. If i do good things to those around me, then hopefully i will find myself around other good people who will share the same ideal and in turn help me out when i need it. Likewise its always nice to know that a "favour" may one day be returned in some form of kindness.

Similarly, if my own actions can inspire someone else to follow this ideal then sure enough altruism in society will increase. If me giving you back that £5 note that just fell out of your pocket inspires you to do the same thing when you see someone else drop some money then that is in itself karma taking shape. Should this continue forever then eventually that karma spirit will eventually come back around.

Of course the reality is very different, i have found and returned several mobile phones but whenever i've lost one it has never come back to me. Not that i would change my actions, returning someone's phone is not something i do for reward but simply because i consider it the right thing to do.

Ultimately though, i see no sense to "believe" in karma, even though i follow the principles of it. It comes with atheism, not just a disbelief in God but indeed any sort of superstition. The fact is that we are all just people living our own lives and there is no unseen force deciding our fate. Adopting a policy of following karma will not in itself bring us good fortune, but living a good life can be of benefit to us and those around us. Selfish acts will continue to be rewarded in shallow materialistic ways but selfless acts will reward us in ways that can not be so easily defined.

There is no need to imagine any sort of mystical force in order to justify or explain our actions, especially when those actions are inherently good. We dont need to believe in karma to be nice to each other, we can just do it because its right.

atheism vs religion

(I posted this on a forum earlier, figure i'd share it here.)

A lot of (mostly religious) people have the idea that an atheist follows some kind of Godless belief system, that there is some kind of rule book for atheism and therefore liken it to religion. This is completely untrue. The fact is there is simply no significant proof for the existence of God. However, there is sufficient scientific proof that the "word of God" aka the Bible is false, most notably the theory of evolution by natural selection and the fact that the Earth is billions of years old. Scientific advancements constantly disprove the Bible and, indeed, any other form of religious/spiritual literature of considerable age.

As an atheist i do not "believe there is no God", instead i believe that science will, in time, offer the answer to everything including the existence of any sort of "divine" being/creator. Until such time as God's existence can be proven through scientific means i can only adopt the stance that He is a fictitious character created by man to fulfill certain roles within society, most obviously to control the lower classes primarily through fear, whilst similarly catering for mankind's own spiritual confusion arising from our high level of consciousness and self-awareness.

People of strong religious belief have their lives essentially dictated by their religion, codes of morality based upon ancient texts that bear little relevance to todays society. The way these people live their lives is based not on enriching their short period of existence, but preparing for an uncertain and unproven afterlife, the fate of which lies in the hands of one vengeful (and really quite unpleasant) deity. The "will of God" becomes the highest priority in life, while the good of humanity only exists within the confines of God's own narrow set of rules.

An atheist is free to make decisions for himself based upon the knowledge that the only definite consequences of his actions are physical and that the only real reward/punishment he can face will be experienced within his life. An atheist is free to adopt a moral code based upon the realities of life and the society in which he exists, he can therefore lead a good life because he wants to, as opposed to being in fear of divine judgement. Most importantly, an atheist is an individual, free to use reason and rational thinking in every aspect of his life while accepting full responsiblity for his actions.

Being an atheist does not mean that one cannot be open to new experiences, whether spiritual or physical, however an atheist is rational enough to know that we do not need to invent God to explain those things that we do not yet fully understand.

Ultimately, unlike religion, atheism is not a "belief system". Instead, atheism is simply a rational way of thinking, as opposed to blind faith in unproven and highly doubtful myths which have little place in an intelligent and reasonable society.