Who says Facebook interactions are superficial?

Every so often, I will come across something that someone says, and it will literally feel like I am reading something that I wrote myself. Like I know every word of it before it has been said. Like it opened up the book of my life and looked back 15 years. Rechttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifently, some dude named Paul Jackson from LA, California posted this in a group that we're both in called Cult of Dusty. He said,

Yes, I recently attended a funeral and It felt awkward to me because I hadn't seen many of my family since before I "came out" as atheist (on facebook). I know they need their belief that their loved-one is not gone, but just waiting for them in heaven.

When My Dad died, I was 13 years old. And I remember one of my young nieces sitting on my lap and asking me to explain where her grampy was. I told here the usual about him being in heaven, but in the back of my head, I felt like I was lying, because I was already atheist inside, even if I hadn't thought it through completely.

That was 30 years ago now, and I must say that to this day my views on the subject are still slowly evolving. I am in a good place now, where I understand death in a whole different way. I am not afraid of death. It is simply the absence of all awareness, the complete dissolution of the self. The end of all pain, though unfortunately also the end of all pleasure. I have no problem with that. In fact, it's incredibly liberating and makes me want to make the most of my life.

But the journey out of the delusional matrix of religion is a long and hard one. When I realized I was atheist, that was only the start of the journey. Next came figuring out a whole new set of answers to life's big questions.

I am sensitive to this when talking to religious people. They feel so threatened by my beliefs because it is much more than the loss of god, it is the loss of their entire world-view, the loss of their immortal infinite life that they think they have, etc. It's a big shock and the mind reacts to it by regressing back into belief even if there is no evidence.

"I don't know how an atheist thinks."

Anyone recall my blog about Pat Tillman's covered up death? Google the story or videos if you want to read about it. From that movie (The Tillman Story), I probably heard one of the most disgusting quotes I have ever heard. The Tillmans were trying desperately to figure out what happened to their son, how he died, and eventually, it led them to finding out this was a massive cover-up, from all the way up at the top. When the Tillmans began finding out the truth, the lead investigator publicly suggested that they should "move on". In a taped conversation, he said:

"I don't know, these people, they have a hard time letting it go. It may be because of their religious beliefs. I don't know how an atheist things, but I can only imagine that'd be pretty tough. If you're an atheist, and you don't believe in anything, if you die, what is there to go to? nothing, you're warm dirt. That's pretty hard to get your head around that."

"So you suspect that's probably a reason why this [investigation] is dragging on?"

"I think so. There's not a whole lot of trust, or faith, in the system."

What the hell? So religious people are smarter or better because they believe what they're told, and don't try to investigate how and why their son was killed? I'm just fucking speechless.

Jesus Take the Wheel

I listen to country music sometimes, and the large religious content typically makes me turn the station. However, this time, I really began laughing. I understand that this song is figurative for someone's life, but here are some REAL tips for when you hit black ice:

Here are some winter driving safety tips on how to drive on black ice:

1) As soon as your car begins to slide on black ice, take your foot off the gas pedal. In fact, the last thing you want to do is give your car more gas. It is very important to slow down when you are driving on black ice or in any other winter road conditions.

2) Don't slam the brakes. While it may be a natural instinct to slam on your brakes, this will only cause your car to lose control and slide even more. Tap the brake pedal lightly instead of pushing down hard on it.

3) Look for trouble spots ahead. If you have an idea that there may be black ice ahead (if you see cars ahead of you sliding, for example), downshift to a lower gear before you come onto the black ice. The lower gear will force you to drive more slowly and it will give you better control of your car.

4) If your car does begin to skid on the ice, turn the wheel in the direction of the skid. This should help to steer your car back on the right track.

Okay, sounds good. It's good to be prepared in your mind in case this happens so you can help guide your car out of an extremely dangerous situation. Here's what the song says to do:

She had a lot on her mind and she didn't pay attention
She was going way too fast
Before she knew it she was spinning
On a thin black sheet of glass

She saw both their lives flash before her eyes
She didn't even have time to cry
She was soo-o-o-o-o scared
She threw her hands up in the air

Jesus, take the wheel
Take it from my hands
'Cause I can't do this on my own

I'm letting go
So give me one more chance
To save me from this road I'm on
Jesus, take the wheel

Well, irregardless of her idiocy, she survives somehow, and thanks Jesus for taking control of her car and guiding her to a gentle stop by the side of the road, thus saving her and her baby's life.

While doing so, the song completely undermines actual safe driving techniques. Can anyone think of other examples where belief in God/Jesus stops people from thinking critically or preparing properly for situations?

Facebook comments

How can someone ACTUALLY post this on Facebook, and not understand the fallacy of his/her own words???

It's ridiculous that these religions don't get along. No matter what our faith, be it religious, spiritual or atheist, we are all from the same God. Every religion is semi correct and some what wrong, but every religion boils down to one message. Love God, Love yourself, and Love eachother.

Do you even KNOW what "atheist" means?????

Or how about this person? I surely want some of what they're smoking. Unless they're smoking just "love of God"... in that case, I want none of it.

It's really not what you believe or what's your position in life...it's all about who you're with.....i was taught to belive in one God.....The Father of Jesus and to become one with them....It has been confirmed and revealed to me miraclou...sly....there is a God in my presence through prayer and suffering......it's all about the sacrifice of the thing and the wrath of God in order to recognize that there is a God in power.....so i stand in power with"God the Father and annointed with the Spirit of Jesus"....where everything is alright and if goes wrong it turns out more than right.......Amen!...Behold...." God the Father of Jesus.....since i've become one with them i live life amazingly!! whereby we cry....Amen!

Sam Harris quote

Hey anyone,

I just heard an amazing quote from Sam Harris, author of "The End of Faith". He was discussing the afterlife and stated:

"I think, therefore, that this concept of the afterlife, really functions as a substitute for wisdom. For really absorbing our predicament. Which is that - everyone is going to die, there are circumstances that are catastrophically unfair, evil sometimes wins, and injustice sometimes wins. The only justice we're going to find in this world is the justice we make, and I think we have an ethical responsibility to absorb this really down to the soles of our feet. This notion of afterlife and the "happy talk" about how it's all going to work out and how it's all part of God's plan is a way of shirking that [responsibility]."

Such a great quote! It is the reason why, when I saw a person on Facebook engaging in MEANINGFUL and INTELLIGENT debate on someone's erroneous Facebook post regarding birth control increases and abortion increases over the past 60 years, I immediately could tell he was a skeptic/scientific mind, so I invited him to join our Regina CFI group. He accepted.

Please, anyone/everyone, be on the lookout for other such people. We can use them in our group. They can help us all usher in a new era of reason and rationality in our world.

Thank you.

Brand preference and loyalty a direct substitute for religion?

An article from the Winter 2010/2011 Canadian Business Magazine:

Shopping Religiously

A new study suggests that brand reliance is a direct substitute for religion.

Marketers looking for a new wayof connecting with consumers might want to consider the place of God in their brand strategies. According to the paper "Brands: The Opiate of the Non-religious masses?" published in the journal Market Research, consumers who are very religious are less likely to express a preference for a particular name brand, while more secular consumers demonstrate much higher levels of brand consciousness.

The idea that there is a connection between consumer rands and religious iconography is not new - whatis the Star of David if not the original Nike Swoosh? But according to the study's lead authoer Roh Shachar, what is interesting is that consumer brands actually serve as direct substitutes for religion, providing feelings of self-worth and well-being.

The unanswered question is whether a strong religious preference in a region might actually block the expansion of strong consumer brands. Shachar says that is where his research is going next; in the meantime, he suggests that retailers looking to promote unbranded products might consider using cues to remind shoppers of their religious beliefs (such as playing "religious-like" music), while national brands might want to avoid overtly religious signs and symbols.

- Andrew Potter, Canadian Business

United Airlines

Sooooo... here I am in DEN airport. It was supposed to be a quick 50min connection to my Regina flight. We get there to hear the dreaded announcement, "We are looking for two volunteers to give up their seats to this flight and hopefully to get on the 7:30 flight to Regina, or else 10am Sunday morning."

Lauren and I were actually pondering it, because they were offering $400 each for future travel, plus if we stayed overnight, we'd get a free hotel also. But we decided, nahh, we'd rather just get home ASAP. I have hockey that I am dying to play, and we miss our bed and cats. Then I notice my name on the board... so I walk up. They say, "you are currently on the involuntary bumped list, so if everyone shows up, you will be involuntarily denied boarding to the plane".

K, sounds like fun! When's the next flight? Oh, just at 7pm. Not so bad, I miss some hockey, miss some Leafs, but not too inconvenient, and we get $400 vouchers each, no food vouchers though. I figure Lauren can go, and I'll chill here and play poker while Lauren gets to go home and get the house and stuff in order. Instead, we get up there, and there's this other girl wiping away tears because she was also denied entry. Lauren decided that the best thing to do would be to stay here with me, get another $400 travel money, and let this crying girl have her flight. So we did.

Then we go to customer service, here's the quick story:

Flight tonight, not available.
Flight tomorrow, now available.
Flight Thursday, they can book us in.
Supervisor comes, says that lady is crazy, she argues with Lauren voraciously for about 45 minutes, then I come up to the counter and say, "You know, it would make sense to ME that we'd just get the next flight to Regina, guaranteed, and you can bump someone else to tomorrow mornin
She says, that's not how it works, they all have guaranteed seats, we can't bump them.
Lauren snaps, because obviously WE had paid fares also. So this supervisor calls some people, then says she's getting us home on the 7:15 tonight. I ask how she did it, she said, "oh, there was just a cancellation."
Then as we are leaving, she says "just in case there are too many people booked for this flight, too, get there to the gate early"

Hahaha.... so she CLEARLY just put us on the next plane, threw caution to the wind, knowing that her shift would be over by the time that someone else had to deal with the next angry couple that got bumped. It seems to me that the overall best thing for the company both financially and customer oriented is to not put your customers in these situations.

On a side note, I find it funny how casually they just say, "We can get you a flight on Thursday night? How's that for you?" ........ It's Saturday afternoon. What fucking world do you live in where that's "okay" for me???????? It's not like I have a job or anything.