Archive for January, 2009
Are you offended by Atheism?
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What I noticed was that the vast majority of results were not atheists writing about atheism, but either religious authors bemoaning atheism, or atheists responding to the bemoaning of religious authors. Personally I love a good debate, and like most people I will rise to the challenge of arguing my position in relation to religion.What I hear from the religious perspective though, is that atheism is to be feared, because it causes all kinds of evils in the world. One article I came across highlighted, Lenin and Stalin and their murder of innocent people in the name of atheism. Yes they were evil men, and they did evil things, and they were in all likelihood atheists. Does this mean anyone who does not agree with the position of the churches should be branded a mass murderer?
I know of many people who describe themselves as either religious or spiritual who don’t believe that. Some right wing ministers will have you believe that atheists will corrupt your children, simply proving once again how the religious point of view gives way to reason and fact.
Where does all this hostility to atheists come from though? I don’t stand outside my local church on a Sunday berating people for wasting their time talking to their invisible friend. I don’t go banging on their door telling them they’re completely bonkers and that religion is the cause of all their problems. So why is it acceptable for religious people to treat non-believers in this way?
There was much comment around the fact that Obama acknowledged the non-religious in his inaugural speech. Many non-religious people felt this made them an accepted part of their nation, and that they were now valued and equal partners in their country. Whilst many religious commentators made the argument that America was founded on “Christian” values.
I think it is a poor reflection on our society when atheists cannot reach out to one another in a public forum and discuss the issues which affect us. The atheist bus campaign was reviled by many, as an attack on religion, when in reality the intent of the message was to offer reassurance and comfort to non-religious people. The organisers made it clear the ad campaign was in response to another campaign by religious groups which condemned the non-religious to hell. This is pretty hateful and uncharitable message by any standards. How would the message have sounded if you replaced atheist with, black, Muslim, Jew, fat, or gay?
I am saddened that people in our society view atheists so negatively just because we reach out to one another. Why shouldn’t we be allowed to share our thoughts and feelings? Why are the religious so “Offended” because I wear a t-shirt that says there’s probably no-god? It is a fair a logical comment, which you may or may not agree with. You don’t have to like it, but it’s what I believe.
As an agnostic the idea of an infinite god, which knows all, sees all, hears all, and is all powerful seems highly improbably. The evidence I have seen to support the case of this improbably entity is also very scant. Therefore I reason that there probably isn’t a god, and so choose not to focus on that or let it influence my life.
What I can see is that there are human beings, and other animals in the world with which we co-exist. We can make choices about the way we shape our world through our actions, and the outcomes they create for ourselves and those around us. My choice is to enrich myself and those around me as much as I can through compassion, honesty, and integrity. These are values I have developed myself, influenced by those around me. Is it a belief system? Of course it is! Through application of these ideas, I can observe the way these behaviours impact me and other people, and if they create desirable or undesirable outcomes.
My hope for the future is that we can develop a mutual tolerance for all manner of differing beliefs and ideas. I look forward to a day when I can sit side by side with someone who’s t-shirt says “ There probably is a god” without either of us being offended, hateful or fearful of one another.
Welcome back America
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Barak Obama
With the inauguration of the new President Barak Obama we see the return of the America which we can call friend.
Almost immediately President Obama has take steps turn the United States back into a free and democratic society. The USA has been engaged in behaviours that are not in keeping with that tradition of freedom and democracy, such as the detention of prisoners in Guantanamo bay.
President Obama has also demonstrated that he is a man who believes setting and good example, and taking personal accountability to be important aspects to his character and that of the nation he leads. By capping the pay of politicians, he shows he truly recognises the difficult economic circumstances that affect Joe public.
I’ve only been to the United States a couple of times during the Bush administration, and I have to confess, I felt a huge unease. Any state which can decide to imprison people, and hold them beyond the reach of law and justices is questionable at best. The patriot act being an example of how civil liberties were eroded under the Bush administration, a response to the fear generated by the atrocities of 9/11.
When Barack Obama was elected, it felt like a black cloud had lifted, and I personally felt a massive relief. The fact that Barack is the first black president is shadowed by the kind of values he demonstrated. In his inaugural speech, I was very impressed that he recognised that those with no religion had equal rights and standing in society as those of faith.
I look forward to seeing the new president tested and to see how strongly his values hold in the climate of fear and economic instability.
Pringle & Twiglet
Posted by: | CommentsI’ve removed their private little hide away for now as they weren’t socialising to begin with. Twiglet hid away while Pringle just sat in a corner, but since taking out the little house area they’ve been playing together and eating.
Clearly they need to get used to being handled, and I’ve had them out a couple of times today as well. I’m sure they still think I am going to eat them, as they just sit on my lap and don’t move. They’re fine when they’re left on their own in the cage, and they sit there cooing at each other. Over time they will become familiar with me, and I will get used to them.
Something about guinea pigs reminds me of the movie Gremlins, perhaps the noises they make and their playful character. Given that they can live up to 8 years, I’m sure they’ll be great companions.
I am keeping them indoors as I didn’t want them to get cold outside in a wooden hutch, and so I have got them a Savic Nero 4 indoor cage. Ideally they won’t be in there for long periods as I want to make the garden is ‘guinea pig safe’ and allow them to roam around (supervised of course). I don’t like the idea of cages too much, so where possible I want them to be free to play and run around.
Write What You Eat: Part 2
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Some time ago I wrote about the importance of keeping a food journal and noting down everything you eat. This strategy is very useful and helps me think about exactly what it is that I am putting in my body.
To start 2009 on a better track I have started keeping a new food journal, called MyFoodDiary.com. This is an online service that helps you track what you eat, and more importantly shows you the nutritional content of the food. This is very helpful if you want to know how much saturated fat you’re eating, or if you need more carbohydrates.
There is a daily report that tells you how you’ve done an gives you specific data about your progress. The feedback system of smilie faces is quite helpful and tells you where you’ve been bad, and where you are doing really well. I find this particularly helpful as I am one of those needy people who wants constant praise for my achievements. I have also found that by pre-programming what you’re having for dinner that day you can work the rest of your meals into that.
As well as recording your body statistics you can also record any activities you may have done, and these are offset against your daily caloric intake.
I’ve tried some other systems like this, but I haven’t found any which are as easy to use as this one. The simplicity is the thing that makes it work for me, and there’s no excuse when you’re out and about, because the mobile version also works brilliantly on my mobile phone.
If I had one criticism is that there localisation to metric isn’t consistent. Sure you can put stuff in manually in grams instead of lbs, but it would be nice if this could be more slick, as I don’t have a clue what “cups” are or “oz”.
The food database also has an amazing range of things in it already, but be cautious as I found the nutritional differences between a US bagel and UK bagel to be quite different. I currently prefer adding my own items to the database, as the Tesco.com web site a lot of nutritional information right there about all their products, even the the loose veggies.
Even with the horrible exchange rate I still believe that $9 a month is good value, and it will ultimately help me achieve my goal of getting back to my skinny self.
