…I do not wish to belabour this point; however there are times wherein I feel compelled to end my fellowship–0r should I name it “followship?”

Sometimes, one reads something so unutterably foolish, that one wishes not to see–even inadvertently–such foolishness again.  I admit this is an emotional reaction.  I admit that sometimes after ending a “follow,” I will relent, because after all, such is probably being done for me over and over again.  Rash action must be admitted to be a part of the human condition, after all.

There are things–many quite insignificant, although a few, are not so very much–that will trigger this behaviour in me.  Anything dealing actively with atheism might be one of the significant ones.  Such people, whether anti-theistic activists, or simply proselytising atheists, have so little understanding of anthropology that anything about which they write, is a guaranteed source of exasperation–particularly such idiots as Richard Dawkins, or those who were, so to speak, created in his image. Keep in mind here that my perspective on these statements is also one of an atheist. I am one myself. I am neither proud nor ashamed of it. It just is… the way it is–at least as it sits right now.

I have one friend, who I’m a bit ashamed to say, crosses the line from atheist to anti-theist, who once remarked thus:

He: Have you heard the news?

I: What news is it, of which you speak?

He: Why, the Martian Microbe of course!!!!
(this was a reference to a rather old story–
perhaps 20 years prior to the common era, as
I write this (or, perhaps I should say AD,
or perhaps, the Year of our Lord, 1995?)

I: Martian Microbe?

He: (impatiently) Yes! Haven’t you heard!?!?!

I: Hmmm…. (searching my memory of the latest
news of the day… ) Do you mean a bit of organic
matter found on a piece of meteorite?

He: (more excited now) YES!!!! That’s it! Isn’t it wonderful!!!????

I: (it was, I recalled even then rather a footnote in exobiological studies at the time) Wonderful…?

He: (not noticing my confusion) Yes! That’s right!!! a [possible] microbe!!! From another planet!!!!

I: ……

He: THAT’ll really fix those religionists! But good!!!

I: um…..

He: Right! Isn’t it great!?! What will all those stupid people have to say now?!?!

I: …… (sigh) …..

(I did not remark that before me stood remarkably vivid first hand information of what stupid people would, in general, have to say.)

Now, in fairness, my friend cannot be blamed. Some 150 years of declining standards in public (and also private) schools are more the culprit here. In any case, my friend had no way of knowing that from at least the 17th century on, this is exactly word for word what budding anti-theists have said whenever some new scientific theory–whether it presented a genuine advance, or not–was made generally known.

Said. And not been true.

No such thing has ever happened regardless of what the times were like nor what scientific theories or discoveries were made. This is because religious belief is endemic to the human condition. Atheists are the exception, not the rule. And among atheists, sane ones are dishearteningly rare. Oddly, science is beginning to discover the reason for that. Namely that religiosity–the capacity for faith–is part of the human condition, part of our brains. Part of the way they function. Science could have saved itself the trouble and just asked me, and I would have explained it to them, but, alas my dance card in such matters has inexplicably been barren–devoid of a single initial.

People who take the view of my dear friend, do tend to be insane, because in denying the nature of man, they also deny their own nature. One needs–if one is an atheist–to realise the truth of this, and fill this part of our brain with something reverent and something which does no harm to our loved ones or greater society if we believe it without question. If we do not acknowledge this simple truth–now well on to being proven scientifically, by the way–we are bound to fall into some sort of belief which could be quite harmful to ourselves and others. 150 million prematurely having suffered horrific deaths and short pointless lives steeped in privation of all forms are the result of a belief without question, and without the hope of being convinced otherwise, in collectivism–or communism, by its more familiar name, or socialism, by its kindergarten/kiddie name.

Every death in food riots or mass execution, purges, and other horrific acts is proof of its inefficacy, however the religiously collectivist cannot be swayed–their faith cannot be shaken by such facts, even when they have their hand on the valve at the gas chambers. Better I think, for all of us, if such people believe in God, and the fact that God sees all life as precious. I see less harm coming to you and me personally from a fervent belief in this, than something decidedly less religious.

For me, this substitute belief is my belief in men. That every human being has the potential to do something great–invent something, or create something beautiful, and in so doing, solve many of the ills of the world. I don’t see any harm in believing this because, there is quite a lot of evidence to support it, and because if it turns out not to be true, then some of our greater problems will have no solutions and we will disappear from the universe in which case it will matter little either way.

Now, regarding the insignificant things that cause me to click “unfollow” at least until I get a hold of myself. One good example of this is…

Ugly Glasses.

We had to wear such glasses once upon a time. There was little choice in the matter. Religious collectivists feel the need to wear them for some reason to make some kind of statement that their unsupportable faith is some kind of evidence of their intelligence. I never liked those damnable glasses when they were the only type available, and I especially don’t like them now, when they have been made obsolete by technological advancement.

In plain English, the fact is: Ugly glasses don’t make you smart. Being smart makes you smart. Such eye-wear causes you to appear as a sheep who mistakenly believes he is a sheep in wolf’s clothing, and who most likely, is mere moments away from being devoured by a real wolf.