It’s all in the news...papers, T.V and radio. The Philippines is again plague by controversies. Administration vs. the Opposition, the ZTE Scam issue and today this Lozada guy is the hero. Frankly, I’m getting sick and tired of it.

It’s a big moro-moro and the local media is just trying to kindle the fire to create more news. Wow! We’re getting too paranoid! And now those who are opposing PGMA are talking about what Romulo Neri said about Gloria. Strange that all the so-called people who heard this are those who are against Gloria (?) OK let say that Romulo Neri did utter that Gloria Arroyo is evil, then what? Will that make things cheaper? Will that make more jobs? I think some of our "respected" senators are just using this to make a grand standing, a political spring board, an advertisement for the next Presidential election in 2010.

Senatorial hearings are for legislative purpose. I nearly drop on my chair when I saw this young, novice senator wasting his time in Ninoy Aquino International Airport looking at that arrival list and trying to figure out if Lozada was kidnapped. He’s a senator, not a Private Eye, geewizz! We’re paying his salary to create laws, not to do what the NBI and the PNP are suppose to be doing!

According to ART. VI Sec. 21 of the Philippine Constitution: The Senate and the House of Representatives or any of its respective committees may conduct inquiries in aid of legislation in accordance with its duly published rules of procedure. The right of persons appearing in or affected by such inquiries shall be respected. That’s it. The ZTE deal was already off. The contract with ZTE is now null and void. So the inquest is for what? It’s OK that someone blew the whistle...that’s it. It’s time for the Senate to create a law regarding this matter. That’s their job and that’s why we elected them and why we’re paying taxes for their salaries. We have more problems other than the ZTE deal. Maybe it’s time they should look at the cheaper medicine bill.

It’s not really an atheistic issue, yet something caught my fancy. The Roman Catholic Church is in again. It’s not enough that the so-called De La Salle brothers help Lozada on his so-called "abduction" and his press conference, now the Roman Catholic Church is justifying church and state issue by using the so-called moral argument. According to them, the reason why the Roman Catholic Church is getting into state affairs is because of moral issue. (By the way, Bro. Villanueva’s Jesus is Lord Church is also joining the circus...Hmmmm is this really for the good of the nation @ Bro. Villanueva or you’re just a sour loser?)

It is said that the Roman Catholic Church here in the Philippines has been responsible for both "People Power" revolts that toppled 2 presidents (Marcos and Estrada). But what does this so-called "power of the people" that the Roman Catholic Church is so proud off really accomplished so far? We are now living in a place riddled with corruption and the worst crab mentality! My gulay!

I think the new generation is getting sick and tired of this People Power thing. Just think...when the Catholic Church used people power to topple Marcos, it brought Cory Aquino to power. So? What did she accomplish? "My husband Ninoy". A Filipina in the front cover of Time magazine, cheaper galunggong, Agrarian Reforms in Hacienda Luisita, 12-hour brown outs?

On October 11, 2000, then Archbishop of Manila Jaime Cardinal Sin issued a pastoral statement in behalf of the Presbyteral Council of the Archdiocese of Manila, asking then president Erap to step down from the presidency as he had lost the moral authority to govern. People Power 2 overthrows Erap Estrada because the Roman Catholic Church says he’s corrupt and placed Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the new President of the Philippine Republic. Now, the CBCP is trying to create another "People Power" to purge her out of Malacañang...Oh come on!

Moral authority is the excuse. Moral of what? Is the church really the voice of the people or does it cry its own voice? When they tried cleaning Malacañang from Erap Estrada in the same issue of moral authority with faith and prayers to God, what happened? Why are they now crying for another so-called moral authority issue with PGMA? Hey! They’re the one who placed her in the Palace in the first place...with the same "People Power" and moral recovery claim.

Suppose let’s allow their so-called People Power 3...and call for the resignation of PGMA. So may I asked - who will you put as a replacement? Noli de Castro, Ping Lacson, a disgruntled pastor, the village fool, my dog?

Some churches claim that since the church is a part of the state, it has the rights to criticize the current government. Is that so? You want to join state affairs - then pay your taxes.

The people of the Philippines are the one who elect their President, and the Constitution of the Philippines was created to solve problems.

ART. XI. Sec. 2

The President, the Vice President, the Members of the Supreme Court, the Members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed from office, on impeachment for, and conviction of, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or betrayal of public trust. All other public officers and employees may be removed from office as provided by law, but not by impeachment.

That doesn’t say that the bishops should rally people to the streets, call for the resignation of the President without the benefit of hearing his/her side in a proper court of law and place a new rotten egg in Malacañang. If we can’t trust our own Constitution, what can we trust?

The late F. Sionil Jose once said in a conference held in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1997, "Eventually, too, I hope that our churches will be empty, as they are in Europe, not because we have become atheistic but because we have realized that our progress depends on our own efforts and not on divine will."

Pinoy Atheist

 When I was a kid living in a small town in Malabon, I always love to day dream. It’s natural for a kid. I always dream of having powers where I can produce money out of thin air and I have this ability to change...something like Mystic from those X-Men comics that I read.

 

Well...what can a kid do when facing the harsh realities of life...that’s what I thought?

 

In most hospitals in Metro Manila, you will notice that patients sometimes form certain small groups. I think they’re “support groups” that cater the needs of people with the same illness. For example, there are cancer patients groups.

 

A friend of mine was diagnosed of having prostate cancer. He joined one of these cancer support group and told me a hands-on experience inside these groups. He noticed that most of the time, the patients group together and talk about news if there’s a new faith healer in town. That’s the price of desperation.

 

Filipinos have been relying on faith healing, even with the presence of modern medicine. I thought the reasons were financial issues yet even well-off people come to these quacks to be healed.

 

Faith healing really is a strange art. For example: Somewhere here in the provinces of Luzon, there was once this preserved dead body that was said to have the power of healing. The remains was said to belong to a certain faith healer. When he died, his adherents preserved his body. Everyday, they place this preserved corpse in a large basin and pour water on its decaying flesh. They claim that when a person drinks the water from the basin, he will be healed of his ailments. Guess what? Yep his fanatics drink that murky, smelly, dark water from the basin...YUCK! I think the Department of Health ordered the corpse to be buried in a local cemetery, because of health reasons.

 

Not all faith healing is that extreme. We have this tradition called “pagtatawas” here in the Philippines. The “albularyo” (faith healer) place a small container of water and will begin to rub oil (coconut oil) in the body of the patients. Then he/she will light a candle and let the wax drop on the water in the container. He/she will then claim that the wax that formed in the water is what the evil spirit that causes the ailment looks like. It really doesn’t cure anything yet sadly; many believe this, so a lot of people still seek the advice of the albulario.

 

But pag-tatawas is just small time compare to psychic healing and psychic surgery. Psychic "surgery" is a type of non-surgery performed by so-called psychic healers. Psychic researchers like Jaime Licauco promote these psychics – people like Flor Cometa, Alex Orbito and Tony Agpaoa . For believers, these psychic healers have powers that science can’t explain, or does it?

 

The procedure is quite simple. The healer fakes an incision by running a finger along the patient's body, apparently going through the skin without using any surgical instruments. The healer acts as if he digs his hands into the patient's innards and pretends to pull out 'tumors'. Using deception, the healer squirts animal blood from a hand held balloon while discarding items such as chicken livers and hearts. The patient then goes home to die, if he or she was really dying, or to live if there was nothing seriously wrong in the first place.

 

The hoax has already been televised and I’m sure the public are not ignorant on the issue, yet I wonder why “psychic surgery” still thrives?

 

Lately there is a flood of news about a certain Catholic priest named Fr, Fernando Suarez who is said to have the ability to cure illness. I’m just wondering? If this priest can cure different diseases then why not drag him to the Philippine General Hospital? A lot of poor people flock PGH for free consultation. GOSH! You can see the very long line of people waiting to enter the hospital by 3AM...3AM??? My gulay! If Fr. Suarez really has such powers, I think it will be more useful in PGH compare to healing masses that were held in churches.

 

Not only in superstitious-religious sense do Filipinos get rip-off when it come to “fast cures”. A lot of people have spent money on bogus fancy “medicines”, phony therapeutic claims to find the ultimate cure.

 

Filipino will keep on believing miracles, pseudo-medicinal claims and faith healing unless proper education and cheaper medical service will be available to everyone. Yet even if these are to become available, people will still feel the pressure of hopelessness and the irrationality from the trepidation of death, and the best escape our mind can proffer is faith.

 

That’s why faith healing scams and hoaxes still make money.

 

Until next time,

John the Atheist

 

I think this is one of the funniest Christian tirades against atheism I have read in the Internet. The funny thing in this article is that the god-believer who wrote this is trying his very best to look like logical and scientific. According to this article, atheists have to break some “laws” of nature to become logical on its explanations. Well...if that’s the case, then that means atheism itself is illogical. Now that’s what happen if you can’t understand what the meaning of the word “law” in natural law and it seems the author of that Christian site doesn't know what a "law" is in a natural definition.

 

For those who don’t know what is natural law (physical law) is...it is a human description of how the universe consistently behaves. It is generally accepted to be true and universal, and can sometimes be expressed in terms of a single mathematical equation.

 

Natural laws are similar to mathematical postulates. They don’t really need any complex external proofs; they are accepted at face value based upon the fact that they have always been observed to be true. Specifically, natural laws must be simple, true, universal, and absolute. They represent the cornerstone of scientific discovery, because if a law ever did not apply, then all science based upon that law would collapse.

 

The term “natural law” began in the 16^th to 17^th century. In those times, scientists still believe that Nature was the handiwork of god. That’s why they called it “law”. Natural law is a descriptive law. Unlike moral law, natural law is non-violable. The important point here is that natural laws are human descriptions, based upon human observation, and are therefore subject to future revision—or even outright rebuttal.

 

God believers often claim that natural law governs the behavior of the universe—that the law of gravity, for example, causes objects to fall earthward, or that the laws of chemistry control molecular interaction and so on. Such a claim—that physical laws govern the physical universe—reflects a fundamental misperception of science among theists.

 

 

Well let see what “laws” does an atheist violates:

 

The Laws of Conservation

 

The Christian author stated: The laws of conservation are basic laws in physics that state which processes can or cannot occur in nature.  Each law maintains the total value of the quantity governed by that law (e.g. matter and energy) remains unchanged during physical processes.  Conservation laws have the broadest possible application of all laws in physics and are considered to be the most fundamental laws in nature.  In 1905, the theory of relativity showed mass was a form of energy and the two laws governing these quantities were combined into a single law conserving the total amount of mass and energy.  This law says neither matter nor energy can be created or destroyed.  This fact leads to an inescapable question.

 

 

Then he asked: If matter and energy cannot be created, how did they originate? 

Where did the entire physical universe come from?

 

To create something you must have a raw material, Right? You cannot claim something to be “created” if there’s no raw materials involved. The word “created” is I think the most misinterpret word believers always employ.

 

Now, logically speaking base on the author’s own conclusion (This law says neither matter nor energy can be created or destroyed.  This fact leads to an inescapable question.) If mass-energy cannot be created or destroyed, and if the universe is entirely composed of mass-energy, then the law of the conservation of mass-energy may be extrapolated to this startling conclusion: the universe, in one form or another, in one density or another, always existed. There was never a time when the mass-energy comprising our universe did not exist.

 

Again, it is impossible to create matter and energy through natural methods.  However, they do exist, so we find ourselves in a quandary.  It would seem to the unbiased both matter and energy made themselves from nothing or a supernatural creator made them. 

 

So if it’s impossible in natural means, we have to consider a supernatural means, right? Since the believer is now facing a blank wall, he now used the “all reliable” theist’s explanation:  Yep that’s right folks! It’s time to unleashed “supernatural”! This is an example of the “God of the Gaps” explanation. If science can’t explain it, then God did it.

 

Why is it so hard to accept that matter and energy exist even if they weren’t created yet god-believers can accept a non-existing entity and assumed it to be eternal?

 

Now, does our universe show evidence of supernatural design and governance? The plain reply to this question is “no”, the universe shows no evidence at all of miraculous design or supernatural management. The universe can be naturally explained. But here’s the bad news...in a creationist/believers point of view; The Universe does not show any signs of design. Why? Because:

The overall universe is mostly random

• 96 % of matter is dark matter or dark energy, which has little structure.

• Photons in cosmic microwave background random to 1/100,000. Outnumber atoms

 

Both answers violate the law of conservation.  The fact that matter and energy cannot be created is consistent with the claim in Genesis which says God rested from his work and all he created.  This law of science contradicts the notion that matter came from nothing through natural means.  Bible believing theists understand the universe was framed by the Word of God and  what is seen did not come from things that are visible.  God is the one who calls those things that do not exist as though they did.

 

Woah! Tell me which verse in the Genesis story support the Law of the Conservation of Energy and Matter? Does it have something to do with the talking snake? Oh God rest? Is that the verse? My papaya! Matter and energy cannot be created because God feels tired.  What’s the connection?

 

Oh and one more thing, why do you know that before matter there was nothing? The god-believer’s question “Why is there something, rather than nothing?"—assumes that there is supposed to be nothing: that the "natural" state of the universe is nonexistence. What law of science claims that the universe is not supposed to exist, or that nonexistence is the "natural" condition of the universe? We can only change the question from a scientific perspective – Why shouldn't there be something rather than nothing? Our universe of mass - energy, in one form or another always existed.

 

But I’m just interested. Maybe you can tell me...How a so-called omnipotent being feels enervated? Gosh! Now that’s a contradiction. Oh and how can an immaterial object (such as God’s word) create a material universe? Hmmmm??? Magic? Come on Mr. Believer, you can do better than that.

 

 

 

 

Why couldn't the universe have always existed?

Because nothing that has a beginning and an end could have always existed.

 

 

Today, virtually all scientists accept the Big Bang theory which says the entire universe came into existence at a particular point in time when all of the galaxies, stars and planets were formed.  The Law of Entropy says closed systems go from a state of high energy to low energy and from order to disorder.  All closed systems, including our universe, disintegrate over time as they decay to a lower order of available energy and organization.  Entropy always increases and never decreases in a closed system.  All scientific observations confirm everything continues to move towards a greater state of decay and disorder.  Because the available energy is being used up and there is no source of new energy, the universe could not have always existed.  If the universe has always existed, it would now be uniform in temperature, suffering what is known as heat death.  Heat Death occurs when the universe has reached a state of maximum entropy.  It is a fact that one day our sun and all stars in the universe will burn out.  Electromagnetic radiation will disappear and all matter will lose its vibrational energy.  Because the stars cannot burn forever and because they are still currently burning, they could not have always existed because they would have already burned out by now. 

 

Some believe the law of entropy cannot be applied to the universe because they feel the universe is an open system and not a closed one.  A closed system is defined as a system in which neither matter nor energy can be exchanged with its surroundings.  Matter and energy cannot enter or escape from a closed system. It has boundaries that cannot be crossed.  The definition of the word universe is all matter and energy, including the earth, the galaxies and the contents of intergalactic space, regarded as a whole.

 

Some believe the law of entropy cannot be applied to the universe because they feel the universe is an open system and not a closed one.  A closed system is defined as a system in which neither matter nor energy can be exchanged with its surroundings.  Matter and energy cannot enter or escape from a closed system. It has boundaries that cannot be crossed.  The definition of the word universe is all matter and energy, including the earth, the galaxies and the contents of intergalactic space, regarded as a whole. 

 

If the universe is "all matter and energy", how could it be an open system?

 

If the universe is everything, how can there be something else out there to provide more matter and energy?

 

Christians always assume that the “Big Bang” is the origin of the universe. It’s not. The Big Bang is just the expansion of energy and matter from a vacuum.

 

OK now let’s talk about if the universe is an open or a close system.

First let us be familiar with the terms: An open universe is a universe that will expand forever because the gravitational pull of all matter and energy contained within is less than the outward force of the Big Bang. A close universe is a universe that will eventually collapse in on itself because the gravitational pull of all matter and energy contained within is greater than the outward force of the Big Bang.

 

Is the universe a close or an open system? Here’s the answer “No one knows”. The new model used by Stephen Hawkins says that the actual critical density of the universe may be “just right” compare to a close or open system. According to Hawkins, current observations still allow three cases scenario: An open, a close and a flat universe.

 

Now since we really don’t know what kind of universe is this, we can’t rule out where energy (and matter) gets its exchange.

 

But say if the universe is an open system, then what has God got to do with it? A friend of mine once asks, “So what about the 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics? What does God have to do with it?”

 

Well Christians assume that the Second Law of Thermodynamics proves that everything was created and God is the creator. How? Well since according to the 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics, entropy always increases and never decreases in a closed system.  That means everything continues to move towards a greater state of decay and disorder.  Because the available energy is being used up and there is no source of new energy. That means everything has a beginning and VIOLA! God is the beginning.

 

So?

 

But does that also violate the Second Law of Thermodynamics? If everything continues to move towards a greater state of decay and disorder then God is also in a state towards a greater state of decay and disorder? If you say that God is not included to the rule...well that doesn’t really explains a lot, does it?

 

The skeptic asks, "If God created the universe, then who created God?"  God is the uncreated creator of the universe, so the question, "Who created God?" is illogical.  A better question would be, "If the universe needs a cause, then why doesn't God need a cause?  And if God doesn't need a cause, why should the universe need a cause?"  Everything which has a beginning has a cause.  The universe has a beginning; therefore, the universe has a cause.  It is important to stress the words "which has a beginning".  The universe requires a cause because it had a beginning.  God, unlike the universe, had no beginning, so he does not need a cause.  Einstein's general relativity shows that time is linked to matter and space.  Time itself would have begun along with matter and space at the beginning of the universe.  Since God is the creator of the whole universe, he is the creator of time and is independent and outside of time.  He is not limited by the time dimension he created, so he has no beginning in time.

 

If matter and energy has no cause and the universe is composed by matter and energy, it's a logical conclusion that the universe doesn't have a cause.  The Christian claim that asking if God is created is an illogical question, but does that also follow that saying an uncaused “cause” as created is also an illogical statement.

 

The Christian’s rant created more questions than answers:  Again to be “created” you have to have a raw material. What is the raw material that is used to create matter and energy? Is time created by god? What raw material use to create time?  Does space exist before God created the universe? If not, then what does God occupy when space wasn’t created?  Is there no “expanses” in God’s kingdom? If “expanses” exist in God’s kingdom, then that means space already existed. If so, then time also exist before the universe.  If God is a sentient being, then he has experience time (since time is the continuum of experience in which events pass from the future through the present to the past.) So does God never experience anything before time was created? If God is outside time, then what happened when God moves in his kingdom from one point to another point? (Unless of course God doesn’t have the ability to move – this violates his omnipotent attribute) The movement from point to point requires time and time is interwoven with space, isn’t it? So how can he be outside time?

 

The Law of Biogenesis

 

This law is composed of two parts.  The first part states that living things only come from other living things and not from non-living matter.  Life only comes from life.  The second part of this law states that when living things procreate, their offspring are the same type of organism they are.  This is consistent with the account revealed in Genesis which says all living things reproduce after their own kind.  Sharks only come from other sharks, snakes from other snakes, owls from other owls, orange trees from other orange trees, etc.  Every living organism alive today is a product of and evidence for biogenesis.   Some people feel biogenesis is not a scientific law, but biogenesis is a law because no one has ever documented a single case of non-living matter coming to life in self-replicating form. It is as true today as it has ever been.  On the other hand, abiogenesis has been debunked many times over.  When someone observes the first example of spontaneous generation which includes self-replicating machinery (DNA and RNA), biogenesis will no longer be a law.  Until that time, it remains one. 

 

 

If one stretched out a strand of DNA from the oldest and most basic organism known to man, a bacterium, it would be almost 1,000 times longer than the diameter of the bacterium itself.  Its DNA pattern is about 4 million blocks long.  Where did all of this exquisite information come from?  The components of a bacterium are far more complex than any machine mankind has ever made.  There is absolutely zero scientific evidence of the existence of any organisms between the supposed event of abiogenesis and bacteria.  This is the biggest missing link of all.  There is absolutely no evidence any such organism is alive today or was ever alive in the past.  Some feel it makes total sense no such fossils exist because the creature would have been made up of parts which do not fossilize well.  If this argument was valid, there would not be any fossils of bacteria but there are.

 

 

Replication requires the complex machinery of DNA and RNA which are collectively known as the genome. According to evolution, something like the genome could only achieve its utter complexity through replication, cumulative selection and mutation.

 

How could DNA and RNA evolve from something very rudimentary into their present day intricacy when the organism containing the basic genome would require the more complex, present day DNA and RNA to replicate? 

 

 

The Gene Emergence Project has sponsored an event called The Origin of Life Prize. They are currently offering 1.35 million dollars to anyone who can offer a credible, verifiable and reproducible explanation of the origin of life.  They are by no means a creation science group.  Their advisors include biochemists, molecular biologists, biophysicists, information theorists, artificial life and intelligence experts, exo/astrobiologists, mathematicians and origin-of-life researchers in many related fields.  The Foundation's main purpose is to encourage interdisciplinary, multi-institutional research projects by theoretical biophysicists and origin-of-life researchers with special focus on the origin of genetic information/instructions/message/recipe in living organisms.  They want to know by what mechanism initial genetic code arose in nature.  They are requiring full reign be given to the exploration of spontaneously forming complexity and to inanimate systems of self-organization and replication.

 

There is not even one generally accepted scientific theory on the origin of life.

 

Now he becomes ballistic and challenges everyone that doesn’t believe his religious claims (chuckles). So are DNA and RNA living molecules? Are they living things or are they’re just chemical compounds?

 

So...let’s talk about Biogenesis. First of all, let me make this clear, there is no such a thing called The Law of Biogenesis. Biogenesis is the basis of Creation biology which holds that since life cannot arise spontaneously from non-life, life then has been “created” by a “supernatural” agent (again?) which is the Christian god.

 

Now let’s ride on this Christian explanation for a moment. What are the characteristic of a living being? Well...in grade school biology we learn that a living thing have the following characteristics:

1. Reproduction
2. Metabolism
3. Movement and
4. Growth

 

Now...does the Christian god have all the following characteristics? Huh? No...God doesn’t reproduce, well he can move yet does he digest food? Does he grow? So then...how do you know it’s a living thing? Funny isn’t it?

 

On the issue of biogenesis, the spontaneous generation that Pasteur and others disproved was the idea that life forms such as mice, maggots, and bacteria can appear fully formed. They disproved a form of creationism. There is no law of biogenesis saying that very primitive life cannot form from increasingly complex molecules.

 

 

Scientific Method

 

Now since he made a crash on his explanation regarding biogenesis, it’s time to hit the atheists where he thinks it hurts.

 

The scientific method is held in high esteem by most atheists and it is composed of the following parts...

 

1) Careful observation of a phenomenon.

 

2) Formulation of a hypothesis concerning the phenomenon.

 

3) Experimentation to demonstrate whether the hypothesis is true or false.

 

4) A conclusion that validates or modifies the hypothesis.

 

Nobody has ever observed the creation of matter or energy. 

Nobody has ever observed a molecular cloud collapse or any planet form.

Nobody has ever observed abiogenesis. 

Nobody has ever observed the evolution of any genome. 

Nobody has ever observed any phylum, class, order or family change.         

 

Evolutionists are excellent at Step 2 - Hypothesizing. 

 

The only problem comes on Steps 1, 3 and 4 - Observation, Experimentation and Validation.

 

We read about their theories and the conclusions of the failed experiments they performed in an effort to validate their opinions about a phenomenon that has not only never been proven scientifically but has never even been observed. 

 

The definition of a miracle is an event which is inexplicable by the laws of nature.  The fact is there are zero generally accepted scientific explanations on these issues.  If you want to believe in naturalism it is fine with me but please don't make the erroneous claim that "science" is on your side.     

 

What term is used to describe something you believe to be true but has no empirical evidence?   

 

So he is also ignorant on the term “scientific method”? OK let’s help him:

 

Now, to answer the question "What is the scientific method?" - Very simply, the scientific method is a program for research which comprises four main steps. In practice these steps follow more of a logical order than a chronological one:

 

1. Make observations.

2. Form a testable, unifying hypothesis to explain these observations.

3. Deduce predictions from the hypothesis.

4. Search for confirmations of the predictions;

If the predictions are contradicted by empirical observation, go back to step (2).

 

So does that mean scientific method is caged in the concept observing using naïve empiricism as this Christian believer suggest? Hmmmm...Maybe if you only know grade school science his explanation will pass but most scientific skeptics are beyond that. Research that only involves simple observation, repetition, and measurement is not sufficient to count as science. These three techniques are merely part of the process of making observations.

 

Since the Christian author is quite badly informed in science, he didn’t know that direct observation is not only unnecessary when it comes to scientific observations. Direct observation is in fact usually impossible for things that really matter. For example, the most important discoveries of science can only be inferred via indirect observation, including such things as atoms, electrons, viruses, bacteria, germs, radiowaves, X-rays, ultraviolet light, energy, entropy, enthalpy, solar fusion, genes, protein enzymes, and the DNA double-helix.

 

After making a scientific observation (which is very much unlike the believer’s naïve empiricism), we go to step 2. "Testability" is not an either-or concept as what this Christian believer thinks. From a Bayesian perspective and according to Popper's corroboration measure, the best hypothesis available is the one that explains the most facts with the fewest assumptions, the one that makes the most confirmed predictions, and the one that is most open to testing and falsification. So...I think the author of this Christian rant should go back to...should I say grade school science.

 

Faith

 

The bottom line is we live in a universe which completely frustrates any attempt to explain its origin and content by natural processes alone.  The best evidence for the possible existence of a supernatural creator lies in the total lack of any scientific evidence in these key areas.  Can God be scientifically proven?  No, it would be nice but his existence cannot be proven scientifically.  The reason is God is supernatural; he exists outside the natural, scientific world.  While our scientific tools cannot prove God exists, they do provide us with evidence we can use to determine if there is a better explanation for what has taken place besides the existence of a supernatural creator. 

 

It is interesting how atheists reject any notion of the supernatural because of what they perceive to be a lack of evidence when they could use that same objectivity to reject their naturalistic world view.  Most atheists are not even honest enough to apply the same burden of proof for naturalism that they demand of supernaturalism. 

 

The laws of science falsify the notion that this physical, living world came to be through natural means. These laws provide very credible evidence for the possible existence of a supernatural being.  Atheism violates these basic laws of science.  Atheism requires not only a tremendous amount of faith but also a belief in miracles. And not only miracles but natural miracles, an oxymoron.  Both naturalism and supernaturalism require faith and which one you place your faith in is one of the two most important choices you will ever make.

 

Let us remember...You cannot use supernaturalism and religion to explain science because:

• it is guided by natural law;

• it has to be explained by reference to

natural law;

• it is testable against the empirical world;

• its conclusions are tentative, that is, are

not necessarily the final word;

• it is falsifiable.

 

As Eugenie Scott (National Center for Science Education) have said,

“Scientists use only methodological materialism [naturalism] because it is logical, but primarily because it works. We don't need to use supernatural forces to explain nature, and we get farther in our understanding of nature by relying on natural causes.”

 

Supernatural? Does the Christian author know that the word “supernatural” has no meaning? So what is “supernatural? According to the dictionary, supernatural means not natural. Then what is something that is “not natural”? If God is supernatural and supernatural is ontologically meaningless, then what is God then? That makes God without any precise meaning.

 

So does an atheist rely also in faith when it uses naturalism? The answer is “no”. Why? That’s because naturalism can be falsified using science. That’s one point that separate atheism with this Christian rattle. Remember, faith is accepted evidence of things “hoped” for. It’s not about direct or indirect observation; it’s about assuming and wishing for something.

 

Let see...if we will use faith, then leprechauns are real. Right? Oh come on...we can’t see a leprechaun but I have faith on their existence and that in every end of a rainbow is a pot of gold...literally! Don’t you tell me that the word “faith” is exclusively for God use only? Bear in mind that in supernaturalism every weirdo in our active imagination can exist given the most bizarre explanation – sky’s the limit! If it is legitimate to believe without evidence in the existence of the Christian god base on faith, then it is not only legitimate, but obligatory to believe also in goblins, fairies, the Great Pumpkin, the invisible Pink Unicorn, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, numerous ‘discredited’ gods, and countless other extraordinary entities for which there is no evidence.

 

When a person used faith he is trying to change his outlook of this world. It’s like making this world a little better for the benefit of his imagination. That’s quite different with naturalism. Naturalism is the picture of the world...the universe in its natural state...without the icing and the garnish, while supernaturalism is the hope of creating a fantasy universe; a universe where gods, demons and angels, paradise and hell exist.

 

But can science prove the existence of a god. The answer is “No”...But science can be use to look for the probability of the existence of a god. According to philosopher Larry Laudan, Creation science is testable and falsifiable. So, since the god-concept is included with Creation science, then that means god is also testable and falsifiable. Supernatural claims are not immune to scientific scrutiny. So that means supernatural claims can be tested. Suppose we tested the host (you know, the bread and wine that is used in Roman Catholic mass every Sunday). Catholic believes that the bread and the wine actually change into the flesh and blood of Christ every time the priest performs the Holy Eucharist. Well...we can ask for sample of it before and after the ceremony to see it there really such a transformation. The science of forensic archaeologists can ask for DNA evidence that show that Jesus really did lack a biological father – but who will provide such specimen?  Science can ask for evidences of such claims. Is it true or is it a delusion? But the question remains, “will those who believe in a supernatural Christian God accept any finding that will falsify its existence?” As the late Carl Sagan has said, “Extra ordinary claims require extra ordinary evidences.”

 

Science doesn’t thrive in fantasy. Knowledge is not nurtured in myths and superstition. Supernatural is ontologically bankrupt. It’s not a clarification. Answers derived on faith are not answers; they are nothing but short-cuts quotes to satisfy a stagnant, idle mind.

 

Here’s a tip for those Christians who wants to step on science’s turf to discredit atheism. Please review your grade school books on science and mathematics.

 

 

Until next time.

John the Atheist

I notice that a lot of women are becoming Christian evangelists and pastors now a day. Here in our street for example, there is this small Christian church and every Sunday, I can hear a female pastor preaching inside. I don’t think it has something to do with religion, but it’s more about the growing trend on women liberation and women’s rights. It was said that back on the early 60’s women can’t even apply to become a cop, but today we have women justices in the Supreme Court and we even have lady presidents. Ah....the emancipation of women and their rights have advanced since the time of Elizabeth Cady Stanton...but when in comes to God and religion, I think it has a very different idea.

Majority of today’s religion worship a male god. Naturally, they were created by men. They are paternal in nature and because of this they tend to be indiscriminate of women. Religion places women lower than men, it blames women to the “sins” of this world and it declares women as unclean. Almost all religion of this world is guilty of this kind of mentality.

For example, in Hinduism it is said that the highest duty of a woman to immolate herself after her husband’s death. We also read that women are to be debarred from being competent students of the Vedas. That’s just a scratch...we all know about the tradition in Hinduism that when a person dies, all his properties are burned, including his wife.

Buddhism is not spared with this twisted mentality. In Buddhism one is reborn a woman because of bad karma.

In Islam, the Qur’am regarded women as “half a man” and that “forgetfulness overcomes a woman, they are inherently weaker in rational judgement.” Women are to be absolutely obedient, and can be beaten (or scourged) for being rebellious in sura 4:34. In addition to the four wives allowed by law, a Muslim man can have an unlimited number of slave girls as concubines (or sexual partners) according to sura al-Nisa 4:24-25. Even paradise creates inequalities for women. suras 55:56; 56:36 and 78:33 state that paradise is a place where there are beautiful young virgins waiting to serve the "righteous" (sura 78:31). These virgins, we are told, will have beautiful, big, lustrous eyes (sura 56:22); they will be Maidens who are chaste, who avert their eyes out of purity (sura 55:56, Yusuf Ali's note no.5210), and have a delicate pink complexion (sura 55:58, Yusuf Ali's note no.5211). Nowhere are we told what awaits the Muslim women of this world in paradise: the Muslim mothers and sisters. One wonders who these virgin maidens are, and where they come from.

The Judeo-Christian religion is much worst! According to the Bible, original sin, desire, error, the yearning for knowledge, all stems from the decision of one woman; Eve. The Bible detests anything in regards to “intelligent” and it also condemns those who were curious and inquisitive just like Eve. Adam was content to obey and surrender his will and servitude to God, but Eve, the second one to come forth, the humble spare rib, the inferior cut-off the prime beef, the fragment, the crumb, the after thought, the left over,  was easily seduced by the “serpent” to pick and try a fruit from the “Tree of Knowledge”. (Latter on, this “tree” was dubbed by Fundamentalist Christians as “The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”)

The Judeo-Christian god considers virgin maidens as war booty (Numbers 31:17-35)

Apostle Paul believed that women should keep quite in the church (1 Cor. 14:34), that they should cover their heads as a sign of respect (1 Cor. 11:5ff.). You can also read in the Christian New Testaments that women are not permitted to teach or to have an authority over a man (1 Tim. 2:12 NRSV). Jesus calls his invisible Father in heaven as “Father” yet he calls his own earthly mother as “woman”.

The Christians also believe that women are created for man (1 Cor. 11:8-9)

Have you notice that majority here in the Philippines would always love to have a male child than a female child? Some justify this belief because they say that a male child will carry the surname of the family. But does this tradition also come from religion?

I really don’t have the idea where these anti-female sentiments started but some studies suggested that because of the nomadic, hunting and gathering ways of our ancestors. In those times, women and children were assumed to be weak since men always do the hunting. Until now, we still have this backward mind-set residing in our supposed to be modern thinking. One best example is circumcision. Do you know that circumcision has no medical use or biological advantage whatsoever? A skinned penis is just the same as an un-skinned one. It’s just a rites of passage from being a boy to man. A sort of a tradition just like what those primitive tribes on some jungles in South America is doing. (Hmmmm maybe I’ll just make an article about circumcision later).

Going back to the topic, our sexism is the same way of thinking as our primitive ancestors, yet we still cling to such backward belief. Does that make religious fanatics retards huh? And speaking of being a retard, today modern religion is feeding this diffident frame of mind about women!

But what bothers me is that some women accept modern religion as a fact of life! They accept religious doctrine to save their soul in heaven but they’re not even thinking that this same religion is making their lives hell on Earth. The issue of gender equality is a taboo in religious thinking.

Oh yes, some Christians will say that the author of Galatians claimed that Christ doesn’t discriminate sex (Galatians 3:26-28) yet majority of Biblical scriptures says otherwise. Well, Christians will insist that the Bible have characters like Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of Jesus...Yep, they made Magdalene a slut and they dehumanized Mary. Two characters that enticed male sexual fantasy – a prostitute and a perpetual virgin!

In 1941, a psychologist Charles Moulton created the comics character Wonder Woman. Today, she now personifies modern women, women with dreams, inspired and strong. Today she stood proud of her strength, her self-reliance. Religion will do everything to demolish and drag her down the gutters. Christianity and Islam will try everything on its power to degrade and demerit her. Yet this primitive, barbaric bigot which Christians and Muslims called “God” will never destroy her.

Until next time,
Pinoy Atheist

 

A cheerful poverty is an honorable state - Epicurus

 

When you’re rich and an atheist, most Christians will say that you’ve become an atheist because money is your God. You will be accused of forgetting Jesus because you spend more time making money than praying or going to church. People here in Manila stereotyped atheists as filthy rich, collage kids or intellectual snobs who seem to be too pompous of himself, that’s why he deny the existence of God.

 

But how about if you’re in a state of poverty yet you’re an atheist?

 

Not everyone here in the Philippines is financially stable. A lot of people are struggling to make ends meet. Our government’s promise of an economic boom is still quite unattainable, even though our president keeps on bragging about her so-called rise in Philippine economy. I’m not blaming everything in the Philippine government. I’m just saying that here in the Philippines, the gap between the rich and the poor is very wide.

 

Unfortunately for me, I’m in the other side of the pole. I’m not really in a very worst state of desolation. I can still afford paying 3 to 5 hours Internet time. Seriously...I still eat 3 times a day, I can still pay my electricity and water bill on time, etc. That means I still have time to ponder on issues concerning belief and non-belief. Living one day at the time gives you moments to reflect on these issues.

 

I once had a debate with a member (I think he is the president) of a certain Roman Catholic society from Quaipo. Before the debate started, he informs the listeners that he knows where I reside. On that time my family was renting this small house in this “god-forsaken” neighborhood and I was quite surprised why this guy would have to announce that he knew where I live. Hmmm so the guy knows where I live...big deal. What does it have to do with the debate about the existence of a god? Does living in a small house a dead giveaway why I’m an atheist? Well, his ploy in no way worked, he didn’t prove the existence of his god and was crushed in the debate.

 

So when a person is poor, there is a good reason why he doesn’t believe in the existence of god...that’s according to Christian believers. He doesn’t believe in god because he is angry at God. Because he’s poor...Is that it? So you think a pitiable atheist doesn’t believe in a god because since he blames god? That’s not atheism.

 

Frankly, as an atheist, being financially deficient is a hindrance. First, you really lack the resources to buy books. Books are really an indispensable tool in an atheist’s arsenal. Unfortunately most atheists’ books (or May I say “all”) are foreign made. Geewizz! Foreign books are too costly! Thank Darwin that I have a photographic memory when reading books. There is this book store here in Manila, yep Power Books, that’s the name of the shop. Luckily for me, this book store allows shoppers to read the books off their shelves.

 

Another problem is that there are very few books about atheism available in the Philippines. There are even no books about biblical errancy, criticism in Christianity and a very few books about the theory of evolution. In order to have them...you have to buy it on Amazon.com or eBay...AND IT COST DOLLARS! Woah! $1.00 is equal to 41.00 Philippine pesos! Give me a break!

 

Luckily I have some books and a computer...tools that I used on facing religious superstition and ignorance and I would like to show appreciations to friends and relatives who gave me copies of these precious literatures.

 

Your financial status is not an obstacle in knowing the truths about the meaninglessness of theology and god-belief. You may lack certain tools like books, computer or money to splurge on posh coffee houses to chitchat about philosophy, but that doesn’t make your rational mind inactive. There are other ways.

 

Before I have my own PC and some of my books and before I had my own blog, I used to hang out on forums. Forums are good place to start. I started with Yahoo groups.

 

I’m not really good at typing so I have to write down questions from forums in a piece of yellow paper, and file them for further used. Then I go libraries around Metro Manila area to do research. Libraries are the best place to start looking for the answers. There was no Wikipedia on that time. My salary is enough for our monthly family budgets and for small leisure expenses, so I can’t afford staying for 4 hours renting Internets on computer café. So...I have to write it down on papers. I used to store copy-paste articles on floppy disks...but they have a very short shelf life.

 

There are good libraries here in Manila. You only need to pay P50.00 for a library ID at the National Library (that’s near Rizal Park) and you can use their books. Well...unlike those libraries in the United State, public libraries in the Philippines do have few collections, but I think they don’t have the latest books available. I enjoyed doing research in the Thomas Jefferson Library inside the U.S.Embassy. They have a copy of a Jewish encyclopedia there. In subjects like the occult and eastern religion, I go to the Theosophical Society in España (It’s in Dapitan St. in Manila). They have a small library inside the building. I don’t have any problems when I making inquiries about Christianity and the Bible, the Bread of Life Christian church in Quezon City have a nice library. I also borrow books from friends.

 

There are also libraries from certain campuses where you can use. The University of the Philippines library for example charges P50.00 and they sure have a good collection of books, especially their Filipiniana section. You can also go to the library of the University of Santo Tomas, La Salle and at Ateneo de Manila, yet I think they will charge you P200.00.

 

If only Filipino atheists and non-believers will unite and create a small library...You know...like bringing together their different collections of books, audio/video tapes and magazines and letting other atheists have access to it (*sigh*). If only there will be an atheist’s organization here in the Philippines, I think that will be the first project they should do. A lot of atheists here in Manila, especially the underprivileged ones, are still in the dark in the issues of atheistic philosophy and science.

 

Today, Internet is quite common here in the Philippines and it become cheaper. There are even some computer cafes here in Caloocan that charges P10.00/hour Internet use. Younger Filipino non-believers are luckier. At least they can now surf the Net...as they say here in the Philippines, “If you’re looking for something, I-Goggle mo.” There are even more atheist sites in the World Wide Web compare to...lat say 5 years ago.

Yet it doesn’t replace hard-earned research.

 

I do not believe all “Filipino non-believers” out there today are privileged to own books nor do they have any computer. Sad to say I cannot reach out for their needs. I’m also in need, yet happily, friends help me. But not everyone is fortunate to have buddies like mine. That’s why I created this blog and my Yahoo and Friendster group...to get in touch with other Filipino non-believers out there. It’s my “message in the bottle”, a seed of hope that someday, maybe someday, Filipino atheists will unite their resources and help each other. A single voice will never be heard yet a multitude of voices will bring change.

 

I’m not losing hope. The tip of the scale is now on the atheist’s side. In the United State for example, we now have books from Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins and a lot more. Atheists’ ideas are passing from one place to another and the questions are now being asked. People like that of the Rational Response Squad are now challenging the tradition of religions. It won’t be a surprise to find religious skepticism in the Philippine shores. Sooner or later, Filipino non-believers will be holding hand and hand with one other to pass the torch, whether you are a poor atheist or a rich one.

 

Who said an atheist doesn’t dream?

 

Until next time,

 

Ciao!

 

John the Atheist 

 

Ray Comfort (AKA the Banana man) is up to his dirty tricks again. The master of straw man and bad science is back. This time...since his so-called banana spit (AKA “atheist nightmare”) didn’t made any blow against atheism, he is now hallucinating in giving atheists some kind of a spiritual test.

 

Yep! That’s right folks! Mr. Comfort is publishing propaganda leaflets entitled “The Atheist Test” – now on sale in your local Christian bookstores!

 

I really can’t make out the disturb mentality of an evangelical Christian fundy. It seems their sole purpose here in planet Earth is to eat, drink, sleep and spread rumors, gossips and false information. Wow! And just think what the Internet is doing to spread their idiocy to the whole wide world. The problem is that people buy these kinds of stuffs. Maybe Einstein was right when he said that there are two infinite things, the universe and human stupidity.

 

Nah, I’m not offended with Ray Comfort’s shaggy dog stories about the Bible and Jesus H. Christ. Actually there’s nothing wrong when Christians share their delusional beliefs...but please, don’t shove it on other people’s ass.

 

So for the sake of fun and wholesome entertainment, let’s take a look at Ray Comfort’s test.

 

Test 1 and 2

The first thing you will read in Ray Comfort’s test is his “banana argument”

Is shaped for human hand

Has non-slip surface

Has outward indicators of inward content:
Green-too early,
Yellow-just right,
Black-too late.

Has a tab for removal of wrapper

Is perforated on wrapper

Bio-degradable wrapper

Is shaped for human mouth

Has a point at top for ease of entry

Is pleasing to taste buds

Is curved towards the face to make eating process easy

Notice his ignorance about the Musa paradisiaca sarpientum.

 

That’s what happened when the only banana you know came from the grocery shelf. I wonder why he didn’t include that those bananas have a small sticker that says “Dole”? The banana that Ray is talking about here is the banana that was already been tampered by human selective breading. That’s the banana that you see on supermarkets and groceries.

 

What! Those bananas are already mess about by humans? So unfortunately to Ray, the banana that he’s trying to promote is not...eh God designed. Wild bananas are quite different. They are small and they shape like plantains (Saging na saba in Tagalog.) Unlike Ray Comfort’s banana, they are not yellow in color and they have these large seeds all over the flesh. They got this hard flesh that you need to cook so it will become soft. Thanks to modern science of selective breeding, we now have Ray Comfort’s edible, yellow banana. I wonder why Ray Comfort’s god didn’t think about that before he created the banana. One thing is certain; I think Ray Comfort’s god is going bananas.

 

Now since he knows a banana from the grocery, his next sample is another type of grocery “wildlife”. Maybe Mr. Comfort should go to the libraries more often than the groceries.

 

Billions of years ago, a big bang produced a large rock. As the rock cooled, sweet brown liquid formed on its surface. As time passed, aluminum formed itself into a can, a lid, and a tab. Millions of years later, red and white paint fell from the sky, and formed itself into the words "Coca Cola 12 fluid ounces."

Of course, my theory is an insult to your intellect, because you know that if the Coca Cola can is made, there must be a maker. If it is designed, there must be a designer. The alternative, that it happened by chance or accident, is to move into an intellectual free zone.

 

Yes folks! He’s talking about Coca-Cola can.

 

 

Here’s a sample of what Mr. Comfort is good at...fallacies. And this fallacy is what we know as false analogy. We recognize that the Coca-Cola can was designed because we know that Coca-Cola cans do not occur naturally but