Friday, March 29, AD 2024 6:50am

National Atheist Day 2017

Another April 1 rolls around, and it is time again to observe National Atheist Day and salute those atheists who, as part of the herd of independent atheist thinkers, bravely assert that, yes, matter and energy did arise ex nihilo without God, and that belief in God is too silly for a person of intelligence.  (Sorry Saint Augustine and  Saint Thomas Aquinas!  Sir Isaac Newton you simply lacked the intellectual heft to embrace belief in non-theism.)

 

In honor of the day, I think Sir Francis Bacon’s essay Of Atheism from 1601 might be appropriate: 

I HAD rather believe all the fables in the Legend, and the Talmud, and the Alcoran, than that this universal frame is without a mind. And therefore, God never wrought miracle, to convince atheism, because his ordinary works convince it. It is true, that a little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion. For while the mind of man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may sometimes rest in them, and go no further; but when it beholdeth the chain of them, confederate and linked together, it must needs fly to Providence and Deity. Nay, even that school which is most accused of atheism doth most demonstrate religion; that is, the school of Leucippus and Democritus and Epicurus. For it is a thousand times more credible, that four mutable elements, and one immutable fifth essence, duly and eternally placed, need no God, than that an army of infinite small portions, or seeds unplaced, should have produced this order and beauty, without a divine marshal. The Scripture saith, The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God; it is not said, The fool hath thought in his heart; so as he rather saith it, by rote to himself, as that he would have, than that he can thoroughly believe it, or be persuaded of it. For none deny, there is a God, but those, for whom it maketh that there were no God. It appeareth in nothing more, that atheism is rather in the lip, than in the heart of man, than by this; that atheists will ever be talking of that their opinion, as if they fainted in it, within themselves, and would be glad to be strengthened, by the consent of others. Nay more, you shall have atheists strive to get disciples, as it fareth with other sects. And, which is most of all, you shall have of them, that will suffer for atheism, and not recant; whereas if they did truly think, that there were no such thing as God, why should they trouble themselves? Epicurus is charged, that he did but dissemble for his credit’s sake, when he affirmed there were blessed natures, but such as enjoyed themselves, without having respect to the government of the world. Wherein they say he did temporize; though in secret, he thought there was no God. But certainly he is traduced; for his words are noble and divine: Non deos vulgi negare profanum; sed vulgi opiniones diis applicare profanum. Plato could have said no more. And although he had the confidence, to deny the administration, he had not the power, to deny the nature. The Indians of the West, have names for their particular gods, though they have no name for God: as if the heathens should have had the names Jupiter, Apollo, Mars, etc., but not the word Deus; which shows that even those barbarous people have the notion, though they have not the latitude and extent of it. So that against atheists, the very savages take part, with the very subtlest philosophers. The contemplative atheist is rare: a Diagoras, a Bion, a Lucian perhaps, and some others; and yet they seem to be more than they are; for that all that impugn a received religion, or superstition, are by the adverse part branded with the name of atheists. But the great atheists, indeed are hypocrites; which are ever handling holy things, but without feeling; so as they must needs be cauterized in the end. The causes of atheism are: divisions in religion, if they be many; for any one main division, addeth zeal to both sides; but many divisions introduce atheism. Another is, scandal of priests; when it is come to that which St. Bernard saith, non est jam dicere, ut populus sic sacerdos; quia nec sic populus ut sacerdos. A third is, custom of profane scoffing in holy matters; which doth, by little and little, deface the reverence of religion. And lastly, learned times, specially with peace and prosperity; for troubles and adversities do more bow men’s minds to religion. They that deny a God, destroy man’s nobility; for certainly man is of kin to the beasts, by his body; and, if he be not of kin to God, by his spirit, he is a base and ignoble creature. It destroys likewise magnanimity, and the raising of human nature; for take an example of a dog, and mark what a generosity and courage he will put on, when he finds himself maintained by a man; who to him is instead of a God, or melior natura; which courage is manifestly such, as that creature, without that confidence of a better nature than his own, could never attain. So man, when he resteth and assureth himself, upon divine protection and favor, gathered a force and faith, which human nature in itself could not obtain. Therefore, as atheism is in all respects hateful, so in this, that it depriveth human nature of the means to exalt itself, above human frailty. As it is in particular persons, so it is in nations. Never was there such a state for magnanimity as Rome. Of this state hear what Cicero saith: Quam volumus licet, patres conscripti, nos amemus, tamen nec numero Hispanos, nec robore Gallos, nec calliditate Poenos, nec artibus Graecos, nec denique hoc ipso hujus gentis et terrae domestico nativoque sensu Italos ipsos et Latinos; sed pietate, ac religione, atque hac una sapientia, quod deorum immortalium numine omnia regi gubernarique perspeximus, omnes gentes nationesque superavimus.  (Pride ourselves as we may upon our country, yet are we not in number superior to the Spaniards, nor in strength to the Gauls, nor in cunning to the Carthaginians, not to the Greeks in arts, nor to the Italians and Latins themselves in the homely and native sense which belongs to his nation and land; it is in piety only and religion, and the wisdom of regarding the providence of the immortal gods as that which rules and governs all things, that we have surpassed all nations and peoples.)

Now a rebuttal from atheist Richard Dawkins:

Let us conclude our revels with The Atheist Song:

 

 

 

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T. Shaw
T. Shaw
Saturday, April 1, AD 2017 5:32am

About your precious, special atheistic jerks: How can they be perpetually so outraged about someone the they KNOW does not exists?

Wow! 2011. The UCONN women’s B-Ball team lost to Miss State last night.

‘MMMMM’ bacon!

Father of Seven
Father of Seven
Saturday, April 1, AD 2017 7:11am

Well said, Donald. Let’s just get to the heart of the issue. The Law of Conservation of Matter, to which atheists give credence, states that matter is neither created nor destroyed, it is merely converted. So, to quote Ted Knight’s character from CaddyShack: “Well, we’re waiting.” Crickets. They have no answer. They do have evasion as your post makes clear.

Don L
Don L
Saturday, April 1, AD 2017 9:48am

Frankly, I don’t believe in atheists…..

Penguins Fan
Penguins Fan
Saturday, April 1, AD 2017 12:55pm

Internet atheists should be locked up in a Steel Cage Texas Death Match with Internet fundamentalist anti-Catholics. There are no groups of people more obnoxious on the Internet than these two casts of characters.

Christian Teacher
Christian Teacher
Saturday, April 1, AD 2017 1:23pm

“The Law of Conservation of Matter, to which atheists give credence, states that matter is neither created nor destroyed, it is merely converted. So, to quote Ted Knight’s character from CaddyShack: “Well, we’re waiting.” Crickets. They have no answer. They do have evasion as your post makes clear.”

Our scientists have decided that matter is indeed created & destroyed during the slotting of an atom. The parts of a split atom has less mass than an atom before it is split. At least that is the last I knew of the matter.

Christian Teacher
Christian Teacher
Saturday, April 1, AD 2017 1:25pm

PS. I was always taught it was called the “Law of Conservation of Mass & Energy.”

Christian Teacher
Christian Teacher
Saturday, April 1, AD 2017 1:26pm

“Our scientists have decided that matter is indeed created & destroyed during the slotting of an atom. The parts of a split atom has less mass than an atom before it is split. At least that is the last I knew of the matter.”

Forgive my spelling error, please. That should have been “splitting” of an atom.

Father of Seven
Father of Seven
Sunday, April 2, AD 2017 8:09am

Christian Teacher, you are correct that it is the Law of Conservation of Mass. That said, in a closed system, the mass before and after is the same. In other words, a “split atom” may have less mass than before, but the total mass still exists within the closed system. Moreover, no scientist has created something out of nothing, ie: “created mass.”

Father of Seven
Father of Seven
Sunday, April 2, AD 2017 8:12am

Christian Teacher, you are correct. It is the Law of Conservation of Mass. However, in a closed system, the total mass is the same before and after, even when discussing the splitting of atoms. Mass is not created as no scientist has ever created something out of nothing.

TomD
TomD
Sunday, April 2, AD 2017 10:02am

“Internet atheists should be locked up in a Steel Cage Texas Death Match with Internet fundamentalist anti-Catholics. There are no groups of people more obnoxious on the Internet than these two casts of characters.”
PF, is that why we have a problem with Mark Shea? “He’s an SOB, but he’s our SOB” who belongs with these other clowns?

TomD
TomD
Sunday, April 2, AD 2017 10:05am

“However, in a closed system, the total mass is the same before and after, even when discussing the splitting of atoms”. I’m sorry, but this is not correct. Christian Teacher gave the correct formulation.

“Mass is not created as no scientist has ever created something out of nothing.” Yes, this is correct, and it is correct because energy is not nothing, it has mass equivalence.

Mary De Voe
Tuesday, April 4, AD 2017 4:38am

“WE, THE PEOPLE” HAVE A CIVIL RIGHT TO OUR INNATE HUMAN RIGHTS
“We, the people” have a civil right to our innate human rights defined in THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE ratified by every state and redefined away as non-existent by Supreme Court.
“We, the people” have a civil right to our Ninth Amendment: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” The Ninth Amendment of our Constitution.
“We, the people” have a civil right to THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE with its reliance on the support of divine Providence.
“We, the people” have a civil right to THE PREAMBLE to THE CONSTITUTION FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with THE PREAMBLE’S purpose of “securing the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our (Constitutional) Posterity; all future generations.
“We, the people” have a civil right to each and every public place bought and paid for by our tax money for every peaceable assembly.
“We, the people” have a civil right to all free lands and waterways in America taken from us by Executive Orders.
“We, the people” have a civil right to all public domain, as “We, the people”, have a civil right to be “the public”.
“We, the people” have a civil right to acknowledge our “Creator” in the privacy of our innermost being as sovereign persons in the public square.
“We, the people” have a civil right to be secure in our personal privacy against assault and invasion and violation.
“We, the people” have a civil right to “the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God”
“We, the people” have a civil right to our Ninth Amendment: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

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