atheist manifesto?

as i recall, i indicated in my first post that these first few posts might be predominantly directed towards religion; well, so far, it seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. still, i originally had no intention of continuing this trend; in fact, i had a sketchy idea of doing a post about submission to authority(which, incidentally, i think would make a good follow-up to this post). actually, the origin of this "essay" can be found in the murky depths of a christian-oriented chatbox in skype. i was brought into this chatbox, and every day, i would see a link to some section of the bible. invariably, there would be some aspect(s) of the scriptures which greatly offended my moral sensibilities. i'm not saying it got me all in a huff, since(unfortunately) i've come to expect such things from the bible, and i've been pretty inured to it. anyway, i couldn't help making a few comments about the scriptures which were overtly critical; but also, i accompanied almost every criticism with a heartfelt request to have it explained to me. i admit, some of these questions were loaded, such as "can you explain how this is NOT sexist?" but still, i'd like to think i at least tried to convey an honest desire to have the shit explained to me. anyway, needless to say, i didn't get any reasonable responses, and even got a couple of insults, including a classic christian insult in verse form, the "pearls before swine" line. in fact, that verse was regurgitated in response to my appeal to 1 peter 3:15, which exhorts followers to explain the reasons for their beliefs. since i had thus far been stymied by these people in any attempt to explain their beliefs, i decided to write this "short" message to clarify the situation:

[3:00:50 PM] brian says: i don't know if any of you have even bothered to notice, but i'm not making any personal attacks against anyone! i'm merely criticizing the things in the bible which i find morally reprehensible; if you cherish these ancient words, and if my tone seems harsh, then i apologize...but also, if that's the case, then i implore you to explain these things to me! otherwise, in my mind, my criticisms will stand. i've been accused of "taking it out of context"...well then, PUT IT IN CONTEXT FOR ME! PLEASE! here is the situation as it stands now: i don't like genocide. i don't like rape. i don't like slavery. i don't like mysogyny. i don't like human blood sacrifice(or animal sacrifice, for that matter), and i wouldn't approve of any deity who would EVER demand or even expect or accept such "burnt offerings", no matter HOW primitive his followers were. i don't like scapegoating. i don't like shirking personal responsibility(for good deeds OR bad deeds). i also don't like holding people responsible for the deeds of their ancestors. i think responsibility should sit squarely on the shoulders of the perpetrator of the deed, whether good or bad(though i do recognize that there are some cases where people are somehow coerced or conviced to commit evil deeds through some outside influence...uh, like religion). i don't like any authority that commits or condones such atrocities or cultivates such immoral mindsets. (on a side note, i don't like blind submission to such an authority; i'm not accusing anyone here of being guilty of that, but it's VERY tempting to believe that that's the case, since no one here is willing to provide me with any justification for their submission to this authority)...now, if you claim i'm wrong about any of these things, please explain why. if you think i don't have the right to "judge" what i see in these scriptures, then please explain why. also, let me assure you that the jury is still out...i've seen a lot of evil in the bible, and i'm aware of a lot of evil that has been committed in the name of these beliefs; also, i'm painfully aware of the potential for further pain, suffering and destruction which is quite possible, even inevitable, if blind submission to authority is encouraged(even lauded!), especially if the authority is immoral. however, people keep assuring me that there is plenty of good to be found in this ancient religion, so i don't want to jump to any conclusions about it; also, i will NEVER pass judgement on any individual, no matter what s/he claims his/her beliefs to be, since labels are never a good starting point to form a picture of someone's true character...as it stands now, i've met a couple of nice people here, and i really have nothing against any of you, even though i've been insulted by more than one of you. i simply desire to start an open, honest dialogue, and learn exactly WHAT you believe, and more importantly, WHY. to be completely honest with you, i don't know what parts of the bible ANY of you believe in! apparently, you don't believe in 1 peter 3:15, or you would've answered me already...but hey, if i'm wrong about that, PLEASE tell me! if you just think i'm an arrogant asshole, and you don't want to talk to me at all, then just tell me that! but let me warn you, i won't abandon any of my criticisms just because everybody refuses to address them. also, if you insist on ignoring 1 peter 3:15, then i'll just have to accept that i have no idea which parts of the bible any of you pay attention to, and i have even less of an idea what basis any of you use for moral guidance...once again, let me assure you that i am not here to insult anybody, or just to start shit...yes, i AM here to start an argument, but when i say "argument", i mean it in the philosophical sense: i'm here to encourage a rational discourse about morality and ethics(perhaps even theology, epistemology, ontology, cosmology, evolution, etc.!), and to sincerely ask you all what you believe, and why you believe the things you do...many of you seem to study these scriptures EVERY DAY, so obviously you understand them better than i do, because i can't stomach them for too long. so, please, once more, i implore you to shed some light on this shit...put it "in context" for me, PLEASE...i guess the thing i'm most curious about is why the creator of the universe would conform to the zeitgeist of the time(e.g. would behave primitively in the bronze age, and gradually become more enlightened as society became more enlightened). if you think this is the wrong question to be asking, PLEASE TELL ME WHY! and let me assure you that that request ALWAYS stands...if you think my tone is too harsh, or if you think i'm asking the wrong questions, PLEASE TELL ME! AND EXPLAIN WHY! obviously, you have access to knowledge and insights which i am sorely lacking, seeing as how you're all so blasé about these things which i find seriously disturbing...you invited me here, supposedly in a spirit of fellowship, and i have some serious concerns about these scriptures; if you think i have some erroneous preconceptions, please explain how they are erroneous. also, if you don't think these scriptures accurately reflect your beliefs, then PLEASE tell me so! regardless of how vitriolic you think my diatribe is when i denounce atrocities, please let me assure you that i'm just reaching out a hand for some human understanding and compassion here...just tell me what's close to your heart...as it stands now, i don't know WHAT's close to your heart! (maybe the atrocities!) (sweat):D "how dare he denounce our beloved atrocities!" (rofl) sorry, i couldn't resist...anyway, sorry this was so long, but i don't want there to be ANY confusion about my motives and desires. i just want to cultivate some communication. peace. (bow)(talk)(nod)(wave)

if i get any requests for updates on the situation, i'll post them here. to be completely honest, i'm not holding my breath. i think these people are just too attached to their atrocities! :P

as for the title of this post(atheist manifesto?), i hope everyone appreciates the irony: atheism is simply a lack of belief in gods, and the epistemological basis for such a lack of belief can vary greatly. i'm sure a google search for "strong atheism", "gnostic atheism", "weak atheism", or "agnostic atheism" will shed a lot of light on the situation. once again, if i receive any requests, perhaps i'll do my own post specifically about the different flavors of atheism and some different rationales behind them. still, there's already SO much information out there, i feel like it's not really my bailiwick. anyhow, to get back to the irony of the title: if there's anything that's clear about atheists, it's that you can't pigeonhole us. i recall one quote as saying something like: "trying to organize atheists into a group is like trying to herd cats." so, needless to say, i can't imagine there ever being such a thing as an "atheist manifesto" which even a large majority of atheists would agree with. the only thing ALL atheists have in common is a LACK of belief in any deities. that being said, i still feel pretty confident that many atheists will agree with the core components of my message here, even though it doesn't even directly say anything about atheism. now, there is such a thing as secular humanism, which does seem to have some pretty solid components; i don't know very much about it, but i've agreed with everything i've seen espoused so far. in fact, i think some of the core beliefs of secular humanism are represented in my "essay" here, such as encouraging personal responsibility, independent thinking, and things like that. even so, i still wouldn't even call this a seculr humanist piece. in the end, even if i did choose to call it a "manifesto", then it would just be my personal manifesto to this particular group of people. also, if there are any christians reading this, then please take the relevant parts as applying to you as well! i'm always open to criticism from any direction. just be aware: i've already seen the "pearls/swine" line, and i'm not impressed. :P
peace,
-b