THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCT OF GODS:

     If there were Gods, they would have to beg my forgiveness. But I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other 4,176 false gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours. If God is willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then it is not omnipotent. If it is able, but not willing? Then it is malevolent. If it is both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? If it is neither able nor willing? Then why call it God? If every trace of every religion were wiped out and nothing were passed on, it would never be created exactly that way again. There might be some other nonsense in its place, but not that exact nonsense. If all of science were wiped out, it would still be true, and mankind would figure it all out again. I don't believe in life after death, but I do believe in life before death. I don’t believe in any gods/devils, religions/cults, angels/demons, heaven/hell or afterlife, blessings/curses, any powers in prayers, voodoo, spells, jinxes, wishes, miracles, superstitions, karma, witches, magic, ghosts, goblins, Santa Claus, Easter bunnies, zombies, vampires, fairy tales, myths, astrology, fortune telling, Ouija boards, prophecy, clairvoyance, fate, luck, witchcraft, crystals, the supernatural, unicorns, destiny, or the concept that everything happens for a reason. However, my life is not void of beliefs. I believe in using logic and reason. I also believe that most people like myself are curious and have a sincere interest in wanting to know their life's purpose, the origins of the universe, and the identity of a moral compass, or any sort of "rule book" to live by - if any of these things should exist. I believe that people enjoy stories, entertain theories and tend to hold onto the ones that work for them. I for one enjoy human psychology and philosophy. But I also believe people tell stories that are not true and these untrue stories are passed down and believed for generations. I do have beliefs. I believe that people have a wide range of mental health conditions — disorders that affect their mood, thinking and behavior such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive behaviors and any of these mental health conditions can lead to interesting stories to be believed by generations to come. I believe that people lie, misrepresent and honestly misinterpret things. I believe that people have fantasies, dreams, hallucinations, see mirages and have financial incentives and huge egos that can sometimes take on a life of their own. I do believe - that before video recordings and other technologies - people thought they observed events that never happened, which partially explains why we stopped getting new miracles. I also believe in the power of peer-pressure, group thinking, home training, the strong emotional desire of wanting to belong, religious training, miseducation, brainwashing, propaganda, socialization, tribalism, and the sheer wish that something was true. People have various cognitive biases such as "confirmation bias" and "conservatism bias," or the "commitment effect" - just to name three or twenty kinds of common biases. Most people inherit their beliefs from their less informed parents. It's not a coincidence that your gods have the same name as your maternal grandma's gods, or that Jehovah's Witnesses (such as my maternal grandmother) don't suddenly sprout out of Muslim countries. I do find it particularly strange that as science and technology advances, science is never informed by religion, but religion continues to be unsubstantiated by science. The earth is older than 9 thousand years, actually it closer to 4.5 billion years old. The bible hasn't told us anything that has later been confirmed by science. We never got a cure for disease from the bible. We have found dinosaur's fossils going back 240 million years but not a single plank from Noah’s Ark, or evidence confirming any of the other holy stories. We were told God created the heavens and earth, but apparently God failed to inform the farmers that the earth was the third planet from the sun, or we had other galaxies besides the Milky Way. I believe that people will accept a fictional explanation as an answer to significant questions of life's purpose and its beginnings, as opposed to accepting that we simply don't know. I share Donald Trump's belief that most people are gullible, and the human psyche is limited and predictable. Ignorance, jealousy, hate, fear, and tribalism are pervasive. Selfishness, greed and apathy will ultimately be the cause of our Armageddon. Thus, hope for mankind is not love, but a cultural transformation, and we scientists don't know how to do that. Holy books were literally handed to future believers, and many believers never even read their own holy book completely nor the opposing holy books to compare and contrast. Even if there were gods, until they made themselves known to me, it wouldn't be consequential for me. There is an inverse relationship between peoples' reading materials and the strength of their religious convictions. The lower the scientific literacy levels and the less diverse the reading materials are, the stronger and narrower their religious conviction tend to be. I try to base my conclusions using math, logic, facts, and reason, not emotional wishful thinking. So, I'm an agnostic-atheist! It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled, and I accept science, and mathematics as fact and it informs my lifestyle and decisions that I make such as dieting and exercise as just two examples. I accept conclusions that are peer-reviewed, science-based, evidence-based and reached through deductive and inductive reasoning. I accept the general theory of relativity. I accept that the universe can endlessly expand and contract, I also accept evolution, and natural selection but, I am willing to denounce each of my beliefs as soon as I have contradictory evidence, and I will not be ashamed of myself for having had those past beliefs, making my discarding them all the easier. Some questions theist must answer. If an omniscient omnipotent, perfect being is the mastermind behind the bible, why does the book reflect only the culture, science, history, literature, technology, morals and values of the era in which it was written? Why does it have so many inaccuracies and inconsistencies? Why does the Bible contain so much anti-scientific nonsense? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is faith required? Why is God hidden? Why are there natural disasters? Why are there so many starving people in our world? Only in an alternative reality can you be silent on: the death, war, nuclear weapons, and torture, or passive on racism, healthcare and feeding the poor and hungry, environmental issues and still think of yourself as moral and Pro-life. Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but they exhibit anger, hate, jealousy, wrath, and vengeance, and constantly in need praise and worship then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what denomination, or kind of Christianity you profess; there are still only two types: one is the member of a Christian religion, and the other is someone who is actively living like Jesus. (Matthew 25:45) Which one are you? Me? I do unto others as they would want done to them and/or as I would want them do unto me. I work to live a healthy and happy life while continuing to make the world a more habitable place for all. I preach the gospel but I only use words when absolutely necessary.     

     Does truth really exist? On one hand, arguably there is no one single truth but subjective personal and political truths.  Conceivably, there is only perception, which speaks to a profound philosophical view on the nature of reality and human understanding. What we often consider to be "truth" is, in reality, subjective and shaped by individual perspectives. This idea aligns with a broader existential or relativistic outlook, where objective truths are elusive or non-existent because each person's experience and interpretation of the world is inherently unique. In this light, the notion of absolute truths urges us to recognize the power and limitation of our perceptions in constructing reality. This perspective can be both liberating and disorienting; it liberates us from rigid, dogmatic thinking but also confronts us with the uncertainty and variability of human experience. Realism in literature underscores how fiction and narrative reflect this very subjectivity, where a single, overarching truth does not bind characters and events but are instead a tapestry of individual perceptions, each with its own validity.

     Then, on the other hand, there is objective truth, grounded in science—truths that are immutable and indisputable, no matter who you are or what you believe. Whether you’re rich or poor, young or old, religious or secular, these truths remain the same. They transcend race, creed, education, and status. Take, for example, the simple fact that 1 + 1 = 2. It doesn't matter if you are a Taliban fighter, a Tamil Tiger militant, Pope Francis, or the Saudi Crown Prince—1 + 1 will still equal 2. You can add it in the morning, in the afternoon, in Egypt or Poland, whether it's the year 1800 or 2020, and the result will be the same. A slave and a master will reach the same answer, just as a South African grandpa and a 7-year-old Vietnamese girl will agree on the solution.

That is the beauty of objective truth.

     Try building a bridge or a skyscraper with the belief that 1 + 1 equals 3, and see how that goes. Your structure will collapse, because reality doesn’t bend to beliefs. Similarly, knowing tomorrow’s temperature will be 40°C in Thailand won’t change the weather. No matter how strongly you believe otherwise, it won't alter the global climate.

     And if you were to jump off the Empire State Building, gravity would take you down just the same, regardless of what deity you worship or how much 'positive thinking' you've been exposed to. The laws of physics don’t care about belief. (Please don’t try this, of course.)

     In either event, live a good life. If there are just gods, they will not care how devout you have been but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but they are unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, you will be gone but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.

The Dangerous Reality of White Christian Nationalism

This video is in partnership with ‪@PFAWdotorg, a progressive advocacy organization that inspires and mobilizes Americans to defend freedom, justice, and democracy from those who threaten to take them away. Find more information about how you can fight white Christian nationalism at peoplefor.org/white-christian-nationalism-explained. 

If you’re interested in learning more about white Christian nationalism, the history of the religious right, or anything else I mentioned here, these books are some of the biggest sources / inspirations for this video: The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy, Samuel Perry and Philip Gorski (2022) Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Fractured a Faith and Corrupted a Nation, Kristin Kobes Du Mez (2020) American Psychosis: A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy, David Corn (2023) Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories, Mike Rothschild (2023) 

To donate to People For the American Way Foundation, go to: peoplefor.org/ResistWCN. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yri7mhxTZrg&list=PLY49eSVGEAoZsRT7pbr3HaoLzZkiUpJh_

Americans United for Separation of Church and State https://www.au.org

The Freedom from Religion Foundation https://ffrf.org