In defense of faith.

Watching too much Atheist Experience will have you forgetting that Christians can form coherent arguments. The most interesting part of Hitchen's & D'Souza's debate was D'Souza, who doesn't fall flat on his face when defending faith. Good stuff.


Christopher Hitchens and Dinesh D'Souza at CU Boulder from Justin Leddick on Vimeo.

Atheist Blogroll

It was surprisingly difficult to find good atheist blogs out there in google land. That is, until I came across the Atheist Blogroll. It brings together a surprisingly long list which Cure Faith is now a part of. Thanks, and nice job MOJOEY!

Rolling list now added to the sidebar.

Religulous Review

I have been on the lookout for a good religious comedy for a while without much luck so I gave Religulous a shot. It half hits the mark, being mildly funny most of the time, but painful to watch for the rest. Unfortunately the religious targets come across as pathetic husks of conscious beings, and barely get a coherent word in. Very little of significance is said until right at the end when Bill Maher ups the threat level. If the world does end by religion inspired nuclear terrorism "Lets remember what the real problem was, that we learned to precipitate mass death before we got past the neurological disorder of wishing for it". In light of the absurdly unintelligent religious interviewees, it made this message especially terrifying. If the enemy is this dumb, what hope do we have?

That said, if you like laughing at stupid religious people, this movie is for you!

Admitting ego.

I added a blog subtitle "One atheist's battle to unravel the most destructive viral idea ever to evolve". Hopefully it sums up what this is all about and adds a little more personality to the title.

I need to admit this is egotistical and stop detaching myself from posts. Later I plan on writing of my experiences growing up as a christian and gradually developing resistance to faith. There will be no hiding then!

From ape to man, extended version.

Creationists who care to do the research have a problem. Scientifically verifiable genetic mutation is practically undeniable. They might as well say cancer doesn't exist.

One of the few lines of defense left is a fictional distinction between microevolution and macroevolution. Both are big words so they must be scientifically sound! Out of necessity they admit that small scale changes are possible (the kind we can observe in our lifetime), but deny that species can undergo great change.

The catch line goes, "a dog can turn into a bigger dog, but it can't turn into a cat". It's wonderfully effective. Use two very common everyday animals and people start thinking about what's directly in front of them. Dogs can change into bigger dogs? Alright, I have seen that happen! Turn into a cat though? That's preposterous; it's crazy talk! The catchphrase creates an immediate reaction, that of distaste for an idea made to look absurd.

What it successfully blindfolds people from seeing is the vast amount of time it would take for a species to change like that. If a dog can change into a bigger dog, it could also change into a smaller one, which could change into a lighter more ambidextrous one, and after billions of years under the right conditions, something resembling a cat. Macroevolution IS microevolution, there's just more time involved. If genetics can change a tiny bit in a short time, they can change substantially given vast amounts of time.

Microevolution is a flimsy way for Creationists to draw a distinction between genetic change they can't deny, and a full on hedonistic belief in evolution they can't admit.

For the visually inclined creationists out there, click the link for an illustrated explanation!


Any thoughts on how I can improve the wording on the image to make it more effective?

Practical Morality

When religious people say "without religion, how do you know whats right?" its another way of saying "I can't think for myself and need a book of rules to follow". Just like bureaucracy, the rules of religious can hinder when people don't think for themselves. What about practical everyday morality?

Magic landfish.

Its no wonder the uninterested have a hard time taking evolution seriously. The closest they come to being educated is the odd cameo in popular media, which often simplifies the process down to an iconic image of a fish struggling onto land. It sells the reference instantly, but unfortunately not the process. Its so powerfull, the millions of years and evolutionary steps it represents are easy to forget.

Image: Futurama: Into The Wild Green Yonder, which centers around the preservation of an evolving ecosystem comically triggered by a magic green flash of Chi.

Symbolizing Cure Faith

Added a logo to the title, a cross unraveling into a strand of DNA. I'm hoping it works on a multiple levels. Faith is a problem regardless of religion, so the direct reference to Christianity isn't ideal but will do for now.

Preventing free thought, one verse at a time.

Matthew 18:4 "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

That's right Christians, you should come to God like a starry eyed kid looking up in awe at their parents, just brimming over with subjection and respect, and ready to follow them to the worlds end without question. When those parents tell you Tooth Fairies and Easter Bunnies exist, don't hesitate to embrace that as 100% genuine fact.

Originally I wanted to do an interpretation thing, something like "Whoever asks the fewest questions, shall be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven", but the verse is already so transparently aimed at keeping Christians ignorant there's hardly a point.

Just one of the many mechanism's the bible employs to keep Christians passive.

Scientifically, god does not exist.

Check out Austin Cline's explanation for why science allows us to say god does not exist. You'd think this approach would be used more often, but its hard to appeal to a religious authority using scientific method. Historically, you might not even live through the process.

Dawkins on Religion as a Virus.

Some of Dawkin's older but more powerful media. Unfortunately the blatantly obvious youtube title destroys the well crafted lead up, but its still a vaccine worth spreading. Effective enough to chip away at faith perhaps? It would be interesting to hear some legitimate religious responses to this one, there weren't any in the comments. Is there another copy out there that doesn't present such a no-go title for believers?

State Religion vs IQ

There are plenty of Religion vs IQ by country statistics out there. Unfortunately its easy to poke holes in IQ tests when administered across cultures. To add something new to the evidence:

Congratulations Mississippi, you're the least intelligent AND most religious state!

State IQ compared with % answering Yes to "Is religion an important part of your daily life?":



State IQ statistics from McDaniel Estimating State IQ
Religious importance statistics from Gallop - State of the States: Importance of Religion

Survival of the fittest, not the factual.

An idea's chances of survival are based on its ability to propagate, and not how truthful it is. Everyone has likely contracted at least a couple of viral ideas. Perhaps a fun fact.... that just happens to be fictitious! Something like "men think about sex every 8 seconds", or "If you manage to sneeze with your eyes open, they pop out". Science and education have squashed most old wives tales and urban legends, but some have evolved extreme resistance, and others thrive in poorer less educated countries.

One of the most disturbing modern viral ideas is the virgin cure for AIDS. Throw a life threatening STD amongst an uneducated population, and its no surprise people are willing to believe something appealing is the cure. Stemming from virgin purity ideas, it may have been an offshoot from Africa's most common viral idea - the deadly and highly evolved idea of Christianity.

Even in its simplest form, Christianity can be very persuasive. Love god and go to paradise, disobey and rot in hell for eternity. However, you'd have to be a child to fall for that alone, so Christianity comes equipped with all sorts of mechanisms to convince people of its truth, keep them believing, and compel them to pass it on. Read nearly any popular bible verse and it will likely contain information to aid one of those three things.

Cure Faith

The most common viral idea, religion, is in decline. Good health and science are more prevalent than ever before, effectively working to inoculate against religion. Eventually, even the most praised gods of today will join Zeus and smallpox in the past. That isn't to say we should sit back and let this play out. The religiously inflicted are still the majority, and the results aren't pretty. So for our family, neighbors, and friends whose very freedom of thought has been compromised, and for everyone whose safety is threatened, a question must be posed.

How do you cure faith?