Please Watch Cosmos. Please.

An Atheist’s response to

Religious people aren’t stupid. This man is as rude and debasing of atheists as he is accusing atheists of being of religious individuals. Rudeness and disrespect do not create an environment for learning and acceptance of our differences.

The laws of thermodynamics aren’t quite as he explains. Thermodynamics are about temperature. The second law states that energy acts in a manner seeking spatial homogeneity, meaning, they want to seek an overall similarity. Temperatures are shared in an attempt to reach balance. If you place an ice cube in a a small amount of warm water equal to the thawed quantity of liquid in the ice cube, the ice will melt and the entire mass of water will reach a temperature equally between the original warm water and frozen ice cube.

Newton’s laws of motion apply to matter. Masses of matter hurling through space after the big bang, and super novas and smaller star deaths (which we CAN and have witnessed), eventually fall into gravity with one another. They spin and dance until they either collide and become one, or spin around each other enough to form a new star and additional planets, each in their own orbit. Where you see chaos, scientists see calculable vectors. News flash, our planet does not have the same length in a day as it did a few thousand years ago. Our days are getting longer because the moon creates tidal friction, dragging the water around the planet, slowing its spin gradually over the eons. We know this because the length of a day can be measured in the growth rings of ancient redwoods. The universe has a calculable order to it, but it is always in a constant state of change.

Dogs are evidence of micro-evolution. If we can get a shitzu out of the genetics of a wolf in 7+ thousand years, why is it so hard to wrap our heads around macro-evolution? You have the right to freedom of religion. I have the same right, which means I can choose NOT to believe. Choosing to believe in strict biblical creationism only proves that you are too stubborn to listen to reason submitted in a logical manner, and that you lack a fundamental understanding of science, and what “theory” means. I don’t see this gentleman flying off the face of the earth because gravity is “just a theory.” The purpose of science is not to PROVE anything, but to continually challenge ourselves to reach a deeper understanding of the way the world around us works.

Creationism does not belong in science class. Christian based world views do not belong in public school. If you want there to be a standard class that teaches about ALL religions, that’s fine. If you wouldn’t want your impressionable child to be forced to submit to the world view of Islam or Hindi, why would you think it acceptable to force my child to submit to yours? This is what makes America great. Freedom to CHOOSE. You teach your child about creationism at home. Evolution and the big bang are theories, and may change over time as our understanding of the universe grows. But teaching religion in science class, and omitting current scientific findings only reduces our society’s chance for growth in the science and medical fields. If you prevent children from being scientifically literate because it doesn’t agree with your world view, you are no better than the other religious nations that enforce their religions militaristically on their populace.

The science of evolution doesn’t require faith. It requires a logical understanding of evidences we see around us. We did not witness the big bang, but we personally did not witness biblical creation either. The ancient scrolls included in (and excluded from) the bible were voted on by committee of the church, as was the divinity of Jesus. Quoting an ancient book, edited 50 times by wealthy and powerful men, that says it’s ok to rape a woman as long as you marry her and pay her father, does nothing to convince me of an almighty, nor his hand in my existence.

Religion also teaches us to respect our fellow man, and not to do others what we would not want done to ourselves. However, the bible and other holy texts instill fear of damnation if you do not follow their particular brand of faith. There is an evolutionary basis for compassion. If I am kind to those around me, and work to help those in need, and to keep them safe, they strengthen the heard with their existence. A large heard is a strong heard. It is in us all to be kind and compassionate to others, without a book telling us to do so. Religion can offer comfort and guidance to many, but if you rely on a book to tell you to be a good person, and need fear instilled upon you to treat others with respect, while behaving as though everyone that disagrees with you is sub-human, then you are a piece of shit.

By Crystal Nichols in Uncategorized on June 13, 2014