There's long-term hope for America, churchless-wise, if 18 year olds like Laci (a.k.a. "gogreen18") are in plentiful supply.
I learned about Laci via a blog post that featured her "Why atheists care about YOUR religion" You Tube video. She lays out the case against religion persuasively in five entertaining minutes.
Have a watch (guys, do your best to keep looking in her eyes – you'll fail, as I did, but try just for the futile fun of it).
I also enjoyed Laci's "I'm going to hell," in no small part because I've also condemned myself to hell (for a free DVD) and it makes me feel good to know that I'll have such attractive company.
This is one of her points: that if the interesting people who think for themselves and don't accept religion are hell bound, she'd rather be part of that club than have to endure eternity in heaven with boring stick-in-the-muds.
In addition, Laci offers a tip to Christians who try to get her on the faith track. It doesn't do any good to threaten her with hell, because she doesn't believe in it. Try persuading her with something that isn't a fairy tale, says Laci.
Great stuff.
Lastly, I was curious to learn "Richard Dawkins' Brutal Sentence." In two minutes, I did.
And also found out that Laci can pronounce megalomaniacal (sure, it was after a few attempts, but hey, how many eighteen year olds can do it at all?).
Is there any way to be in this attractive company here and now physically then waiting for to go to hell?
Posted by: juan | October 16, 2008 at 04:02 AM
Does Laci give her definition of Atheist, in one of her videos? Atheist, can take on a number of defintions. Is Laci proud of being an Atheist? One day, Laci will not be the 18 year old Hottie, that she appears to be. So whats the big deal here?
Posted by: Roger | October 16, 2008 at 09:02 AM
And Laci says... ASHAMED To Be An American:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBKcMgnq9_A
Posted by: tAo | October 18, 2008 at 10:58 PM
Brian,
In one of Laci's videos, she states that she was/is a Morman, and her parents are Mormans.
Interesting jump from Mormanism to Atheism. Interesting from the point of view, as to what category of Mormanism she came from. Was her family life, founded on conservative, reform, or liberal Mormanism? I wonder, if Laci still has some attraction to some small part of Mormanism?
Are there categories of Atheism? Such as, hardcore, conservative, reformed, or
liberal Atheism.
Would Laci's atheism be the same as someone, such as Ayn Rand?
Brian.....are you aware of any threads that discuss possible different denominations of Atheism?
This is no big deal.....just a Monday afternoon micro brain storm.
Posted by: Roger | October 27, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Roger, atheism is a lack of belief in God, not a creed to believe in.
Atheism isn't a religious perspective, it's the absence of a religious perspective. And atheism can only be defined as an absence of religious perspective when dealing with those who have a religious perspective. If no one in the world had ever had a religious perspective, the concept of atheism would never arise. Atheism is therefore dependent on religious beliefs/actions being expressed. If you watch Jonathan Miller's History of Atheism, he discusses how annoyed he is by people attempting to define atheism as a sectarian movement when the current vocalism on atheism by atheists is a response to 9/11 and the increased level of religion in public discourse.
So Laci's atheism is exactly the same as Ayn Rand's, but their political and/or social perspectives may as wildly different (or similar) to each others as they may be to any other human being's. Being atheist may inform their political choices: but it will only inform them when in contact with political religious belief.
Posted by: Helen | October 28, 2008 at 03:34 AM
Helen,
Thanks for your reply.
Atheism is a lack of belief in God, on the other hand, Religion is the belief in God.
For discussion purposes, one is the opposite of the other. I'm not taking sides with either.
Is it possible for the belief in God, in a particular Religion to divide into different categories?
Similairly, is it possible for the lack of belief in God, to divide into different categories? Are all atheist, 100% atheist?
I'm not referencing social and political persectives. Let us keep those issues out of the discussion.
Again, my comment was not to find fault with Atheism, but to immerse myself into more information.
Any "98%atheist-2%filler" out there, with added information?
Thanks,
Roger
Posted by: Roger | October 28, 2008 at 07:44 AM
Helen, terrific comment. Excellent points. I'm also perplexed when people say that atheism or agnosticism is a belief system.
No, they are the absence of belief. I just looked out on our deck. I didn't see an elephant standing on it. Are you going to call me a "believer in the non-existence of deck elephants"?
Or just someone who doesn't see any evidence that one is there. Just as I don't see any evidence that God is there.
Roger, you ask a good question. To my mind we can have degrees of atheism or faith depending upon how much evidence there is for God, or anything else. This is the same as how the scientific method works.
Some theories are considered to be virtually 100% true. Others are speculative. Science does have a loose system of descriptive categories: a "law of nature" has much more evidence than a "hypothesis."
That's because science has well-established ways of confirming or denying a possible truth. In religion or spirituality, this doesn't exist. So each person has to be their own confirmer or denier of a hypothesis.
One of my recurring themes is that we should be as honest and open as possible about what evidence we're using to base our faith on. Often we focus on what seems to confirm a belief, and ignore evidence that points in a different direction.
Posted by: Brian | October 28, 2008 at 10:01 AM
Brian,
I'm also perplexed when persons say that Atheist have a "hatred" of God. I have never run across a person that has a hatred of God.
True definition: Atheism is a lack of belief in God.
Surely, there are different degrees of Atheism. This difference comes about because Atheism is composed of persons. Some persons are pure "ism" and others are partial isms.
For myself, I find it hard to be 100% any type of ism. Hopefully, I have some grounding in, "reserving the right to be wrong." If this is true, for me, how could I be 100%?
Any atheist out there with a partial belief system? I'm refering to BS, not any other system.
Thanks,
Roger
Look at this way, this topic, surely is more interesting that Joe the Plummer.
Posted by: Roger | October 28, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Ping pong perception from one extreme to the other...
Posted by: the9thGate | July 19, 2013 at 06:45 PM
Why would that be, . .
that not every human was connected to the Sound
at least in a tiny way
but
enough to define it as your origin, yourself
realizing that we are ALL THAT
7
Posted by: 777 | July 20, 2013 at 11:50 AM
the Kalinga conquest was not a religious war. Laci should do a little homework before she posts.
Posted by: Todd | January 23, 2014 at 12:57 PM