Facebook Follies: Looking for another 4,999,999 people to join me

Today's Facebook Folly:

"Let's see if there are 5 million people on FB who believe in God! Press Like if you do! on ♥."

...because if there are, that will prove that there are 5 million people on Facebook who believe in God and like to click on Facebook links. I know, awesome, right?

I'll bet God reads Facebook and will be very very impressed with your effort.

Groupon: Vegan diet woo

Recently, I got this offer from Groupon:

While not a vegan, I am interested in wholesome nutritional foods, so I read on. And learned the deal was for woo--online group woo:  

For $49, today’s side deal gets you an online 28-day vegan challenge detox program with Nutrition Northwest Co. (a $249 value). Certified nutritionist Angela Pifer specializes in customized nutrition programs and group detoxification programs. This online group detox, available to anyone with a computer and an Internet connection, is designed to cleanse the body of harmful toxins through a four-step program. Over the detox period, clients strive to identify unhealthy toxins in their bodies, remove them, restore nutrients, and begin healing. Upon enrollment, clients will have access to the Rejuvenate online community, a copy of the Rejuvenate manual and recipe book, weekly teleconferences to monitor your success, and free downloads of audio meditations and Pilates videos. Clients are encouraged to participate in the Rejuvenate Seven Day Pre-cleanse Program, which will prepare you for the detoxification and increase your chances of success.

Sorry, Groupon, not jumping on this "deal."

Why I'm an atheist

My religious family and friends cannot comprehend how I can be an atheist. I, on the other hand, cannot understand how they can be theists and believe things that not only aren't supported by evidence, but also are often contrary to evidence--and irrational, and sometimes unjust and inhumane too.

Earlier today, I posted this comment on the Pharyngula thread, "Why are you an atheist?" I thought I'd re-post it here. The full story of my transformation from questioning, doubting Catholic school girl to confirmed atheist is longer and more complex than what I wrote in this comment, but it's an accurate summary of why I do not believe in God.

I am an atheist because I'm a skeptic and rationalist. I am not a skeptic and rationalist because I'm an atheist.

Even as a young girl in Catholic school, I was one of those troublesome kids who would actually think about what I was being taught in religion class, ask questions, then say, "But...but..." Because so much of what I was being taught didn't make logical sense to me. And did the adults have evidence that any of it was true? They never had satisfactory answers to my questions. I began to suspect that the adults were just making stuff up.

My inability to accept what I was being taught wasn't helped by the fact that I was well-read, especially for a child growing up in the circumstances I did. I just couldn't mesh what I knew was reality with what the church was claiming.

And, so many Catholic beliefs and practices assailed my innate sense of fairness, justice, and compassion.

For a long time I tried, really really tried, to believe, but I just couldn't make the leap of faith. That time in my life was very depressing and stressful.

Finally, when I was 18, in a single stunning blast of insight, I realized that religion was just rules and rituals made up by fallible men to try to control what other people did, and that there was no evidence that God, who allegedly beamed these rules down from wherever, even existed. So I simply stopped trying to believe the unbelievable. That was it. I've never looked back or felt more at peace.

After the day I stopped trying to believe, I described myself to people as a non-believer, or simply said I didn't belong to a church. I didn't realize I was an "atheist" until I started reading Pharyngula.

Facebook Follies: If God has ever answered...

Today's Facebook Folly:

"If God has ever answered a prayer for you, press like!!!!!!! on ♥."

Because if you prayed for something, and it later happened, there's no other possible explanation except "God did it."

And if God ever didn't answer a prayer, I guess you should "press like" for that too, because God's decision not to answer your prayer is God using his mysterious, unfathomable, and seemingly whimsical God-wisdom to do what He knows is best. In his way, He is answering your prayer, just not the way you'd hoped. But you like that too, right?

Facebook Follies: Praying for Egyptians

Today's Facebook Folly: "I am praying for the anti-government protesters in Egypt."

And if everything goes right for the protesters, "Yay, God answered my prayers!" And if they don't, "God has mysterious plans." 

Doesn't God already know which side He's rooting for?

PZ takes on woo at University of Maryland School of Medicine

PZ Myers blogged yesterday about a subject that has caused me, if not quite despair, then severe despondency: the medical and health woo being embraced by the University of Maryland School of Medicine and given a veneer of pseudo-plausibility by its Center for Integrative Medicine.

When I go to a doctor, I expect one who is trained in science-based medicine, not the art of woo.

Facebook Follies: The Satan Headache

Today's Facebook Folly:

When you carry the Bible, Satan gets a headache. When you open it, he collapses. When he sees you reading it, he faints. When he sees that you are living what you read, he flees. And when you are about to re-post this message, he will try and discourage you. I just defeated him !!!!

My Facebook friend is so brave and so powerful, defeating a mythical evil character like that! I'm impressed.