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| This is the ever-growing archive of my essays ans dialogues. The synopses give a quick description for those who don’t wish to waste time on subjects that don’t concern them, however they all follow on from each other, and build on previous ideas, so they can be views as a single narrative. They focus on philosophy, religion, politics, ethical dilemmas, history, and the effects of scientific discoveries on society. I intend to go professional one day so this is also a portfolio. | ||
ESSAY SECTION ONE They range from 500 words to 10, 000. Most at the moment deal with religion, I cast of critical eye over as many aspects of it is possible, and try to demonstrate the virtues of a secular lifestyle. I try to be as even-handed is possible, and even end up correcting my former views when I realise a more tolerant approach is more appropriate. I am constantly learning and adjusting my philosophy, and feel the constant need to get others to learn about the opposing views of others, and to encourage them to seek out knowledge for themselves, rather than stick to their ingrained and biased viewpoints. This is a fictional semi-biographical letter, written by someone who is so disgusted with the human race that he renounces his humanity. It deals with the persons struggle to come to terms with the horrors committed by his former species, and how he refuses to have anything more to do with us. It is a plea for a better world from a person whose naivete has been destroyed by the study of history and current affairs. As the information age brings us a more global perspective, this is a speculation on what may happen to people who are prematurely and rudely deprived of their innocence. This deals with people's constant reliance on God in their everyday lives, and how this can have some very unfortunate affects. It shows how when the good things are achieved the credit is not given to those who truly deserve it but to a deity who, from point of view of a freethinker, had nothing to do with it. It's in points out the inconsistent way in which bad events by either credited to Satan, mysterious ways, or religion isn't brought into it at all, but whenever something good happens, almost without hesitation people start thanking a deity. Usually to the detriment of something or someone that is actually real. This is a list of harsh questions levelled at religion. It deals with whether the persons religious beliefs should come before their life. It also deals with how freedom of worship is a civil right, but one that often interferes with other people's civil rights as well as those of the believer. It asks whether restrictions should be placed on organised religion, and whether religious doctrine should be made to observe modern legal and humanitarian principles. This is an outline of mechanism that can be used to maintain the relevance of ethical standards, and laws. It criticises the stagnant and static laws of backward or Conservative countries, as well as of holy Scripture, and looks to the science of biology and natural selection for a template for better moral guidance. I replicated the way that environments affect the Evolution of species, and recommend that laws should adapt to service the needs of an ever changing culture, rather than create unnecessary suffering with uncompromising, irrelevant and archaic rules. Atheism and humanism, are they good for anything? This was written in response to someone else's article criticising humanism a philosophy that I greatly approve of. It is addressed to both atheists and believers, in an attempt to make both sides recognise their flaws, and bring both sides together in the name of moderation, in order to ostracise the extremists from both sides. This deals with the way that movements, religions, and ideologies, always have two facets, the ideals which for many is the driving force behind such movements, and the reality which is often not as positive. I follow the development of the French Revolution, the English Civil War, and the American war of independence, and study how far the results, following these events, reflected the initial ideals which sparked them. This is a warning against rampant idealism, it's by-products, and the long-term hope it creates. This deals with the complex interweaving of the three forces that affects our world, politics, economics and religion. All three are motives that are utilised when one or more of them become a prominent force in society. I wrote this when I realised I was blaming religion to much for the terrible events in history, and I was not taking into account other factors. I noticed how Christians tend to point out that 20th-century as an example of secular horror, and atheists tend to point to all the previous centuries, I realised both were too biased to be right, and at the truth was a more balanced spreading of blame. The funny things that theists say… This is an ongoing series of answers to typical Christian soundbites, and accusations. It deals with virtually every aspect of freethought and secular philosophy, and also deals with the common misunderstandings that theists cling to when dealing with people outside their denominations. This is written largely for the benefit of atheists who are unsure of whether their children should be brought up in liberal churches, and whether secular philosophy can deal with as many issues as religion. It is an attempt to explain the benefits of naturalistic freethought and the common drawbacks of belonging to any congregation. ESSAY SECTION TWO These are the more recent examples. They tend to deal in greater detail with issues previously raised. I also include allsorted material. The Illustrated Guide to philosophical and theological achitecture _1.5 A summation of previous ideas, with diagrams and quick drawings to break it up, good for beginners. +Plus responses. A rallying cry.. Add-ons - the contradictory peripheral extensions to core doctrine. Or, my salute to fundamentalists. A brief exploration of the nature of extreme and moderate interpretations of religious dogma. This details my views and approach to death from point of view of someone who has never believed in any afterlife. It shows how a naturalistic understanding of reality can lead to a very positive philosophy, perhaps even better than that of any theist’s. It deals with life, and how it should be led, as well as the drawbacks inherent in any theological view of mortality. As part of a group of freethinkers, I wrote up a review of this version of the bible, to complement other critical interpretations. A dissection of the beginning and end of xtian theology in relation to the Jewish model. A song... Supernatural selection. (in progress) This is an essay that attempts explain the nature of the world's religions, by studying their origins in relationship to their initial environments. It seeks to create a model dealing with the psychological social and environmental factors that affect the development of religion in the same way that they species is affected by mutation, interaction with other life forms and environments. Rather than address the accusation that evolution is a religion, it seeks to show that religion is a product of evolution.
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THE DIALOGUES Over on several forums I developed the habit of debating in order to create reactionary articles, which at times are considered better than my more deliberate articles. They are rougher, more indignant as they deal with theists, some I respect and some I most definitely don't, but they give some interesting examples of how to deal with attacks on reason, science and humanism.
Strong Atheism leading to Objective Morality
On the inherent immorality of Xtian doctrine
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