Atheists Love Birds

According to that ignorant scamp, Ray Comfort, Atheists can't love birds as much as their jesusy peers.  In a short, on-line article (available on his ridiculously stupid website Pull the Plug on Atheism) Comfort ask a series of brainless questions about birds in his attempt to demonstrate that atheists are misguided ones.

Here's what Ray wants to know:

Why don't we see fat sparrows? What are they singing about? Who teaches them music? How come they can all sing on key? How do they know that they are sparrows so that they can hang with other sparrows? Birds of a feather do flock together (how many sparrows do you see flying with seagulls?). Are they nervous on their first flight? Who warns them about cats? If it's their mom and dad, how do they communicate with their kids?

He then finished his post with this little gem:

As an atheist it must be a little frustrating having no one to thank for all this. How can you not stand in awe at the intelligence of the mind that put all this together? I marvel at the genius of God. Einstein did. Newton did. The atheist doesn’t. He sees the meal but never tastes it...because he doesn’t want to. What a tragedy.

Look, Ray, I know you are pretty dumb, but this is re-fucking-diculous.

To begin with, we know the answers to many of the stupid questions you ask about birds (do you read anything BUT the bible?).

For example, "Why don't we see fat sparrows?"  Well, we do, jackass.  As a matter of fact, scientists routinely measure and compare body fat in studies of bird health and use body fat as an indicator of quality of diet among other things.  We can't see that fat just by looking at birds because birds are covered with feathers, ass.

Another example: "Birds of a feather do flock together (how many sparrows do you see flying with seagulls?)."  Seriously, Ray?  Are sparrows the only birds you know about?  I guess they are one of the few birds mention by name in your ultimate encyclopedia of superstition and myth.

The truth is, moron, lots of birds regularly mix with flocks of different species (even different "kinds" to use your idiotic nomenclature).  Even the novice bird-watcher (whether a jesus freak or not) knows that chickadees, nuthatches, wrens, AND sparrows.  Another better example is found on beaches.  Shorebirds group together in huge flocks often numbering in the hundreds.  These are often composed of several species: knots, plovers, sandpipers, turnstones, stilts, snipes and others.

My point is that scientists already have answers to these questions.  In fact, scientists spend their days asking even better questions and then trying to answer them.

And as an atheist, I do stand in awe of nature, I just don't attribute the glory of nature to some imaginary tyrant who lives in the clouds and likes to fuck with people.  Instead, I give credit where it's due.  Nature is divine in itself.

The real tragedy, Ray, is that you think your life is more complete than mine simply because you choose to remain and ignorant fucking man.

Why I Sometimes Act Like an Animal

A common complaint from creationists and other evolution deniers laments that teaching our children that they "come from monkeys" encourages them to believe they are "just animals" and so they might as well act that way.  It's no wonder, the creationists argue, that murder, teen pregnancy, abortion and other forms of monkey business are on the rise.

A logical person could point out that even if it were true that learning we are apes makes us act like hooligans, it is not evidence against our apishness.  Being an ugly man might hurt my feelings, but it won't make me prettier.  So even if the truth hurts, it is worth knowing about.

When asked by parents or students if I teach that we "came from apes," I virtually leap to my feet and shout.  "Of course not!" I exclaim, "I teach them we are apes!"  Sometimes this does not have the affect I'm hoping for, but nonetheless, I push on.

In fact, I'm easily offended when people in my life, my mother among them, say that when I'm behaving badly I'm acting like an animal.  The reason I get offended is because I like animals and I think it's unfair to compare the stately conduct of the average beast my impish ways.  For example, would an animal shave his brother-in-law's right eyebrow when he fell asleep during Thanksgiving dinner?  I think not.  But I can email pictures on request.

This article confirms my suspicions that animals, even tiny single-celled ones are more noble then we'd like to admit.  It seems that a Samonella bacteria will sometimes self-destruct when doing so will give its siblings an advantage.  When was the last time your mom did something so noble?  My mom would never do that for me.  Maybe for my brother...