Isaac Asimov Understood but Believed Anyway
Art Bulla
"I am an atheist, out and out. It took me a long time to say it. I've been
an atheist for years and years, but somehow I felt it was intellectually
unrespectable to say one was an atheist, because it assumed knowledge that
one didn't have. Somehow it was better to say one was a humanist or an
agnostic. I finally decided that I'm a creature of emotion as well as of
reason. Emotionally I am an atheist. I don't have the evidence to prove that
God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn't that I don't want to
waste my time."
- Isaac Asimov, Free Inquiry 2(2):9, 1982.
--
"I just tell em the truth, and they think it's hell." Harry Truman
Concerning quotes (out of context): these are distortions, taken out of the
context of
the blasphemies and insults placed upon me by the vilest of traitors and
foul wretches
imagineable. Jesus kicked their asses out of the Temple and I do the same to
all god damned liars and hypocrites. I make no apology. God is my judge. If
this fellow (Manning) were honest he would include these, and all would see
that I am
justified by the Lord in my responses. The word of the Lord is given on
the matter in the following:
Verily, if a man be called of my Father, as was Aaron, by mine own voice,
and by the voice of him that sent me, and I have endowed him with the keys
of the power of this priesthood, if he do anything in my name, and according
to my law and by my word, he will not commit sin, and I will justify him.
Let no one, therefore, set on my servant for I will justify him. saith the
Lord your God.
THE GOLDEN RULE OF DISINFORMERS:
Always accuse your adversary of whatever is true about yourself.
"Nothing has more retarded the advancement of learning than the disposition
of vulgar minds to ridicule and vilify what they do not understand."
Dr.Samuel Johnson.
The Revelations of Jesus Christ:
<http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?isbn=0-595-28287-3>
Discourses of Brigham Young, Pg.68
As it has always been, and will be yet for some time, when the sons
of God assemble together Satan will be on hand as an accuser of the
brethren, to find fault with those who are trying to do good.
"But we ask, does it remain for a people who never had faith enough to call
down one scrap of revelation from heaven, and for all they have now are
indebted
to the faith of another people...does it remain for them to say how much God
has
spoken and how much He has not spoken?" Joseph Smith
"Every generation has flattered itself that it is a little better than the
one that preceded it. Every generation has prided itself in its knowledge
and great advancement in the arts and sciences and its superiority over
preceding generations; yet the power of the adversary and his hatred of
righteousness and truth are as great to-day as they ever were since the
creation of the earth." Journal of Discourses, Vol.11, Pg.228 - Pg.229,
George Q. Cannon, May 6, 1866
"Some men are natural born saints; whenever a principle is advanced they
understand it, and drink it in; * * * while there are others who do not
understand and oppose every principle that is not clear to their mind. This
can be accounted for, that we are not all pure blooded, for Ephraim became
foolish and mixed up with the gentiles. When we find the pure blood of
Ephraim, we find a natural born child of God and there is nothing in the
gospel that is objectionable to them, but the others have to exercise faith
in God and humble themselves before Him and live for it." (Deseret Weekly,
50:250-251)
35 And the rebellious shall be cut off out of the land of Zion, and shall
be sent away, and shall not inherit the land.
36 For, verily I say that the rebellious are not of the blood of Ephraim,
wherefore they shall be plucked out.
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 64:35 - 36)
John Manning
> Isaac Asimov Understood but Believed Anyway
What does your psychotic mind tell you that
Isaac Asimov "believed?"
RetroProphet
>Quote of the Week
>
>"I am an atheist, out and out. It took me a long time to say it. I've been
>an atheist for years and years, but somehow I felt it was intellectually
>unrespectable to say one was an atheist, because it assumed knowledge that
>one didn't have. Somehow it was better to say one was a humanist or an
>agnostic. I finally decided that I'm a creature of emotion as well as of
>reason. Emotionally I am an atheist. I don't have the evidence to prove that
>God doesn't exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn't that I don't want to
>waste my time."
>
>- Isaac Asimov, Free Inquiry 2(2):9, 1982.
>
>
If you want to ridicule the atheist for being
un-scientific, you must be prepared to apply the
same standard to your own basic belief in a deity.
Perhaps Mr. Asimov could not see that atheism
rests upon a testable hypothesis, that much experimental
data that bears upon this hypothesis has been gathered,
and that the hypothesis has held up, but I do.
Several of my essays on the subject follow for you
to jerk your knee into and rant about. The last time
you objected on the grounds that I had "no evidence"
ignoring that my premise is that the entirety of
history is my evidence, making infinitely more
sense assuming no deities, than assuming them.
===
I have suggested that the reality of gods is not
beyond testablity. The history of religion can be
seen as an ongoing experimental test of the reality
of gods, that has yielded a great deal of evidence
that bears upon the hypothesis that since all gods
that have lost their last believer have not
demonstrated their reality, this not being consistant
with any religion's predicted behavior of their
deity when spurned, no gods actually exist.
There are no counter-examples at all; this theory
is holding up flawlessly.
There are no god-asserting religions today that
have enough faith to put theirs to the test in the
manner you find so admirable of science done properly.
Irony is, it is quite popular today for religionists
to wind up denegrating science they disagree with
as being the result of...religious thinking.
Absurd.
===
Nobody ever seriously suggests that we should abandon
the scientific method in the pursuit of truth and knowledge.
Except when it comes to religion.
What makes this laughable is that the most religious folks
are the ones who should be the most sure that their most
basic religious assumption would survive the test.
What really causes them to balk is self-preservation.
They fear the promised reprisals their religion warns against
if they are right. And fear the unfamiliar if they are wrong.
Religion-builders throughout history have always been
careful to build into their dogma the idea that it is
very important that said dogma should not be questioned.
They fear the abandonment of the religion they are building.
Fear. Fear. Fear.
Doesn't anybody fear that the world will continue
to be torn by religious strife?
Doesn't anybody fear that the world might be
irreparably torn by religious zealotry?
Doesn't anybody care that it all just might be
completely based on ONE erroneous assumption?
Thousands of years. Billions of believers.
Countless warnings regarding the actions of gods.
And not one obviously true bit of evidence to
back up the claims of humans regarding deities.
This is called a failed experiment,
calling for a new hypothesis.
Whether gods are fact or fiction is not unknowable.
It is a testable hypothesis.
The experiment has already been performed on many gods
of early history, with uniform and unquestionable results.
The result is that when a god loses its last believer,
that god is proven to have been imaginary.
It is not impossible to extend the experiment to
gods with current believers.
It simply requires more backbone and objective sense
than humans seem to be capable of at this time.
Ignore them and they will come.
Or not.
Atheism is not a belief
if it is the result of this experiment.
===
Religionists are cowards because they obey priests
who have always and invariably taught that you cannot
understand God and should not question God.
Yet, always and invariably, whenever a deity has lost
its last believer, we hear nothing more of that deity,
nothing more of the benefits of believing in it, nothing
more of the perils of not believing, and not a peep of
protest or anything else from the "deity" in question,
now no longer a question.
It is not an unreasonable assumption to surmise that
all priests for all time have been perpetuating the
notion of deities, but that no deities actually exist.
This is the logical and scientific atheist hypothesis.
Yes, such an animal exists, and eventually it will
eat your deity for breakfast.
But, as I said, religionists are cowards, and will not
confront the absurdities of deity-belief with the
possibility that deities are fictional.
That these paradoxes might thusly be resolved should
matter more to people who claim to be interested in
knowing what is true.
===
Art Bulla
have explained this many many times before, you need to learn how to read.
Isaac Asimov did not have any evidence there was no God, he just believed,
as he admitted.
Here is my testimony:
WHY I AM THAT ONE WHO SHOULD COME
The way that I am going to say the words that I speak is very important, in
that many are the misconceptions about a prophet, what he looks like, talks
like, don't the people in general recognize the Lord's anointed by the way
he appears, the way he carries himself? Joseph Smith's grandfather said of
him, "he writes like a prophet." Paul, we understand, was of short stature,
about five foot two, and bandy or bowlegged, and had a hawkish Roman or
Jewish nose, but eyes which pierced through to eternity. I have seen as
Paul, for I too have "come to visions and revelations of the Lord" for I
could not tell if I was in my body or out when I conversed with (words fail)
him face to face quickened by such power the tongue cleaves to the roof of
the mouth and stops for the inadequacy. Joseph was and is a true prophet,
for a short time after my first vision, I was given a copy of the book which
he translated. I bear record, and get over it if you can, that I have seen
and heard for myself, and have been sent as Joseph prophesied that I would
come, having the keys of the Priesthood by lineage and by right, being
accounted a direct descendant by blood of the kingdom, being a direct
descendant of David, given from before the foundation of the world as a king
and a priest as a witness, for I have seen and I have heard things which
are truely beyond the power of mere words to express, while in the
spirit, for the things of God "knoweth no man, but by the Spirit of God".
I have received a complete volume of scripture for this generation, as
others (Isaiah, Samuel, Joseph, Ezekial, Nephi, etc.) have for theirs. I
testify boldly it is the truth, for I have received it from God, and as Paul
"preached the gosple" with much contention, even so I am not afraid of a
little contention also, for the warfare, has it not been transferred to the
earth, and only the "best men bring forth the best works"? I fear nothing,
except the might and power of the Being who spoke unto me in the vision,
which was of such power that I spoke with him in a tongue which was at once
more magnificent in its command of the things of the spirit and the
intelligence of of light and truth than English with its lack of vocabulary
can express, and I shall forever adore his presence, and my bones truely
quake at the power manifested when I receive even now revelations from him,
for he is a God of glory as Moses exclaimed, "Where is thy glory that I
should worship thee, depart from me, for where is thy glory, Satan, that I
should worship thee? For except I were quickened by his power, I should
have withered in his presence." And my natural eyes could not have beheld,
and my life has hung in the balance many times, as Paul said, "why stand we
in jeapordy every hour, if there be no resurrection?" And as Joseph my
brother whom I love more than my life, for with such brethren we could have
taken the world from the despots of the enemies of the dispersed of Israel,
for the God of Israel, saith the Lord, is he not a God of battles? I have
seen that Jesus was a warrior of the first rank, and as Joseph was chased
like a hart upon the mountains by the world with hell at its back, even so
have I, Art Bulla, and I lie not, for since my first vision, all hell has
been stirred up against me but I have been delivered from them all, that I
might sing my song, and publish salvation upon the mountains as prophesied,
for I testify that God, the God of Isaiah lives, for I have seen him and
tasted of such might, brilliance and power and honor and intelligence the
tongue cannot express it, for was I not removed out of this tabernacle and
taken up with him for a glorious space and I beheld?
And as Paul was led to Ananias to receive baptism, even so was I led
by my God to the Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ, for as there was a
controversy embroiling men of intelligence and sagacity of the time on the
subject of religion, whether God should be worshipped in Jerusalem in the
Temple, or on top of a mountain in Samaria, for they were of Ephraim and did
they not have the birthright? But Jesus, the Lord's (for the Lord said unto
my Lord, sit thou upon my right hand, until I have made my enemies thy
footstool) anointed son, but only firstborn among many brethren, as I also,
have been with him from the beginning so testify, salvation cometh of the
Jews, even so I say, salvation cometh, (and there is a second death) and I
say it boldly with all the world opposing me, salvation did come by the
Latter- Day-Saints, for I received baptism, by entering through the gate
which is truely straight and narrow and the next day being filled with such
might and joy and power I went boldly forth among the soldiers, and was not
a Green Beret, over six foot in height, was he not picked up off his feet
and set on his back by the angel of the Holy One of Israel, who is mightier
than all of the armies of the earth? I say, as that sargent of the Green
Beret attempted to play a prank behind my back, the angel defended my honor,
and that I might be free to declare the message of salvation, picked the man
off his feet effortlessly, and thrust him upon the floor unhurt. And so I
have seen and bear record that Joseph Smith was the Lord's anointed and I am
he who should come to redeem Israel by power such as has not been seen since
Enoch if the people will gather and receive counsel from the God who is
speaking now through my mouth unto thee O Israel, for I am he who should
come, even as spoken by Isaiah and Joseph Smith unto whom belongeth the
kingdom by lineage and by right, having the sealing power committed unto me,
I have been appointed at the gate for this generation as Peter, and all
power on earth or in heaven hath it not also been given unto that One mighty
and strong, O man, and none of this generation, who I testify to will pass
by me for judgment hath it not been committed unto me, O man, and O woman,
from before the foundation of the world, and have I not been sent as him of
old unto the Jews, who is my brother, even Jesus surnamed the Christ? And
did not the Jews reject him, and if ye make the same mistake as they, O
Israel, it shall be to thy peril, for my God, the God who spoke out of the
heavens to the Master-Sargent, who was cursing the Mormons to my face, as I
opened my mouth to speak, did not a voice proceed forth which shook the
ground upon which we three stood, and did not those brave men of the army of
the United States not hear and see for themselves, and my God is mightier
than any mere arm of flesh or any nuclear tipped weapon, for his power is it
not mine to wield for thy salvation, O Israel, if ye will come unto me, even
I, who art mighty and strong from before the foundation of the world,
through him who strengtheneth me?
Again, I say that I am receiving revelation upon such topics as
evolution, Adam-God, negropriesthood, and also many deceptions practiced
upon the ignorant Gentiles by the father of lies, exposing the fraud thereof
to the whole world, and if the whole world disregard me in my message they
will only sink themselves to endless woes and destruction, for did not the
entire Roman world ignore not only Jesus, but the entire Jewish nation,
even though "salvation cometh of the Jews" as salvation in this day until
the Negro-priesthood revelation, did it not also come of the
Latter-DaySaints and has not the world also disregarded them as it so far
has me to their peril, for their salvation hangeth upon the thread of the
surge of life which beats within my breast to the glory of the Most High
God? And is not my glory in the world to come greater for having endured
the shame of the cross also? Therefor disregard not these things and turn
not aside the just for a thing of naught as do the Gentile dogs, as Jesus
would have said, which rough things which he spake offended his smooth
contemporaries that they rid themselves of one so uncouth as to openly speak
truth. And in 1979, did I not receive my first written revelation, the keys
of the Priesthood given unto my by ordination, and theLord gave me further
instructions, and I was, as a testimony commanded to take two of them
(written revelations) to that man who was given as my home-teacher, as
they are called, my patiently being inthe Church until that point, and my
hometeacher in an enraged fury, tried to kill me for my impertinence at
having claimed what was fact, nonetheless, despite his fury. And though my
nose was broken, I did receive another revelation that very night stating
that his servants had been treated in just this way in all ages of the
world, and was not Jesus crucified by such rage asthat manifested at that
time? And thus through thespirit, I had seen Satan with his chains had
blinded the minds of the LatterDay-Saints, and they had become more
estranged and hardened than the world which they were attempting to save.
And is that man of sin, is he not revealed by these words also?1
I am including some of the Revelations which I have received for your
perusal as was given unto the people of old by that One who spoke unto the
prophets of Israel, even so hath he spoken in these last days unto that One
mighty and strong whose feet, are they not beautiful upon the mountains, and
who publisheth peace, and saith unto Zion thy God, doth he not yet reign
2 ? Even so judge ye, for with what judgment ye judge, that shall ye also
be judged, and I care not for this world having beheld his glory, and again
I bear testimony that I am he who should come, and though I bear testimony
of myself, yet there are ten-thousand who shall return in the day with
Enoch, who are mightier than all the earth.
1) 2 Thess. 2:3-11
2) See Isaiah 52.
"RetroProphet" <RetroProp...@newsguy.com> wrote in message
news:dfcn7...@drn.newsguy.com...
RetroProphet
>I don't have belief, I have knowledge.
>I'm an eyewitness there is a God. I have explained
>this many many times before, you need to learn how to read.
The only difference between you and all the others
who have claimed this, is that you are alive.
When you die, none of what you claimed your deity
could, might, or will do, will come to pass, as has
ALWAYS been the case, demonstrating that you are deluded,
that your deity is fictional. It happened to Joseph Smith,
and it will happen to you.
I can read. Repeat your myths all you like, rail on
about "proofs" based on nothing more than the basic
religion-building principle of "myth supporting myth"
or delusions of supernatural events...it makes no
difference...my hypothesis stands firm and always will.
>Isaac Asimov did not have any evidence there was no God,
>he just believed, as he admitted.
Speaking of not reading, if you did read what I wrote,
you'd have noted that I said that Asimov's conclusion is
inferior to mine. You will not even address mine directly,
so potent is it.
The experiment has yielded enormous amounts of data,
all confirming the hypothesis without fail, and all
you can point to is moldering scriptures that are in
actuality fantasy-histories? They are not evidence to
support YOUR premise, they support MINE.
Men of power used these to inspire their people --
are you so gullible that you ignore that there is
nothing tangible to support the existance of the deity they
wrote about? NOTHING. A deity that was supposed to do all
manner of things just EVAPORATES when the nation that worshipped
it was decimated, is no longer interested in doing any of the
things it used to like to do, to threaten and bluster, to help
destroy evil nations, is no longer interested in taking a hand
in human affairs for all to see?
That deity was replaced with an entirely different one.
Remember the hypothesis; when a deity loses it last believer,
the deity does nothing, and is demonstrated to be a fiction.
Works every time.
The physical evidences of Old Testament times do not
require a deity to explain ANYTHING. All you can do is to
play at priestcraft as they did -- rationalize and "prove"
things based on the false premise that the scriptures you
are referring to are FACTUAL. They are not. They were propaganda.
And, you can do NOTHING with them that proves your deity is true.
You have no knowledge. Just faith.
Joseph Smith claimed all that you claimed and more,
and pied-pipered countless gullible souls into believing
in the soon-to-come destruction of the world, events
which he claimed would happen in their lifetime.
He was successful in doing what had been done in ancient
times: he birthed a nation using claims of revelation
preserved as scripture. He too is part of the data gathered
in the experiment. For before him, it might have been said
that it was impossible to build such a nation without the
aid of an actually deity, and so it must be true.
But Smith demonstrated that indeed it could be done,
without any deity at all; what deity would provide the
world with a new book of scripture that also is claimed
to be a historical account, but that cannot be verified
in the least as historical? What deity would send the
world a prophet to proclaim repeatedly that the end was
within his followers' lifetimes, only to have all of
them die and another 70 years elapse without fulfillment,
casting doubt upon the whole matter among good and evil alike?
What deity would take steps to supposedly correct FACTUAL
doctrinal and scriptural errors of thousands of years
using methods so ill-conceived that all of it yet
REQUIRES FAITH in the supposed NEW FACTS?
No, Art, history makes sense when one assumes no deities,
and makes no sense when one does. It doesn't even matter
where you look in history, this principle holds true,
universally it holds true.
There is a scientifically sound basis for
the Theory of Atheism.
Atheism is not the knee-jerk antithesis of theism,
it is its superior successor. It does not represent
the abrogation of responsibility to uphold fairness
and morality, but is merely a more realistic base
upon to build future morality systems.
Art Bulla
ground, or saw the devil 's come out as I did. You would not say this if ye
have been caught up to the third heaven and seen and heard unspeakable
things. Where there is no faith Jesus could do no mighty work either. Men
are commanded to exercise faith in the living God.
JST Mark 6:4-14
4 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and
Joses, and of Judah and Simon?
5 And are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
6 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own
country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
7 And he could do no mighty work there, save that he laid his hands upon a
few sick folk and they were healed.
8 And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the
villages, teaching.
9 And he called the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two;
and gave them power over unclean spirits; and commanded them that they
should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, nor
bread, nor money in their purse; but should be shod with sandals, and not
take two coats.
10 And he said unto them, In whatsoever place ye enter into a house, there
abide till ye depart from that place.
11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you; when ye depart thence
shake off the dust of your feet for a testimony against them.
12 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah
in the day of judgment, that for the city.
13 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
14 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were
sick, and they were healed.
news:dffv0...@drn.newsguy.com...
James Bolin
"Art Bulla" <a...@artbulla.com> wrote in message
news:3o15j7F...@individual.net...
How do we know that you are not delusional, schizophrenic (seems like the
most likely pathology of yours to me), or just plain loony tunes? Anyone
can say things like your statements above because they are basically
un-provable in the real world. Your personal faith (or delusion) is your
own, but your arguments for its proof in reality are irrational.
JB