PZ Myers On the Good Life

The Washington Post published this little hairball by PZ Myers, "An Atheists Guide to the Good Life."

He admits:

A curious thing happened to my thoughts on the way to composing this essay.  

It was supposed to be about how to be an atheist, but I realized that that wasn’t right. Atheism is the default position. You don’t have to do anything to be an atheist, but you have to work awfully hard to not be one — atheism strips away a lot of superfluous nonsense, rather than piling on remarkable requirements and strange creeds and bizarre pointless rituals that you need to obey. So instead, I thought I’d address the believers and tell you what baggage you can throw off ol’ Conestoga Wagon of life, the stuff that we know is completely unnecessary because atheists have traveled the trail without it, and come out just fine.

It's hardly curious that an essay on how to live the good life as an atheist turned into a screed against religion, Prof. Myers. That's kinda your thing. I guess the 'steemed professor couldn't think of anything connecting atheists to the Good Life, so he went to his true "default position", attacking Christianity. (I'm not saying you can't connect atheism to the Good Life, just that Dr. Myers couldn't.)

Ditch the Sunday church services first thing. Hanging out with friends and neighbors is great, we atheists do it all the time, but guess what? We do it without a boring dude in a dog collar droning away at us, without sitting in those uncomfortable pews, without snoozing through the same old homilies.

Instead, let's ditch class with Prof. Myers. Who needs a boring old dude in a professors tweed jacket (or Hawaiian shirt) droning away at us while sitting in those uncomfortable classroom chairs, snoozing through the same old lectures.

Telling us we’re going to be set on fire by a malicious god if we don’t behave isn’t just unbelievable, it’s insulting — we don’t need extortion or offers of imaginary paradise cookies to do the right thing. Why do you?

We don't, Doc. Have you been getting your theology from South Park again? I don't believe what you think we believe either! But those paradise cookies sound delicious!

Dr. Myers on prayer:

Atheists have the simplest answer: no one is listening. It fits just as well, even better, than all the convoluted explanations you might come up with. And it means you can stop the futile babbling, hang up and do something productive.

If  "no one is listening", maybe it's not God. We've already stopped the futile babbling because Jesus told us to!  Hey, Doc! You and Jesus agree on prayer. Boy, that Jesus must be smart as a university professor!

On love:

Most importantly, you never have to feel bad about reciprocating love with another person, because medieval rules to govern relationships have all lost their divine foundation.

Medieval rules? They're way older than that!  Just because you don't believe in a building doesn't mean it has no foundation.

 On society:

Speaking of medieval rules, throw away the hierarchical view of society. Rulers aren’t better than those they rule, priests are not above the congregation...

 Woo hoo! No more university professors!

On death and dying:

Have you ever lost someone you love? You know what churchy people will tell you: They’re in a happier place, God needed another angel, they’re having strawberries and waffles with Jesus right now. Atheists won’t do that: they’ll tell you that it’s OK to grieve.

Yes, it is OK to grieve. I've been told that all my life by "churchy" people. We don't become angels, although having strawberries and waffles with Jesus sounds awesome! And it gives me an excuse to show one of my favorite clips:

 If you want to read the whole article, here.


 Dr. PZ Myers....

Myers Wanna "Cracker"?

PZ Myers is a godless liberal. Hey, that's what it says on his blog! He's a professor of biology at the University of Minnesota at Morris. He is an atheist and proud of it. In recent days he has become notorious for the sacrilege of desecrating a consecrated host or, as he calls them, "horrible little crackers."

According to the Catholic Church, when a priest speaks the words of consecration over the hosts (i.e. thin wafers of wheat bread) during a Mass, by the power of God the hosts become the body, blood soul and divinity of Jesus Christ in their essence while retaining the appearance of bread. Since the hosts are changed in what they essentially are but not in how they appear they still look and taste like bread. If you could examine them in a lab they would have the chemical composition of bread. Except for a few Eucharistic miracles, the consecrated hosts don't become physical flesh and blood. If you prick them, they do not bleed.

But that is apparently what PZ Myers expected or thought Catholics would expect. He did prick a consecrated host by pushing a nail through it. It did not bleed. Imagine his surprise and dissappointment. (It's funny how fundamentalist atheists become when it's to their advantage, but I digress). Remember this is not the first time someone put a nail through Jesus. On that occassion he said, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do." I'm sure that what Jesus said when PZ Myers drove a nail through him--again!

Catholics must forgive PZ Myers for his sacrilege. This desecration of the Eucharist, this taking something of value to someone else and breaking it, is the action of a frightened, arrogant, petulant child who can't play nicely with others and whose vocabulary consists of profanity, silly blasphemies and "nyah, nyah, na, nyah, nyah!"

PZ Myers said that "nothing must be held sacred." I suppose that includes even the U of Minnesota and it's students. So the University might want to be careful. This breed will turn on you. For militant atheists have only their anger at a God they don't believe exists and at anyone who believes in anything other than their bitter screed. To them, all religions are lies and we would be better off without them. They are right in a sense. As St. Paul says if Christ is not raised our faith is in vain; we are still in out sins. If Christ is not God, if God doesn't exist, then the Eucharist is just a "horrible little cracker".

Fair enough. If PZ Myers wants a world without religion, especially Christianity, especially Catholicism, he can have one as long as he gives up any of the benefits of the Church. No hospitals, no art, no genetics, no seismology, no music, no charitable organizations, no universities, no care for the poor or elderly, no atheists, no one to rant and rail against.

So let's not rail and rant against PZ Myers. Let's pray for and forgive him. Priests at the London Oratory are doing just that!