I camped at Death Valley this past weekend, mostly to see The Racetrack Playa which has been on my to-do list for awhile.

I've seen people post photo blogs, but since I've already posted my pics and captions at the website of the group I went with, I'm not going to bother reinventing sliced bread, the wheel, or luggage on rollers.

So, here's the link. You can click on the photos to make them bigger. I posted just the first 25 pictures (I assume others will add their own as time goes on). I like a few of the captions I made, that's why I'm posting this.

http://hiking.meetup.com/161/photos/?photoAlbumId=141205

Atheism and the Caped Crusader

Last Monday I had an opportunity to go back to the Christian school I attended (from pre-school through 12th grade) and give a lecture to the 12th grade philosophy class and 11th grade Bible class. The topic of my presentation? The case for atheism!

Yeah, I know, I can't believe it either.

The teacher has invited representatives of different religions (and atheism) to come throughout the semester and present the case for why their belief system is true. I think hearing opposing viewpoints from the people who actually hold them is vital, so I give the school lots of kudos for that. Unfortunately, only a Roman Catholic priest and I have taken up the offer so far. Any Raelians out there willing to travel to Hesperia?

It felt a bit strange to be back at my school for an atheist lecture. In the school office, I ran into my old 6th grade teacher, Mr. Card. He was one of my favorite teachers--the one who got me into astronomy. When he heard someone refer to me as "the speaker" he said, "That's great! What are you speaking about?" I gave kind of an awkward laugh and didn't answer. I'm not ashamed of my beliefs, but I really didn't feel like shocking the poor guy so early in the morning. Plus, I wouldn't want him to regret introducing me to science.

The talk itself went well. I was able to audiotape it and I had no idea one person could say "uh" and "um" 26 billion times within two 45 minute lectures. I'm thinking of contacting Guinness. Not to mention the fact that I took a sip of my soda after every sentence. I'm surprised I went through only two bottles of Sprite (my throat was sore and I consider Sprite to be sore throat medicine).

The school teaches a literal reading of the Bible and young-earth creationism, so I tailored my comments toward those beliefs. If most of the religious people in the world sat through my lecture they would have thought, "He's hardly refuted anything I believe at all. And why must he drink during every pause?"

Even though it cut into my time, I was excited to participate in a good ol' high school fire drill during the 2nd class. That really brought back the memories. The only way to top that would have been if I was there on kite day. Remember kite day? One year I brought my Batman kite only to see a kid with some kind of industrial strength razor string sever mine and send The Batman soaring out of the schoolyard. I'd like to think it landed in some dude's front yard and inspired him to avenge the death of his parents.

The students were courteous, paid attention, and asked thoughtful questions at the end. The Q&A was definitely the most enjoyable part. After class, some of the students told me I did a much better job than the Roman Catholic priest who apparently berated them during the Q&A because they were asking him questions he had difficulty answering. Perhaps he should have chugged some Sprite during his speech.

The one aspect I don't think I prepared for enough was the question of morality without god. I gave the basics, but I really didn't think of a good way of explaining it until I was driving back to Vegas later that night. I think moralilty consists of moral rules of social interaction that humans have discovered through experience and reason. When Hitler committed genocide, we judged him for it because we discovered long ago that if everyone commits genocide we'd all be dead and therefore it's not the best way for humans to interact and live with each other.

I didn't explain it that well to them, but the thing that bothers me the most is that I didn't get into why using god as a basis for morality is a no-win situation. It's called Euthyphro's Dilemma and is usually summed up like this: "Is what is moral commanded by god because it is moral, or is it moral because it is commanded by god?" If it is because it is moral, then moral standards exist outside of god. If it is because it's commanded by god, then morality is arbitrary (god could command dishonesty, for instance). The standard response (the one I used when I was a Christian) is that morality comes from god's nature. God's nature is inherently good and that's what objective morality is grounded in. Of course, now I realize that this doesn't solve the problem at all since god didn't choose his nature. God could have had a dishonest nature in which case dishonesty would be called "good". I really blew it by not talking about this, especially since many religious apologists think morality makes sense only if god exists.

There has been much talk in atheist circles lately over how to engage believers. Personally, as I've gotten older, I've become less concerned with talking to people about it. I'm interested in the subject and I believe theism vs. atheism is an important question, but it really takes a backseat to the important things in life. I care way more about cultivating relationships than arguing about religion. When I first became an atheist, I was actively looking to debate. Nowadays, I'd rather spend time polishing up a fart joke or checking on my fantasy basketball team. Granted, I just did a presentation about atheism at a high school, but it was a unique opportunity and they wanted someone to do it.

There are things I disagree with fellow atheists about. Some think that the world would be better off without religion. I doubt that. Sure, I think we'd be closer to believing what's real about the universe, but I certainly don't think it would end wars or people doing bad things. Regardless of our beliefs, we are humans and we can do horrible things to each other. Whatever wars could be fought in the name of religion would just get a different justification. And for every bad deed you can blame on religion, there is a good deed it can take credit for as well.

Some atheists think that religious people are stupid and delusional. Well, some of the smartest people I know are religious. As Michael Shermer says, smart people are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons. Odds are, I probably have a few beliefs that could fit that definition as well. I hope not, but seriously, what are the chances that everything I currently believe is actually true? Oops, I just realized that I indirectly called myself smart! The fact is, if you start with a supernatural worldview, then practically anything logically follows. If you believe in a supernatural entity, then there is nothing illogical about believing in a worldwide flood (even in the face of disconfirming evidence since god can do anything), a deity-man resurrecting from the dead, a triune god, 72 virgins awaiting martyrs in paradise, reincarnation, and every other belief that people like me consider false. In deductive terms, the arguments are valid. I just don't consider them sound. I spent most of my life as a believer and I don't think I was stupid during that time.

I also don't think the U.S. is in danger of becoming a theocracy (it's a pretty strong word, people). Yes, President Bush has slowed the advance of stem cell research (in this country), but he's also the first President to ever give federal funding to any type of stem cell research. Yes, Bush has appointed men to the Supreme Court who are right of center (as if he's not allowed!) and Roe v. Wade could be overturned with just one more appointment, but the pro-choice lobby has had over 30 years to ensure that state constitutions have the same trimester breakdown as Roe. Besides, although I completely agree with the trimester rules Blackmun made up, it really was a case of judicial activism and it should be overturned on principle alone (I have yet to find a good constitutional defense of it--someone please send it to me). Yes, there are people who want creationism taught as science in public schools and we have to continue to fight them, but I think we have the majority on our side on that one.

I believe we can have a nice, polite discourse about theology. And, believe it or not, that doesn't mean we need to respect people's beliefs. After all, who repects the belief of racism? Or the belief that the earth is flat? I do think we should respect people as human beings. I don't have to agree with someone to be civil with them. I can completely disagree with someone's belief--and even make fun of it!--without being viscious about it.

Yes, I've done my fair share of religion bashing over the years. Here is a Raelian MySpace group I created a few years ago. It was originally called "Raelian Women: Hot but Dumb." I just changed the name. As a comic, I don't think much is sacred in terms of not being made fun of. I'm not dumping my religious jokes (some things are only for specific audiences anyway, plus you do get more leeway as a joke teller on a stage), but I do think I can achieve a balance that avoids blatant name calling. That's the goal, anyway.

So, in summary, if you find a Batman kite in your yard, you have a responsibility to rid the streets of criminals. Do it in the name of your parents.