The Arrogant Argument

This is the first in a series of posts about various arguments I've heard used as either defenses of religion or attacks against Atheism. These posts are designed to give my non-believing brethren some more tools and strategies in the ongoing battles with the religious. We did not start this fight, but we will defend ourselves. Hopefully, this will help you in an argument, forcing the opposition on the defensive.

Enjoy.

A while back I was watching some YouTube clip in which some Christian minister made a comment about how Atheists are "Arrogant" because we don't believe God created us in his own image.

Let me see if I get this straight...

I'm arrogant because I don't believe that I'm not created by God. The creator of the Universe. Of Everything.

For the sake of argument, let's say that there is a God, that it created you, me, and everything in the Universe. I'm not going to argue the time, be it 6 days, 6,000 years, or Billions of years.

The Universe is Freaking Big. Over 50 Billion Galaxies. Each with over a Trillion stars. Theoretically, 10 percent of those could have planets around them, and 10 percent of those could have life. Each of those could potentially have Trillions of lifeforms.

Let's break down the numbers.

[(.1*.1*1 Trillion) Number of potential planets with life in a galaxy] * [(2 Trillion * 50 Billion) Potential lifeforms on a planet times Number of galaxies]
10 Billion * 2 Trillion * 50 Billion = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 potential lifeforms in the known Universe. That is 10^33. That is more than a Metric Assload. That is a Billion times a Billion times a Billion times a Billion times a little more.

Now, not only did God create all of this, but in his spare time (I'll address the use of pronouns later on) listens in on your most intimate and innermost thoughts, communicates with you, and actually cares about who or what you want to have sex with. Apparently your thoughts are so important to the Great Maker that you think its more important that God gives counsel to you on what type of car to buy than doing things like keeping entire civilizations from being wiped out, keeping planets revolving around stars, and keeping the Great Space Dragon from eating the sun.

And I'm the arrogant one?

Note: I often refer to God as a male. I realize that this is somewhat sexist, and that I should not use the male gender unless necessary. If it would make you feel better if I referred to God as a woman, I will. But guess what, God is an imaginary character. We don't argue about the Tooth Fairy being a man or woman, or whether or not the Easter Bunny is a boy or a girl. They're all fake.

Vespa vs. Buddy

I'm in the market for a scooter. I've been looking at several different rides, but my final four choices come down to the following five.

Vespa LX 150
Vespa GTS 250
Buddy 125
Stella 150
Scarabeo 200

First off, they are all awesome looking. But the Scarabeo is just a little too tall off of the ground. Same with the Stella, but its not designed to have both feet on the ground at a stop light. The GTS is, in my opinion, too expensive. This leaves the LX 150 and Buddy 125. These choices are obviously without having a chance to ride them (Weather sucks) and see what the differences are between them. I'm trying to figure out which one I could get. If price were not an issue, the LX wins hands down. But, price is an issue. The Buddy is two grand cheaper, but doesn't feel like its two grand cheaper. It feels solidly built, and I haven't found much negative to be said about it. However, it is smaller up front. The Vespa has a little wider front shield, which is something I like.

But, you might ask "why not the Stella?" The Stella is a modern version of a classic Vespa/Lammy, reaching back to the days of 2-Stroke-Smoke, Mod music and a crapload of cool. I damn near creamed myself when I saw one for the first time. But here's why I won't get one now. First, its a manual. During the MSF course, I stalled at least 107 times in a two day period. Second, the bike is an inch too tall off the ground. That might not sound like much, but that was inch in my tallest boots. In other shoes, I wouldn't be able to reach the ground. Third, I've slept on concrete floors that were more comfortable than that "padded" seat. Finally, she's a polluter. One of my reasons for moving to a scooter is to lower my carbon footprint. This does not help in the slightest.

Basically, the Vespa LX 150 is still in the lead with the Buddy as a close second. The GTS is a nice "if everything works out" bike. The Stella is a beauty, but not practical. Like a trophy wife, she's useful only under certain situations.

Interesting Observation: If I could get the LX 150 in burnt orange, I would sign the papers tomorrow. I'm not a fan of it for most things, but it is wicked awesome on a scooter.

Killing Time During a Snowfall

It's snowing outside. The kids across the street were sledding down the hill in front of their apartment building in old discarded boxes. My wife was doing her best at wiping the snow off of the car, and I was bitching about being dressed on a Sunday. This past week was a very busy week. I worked a combined total of eighty hours, including school work. I didn't want to leave the house today, but my wife has never driven in this weather before. On top of this, she wanted to go to church. The last thing I need is my wife getting into an accident because she "had to go to church." At least if it was something useful, I wouldn't be upset, but church? It's a waste of time and money.

She decided she wasn't going to go to church, probably just so she wouldn't have to listen to me if she did get into an accident, but we still had to get groceries. It was pretty uneventful.

Interesting Observation: The kids sled riding earlier traveled farther with a shiny box then they did with a plain brown box.

Is it wrong to laugh at two handicapped people when they hit each other with their wheelchairs?

Very Busy and Liking It

Once again, its a busy week. Work, School, the Wife, and this. But then again, I wouldn't have it any other way. If I'm not working on an ulcer, I'm not happy. The last few days have been busier than usual, but nothing I can't handle. Now, I'm off to the wonderful world of hygiene, where I'll watch my hair fall out at a much faster rate than its growing in.

Test Post

This is a test post. If you are reading this then you have too much time on your hands.