Atheists believe universe & live arose by natural processes—that's their religion—it's a blind faith religion—it's an anti-God religion
— Ken Ham (@aigkenham) May 15, 2016
We need to be calling atheism for what it is—a religion-an anti-God religion—a religion that exalts fallible human reason-a worship of man
— Ken Ham (@aigkenham) May 15, 2016
Atheists at Reason Rally 2016 are really worshipping the god of self—they exalt reason—they're faith is they arose by natural processes
— Ken Ham (@aigkenham) May 15, 2016
If you’ve been following the career of creationist guru Ken Ham, you know that he likes to engage in a lot of projection. In particular, he likes to claim that people who look at the world through the lens of science and empiricism are the real religious fanatics who can’t handle the truth that people used to ride around on dinosaurs when God created the Earth 6,000 years ago.
I truly enjoy Ken Ham for the sheer comic relief his sel-righteous religious histrionics can provide. Part of it is that, for whatever reason(s), he simply can’t process the idea that human beings really can function- in some cases, quite well- without acknowledging the existence of an all-seeing, all-knowing Supreme Being who monitors your every thought, word, and deed 24/7/365. To his way of thinking, God requires no proof; God simply is…and accepting that on faith is simply what rational, moral human beings do. Right…and vaccines cause autism, no?
Except that not everyone sees it that way. To some of us who prefer life on a more empirical level, accepting on faith the idea that God exists and exercises domain over all aspects of existence is simply illogical. I can only speak for myself, but I believe in the provable, the demonstrable, and the visible. I believe in the observable and empirical. To refer to that as a “religion” is simply inaccurate. I don’t “worship” anything; there are no rituals I engage in. Science is simply logic that’s been demonstrated to be true via putting a supposition to the test.
Ham seems determined to convince his audience that those of us who consider ourselves to be “good without God” are guilty of holding crazy beliefs based on “blind faith.” Uh, no…that would indeed be some world-class projection. Atheists as a general rule don’t do “blind faith;” we reject the existence and validity of what we consider a nonexistent invisible being because such a belief requires the belief in something that can’t be seen or proven. We believe in the demonstrable- truth that can be empirically shown to exist in the real world. If Ham could ever do that, I suspect we’d be having a very different conversation.
I’m still waiting…and I suspect I will be for quite some time.
Atheists work hard against Christianity cause they're putting their hands over eyes & ears and shouting "I refuse to see and hear truth!"
— Ken Ham (@aigkenham) May 15, 2016
Atheism isn’t a “religion”- especially not an “anti-God religion.” Ham seems unable to process the reality that declining to accept his religion on faith is not in and of itself characteristic of religious belief; it’s simply a statement that those of us who are “good without God” believe in what we know to be true…because we’ve seen it with our own eyes.
While Ham is heavily invested in “proving” that atheists are merely narcissists rejecting the truth of God’s existence, it should be pointed out that Ham also has a great deal at stake in pushing his own blind faith. His Ark Encounter, dedicated to creationism in general and the story of Noah’s Ark in particular, has duped Kentucky taxpayers out of $18 million. Ham hopes to “educate” visitors to Ark Encounter about the “real history” of the world- “real” meaning “as told in the Bible”…ALWAYS a good source for impartial and empirical information, eh?
(Separation of Church and State?? Any REAL American knows that’s only for losers and godless Liberals….)
If Ham (or anyone else) were able to offer solid, empirical proof of God’s existence, I suspect people like myself would take notice. I’m not anti-religion; I simply resist the expectation that something should be accepted on faith “just because.” Instead, Ham- whom I suspect understands on some level that empirical proof is far beyond his capabilities- has decided to accuse atheists of the very same thing he’s “guilty” of. Like so many Conservative Christians, he seems to default to the “If you can’t prove it, distract ‘em with bull$#!&” method of winning hearts and minds. Except that he’s not going to win many of either with his breathless ministrations about the evil, perfidious, self-absorbed nature of those who reject the “truth” about the existence of God.
We’re already on to Ham and have been for some time. He’s a grifter and charlatan of the first order, a huckster whose primary concern is using his religious faith to separate fools from their money…which has turned out to be far easier than anyone might have imagined.
