Michael Coren and the Nature of Belief

This is from Michael Coren:"To paraphrase the great British writer G.K. Chesterton, when people stop believing in God they don't believe in nothing, they believe in everything. Quite so.

The credulous and the gullible are having their day. They are deviants, moral worms, intellectual midgets, practitioners of political self-abuse, with the wit of a circus clown, the subtlety of a sledgehammer and the credibility of a gangster."

http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Coren_Michael/2007/09/15/4498086-sun.php

Putting aside the fact that Michael Coren is at best a jerk, and more likely an asshole, and the logical fallacy that not believing in God makes you believe in all kinds of crazy things (http://www.secweb.org/index.aspx?action=viewAsset&id=770), I believe in a few things, but not everything.

I don't believe in God. Or Odin. Or Allah. Or Zeus. Or Ra. Or faeries. Or unicorns. Or Hogwarts. Or Gaia. Or any of the other Titans, for that matter. Or Satan. I don't believe that Jesus was god, or the son of god, or the fulfillment of prophesy. I don't believe that if god existed, killing himself would get him to calm down enough so that he could tolerate us and let us into heaven. I don't believe in heaven, either.

I don't believe that the US or Israel brought down the WTC, but they sure as hell made hay while the sun was shining, if you get my drift.

I don't believe that Elvis is still alive, nor is he in Belgium. If he is alive, he's probably in Memphis, because you wouldn't notice another Elvis there. But of course, he's probably not.

I believe that there probably are aliens out there, but they think we're idiots, and probably leave us alone. If they do visit, they're probably more interested in our crazy superstitions than our assholes. Unless we're talking about metaphical assholes, like Coren, and then they might be interested in him. I think he's interesting. Chiefly because he's an asshole.

I believe my senses, and despite what Kant said, I don't think that their limitations prove a world beyond this one. They only prove their limitations, and therefore my own.

I believe that most people are good.I believe that I don't need religion to behave myself.I believe that doing good for its own sake is better than doing it because I'm afraid of burning for eternity.

I believe that all good things in the world come from the world. I believe that all bad things in the world come from the world.I believe that ultimate evil and ultimate good are human constructions, and therefore we are responsible for not only the concept of evil (and good) but also the comission of evil (and good).

I believe that almost all the guilt and shame I carry are leftovers from my god-fearing days.I believe that religion did NOT make me a better person. It made me scared.

I believe that other people find comfort, purpose, solace and joy in faith. I wish them well, but I no longer envy them.

I believe that religion can teach tolerance, love and understanding, and that it can teach hate and prejudice.

believe that Michael Coren is a bigot, and asshole, and an arrogant prick. I believe that if Jesus really were the son of god, then He wouldn't like Michael Coren. Though He would love him, because Christ is supposed to love everybody. Even assholes.