Who Do I Think I AM?

I did not turn atheist until 35 and around that time I realized, that not just my religious beliefs were a lie, but my morality was wrong as well. And a thinking change occurred in me, to where I went from a strong rightist to a strong far leftist anarchist socialist. I see how the truth can set some free and I try to help others do the same, choosing evidence and reason to guide them. I like to offer my ideas on prehistory and think outside the box often but I want to be very clear, in general, I support mainstream archaeology, anthropology, and historical thinking and stand by archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians, appreciating all their hard work.

I am not an academic. I am a revolutionary that teaches in public, in places like social media, and in the streets. I am not a leader by some title given but from my commanding leadership style of simply to start teaching everywhere to everyone, all manner of positive education. I strive to address fake history (Pseudoarchaeology, Pseudohistory, and Pseudoscience) and its supporters as well as try to teach real history. I also make speculations on history from how I see the evidence relating. I strive to be right in my thinking and actions but understand as an agreer to some of fallibilism‘s thinking, that I know I can be wrong and am thus rationally open to changing my thinking on valid and reliable reason and evidence. It is my welcoming correction that distills my thinking to the purity available to reach reason.

Here is the form of fallibilism I am thinking, “The claim that all assertions are provisional and thus open to revision in light of new evidence, which is widely taken for granted in the natural sciences.” ref

I post lots of religious info but don’t believe in any religion or spiritual beliefs?

 I am an atheist, antitheist, and antireligionist. However, I am also a self-taught prehistorian, trying to explain the evolution of religion which requires me fully understand the connections of religious or spiritual beliefs to allow others to rethink the belief in them. To expose the evolution of religion and thus understand its humanness not just from reason but do to understanding all the facts of archaeology, anthropology, and religious mythology. It is to bring about awareness to inspire others to atheism or at least a new understanding of religion removing its believed special status when religion or spiritual beliefs are, to me, just “culture” or “sociocultural“ products, like language. I don’t believe in gods or ghosts, and nor souls either. I don’t believe in heavens or hells, nor any supernatural anything. I don’t believe in Aliens, Bigfoot, nor Atlantis. I strive to follow reason and be a rationalist. Reason is my only master and may we all master reason.

“Sociocultural factors characterize social and cultural forces that influence the feelings, attitudes, values, thoughts, beliefs, interactions, and behaviors of related individuals and groups.” ref

“Examples of sociocultural factors include:

• Income and wealth distribution
• Social classes
• Attitudes towards education and work,
• Language, customs, and taboos
• Business and health practices
• Housing
• Religious beliefs
• Population size and housing
• Social mobility
• Age distribution and social values” ref

I don’t believe in the supernatural notion of a “soul,” especially with our natural only evolution. Undesigned natural processes of evolution made us “believing-machines.” I am not an animist, thus I don’t believe in souls or spirits. How can I? When in our natural only evolution was there added magical anything? I can’t buy anything but natural, thus I can be labeled a “Metaphysical naturalist (also called ontological naturalist, philosophical naturalist, and anti-supernaturalist) which is a philosophical worldview that holds that there is nothing but natural elements, principles, and relations of the kind studied by the natural sciences.” ref

I am a rationalist, not a skeptic. I appeal to reason, not doubt, like most atheists. No “skepticism attack” tactics used on others atheists works on me, as I don’t even value skepticism. When the Truth is afraid, Fascism of some kind, likely Reigns. While many skeptics may tend to strive to master doubt, I as a rationalist, strive to master reason.

I am a Methodological Rationalist, I rarely am pushed to doubt as a default, instead, I see reason as my default and at times it may be responsible to doubt, but I get to that conclusion because of reasoning. Methodological: relating to the system of methods used in a particular area of study or activity: such as “a wide variety of methodological approaches to ethical problem-solving in my approach to truth or the label of knowledge.”

I fully enjoy the value (axiology) of archaeology (empirical evidence from fact or artifacts at a site) is knowledge (epistemology) of the past, adding to our anthropology (evidence from cultures both the present and past) intellectual (rational) assumptions of the likely reality of actual events from time past.

Religion is Unwarranted Faith and Belief.  The problem with religion is unwarranted faith and belief. The problem of faith is as an invalid justification and the belief problem is holding unjustified false belief believing it is justified true belief. I use the Animism term as a definition of spirit-beliefs or a kind of Supernatural-Spiritism thinking, that to me, are in all spiritual or religious type beliefs, not primitive but core. I see Animism as the original religion (religious non-naturalism/supernatural persuasion or spiritual/magical thinking) of all humanity and is still in all the religions of the world.

I am mainly a prehistorian, 1 million to around 5,000/4,000 years ago. So while I may understand the past most don’t I don’t know a lot of history many seem to commonly know. I am not reading any more books, maybe ever again as I am tired from a life devoted to deep study. lol

Nothing is a justified true belief without valid or reliable reason and evidence; just as everything believed must be open to question, leaving nothing above challenge.

I don’t see religious terms Animism, Totemism, Shamanism, or Paganism as primitive but original or core elements that are different parts of world views and their supernatural/non-natural beliefs or thinking.

In the past or even lingering today, are beliefs often ripe with religious bigotry, seen in how religious/spiritual thinking not Abrahamic (Judaism, Christianity, or Islam) religious thinking are often believed to be primitive, unequal, or less than monotheism (preserved as the only real or not the correct religion beliefs if not monotheism).

I see all religions as having shared or similar features or core elements that relate to religious terms Animism, Totemism, Shamanism, or Paganism including Abrahamic (Judaism, Christianity, or Islam) religious thinking. 

I don’t class any religious thinking as primitive but in error to what I see as a natural-only world, that religious thinking then makes up a myriad of non-natural/non-empirical themes/beings, stories, and myths about which group together are called religions.

I do anarchist teaching of prehistory, in that I don’t just make a blog, expecting people to come to me. No, I take all my knowledge and like a gorilla soldier, I force-feed to the world my knowledge, one piece at a time, that is just what is needed. So, I heed that call and teach in public…

Do good, make no excuses, just do good, the world desperately needs more of this, and if we all do more, we all win. We rise by helping each other. I am an autodidactic-polymath in many subjects and a genus in both IQ intelligence as well as EQ emotional intelligence, quite rare. Yet I am ignored? Most disregard my ideas, I don’t think so, or is it due to my blogs that are so long they are like small free books, scary right?

I like learning prehistory!

I also hate: “Pseudo-science, Pseudo-history, and Pseudo-morality.”

So yeah, history is fun, but one must weed through the sometimes added mythology, half-truths, or outright lies. This is even more important when reading religion-related information.

The greatest lie ever, was the fraud of democracy, from its conceptions in Greece, claiming the freedom to vote, all the while upholding the institution of slavery. We today are sold the lie of capitalism, and the elite that play in space, while children starve in the streets…

The sad history of democracy is one of continued bigotry of elites and slaves, but now with a happy face or less unhappy faces, I should say, for more accuracy, as some non-slaves were a little more equal in a limited kind of way and/or scope.

If Americanism has taught us anything, it is that this “land” (people claiming colonialism as a birthright) loves bigotry, hate, lying, violence, denial, and unscientific explanations to just about any damn thing that can’t get away fast enough.

What if truth, mattered? Would we be more open-minded, or did you think you were already good, no improvement needed as most do, or do you let “new knowledge” alluded to, get in? Do you care? If so, what have you done to help change the world? When was the last time you realized you were wrong, then changed?

I often struggle for a better world but it is hard when hate is more motivating than love…  Shamefully, the world thrives on bigotry and it needs to stop, no matter what style of society it is wrong.

“Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” Albert Einstein

Liberal is not the same as a Democrat. A Democrat can be conservative, neoliberal, liberal, progressive, etc. Liberal: “willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from one’s own; open to new ideas”, I am an anarchist-socialist with liberal thinking.

I am a far-leftist, I am not pro-patriotism, nor anti-patriotism if limited to that which is actually positive, but am actively against pro-patriotism if harmful, just as I am against pro-nationalism. And I hold this universally whether one claims the left or the right.

I am similar to a self/alone leftist, my ideas are almost exclusively my own or that I relate with. I am not in or connected to any group or person other than @Skepticallefty, who is a friend, and a fellow leftist educator, teaching, like me, in public.

No, I am not ok with the hell of this capitalist “profits” driven world, that pushes our fellow humans to live, the harsh life, of the cold street! Poverty is a systemic form of sanctioned violence under capitalism. As always it is profits over people: wealth hoarded and robbed for the few, over the needs and rights of the many.

I am no fan of politicians in general as an anarchist. But politicians are not equal at all, nor are the different parties similar on things. So it matters when humanity is on the line. One is ok with slowing our demise, while others are trying hard to burn the earth alive.

We all make a difference! Often we wait for others to be friendly, to be kind, to make a difference, or to be a leader. When we have such power all along, may I be friendly, Kind, make a difference, and be a leader of such active humanism, promoting human good…

Often a wise person can learn, even something from a person thinking stupid, but often a person thinking stupid can’t learn, even something from a wise person.

I offer so much of my stuff to others for free, not because its value is low, but because my heart of care is rich.

Only the unjust, are truly comfortable with the oppression and harm of others. If you think society is great, wow do I have some news for you. Think, how often is it the powerless that start wars, oppress others, or commit genocide? So, I guess the question is to us all, to ask, how can power not carry responsibility in a humanity concept?

I spend most of my efforts improving the ranks of leftists, solidarity, so other leftists may pick on each other not me. Humanitarian issues are my focus. I am not like most, I am a leftist, not by reading any leftist stuff but by my own thinking, thus I act differently at times.

While I have often impressed some with my skilled words of anger, it is my world of kindness, that has truly changed lives. There is someone somewhere that remembers “you”, simply because you showed them kindness. So as often as you can, strive to be kind.

I was asked what is my favorite put down of believers. Well, I don’t worry about putting anyone down, my goal is offering info to challenge what believers think they know, hoping to change their minds. Truth rather than some fixed thing is at times but a guess, later shown accurate thus labeled knowledge or possibly seen as wrong in the sunlight of new information, requiring correction.

I fall from the treetops like a summer rain of new things that invigorates the mind to thought as if reaching out for a phantom to see what is really true. We light a candle in our mind when we let reason be our master because reason requires its user to change to what is reasoned over what may be preferred. I am a reason-driven “I dare you, to think” kind of philosopher. Simple but when the philosophy thinking is so inarticulate, or such monumental architecture of mental gymnastics erected on top of “reason”, that to most people, not in philosophy, it is just like bla, bla, bla. Lol

So you know I am odd, I like helping others for no reason. 

Well, I guess, I help my past abused child, that needed someone to help.

All kinds of people from academics, from history, anthropology, or archaeology; “all of them,” are blown away by my prehistory knowledge. Yet I have so few that use my offered knowledge to fight religion and gods when I already did all the work for you. Use my knowledge of prehistory as weapons.

While most atheists work their arguments against religious beliefs or gods with doubts, I instead have lots of facts and more facts. In fact, I have so many facts not once has anyone not been humbled by just how much I know and understand. I made it all so others can fight back.

I was permanently removed from Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. I am surprised I still am allowed to post on Twitter. I am sure that they just forgot… lol

I may never know just how beautiful you are, until you are kind.

In the end, all we have is each other and life is just too damn short to not be kind. It is not my moment of the greatest selfishness that holds good memories in my heart. No, it is my moment of the greatest selflessness that holds good memories in my heart. I have never looked for fame, I did It all as activism.

It is not a matter of being the only flame but to inspire us all to unify as one, to bring light to all we can. Be an honest thinker who values only reason and evidence as your main helpful guides. Follow an “ethics of belief” and don’t “believe what you like” rather what is justified soundly, thus let “Reason” be your master, and may you master “Reason.” Anger has been easier than care but it is my care I hold as value and it is this care, not some anger, I wish to inspire. In fact, I wish for us all to truly slow down and think, to add the needed care. Yea, we should do the needful, the worthy, and what is true. Reason rules.

No God: No evidence, No intelligence, and No goodness = Valid Atheism Conclusion

1. No evidence, To move past the Atheistic Null Hypothesis: There is no God/Gods (in inferential statistics, a Null Hypothesis generally assumed to be true until evidence indicates otherwise. Thus, a Null Hypothesis is a statistical hypothesis that there is no significant difference reached between the claim and the non-claim, as it is relatively provable/demonstratable in reality in some way. “The god question” Null Hypothesis is set at as always at the negative standard: Thus, holding that there is no God/Gods, and as god faith is an assumption of the non-evidentiary wishful thinking non-reality of “mystery thing” found in all god-talk, until it is demonstratable otherwise to change. Alternative hypothesis: There is a God (offered with no proof: what is a god and how can anyone say they know), therefore, results: Insufficient evidence to overturn the null hypothesis of no God/Gods.

2. No intelligence, Taking into account the reality of the world we do know with 99 Percent Of The Earth’s Species Are Extinct an intelligent design is ridiculous. Five Mass Extinctions Wiped out 99 Percent of Species that have ever existed on earth. Therefore like a child’s report card having an f they need to retake the class thus, profoundly unintelligent design.

3. No goodness, Assessed through ethically challenging the good god assumptions as seen in the reality of pain and other harm of which there are many to demonstrates either a god is not sufficiently good, not real or as I would assert, god if responsible for this world, would make it a moral monster ripe for the problem of evil and suffering (Argument from Evil). God would be responsible for all pain as life could easily be less painful and yet there is mass suffering. In fact, to me, every child born with diseases from birth screams out against a caring or loving god with the power to do otherwise. It could be different as there is Congenital insensitivity to pain (CIP), also known as congenital analgesia, in which a person cannot feel (and has never felt) physical pain.

My Thought on the Evolution of God?

Animal protector deities from old totems/spirit animal beliefs come first to me, 13,000/12,000 years ago, then women as deities 11,000/10,000 years ago, then male gods around 7,000/8,000 years ago. Then Moralistic gods around 5,000/4,000 years ago.

Silence is no virtue, especially against injustice, oppression, or untruths. From our natural only reality, there is no need to hide, for Atheism and a magic-free universe is the truth and theism religion and its supernatural thinking gods are just a lie. Truth deserves to be supported and has no need to remain silent and should instead, inspire its strong championing. I hear this call deep in me to bravely champion the truth of atheism and I do it with pride. To me, Animistic Somethingism: You just feel/think there has to be something supernatural/spirit-world or feel/think things are supernatural/spirit-filled. “Somethingism” is commonly an unspecified belief in an undetermined supernatural reality, stated sometimes as spiritual but not religious, but, to me, is basically unrealized animism. Vague Theism or god Somethingism: just say NO! May I remind you , vague theism, somethingism or “ietsism” is not some Philosophers Stone of Theism removed from strong critique.

So loudly, I will proclaim supernatural, and gods are willful mental illusions, confusions, and lies that are commonly inspired by a life of religious influences, religiously motivated fears, and or religious indoctrination. I laugh at questions like “what would convince you of god” as if I approach thinking differently dependent. As a rationalist I am always moved best by valid and reliable reason and evidence, you know the very stuff, all religions and any supernatural claim always lack in the end. Religion is big on claims but small of real reasoning, full of logical fallacies in thinking, and no evidence to quorate all their delusionary supernatural nonsense and superstitions.

I strive to be a good human ethical in both my thinking and behaviors thus I strive to be:

Anti-racist, Anti-sexist, Anti-homophobic, Anti-biphobic. Anti-transphobic, Anti-classist, Anti-ablest, Anti-ageist, and as Always 🏴 Antifascist 🏴

In fact, I want to strive to avoid as much as I can bigoted thinking towards others based on their perceived membership or classification based on that person’s perceived political affiliation (Well: within reason, justice, and ethics), sex/gender, beliefs (Well: within reason, justice, and ethics), social class (Well: within reason, justice, and ethics), age, disability, religion (Well: within reason, justice, and ethics), sexuality (Well: within reason, justice, and ethics), race, ethnicity, language (Well: within reason, justice, and ethics), nationality, beauty, height, occupation (Well: within reason, justice, and ethics), wealth (Well: within reason, justice, and ethics), education, sport-team affiliation, music tastes or other personal characteristics (Well: within reason, justice, and ethics).

Although, I am a “very”, yes, VERY strong atheist, antitheist as well as antireligionist, My humanity is just as strong and I value it above my disbeliefs. My kind of people are those who champion humanity, the ones who value kindness, love justice, and support universal empowerment for all humans; we are all equal in dignity, and all deserve human rights, due self-sovereignty.

My thoughts on the Evolution of Religion: from Animism to Paganism

Philosophy to the Rescue: explaining Reason, Logic, Evidence, Truth, Certainty, Reality, and Science

Talking about “Religion and Deity Evolution” on Twitter (X) Questions and Answers

You can’t change people, by reason and evidence. WRONG, I do it all the time.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

ref, ref, ref

“Theists, there has to be a god, as something can not come from nothing.”

Well, thus something (unknown) happened and then there was something. This does not tell us what the something that may have been involved with something coming from nothing. A supposed first cause, thus something (unknown) happened and then there was something is not an open invitation to claim it as known, neither is it justified to call or label such an unknown as anything, especially an unsubstantiated magical thinking belief born of mythology and religious storytelling.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

Advocating Anarchism: Morality, Non-coercion, Anti-hierarchy, Solidarity, Internationalism, Mutualism, Cooperationism, Empowermentism, etc.

Damien Marie AtHope’s Art

The “Atheist-Humanist-Leftist Revolutionaries”

Cory Johnston ☭ Ⓐ Atheist Leftist @Skepticallefty & I (Damien Marie AtHope) @AthopeMarie (my YouTube & related blog) are working jointly in atheist, antitheist, antireligionist, antifascist, anarchist, socialist, and humanist endeavors in our videos together, generally, every other Saturday.

Why Does Power Bring Responsibility?

Think, how often is it the powerless that start wars, oppress others, or commit genocide? So, I guess the question is to us all, to ask, how can power not carry responsibility in a humanity concept? I know I see the deep ethical responsibility that if there is power their must be a humanistic responsibility of ethical and empathic stewardship of that power. Will I be brave enough to be kind? Will I possess enough courage to be compassionate? Will my valor reach its height of empathy? I as everyone, earns our justified respect by our actions, that are good, ethical, just, protecting, and kind. Do I have enough self-respect to put my love for humanity’s flushing, over being brought down by some of its bad actors? May we all be the ones doing good actions in the world, to help human flourishing.

I create the world I want to live in, striving for flourishing. Which is not a place but a positive potential involvement and promotion; a life of humanist goal precision. To master oneself, also means mastering positive prosocial behaviors needed for human flourishing. I may have lost a god myth as an atheist, but I am happy to tell you, my friend, it is exactly because of that, leaving the mental terrorizer, god belief, that I truly regained my connected ethical as well as kind humanity.

Cory and I will talk about prehistory and theism, addressing the relevance to atheism, anarchism, and socialism.

At the same time as the rise of the male god, 7,000 years ago, there was also the very time there was the rise of violence, war, and clans to kingdoms, then empires, then states. It is all connected back to 7,000 years ago, and it moved across the world.

Cory Johnston: https://damienmarieathope.com/2021/04/cory-johnston-mind-of-a-skeptical-leftist/?v=32aec8db952d  

The Mind of a Skeptical Leftist (YouTube)

Cory Johnston: Mind of a Skeptical Leftist @Skepticallefty

The Mind of a Skeptical Leftist By Cory Johnston: “Promoting critical thinking, social justice, and left-wing politics by covering current events and talking to a variety of people. Cory Johnston has been thoughtfully talking to people and attempting to promote critical thinking, social justice, and left-wing politics.” http://anchor.fm/skepticalleft

Cory needs our support. We rise by helping each other.

Cory Johnston ☭ Ⓐ @Skepticallefty Evidence-based atheist leftist (he/him) Producer, host, and co-host of 4 podcasts @skeptarchy @skpoliticspod and @AthopeMarie

Damien Marie AtHope (“At Hope”) Axiological Atheist, Anti-theist, Anti-religionist, Secular Humanist. Rationalist, Writer, Artist, Poet, Philosopher, Advocate, Activist, Psychology, and Armchair Archaeology/Anthropology/Historian.

Damien is interested in: Freedom, Liberty, Justice, Equality, Ethics, Humanism, Science, Atheism, Antiteism, Antireligionism, Ignosticism, Left-Libertarianism, Anarchism, Socialism, Mutualism, Axiology, Metaphysics, LGBTQI, Philosophy, Advocacy, Activism, Mental Health, Psychology, Archaeology, Social Work, Sexual Rights, Marriage Rights, Woman’s Rights, Gender Rights, Child Rights, Secular Rights, Race Equality, Ageism/Disability Equality, Etc. And a far-leftist, “Anarcho-Humanist.”

I am not a good fit in the atheist movement that is mostly pro-capitalist, I am anti-capitalist. Mostly pro-skeptic, I am a rationalist not valuing skepticism. Mostly pro-agnostic, I am anti-agnostic. Mostly limited to anti-Abrahamic religions, I am an anti-religionist.

To me, the “male god” seems to have either emerged or become prominent around 7,000 years ago, whereas the now favored monotheism “male god” is more like 4,000 years ago or so. To me, the “female goddess” seems to have either emerged or become prominent around 11,000-10,000 years ago or so, losing the majority of its once prominence around 2,000 years ago due largely to the now favored monotheism “male god” that grow in prominence after 4,000 years ago or so.

My Thought on the Evolution of Gods?

Animal protector deities from old totems/spirit animal beliefs come first to me, 13,000/12,000 years ago, then women as deities 11,000/10,000 years ago, then male gods around 7,000/8,000 years ago. Moralistic gods around 5,000/4,000 years ago, and monotheistic gods around 4,000/3,000 years ago. 

To me, animal gods were likely first related to totemism animals around 13,000 to 12,000 years ago or older. Female as goddesses was next to me, 11,000 to 10,000 years ago or so with the emergence of agriculture. Then male gods come about 8,000 to 7,000 years ago with clan wars. Many monotheism-themed religions started in henotheism, emerging out of polytheism/paganism.