I'm a humble practitioner of an alternative form of witchcraft. One of the highest archmaesters in my field wrote a treatise on miracles, reading the future, etc which is a good read.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004W0I00Q
Using this type of witchcraft, you may divine the motions of the planets in the sky, even millions of years hence. It also answers important questions, like "Is it a good idea to go driving on a snowy day".
If you're interested in the subject, and aremnt squeamish, this is a book I read on it years ago:
https://www.amazon.com/Aftermath-Inc-Cleaning-After-Goes-ebook/dp/B000V2116E
I've gotten more sensitive to things over the years and don't want to read it again. But it is a fascinating story of a service which is unfortunately very necessary and is a great help to already grieving family and friends that used to have to do it themselves.
There was this case in the UK where two women, two years apart were raped and murdered by one man: Colin Pitchfork. The case was near my area. There's a book on it called 'The Blooding' which i have but haven't read yet. The case was very revolutionary, as he was the first Serial Killer caught by DNA. I'd end up writing an essay if i was to explain it so here's a wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Pitchfork
And here is the book on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01CWZGAEA/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Happy (kind of) reading, good luck in your search!
>The Holy Bible
"We are enjoined in Micah to do justly and love mercy; in Exodus we are forbidden to commit murder; in Leviticus we are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves; in the Gospels we are urged to love our enemies.
Yet think of the rivers of blood spilled by fervent followers of the books in which these well-meaning exhortations are embedded.
In Joshua and in the second half of Numbers is celebrated the mass murder of men, women, children, down to the domestic animals in city after city across the whole land of Canaan. Jericho is obliterated in a ‘kherem’, a ‘holy war’.
The only justification offered for this slaughter is the mass murderers’ claim that, in exchange for circumcising their sons and adopting a particular set of rituals, their ancestors were long before promised that this land was their land.
Not a hint of self-reproach, not a muttering of patriarchal or divine disquiet at these campaigns of extermination can be dug out of holy scripture.
Instead, Joshua ‘destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded’ (Joshua, x, 40). And these events are not incidental, but central to the main narrative thrust of the Old Testament.
Similar stories of mass murder (and in the case of the Amalekites, genocide) can be found in the book of Saul, Esther, and elsewhere in the Bible, with hardly a pang of moral doubt."
—Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
"We are enjoined in Micah to do justly and love mercy; in Exodus we are forbidden to commit murder; in Leviticus we are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves; in the Gospels we are urged to love our enemies.
Yet think of the rivers of blood spilled by fervent followers of the books in which these well-meaning exhortations are embedded.
In Joshua and in the second half of Numbers is celebrated the mass murder of men, women, children, down to the domestic animals in city after city across the whole land of Canaan.
Jericho is obliterated in a ‘kherem’, a ‘holy war’.
The only justification offered for this slaughter is the mass murderers’ claim that, in exchange for circumcising their sons and adopting a particular set of rituals, their ancestors were long before promised that this land was their land.
Not a hint of self-reproach, not a muttering of patriarchal or divine disquiet at these campaigns of extermination can be dug out of holy scripture. Instead, Joshua ‘destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded’ (Joshua, x, 40).
And these events are not incidental, but central to the main narrative thrust of the Old Testament. Similar stories of mass murder (and in the case of the Amalekites, genocide) can be found in the book of Saul, Esther, and elsewhere in the Bible, with hardly a pang of moral doubt."
—Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
Take a gander in how innovation works. It's the same shit we are doing now around the world. Innovation will help us both adapt and mitigate. You completely missed my point, adaptation is a form of mitigation.
Nasa believes it as well: https://climate.nasa.gov/solutions/adaptation-mitigation/
But I guess you the authority on what's best, more than rocket scientists and the world's leading scientists. You are a mental midget
No it’s been pretty much proven that studies are manipulated all the time to get desired results. Read this some time and grow up.
Science Fictions: How Fraud, Bias, Negligence, and Hype Undermine the Search for Truth https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WZ7TRC4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_6T37S9TMTEZGCNXA6C2H
>I meant that a person from another country may have much less knowledge and insight into US realities and people. It's like imagine a US policeman would make a video about some criminal case in Africa - unless he lived there for many years, is familiar with locals, their language and traditions
She's from Ireland. The language and the culture are remarkably similar. She won't know the locals, but again, neither would a policeman from Virginia or Utah or even one county over from Redding. And let's be honest: your average Irish resident probably knows more about Californian culture than your average Californian knows about Irish culture, due to the world dominance of American entertainment.
Anybody from anywhere can write well or make an excellent film about somewhere else, if they research. One of my favorite true-crime books was set in rural Leicestershire and written by a Pittsburgh-born Southern Californian resident. The writer did an excellent job.
A Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan. This is more a book about critical thinking than anything, which should be the basis for any healthy skepticism.
I say that because atheism is a conclusion one reaches using critical thinking, as are many positions one can reach. Atheism is often confused with skepticism, but one can be an atheist without being properly skeptical and evaluating claims via evidence. The two are often conflated, which is a mistake. One can be an atheist and still believe in many other things without good reasons, and we should have good reasons for believing as we do.
This seems like a good time to remind everyone that Stuart Ritchie has a great new book out, Science Fictions, on the replication crisis/broader problems in scientific research.
Read this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004W0I00Q/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
​
The assumptions in that article are specious at best.
What's informing your choices? Do you get bolts of inspiration (or punishment) that inform your choices when you, situation by situation, choose to be a "well mannered person"?
Or do you draw on your experience, knowledge, empathy, compassion, and reason to try to make the best choice?
You don't have to announce your atheism. You don't have to defend your atheism. You don't even have to acknowledge your atheism. If you lack a complete conviction (belief) that there is a god, you are an atheist.
As one human to another, I suggest you try to be the best version of you that you can be.
As for what to do as a recently awakened atheist? Start by reading this.
Once you've read that, I'd suggest Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan.
From there, check out the FAQ and Wiki on the sidebar.
The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan is a great layman's explanation of the scientific method, skepticism, and scientific materialism. It's an engaging, easy read with some quite funny bits and some extremely useful tools, such as the oft-quoted Baloney Detection Kit chapter. (pdf)
If you want a good read, but a real practical look at how to re-establish civilization, then you'll enjoy The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Civilization in the Aftermath of a Cataclysm by Lewis Dartnell.
Read this and free yourself. The Demon Haunted World - Science as a candle in the dark.
There's been some good suggestions already, but here's a few more:
read The Demon Haunted World by Sagan
Watch Cosmos (I prefer the Sagan version, but both are quite good)
Search Youtube for Matt Dillahunty's clips. He's a bit in-your-face at times but he was deeply christian and studying to become a pastor when his faith collapsed so he's got a lot of insight into the problems with christianity in particular, the process of moving from religious faith to a more rational mindset, etc. He's got some good longer-form explorations of particular topics on his own channel and lots of debate clips both from callers on the Atheist Experience and more formal debates.
I know that is the most popular view among the cultural elite, but it just isn't true. If you would like to actually examine this topic I encourage you to read the book I linked to earlier in this thread.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0042FZRPC/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Many of the differences between ethnic groups are caused by biology, not cultural norms. Not all of them, but enough. This is a hard truth to face, but we will be better if we can get past the PC police and talk about the issues openly. I'm reminded of how James Watson (co-discoverer of DNA, you may have heard of him) was forced out of his job for talking about ethnic differences.
So there's no such thing as psychics. Can you stop being a credulous psychopath?
There's this book called The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark that will educate you from the ground up about reality. Here it is: http://www.amazon.com/Demon-Haunted-World-Science-Candle-Dark-ebook/dp/B004W0I00Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419254224&sr=8-1&keywords=demon+haunted+world+by+carl+sagan
On top of that, James Randi has been offering one million dollars to anybody who can prove the existence of the paranormal. What a shocker, nobody's been able to do it yet. Big shocker.
If you read that book and still actually think there's such thing as the paranormal, I want to talk to you either on the phone or any anonymous VoIP client. Skype, mumble, teamspeak, jitsi, tinychat, ventrilo -- whatever. I'm sick of nutbags walking around freely on my planet.
The book The 10,000 Year Explosion talks about evolution that has happened in the last 10,000 years, since agriculture was invented.