I agree when it comes to questioning. That is so important in becoming more knowledgeable and insightful. The fact that Christianity tries to intimidate people from questioning freely was the main thing that turned me off of it.

That is what I really like about this group, the fact that a big proportion of the people who come here actually seem willing to put a little effort into knowing and learning. I get tired of trying to carry on a conversation with people who lack factual information, refuse to GET factual information and are unable to "debate" a subject intelligently, instead resort to insults when provided with sources for info. Learning is NOT STRESSFUL, at least not post-school. I find it quite enjoyable.

@DotLewis I agree!!

"A cow is stupid"- I didn't know that. It loves its calf- and that is more than many humans can say about their parenting. While you are chowing down at "What-a-burger", and being 'flippant' (being flippant gets to be tired and worn out) you have, we have, no idea of what Nature has in store for us; maybe we will come back as a cow, that is just being loaded into one of those murder transports.

Dick, I love the analogy. It might seem flippant to some, but I think it encapsulates the essence of life very well.

Neither do I think you are denigrating cows - they are just a useful analogy. Sentient beings that have reached the end of their mental abilities.

The big difference is that humans have the ability to extend their knowledge

Douglas Adams
"I'd rather be happy than right"
"and are you Happy ? "
"Well, no, that's where it all falls down you see"

And to quote one of the masters of modern morals "The Truth shall set you free"

Knowing MAY be more difficult sometimes, but in the end, it produces a lot more contentment than purposeful ignorance.

@BanjoTango you've said that well. A cow may be contented or discontented. But happy? Probably not in the sense that we understand.

Well, if my ultimate fate was to become a meal for someone else, might just not want to know.

@arnies we're all worm food, right?

@Dick_Martin Nooooo!!!!

@arnies May I ask your plans to avoid being worm food? Burned to a crisp in an oven? And the ashes used as fertilizer for crops somewhere?

We are real adults in the real world.!

Ya, being "accountable" for one's actions is VERY depressing- and that is why I 'try' to lead a better life. I can remember all the evil things I have done----- I must have, by chance or design, done something good.

Absolutely!

That’s right!

Well said...

What's sad life they live....

@AtheismIsLife Funny, they think it is we who have the sad lives.

@Atheistman I disagree. My degree was in European History. I already had a job but was living in Europe and was fascinated by the history. An undergraduate degree in this field gets you nowhere. It has, however, helped me to add a more informed opinion on this site.

Also, what happens when one retire's? Does what one has learned no longer matter?

@Atheistman I attended with the University of Maryland European Division. I worked for the school and attended for free. Also, because of the GI bill I actually got paid to go to school. A big perk of studying Eur. history and living there is I got to go places (like 2 weeks in Rome) where the history was made.

The main professor had a unique way of teaching. There were no 'normal' exams or papers. At the start of class he would have several questions on the board. We were to pick a couple of main questions and a couple of smaller ones. When exam time came we entered the classroom and started writing (for 3 hours). No test papers just what we wrote. He told us that for this field one usually go on to graduate level and one must know how to write. Also, there was non of the usual names and dates. Mostly causes and effects. After 35 years I still retain a lot of what I learned. Also, the internet didn't exist then.

I apply my knowledge in life and in places like this site.

One of the things that allowed us to become who we are as a species is that we retain into adulthood the innate sense of curiosity that most mammals lose on becoming adults. That should be celebrated, not denigrated, as in Martin Luther & other xtian writers' hate of reason. Never stop learning, never stop growing!

Does she believe that 'anything', dinosaur or anything else, has ever come back from the dead? What did JC do to make the champaign dinners for the "multitude", wave his magic wand over the stale bagel and can of outdated sardines? Too foolish to be even funny!

@Diogenes she has very responsible job, is very helpful, if asked, and smart, but she gravitates toward conspiracy theories and Fox...when in a discussion, she can repeat (with force and overtalking) their talking points, to support her position! I believe, that if you develop a habit of blocking out information that offends your senses, then the information you can only let in is going to be one sided. She is almost completely having a one pointed view! Since we pick up traits from our parents inadvertently, she must have picked up my 'controlling' parenting when I was responsible for 5 children, and had poor parenting skills! I learned and changed...starting 50 yrs ago. I don't forsee a change in the works, here for her!

@Freedompath I think you have figured out your daughter, with her Fox News and her over talking to drown out any other conversation. Wise people will avoid talking with your daughter. Who would talk about anything on Fox anyway? There was a program on PBS last night about the fire at The Triangle Shirt Waist Factory in 1911. This is not a pleasant film to watch, about girls leaping from the 12th floor and coming down, like torches, with their clothes on fire. The point here is not about the macabre- but about being informed- about how it relates to current events and crimes of today. And PBS has 'many' different subjects; hypothetically, it could be about Roman coins next.

@Diogenes ...funny thing about other things that I know she enjoys, is documenteries and yet, that is not where she draws her evaluations for real life matters! Something about Fox news, seem to change the way people perceive life. One of my sons, has this same perpensity. If you try and suggest other news sources, they discount it! Which brings me to the 'fact'...for years we could not go to Dr office, PT, even hospital waiting room, without Fox news. If I ask could the channel be changed...no! Somebody, somewhere had a hand in this? Some people even took that tv clicker that can be coded and changed that Fox channel in public places! Fox. has really dumed people down!

@Freedompath I live north of Toronto. Ya, we get Fox, but we also get one that is more dimwitted than that, CP24, and that one is on in very many pubs.('Seriously', a damned good reason to stay out of booze joints.) I call it the "Happy Channel". It is a nonstop 'serenade' of every vulgar thing that has happened in the world. And for radio, CHFI; this station advertises their, "perfect music mix". Let's see, 'their mix-thing' is 15 advertisements in a row followed by a few seconds of howling- Music? I seem to have missed the "music" part. Yes, these ugly sounds are at fitness, grocery stores, and other places that a person must enter. But there are papers here that actually have 'news' coverage, yes, sometimes slanted, but aren't they all? Haven't seen a copy of NY Times in a long time. And when a person is at home, there is the internet, and music and features from all over the world. It's a choice.

@Diogenes ...that's enough to make a person crazy! I really hate a lot of what will be in stores here...it is sure not background music! No wonder the big portion of the world has gone mad...

A study was done, about early 2000's I believe, that showed that people who primarily watch FoxNews for their information on current events are consistently incorrect about said current events. In other words, watch Fox & become misled. What is truly amazing, & it is being shown so much today with our late-night tv hosts, is that folks who watched "The Daily Show" had a better grasp on the world & current events than not only Fox viewers but even most of the other networks news!

@phxbillcee I know...it boggles the mind! I love the Daily Show! I must hope that my daughter, somehow, somewhere, will see the light! If not, I must accept reality and love her... even if it must be from a distance!

@Freedompath Yeah, as the xtians say, (but seldom really mean), "Love the sinner, hate the sin." She will always be your daughter but must travel her own path, as must we all.

Oh, they're not obsessed with the same fairy tail, everone has their own little spin on it- and if the stories are just barely different from the other person's, they're going to burn eternally. Gotta hope ya picked the right story!

I'm a happy heathen

@LeighShelton I am NOT a "happy heathen"; wish I could find a female heathen to argue with and laugh with.

it would be nice

@Diogenes you could find a Christian female and then you would get at least half of what you're after lol.

@LeighShelton NOT that kind of "argue"- that kind of arguing usually causes me to blow up. I like to be around someone with a brain- and I pretend that I have one too. LOL

I'm only trying to help mate lol

Yep!

Amen brother 13 for me, never looked back.

Exactly!

I am NEVER stressed by evangelicals, ( I am so far past religion that I can talk with and work with some 'good hearted' people) but religious loons may cause me to laugh

I think you have a point, there is a platform now, that everyone can use to promote themselves and their thought process, and since no one starts out knowing a great deal, we must struggle through with millions of people at different stages of learning! Then there people who are hung up in one stage! It really taxes the senses trying to hold one's own mind and still try to understand where the other person is coming from!

Unlike religion, which tends to not only be unchanging but promotes that, science, even if it promotes an incorrect view, will tend to correct itself. Since to be valid science it must be falsifiable & peer reviewed B.S. will eventually be found out & corrected. Religion states that there can be nothing to correct, that, for instance, the bible is inerrant, therefore no new knowledge is needed or wanted.