One of the things I really dislike about organized religion is the way parents tend to indoctrinate ...

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 24, 2018:

Religion would die if people didn't indoctrinate from birth. How many people do you think would buy that shit as an adult if they had never been presented with the notion that people actually believe that nonsense?

What would be the definition of hell to you?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 24, 2018:

Joining a site for atheists and agnostics and still taking about things religious people talk about all the time... ????

Is Atheist vs. Agnostic conflict a real thing?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 23, 2018:

This is the only site (and the only person, actually) that I have ever seen/had this debate. It's basically semantics and one of the silliest things I've ever wasted my time debating, but in a room full of people who identify as one/both or people trying to decide how to identify, I felt it was important to put my 96 cents in.

Who do you think can defeat Trump in 2020? (Select all that apply)

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 23, 2018:

If he's still the president 3 years from now I don't know if anyone can beat him.

Altruism: thoughts? Is it possible for any human to truly be altruistic?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 23, 2018:

I have found a selfless good deed. I went to the park and let a bee sting me. It makes the bee look tough in front of his bee friends. The bee's happy and I am definitely not.

Who do you think exemplifies hypocrisy more than anyone else in public life?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Yeah, I think pretty much everyone agrees on this...

If you could pump enormous amounts of money into scientific research, what would it be for?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Stem cell research.

So does anyone out there have any good friends that they are able to have friendly conversations ...

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 19, 2018:

Yes, still do, only she's an atheist now. ;-)

If necessary to testify in court would you put your hand on the bible?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 19, 2018:

Sure, then I'd get to lie my ass off. That is how it works, right?

If we lived in the same town, where would I be most likely to run into you at?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 19, 2018:

ALDI; I'm there 3-4 times a week and almost nowhere else.

I have significant Xian background, and I have been agnostic for over 20years.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 19, 2018:

You have no choice in the matter, so no need to worry about it. The other worry people have is that their religious family will give them religious after death rituals. I generally think, I'll be dead and gone so who gives a shit what they do, but I don't want any of my money that should go toward my nephew's college fund going to any religious organization.

Had a conversation today with someone who asked if the Answers in Genesis Ark Encounter was ...

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 19, 2018:

Which of the people let the ringworm infect them? The public lice? The scabies? If there's no evolution and he killed everything that wasn't on the ark, all the awful shit we have today was in at least one of them...

What is the real problem?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 18, 2018:

I think Logic should be a mandatory course in every grade, not an elective in college. If people learned it like they learned math and their language, maybe they'd know how to use it. Of course, we even have people on this site that use fallacious arguments, so I don't see this as a problem that stems from religion specifically.

What is happiness?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 18, 2018:

I think there's that which makes you happy (whatever triggers the release of neurotransmitters) and happiness (the feeling you get from the action of them in the synapse). *This is also why you can't choose how you feel about things...*

Can anybody give their views on mediums and faith healers? I think they are despicable.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 18, 2018:

"A fool and his money..." As long as there are stupid people, there will be people to take advantage of them.

If there is a god do you think he favors other people over other people? I do.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 18, 2018:

Seriously, where do these questions come from?

Drugs, Drugs, Baby....

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 18, 2018:

First of all, what is "the god experience"? Does that mean you experience the presence of god or what it's like to be god? Secondly, are you asking, "If you directly alter the way you perceive, would you trust your altered perceptions more than your baseline perceptions?" That kinda seems rhetorical to a room full of skeptics and rational thinking people.

I am interested in what type of auto's you drive.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 18, 2018:

'98 Mustang Cobra with a million mods getting about 8mpg. '16 Mitsubishi Lancer getting around 20 I think.

PeterJohn did the math and found it will take him 8,000 days to reach level 10.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 18, 2018:

Deep in the woods, far off any trails, there was a

Hey, everyone.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 18, 2018:

A. There is no more reason to be proud of your atheism than you are of the color of your skin or your height. B. Regardless of their religious affiliation, it sounds like your neighbors are selfish assholes. For that reason alone you should stop taking their calls.

Okay, tax exemption status for churches.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 18, 2018:

I personally believe there should be no tax breaks, exemptions, write offs, credits, or any other words or names associated with changing your tax burden. All of those benefit the rich disproportionately and ultimate raise the rates on everyone else. Come up with a fair bracket system that will be lower for everyone, and those that are currently abusing the loophole system will pay their fair share.

App creates ‘legally binding contracts’ for one night stands to prove sex is consensual | Metro ...

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 17, 2018:

Men need something to protect them. (And maybe I should have said people, but almost no women are ever even arrested for, let alone prosecuted & convicted of, rape, including people we know were rapists.). Can't imagine this is actually legally binding because the woman can say she was forced to consent on the app, but with crazy people like Joyce M Short running around trying to turn everything into prosecutable rape, something needs to be done.

App creates ‘legally binding contracts’ for one night stands to prove sex is consensual | Metro ...

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 17, 2018:

@AMGT I was too slow.

10 of my favorite Neil deGrasse Tyson quotes: because he's just so quotable 1.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 17, 2018:

8 & 10 are my favorites.

I've recently considered identifying as agnostic, rather cowardly.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 17, 2018:

Technically EVERYONE should be agnostic regarding the existence of god, including all believers. And if there weren't crazy people that think they KNOW god exists, we could all abandon using the word entirely. Unfortunately, that's not the case, and letting people know you're not a crazy believer/nonbeliever is necessary. As much as TheMiddleWay will try to convince you otherwise with flawed explanations, atheist and agnostic answer 2 different questions: what you can know and what you believe. I am an agnostic atheist because I know I can't know for certain whether a god exists but I don't believe in one.

Fellow agnostics, how do you feel about believers joining?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 17, 2018:

Well, my co-workers signed me up here to eliminate having to wade through possible matches on other sites to find a non-believer, so if the search function is improved enough that it can not even put percentages by faces of believers the way they don't for dudes, then sure, but I don't know what they'd want here.

Hey everyone, tell me your favorite pun!

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 17, 2018:

What did the lady at the beach say to the Catholic Priest? Excuse me, sir, you're in my sun.

Just thought I'd throw this out there in case I can educate some of you and hopefully clear up some ...

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 17, 2018:

"Let me also say that I'm a strong believer in the right to die...I just can't have help doing it." You, sir, are not a strong believer in the right to die. Replace the word 'die' with the word 'abortion' to see how wrong you are. Actually, for quadriplegics, any right is a right they'd need help with. To claim that needing help should invalidate a right is disgusting. I hope someday you will have the sense to know what a horrible thing you've done and it keeps you up at night. Or, better yet, you end up with locked-in syndrome, in total agony, requiring help desperately with no way to even ask for it.

As an atheist, can you also believe in the paranormal?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 17, 2018:

Not only can you, you have no choice whether or not to. Whatever evidence or *evidence* you may have for it coupled with the physical and chemical and composition of your brain that has been augmented by the entirety of your human experience will determine whether or not you believe. Should you? I don't think so. It's logically inconsistent with your other self-described traits, namely skeptic. Were you asking about someone else perhaps?

Tax Cuts For Dummies - YouTube

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 16, 2018:

This woman is likely not saying what she believes. She's probably just an actress getting paid by Turning Point USA, an ultra right wing propaganda machine that targets college-age kids who are too naive to know what they're being told is all lies.

Why do so many on this site use "convert"?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 16, 2018:

Convert just means to change, so whatever you are now, you converted to that. Deconvert isn't a word, so... You would convert to something and convert back to the original thing.

Is belief a choice?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 16, 2018:

We just went through this. It is not. At all. But most people here will disagree with you without good reason.

More Ricky Gervais, Parental Discretion Advised... [youtube.com]

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 16, 2018:

Damn, that shit was funny.

Do you think non religious people can be racists too?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 16, 2018:

I came across one on this site. I called him out and he didn't deny or clarify, so I just assumed I was right.

This is for the single ladies over 50.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 16, 2018:

Some women say guys of a certain age are too young for them... until they meet an amazing guy that age. :-P

What is your favorite kind of dog ?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 16, 2018:

There's only one dog I like: my cousin's Maltese. I think it's mostly because he reminds me of a cat.

Ever troll Jesus sites?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 16, 2018:

I don't believe in hiding my identity or having multiple profiles. The shit I have to say I honestly believe and can support it with logic and reason. If that's not enough to work, I'm not going to waste any more time.

Creepy McCreeperson..

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 15, 2018:

I don't really hit on women at all. Especially with this 'me too' movement going on, it seems like every woman is at the ready to judge me a creep at any second. I know that's probably not true, but there's more to it than just that. (I hear women tell stories about getting hit on at place X and how they just want to get their shit done.) Now, if some young gorgeous woman thought I was brilliant and wanted to hook up with me (which is never going to happen, but for the sake of argument) I don't think there's any way I could turn that down. But I don't know that a relationship would work (that's ignoring the fact that I doubt I'm going to find anyone I'm compatible with, let alone a beautiful intelligent woman who doesn't want kids who also happens to be a decade and a half my junior.) But basically I'm just in the mode where I hope I strike up a real conversation with a woman without having to be the annoying guy who hits on everyone, genuinely find her interesting, and make her fall for me with my biting wit and unbelievable charm that I, for some reason, never display publicly.

Donald Trump

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 15, 2018:

He's so terrible that I want to see people who voted for him lose their job after his social programs take effect, lose their health after his healthcare policies take effect, lose their land to the border wall, and lose their ability to stay in the US after him immigration policies take effect, and any other such correlative fuckovery one can imagine happening from his evil, terrible policies. Seriously can't get enough of Trump voters getting screwed by him and crying how they didn't think it would happen to them like the woman who lost her husband to deportation and the people on the border who may end up living in the no man's land between the US border wall and Mexico.

What's your favorite anti-religious meme?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

.

What's your favorite anti-religious meme?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

.

What's your favorite anti-religious meme?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

.

What's your favorite anti-religious meme?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

I may get some hate for this one...

Do you think Korea is that crazy?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

Diana Ross died?

What if jesus already came back but we couldn't tell the difference from him or any other magician

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

I wrote two papers a long time ago, what if Jesus was the first magician and what if Jesus was the first schizophrenic. I think, however, if he were trying to differentiate himself from magicians, it wouldn't be hard at all.

Trustworthiness: Your Brain Makes a Judgment in Milliseconds | Timet

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

You know I agree we have no choice in the matter...

Long hair or short hair ?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

Always been partial to long. I know it's a pain, but there's so much more you can do with it. I've never seen short hair that was stunning, it's just kinda there. There was an ICU nurse that came down to radiology the other day though that looked like a Disney Princess. She had the most gorgeous hair, ever.

Pledge of Allegiance--- under god??

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

People still say the Pledge? Interesting. I don't think I've said it since they stopped forcing us to say it in school over two decades ago.

Kids

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

There was a huge post about this a day or two ago if you want a lot of feedback...

Re: Prayer requests.....

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

Something like this?

.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

Of course. That's how we got Intelligent Design...

If you were given the opportunity to give up everything and move anywhere in the world to start a ...

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

Anyone with a few hundred bucks that hasn't done that wouldn't, because anyone [that isn't on the no-fly list] reading this that has enough money for a ticket could have.

If this was your one day to live, how would you spend it ?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

I have a 500 hp Cobra. I'd be hammering the gas on that thing so hard I'd probably end up killing myself before the clock ran out.

THE OXYMORON OF AGNOSTIC A/THEISM: A PROPOSITION (modified due to post limit) This post is ...

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

I came from that other thread and I see the others grew tired of this before you posted and never showed up. You are wrong, as they stated. You absolutely can claim you don't have a belief something exists while at the same time claiming you can't know for sure whether or not it does. All of your counterarguments seem to be based on the premise that *any* amount of knowledge *about* something eliminates the (a)gnostic component. All universal negatives cannot be proved, which means you can never *know* they don't exist. Does that mean we cannot claim we don't believe in them? Do you never profess to not believe in unicorns? Leprechauns? Pink flying elephants? Also, you fail to recognize that you can have a belief or a lack of a belief without any evidence whatsoever. You box/penny question in no way proves that someone is unable to believe there is [or isn't] a penny in the box.

Kettle One Martini with a twist... Great cocktail, or the best cocktail?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

Meh. First, when I was a bartender I did blind taste tests with 7 different vodkas. Not only did people fail miserably at identifying Vox and Grey Goose as the premiums, more than 50% said that Kamchatka (the super cheap well vodka) was the best one. Additionally, I was invited to the Smirnoff Tastemakers Sessions when it was in town and participated a huge blind taste test that had the similar results (I was one of the bartenders that selected Smirnoff as better than Grey Goose and Absolut). The moral: stop wasting your money on premium vodka, and put it toward getting a better tasting bourbon or gin. Secondly, dirty gin martinis are a billion times better than vodka/twist.

How do I tell my family I'm an atheist?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

I would like to add (as Sam Harris pointed out) that everyone knows what it's like to be an atheist. I used to have a Facebook group (when I had a Facebook) called the Plus Ones. It was a statement about how a theist denies the existence of thousands of gods that have been worshiped throughout recorded human history, and I deny the existence of all of those same gods, plus one.

Real beauty is not seen with the eyes.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 14, 2018:

You accidentally posted this on agnostic.com...

VIAGRA Is it possible there could be a link between sexual harassment...

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 13, 2018:

There was an old dude that used to hang out at the coffee shop near my college who had a catchphrase, "Never miss an opportunity to let women know your dick still works."

@silvereyes @VictoriaNotes Why did you join this site?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 13, 2018:

I've "gotten into it" with a few members I thought were being deliberately obtuse or intellectually dishonest, so maybe he's talking about me? Who knows? But as a rule, I never resort to just being a dick unless I think the person I'm talking to has absolutely nothing of value to offer.

Since most but not elaborate weddings are in some way relgious based and most weddings in that realm...

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 13, 2018:

I was my sister's Man of Honor.

When someone asks me why I choose to not believe in a god or gods my reply is that it is not a ...

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 13, 2018:

I get annoyed by this as well. Even on this site, there are tons of users that think you can choose what you believe. You'd think "freethinkers" would be able to recognize this, but a lot can't.

Did you get your flu shot? Serious stuff this year. [abcnews.go.com]

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 13, 2018:

I am forced to get one every year by my employer. Hopefully, there will be a change in the law that prevents employers from being allowed to make healthcare decisions for their employees.

Opinions wanted: my now ex has suddenly converted to Christianity??

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 13, 2018:

He may be lying to use it as an excuse or it may be true. Regardless, you don't want to be with either of those versions of that person.

Should we give religious believers a little more slack?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 13, 2018:

Slack in what way?

How do I tell my family I'm an atheist?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 12, 2018:

I think I need to post it here as well. (I seem to be having to explain this almost every day.) Atheism and Agnosticism are not two different points on the same scale. (i.e. Agnosticism isn't Atheism *light*.) They deal with completely different things. Agnosticism deals with that which one can know and Atheism deals with that which one believes. I am an Agnostic Atheist because I don't believe in god, but I know that no one can know whether or not one exists. I have met a few self-described Agnostic Christians, even though technically, every single theist out there should consider themselves an agnostic theist.

How do I tell my family I'm an atheist?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 12, 2018:

There are a ton of ways to go about this, and we all have stories. If you can narrow down what you're looking to accomplish and a little about your family dynamics, we may be able to offer better advice.

Is this an agnostic site or a dating site? ????

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 12, 2018:

I can't find a compatible woman on the biggest dating sites, not sure a site whose target audience is only 7% of the population is going to have the peeps to support a dating component.

Where do you draw the line between run-of-the-mill Bible Thumpers and Cults?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 12, 2018:

To be honest, I think "regular" religious people are more dangerous to society at large.

In making the case for a benevolent God how would you explain such suffering in the world?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 12, 2018:

The problem of evil doesn't really invalidate the Christian conception of god.

The Donald said he did not say that certain countries are shtholes.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 12, 2018:

There are likely recordings (as long as there was a Google device in the room). Google records everything, all the time, but edits the recordings so you can only hear clips of you using Assistant. If they were willing to admit they do this, they could release the recordings and answer millions of questions Americans have.

Think like George Carlin

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 12, 2018:

Personally, I think Carlin was kind of an idiot. He was funny though.

Why do you think that astrology is so prevalent that even some people that consider themselves ...

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 9, 2018:

Yes, it's dumbfounding. Even Bobby Boucher was able to figure out that astrology is complete nonsense.

So.. Ummmm... If you don’t mind my asking, what are your names?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 9, 2018:

Brad Roesel

Whenever I hear "What would Jesus do" I always wonder what Jesus would do for a Klondike bar.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 9, 2018:

I'm assuming he'd just make one... out of a piece of the wrapper from yours... that was zero calories... and made you grow abs. Then he'd say, "What the fuck would YOU do for a Klondike, bitch?"

Will you help me settle this debate with my friend: can a Christian be a freethinker?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 8, 2018:

Going by the definition, you cannot. Some have claimed that you can be and that's how they transitioned. I do not believe this to be true. Just because the journey may seem longer than an instant, it's really not. Kind of like being pregnant, whatever your definition of pregnancy is, you are either in that state, or you are not. (e.g. If you consider it to be implantation of a fertilized egg onto the uterine wall, the egg is either implanted, or it is not.) The same is true for being a Christian. There are probably a ton of definitions for it, but I think there is one that makes the most sense: you are a Christian if you believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ. All the other definitions that take into account teachings and practices fail us because they are so vastly different and contradictory. But if you believe Jesus IS God, it bypasses all the other junk. But whatever your definition, it seems as though you either are, or you are not a Christian. Either I believe that god exists and Jesus is that god, or I don't. Let's face it, if you kind of believe or you think he's part god, then you don't believe he's god. And according to the definition of freethinker: "Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint which holds that positions regarding truth should be formed on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism, rather than authority, tradition, revelation, or other dogma" it cannot coexist with Christian for there can be no belief in the divinity of Jesus that is formed on logic, reason, and empirical data.

James "Mad Dog" Mattis for president in 2020!!! Thoughts?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 8, 2018:

First of all, unless Trump gets removed from office or decides not to run again, his 33% base will turn out so hard to destroy competition in the primary. Even if he does win the primary against Trump he'll get slaughtered in the general (also because of Trump's base, and possibly because Trump is a vengeful child who would run as an independent just to fuck him over). But even if he does somehow overcome all of that, if Oprah decides to run, that dude may as well walk the fuck home.

In a discussion with a believer, I was asked, "where was my moral authority?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 8, 2018:

Save your time next time and turn it around on them. Ask them if they adhere to all of the rules from the bible dictating what sins are? When they finally admit that they don't think wearing clothes of mixed fabrics or eating shellfish or being gay etc. is not a sin, point out that their ability to pick and choose which parts of the bible they adhere to also mean that their moral compass comes from within, not from the book, just like yours.

I love being Agnostic. Everything is better.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 8, 2018:

Not for me. My pool of potential mates is incredibly small because I don't want children. Being an agnostic atheist has just made things even worse for me. I wish I could have just stayed a believer to give me a little bit of a chance.

Yes, dear.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 8, 2018:

I make a distinction between arguing and debating.

Does it matter anymore who makes the first move?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 8, 2018:

To be honest, with all the sexual harassment stuff going on these days and the 'I'm at the ____ I don't want to be hit on' mentality, I'm very uncomfortable making any kind of moves or even letting women know I'm attracted to them. Hell, there was even a post on here (a dating site) a few days ago about men telling women they are attractive in opening messages. I'm probably going to be alone until I die, cause I don't think I'm attractive enough for a woman to seek me out and hit on me. I guess it's because I haven't had to deal with it like women have, but I'd LOVE it if tons of women were always hitting on me.

Imagine you could say "take me to Hell" into your GPS. Where on the map would it lead you?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 7, 2018:

MetroHealth Medical Center 9th floor Stroke unit. Oh wait, I mean the entire state of Alabama, where being a child molester just barely disqualifies you from being elected to the US Senate.

Reiki

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 7, 2018:

I'm a nurse. All throughout nursing school if there was one consistent, important theme, it was that you should have good reason backed up by solid evidence for everything you do to patients. Great advice not just for nurses and nursing, but all people for everything in my opinion. Furthermore, nurses have been trying to advance nursing as an esteemed discipline and practice for decades. What totally fuckin' kills me though is that every year during 'nurses week' they offer reiki, aromatherapy, polarity therapy, and the blessing of the hands for the staff nurses. Way to set us all back, guys. Anyway, people would reply to me that the pre and post scores the 'therapists' got on their cards 'proved' it worked to which I said the following: "Of course the scores improved. You are taking tired, hungry nurses off under-staffed floors that smell like piss where they have to clean up diarrhea, and you're laying them down on a comfortable table in a dark room with soft music and pleasant smells. That in NO WAY tests the efficacy of the 'treatment'. If you really believe it works and that your credentials are real, put your money where your mouth is with a real test that controls for variables. Put someone who has never learned any reiki techniques into one of the rooms with all the same amenities and see if my made-up version of energy manipulation garners similar differences in pre and post scores." Needless to say, no one ever wanted to test it.

What Superhero would you wish to be?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 7, 2018:

One that could shapeshift would be pretty high on the list. Hiro Nakamura and Matt Parkman seem like good picks too.

Sexual relationship or relationship with sex?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 7, 2018:

Many people have pointed out the obvious, not all _____ are the same. However, I think everyone is missing a key element in their reply. They need to take it one step further. Just because a guy only wants a sexual relationship with girl A doesn't mean that guy (and certainly not MOST guys) ONLY want sexual relationships. That guy may very well walk out of his house the next morning and randomly run into girl B with whom he'd love to have a relationship with sex.

Turns out, you don't win a wet t-shirt contest by eating more wet t-shirts than anyone else.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 7, 2018:

This actually made me laugh aloud, alone, at 12:45am. Props.

Trading addictions, 12 steps for religion

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 7, 2018:

In nursing school, we were required to go to a ______ anonymous meeting of our choice and write a paper on it. I wrote a scathing review. Fellow students told me I should rewrite it, but I didn't because it was my honest opinion. Nailed it! Got an A and quite a few positive comments about my take on it. I was curious why, since she said she agreed with me that she made us do that instead of an alternate assignment. Must have been designated course requirement by a higher-up...

Even if we assume god is real, it doesn't change anything but in fact shows how obnoxious his ...

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 6, 2018:

It should be noted that you are speaking primarily of the Christian conception of god. And yes, there are logical proofs that say this very thing in much fewer words. (e.g.1. If an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent god exists, then evil does not. 2. There is evil in the world. 3. Therefore, an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent god does not exist.)

Do you believe that we have souls? If so, can you answer why?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 6, 2018:

I should offer my own words, but Harris is so concise and eloquent on the subject, I had to just quote him. If you haven't read Letter to a Christian Nation yet, stop farting around on this site and go read it now. "A three-day-old human embryo is a collection of 150 cells called a blastocyst. There are, for the sake of comparison, more than 100,000 cells in the brain of a fly. If our concern is about suffering in this universe, it is rather obvious that we should be more concerned about killing flies than about killing three-day-old human embryos… Many people will argue that the difference between a fly and a three-day-old human embryo is that a three-day-old human embryo is a potential human being. Every cell in your body, given the right manipulations, every cell with a nucleus is now a potential human being. Every time you scratch your nose, you’ve committed a holocaust of potential human beings… Let’s say we grant it that every three-day-old human embryo has a soul worthy of our moral concern. First of all, embryos at this stage can split into identical twins. Is this a case of one soul splitting into two souls? Embryos at this stage can fuse into a chimera. What has happened to the extra human soul in such a case? This is intellectually indefensible, but it’s morally indefensible given that these notions really are prolonging scarcely endurable misery of tens of millions of human beings, and because of the respect we accord religious faith, we can’t have this dialogue in the way that we should. I submit to you that if you think the interests of a three-day-old blastocyst trump the interests of a little girl with spinal cord injuries or a person with full-body burns, your moral intuitions have been obscured by religious metaphysics." -Sam Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation

Do you use colloquialisms like “good lord” or “oh my god” despite them having religious ...

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 6, 2018:

Yes. I also say 'god damn it' a lot, but that's more the fault of 'It's Always Sunny'. The one thing I have completely abandoned is 'god bless you' when people sneeze and often times people think I'm a total asshole because of that. I usually ask if someone is okay if I'm the only person around to avoid them thinking I'm a dick, but if there are other people there I just let them say it and keep quiet. Let's not forget though that non-religious people also sing Christmas carols (alone in the car with Pentatonix on the stereo), eat Easter candy their mom made, dress up for Halloween, cook a romantic dinner for their significant other on Valentine's Day, etc.

Have you ever noticed that if you call a Christian "Christian" or a Muslim "Muslim", it's not ...

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 6, 2018:

1. You created a false equivalency. Muslim:Muslim not equal to Jewish:A Jew. 2. Connotation, and in vocalization, inflection, mean a lot. How do you not know that?

How do we feel about mother theresa peeps?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 6, 2018:

I personally believe she was one of the most prolific mass murderers of all time. Her missions gained the trust of uneducated, illiterate people with no access to information by providing their almost magic-like treatments, and then used that trust to convince them that condoms were both sinful and ineffective, all in an area of the world with an AIDS epidemic. Who knows how many more millions of people died and will die as a direct result of her actions.

Who here was never religious?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 6, 2018:

I was raised Catholic.

Can a society maintain complete intellectual freedom while doing away with religion?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 4, 2018:

Why would you think that what one believes is in any way under their conscious control?

What theories do religious people in your life present for your agnosticism/atheism?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 4, 2018:

53% of believers will think you were touched as a child...

funny fact .

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 4, 2018:

Funny fact: it's also not spelled Chai-knees.

Well just saw this on FB and it could be interested to chat with like minded folks.

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 4, 2018:

*you're

Men Or Women? Which Of The Two Is Most Intelligent?

ChestRockfield comments on Jan 4, 2018:

This question is stupid for so many reasons...