I cannot understand the mentality of people who think that coronavirus is somehow linked with 5G: ...

Petter comments on Apr 23, 2020:

The same people campaigned against 2g mobile phone masts. They also bought those same mobile phones and held them to their ears, even while claiming they fried your brsin!

anglophone replies on Apr 23, 2020:

@1of5 Good one!

I cannot understand the mentality of people who think that coronavirus is somehow linked with 5G: ...

Petter comments on Apr 23, 2020:

The same people campaigned against 2g mobile phone masts. They also bought those same mobile phones and held them to their ears, even while claiming they fried your brsin!

anglophone replies on Apr 23, 2020:

Shit for brains, or fried eggs for brains? (Sorry, I am feeling exceedingly snarky this morning.)

I cannot understand the mentality of people who think that coronavirus is somehow linked with 5G: ...

Geoffrey51 comments on Apr 23, 2020:

Bloody hell! I’d expect it in America because there is such a wide range of diverse ideas but Britain! I’ve not been back for 13 years. Is it really as fucked as that?

anglophone replies on Apr 23, 2020:

@Petter

Is India the rape capital of the world? [bbc.com]

Petter comments on Apr 23, 2020:

Horrible, yet despite the death penalty for perpetrators it continues. Respect for women needs to be ingrained at nursery school level and then continually hammered in throughout the entire period of youth.

anglophone replies on Apr 23, 2020:

But the various legislatures in India seem blind to that obvious fact.

I cannot understand the mentality of people who think that coronavirus is somehow linked with 5G: ...

Geoffrey51 comments on Apr 23, 2020:

Bloody hell! I’d expect it in America because there is such a wide range of diverse ideas but Britain! I’ve not been back for 13 years. Is it really as fucked as that?

anglophone replies on Apr 23, 2020:

Yes it is. The virus of stupidity does not recognise national boundaries.

How many of you feel religion negatively impacted your formative years?

SeaGreenEyez comments on Apr 22, 2020:

I wish I'd not been indoctrinated. Those are wasted thoughts, however. Religion did teach be what not to wish upon others.

anglophone replies on Apr 23, 2020:

Same here.

How many of you feel religion negatively impacted your formative years?

Freedompath comments on Apr 22, 2020:

It had a big impact in my early years. I always felt that I was an imposter trying to be ‘good.’ I had a fear of one slip up where I was found out and I would be cast aside! As I grew into adulthood that translated into I was a flawed person (I tried to be good but I never felt like I was ...

anglophone replies on Apr 23, 2020:

I like the way you put it.

How many of you feel religion negatively impacted your formative years?

gearl comments on Apr 22, 2020:

Big time. Too stupid to get out earlier than I did.

anglophone replies on Apr 23, 2020:

But at least you got out; give yourself recognition for that.

How many of you feel religion negatively impacted your formative years?

DenoPenno comments on Apr 22, 2020:

Of course it did. I only heard bible stories and the like for a long while, then my parents got into church and got me interested and I was filled with lies. All lies, and nothing but lies. Today I am pissed off at those who immediately ask me "how do you think we all got here then?" If I tell them...

anglophone replies on Apr 22, 2020:

If anybody asks me "how do you think we all got here then?" my answer is always the same: "Because all our respective parents had effective fucks.". They never know what to make of that reply.

How many of you feel religion negatively impacted your formative years?

Cecilia2018 comments on Apr 22, 2020:

I'm still healing from the religious damage.

anglophone replies on Apr 22, 2020:

Ouch!

How many of you feel religion negatively impacted your formative years?

LenHazell53 comments on Apr 22, 2020:

Yes, my mother's insane religious mania and my father's decision to simply ignore it lead to a miserable and damaging childhood, that left me with life long problems, psychological and physical, a disassociation with social norms and behaviours, a ludicrous and unfounded hatred of Roman Catholics ...

anglophone replies on Apr 22, 2020:

I can go with that.

How many of you feel religion negatively impacted your formative years?

Jon_Frum comments on Apr 22, 2020:

We were southern baptist. Remember having a good time at church. Was in the children’s choir and it was fun. Always felt uncomfortable proselytizing. When the youth Sunday school teacher told me that dinosaurs were not real, and they were put there by Satan to lead people from God, that just did ...

anglophone replies on Apr 22, 2020:

"Life is too short to deal with toxic people." Yes!

As I look at Donald Trump, I see him behaving increasingly like Adolph Hitler, Pol Pot and Mao ...

Petter comments on Apr 22, 2020:

He hates competition, especially when it demonstrates how not-smart he is.

anglophone replies on Apr 22, 2020:

And that is a particularly dumb of him.

Is anybody taking any bets as to when the United States of America will have an African-American ...

Macanudo comments on Apr 21, 2020:

You're definitely a good addition for our group..... But I imagine about the same time Australia elects their first transgender Aboriginal Tasmanian.

anglophone replies on Apr 22, 2020:

@Macanudo Yes, Aboriginal and Indigenous (Australian) are indeed synonymous. (I speak as somebody who has lived on and off for years and decades in "the Land of the Convict".)

Okay, I will be a trifle controversial here .

Macanudo comments on Apr 21, 2020:

Shit, I hit submit and my post went away. Here goes #2... Anyways, great post and welcome Ang. I've actually wondered the exact same thing and believe it has to be because they are taught as children and no matter how smart, if they had a good home life growing up, its already programmed deep ...

anglophone replies on Apr 22, 2020:

@Macanudo Uh-huh.

Is anybody taking any bets as to when the United States of America will have an African-American ...

Macanudo comments on Apr 21, 2020:

You're definitely a good addition for our group..... But I imagine about the same time Australia elects their first transgender Aboriginal Tasmanian.

anglophone replies on Apr 22, 2020:

@Macanudo Language evolves. When I was a kid, the words negro and aboriginal were regarded as respectful words. The local sociopaths turned the word aboriginal from being a respectful word to being a term of abuse. I suspect the word "indigenous" may soon go the same way. The same goes for "blackboy" https://www.bushheritage.org.au/species/grass-trees for which the de-abused word is now "grass-tree", but ... Aboriginal elders still refer to them as "blackboys". Go figure!

Okay, I will be a trifle controversial here .

Triphid comments on Apr 21, 2020:

Well, my take on this topic is as follows, the brain of any child from birth until around Puberty/Adulthood can be likened to 'play-dough' in that it is still extremely soft, malleable, suggestible and very very receptive, almost like a blank computer disc or USB Thumb Drive. Hence the ...

anglophone replies on Apr 22, 2020:

@Triphid You are a wonderfully wicked man!

Okay, I will be a trifle controversial here .

Macanudo comments on Apr 21, 2020:

Shit, I hit submit and my post went away. Here goes #2... Anyways, great post and welcome Ang. I've actually wondered the exact same thing and believe it has to be because they are taught as children and no matter how smart, if they had a good home life growing up, its already programmed deep ...

anglophone replies on Apr 22, 2020:

@Macanudo Of your best friend with a Masters in Finance: that looks like a classic case of compartmentalised thinking.

Okay, I will be a trifle controversial here .

Triphid comments on Apr 21, 2020:

Well, my take on this topic is as follows, the brain of any child from birth until around Puberty/Adulthood can be likened to 'play-dough' in that it is still extremely soft, malleable, suggestible and very very receptive, almost like a blank computer disc or USB Thumb Drive. Hence the ...

anglophone replies on Apr 21, 2020:

Sir, I like your style!

Okay, I will be a trifle controversial here .

Macanudo comments on Apr 21, 2020:

Shit, I hit submit and my post went away. Here goes #2... Anyways, great post and welcome Ang. I've actually wondered the exact same thing and believe it has to be because they are taught as children and no matter how smart, if they had a good home life growing up, its already programmed deep ...

anglophone replies on Apr 21, 2020:

Thank you for sharing that. I guess I had a relatively supportive and agnostic upbringing, and I confess to having difficulty understanding what it is like to have upbringings such as you describe.

Is anybody taking any bets as to when the United States of America will have an African-American ...

Macanudo comments on Apr 21, 2020:

You're definitely a good addition for our group..... But I imagine about the same time Australia elects their first transgender Aboriginal Tasmanian.

anglophone replies on Apr 21, 2020:

You and me too! But if memory serves me correctly, we now have an Indigenous person in federal parliament.

Is anybody taking any bets as to when the United States of America will have an African-American ...

MarkiusMahamius comments on Apr 20, 2020:

Identity politics... why settle, when you could have a left handed buck toothed Navajo faith healer? How many "protected-minority-status points" is your min or your max?

anglophone replies on Apr 20, 2020:

@MarkiusMahamius Your point is very well put.

L.A. Affairs: I was the world's pickiest dater. And no guy could ever stack up

anglophone comments on Apr 20, 2020:

Sigh. She specified the *physical* appearances of what she wanted. It wasn't until she was given a bloody great shove that she realised that she should have been looking for personality.

anglophone replies on Apr 20, 2020:

@1of5 Yes, adding her demands of his work would have lengthened my comment and detracted from the contrast of physical appearance versus type of personality.

Is anybody taking any bets as to when the United States of America will have an African-American ...

MarkiusMahamius comments on Apr 20, 2020:

Identity politics... why settle, when you could have a left handed buck toothed Navajo faith healer? How many "protected-minority-status points" is your min or your max?

anglophone replies on Apr 20, 2020:

Yep, identity politics. For as long as the voters regard minorities as unelectable then the "democracy" that is the United States of America has a serious issue.

L.A. Affairs: I was the world's pickiest dater. And no guy could ever stack up

MarkiusMahamius comments on Apr 19, 2020:

I dont know how to tease out the difference between "things I just dont want" and "thing i do want/prefer" but it seems like that's where the problem lies for most of us.

anglophone replies on Apr 20, 2020:

@MarkiusMahamius That makes sense. Thanks for sharing that analysis.

Is anybody taking any bets as to when the United States of America will have an African-American ...

Petter comments on Apr 20, 2020:

You should get some excellently long odds on that.

anglophone replies on Apr 20, 2020:

But will I be able to cash in during my lifetime? (Thinks: perhaps I should place a $1 bet that it will happen by no later than by 20 April 2103. That way, any of my great-great nieces might benefit.)

Pascal's Wager = a straw man argument?

Geoffrey51 comments on Apr 19, 2020:

Why all this emphasis on Pascal’s pub game, just right for erudite C17th folks to discuss on a winter’s night around a fire at a local hostelry. What about his real work? Inventor of a calculating machine, the syringe, work in hydrodynamics, Pascal’s Triangle, successfully disputed ...

anglophone replies on Apr 20, 2020:

I did not know that of him. Thank you for enlightening me. :)

In the absence of theism what are the big questions in life you contemplate?

LenHazell53 comments on Apr 19, 2020:

The big question that plagues me most is that in world no one has an excuse to be ignorant or ill informed "Why are so many people so fucking stupid" ?

anglophone replies on Apr 20, 2020:

Information abounds in this day and age. Unfortunately, prejudice, willful ignorance, willful stupidity, malice and arrogance also abound.

L.A. Affairs: I was the world's pickiest dater. And no guy could ever stack up

MarkiusMahamius comments on Apr 19, 2020:

I dont know how to tease out the difference between "things I just dont want" and "thing i do want/prefer" but it seems like that's where the problem lies for most of us.

anglophone replies on Apr 20, 2020:

I see her mistake as specifying what "he" should *look* like rather than how he should behave.

L.A. Affairs: I was the world's pickiest dater. And no guy could ever stack up

Paracosm comments on Apr 20, 2020:

I think a lot of people have some petty standards about who they'll date that they could stand to be a little more reasonable about. Honestly though if you're aware of your dealbreakers and know yourself well enough to know they're non-negotiable ignore anyone who tries to tell you that you're too ...

anglophone replies on Apr 20, 2020:

"I think it's better to be alone than in an unhappy relationship" - yes.

I was over on the r/debateanatheist subreddit and formulated a lengthy and thoughtful response to a ...

anglophone comments on Apr 18, 2020:

Science produces useful models of the natural world. Religion produces useless models of the natural world. Does anything more need to be said?

anglophone replies on Apr 20, 2020:

@DeCryingShame I have an issue with religious models, one of which is that God will protect people from Covid-19 even if those people go into a Covid-91 infected church event, which is manifest bullshit.

Corona virus has shown us once again how useless religion is.

Julie808 comments on Apr 19, 2020:

Yes, I think the religious feel the virus is all part of God's plan and that they are helpless to stop the spread, if it's God's will. So, they gather and pray, despite being aware they are tempting fate, welcoming the virus into their fold, but then they can thank god for his various graces, such ...

anglophone replies on Apr 19, 2020:

Um, yes, they *are* using the brains given to them by their God, their non-existent brains given to them by their non-existent god: their god will protect them. (Ha effing ha!)

Ok, so here goes agnosticism versus atheism 101 gnostic has to do with knowledge Theism has ...

Storm1752 comments on Apr 18, 2020:

Wrong. There is NO SUCH THING as an "agnostic atheist," as has been pointed out many times. This is at the crux of the misunderstanding many atheists have about the difference. What they are really alluding to is the difference between a 'strong' atheist and a 'weak' atheist, since both require a...

anglophone replies on Apr 18, 2020:

@AHWalter1989 An anti-theist is somebody who opposes theists. This is quite different a proposition to somebody who is an atheist, though an atheist may also be an anti-theist.

Let's discuss censorship.

Varn comments on Apr 18, 2020:

I’ve come to trust their judgement, whoever they are..

anglophone replies on Apr 18, 2020:

Same here.

I have just started reading Bertrand Russell's essay "Why I am not a Christian".

Klodzan comments on Apr 18, 2020:

You may find this short video of Lotd Russell most stimulating https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fb3k6tB-Or8

anglophone replies on Apr 18, 2020:

Thanks for the link. :)

Ok, so here goes agnosticism versus atheism 101 gnostic has to do with knowledge Theism has ...

anglophone comments on Apr 18, 2020:

Your post would benefit significantly from additional analytical thinking.

anglophone replies on Apr 18, 2020:

@AHWalter1989 Your "Everyone is either a 'theist' or an 'atheist' because they either hold to the belief that god exists or they do not." fails to address the question of which god. It also fails to address the observed phenomenon of different believers different levels of certainty about the existence of the god or gods that they claim - you have binarised a continuum. There is also the logical problem of those who are theist about one god, often the Abrahamic god, are also atheist about other gods. Have I given you enough to work with?

Ok, so here goes agnosticism versus atheism 101 gnostic has to do with knowledge Theism has ...

Geoffrey51 comments on Apr 18, 2020:

This old chestnut again?

anglophone replies on Apr 18, 2020:

Yes, like the dead horse, it keeps on rearing up its ugly head, because it has failed to realise that it is dead.

It seems like with so many different beliefs and religions in the world it would be impractical if ...

Triphid comments on Apr 17, 2020:

As is ever so very much the usual practice when asked for evidence regarding the factuality of any and all religions the answer is always, " It is written in a book, it is the words of God/Gods, what more evidence could you need." Ergo, as in legal cases,, ANY claim that has zero, tangible, tried, ...

anglophone replies on Apr 17, 2020:

I laugh when such wingnuts conflate claims with evidence.

It seems like with so many different beliefs and religions in the world it would be impractical if ...

Surfpirate comments on Apr 17, 2020:

There are a group of people that spend their time chasing these pipe dreams, they are called priests, clergy, imams, lamas, gurus, rabbis, etc. etc. Yes, a whole professional class that spend their lives in a wasted effort to prove that their imaginary friend exists and that all the others are mere...

anglophone replies on Apr 17, 2020:

@Surfpirate But, but, but ... I see evidence of Thor every time a thunderstorm goes overhead! ;)

It seems like with so many different beliefs and religions in the world it would be impractical if ...

Surfpirate comments on Apr 17, 2020:

There are a group of people that spend their time chasing these pipe dreams, they are called priests, clergy, imams, lamas, gurus, rabbis, etc. etc. Yes, a whole professional class that spend their lives in a wasted effort to prove that their imaginary friend exists and that all the others are mere...

anglophone replies on Apr 17, 2020:

What? Odin is fictional?? ;)

I have just started reading Bertrand Russell's essay "Why I am not a Christian".

AnneWimsey comments on Apr 17, 2020:

Read him around age 11, he formed my non-beliefs & developed my critical thinking skills. Love him!

anglophone replies on Apr 17, 2020:

Ah yes, critical thinking skills, which skills seem to be even less common than common sense.

This is my opinion.

Kynlei comments on Apr 17, 2020:

Personally, my honest belief is that there is no god. However, I don't feel like I can prove there isn't, so Agnostic seems like the more logical choice over Atheism. I do not believe there is an afterlife, but there are rewards and punishments for living life a certain way. If you break laws ...

anglophone replies on Apr 17, 2020:

I am atheist about the God of the Bible and the God of the Torah, this because it is trivial to demonstrate the non-existence of both. I am technically agnostic about all other gods, this because nobody has ever produced any falsifiable evidence to support the existence claim of any other god or gods in the last 5,000 years, but in practical terms I am atheist about those gods also.

I have just started reading Bertrand Russell's essay "Why I am not a Christian".

Word comments on Apr 17, 2020:

A quick reference for Bertrand Russell under agnosticism on wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism#Bertrand_Russell

anglophone replies on Apr 17, 2020:

P.S. I find it informative that he uses the word "prove" in his 1947 pamphlet in the light of today's understanding of the Scientific Method in which the idea of proof does not exist, and all we have is the weight of evidence.

I have just started reading Bertrand Russell's essay "Why I am not a Christian".

Word comments on Apr 17, 2020:

A quick reference for Bertrand Russell under agnosticism on wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism#Bertrand_Russell

anglophone replies on Apr 17, 2020:

Thanks. You have saved me some effort. :)

I have just started reading Bertrand Russell's essay "Why I am not a Christian".

David1955 comments on Apr 17, 2020:

If you haven't read his essay about why he was an atheist instead of an agnostic, I recommend it. His thinking on the subject is unsurpassed in my view, and I've yet to encounter serious challenge to his argument that agnosticism is a problematic position.

anglophone replies on Apr 17, 2020:

@Word Thanks for the link. Yes, he puts it well. Agreed, "it could never be known if God thingies exist" lies at the crux of the problem. My own position, fwiw, is that it is trivial to show that the God of the Bible (and the God of the Torah) cannot exist, and that nobody has produced any falsifiable evidence to support the existence claim of any other god or gods in the last 5,000 years. That makes me an atheist about two gods, and technically agnostic about all the other gods, though a lot of people seem unaware of that distinction.

I have just started reading Bertrand Russell's essay "Why I am not a Christian".

David1955 comments on Apr 17, 2020:

If you haven't read his essay about why he was an atheist instead of an agnostic, I recommend it. His thinking on the subject is unsurpassed in my view, and I've yet to encounter serious challenge to his argument that agnosticism is a problematic position.

anglophone replies on Apr 17, 2020:

Thanks for the tip. As it happens, I have an issue with agnosticism, which issue grew out of a comment made by somebody (I forget who) on this site. I will be interested to read Russell's words on the subject when I get to them. TY. :)

Does anyone have any recommendations on good books on non belief I'm new to this community and I ...

ReverendJohnDoe comments on Apr 17, 2020:

The Bible. Lol

anglophone replies on Apr 17, 2020:

Shades of Isaac Asimov: "Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for Atheism ever created".

If you're an atheist having sex & you scream "Oh God!" when you cum, does that make you a ...

AmyTheBruce comments on Apr 17, 2020:

Naw. It's a meaningless phrase, that's all. Plus, it stops you from screaming "Oh, Jerry!" when you're in bed with Bob.

anglophone replies on Apr 17, 2020:

Or even "Oh, Anne!" when you are in bed with Charles. ;)

If this god thingy made Mary pregnant.

LenHazell53 comments on Apr 16, 2020:

chromosomes are left wing atheist hoax, people are made from sparkling god stuff.😱😫😨👆

anglophone replies on Apr 16, 2020:

Sparkling god stuff. Hmm. .......... A champagne bottle! ;)

Does anyone have any recommendations on good books on non belief I'm new to this community and I ...

anglophone comments on Apr 16, 2020:

Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion": https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270835186_RICHARD_DAWKINS'_THE_GOD_DELUSION_AN_ATHEIST_SCIENCE_CONFRONTS_A_SUPERSTITIOUS_FAITH

anglophone replies on Apr 16, 2020:

@VeronikaAnnJ Yep! (L)

Pat Robertson: God May Have Created the Earth in Six “Universal” Days | Hemant Mehta | Friendly ...

MrDMC comments on Apr 15, 2020:

He says, "may," have. Not even God's man, Pat, is sure. God needs to publish an updated version of his book. Maybe he should include a glossary.

anglophone replies on Apr 16, 2020:

Psst. It's called the "Pastafarium", and it is sold at all good pizzarias.

If Coronavirus is the Chinese disease, then Donald Trump is the American disease.

Marionville comments on Apr 15, 2020:

....and it will prove to be much deadlier in the long term! His latest lunacy is, in a fit of pique, withdrawal of US Funds from WHO....we need an antiviral for this mentally deranged megalomaniac NOW!

anglophone replies on Apr 15, 2020:

It is unfortunate that there is no cure for such lunacy.

i am a test post

BudFrank comments on Apr 14, 2020:

Your post has been tested.

anglophone replies on Apr 14, 2020:

@BudFrank That rapidly? Wow! ;)

i am a test post

of-the-mountain comments on Apr 14, 2020:

Test test test!!!

anglophone replies on Apr 14, 2020:

Pass pass pass!!!

i am a test post

BudFrank comments on Apr 14, 2020:

Your post has been tested.

anglophone replies on Apr 14, 2020:

Did it pass the test?

Does anyone else have a memory of when they fully became what a Christian would call a "hard hearted...

DavidLaDeau comments on Apr 13, 2020:

I knew I was an atheist for years but would not admit it. Atheist were the haters that Fox news talked about. (I don't watch fox news now). Even when I knew it for years I could not say it aloud.

anglophone replies on Apr 13, 2020:

Yes, I am a hater: I hate the sloppy thinking and logical fallacies employed by the God Mob when they try to ram their particular god down other people's throats.

Anti-Vax For Jesus: Conservative Christian Lawmaker Calls Vaccines ‘Sorcery’ | Michael Stone

273kelvin comments on Jan 2, 2020:

They is always some religious dickhead "Pope condemns street lights" https://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2016/08/18/did-the-catholic-church-oppose-street-lights-some-notes-on-the-papal-states-in-the-1830s/

anglophone replies on Apr 13, 2020:

You cannot have lights when the darkness of religion is being promulgated.

Anti-Vax For Jesus: Conservative Christian Lawmaker Calls Vaccines ‘Sorcery’ | Michael Stone

DenoPenno comments on Jan 3, 2020:

Jesus can cure it if he wants to. Does he want to? Did you give enough money? Wait. You are not cured. Maybe you had some hidden sin in your life. Let's all confess our sins to each other.

anglophone replies on Apr 13, 2020:

Ah yes, the sin of having an amputation for which there is neither cure nor salvation.

Part of my indoctrination as a believer was that humans have souls and other creatures do not.

Jolanta comments on Apr 12, 2020:

Wow, that means I will be so busy with all my dead pets. I wonder if all my dogs, cats, budgies will get along? What about my two ex husbands, will I have to put up with them too?

anglophone replies on Apr 12, 2020:

@Lorajay You could always hope that he spends the rest of eternity in "the other place"! ;)

I'll never fathom out the way Christians think! I can understand how the Jewish establishment of ...

Archeus_Lore comments on Apr 11, 2020:

Let's re-word that . . . . I'll never fathom out the way Christians DON'T think!

anglophone replies on Apr 12, 2020:

The reason that such Christians do not think is that they are brain damaged, often irreversibly so, in the pre-frontal cortex.

This Virus is it Mother nature culling the human race ? Or is it man made ?

Fernapple comments on Apr 12, 2020:

There is a common fallacy which the human mind is very prone to, of seeing an intelligent agent and intention behind every action. Because we are social animals and tend to think in social terms, and we attempt to interpret our fellow humans by trying to understand their motivations. ...

anglophone replies on Apr 12, 2020:

I am very simple: I am easily amused by false dichotomies. (P.S. I like your analysis.)

Since we like verses so much.

VeronicaAnn comments on Apr 11, 2020:

That sucks for all the innocent animals who had to die who didn't do anything wrong. The Noah's Ark story is what lead me to be an unbeliever at around age 15. God sounded like a sadistic psychopath. So I can see why so many people have been brainwashed. If I were a Christian, I would be scared of ...

anglophone replies on Apr 11, 2020:

@VeronikaAnnJ Agreed. I think it is well summed up in the saying "You won't pray in my laboratory and I won't think in your church.". I have been thinking about how such people think, and I have come to the conclusion that they either will not or cannot think. There is also fMRI evidence that such religious people have a significantly impaired pre-frontal cortex in the brain.

Since we like verses so much.

VeronicaAnn comments on Apr 11, 2020:

That sucks for all the innocent animals who had to die who didn't do anything wrong. The Noah's Ark story is what lead me to be an unbeliever at around age 15. God sounded like a sadistic psychopath. So I can see why so many people have been brainwashed. If I were a Christian, I would be scared of ...

anglophone replies on Apr 11, 2020:

@VeronikaAnnJ He was a raging religious fundamentalist. That was a time when the Catholic church had a stranglehold on education, politics and the police in New South Wales.

Since we like verses so much.

VeronicaAnn comments on Apr 11, 2020:

That sucks for all the innocent animals who had to die who didn't do anything wrong. The Noah's Ark story is what lead me to be an unbeliever at around age 15. God sounded like a sadistic psychopath. So I can see why so many people have been brainwashed. If I were a Christian, I would be scared of ...

anglophone replies on Apr 11, 2020:

It took me 20 years to rid my mind of the poison put there at my age 10 by the headmaster of my primary school, and that is the main reason why I am such an anti-theist: I do not see why other people should have to go through what I went through. The fact that the God of the Bible is a narcissitic genocidal maniac with catastrophic anger management issues seems to be beyond the comprehension of the "godly".

I DECLARE I will choose reason over faith! I will focus on what can be demonstrated to be true.

Sweeney comments on Apr 11, 2020:

You can never escape faith.. How often do we say good luck when Luck was an old Scandinavian god.. We think of our selves spiritually, and it helps us to think of all things spiritually... All we can do is try to find the balance between belief and reason... Reason is in vain when we do not have ...

anglophone replies on Apr 11, 2020:

I do not think of myself spiritually (unless it is a single malt whisky). The more I look at the word "spirituality" the more I realise that it is a nonsense word. I prefer to look at myself realistically.

Is gender a social construct?

SpikeTalon comments on Apr 11, 2020:

I do firmly believe that sex is biological and that there are only two sexes, and that gender is strictly a human invention.

anglophone replies on Apr 11, 2020:

@VeronikaAnnJ My question was aimed at @SpikeTalon, as I was interested in what his response might be. If you are asking for my response to your original post, it goes like this. I see sex as something that continues the existence of the species. I see gender as something that is closely coupled with genitalia and the associated X and Y chromosomes. I see gender identity as a psychological manifestation. I do not see any of the foregoing as social constructs.

Is gender a social construct?

SpikeTalon comments on Apr 11, 2020:

I do firmly believe that sex is biological and that there are only two sexes, and that gender is strictly a human invention.

anglophone replies on Apr 11, 2020:

What would you make of XYY individuals, and people whose genitalia are not properly expressed during growth and maturation?

Louisiana Pastor: 'True Christians Do Not Mind Dying' Of Coronavirus If Infected At Church | ...

bklynite53 comments on Apr 9, 2020:

how can I help them achieve Rapture?

anglophone replies on Apr 10, 2020:

Would a Rupture be okay instead?

Perhaps this is a bad joke under the circumstances, but I would like to practice social-distancing ...

CommunityTom comments on Apr 9, 2020:

I don't think that's a good idea. Especially if we want to show religious people that we can be good ethical and compassionate human beings. We don't have to respect their beliefs in the process but the only way atheism can grow is if we talk with people.

anglophone replies on Apr 10, 2020:

You can talk all you like, but "there's thems as won't listen".

What in your opinion is the worst set of words in our common(US/UK english) language.

Mcflewster comments on Apr 9, 2020:

Mine is " I can't be bothered"

anglophone replies on Apr 9, 2020:

I was tempted to write "I can't be bothered to reply" ... And the best way of getting rid of temptation is to give in to it!

Here’s my conundrum about Easter and Passover.

juneymoon comments on Apr 8, 2020:

https://www.meta-religion.com/World_Religions/Ancient_religions/Mesopotamia/Epic_of_gilgamesh/biblical_parallels_in_sumerian_l.htm Please read, you will love it!

anglophone replies on Apr 9, 2020:

Properly studied, comparative religion turns every theist into an atheist.

Here’s my conundrum about Easter and Passover.

mischl comments on Apr 8, 2020:

Wait. You're NOT supposed to think. Just kneel, pray, and put money in the plate.

anglophone replies on Apr 9, 2020:

Yes: "Don't pray in my laboratory and I won't think in your church.".

Hello, I've been MIA for some time but today i needed to be on here.

WalterWhite comments on Apr 8, 2020:

No use giving others the power to upset you like that and just decline or leave such silly events and give it no further thought. You can't control others but you can control how you respond and if it worth getting upset and disturbing your sleep over. Blocking her makes sense. Lost in dreams of ...

anglophone replies on Apr 9, 2020:

Or perhaps her mind has become as scrambled as the strands of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (PBUH).

Hello, I've been MIA for some time but today i needed to be on here.

BitFlipper comments on Apr 8, 2020:

Christianists think their situation is the "one true" belief system, and they're convinced that everyone would join them if only they heard "the word". Your friend doesn't care, and doesn't respect you. Her idea of friendship is disrespect.

anglophone replies on Apr 9, 2020:

"Her idea of friendship is disrespect." Exactly!

Latest from Garrison Keillor : "I skipped the news today and clicked on Zoom where my church held...

anglophone comments on Apr 8, 2020:

I wonder if Garrison Keillor realises just how irrelevant he is in today's world.

anglophone replies on Apr 8, 2020:

@Allamanda I feely admit that my perspective may be inadequately informed.

What are the only things of which you are completely certain? E.g. That you think

Geoffrey51 comments on Apr 7, 2020:

That nothing is certain.

anglophone replies on Apr 7, 2020:

What a deliciously ambiguous comment!

Are Non Believers Happier People Than Christians?

AnneWimsey comments on Apr 7, 2020:

Beats the daylights out of thinking your every move/ thought is being judged, harshly.

anglophone replies on Apr 7, 2020:

Yes!

Bible stories may not be factual - but they are nonetheless true

p-nullifidian comments on Apr 7, 2020:

**true **| tro͞o | adjective 1 in accordance with fact or reality: *a true story* | *of course it's true* | *that is not true of the people I am talking about.* How do any Bible stories accord with fact or reality?

anglophone replies on Apr 7, 2020:

It start off like this, you see. 13.8 billion years is actually the same as seven days. When Adam died, he had only 23 ribs. You get the idea.

HOW CAN PEOPLE WHO HAVE GROWN UP IN A TECHNOLOGICAL WESTERN NATION BELIEVE 5G PHOBE SERVICE COULD ...

Marionville comments on Apr 7, 2020:

I have to sometimes remind myself that education and knowledge cannot, and demonstrably does not, increase basic native intelligence in an idividual. The average I.Q. Is around 100 which means that there are a great number of people who fall way below that median!

anglophone replies on Apr 7, 2020:

@Marionville Factors other than just having a low IQ. A tendency towards being credulous is also a requirement. Consider somebody with a low IQ who is firmly convinced that coronavirus is a hoax, for example.

HOW CAN PEOPLE WHO HAVE GROWN UP IN A TECHNOLOGICAL WESTERN NATION BELIEVE 5G PHOBE SERVICE COULD ...

Marionville comments on Apr 7, 2020:

I have to sometimes remind myself that education and knowledge cannot, and demonstrably does not, increase basic native intelligence in an idividual. The average I.Q. Is around 100 which means that there are a great number of people who fall way below that median!

anglophone replies on Apr 7, 2020:

In my experience, people who have a low IQ does not equate to accepting the nonsense that 5G masts cause coronavirus.

Schrodinger's virus?

anglophone comments on Apr 6, 2020:

Heisenberg's Cat?

anglophone replies on Apr 6, 2020:

@dalefvictor Try saying that to my cat. ;)

Schrodinger's virus?

anglophone comments on Apr 6, 2020:

Heisenberg's Cat?

anglophone replies on Apr 6, 2020:

@Charlene I am with Heisenberg on this one. Quantum mechanics is an excellent model for the behaviour of things at the subatomic level, but cats are not subatomic. (An 8 pound cat landing with great force on my stomach in bed at night is certainly no wave equation!)

Schrodinger's virus?

anglophone comments on Apr 6, 2020:

Heisenberg's Cat?

anglophone replies on Apr 6, 2020:

@Charlene My joke is obscure.

"The sting of death is sin," should be "The sting of religion is stupidity"

anglophone comments on Apr 6, 2020:

Funny that, as the God Mob appears to be impervious to such stings. As an aside, I am always amused by the (monu)mental stupidity of "I don't have enough faith to be an atheist".

anglophone replies on Apr 6, 2020:

@DenoPenno That means that he is mentally incompetent, aka non compos mentis, aka a nincompoop.

"The sting of death is sin," should be "The sting of religion is stupidity"

anglophone comments on Apr 6, 2020:

Funny that, as the God Mob appears to be impervious to such stings. As an aside, I am always amused by the (monu)mental stupidity of "I don't have enough faith to be an atheist".

anglophone replies on Apr 6, 2020:

@Cyklone I can go with that.

1918 Spanish Flu historical documentary [youtube.

Jolanta comments on Apr 6, 2020:

I am not surprised that the governments around the world don’t want its population to know. They need to go out and buy up all the toilet paper before people start hoarding.

anglophone replies on Apr 6, 2020:

Would that be to do with the need to clean up governmental excreta? ;)

"The sting of death is sin," should be "The sting of religion is stupidity"

Freedompath comments on Apr 5, 2020:

I wish that ‘the sting of religion is stupidity’ was all there was to it! Stupid people are not normally out trying to punish people for their perceived sins! When a person of any religion picks it up because they fell empty or lost, it is easy to see how the ‘religion takes them over!’ ...

anglophone replies on Apr 6, 2020:

"May Odin have mercy upon your immortal soul!"

"The sting of death is sin," should be "The sting of religion is stupidity"

of-the-mountain comments on Apr 5, 2020:

Sin is only in the eye of the beholder!!!

anglophone replies on Apr 6, 2020:

A bit like beauty, really.

With constitutional questions murky, some churches continue to defy restrictions on gatherings

BestWithoutGods comments on Apr 5, 2020:

Churches are run by unethical scam artists. Everyone should go by the government's restrictions, and stop spreading the damn virus!

anglophone replies on Apr 6, 2020:

Churches already spread stupidity (along with a lot of other socially undesirable things), so why not add Covid-19 to their portfolio?

1918 Spanish Flu historical documentary [youtube.

DeCryingShame comments on Apr 5, 2020:

Interesting. I have encountered people who I frequently interact with who claim that the pandemic is a hoax. Not that the disease doesn't exist but that it's being hyped up to enable the government to impose draconian measures. Then there are others who claim that the opposite is true: that we ...

anglophone replies on Apr 6, 2020:

As far as I can see, the governments in Australia are taking appropriate measures, and are in my view proportionate to the news that is being reported in this country and elsewhere. They also accord with my somewhat limited understanding of epidemiology. The video shows what happens when medical resources are overwhelmed. The measures taken here take into account two objectives: keeping the spread of Covid-19 low enough to allow the available medical resources to cope, and to keep the economy going as best it can under the current circumstances. There is a need to distinguish between rates of hospitalisation and death rates. (Just my 2-cents' worth.)

Well it seems there is ONE clue as why there's a Dunny paper shortage here in Broken Hill and what ...

AnneWimsey comments on Apr 5, 2020:

Seize the goods, charge them with scamming, war profiteering and I suppose loitering/trespassing too!

anglophone replies on Apr 5, 2020:

@Triphid Thanks for sharing that. Should the magistrate sentence each of them to six months locked in the dunny?

This Coronavirus is a walk in the park compared to epidemics faced by our ancestors.

anglophone comments on Apr 5, 2020:

What data sources are you using for Covid-19? Thanks for the historical data.

anglophone replies on Apr 5, 2020:

@WilliamFleming Thanks.

Trump says 'nobody' could've predicted a pandemic like coronavirus.

Varn comments on Apr 5, 2020:

Though bush jr would give him some serious competition … trump must surely be the dumbest president of my lifetime ..including Reagan, and a couple of Eisehower’s last years (notice a pattern?).. And right now - he’s **deadly incompatant** :S

anglophone replies on Apr 5, 2020:

"Deadly incompetent" I *like* that term.

What made you change from believer to non-believer?

PadraicM comments on Nov 25, 2019:

Read the bible and started studying world religions. Realized they were all BS after a bit of study.

anglophone replies on Apr 5, 2020:

Uh-huh. Comparative religion is the undoing of many believers.

I don't know if it something that I am doing wrong (which it could well be), but I am puzzled by ...

Fred_Snerd comments on Apr 4, 2020:

The Music forum has been just a "Write something" page for me. This morning, my post in Philosophy became invisible. So, I went to check Site & CC to see if anyone else was experiencing glitches. That forum also links to a post page.

anglophone replies on Apr 4, 2020:

Thanks for sharing that.

..........

Petter comments on Apr 4, 2020:

What's the binary representation for "maybe" (true/false)?

anglophone replies on Apr 4, 2020:

Can I recommend ternary representation to you? ;)

There are people in my community who are using Covid-19 as an excuse to abuse people of Asian ...

Paracosm comments on Apr 3, 2020:

Racism and abuse are never reasonable.

anglophone replies on Apr 3, 2020:

Agreed.

There are people in my community who are using Covid-19 as an excuse to abuse people of Asian ...

Geoffrey51 comments on Apr 3, 2020:

It’s never reasonable to abuse anyone for any reason regardless of your inability to think rationally or not.

anglophone replies on Apr 3, 2020:

Agreed. I was asking about the reasonableness of my analysis, and I thank everybody who has contributed here for broadening my thinking.

There are people in my community who are using Covid-19 as an excuse to abuse people of Asian ...

Petter comments on Apr 3, 2020:

All because Trump insisted on calling it the Chinese virus. Why aren't people of West African appearance being attacked for AIDS? It originated in the hinterland of what was previously the Belgian Congo. It's not a fear of Covid-19 so much as an inability to think, let alone be rational. These are...

anglophone replies on Apr 3, 2020:

That Trump called it "the Chinese virus" says much about the man, all of it bad. Agreed, it is about an inability to think. It saddens me when politicians stir up fear and hatred in the general population as a way of serving their own ends. It reminds me of Sir Oswald Mosley.

There are people in my community who are using Covid-19 as an excuse to abuse people of Asian ...

Fernapple comments on Apr 3, 2020:

" Could face hate crime charges." Where does the 'could' come from, why not, is going to.

anglophone replies on Apr 3, 2020:

Good question. I don't know enough about the legal processes in that part of the world, nor do I know enough about the mental health legislation there.