Can a person believe in evolution and the Bible at the same time?

genessa comments on Sep 13, 2018:

yes. one would be a fool to do so, but one can say "the world was created in seven days; how long was a day back then? maybe a day was a billion years...." it sounds ridiculous of course, and that's because it IS ridiculous. but it's possible. i don't mean possible that creationism is true; it plainly isn't. i mean possible to delude oneself that both evolution and creationism are true. i will add that evolution chugs along whether or not there is even anyone around to believe it's doing so. it's not a belief system! it is a natural process. g

I see that we have some "believers" in the group.

genessa comments on Sep 14, 2018:

some are legitimately curious and just that. some are curious and may have doubts they have not yet admitted to themselves. and some are trolls. they don't last long! by the way, my dog and my cats get along great! g

What happens to your spirt / mind when you die?

genessa comments on Sep 15, 2018:

no one knows for sure and anyone who says they know is operating on some kind of faith -- their own, if they believe what they're saying, or yours, if you believe what they're saying. now some stuff we DO know. we know you don't turn into a unicorn and gallop away, for example. we have good reason to believe that the electrical activity that forms what we call the mind stops when you're dead, so it's unlikely there is anything like a mind once that stops. reincarnation seems unlikely. different dimensions... well, that sounds nice but have we got ANY indication that this is even possible? it's just someone's fanciful idea. what is it, anyway, that would go there, whatever "there" is? our bodies? we can SEE those are gone. our minds? the electricity is cut off. so... what? are we talking souls here? i, for one, don't believe in souls. i see no more evidence of souls than i do of gods. so now you have my ideas and my reasoning behind them, but since i'm not dead yet, i don't really know. my belief, based on the above, is that once i am dead, there won't be a "me" to know. g

I don't know why, but I'm feeling a bit out of place here.

genessa comments on Sep 15, 2018:

this isn't just a place to talk about how atheist we all are. that would get kind of boring! i think it's more a place to talk about whatever we want, without having to put up with that "it's in god's hands now" stuff every time we identify a problem. if you don't like politics, don't read the political stuff! if you don't like whiny banter, don't look at the whiny banter. it's not like facebook, where all your friends' crap shows up on your page and you have to scroll past all the pictures of tormented animals and lost children who actually got found two years ago, or everyone's dinner. here you choose by clicking. also, in what way is this a clique? we're all different, we don't all know each other, there are, so far, a few hundred of us unless i've misread the numbers, and we don't all hang out together. this isn't like hanging out at the same cafe. this is like hanging out in the same city. you choose where you go and whom you see. g

Chelsea Clinton: It Would Be “Unchristian” to Overturn Roe v. Wade | Sarahbeth Caplin

genessa comments on Sep 15, 2018:

sometimes you have to speak to people on their own terms, even if it means within their own little bubble. she is obviously addressing christians here. it's fine. g

Does a bad day give you the right to be un-pleasant?

genessa comments on Sep 16, 2018:

everyone has a right to be unpleasant. it's not the right thing to do, and it's unjustified, but it's legal. however, we have a right to object, too. g

The Middle Way Society: Agnosticism

genessa comments on Sep 17, 2018:

i agree that extremism should be rejected, but i do not always agree about what constitutes extremism. there are people for whom health care for everyone is extremism. that's not how i view it, and i do not view myself as an extremist. there are also those who think that saying "nazis are bad" is extreme. that is not how i see things. g

Micro-cheating

genessa comments on Sep 17, 2018:

oh jealousy. it's ridiculous. people who love each other should not hold each other prisoner. g

So I have a 2nd grade student who was sticking mini Post It notes all over the playground equipment ...

genessa comments on Sep 17, 2018:

well i cannot blame them for being upset. that is really bad spelling. i would change that to "myth!" meanwhile, no one seems to object if a kid posts "god loves you," right? g

How good are you at striking up conversation with a stranger?

genessa comments on Sep 18, 2018:

i am fabulous at striking up conversations with strangers. i do it whenever possible. my guy is shy and is just amazed how i used to talk to people on buses (i don't ride public buses anymore) or how, at a social gathering, i just start talking to just anyone. i don't make more than than the usual assumptions (like that the other party is alive, if i see breathing and eye movement) or prejudices (i would probably not strike up a conversation with someone wearing a swastika armband). g

There's a theory going around that "men are born rapists", may sound a harsh but the reasoning is ...

genessa comments on Sep 19, 2018:

this makes no sense at all. rape isn't about sex and most men don't rape. if men were born rapists, wouldn't most of them rape? g

I would like to share a question some of my friends from the believer’s communities commonly ask.

genessa comments on Sep 19, 2018:

i think it is naive of the religionists to ask this. they may as well ask how can we be good people if we don't believe in a god. (oh wait -- they DO also ask that!) your ideas are good. you also don't need holidays or scheduled meet-ups to have a social life. atheists work and meet people at work, have hobbies, take vacations, sometimes go to bars or parties or whatever and meet people. atheists have neighbors! why would it be hard to have a social life? are ALL religionists reliant on their churches for their social lives? how restricted and sad! g

Was asked why I am agnostic and not athiest or religious.

genessa comments on Sep 20, 2018:

i'm an atheist and i don't presume to KNOW whether or not there is a supreme being. i presume, not arrogantly, to be pretty darned sure, since there is so much evidence that people are making it all up. i mean there is more evidence of unicorns than of gods (i've seen pictures!) and we don't feel arrogant saying there aren't unicorns, do we? g

Does Trump have the lowest IQ of all American Presidents to date?

genessa comments on Sep 21, 2018:

but he has no iq. none. it's zero if not negative. g

I don't know how to make sense of this.

genessa comments on Sep 10, 2018:

ask this person outright if s/he considers you a friend. tell him/her it's okay if not, but to SAY so, because you don't want to keep feeling as you are the only one who gets in the mood to communicate. g

Cooked beets for the first time. Looks like a murder scene.

genessa comments on Sep 11, 2018:

they do leak! but boiled? no, no, no! anything but that! try roasting them! boiling a vegetable is almost... well this is the wrong site to call something sacrilegious lol. but you get to keep the flavor and the vitamins if you cook them ANY other way. roasting is best but even microwaving beats (pun intended) boiling! if they tasted good after boiling just IMAGINE how they would taste after roasting :-)) g

Pat Robertson declares a ‘wall of protection’ around his TV station from Hurricane Florence – ...

genessa comments on Sep 11, 2018:

his congregation will have group amnesia when his wall doesn't protect anyone. g

Am I the only one who HATES when someone acts too familiar when they first send a message?

genessa comments on Sep 11, 2018:

you are not alone. it happens a lot in scam-spam. "dear (no name!)" or "my dear" -- the people perpetrating the scam are so stupid, they think because our letters begin with "dear" we like actual terms of endearment from strangers. that is a bit different of course from what you describe. that's accidental familiarity and what you describe is purposeful, invasive and at best cheeky. i don't tolerate it. g

I can't stand whiners.

genessa comments on Sep 11, 2018:

but... aren't you whining about them right now? g

This may sound strange coming from an atheist, but do ghosts come from the living or the dead?

genessa comments on Sep 11, 2018:

my guess which is an educated one, is that ghosts come from neither the living nor the dead, since they do not exist. we give supernatural names to things we do not understand. language is like that. maybe we have no other word for ghost right now. that's tricky, though. ghost actually means something, and using it to explain something that is NOT what ghost means is at best confusing and at worst misleading. i'm not going to use the word ghost to define a hallucination, a funny feeling, something that looks ghostly but surely has an unghostly explanation, or any other real thing, because as ghosts are defined, there is no such thing. g

What inspires you to follow a member's posts on Agnostic.com?

genessa comments on Sep 11, 2018:

not sure yet. i just got here. i am not yet following anyone. i am, rather, looking for familiar names whenever i appreciate a post. when i notice that i am smiling a lot at the same person's posts, i will then follow that person. g

Superstition

genessa comments on Sep 11, 2018:

my guy is superstitious about the number 19 because bad things have happened to him on the 19th of a given month. each of his parents died on a 19th; he got a bad result from an application on a 19th. other stuff happened on a 19th. i don't really know other people who have confided or displayed superstitions to me, and if i have any myself i am not aware of it. i have always had black cats. beautiful creatures, and loving, they are! g

Are you afraid of success?

genessa comments on Sep 11, 2018:

it is not fear we need to fear. it is letting fear paralyze us. it's okay to be afraid. act anyway! g

I've been on this site since April and enjoy it immensely.

genessa comments on Sep 12, 2018:

aretha said it, didn't she? maybe we were all tapping our feet but not really listening. i label my opinions as such, but i know some facts, too, and (sadly enough) a lot of folks don't know the difference. i've run into some conspiracy theorists, pugnacious political trolls and folks who think any time you disagree on ANYTHING (the taste of celery not excepted) you're attacking them personally. it's hard not to respond in kind when they get personal and nasty. that's when i use the block feature. g

I am thinking about starting over.

genessa comments on Sep 12, 2018:

yes. i picked up and went to japan, barely knowing the language. unemployment and despair prompted me to do it, along with an invitation from friends who lived there. it was like... living anywhere, but the details were different! i gained a lot of confidence there, i must say. good luck! g

Welcome to the Newly revived Jewish By Culture Group.

genessa comments on Sep 12, 2018:

hopes and aspirations? hmm. just to see what everyone else thinks and is up to and feel free to speak my alleged mind as well :-)) g

The source attribution effect, or : Tribal thinking trumps reason

genessa comments on Sep 12, 2018:

well that's bullshit. sorry, but it is. i have been an atheist for half a century and a democrat longer than that (even though i was only 15 when i realized there were no gods), and i do not automatically eschew anything biblical just because it is biblical, nor do i automatically credit something from an ancient philosopher just because it is from an ancient philosopher. on what basis do you make this statement? if a republican says something correct, i may or may not doubt the motivations but not the truth of the content, and i will say so, too. maybe the people you know are like this. small samples are meaningless. for me, for the intelligent people i know, the content is more important than the source, even though we DO consider the source (that is not stupid to do). of course, you're talking about lying to people about the source, aren't you? don't you ever get caught? how do you expect to get an honest reading when the whole test is dishonest? feh! g

I would like to see "friends", like Fb on here. Is that possible? Agree, disagree?

genessa comments on Sep 12, 2018:

we can see who follows us and whom we follow. we can see our messages, so we know with whom we've communicated. we can mark favorite people. isn't that like a friends list? g

These people claim to be loving, godfearing christians. Have they ever READ anything Jesus said?

genessa comments on Sep 12, 2018:

as facebookers like to say, it's complicated. first of all, jesus, as labeled, if he existed (in which case his name certainly wasn't jesus, which is a greek name) was a jew. second of all, the people who wrote about what he purportedly said and did never met jesus. third of all, even the stuff written by those folks who never met him apparently wasn't even written by them, which means it was written by people who never met the people who never met jesus but who are credited with saying all the stuff they couldn't possibly know about jesus to begin with. so let's go back to his being jewish. if people were really all so hot on jesus, they'd be jews! g

What I have to say about religion, or about politics is.

genessa comments on Sep 13, 2018:

i don't like hershey's. they make bad chocolate (yes, i know, to some there is no such thing). i do like music, but i'm particular. doritos, boring but not icky. ice cream, well, for me it has to be a good flavor, and that rules out chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, although french vanilla or vanilla bean is good. coke and pepsi, feh! that's not even food. really, you can say no more? not criticizing, but curious: why are you here, then? g

Homeopathy

genessa comments on Sep 13, 2018:

homeopathy works for what it works for. cancer is one of the many things that it does NOT work for. goldenseal works GREAT for the stuff i use it for. i wouldn't use it for cancer, or for diptheria, or e-coli, but when my ibs acts up, or if i have a cut or sore, it's fabulous. the problem with homeopathy is that it's not one thing, and it's also not a panacea, and it's touted as one thing, and further touted as a SUBSTITUTE for all medicine-as-we-know-it -- which is NOT all scientifically proven, by the way. fda approves things according to its own little criteria, which may be as much economic as science-based (maybe moreso, in fact) and some substances with real potential, even scientifically proven potential, are held at bay by special interests such as the alcohol and tobacco industries. what i think of most of what is presented as homeopathic medicine? quack quack quack. but lots of legitimate stuff gets lumped in there and badmouthed along with it. g

What music could you...?

genessa comments on Sep 13, 2018:

i couldn't do it. i'd die. g

Is it just me, or r there a lot of people on here that are really taken with their own ability to ...

genessa comments on Sep 13, 2018:

actually, some of us CAN write. shall we pretend we're just not that good? g

Raised Atheist or left a religion?

genessa comments on Sep 13, 2018:

i was neither raised an atheist nor left a religion. i was raised as a secular jew and realized at age 15 there were no gods. i didn't even think about not being a jew anymore; i'm still a jew. it's not actually a dealbreaker lol. g

Albert Einstein believed in the pantheistic god of 17th century rationalist Baruch Spinoza.

genessa comments on Sep 13, 2018:

that's odd, because einstein didn't claim to believe in any kind of gods at all. in fact he indicated otherwise. g

What are 4 things that make you happy ?

genessa comments on Sep 14, 2018:

make that seven: penny, tevye, golde, wendy and kuma, my elderly cats; ramona, my dog; and richard, my guy. g

I am 48.

genessa comments on Sep 14, 2018:

i was 48 when i met the man with whom i fell in love. he was just shy of 52. i'm 66 and a half now and we're still together. as for being pickier, isn't that a GOOD thing? that's how you find the right one! g

I think most people on here and in life in general have a different mindset to myself, as they ...

genessa comments on Sep 14, 2018:

it could also be the other way around. you general thinking does not make people treat you like shit but it allows them to do so. also since you have not been specific, we cannot begin to understand whether you are trapped or have an out. (without a clue as to what you are going through, we also cannot confirm or deny your assertion that you're different from most people here because of it; people have to contend with all kinds of things.) g

So my fundie christian MOTHER has told other members of the family that she hopes this hurricane we ...

genessa comments on Sep 15, 2018:

that's motherly love for ya. has she not realized how many times people have blamed atheism, homosexuality, short skirts or WHATEVER for natural phenomena that have very clear, well understood causes, and then found that people who did not fit any of those descriptions ALSO had to suffer through them? nope: cognitive dissonance at work. g

What's the difference between drinking while driving and texting while driving?

genessa comments on Sep 15, 2018:

there are differences which are not important and similarities which are: you can die and kill others is the important similarity. given that, who cares what the differences are? g

[yahoo.com] Not Just Trump- Watch Out Pence-Hired by Manafort

genessa comments on Sep 15, 2018:

pence will be implicated. i don't want to hear "we can't impeach trump because of pence." we MUST impeach trump. we will knock all the villains down. g

I was talking to a customer today in the hurricane ravaged state of n.

genessa comments on Sep 15, 2018:

i can't help wondering why 1. people are so egotistical that they think their god listens to their prayers but not other people's prayers, elsewhere in the world. 2. why they think their god is so stupid he doesn't know to rescue people unless they ask him specifically to do so. 3. why they think their god is to egotistical that he will let people die unless they beg him not to. all this APART from the fact that there is no such thing as a god. that's getting too deep. g

Competition: healthy or not?

genessa comments on Sep 16, 2018:

in what way is it even a competition? in a competition there are winners and losers. here, no one loses points when you gain them, or even fails to win them when you gain them. we're not competing for the points. we're being rewarded for our activity, independently of each other's rewards. that is not competition. yes there are people who take the points so seriously that they post garbage just to get the points. that's rude. there are rude people in the world. this may seem like another world but it's just another part of the world; you can't come here and expect to escape rude people. but their rudeness, while annoying, does not prevent you from gaining points, nor take away the points you have already gained. it's not a competition. g

Dating people with different religious belief , does it work out well or they can both come to an ...

genessa comments on Sep 16, 2018:

there is no one answer. everyone is different. g

What if you could know...?

genessa comments on Sep 16, 2018:

i would like to know if anyone will read my writing. g

Question. I have different fetishes. How do I bring it up in conversation?

genessa comments on Sep 16, 2018:

you just did :-)) but i think it doesn't need to come up in conversation until it becomes applicable to the situation or is about to be, or could potentially be. it depends on what the fetish is. if it's something that applies only during sex, you might want to wait until you have both agreed, implicitly or explicitly, that you're going to have sex. if it's a shoe fetish, you may want to mention that earlier. g

Seriously?

genessa comments on Sep 16, 2018:

i might ask a guy that... except i'm a fabulous cook. that's chance, not a job. g

A question about humanity

genessa comments on Sep 16, 2018:

no, not directly beforehand. there was a long, long process of evolution between fish coming slowly onto land and small mammals developing slowly into primates. that latter procedure wouldn't even have happened (maybe) had the dinosaurs not become extinct,probably because of the meteor strike at chicxulub g

Should one bring/send flowers on a first date?

genessa comments on Sep 17, 2018:

not if she has cats or allergies. find out if she even LIKES flowers! likewise a bottle of wine -- she may not drink (or she might love it). try to find out what she likes before you decide. g

One time me and my mom was waiting for the bus in a walmart parking lot in columbus ohio on the hill...

genessa comments on Sep 17, 2018:

consider having to listen to the creepy music as a kind of cab fare :-)) i like bluegrass, myself. christian bluegrass? i can't even imagine. it sounds creepy all right. g

How do you respond when a loved one asks you to pray for them?

genessa comments on Sep 17, 2018:

i have been asked for prayers, not by family but by friends. i always say "i don't pray, but i will be thinking about you, and i hope for the very best." g

Did (a) god create humans

genessa comments on Sep 17, 2018:

good on the aussies for this! g

Does anyone else here read the actual arguments made by atheists/naturalists set forth on sites like...

genessa comments on Sep 17, 2018:

not me! oddly enough (maybe) i don't feel the need to read about atheism. i am pretty confident there are no gods, i don't need to find out how to convince others there are no gods, since that's none of my business, and despite being delighted to have found this site, in general i don't think too much about gods. my main concern is that people should stop trying to legislate religion and stop discriminating against and even harassing atheists. g

Ever dated a religious person

genessa comments on Sep 17, 2018:

nope. never. i dated a libertarian once. my sister set me up. when i say once, i mean ONCE. g

Who is the most knowledgeable public atheist today?

genessa comments on Sep 18, 2018:

knowledgeable about what? you don't have to be a scientist to know there are no gods. there are all kinds of knowledge. a good sense of logic -- a good sense of sense you might say -- is a kind of knowledge. i think ron reagan and ricky gervais are great! they know how to communicate to people. that's important knowledge. g

I am starting to feel about the cat meme posts the same as I do about people trying to push their ...

genessa comments on Sep 18, 2018:

i haven't seen many here. for what it's worth, i like some and don't like others, based on their truth and cleverness rather than that they're about cats. i have a high cat tolerance, i have to admit. your suspicion is correct, by the way: one cannot own a cat. g

Never forget to ask yourself this question: Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

genessa comments on Sep 18, 2018:

sorry, why should i not forget to ask myself that? i generally know the answer. by the way, i am sitting down. if YOU want to know why i am right here right now (i already know) it's because it's too late to go to bed and get up in time for breakfast, and i need to get up within a certain time range for breakfast so i can take my medications (for diabetes). in 45 minutes that range begins, so i am waiting for breakfast time. why here instead of somewhere else? because my computer is here. g

Have you ever been in a relationship where the other person did not know the cultural "givens" ?

genessa comments on Sep 18, 2018:

well, i spent a decade in japan. i was once asked there "you're jewish? what kind of christian is that?" i had, for a time, a japanese boyfriend, and he introduced me to the sad, sad culture of the male japanese worker, who will not get that promotion unless he drinks and whores with the boss. fortunately my boyfriend was self-employed. g

What right does the atty general have to take on a job of increasing christian values within our ...

genessa comments on Sep 18, 2018:

the same right hitler had to conquer europe and engage in genocide. none. g

Seeing a lot of defensive comments from men on Kavanaugh's supposed behavior, from apologies, to ...

genessa comments on Sep 18, 2018:

attempted rape is never normal. g

I'm really thinking about fading away from this site.. Please talk me into staying.

genessa comments on Sep 18, 2018:

sorry, but i don't know you, so i cannot say whether your staying or your leaving would suit you better. i like the site, myself, but if it does not serve you, why stay? on the other hand, maybe before leaving, you'd like to examine what you expect of the site. it has a lot of different concerns; if you can't find one of them to interest you, then you have no reason to stay. if you can, why not stay? no one forces you to spend a certain amount of time here, or check here with a specific frequency. it's all up to you. what suits you best? g

Is it possible to keep your child away from the idea of religion?

genessa comments on Sep 19, 2018:

how is she going to make up her own mind if she hasn't got all the information she needs? she needs to know religion exists. you can explain that it's not realistic, and that while belief doesn't make that side of the family stupid or bad, it is still (fill in adjective of your choice). it's better than letting her find out as an adult, find it alien and fascinating, and run off to join a cult! g

Other people are having way, way less sex than you think they are

genessa comments on Sep 19, 2018:

how does anyone know how much sex i think other people are having? i don't actually think about, or care, how much sex other people are having. this is like those stupid articles that always say "10 things you didn't know about [whatever]" they don't know what i do and don't know! g

Go away.

genessa comments on Sep 19, 2018:

you mean you answer your door? i don't! g

Is it safe to assume that all Americans by now have read or at least heard about the piece in the ...

genessa comments on Sep 19, 2018:

he can only sue them if it's not true. he cannot sue them for invasion of privacy because he is a public figure. but to prove it's not true he would have to unveil his junk. did they go too far, regardless of legal status? i don't know. is anyone actually forced to read the guardian? g

I have this 9-5 that requires no creativity.

genessa comments on Sep 19, 2018:

i have had horrid jobs. i am disabled now but before i was unable to work, i left those horrid jobs. it's not always that easy, and it's not always easy to find a new one. the best advice i have to give you is to find a new job BEFORE quitting the old one. g

Science adjusts its views based on what’s observed.

genessa comments on Sep 19, 2018:

just a little quibble, and that is that science hasn't got any views. science is a study. scientists change their views, not science. scientists change them based on observation, and testing, and retesting. that's a good thing. faith is as you say. g

Some Brief Thoughts on Time.

genessa comments on Sep 20, 2018:

even asleep, if you're dreaming, you're experiencing a now. g

Living alone when you're sick. How do you feed yourself?

genessa comments on Sep 20, 2018:

being disabled, i get some services from the county, and one of them is mom's meals (like meals on wheels). i keep them in the freezer. i eat them for breakfast but if i am sick enough and have to ask my guy, who can't cook, and has alzheimer's, to feed me, i just ask him for a mom's meal. he can heat it in the microwave. it's not gourmet dining but it is better than starving and it's better than fast food. g

What is a genius?

genessa comments on Sep 20, 2018:

that is a ridiculous and untrue definition of genius and it's not even what an iq test is or does. it may be flawed as a measure of genius, mostly but not solely because there are so many kinds of genius, but neither is it as you describe it. memorization has zip to do with what's on an iq test and will not help anyone on one. i can't help thinking this comes from a defensive, anti-intellectual perspective. g

Ivanka thinks her dad deserves credit for not attacking assault victim

genessa comments on Sep 20, 2018:

yes of course he does. along the same lines of thinking, i should receive $130k for not sleeping with trump. i am still waiting, and by the way, i want that in cash, money order or certified check. no personal checks. g

I am not sure what I expected when I joined this site.

genessa comments on Sep 21, 2018:

atheists are just people, and people are... just people. g

I might be crazy, but if I was accused of something and I didn't do it, I'd WANT an investigation.

genessa comments on Sep 21, 2018:

you'd THINK, huh? but the republicans are in it too deep. logic like that won't work with them. g

If you could live forever, could you guess now when you would choose to stop existing? (Comment)

genessa comments on Sep 21, 2018:

if i were well enough and my planet existed, never. g

A word from Socrates worth thinking about.

genessa comments on Sep 21, 2018:

true enough albeit not ancient or even particularly old, and for sure not greek. g

Every time we glorify the cradle of our civilization.

genessa comments on Sep 21, 2018:

i don't see why we have to glorify anything at all. studying and understanding are enough. and if we really study, and really understand, we see the real role of women, despite the fact that they were so little valued (oh my how things have changed -- um, not so much).but let's expand slightly past greece and rome, and learn about hypatia and, alas, her fate. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/hypatia-ancient-alexandrias-great-female-scholar-10942888/ note that egypt had at least three female pharoahs that we know of (well, that i know of -- you may know of more!): cleopatra, nefertiti and hatshepsut. the last is little spoken of but the other two are much portrayed... the way men imagine them. g

Countdown time!! List your top 5 favorite Doctor Who episodes.

genessa comments on Sep 21, 2018:

in no particular order: midnight, blink, love and monsters, the christmas invasion, silence in the library, forest of the dead g

The Judgement of Victims I went to get my hair cut today and as so often happens, the...

genessa comments on Sep 22, 2018:

no. we don't all do it. but too many do. people in power do it, too. it's being done right now to dr. blasey-ford, who, by the way, if she was just plain broken, would not have achieved what she has achieved. g

Religion was destroyed! By whom?

genessa comments on Apr 28, 2020:

Religion was destroyed? Religion may destroy. It has not been destroyed. g

I Take Tara Reade’s Allegations Against Biden Seriously, and I’m Still Voting for Him.

genessa comments on May 1, 2020:

I understand. Still, here is why i do NOT take her allegations to be true. g

I am agnostic because I want to have an open mind! Really?

genessa comments on May 15, 2020:

i am not horribly concerned with such definitions. i don't believe in any gocs and i am also very convinced that there are no gods. i don't think i have to have an open mind about EVERYTHING, like an infant. one learns to discriminate between reality and fantasy, between likelihood and unlikelihood. if some guy comes to me to sell me a bridge, i don't have to keep an open mind. if i am walking down the street and my mind wanders and goes in the "what if it's all a dream and the sidewalk isn't even really here" direction, my feet are still going to feel that sidewalk and if i am not totally distracted i won't trip and fall into the possible nothingness that opens up before me because i wanted to keep an open mind. i forget who said that some people are so openminded that a thought can go right through it, in and then out, without landing anywhere in between. g

Churches have been very good at providing coats etc.

genessa comments on May 19, 2020:

There is no reason good works have to be attached to religion. Locally the best food shelf and clothes closet aroune is completely secular. g

A team of University of Rhode Island scientists and statisticians conducted a sophisticated ...

genessa comments on May 27, 2020:

they keep saying, carefully, asteroid IMPACT. it wasn't the impact that, pardon me, had the impact. as for the climate change, the asteroid impact resulted in a change of climate! and no, extinction would not have been immediate. it's not as if an asteroid fell on a particular species and squooshed it. g

Question?

genessa comments on May 30, 2020:

cooperation is a long-term survival technique. but i reject the idea that we have conservatives anymore. we have regressives, not conservatives. today's regressives cooperate beautifully but only when they're plotting to consolidate power. that requires an enemy. if the two groups are not being pitted against each other, except in terms of surviving independenly of one another, them the regressives have no one against whom to plot and will turn on one another. therefore the liberals would survive the longest. g

Do we have free will?

genessa comments on Jun 1, 2020:

if we do not have free will, how can you trust our answers? i mean, maybe we were destined to post whether there is or isn't. i don't worry much about it though. g

If I ask "Do god(s)s exist?

genessa comments on Jun 6, 2020:

You may label me anything you want and the label will fall short. There isn't a label in the universe big enough to contain a full list of my ingredients. g

Who else is a naughty atheist who invites the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witness's into their home ...

genessa comments on Jun 16, 2020:

i would but i don't wear clothing in the house so i don't answer the door. anyone who has business with me can call first and if i want to see them i can find a shmata to slap on. g

My favorite meme of the month.

genessa comments on Jun 22, 2020:

reminds me of a certain episode of m*a*s*h. g

Not sure I belong in this group.

genessa comments on Jun 30, 2020:

It is up to you. I don't feel as you do, despite considering myself a progressive. I do not oerceive the democratic party as corrupt, and while it is in general much more conservative than i am, i am seeing change from within and want to support it. I am also aware that progressivea can do nothing with a republican majority in either house, and if that means putting up with a manchin or a heitkamp... Well, look at what it is like now WITHOUT heitkamp. There are parts of the country where we can't YET win with a progressive but can change the tenor by shifting first to blue. That's not selling out. That's making things better even if it isn't yet as much better as we want. For example, we need universal health care and the aca isn't good enough but holy shit, it's a HELL of a lot better than what we had (it has saved countless lives) and holy shit, if we don't take the senate and as many states as we can, we will not get universal health care now or soon or later either. We will just get more poverty and death, as if we don't have enough. Believe it or not, although he is no warren (my choice) joe's not crooked, sleepy or any of that crap some of us seem to be borrowing from trumpkins. He's okay. I would rather have better than okay. I'd rather be 22 and slender too. I'm not gonna give up and die because i can't be that. g

Here’s a question.

genessa comments on Aug 30, 2020:

hell no. isn't dogma what most of us ran away from to start with? not me... i was raised a secular jew. no dogma. just chanukah presents and bar mitzvahs. but why do we have to have a core philosphy? why can't we just be individuals who happen to agree that there aren't any gods? wouldn't we be playing into the expectations of the religious folk who think we have an agenda? i don't think of atheism as a way of life. i think of it as a word that means i don't happen to believe in any gods. i mean, i'm five foot five but i don't think i need a core philosophy to connect me to other people who are five foot five. g

I confided to a friend that a mutual acquaintance of ours had wronged me.

genessa comments on Sep 12, 2020:

If she knows you don't believe and offers prayer (if she really believed but respected you, she could pray without announcing it -- what was her motivation for telling you, since she already knows it provides yiu no comfort?) then she is the insensitive one. g

To be the messiah, Jesus had to have descended from israel, right?

genessa comments on Oct 19, 2020:

assuming there ever was a jesus, which is an assumption i won't make. also christ and messiah are not conceptually synonymous. i have not read matthew, and have never been christian, but the assumption within christianity, in my understanding, is that a christ is a savior, a divine being whose job it is to die for our sins (assuming original sin) and then come back and save us from the sins he supposedly already died for. the messiah, on the other hand, is a human king who brings about peace in his own time, a description that clearly does not fit jesus as written. (that is, making the assumption i do not make regarding his existence.) g

I shouldn't post this.

genessa comments on Oct 31, 2020:

neither of us IS. rofl! yeah you know some of my fave jokes involve st. peter and not only am i an atheist, i am jewish! double whammy! no saints (apart from the jewish mother). but they're FUNNY! g

VOTING REPORTS.

genessa comments on Nov 3, 2020:

i voted absentee in september and tracked my vote successfully. for the primary my ballot request was never received so i did curbside voting on election day. i have a friend who is still waiting for her covid test results and wants to vote. she says there is no curbside voting but she is in mn as i am, and curbside voting is statewide. i don't know what she will end up doing but i do wonder why she is being denied a normal method of voting that was in place long beiore the pandemic. g

Does anyone still use “Oh please let me ...” in thought when you want something good to happen?

genessa comments on Nov 12, 2020:

i type omg. i may say to the recalcitrant toilet, "come on, flush!" even though it can no more hear me than a god can. (at leaat rhe toilwt exists.) it no more indicatea superstition or religion than my saying "oh, shit!" is an invocation of defecation or "oh, fuck" is an invitation to copulate. language and choice of language are important but we also need to be able to express our feelings without being afraid of sounding, even to ourselves, as if we believe in unicorns. i don't feel more relgious (or hypocritical) after typing omg and i can't imagine my doing so influences anyone in that direction either. it is a curious phenomenon but i'm not worried about it. g p.s.i have never been a christian in my life but in moments of extreme annoyance i make say "jesus h fucking christ." i think it's just a satisfying sound -- again, not an invocation

The religious composition of the 117th Congress | Pew Research Center

genessa comments on Jan 9, 2021:

i don't care what they personally believe as long as they don't personally believe that their personal beliefs apply to legislation, adjudication or execution of the law of the land or any portion thereof. i don't mind pelosi's praying for trump though i think it's silly. i would mind if that is what she relied on! but she is beginning impeachment proceedings so apparently she keeps her personal beliefs personal and her legislative actions appropriate. g

Gallup: 60% of Americans Say They Could Vote for an Atheist President | Hemant Mehta | Friendly ...

genessa comments on Feb 12, 2021:

there are still, alas, states that will not allow atheists to run for elected office. this should be challenged. g

How Many People Did God Kill in the Bible?

genessa comments on Mar 1, 2021:

which bible? g

Moth balls are surprisingly large compared to the size of the moth body. I'm impressed.

genessa comments on Dec 8, 2018:

i am still looking for the fossils of old castrated matzas. g

How much should you sleep? Napping, fatigue, and oversleeping

genessa comments on Dec 9, 2018:

my bladder will not let me sleep long. i also have a cat who pulls my hair when she's hungry, and she has good access while i'm lying down. g