How long does it take English speakers to really learn another language?

genessa comments on Apr 22, 2019:

it depends on the person him/herself, since not everyone is equally attuned to languages including his/her own; it depends on the method of learning, be it immersion or a wobbly old tape or a class or a tutor; it depends on what you mean by "really" learn, since no one knows EVERYTHING about a language, whether one's own or another; and it depends on how well the speaker speakers english already, too. it depends on whether a person is visually oriented, audially oriented or both. it depends a whole lot on what other language one is trying to learn! it depends on SO many things. this is not a question one can just answer with a number and a time frame! as for why we don't, i did, so.... assumptions, assumptions! g

Over 20% of Sanders supporters say they’ll vote for Trump if Buttigieg or Warren win

genessa comments on Apr 22, 2019:

i bet over 20 percent of actual sanders supporters haven't even been polled. you just added to the negative print about sanders, by the way. g

What's the Difference Between Agnosticism and Atheism? | HowStuffWorks

genessa comments on Apr 22, 2019:

there are no gods, i don't care whether there are any gods, you can't prove there are any gods, i don't care enough to try to prove a negative, and i'm too busy to go disproving all the gazillions of nonexistent gods, one by one, and when i was done with that i'd have to start in on the tooth fairy and every mythological creature ever imagined. life is too short. call me what you want. i'll correct you if i disagree (and care). g

How agressive should athiesm be?

genessa comments on Apr 22, 2019:

the first thing atheists should do is learn how to spell "atheist." after that, they should continue not to believe in any gods. if you do not want to be interfered with, why would you want to interfere with others? do you tell people not to eat foods you don't enjoy? do you stop people on the street and tell them their ugly clothes are ugly or their kids are fat? leave them alone. spend your aggression on working for separation of church and state. g

Atheists have easter fun too.

genessa comments on Apr 22, 2019:

not jewish atheists! g

I've thrown this out there to other pages and gotten some helpful answers.

genessa comments on Apr 22, 2019:

if you were a good minister, you helped people with psychological counseling, even if you couched that in religious terms. you may have brought people together who needed to be together. it is possible that your religious constraints caused harm as well, but don't focus on that. focus on your new life as an unbeliever. g

How many people have recently lost friends because they were on the wrong side of the political ...

genessa comments on Apr 22, 2019:

not recently. i lost them in 2015 and 2016. most of them were not even real-life friends. two were and i was sad to see them go. one was a friend i had known for years, longer than i was even on facebook, where we settled in because we don't live in the same part of the country. he is an orthodox jew (i am a secular one) and he was offended when, in 2015, i compared the rise of trump to the rise of hitler. i stand by my comparison, which grows stronger almost by the hour, but he said i was cheapening the holocaust. i feel i was, rather, trying to prevent another one. he said he couldn't be my friend anymore. i gave him sources that agreed with me. he said it was fake news. i gave up. the other friend was someone i knew in college, and we'd been close enough that i was at his (catholic) wedding. he's a born-again christian now. he said he could not longer be friends with me because i am pro-choice. i have never had an abortion, but my very OPINION drove him away. i am quite sad about that but i am who i am and i stand by my pro-choice position. he left, not me. i have had to unfriend and block people who were facebook friends because of racist crap they posted; i don't do that just because they support trump. delusion isn't a crime. racism, in terms of keeping my friendship, is. there was one exception. i had a friend i never met in real life but with whom i hung out in a virtual universe called there, so we were pretty good friends. we never talked politics there that i recall, but when there (briefly) closed down and we migrated to facebook (not even close to being the same thing but the there friends wanted to keep in touch somehow) suddenly politics not only drove a wedge between us but drove her to start calling me names and being BEYOND rude; she was vile. i had to block her. i wonder if she ever figured out that her life was not better because of trump? probably not. g

Finally, website is working. Yeah. And hello. Did others have problem?

genessa comments on Apr 22, 2019:

yep. g

I decided to take some time and dissect the definition of God: all powerful, all knowing, all good.

genessa comments on Apr 22, 2019:

since there is no god, you may as well be discussing oliver twist. all the points you made have been made in various forms by an awful lot of folks over the past couple/few thousands of years. they're useless, of course, unless you think there might be some kind of god or gods. most of us here already do not, and it's not because he's a meanie, or not as smart as we once thought he was, or because he lets children die of cancer, or because he lost or won at lotto. it's because there is no evidence that he ever existed or even could exist. it's that simple. g

Is it possible that Islam coexists with democracy and state secularism?

genessa comments on Apr 22, 2019:

well, yeah. there are muslims living in the united states and not blowing up planes, crashing them into buildings, murdering people or insisting that everyone follow their religion. in fact, most muslims in the united states are just peacefully minding their own business, or running for office to ensure, among other things, separation of church and state. g

To those who whine about being blocked:

genessa comments on Apr 21, 2019:

i don't know who is whining about my blocking them because i blocked them. g

How would you respond to this sermon?

genessa comments on Apr 21, 2019:

all i know about paul is that he had a choice between converting the greeks to judaism (and judaism forbids proselytization so why would he be doing that if he really understood the religion?) because jesus was a jew, or converting them to believers in the divinity of said jesus, who never himself said he was divine. greeks didn't rely on tourism back then; they raised pigs and fished (including for shellfish). so no way they were going to become jews (and give up all their statues of gods). paul saw that and opted for the latter. christianity is born! that and the fact that he sounds about as constipated as luther are all i know about the gentleman, since i was raised a secular jew. but i can tell you that this sermonizer needs to do a little legal research re burden of proof; he has that all wrong. g

Someone meme with me

genessa comments on Apr 21, 2019:

meme is not a verb. g

Does it matter where your belief came from?

genessa comments on Apr 21, 2019:

sometimes it matters and sometimes it doesn't. you can learn a lot from fiction, too. the trick is knowing that it's fiction. g

Franklin Graham Cites Death-to-Gays Bible Verse in Post About Pete Buttigieg | Hemant Mehta | ...

genessa comments on Apr 21, 2019:

sodom and gomorrah, just so y'all know, is a story (yes, a STORY!) about how the mythical character god punished the mythical sinners of sodom for being INHOSPITABLE. it had nothing to do with homosexuality. curiously this god did not punish the mythical characters, lot's daughters, for getting their mythical father lot drunk and raping him, impregnating themselves thereby. that part was apparently okay. anyway, it is about being inhospitable rather than welcoming to strangers. someone needs to educate mister graham (and ICE). g

why should we use social Justus in our government?

genessa comments on Apr 21, 2019:

seriously? maybe you don't know what social justice is. your question is like asking "what's so good about not being an asshole." someone who asks that is either an asshole or doesn't understand the term. so... can you explain what YOU mean by social justice before i attempt to give you a serious answer? g

?

genessa comments on Apr 21, 2019:

he will be even MORE likely not to run if impeachment proceedings have begun. while it is true that you can't have one tuchos and dance at two weddings, you can begin impeachment, let the states present and hopefully pass their bills AND use the primaries to choose the best challenger in 2020, all at the same time! don't put all your easter eggs in one basket! g

IS THIS THE MEANING OF FATE

genessa comments on Apr 21, 2019:

now i am going to ask you a question mostly (not totally) unrelated to your post, but i don't want to engage in a private message with you, so forgive me. i can't help noticing that you say in your profile that you are religious and are 100 percent sure of (presumably the divinity of) jesus. that's fine. all are welcome here. you also say you're interested in meeting women. that's also fine; this is partly a dating site. but i can't help wondering, because of the experience i, and many here, have had with those who claim to be religious and yet join this site, why you would specifically be looking for a woman who is almost certainly an atheist or an agnostic. the experience i mentioned is not a good one. it is that most people who come here claiming to be religious are one of the following: 1. coming here to convert as many of us as possible, 2. looking for a nonbelieving partner to convert, 3. looking for hook-ups in the mistaken belief that atheists are more sexually active than religious people (specifically christians) because there is no god telling us "no," 4. curious, or 5. outright scammers. i don't think you are here for 1 or 5. i am not sure about 2, 3 or 4. so my question, and i mean no offense, is: why DOES a person claiming to be religious come to agnostic.com? i will add that i don't look at the profile of every single person to whose post i make a response; your question about fate made me think you might be religious so i went and looked, and presto i-thought-so-oh, there it was. thus i ask. g

IS THIS THE MEANING OF FATE

genessa comments on Apr 21, 2019:

fate? what fate? are you a fatalist? anyway you are misquoting john lennon. it's LIFE that happens to you WHILE you're making other plans. he may have been quoting someone else. fate is not a thing. g

Did anyone else here do festive holiday baking this weekend?

genessa comments on Apr 21, 2019:

funny. but no, my holiday cooking did not include baking. i slathered a rock cornish hen with maple syrup and stuffed it with matza and onions, stuck it in a slow cooker with sweet potato and carrot slices, and make charoseth (apples, walnuts, a touch of wine, and in my case a touch of hazelnut syrup). the nice thing about a seder is that although we get 10 plagues, no nails are involved. g

There are some physicists saying that the universe may have been created by an alien species so ...

genessa comments on Apr 21, 2019:

um, which physicists are these? g

Fearless is not the absence of fear, it’s overcoming it Fearless, not stupid it sharpens my ...

genessa comments on Apr 21, 2019:

fearlessness literally IS the absence of fear. the word that should be there is COURAGE. courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to overcome it or the act of overcoming it. even overcoming is tricky -- you can fail at overcoming it and yet press on as if it's not there, which is a kind of overcoming. but please do not confuse fearlessness and courage. g

With easter being tomorrow obviously. How do yall do easter if you have children?

genessa comments on Apr 21, 2019:

i've never celebrated easter a day in my life. say, that's a dangerous holiday for a diabetic, isn't it? anyway, we have a nice second seder last night, and there was a chocolate mousse cake with raspberry sauce, fresh strawberries and whipped cream. uh oh, passover is dangerous too.... g

Can a relationship be described in terms of tangible objects?

genessa comments on Apr 21, 2019:

i have always thought the complete opposite -- that relationships don't even exist in advance of their subject/objects. when little girls are raised to want to be in love and be married, i think, but... but... those are not things. until you meet the person, being in love has no meaning, because that relationship is not the same between any two people, and wanting to be married is like wanting to have a certain job, no more and no less, unless you have the PERSON in the picture. then you want to be married to THAT person, and it's different. (at the very least, the job description changes!) your metaphors may have validity once the relationship exists, but until then, they're just words. now, i am talking ahout your long-drive musings, not the meme, with which i also do not agree totally, since i do not consider coupleship an addiction and do not agree that if one partner leaves the other will be as happy as if the partner hadn't left. think about it. is that freedom or just indifference? if you love someone, of COURSE you will be sad if, say, the other party dies, or leaves for some other reason. you will be the same person you were, but you will not be as happy as you were! happiness is an emotion, not a condition. if you are perpetually happy, you're on some kind of drug, or insane. g

How do you stay or get more disciplined as an atheist?

genessa comments on Apr 20, 2019:

your troubles do not stem from atheism. self-discipline is not nurtured by outside discipline -- it could work the opposite way, in fact. but you seem to be rather hard on yourself. you don't have to change your life suddenly in every aspect all at once. set small goals for yourself (or just one goal at a time); they're easier to achieve and you get used to them and then you're ready for more. you can't go from sleeping all day to running the four-minute mile. one day you set the goal of getting out of bed. the next day you set the goal of getting dressed. by the time you've got your running shoes on and the door open, you've achieved a lot! but i will say that alcohol is a depressant and apart from anything else it's doing to you, it is depressing your mood. you may want to set a schedule for yourself in terms of cutting down (rather than quitting outright). set an easy one. there is no shame in taking things slowly. g p.s. you're right -- do not take your uncle's medicine. a doctor may have the same idea or a different one, but consult one, definitely. and remember: a selective seratonin reuptake inhibitor won't cure all your problems, and it won't do anything quickly at any rate. do you know how those work? there are two possible seratonin problems. one would be that your brain isn't producing enough of it. seratonin is a neurotransmitter that tells various parts of your brain what to do, from sleeping to having a certain mood to all kinds of stuff. if you don't have enough, your brain isn't getting the messages it needs and it starts goofing off, so to speak. my understanding is that this isn't the more common of the two problems. the more common problem is that your brain produces enough seratonin but drinks it back up before it can circulate and give its commands. zoloft is one of many ssris that prevent that from happening. but not all people respond to every ssri the same way, so the doc may want to give you a different one, or one that works with different (or more) neurotransmitters, or even want to give you zoloft and then realize that's not the one for you. so definitely consult with a doctor you intend to keep in touch with so you can work on finding JUST the right one -- but you can't drink alcohol with any of them.

When I think of rules (especially for breaking) it's usually cultural, religiously influenced rules.

genessa comments on Apr 20, 2019:

that is not how i was (barely) brought up. cultural identity was strong in my family but not religion itself. now that i am an adult and free to decide whether or not i want to go to shul (we didn't) i find that the emphasis is not on rules, and there is no shaming or fire and brimstone (well, i knew that, actually). i like most of the tenets of judaism (i'm not talking about what we can or can't eat, or stuff like that; i'm talking about the social justice bit). it's just that there isn't any god. i'm not mad at him. there just isn't any such thing as him. i still like the "if one person isn't free, no one is free" thing. as i say, i still like the emphasis on social justice. i was at second-night seder tonight and i enjoyed myself thoroughly (the new cantor had a great voice, the parody songs were hysterical, the food was fabulous and the company friendly) but the god stuff used to hang me up. i felt like a hypocrite. lately i came to realize that we're just telling stories. i wouldn't feel funny talking about what oliver twist means, or moby dick, and everyone knows they're fictional, so why not treat god that way too? it's just a story. i don't know if i could do that if i'd been raised christian. religious christians tend to be cray-cray and i do NOT like all that fire and brimstone. besides, bunnies don't lay eggs! g

Celebrate this a change gonna come over and out i don't trust anything that gets nailed to a ...

genessa comments on Apr 20, 2019:

i don't think about jesus unless someone mentions him on tv, which science and history channels persist somehow in doing. otherwise he has never even been a blip on my radar. i was raised in a secular jewish household. in fact, i am going to shul tonight for second-night seder; the cab will be here in about half an hour. i enjoy the seder; i held one just for me and my guy (and the cats, and the dog) last night. we used the social justice haggadah and we talked about helping people in haiti, cambodia, congo and elsewhere, and NO, unlike christian "help," the help we were discussing had nothing to do with converting people or making them grateful to anyone or anything, or heaven or hell, or any particular religion, or religion at all except insofar as judaism (that's the one with which i am familiar) tells us that if one person isn't free, no one is free, and we should not just SAY we love one another (that seems big in christianity but i see no love in, for example, westboro) but act accordingly, by making sure no one goes hungry or is enslaved, or is tormented by war, or is suffering due to a natural (or unnatural) disaster, or is persecuted because of who they are whom they love (that last bit is the exact phrasing). (this haggadah also reminded us that we can't just say we'll do nothing because we can't solve the whole problem; we do what we can, and together we can make a difference.) so i enjoyed that as well, but tonight, let someone else make the decisions, cook the food and direct the proceedings. i'm wiped! too wiped to railing at anyone, too wiped to be saying fuck this, and fuck that person, and fuck that concept. fuck all that. i don't throw out the baby with the bath water. g

The meaning of life.

genessa comments on Apr 20, 2019:

who says life has an objective intrinsic meaning? my life might not mean the same thing yours does, and our lives might not mean the same thing as a random tree's does. you would have to accept that there is a meaning hidden out there and if only you knew where, you could find it, to answer your question. i do not happen to accept that premise. g

So what should an atheist do if being sworn in for a testimony in court?

genessa comments on Apr 20, 2019:

i do not know of any legitimate court that requires people to swear on a bible without the option to affirm, biblelessly, instead. if you are a defendant, you have a lawyer, and if you have a lawyer, you can discuss this beforehand and be prepared to ask for a mistrial if you find yourself in a less legitimate court. g

Do you feel mentally exhausted by analysis of Robert Mueller's Report?

genessa comments on Apr 20, 2019:

no. i don't. maybe it is partly because i didn't speculate. maybe it is because i think something WILL come of it despite barr's disgustingly partisan lies. that's a kind of speculation too, i guess. g

Eat fish or red meat in the holy friday

genessa comments on Apr 19, 2019:

i'll be making seder tonight. i'll be using the social justice haggadah. it's not about a fictional deity (is there any other kind?) it's about the fact that if one person isn't free, no one is free. i can get behind that, and every year, i do. ritual can help as reminders of real-life ideas. it doesn't have to be about fantasy. (besides, i love charoset, and i put a little hazelnut syrup in it this time -- nontrad i know, but yummy!) g p.s. dinner will be rock cornish hen slathered in maple syrup and stuffed with matza, prunes, onion and a little honey; sweet potatoes and carrots; virgin sangria; matza of course; and the stuff on the seder plate (except for the ceremonial lamb bone, which cub foods gives out for free!) the roasted egg is good.

Is there any way that religion can be proved to be man made?

genessa comments on Apr 18, 2019:

is there any way to prove it isn't? of course it is man-made. each one is curiously favorable to the group that has created it. there is no religion that says "the other guys is better; you're not as good; god doesn't love you as much as those other guys." not a single one. why is that? if religion is not made by man but rather created by some deity, why would that deity make so many conflicting ones, and why would s/he tell every group it is the best and everyone else sucks? (well, ALMOST every other group, anyway.) you may as well ask if we can prove santa claus is not real. g

A lot of whovians in the UK did not take to Peter Capaldi.

genessa comments on Apr 18, 2019:

i liked him. i knew him slightly, VERY slightly, from a brief appearance on the vicar of dibley, and if you saw that brief appearance you might not even recognize him -- tall, dark, handsome, hot! well, he is no longer dark but the rest still applies, not that any of it is enough to make a good doctor, but i liked him as the doctor for less superficial reasons. not being british, i had no other experience of him to distract me. quite frankly, i didn't care that much for smith as the doctor, and that had at least as much to do with the writing as anything else. he did better in some episodes than in others, but they gave him that stupid "geronimo" right off the bat and that was hard to overcome even after he stopped saying it. besides, tennant was a tough act to follow. capaldi was a relief after smith. g

White Privilege Is it real? Please answer honestly.

genessa comments on Apr 17, 2019:

of course it is real. (and if we were not inclined to be honest, why would saying "please be honest" change that?) g

What do you think about this old Oreo ad?

genessa comments on Apr 17, 2019:

lol i am not an unbiased judge here because i think oreos taste really icky. g

What if voting is made mandatory?

genessa comments on Apr 17, 2019:

there is apathy -- that is undeniable -- but when you look at the number of people who did not vote in recent elections, please also be aware that a huge number of them wanted to vote and were turned away, or had provisional ballots that were not counted, often for ridiculous reasons. i believe that apathy is a problem but voter suppression and outright cheating (not by voters) is a much bigger problem. g

Fox News is reporting.

genessa comments on Apr 17, 2019:

fox news is an oxymoron. fox personnel are just plain morons. g

Hello everyone.

genessa comments on Apr 17, 2019:

does she know you're not a believer? i am sure she knows you're not muslim lol but does she know beyond that? i'd introduce that sort of soon. meanwhile, whatever you do, don't judge her by the quran any more than you'd judge a reform jew by biblical stonings and such. don't push her but be there for her when she questions beliefs, and try not to make your responses specific to islam, which could be read as bigotry even if it's not (which, from your post, i think it would not be). and meanwhile, have fun getting to know each other! g

Which ones did you like best back in 71. 5 & 11. Didn't care much for the others listed here.

genessa comments on Apr 17, 2019:

2,3,16,20. in the case of two others i liked the artist but not especially the song. those would be 11 and 18. for the rest, no. g

I just need to kvetch.

genessa comments on Apr 17, 2019:

i think you need to get a restraining order to keep him and his friends off your land and him out of your face. a fence may be necessary. if he touches the fence, you can get him for destroying your property. do you have a deed and whatever comes with a deed that tells you where the borders of your property are? if you don't, get that. have a copy handy for disputes. (and find out whether that meadow is for sale! if you have to have a straw purchaser for it that's fine; they may even be able to pretend to sympathize with him and he may let something damaging slip!) g

Okay so can someone explain without swearing why? I want to see what you all say.

genessa comments on Apr 16, 2019:

yes, he has proposed taking away some of our constitutional rights. apart from his party's steady eroding voting rights with gerrymandering and outright cheating, and its flagrant violation of established law, roe v wade, trump has proposed "getting rid of the judges," going back to roughing up arrested people instead of protecting their rights (remember, not everyone arrested ends up being indicted, much less tried and convicted, which isn't the point but still should be remembered) and suing journalists for criticizing him (first amendment). so yes, he has proposed that and more. yes, our rights to protest are disappearing too; peaceful protesters are being hauled away and arrested (if they're white) and hosed if they're not white. yes, tax returns are astonishing lower for the middle class now; only the super-rich have not suffered -- nay, they have benefited greatly -- from his tax "reform." yes, minorities are suffering more under his administration. cops feel freer than ever to bully and even kill minorities; if you're brown, someone may call the cops on you even if you're just sitting on your own porch. if you are brown and call the cops, they may come and shoot you or a family member. if you are brown someone may call ice on you even if you're a u.s. citizen and you may be detained no matter how much documentation you offer. if you are a minority you are much more likely now to be beaten up or worse, because the president is himself a racist. he has not done a thing about swedish nannies overstaying their visas, which makes them illegal residents, because, well, they're white. but if you are from central america and you come to a port of entry and legally apply for asylum, your rights will be violated. you may be tear-gassed, along with your kids, or you may be incarcerated like a criminal, and have your kids taken from you and put in cages, without anyone's documenting which kid belongs to whom, so you might never again see your kid, who meanwhile is being told you just didn't want him anymore, don't love her, went off without them. he did not ask the irs to target leftist groups any more than obama directed that agency or anyone else to target rightist groups. the irs actually examined and delayed more leftwing applications than rightwing ones, AND DENIED NOT A SINGLE RIGHTWING ONE, even though many of them were clearly not nonprofit and should not have been considered nonprofit. no, instead, trump is illegally interfering with black-letter irs law that requires that agency to comply if certain congressional committee heads demand tax returns. spy on journalists? no, but he hates them and denies them access and wants to sue them for telling the truth. your opinion that he has humiliated leftists is not rooted in anything ...

Good Evening! Only you know Dave Mason [youtu.be]

genessa comments on Apr 16, 2019:

also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj2h0LSTY3U=PLchVlYnu3LomRfAEIjvCRrGfLCe10EYMI shouldn't have took more than you gave g

Steven Miller is the guy who would turn in the Von Trapp family just because.

genessa comments on Apr 16, 2019:

maria (or random nun): "the hills are alive..." miller: "kill those hills!" g

Name something that’s perfectly normal to do as a child but super creepy to do as an adult...

genessa comments on Apr 16, 2019:

announce your really big poo-poo. g

The fire in Paris at the Cathedral of Notre Dame was a terrible loss.

genessa comments on Apr 16, 2019:

i don't know about headlines but on msnbc last night they said several times there were no deaths and one firefighter was injured. g

[rawstory.

genessa comments on Apr 16, 2019:

he appears to have given up on his claim that he was hacked and he has admitted writing the post. g

I wish Nancy Pelosi (or as Chump calls her, Nancy) would run.

genessa comments on Apr 16, 2019:

oh but we need her where she is. we need her desperately where she is. g

Bill interviewed Julian Assange right after he posted thousands of DNC emails.

genessa comments on Apr 16, 2019:

sorry, but the leaked podesta emails gave the nomination to clinton? those emails were, rightly or wrongly (and no one seems to be talking about their not just being stolen and publicized but ALTERED in between) widely considered to be DAMAGING to hillary. they certainly didn't sink the sanders campaign. the democratic public voting for hillary to be the candidate did. meanwhile assange is an accused rapist (remind you of anyone?) and a rand paul libertarian, supported the russian troll jill stein for president, and is in general pretty rightwing and antifeminist. oh yeah, and he lies. g

Surprise, surprise, a cathedral burns in Paris, and US media gives it maximum coverage.

genessa comments on Apr 16, 2019:

i am seeing stories on the mozambique cyclone crisis online on cnn, the guardian, al jazeera, reuters, some african sites that i think we in the west don't frequent, the world health organization, axios, the red cross, huffo, it's in wikipedia already, the weather channel and other weather-related sites, nbc news, abc news, fox news (but they probably found a way to make this obama's fault), vox and others. there is more than one story from most of the sources, as if they're on top of it. i don't watch a lot of tv so i can't say what the tv versions are doing. g

Re: Notre Dame Cathedral Yes, but is our freedoms burning?

genessa comments on Apr 16, 2019:

it's not a contest. we can be sad for the destruction of beautiful art and architecture without fearing being thought callous to the plight of the hungry and wretched. whether we do or not is another story but there is no point in condemning the media for reporting an historic and tragic event. it does not cheapen other historic and tragic events to cover it. g

We know this to be true - there is no anti - vax Talmudic direction or law.

genessa comments on Apr 15, 2019:

i've looked it up. except in very peculiar circumstances jews are obligated to vaccinate! i didn't look it up today so i forget whether i found that on chabad or judaism101 -- something like that. g

Me: Hello Him: Well Hello Sexy.

genessa comments on Apr 15, 2019:

i am always reminded of the movie title "earth girls are easy." it's as if christians wander here in the belief that atheist/agnostic girls are easy. g

Is evolution natural if Ebola is so bad for us?

genessa comments on Apr 14, 2019:

what has something's being natural got to do with its being good or bad for us egotistical humans? poison ivy is natural. death is natural. what's not natural is coming to an agnostic/atheist website and calling yourself an atheist, an agnostic and religious. something isn't true on that list. that makes you a liar, right? is that natural? is that good or bad for us? g

I've recently given up my faith because of a few comments people gave made to me here.

genessa comments on Apr 14, 2019:

i don't understand what evolution has to do with morality. evolution is not a moral code. have you picked up a science book in your life? meanwhile, do you NOT know what is wrong or right? are you wondering whether to start robbing banks and raping infants? i think most folks know the difference between wrong and right without relying on a big ol' book with a gazillion conflicting translations. you can decide for yourself whether to eat fish on friday but i think you know not to trip the little old lady trying to cross the street. g p.s. did you ever figure out that lying is kind of a bad thing? how the hell can you be an atheist, an agnostic, a secularist and religious all at once? i gave you the benefit of an honest answer before looking at your profile because, well, i DO that. now all i am doing is thinking what a creep you must be.

I find it interesting that so much time is spent talking about religion on a website dedicated to ...

genessa comments on Apr 14, 2019:

for me, the issue isn't trying to prove there are no gods. the issue is trying to work toward separation of church and state. on the other hand, when i see people saying "i'm an atheist because there is no good, decent god" i sometimes comment because of course that has nothing to do with whether there are any gods, just whether there are any respectable gods. i don't believe in nice gods or naughty gods lol. so sometimes people's ideas are interesting and i want to respond. however, you WILL notice we DO have other categories on this site, and they're well frequented too. g

Starting with Clinton; we went from a guy that liked to fuck.

genessa comments on Apr 14, 2019:

just a side issue, but liking to fuck certainly didn't start with clinton. fdr had a longterm mistress and so did eleanor. eisenhower had an affair with his chauffeur. jfk screwed anything that walked with a wiggle. bush the elder had an affair. what started with clinton was the political use of that to try to bring a president down regardless of what kind of job he was doing. he lied to congress when he was asked whether he had (consensual, mind you) sex with lewinsky. he shouldn't have been ASKED. no one else had ever been asked. regarding what we have now... that orange creature owes me $130k for fucking my country. g

The Idea of God

genessa comments on Apr 14, 2019:

nope. none that i have ever heard of. i think it is more likely that the idea of god stems from the need for an authority to keep people in line, which isn't such a terrible idea on the face of it but hasn't worked out so well. g

My daughter,12, asked if she could go to church with a friend who invited her tomorrow.

genessa comments on Apr 14, 2019:

remind her to take it as seriously as she would take a harry potter movie: fun, entertaining, magic, not related to reality. g

What can I say to my daughter?

genessa comments on Apr 13, 2019:

first ask her if she intends only to help christian children. remind her that many nonchristian children need help, not of a spiritual nature (it would be rude to try to convert them) but of a psychological nature. then remind her that oral roberts university is not exactly the most highly rated institute of higher learning to offer such a program. here is a link to a list of the most highly rated such, and yes, there are religious entities there, including yeshiva university and brigham young. https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/best-colleges-with-early-childhood-education/ g

How many of you have been told you are going to hell?

genessa comments on Apr 13, 2019:

i have been told i am going to hell... for being jewish. for being an atheist i am just told i can't possibly be a good person because my good behavior is my own idea and not in obedience to a god (that sounds backwards to me) and that atheism is a religion. g

I keep wondering what you people who call yourselves "agnostics" on here claim to be agnostic about.

genessa comments on Apr 13, 2019:

i'm not an agnostic. i'm an atheist. i still feel you may be addressing the likes of me, here. not everyone defines god the same way. some think "god is everywhere," meaning there is some kind of spirit in trees and clouds. others think he (always male, huh?) is a creator of universes. still others thing he, she or it is a caring entity who either controls things on earth or listens to prayers and either grants or denies them. i don't CARE. i don't believe in any supernational beings, be they leprechauns, all-knowing all-powerful creators, arbitors of who goes to the nonexistent heaven or the nonexistent hell in the nonexistent afterlife or just a spirit in a tree. it's all nonsense, and i have no emotional attachment to, or antipathy toward, any of it. i may have some antipathy to those who most energetically promoite it, and definitely toward those who blur the line between church and state. by the way, "god" doesn't have three letters in every language. ALL words are just sounds. they hold whatever meaning, if any, has been assigned to them in any given language. the last part of your rant makes no sense at all. zoz. who cares? g

I find it funny how religious people keep saying you can't be spiritual without religion.

genessa comments on Apr 13, 2019:

i've never heard a religious person say that. indeed, i think spiritualism is religion light, but that's just me. g

Did you ever stop to think, that it's not so much what you think, as it is how you think?

genessa comments on Apr 12, 2019:

well, that is what i taught my students. i told them i wasn't going to teach them what to think, but HOW to learn and HOW to think, which is sort of necessary to the learning process. i also used to ask them what they thought a writer's most important tool was. "a pencil," some would say. "paper!" the answer i finally gave them was "something to say." g

Love these old ads, never seen this one.

genessa comments on Apr 12, 2019:

me neither! i wonder whence this dates? g

Religious People On Dating Websites Are All Like...

genessa comments on Apr 12, 2019:

i don't know joyce meyer. i can imagine, though. anyway i don't hang out on dating websites (for me, this isn't a dating website). i have my guy until his alzheimer's takes him away from me. g

Sadie and I enjoyed the Kentucky spring in my back yard yesterday.

genessa comments on Apr 12, 2019:

it is snowing right now as i type. minnesota sucks. g

Will Drumpf hand over tax returns or drop out of the race or declare martial law? [thehill.com]

genessa comments on Apr 12, 2019:

i sit somewhat corrected in that while the house ways and means committee order is not to him, some states are refusing to put him on the 2020 ballot if he doesn't turn them over himself. https://www.npr.org/local/309/2019/04/11/712416456/illinois-senate-to-trump-show-your-tax-returns-or-be-barred-from-the-2020-ballot?fbclid=IwAR222nFQbSnd4wcRDI04ADwGaF5NiE0cD73ecS1hQYlksW-ZNh_dsTo1DCY g

Will Drumpf hand over tax returns or drop out of the race or declare martial law? [thehill.com]

genessa comments on Apr 12, 2019:

https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2019/04/treasury-secretary-mnuchin-could-go-to-jail-for-interfering-with-law-requiring-irs-to-hand-over-trumps-taxes/?fbclid=IwAR011Rs70NbqMjie-NT2MVj329s7n8eZY-tiVgZuUPEwBMnMXcsMhdvy4dY treasury secretary mnuchin could go to jail for interfering with law requiring its to hand over trump's taxes. also for not using a vowel where one obviously belongs g

Clarence Thomas: Atheists Can’t Be Trusted Since Oaths Mean Nothing to Them | Hemant Mehta | ...

genessa comments on Apr 12, 2019:

yeah, as if they mean anything to purported theists. g

Will Drumpf hand over tax returns or drop out of the race or declare martial law? [thehill.com]

genessa comments on Apr 12, 2019:

he is not actually being asked to turn over his tax returns. the irs is being ordered to turn over trump's tax returns, and if trump or his henchpersons order the irs not to comply they will be breaking the law. meanwhile, no martial law is expected. g

I remember doing this, do you?

genessa comments on Apr 12, 2019:

i've seen it but not done it. g

If there is a God there's a good chance that he's racist.

genessa comments on Apr 12, 2019:

i was raised in a secular jewish family and have been an atheist since i was 15, which is a LONG, long time ago, but i know more about judaism than my upbringing would indicate, and i happen to know that in judaism there IS no "wrong" religion. jews do not proselytize because there is no requirement for everyone to be jewish. there isn't even the same number of commandments for jews and for nonjews. there also is no heaven or hell as a christian or muslim would understand it (there is in some eastern european jewish folklore but that doesn't count lol). in addition, religion and race are not the same thing. but it's all moot since there is no god whatsoever. g

I know that I'm going to get a lot of hate for this but for anyone who has followed me on Facebook ...

genessa comments on Apr 12, 2019:

a first-trimester fetus is not a child. it has no functional nerve endings. it is a clump of cells. if you happen to want a child, then emotionally, to you, it's a child, but scientifically, it is NOT a child. it's a very low-stage fetus. conflating a living, breathing, BORN person with a clump of cells invalidates your argument right off the bat. meanwhile, my objection to the death penalty has nothing to do with the character of the condemned individual. it doesn't even have to do with the shocking number of people on death row whose innocence has been proven by dna. it's not even about how it is cheaper (and crueler) to house a prisoner for a lifetime than to kill him or her. it is not about them. it's about us. if we decide someone deserves to die, how are we different from someone who decided that about someone else? the difference is twofold: 1. we disagree with that person about who should die. 2. we get together as a group and make our decision "legally." should we not be better than that? g

Why God, why?

genessa comments on Apr 12, 2019:

why are you asking questions that presume the existence of a god that the vast majority of us on this site do not believe even exists at all? there is no god. why are you asking us to characterize him? g p.s. no heaven either, come to think of it.

For those of you who have been focusing your anger and discontent at Trump the past few years, it is...

genessa comments on Apr 12, 2019:

i think we are capablwe of seeing the bigger picture and focusing on more than one thing at a time. it's called multitasking. we need to fix the whole thing but that doesn't mean trump is just a distraction either. g

What a pig!

genessa comments on Apr 11, 2019:

don't insult the poor pig! g

I think it would be a good exercise for us atheists and agnostics to define the so-called God we ...

genessa comments on Apr 11, 2019:

nah. too many of them. i don't disbelieve in one god or a dozen gods. you now how many gods there aren't? i don't feel like explaining who each god isn't. that's what wikipedia is for. but i can say none of them will have a real attribute or function since not one of them exists. g

The closed mind of Richard Dawkins

genessa comments on Apr 11, 2019:

well, it is interesting to know that the bible's original readers (or hearers) were not encouraged to take genesis literally, but as for dawkins, i had been an atheist for nine years when his first book came out, so he had no influence on me one way or the other, and still doesn't. g

The reason we do see god is because he lives in a black hole.

genessa comments on Apr 11, 2019:

hmm. i know the definition of joke. i think the word "funny" figures into it somewhere. not here, though. g

Which has a higher probability?

genessa comments on Apr 11, 2019:

one can accidentally predict the tournament results. a god won't accidentally exist. not even a fair contest, this question. the answer is too obvious. g

Can I claim, for myself, to be a true atheist?

genessa comments on Apr 11, 2019:

what has admiring a person who is wrong about something and right about a lot of other things got to do with believing that a god or gods exist? an atheist is someone who doesn't believe there are any gods, or who believes there are no gods. there isn't a rulebook. it's not a religion, or a club. it's just a definition. do you stand on two feet? then you're a biped. there aren't rules about what bipeds may do. it's just a definition. do you believe in any gods? no? then you're an atheist. admire who you want! g

Hi all.

genessa comments on Apr 11, 2019:

why are those the two choices? presenting those two choices implies that if someone cannot be deemed rehabilitatable that person should be immediately put to death. is that why we kill people? because they cannot be rehabilitated? and how are we supposed to judge ALL confessed murderers the same way? maybe some can be redeemed and others cannot. is the confession what makes the difference? people DO make false confessions sometimes. i am against the death penalty altogether and it certainly has nothing to do with confessions or rehabilitation. it has to do with us, the ones who did not murder. i do not see why getting together in a group makes it okay for us to kill someone when otherwise it would not be okay. oh, s/he deserves it. well, the murderer obviously thought so about the victim, too! oh, s/he can't be rehabilitated. well, how wonderful that we can figure that out at a glance and apply that to every single murderer. you know, in my heart i wanted manson dead. my dad joined the army because he wanted to go personally strangle hitler. those are not unnatural feelings, but murderers have them too -- about people we don't think they should kill. we're not different from murderers because we choose worse people to want to kill. we're different because we control our impulses and don't DO it. so how it is justifiable for us to get together as a group and decide to give in to those impulses? g

If you want to feel happier, just spend 20 minutes in nature | MNN - Mother Nature Network

genessa comments on Apr 10, 2019:

um... but not poison ivy. g

How to overcome heartbreaks ?

genessa comments on Apr 10, 2019:

time wounds all heels. but keep yourself busy, don't close yourself off, and proceed with life. the pain doesn't go away fast but it does go away. g

We are all created equally. Agree/Disagree?

genessa comments on Apr 10, 2019:

definitely disagree. first of all, i do not believe we were created at ALL. second of all, a glance around will tell you that we are not all equally smart, kind, attractive, talented or anything else. we are also not born into equally pleasant circumstances. all that aside, what i do believe is that however we happen to be born, we deserve equal justice under the law, which should be equitable; we deserve equal opportunity to be the best people we can be, even if the results are unequal; we deserve equal respect for our humanity even if we do not necessarily deserve equal respect for what we do with it (i do not respect trump); and we deserve equal consideration as humans regardless of whatever other considerations may be weighted toward or against our unequal talents, intelligence, kindness, attractiveness or other qualities. g

Is anyone else slightly offended by the fact that the Life of Jesus is on the "History" channel?

genessa comments on Apr 10, 2019:

i have not watched the history channel for years because i am more than slightly offended. i am slightly offended when the science channel does this kind of thing. i am WAY offended when the history channel does because these days it's ALL the history channel does: how the masons' secret plot to call aliens back to kill jesus again is causing earthquakes isn't history. g

Painful Leg Cramps

genessa comments on Apr 10, 2019:

potassium is supposed to be good (bananas and potatoes are better than supplements) but frankly it never helped me. nothing ever prevented the cramps, and i guzzle water like a madwoman, eat plenty of taters and do lots of stretching (and exercise strenuously in the pool whenever possible). but i do know what stops the cramps when they come: flex, don't stretch, your foot. i know it's counterintuitive, but it works. point your toe UP toward your head, not down like a ballerina on point. g

Last night I saw something amazing; I was watching the History Chanel and they had just started a ...

genessa comments on Apr 10, 2019:

the history channel has long been the why-jesus-was-from-venus-and-aliens-seeded-earth-and-the-masons-are-controlling-us channel. i watch the science channel for my history and even THEY sometimes use scripts that say "ad" and "bc" instead of "ce" and "bca," and refer to the possibly mythical and at any rate not divine jesus (not his real name even if he was by some chance a real person) as "christ." it annoys the crap out of me but it beats the history channel anyway. pbs should be better but really isn't, and is self-censoring on top of everything else (if jesus said "fuck" they'd still censor it). g

Israel loves Trump, so he thinks.

genessa comments on Apr 10, 2019:

israel doesn't love trump's good buddy, bibi, that's for sure, and as a nation it certainly doesn't love trump. i hope the new prime minister has a heart and brain. bibi and donnie sure don't have either. g

Do you meditate?

genessa comments on Apr 9, 2019:

i neither meditate nor think of it as a practice of religious origin (or, as trump would say, oranges). it's just that meditation makes me nervous. g

[yahoo.

genessa comments on Apr 9, 2019:

sometimes you have to approach people from within their own bubble. for example you will never reach evangelical trumpkins by saying "there is no god." the only phrase i can think of which might reach some of them is "golden calf." g

Why is any form of Socialism in America seen as bad?

genessa comments on Apr 9, 2019:

pure anything is almost always bad. when we say socialism, if we know what we're talking about we're not talking about communism, and we're not talking about exclusively socialist economic systems. people get scared by the word but that's idiotic. venezuela isn't socialist. it's communist, and if i understand correctly it's a dictatorship. we're more in danger now of having a dictatorship with our beloved capitalism than we could EVER be with democratic socialism. america doesn't embrace it because of the damned WORD. we don't understand it and we've been taught to fear it. g

Hitler wrote "All it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing".

genessa comments on Apr 9, 2019:

hitler did not write that. @Elganned is correct; it has been attributed to edmund burke. the exact quotation is "“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”― Edmund Burke (in a letter addressed to Thomas Mercer)" g

In Islam, a person does not have the right to his individuality apart from being answerable to Allah...

genessa comments on Apr 9, 2019:

p.s. people who are prominent in their fields do not call themselves the most prominent in their fields.

In Islam, a person does not have the right to his individuality apart from being answerable to Allah...

genessa comments on Apr 9, 2019:

how is this different from other religions? and how is the behavior of the ordinary muslim, like the ones i know, who are individuals, different from that of the ordinary christians i know, who are individuals? if you judge everyone who is affiliated with a religion by what that religion's holy book says, you will believe that people are stoned to death and beheaded on a daily basis in the western world. cherrypicking bible verses always annoys us; since when is it okay to cherrypick quran verses? g

[theatlantic.

genessa comments on Apr 9, 2019:

he's like a clever version of trump, and i do not respect cleverness paired with ill will. g

God, Irony and non-believers As I wander through this site and read here and there a connecting ...

genessa comments on Apr 7, 2019:

"As I wander through this site and read here and there a connecting theme is that science will prove/is proving/has proven God does not exist." um, you're not reading the same posts i am, and i read an awful lot of posts! the related theme i see is that there is no need for god's nonexistence to be proven, that it couldn't be proven anyway, and that if one proves the nonexistence of one god then one would naturally be driven to prove the nonexistence of all of them, and peripheral effluvia as well, such as lephrechauns, the tooth fairy and trump's brain. while it is true these things do not exist, there is no point in wasting time proving it. when you know, you know. i am not trying to convince anyone there are no gods -- only that church and state should be well separated. only once in a long while do i encounter an overenthused declaration that science is the answer to all our questions (not, though, disproving the existence of any gods). connecting theme? no. really not. g

Spirituality and/or Religion?

genessa comments on Apr 7, 2019:

but what ARE spiritual matters? to me it always boils down to something beyond what i can possibly believe in. to me, spirituality is religion light, and i have not heard any explanation, not even yours, well-thought-out though it may be, and nicely presented i might add, that changes my mind on that. people have told me i am spiritual. i scoff. i am NOT spiritual. i care about people, animals, the earth, the universe. that makes me human and humane, not spiritual. there are no gods in trees, and i can attempt to discover my world of values and beliefs without any hint of spirituality. it's a useless word, in my vocabulary. it doesn't describe anything i lack, have, need or can even recognize as real. g

What are the advantages of being an AGNOSTIC? Is it forever?

genessa comments on Apr 7, 2019:

you can't choose what to believe based on advantages. "i want to go to heaven so i think i'll be a christian." nope, that doesn't work. you believe what you believe. you can choose how well to educate yourself and what to make of the education, but you can only recognize what you believe, not choose it. so advantages are kind of irrelevant, aren't they? g

I think the world must be coming to an end! We now have militant vegans.

genessa comments on Apr 7, 2019:

i was hit nn facebook by an otherwise friendly militant vegan and managed to deflect the blow, but when she found out i wasn't a chemtrail conspiracy theorist she became incensed and i had to block her. if i may go off topic for an instant to explain how i came to be in contact with her to start with, you may find this interesting. someone added me, without consulting me first, to a new group (don't you hate when that happens?) it was a group ostensibly created to support women. well, i'm a woman, so i went to check it out, and while scrolling through i came upon a meme showing a pretty well made-up and decked-out adele (nothing wrong with that in and of itself) quoting her as saying we should all be ourselves and not try to impress others... some such thing. the picture and the quotation didn't match. there she was, obviously made up and dressed to impress, in direct contradiction of her words. so i commented to that effect. i went out of my way to mention that i had no feelings about adele one way or the other, was aware that she didn't create the meme, was not trying to call her out in any way, was only commenting that the mememaker could've chosen a more appropriate picture of adele to go along with adele's words. well, i was BLASTED. what did i have against adele? how DARE i not like adele? why didn't i give her a chance? why didn't i go fuck myself? and not a single person responding actually understood what i had said; they were too busy defending adele from someone who actually hadn't attacked her. they had no compunctions against attacking ME, though! i patiently explained AGAIN that i was not putting adele down, that my comment really had nothing to do with adele herself, that i was just commenting on an inconsistency on the part of the mememaker. no go. the attacks got vile, very personal, very nasty, unbelievable, really. so i quit the group (which i'd been going to do anyway, having determined that the group's idea of supporting women was to post idealistic memes about believing in yourself and nothing practical at all). okay, problem solved, right? notifications off, me out of group, phew. nope. i get im'd by the vegan, very apologetic, please give them another chance; they're not bad people. (turns out she runs the group.) i explained why i did not wish to rejoin the group. she accepted that. then she started in on why i should be a vegan. no thank you. okay, it took a while but i convinced her i wasn't hitler even though i wasn't a vegan. then came the chemtrail stuff.... ah, well. the block feature can be SO handy. but yeah. militant vegans, militant conspiracy theorists, militant whatevers. yet in a battle of wits they turn out to be unarmed. g