Does religion damage Self-Esteem?

wordywalt comments on Dec 22, 2017:

Yes, in several senses. It creates feelings of guilt and inadequacy. It teaches reliance on external dogma and external authorities, as opposed to self-reliance, critical thinking, and independence of thought and action.

What objective media do you use to get updated on current events?

wordywalt comments on Dec 22, 2017:

NPR and PBS

So,we know how big the Universe is,and,how far away celestial bodies are,what are the chances that ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 21, 2017:

Damned small chance.

I liked these descriptions.

wordywalt comments on Dec 21, 2017:

Good one!

Better to be on your hands and knee's planting food for your neighbour than praying to a stone god ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 21, 2017:

Amen, brother!

When Einstein was asked if he believed in god, he said this: "We're to puny to understand the ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 21, 2017:

He was right. But, that is no excuse for manufacturing false gods and religions.

Education or Indoctrination?

wordywalt comments on Dec 21, 2017:

This "new world order" garbage is a contrived pile of totally false crap. Thank the religious right and Republican ideologues for weakening our schools and for trying to keep our population from becoming critical thinkers and good decision-makers.

Too many public schools are very poor.

wordywalt comments on Dec 21, 2017:

Thank Republican state governors, bureaucrats and legislators for that. In recent years they have decimated public education. As a retired educational leader, I can state with absolute certainty that the 1970s and 1980s were a time in which a major emphasis on improving teaching, learning, and school leadership was making a difference. But Republican politicians have destroyed that movement. The question is why? I genuinely think that they do not want a population truly capable of critical thinking.

Overpopulation

wordywalt comments on Dec 21, 2017:

Good question. In the 1960s there was a lot of publicity about the ?population bomb? and the need for ZPG (zero population growth). but it died away. How short the human attention span is, and how soon we forget. Overpopulation was a problem and is not the scourge of our planet. It contributes to our greatest problems -- global warming, pollution, wars, stress, ecosystem destruction, et. etc. Evidently most people simply do not want to face that fact.

This is brilliant.

wordywalt comments on Dec 21, 2017:

That is brilliant! It would tie the anti-gay "Christian" haters in absolute knots!

I always found it strange that the religious would more than likely side with the republicans ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 21, 2017:

The answer is simple" Far too many evangelicals have compromised their integrity, their morality and their religion in a lust for political power to enact their theology into law.

all religion was created by humans to control weak people.

wordywalt comments on Dec 20, 2017:

No. Originally, weak people inflicted religion on themselves. But, once established all religions develop a priestlu caste which is manipulative and controlling.

.

wordywalt comments on Dec 20, 2017:

I agree with your point, but find better descriptors. evangelical agnostic is an oxymoronic phrase.

Who here finds it hard to be liberal when it's apparently racist to hate Islam?

wordywalt comments on Dec 20, 2017:

I don't get your point.

I just want you all to know that I love this site.

wordywalt comments on Dec 20, 2017:

It is not necessarily that we are more intelligent. It is that we are free to think critically, free of dogma, free ti receive data-based information.

I noticed that there are a lot of old people on this site and very few Millennials.

wordywalt comments on Dec 20, 2017:

Maybe it's because us old atheists and agnostics have lived in a world seemingly dominated by religious people longer and learned how to cope with them quietly. Also, I believe that for most people, becoming an agnostic or atheists is a long process involving both unlearning some things and finding a solid basis for not believing.

Advice for the younger generation?

wordywalt comments on Dec 20, 2017:

Losers own problems -- hang on to them forever, beat them to death. Winners seek and create solutions and act on them with vigor.

IS WATERGATE PROOF OF THE RESURRECTION?

wordywalt comments on Dec 20, 2017:

Colson was never known for good reasoning. He still has not learned much.

It was a great year. Looking forward to 2018.

wordywalt comments on Dec 20, 2017:

I am happy for you that you had a good year. To me, under the Trump presidency, this has been the worst year for our country since the Civil War. If 2018 is the year of Trump's impeachment, it will be a great year for our country and people.

This made me laugh.

wordywalt comments on Dec 19, 2017:

That would pretty well match Trump's version of being a better person.

Why do so many fall victim to irrational thinking?

wordywalt comments on Dec 19, 2017:

You are partly right: Loud-mouthed irrational people enjoy irritating others and trying to bully them. And, they reinforce each other.

If You Could Create a Law=Legislation, What Would It Be?

wordywalt comments on Dec 19, 2017:

Shutting down Congress's own special health care provisions, along with provisions stripping away all congressional pension benefits for any congressperson or senator found guilty of or pleading nolo contender to any criminal or sexual harassment charges.

Proselytizing Public School Official: ‘I’ll Stop When Someone Makes Me Stop’ | American Civil ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 19, 2017:

Tells you something about Christian zealots: They think their religion takes precedence over law and morality They are dangerous people!

If you were given an opportunity to design a speciality plate for your vehicle, what words might you...

wordywalt comments on Dec 19, 2017:

Trump-free world

I live in the south in a town that would threaten to string up a non believer, recently they did ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 19, 2017:

I would get the hell out of Dodge! Literally, that place is not safe for you -- speaking of both physical safety and mental health. A place that threatening will hurt you, one way or another. I do know what you mean. I grew up in a small southern town-- and want no part of it today.

Since many people rely on churches for socialization, if the religion part was taken out and people ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 19, 2017:

Many social structures play a large part in the socialization of children -- families, neighbors and neighborhoods, friends, schools, clubs, activity groups and sports teams, etc. If people need community centers, they will create them. If not, let's not create an artificial social structure.

Christian ‘prophet’ Mark Taylor: ‘Trump will reveal cures for cancer and Alzheimer’s if ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 19, 2017:

The absolute crap these morally and intellectually bankrupt evangelical charlatans come up with is astounding.

Im not religious by any means but sometimes when Im at a family event they pray.

wordywalt comments on Dec 19, 2017:

If they want to, it is their right. It is not going to sway my disbelief one iota.

Are IDC s welcome here?

wordywalt comments on Dec 19, 2017:

Sure, why not. That is where I was for many years.

Is telling your children that they will burn in hell if they are not saved a form of child abuse?

wordywalt comments on Dec 19, 2017:

Without a doubt!

Evolution.

wordywalt comments on Dec 19, 2017:

The fact of human evolution is accepted by at least 97% of all scientists. It is NOT the scientists who are disputing human evolution. It is the religious ideologues whose minds are ruled by magical thinking, superstition, and fallacious dogma.

I had several professors in college preach Christianity as if from a pulpit.

wordywalt comments on Dec 18, 2017:

I would totally agree. If I were a student today and if a professor would try to insert theology into his lectures, I would document it and complain to the academic dean.

What do you think of Peace?

wordywalt comments on Dec 18, 2017:

The human species will never be without war given human greed, competition for limited resources, demagogic leaders of total system ideologies willing to create wars and enough "true believer" followers. etc. The best we can do is try to limit wars by any and all legitimate means.

Is constructive dialogue possible anymore?

wordywalt comments on Dec 18, 2017:

Yes, but Fox News and Russian fake news make it much harder. It requires that each side make a real attempt to understand what the other is really saying. While leading groups which seemed bitterly embroiled in conflict between different opinions, I have seen groups decrease the conflict HUGELY simply by imposing the following ground rule" Before responding to another person's remark, you must paraphrase or state back to the person what you think they are saying TO THEIR SATISFACTION before you are allowed to make your contribution." I guarantee that if the moderator enforces that rule, it really works.

Assertion of scientifically unfounded beliefs by other atheists and/or agnostics

wordywalt comments on Dec 18, 2017:

Among every group there are aspiring elitists masquerading as more than they are. It is an unfortunate personality attribute in some people. And, yest, they exist on this site, too.

Who or what is/are your worst enemies?

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

It is the malevolent brew of the culture of greed, the evangelical Christian lust for power, political corruption, and culturally inbred racism and ethnocentrism. That brew will destroy our democracy if we do not stop it!

What if paradoxes and singularities are nature's way of saying magic is real?

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

Then, in your definition, any unexplained event is magic?

I have recently come across a growing body of negativity towards science and scientists.

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

These people are the ones who have become such rapid true believers that they have given over control of their rationality to truly evil, controlling and manipulative demagogues and their malevolent ideology. These are troubling times.

The scientific method helps us understand ourselves and the world around us better than any other ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

As Joe Friday used to say, "The facts. ma'am -- just the facts."

Do you have to be religious to believe in the soul?

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

I do not see how you can believe in consciousness at the quantum level. I do not see any basis for such a belief.

How do you deal with people who don't respect facts in a discussion?

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

End the discussion with the statement, "If you are not going to deal with facts, this discussion is over."

Atheists declare war... XD

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

If it were only so . . . .!

Do you like guns?

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

Harleyman, a wide man once said, "Never argue with a fool in publiC, because peop0le may not knmow which one is which." I have said all I have to say on the subject of the dcurrent gun insanity in our country. .Keep beating your gums in the wind if you want. I don't give a damned what you say.

Religion has a power over people that is easily corruptible.

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

You are more generous with them than I am. To me, far too many of them simply use their religious power and authority simply benefit themselves in power and wealth. They formulate ltheir dogma to reflect what they want personally.

The Wisdom of Reza Aslan’s God: A Human History - TheHumanist.com

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

Back in the 1940s, political scientist Hans Morgenthau stated the postulate that the amount or degree of aggressive nationalism and imperialism that is expressed in a nation's foreign policy is inversely proportional to the nation's internal economic and political stability. Simply put, the greater the country's economic and political problems, the greater the likelihood that the country will become aggressively nationalistic and/or imperialistic in its foreign policy. That can be applied to Iran, Israel, Syria, Russia;, Turkey, and North Korea and other countries. What happens is that unethical political leaders stir up trouble internationally to divert attention away from the effects of their own actions. Which countries are the next to become ultra nationalistic? Watch for internal problems as a predictor.

Catholic Priest: It’s Unethical to Install Fire Alarms at Planned Parenthood – Friendly Atheist

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

That Catholic priest is a deliberate moral idiot!

What if paradoxes and singularities are nature's way of saying magic is real?

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

Whaaat???

Report: World’s Happiest Countries Are Also Least Religious

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

People feel less guilty, more confident. And, that's good!

Is Fox News becoming the Secretary of Propaganda of the Trump Admin?

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

What do you mean "becoming"? It was from the very moment that Trump appeared on the political scene.

I want to be entirely clear on the idea of whether or not science is a belief.

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

You are absolutely right! There are valid and tested standards for judging the accuracy of scientific beliefs, but NO standards for judging the validity and accuracy of ANY religious beliefs.

Will Trump be the cause of the republican party's extinction? I can only hope ????

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

I join you in that hope.

Just in the .9999 percentage that we wrong... we still can laugh.

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

Damned good and damned appropriate!!

What type of arrangements have you made or instructions have you left for your funeral and disposal ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

My body is to be cremated. There will be no service of any sort -- no funeral, no wake, no "celebration of life. If my wife outlives me, she has agreed to take my ashes to Kansas. There she and my two daughters are to scatter my ashes on windswept Lucas Point on Wilson Lake -- a lake where I spent many days fishing. Just the 3 of them. I asked that they play the "Ashoken Farewell' -- a beautiful, haunting tune.

Is there such a thing as an athiest jew?

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

Yes, to the extent that the person follows the prevalent beliefs, practices, and norms of the culture without practicing the religion.

WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON THE AMERICAN MEDIA AND THE TERM "FAKE NEWS"

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

We started on that path when Roger Ayles invented Fox "News" and its format. Ayles admitted that the was a great admirer of Leni Riefenstahl, Hitler's film propagandist. As an admirer of the Nazi propaganda operation and of the tactic of "the big lie" (if you repeat an outrageous lie often enough and if some big names start to repeat it, people will begin to believe it). Ayles simply created a propaganda machine and called it news. He also created the totally false oxymoron "advocacy journalism." Journalism is reporting actual news and events. Advocacy is taking sides and expressing your personal slant. Advocacy journalism is nothing but propaganda pretending to be news.

I am agnostic about god.

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

That flickering darkness will eventually go away, and you will bathe in the full light of ideological freedom!

Who is a member of the NRA?

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

I was a member of the NRA some 65 years ago, when I was a teenager, as it was (at that time) an organization focusing on hunting and gun safety. Today it is a totally immoral organization of greedy people who have sold out -- lock, stock, and barrel -- to the gun industry. Today, the organization has no character or conscience.

Quick question on views of Christmas.

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

Even without religion, there is always reason to celebrate family, friendship, and good will.

Why are those religious people so mad about atheists, we believe no god, how about those other ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

Some people simply lack the courage to face the existential dilemma. It is a weakness in their psyches.

I think this says it all.

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

Love it!

As a kid, I always felt uncomfortable at my relative's church.

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

If their posts bother you, you can simply block them.

With regard to claims about Life, The Universe, and Everything, I am an Apistevist, this means, ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

Valid and workable rules!

Quote from Epicurus: Is God willing to prevent evil but not able?

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

Key fallacies in Christianity and Judaism.

Share your thoughts about NFL players kneeling during pre-game playing of national anthem.

wordywalt comments on Dec 17, 2017:

Kneeling is a gesture of deference, ergo respect. End of discussion.

Location

wordywalt comments on Dec 16, 2017:

Welcome. I live in Tampa (Carrollwood) and am happily married. Still it is always good to have intelligent and caring people with whom to maintain a dialogue.

Feeling distraught over Trump & what he might do in the next few days.

wordywalt comments on Dec 16, 2017:

Be alert. There is a real chance that Trump will provoke the greatest constitutional crisis in our history during this holiday season. We CANNBBOT stand by and let it happen. It it starts to unfold, spread the alarm as loudly and as far as possible!!

Guns: Love them or leave them?

wordywalt comments on Dec 16, 2017:

Yes!! Whatever it takes! Other modern countries have done it, and we can, too It will not ber easy, but we must try.

The history of our world in 18 minutes | David Christian - YouTube

wordywalt comments on Dec 16, 2017:

Brilliant d exciting.! Anyone who understands this understands that there is no need to create a "creator" and a creation myth! If we want agnosticism and atheism to really take root , we must spread this story.

Who really created Terrorism? Anyone?

wordywalt comments on Dec 16, 2017:

Terrorism has existed as long as there have been ideological zealots-- particularly if they are out of power or feel discriminated against. A more productive question is: What can we do to prevent people from deciding to be terrorists?

Do you support the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)?

wordywalt comments on Dec 16, 2017:

\\Yes, but what we need even more is universal single payer healthcare -- like ALL other industrialized nations in the world!

Let us end the blight of religion and replace it with knowledge, reason, and the unyielding pursuit ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 16, 2017:

That MUST be our enduring goal!

Things are not explained by the past but by happens in the here and now which creates the past.

wordywalt comments on Dec 16, 2017:

I have no idea of what you intend to say with that statement.

just posing a question, why does it just about EVERY time after a break-up we find ourselves trying ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 16, 2017:

Because that is what people do if they are not smug, self-contained and self-absorbed people.

Need some social etiquette advice (not related to religion)

wordywalt comments on Dec 16, 2017:

A note with a new card would be appropriate.

CDC gets list of forbidden words including fetus, transgender, diversity & science based

wordywalt comments on Dec 16, 2017:

I am not surprised by anything that the Trump cabal has done. Trump and cabal show no intelligence, no honor, no morality. I am deeply offended by their vile stupidity, but not surprised.

Can atheists and agnostics get along?

wordywalt comments on Dec 15, 2017:

No need to judge. We are just at slightly different points on a common path.

If American's switched from pounds to kilograms over night, would there be mass confusion?

wordywalt comments on Dec 15, 2017:

For a short while, there would be mazz confusion, but within 6 months it would be settled and working. In the 1970s, Congress was talking about switching to the metric system, and I was part of a project teaching teachers how to teach the conversion. In one 4 week program the teachers in our training program had the conversion down pat and could have passed it on quickly and somewhat easily.

What is a New Year’s resolution that you cannot ever keep?

wordywalt comments on Dec 15, 2017:

Have never made a New Year's resolution in my entire life -- and don't intend to ever.

Wouldn’t the Bible be considered a book full of hear-say?

wordywalt comments on Dec 15, 2017:

You are right. The bible is not a coherent book. Rather it is a collection of cultural mythology written by a diverse collectio9n of authors over a long period of time and edited to justify and support a particular theology That is its reality and its purpose as the core book of a religion.

Another Roy Moore? Christian Right Judge Accused of Raping Bible Study Student – Friendly Atheist

wordywalt comments on Dec 15, 2017:

As I have said before: Evangelical Christianity and many of its members have shown a sick love-hate relationship with sex for many years.

What has been your hardest struggle raising atheist/agnostic children?

wordywalt comments on Dec 15, 2017:

What struggles I had in raising children had nothing to do with the presence or absence of religion.

Do you expect to get the tax break we were promised?

wordywalt comments on Dec 15, 2017:

Not from the Republicans or Trump. They will give with one hand and take it away with the other.

OK.

wordywalt comments on Dec 15, 2017:

Life is simply the accidental result of a merging of substances and forces in a particular place at at particular time. -- just as mutations -- the vehicle of evolution -- are similar occurrences.

Should U.S. candidates be required to release tax returns as public knowledge?

wordywalt comments on Dec 15, 2017:

Definitely, The more the information we can get which reveals anything about the candidate's character the better!!

I believe in freedom of association, be that the intoxicated(drunk), racial heritage, religion, sex...

wordywalt comments on Dec 15, 2017:

I am more than happy to be segregated from ideologues and demagogues (religious and political), racists and ethnocentrists, anarchists, and other misanthropes.

I've generally regarded agnostics as atheists who want to keep their options open.

wordywalt comments on Dec 15, 2017:

I think that most agnostics are simply not sure, but also unconcerned (don't know and don't care). However, from the post on this site, I would bet that most ofus are our and out atheists, not agnostics.

What emotion would you believe is the strongest and why?

wordywalt comments on Dec 15, 2017:

The most powerful positive emotion is righteous indignation and zeal in behalf of a just cause. The most powerful negative emotion is irrational ethnic hatred

What has been the most difficult death you’ve experienced and how (if at all) did that loss change...

wordywalt comments on Dec 15, 2017:

Death is a natural event. It is not an earth=shattering event unless the death is violent and senseless. We all know it is coming and should not fear it. When a person we have loved and valued dies, we feel grief at the loss of contact with that person, but we hold dearly to the memories we still have.

What would you do if somebody opened an Agnostic church by your home?

wordywalt comments on Dec 15, 2017:

An agnostic church? Isn't that an oxymoron? Whatever, it would not matter to me one way or the other. I will never attend any church of any kind ever again in my life. Why would agnostics need or want a church??

An investor gives you "seed money" to start a business. What kind of business would you start?

wordywalt comments on Dec 14, 2017:

Something in promising renewable energy technology.

With the new year approaching and a new year, new you attitude, what changes do you feel would ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 14, 2017:

I. Overturn Citizens United. 2. Increase the minimum wage to a living wage. 3. Institute strict ethics in government policies. 4. Impeach Donald Trump and Mike Pence.

Are you intuitive and perceptive and why?

wordywalt comments on Dec 14, 2017:

Yes, Very often when listening to something, someone's statements, when looking at data, when analyzing a situation or problem I shortcut the reasoning process to reach a conclusion and am right in a high percentage of cases. I often figure out the plot line of a movie in the first few minutes of a movie. When listening to others, I find myself thinking ahead and often finish their statements for them if they stumble for words or phrasing. I am quire perceptive. In fact, these are tendencies of people whose dominant information processing style is that of the problem-solver. For more information, take a look at the works of Anthony Gregorc I am willing to explain more, if interested.

The Dallas Morning News ran an article this morning saying that the Republicans may have dodged a ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 14, 2017:

They have big troubles yet ahead. Their treacherous and dishonest behavior in reference to their reeking tax plan and the attempt to kill the ACA -- and the related data from the CBO -- has alienated millions of people. They have shown that they are incapable of governing and only know how to obstruct. The embracing of Trump and looking the other way on the Trump collusion and on many ethics and morals issues is making it increasingly clear to the American public that the party has lost its moral and patriotic core. They are still going to pay -- BIG Time -- in 2018 and 2020.

What do you do to help the Environment?

wordywalt comments on Dec 14, 2017:

We do everything you do and a few more: 1. We grow a high percentage of our own vegetables. 1. We use NO gasoline-powered tools of any kind -- not even lawnmowers. 3. ALL of our utilities at home are electric -- including tank-less water heater -- and our average total utility bill -- including a/c and heating -- is less than $100/mo.

Good one!!!

wordywalt comments on Dec 14, 2017:

That is a GREAT one!!

When adult children choose religion

wordywalt comments on Dec 14, 2017:

State clearly that any discussions about religion will always be conducted in a rational manner and the discussions will stop at any time either strays into irrational argumentation. That will have two effects. First, it will stop many discussions about religion. Second, it expresses indirectly that the parent does not agree with the child's choice, but recognizes that it is the child's choice.

If you were fortunate enough to be a philanthropist, what causes would you be passionate about and ...

wordywalt comments on Dec 14, 2017:

I would contribute to 3 types of causes: 1. Those which protect our civil and constitutional rights. 2. Those which mount transferable programs which empower and enable people to develop and sustain themselves over time. 3 Those which invest in developing technologies which support ecological and climate sustainability.

What do you think of people who try or brainwash other people?

wordywalt comments on Dec 14, 2017:

They are despicable, dangerous people who use others for their own ends.

Healthcare & Religion

wordywalt comments on Dec 14, 2017:

Rejection of religion leads one to take more personal responsibility for his or her own physical and mental health. Ir we don't do it, nobody is.

Is there meaning in life or is meaning something we create and fulfill (or not.)

wordywalt comments on Dec 14, 2017:

Human beings create their own patterns of meaning in their own minds. Meaning exists only in the mind.