A buck can still get you a cup of coffee?

@PadraicM No Doubt

No son of man may die for another's sins;
No one has ever gone up to heaven,
If you dig a pit for others to fall into, you end up in it yourself
all go to the same place

That is what I am talking about. dog is playing with us so we cannot do otherwise.

If there is a god, it is an "it." I cannot imagine it would have a vagina and ovaries or a penis and testes; but I agree that it would not be concerned with any human affairs, religious or otherwise.

@Joanne My God has both a vagina and penis, because my God loves to party!

@Observer-Effect Hey, when we make up gods, they can have anything we want them to, I guess .

If I ever meet a god, I don't see how said creature could prove to be more than a superior being.

my thoughts, to so many comments, run to thoughts of george carlin, or bill burrs, stand up routines on religion. i find it amusing too, that some people commented like these were my words, thoughts, or feelings. they're not, entirely. as i guessed, it would be an interesting conversation starter. to paraphrase a comic. 'you made me. so, this is your fuck up.' ha ha. smirk. i think it's all a bunch of superstitious nonsense, with a few good stories, maybe. but, i don't understand, generally, why people spend so much time on this site, arguing about religion, one way or the other. i think, if you're a believer, or you're opposed to believers. you're both still allowing the issue to define a part of you. it doesn't take anything, really, to have compassion for others, and the natural world. even if it's just instinct. and, why not be your best, and do your best, for others. even if it's not really selfless, because you get something back for it. like, just feeling better about yourself. but, you're absolutely right, it's a paradox, meant for the believers in the audience, to maybe, just maybe, leave well enough alone, not hate on, rape, and murder, everything around them. i think the concept of karma, for example, is just a tradition, based on a truth, but when people live in small towns, villages, and tribes. that if you hurt someone, everybody will hear about it, and they will feel excused, or even justified, in hurting you. like, he had it coming. peace, brother.

@DevilMayCare

i don't understand, generally, why people spend so much time on this site, arguing about religion, one way or the other

I suppose it's for pretty much the same reason that people on Xian and other religious sites spend so much time discussing how they can bring atheists and agnostics back to God, or else gloating over how we're all going to be burning come the Apocalypse. This is an "Agnostic" website, after all; the one thing that unites us all is our self-defined freedom from religion and, by implication, an opposition to being ruled by it. Consider how much of the world is currently ruled by religion, and the fact that almost every religion considers it their duty to run the world in the name of their god. This is a worrying prospect for agnostics and atheists.

I recognized this was a quote you pasted, not your original story, and for what it's worth, I applaud the sentiment behind it. Empathy is all too rare these days, as the world becomes more and more polarized. Unfortunately there are too few who are willing to reach out and put themselves in someone else's shoes, especially someone they see as an opponent.

@Paul4747 We argue about religion for the same reason we argue who's the G.O.A.T, LeBron James or Michael Jordan?
Because we can, and there's no definitive answer. It's not like anyone REALLY knows, after all, so the argument will never reach a conclusion with someone on top. Nobody's wrong, and nobody's right. Perfect.

@Storm1752 Who's the Goat? They can both be a goat if they want, can't they?

I mean, Halloween is months off yet anyway.

So many gods to choose from, so little time lol

Scratch that, so many gods to blaspheme, so little time...

maybe then, but trust me you do not want to be hoping for a hasidic jew to come along now lol, unless you are one; and then you maybe get a little discount, you hope

@bbyrd009 isn’t that mildly anti-Semitic?

@Gatovicolo hmm, maybe, dunno. I have Jewish friends--not hasidic--and my guess is that maybe "hasidic" has prolly undergone a change in definitions since then? Also i doubt all hasidic Jews are as...clannish? as the few that i have come into contact with

@bbyrd009 I have no idea if they’re clannish, but no more than the Amish. It doesn’t really matter, treating an entire class of persons in accordance with limited experience is by definition prejudicial.

@Gatovicolo i would put them in the same class as politicians, basically. Ever met one? Go try, and see what happens, then come tell me what happened
just a guess, but my guess is you will not even be acknowledged

@bbyrd009 would you say something about the whole class of women, African Americans, Hispanics, poles, Russians, ethnic Arabs....? I don’t think that passes the smell test.

@Gatovicolo no, i wouldnt, but i have also already qualified my statement as much as i'm going to; hasidics are just a different breed, lower than polits imo actually, but that is strictly my opinion. You are lower than dirt to them, trust me

@creative51 I can't control what other people think and/or say, and I can't imagine to what kind of "bullshit" and "strange behavior" you are referring.
Natural law is a very simple concept, and merely means there is such a thing as morality and 'right and wrong' which has nothing to do with anyone's subjective opinions.
I wouldn't even attempt to list what a REAL '10 Commandments' would look like...maybe there's 20.
The 'Golden Rule' covers it all, though, as far as I'm concerned
And, please, don't puke on my account! I'd feel SO guilty...

@creative51 Can you accept the Golden Rule as universal, or would/do some cultures disagree?
Which ones?

@creative51 But is it a universal ideal?
That's the real question.
Most people would agree first-degree murder is wrong, but people still kill each other.
Do some cultures approve of it? In a way, yes, I suppose, given certain citcumstances. Does that make it right? No, not to me, but to some people it does.
The Golden Rule is unambiguous and crystal clear. Can some poke holes in it? Sure.
If your point is there is no such thing as right and wrong, I disagree.
I also disagree most people in most cultures do not KNOW the difference.
I think they do, cultural variations notwithstanding.
That's natural law.
Whoops! There I go again. Sorry!
Please don't puke.

@creative51 My "natural law thing?"
Ok a y.
Didn't know it was that serious.
Peace.

You are more than welcome to borrow bollocks. You are also welcome to borrow 'trump', which in UK English is an euphanism for 'fart', or the expelling of annal gas. Though I see that quite a lot of you are already using it anyway. LOL

No, I found an idea that does not include dog.