LoL, I'd say maybe 20 active members.
Agree there is no question about statistics being useful to examine mathematical patterns.
A beginner's guide to being an atheist, by Richard Dawkins
- Thread starter Cypress
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Freddy Figbottom
Was it me?
yes. it lets stupid people feel it's fine to be evil.
Dutch Uncle
* Tertia Optio * Defend the Constitution
He fled Louisiana for legal reasons and now resides in the NW.
Freddy Figbottom
Was it me?
case in point.
you don't understand the truth from lies.
big pharma nazis injected the world with poison and you sit here clapping furiously in a demonic trance.
I see, now you're backtracking and admitting govern is a perfectly adequate word, one even used by astrophysicists, but you prefer a different word.
Talk about obsessing over word games
ThatOwlWoman
Not Nice
Concise summary of "Outgrowing God", Richard Dawkins
2019
Humans have invented thousands of gods.
The Old Testament is just myths, violence, retribution.
The New Testament is utterly unreliable because the books were written decades or centuries after Jesus' ministry.
Some scholars are skeptical Jesus ever actually existed.
The only sources confirming the historical Jesus outside the canon were Josephus and Tacitus, and Josephus was probably forged by Christians.
The game of telephone proves you can't have reliable transmission of information through multiple generations of people.
Paul barely ever mentions Jesus.
Evolution explains the intricate complexity of life.
Science basically proves there can't be a designer.
Basically all knowledge and truth comes from science.
We were watching a PBS program the other evening called "Human." In it, they showed an ancient temple, built circa 9600 BCE, in Turkey. The ruins somewhat resembled Stonehenge but predates that structure by ~5,000 years. Imagine the resources these Paleolithic people had to use to create both of these structures.
It seems that we evolved to desire a belief in supernatural beings.
Dutch Uncle
* Tertia Optio * Defend the Constitution
20 intelligent, educated and rational? I agree since that's about the number active on the Nice Thread....and our "wonderful secret". LOL
“Every Wonderful Secret”: The Hidden Message in Donald Trump’s Alleged Birthday Letter to Jeffrey Epstein.
House Democrats released a provocative piece of political memorabilia: a scanned birthday note from Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, contributed
culturacolectiva.com
The concluding line—“may every day be another wonderful secret”—resonates with special significance. It may imply that Trump and Epstein had shared knowledge or hidden activities that were intentionally kept private. The wording straddles innocence (“a pal is a wonderful thing”) and shadow (“wonderful secret”), suggesting an ambiguous bond defined by discretion.
Observers have noted that some phrases and the third-person tone mirror Trump’s past writing and speech habits. If authentic, the letter points to a rare moment of creative expression, with motifs—celebration, loyalty, secrecy—that echo Trump’s persona while placing them in a morally gray shadow.
Freddy Figbottom
Was it me?
"describe" is a better word,I see, now you're backtracking and admitting govern is a perfectly adequate word, one even used by astrophysicists, but you prefer a different word.
Talk about obsessing over word games
in science expecially.
your worldview depends on a word game.
you live on a mountain of your own bullshit.
Freddy Figbottom
Was it me?
they use them as propaganda.
Mark Twain famously said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics," highlighting how statistics can be used to mislead or support weak arguments. He warned that while statistics can be persuasive, they can also be manipulated to distort the truth.
WikipediaYou're right. Isn't Stonehenge some sort of cultic pilgrimage structure?
It is striking how universal human belief is in a transcendent spiritual reality beyond our physical senses is. Even going back to the Paleolithic cave paintings.
CS Lewis wrote that when he was an atheist, one thing he couldn't explain or sweep under the rug is just how ubiquitous and universal spiritual belief seems to be hardwired into us.
your worldview depends on a word game!
You're the one playing annoying word games about whether a word like govern, a word even used by astrophysicist, meets your criteria of being accurate enough.
Freddy Figbottom
Was it me?
it's an ancient sundial calendar, and possible sacrifice spot to fertility gods.
Freddy Figbottom
Was it me?
in most cases they're fairly interchangeable, but you're seizing on a slightly different shade of meaning and building a castle on it.You're the one playing annoying word games about whether a word like govern, a word even used by astrophysicist, meets your criteria of being accurate enough.
that's evidence of your sophistry and stupidity.
Dutch Uncle
* Tertia Optio * Defend the Constitution
Agreed. Spirituality seems to be part of being human just like our minds and body. This is why I find atheists, mammon-worshipers and others who are purely materialistic to be handicapped like a person who is paralyzed, color blind or mentally ill.
I think most atheists are not actually atheists. When you press them hard enough on their beliefs they tend to retreat into agnostic territory.Agreed. Spirituality seems to be part of being human just like our minds and body. This is why I find atheists, mammon-worshipers and others who are purely materialistic to be handicapped like a person who is paralyzed, color blind or mentally ill.
It's very hard to defend the idea that matter and energy adequately explain life, the universe, and everything. Which is why you generally see them run away
from defending physical materialism.
Freddy Figbottom
Was it me?
yes you're whole approach is a path to spirituality for materialists based on quoting scientists, who are not especially religous or moral.I think most atheists are not actually atheists. When you press them hard enough on their beliefs they tend to retreat into agnostic territory.
It's very hard to defend the idea that matter and energy adequately explain life, the universe, and everything. Which is why you generally see them run away
it's like basing your life on Tik Tok "hot takes".
Freddy Figbottom
Was it me?
Calling descriptive statements "laws" is another poor use of language, again, with an eye towards authoritarianism.
ThatOwlWoman
Not Nice
It's interesting to ponder upon. My take (at least right now, it will change with further info/reflection): You've mentioned before how humans seem to be the planet's only lifeforms capable of a sense of awe. We are puny, hairless, claw-less, fang-less fairly helpless animals absent shelter, fire, and hunting tools. No doubt ancient people felt fearful and impotent in a world filled with predators who find us delicious as well as other dangers like earthquakes, storms, floods. Both of these things, awe and fear, could have combined to form the idea of protective gods who control life and death, weather, food, water, wild animals, etc. Perhaps these monuments were built to honor and assauge the gods?
It's also interesting that we imbue our gods with human characteristics -- wrath, love, sexuality -- and include gods coupling with humans. Even in modern religions like Christianity!
It was also and still is a means to control humans.
When atheists run away
from physical materialism, I have repeatedly asked them in that case what is the higher reality transcending matter and energy. And I'm met with dead silence or insults.