A beginner's guide to being an atheist, by Richard Dawkins

Cypress said:
Freedom of conscience is one of the most impressive features of the US constitutional system.

Jesus and Paul obviously never said anything about birth control pills.

My understanding is that Quebec spent most of the 20th century afraid of being overwhelmed by English speakers and losing the touchstone of their French culture. The Catholic priests were in on the plot to increase the French-speaking population by harassing women to stop using birth control. That is blatantly using the Church's authority for political and nationalistic reasons, and I can see how that pissed people off.
Click to expand...
Once people taste freedom, they are reluctant to give it up. Why the Millennials and Gen Zers don't recognize the loss of their freedom is weird to me. They'll have to learn on their own or suffer the consequences.

Back on the topic of angry atheists and childhood trauma. Does any of this look familiar about our resident extremists?:

greaterbostonbehavioralhealth.com

Trauma and Anger: Understanding the Deep Connection

Explore how unresolved trauma fuels anger and how therapy at Greater Boston Behavioral Health can help you heal and regain emotional control.
greaterbostonbehavioralhealth.com greaterbostonbehavioralhealth.com
What Is Trauma—and How Does It Influence Anger?
Trauma is the psychological response to deeply distressing or disturbing events. It could stem from:

Childhood abuse or neglect
Physical or sexual assault
Domestic violence
Loss of a loved one
Natural disasters or accidents
Military combat or repeated exposure to violence
When trauma goes unresolved, the nervous system remains on high alert, interpreting everyday frustrations as threats. The result? Overreactions, emotional dysregulation, and explosive anger....

...How Unresolved Childhood Trauma Shapes Adult Anger​

Childhood is a critical period for emotional development. When trauma—such as emotional neglect, physical abuse, bullying, or witnessing domestic violence—goes unresolved, it creates a distorted emotional template that often manifests in adulthood as chronic irritability, explosive anger, or emotional numbness.

Common adult behaviors linked to childhood trauma:​

  • Passive-aggressive communication
  • Low frustration tolerance
  • Difficulty trusting others
  • Overcompensating through control or dominance
  • Intense reactions to perceived disrespect
At our Mental Health Treatment Center in Massachusetts, we often see clients who didn’t realize their anger was rooted in early attachment wounds or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Our trauma-informed clinicians help them uncover, understand, and heal these deep-seated emotional injuries—safely and compassionately.
 
Cypress said:
Freedom of conscience is one of the most impressive features of the US constitutional system.
Click to expand...
Conscience is not mentioned in the Constitution, Cyborg.
Cypress said:
Jesus and Paul obviously never said anything about birth control pills.
Click to expand...
"Thou shalt not murder".
Cypress said:
My understanding is that Quebec spent most of the 20th century afraid of being overwhelmed by English speakers and losing the touchstone of their French culture. The Catholic priests were in on the plot to increase the French-speaking population by harassing women to stop using birth control. That is blatantly using the Church's authority for political and nationalistic reasons, and I can see how that pissed people off.
Click to expand...
Laws against murder exist in every State, Cyborg.
 
Dutch Uncle said:
Once people taste freedom, they are reluctant to give it up. Why the Millennials and Gen Zers don't recognize the loss of their freedom is weird to me. They'll have to learn on their own or suffer the consequences.

Back on the topic of angry atheists and childhood trauma. Does any of this look familiar about our resident extremists?:
Click to expand...
Atheists aren't necessarily angry, Sybil.
 
Uncensored2008 said:
Hamas are terrorists. You may love terrorists, but I don't. They attacked Israel - they paid the price for that mistake. IF they can pretend to be human, Israel won't have to use military force to keep them under control.

It's real simple.
Click to expand...
genocide is cool!

you're a fucked up racist fidiot and you don;t even understand christianity.


:truestory:

and you're legion and itn and whoever the fuck else lie bag persona.

eat shit.
 
Cypress said:
Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism are practically separate religions and unrecognizable from the Yahweism cult of 3,500 years ago. Rabbinic Judaism didn't exist until the second century, AD.

Buddhism and Hindiusm have undergone extreme evolutions over 3000 years as human values, understandings, and interpretations changed. For some reason, it doesn't make me angry or agitated.

But if you want to be agitated about a 3,500 year old Mesopotamian diety, that's your choice.
Click to expand...
Once again, I’m not talking about the religions. Not the “isms”. Today, there are hundreds of “isms” in the Christian church alone. I’m talking about the god. You know, the one unchanging, all-powerful god of the universe. YAHWEH, Jehovah, LORD. That guy.

Going back:

New Testament dude. Loving, forgiving, benevolent

Old Testament dude. Vengeful, spiteful, jealous

Pre-Old Testament dude. Top god among many gods, usurped his dad’s (El) spot and stole his wife

BEFORE THAT - one of 70 of El’s children, storm and war god.

Kinda weird that a god that’s supposed to be perfect, unchanging and inerrant can be such a chameleon, huh?
 
@Cypress, addendum to the thought about "My interest is in why human beings have a need to believe yet a small percentage of people are blind to that need."

My go-to theories always start with genetics, which gets dicey when combinations of genetics are considered...as they often should be. We still don't know why sexual preference, which goes deep into our lizard brains, has a ~10% variation within the human population. Likewise, handedness has a ~10% variation. It's about half for atheists at ~5%. It bumps up to ~10% if agnostics are added in. In the case of homosexuality, the current theories are a complex mix of genetic (nature), environmental (nurture) and hormonal influences that occur before birth. Comparatively, ~10% of men are color-blind while ~10% atheist compared to much lower numbers for women. This indicates to me that the variation has something to do with the missing leg on the Y chromosome. Do women have protection from these issues with a full X?

Even though the numbers aren't exact and can range +2%, the fact the human brain seems to have a 10% variation catches and holds my interests. I've asked people "why?" but they often run from my questions. My first guess is because they are afraid to answer, my second is that they don't know.

www.pewresearch.org

Religious Landscape Study (RLS) | Pew Research Center

The Religious Landscape Study is a comprehensive survey of more than 35,000 Americans’ religious identities, beliefs and practices that’s been conducted in 2007, 2014 and 2023-24. Pew Research Center.
www.pewresearch.org www.pewresearch.org

www.colourblindawareness.org

About Colour Blindness - Colour Blind Awareness

www.colourblindawareness.org www.colourblindawareness.org

Whilst acknowledging that there is still much that is not known, the peer reviewed scientific literature clearly shows that a combination of genetic and environmental factors contribute to sexual orientation, with approximately one third of variance currently attributed to the former. Much of the known environmental influence appears to be intra-uterine and there is no currently convincing evidence that social environment plays a significant part.

Atheism in the United States - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top