Stop teaching morons that Christianity has a monopoly on virtue

[Blackwater Lunchbreak]

that's the stuff. later

Later, masturbator.

[BidenPresident]

Later, masturbator.

Praise Jesus.

[PoliTalker]

Hello Cypress,

You appear to be conflating' "religion" with "Christianity", and in particular the American Protestant fundamentalist strain of Christianity. Only in Protestantism is biblical literalism and biblical inerrancy held to be tenets of the faith.

There are five billion religious people in this world, at least. And only a small minority of the are Protestants.

What I am mostly disagreeing with you is the assertion that religion will disappear at some point in the coming decades, and that anyone professing to be Christian will be laughed at.

I agree with you. My apologies if I appeared to be conflating religion with Christianity. That was not my intent. I do see a lot of overlap because most of my experience with religion comes from Christians trying to push their religion on me. They do it both intentionally and out of habit. One very common instance of this is if I sneeze, I do not need to be blessed. I don't appreciate it. And I have struggled with how to respond to that. There doesn't seem to be a polite way to get my point across that a sneeze is a biological event and need not invoke an assumption of sharing religion.

There is no polite way to respond to that with: "keep your religion to yourself, thanks," "Ah go bless yourself," or "No thank you, I do not care to be blessed," or "Being blessed is meaningless to me, so you have just said something meaningless to me."

If an atheist tries to say anything at all to communicate the fact that they do not appreciate being blessed after sneezing, it comes off as rude. This is how presumptuous Christians can be. Like, if you don't share their religion there's something wrong with you.

I do not think there is any data to support that outcome.

Pentecostals and Baptists scare me. But I not blind to the data. Christianity, and particularly Protestantism, is growing rapidly in Asia and Africa.

Islam has been growing rapidly for decades and will continue to do do according to projections.

Hinduism and Buddhism are holding their own.


To me at least, the moral of the story is that I do not think religion is going to fade away, either in our lifetimes or the lifetimes of our grandkids.

Humans are probably always going to be attracted to formal, systematic approaches to a metaphysical moral vision perceived to be based on some higher truth.

Humans would not be so attracted to religion if they didn't have such a hard selling campaign going on. But since they do, it is a very logical assumption that religion will not be going away any time soon. One particularly irksome thing about religion is most of them command their subjects to have as many babies as possible. That's because most religious subjects are indoctrinated into the religion not by choice but by constant brainwashing during upbringing while they are most vulnerable to being told things that may not be true.

More babies in religious families ensures the religion will continue. The religion does not endure on merit alone, but by cult design.

Having too many babies is self-destructive for humanity. It may have begun back when there just weren't that many humans on the planet, and back then it was a good idea to have lots, but that time has passed. There are now too many humans on the planet, and religion has not changed to reflect that. The scriptures are never amended. That is a huge problem for religion. No wonder they say the meek shall inherit the Earth. Religions force it to happen by telling the poor to have too many babies.

The more modern the planet gets, the less relevant religion is; because it never changes.

[Cypress]

Hello Cypress,



I agree with you. My apologies if I appeared to be conflating religion with Christianity. That was not my intent. I do see a lot of overlap because most of my experience with religion comes from Christians trying to push their religion on me. They do it both intentionally and out of habit. One very common instance of this is if I sneeze, I do not need to be blessed. I don't appreciate it. And I have struggled with how to respond to that. There doesn't seem to be a polite way to get my point across that a sneeze is a biological event and need not invoke an assumption of sharing religion.

There is no polite way to respond to that with: "keep your religion to yourself, thanks," "Ah go bless yourself," or "No thank you, I do not care to be blessed," or "Being blessed is meaningless to me, so you have just said something meaningless to me."

If an atheist tries to say anything at all to communicate the fact that they do not appreciate being blessed after sneezing, it comes off as rude. This is how presumptuous Christians can be. Like, if you don't share their religion there's something wrong with you.



Humans would not be so attracted to religion if they didn't have such a hard selling campaign going on. But since they do, it is a very logical assumption that religion will not be going away any time soon. One particularly irksome thing about religion is most of them command their subjects to have as many babies as possible. That's because most religious subjects are indoctrinated into the religion not by choice but by constant brainwashing during upbringing while they are most vulnerable to being told things that may not be true.

More babies in religious families ensures the religion will continue. The religion does not endure on merit alone, but by cult design.

Having too many babies is self-destructive for humanity. It may have begun back when there just weren't that many humans on the planet, and back then it was a good idea to have lots, but that time has passed. There are now too many humans on the planet, and religion has not changed to reflect that. The scriptures are never amended. That is a huge problem for religion. No wonder they say the meek shall inherit the Earth. Religions force it to happen by telling the poor to have too many babies.

The more modern the planet gets, the less relevant religion is; because it never changes.

Other than the extremely rare evangelical knocking on my door, I almost never experience Christians proselytizing me.

No one ever bugs me to go to church, even though there are practicing christians in my family.

I guess I just am not personally familiar with the fire-and-brimstone evangelical Protestantism other people experience.

I am just not having the same experiences as you, and therefore cannot agree that in-your-face prostilytizing is a huge issue nationally or universally.

I have run across some obnoxious bible thumper trolls on obscure message boards.


I agree that all genuine viewpoints on morality should be respected. And no one should be disparaged for being an atheist. I frequently post and write about comparative world religions and atheist intellectual thought, because it interests me.

I do not agree that religions never evolve.

Modern Rabbinic Judaism looks nothing like 1st century BCE Judaism.

Modern Christianity looks nothing like first century Christianity. Nobody can even agree on what the scriptures actually mean, and thus Christianity has evolved into traditions as disparate as Pentecostalism, Quakerism, and Unitarianism.

Buddhism has constantly evolved from the Theravada version, to the Mahayana, Zen, and Pure Land versions.

The third most important person in Christianity after Jesus and Paul (Saint Augustine) was very clear in writing that the metaphor and allegory in the Bible would always have to be reinterpreted on the basis of new knowledge about the world and the universe.

While Pentecostals scare me, on balance I do not see the practice of science being diametrically incompatible with the practice of Christianity, Judaism or Hinduism.

[Cypress]

Believe whatever is in your heart


Then live that as example as best you can


We will know them by their deeds

I cannot categorically disprove a strictly materialistic and reductionist view of the universe.

Maybe we are nothing more than a collection of quarks and leptons, and there is no deeper meaning in life.

I do not deny that is a possibility, but it strikes me as fairly cynical.

Physical matter and energy obey very distinct mathematical laws of nature.

Biological systems do not seem to boil down to a mathematical equation. Biology cannot be reduced to physics.

Biological systems and consciousness are complex emergent properties which seemingly do not follow a simple mathematical law in the way particle physics and gravity do. That is part of the mystery to me, and it suggests to me that life is more than just the sum of it's parts.

[PostmodernProphet]

I won't say that Christians are unethical. But I think their religious convictions have nothing to do with morality.

so you're saying they are people just like atheists, except they believe something different.........brilliant conclusion Einstein......

[PostmodernProphet]

Jesus taught people should pray in public. Is there a single Christian on the planet who believes that?!

Jesus did not condemn communal prayer.......he condemned prayer intended to promote self-righteousness.....

Luke 18:10-14 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

both men prayed in public......it was the words that Jesus condemned, not the act.....

[evince]

I cannot categorically disprove a strictly materialistic and reductionist view of the universe.

Maybe we are nothing more than a collection of quarks and leptons, and there is no deeper meaning in life.

I do not deny that is a possibility, but it strikes me as fairly cynical.

Physical matter and energy obey very district mathematical laws of nature.

Biological systems do not seem to boil down to a mathematical equation. Biology cannot be reduced to physics.

Biological systems and consciousness are complex emergent properties which seemingly do not follow a simple mathematical law in the way particle physics and gravity do. That is part of the mystery to me, and it suggests to me that life is more than just the sum of it's parts.

I think therefore I am


Life has no meaning without thought


Until a mind imbues it with meaning


I imbue meaning into my life

Even if no other being did


Because I imbued meaning into my life


life has meaning

Because I created a meaning for it


And I’m not the only one


And I’m not the first

[Cypress]

I think therefore I am


Life has no meaning without thought


Until a mind imbues it with meaning


I imbue meaning into my life

Even if no other being did


Because I imbued meaning into my life


life has meaning

Because I created a meaning for it


And I’m not the only one


And I’m not the first

Nietzsche, who was famously atheist, maintained that one could create meaning by treating one's life like a work of art.

That is a good point, but it is only peripheral to what I was wondering about. Emergent biological properties and consciousness cannot be obtained simply by putting together a collection of quarks and electrons.

We can describe life, emergent biological properties, consciousness. But there really is no mathematics, no equations, no fundamental physics explaining how quarks and leptons are animated into emergent biological properties and ultimately to consciousness.

Maybe someday we will learn that all matter and energy, whether inanimate or living, can be explained by a purely reductionist and materialistic approach. But for now, it remains an incomprehensible mystery to me and seemingly suggests life is more than the sum of it's parts.

[BidenPresident]

Nietzsche, who was famously atheist, maintained that one could create meaning by treating one's life like a work of art.

That is a good point, but it is only peripheral to what I was wondering about. Emergent biological properties and consciousness cannot be obtained simply by putting together a collection of quarks and electrons.

We can describe life, emergent biological properties, consciousness. But there really is no mathematics, no equations, no fundamental physics explaining how quarks and leptons are animated into emergent biological properties and ultimately to consciousness.

Maybe someday we will learn that all matter and energy, whether inanimate or living, can be explained by a purely reductionist and materialistic approach. But for now, it remains an incomprehensible mystery to me and seemingly suggests life is more than the sum of it's parts.

Nothing mysterious about life. No more than mountains or black holes.

[evince]

Life is more than we can currently calculate

When we know enough it will be explainable by all fields

Even math

That’s what I believe anyway

[evince]

Hello Cypress,



I agree with you. My apologies if I appeared to be conflating religion with Christianity. That was not my intent. I do see a lot of overlap because most of my experience with religion comes from Christians trying to push their religion on me. They do it both intentionally and out of habit. One very common instance of this is if I sneeze, I do not need to be blessed. I don't appreciate it. And I have struggled with how to respond to that. There doesn't seem to be a polite way to get my point across that a sneeze is a biological event and need not invoke an assumption of sharing religion.

There is no polite way to respond to that with: "keep your religion to yourself, thanks," "Ah go bless yourself," or "No thank you, I do not care to be blessed," or "Being blessed is meaningless to me, so you have just said something meaningless to me."

If an atheist tries to say anything at all to communicate the fact that they do not appreciate being blessed after sneezing, it comes off as rude. This is how presumptuous Christians can be. Like, if you don't share their religion there's something wrong with you.



Humans would not be so attracted to religion if they didn't have such a hard selling campaign going on. But since they do, it is a very logical assumption that religion will not be going away any time soon. One particularly irksome thing about religion is most of them command their subjects to have as many babies as possible. That's because most religious subjects are indoctrinated into the religion not by choice but by constant brainwashing during upbringing while they are most vulnerable to being told things that may not be true.

More babies in religious families ensures the religion will continue. The religion does not endure on merit alone, but by cult design.

Having too many babies is self-destructive for humanity. It may have begun back when there just weren't that many humans on the planet, and back then it was a good idea to have lots, but that time has passed. There are now too many humans on the planet, and religion has not changed to reflect that. The scriptures are never amended. That is a huge problem for religion. No wonder they say the meek shall inherit the Earth. Religions force it to happen by telling the poor to have too many babies.

The more modern the planet gets, the less relevant religion is; because it never changes.

The bless you thing to me is just their intent


They intended it as a kindness


I just accept that kindness


It translates to me as “I hope you are not sick because I care about you”


I even say it myself to people


As that is what it means to me


I’m an atheist

[Cypress]

Nothing mysterious about life. No more than mountains or black holes.

Black holes are predicted and explained by the mathematics of general relativity.

Mountains are explained by the mathematics of isostasy.

We have no mathematics or comprehensive physical theory explaining how emergent biological properties and consciousness arise from collections of quarks and electrons.


Maybe someday we will have a quantum explanation for emergent biological properties and consciousness.

For know, we are just arm-waving.

[BidenPresident]

Black holes are predicted and explained by the mathematics of general relativity.

Mountains are explained by the mathematics of isostasy.

We have no mathematics or comprehensive physical theory explaining how emergent biological properties and consciousness arise from collections of quarks and electrons.


Maybe someday we will have a quantum explanation for emergent biological properties and consciousness.

For know, we are just arm-waving.

Emergence is not a good explanation. The possibility of life existed at the Big Bang. Life is no more mysterious than anything else about the universe.

[Stringfellow Hawk]

This Marjorie Taylor Greene meltdown reveals an uncomfortable truth about Christianity (msn.com)

[FONT="]“You should practice the basic thing you're taught in church: respect your neighbor,” Dingell shouted. Greene blasted back, “Taught in church, are you kidding me? Try being a Christian and supporting life!" Dingell responded, “You try being a Christian... and try treating your colleagues decently!”[/FONT]
Dingell thinks being a Christian means being neighborly and civil. Greene thinks being a Christian means attacking anyone who supports abortion rights. But they both agree that being a Christian is morally good, and that Christianity is virtuous.

baby serial killers should not expect civility. Democrats love criminals, always have, always will