Very well said. When you lay it out like this, it becomes easier to understand why the lemmings are running off the anti-vaxx cliff. I just don't understand why otherwise really intelligent people accept religious nonsense when they expect facts in almost every other aspect of life. It's bizarre.
I was 13 when I stepped away from our church - because it all seemed as realistic as the DC comics I was reading. I was growing up. I now viewed "God" and "Jesus" as being as real as the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy.
I was about 13 when I became certain that most of Christianity was not rational and probably involved wishful thinking. Still unpacking it decades later.
Interesting. The big question. What is about us being two 13 year old kids who made decisions based on critical thinking and rational thought - unlike our peers. Is it because rational thought is not taught? I still get surprised at the beliefs people embrace. I guess I shouldn't. Maybe it's organic. Maybe we're not as evolved as a species as we thought.
Happy Thanksgiving. It is another fake holiday based on myths, but I do embrace gratitude and good food. Be well.
Bill, only good things to you during this fake holiday. You ask salient questions. Critical thinking, logical fallacies, and social psychology should be required subjects to graduate from secondary school.
My unvaccinated conspiracy-minded, religiously motivated dad died of COVID-19 just a few minutes ago. That's what I am thinking about today. It's sad how many people allow cognitive dissonance to cut years or decades off their lifespan.
Well... it appears someone had second thoughts *deleted* ... I’m sorry for your loss, Pen. Had my Dad not passed before Covid, I’m certain he would have suffered the same fate.
I do meaningful work helping people who need it and I am an atheist. I would like to understand why you decided having a son meant you also needed Christianity. I want the whole species to have a good life.
I don't hate my culture. I think it has a lot of room for improvement. You lob a lot of passive-aggressive insults while making fantastic claims that aren't backed up by any evidence or data. That's because you are stuck in your own echo chamber of cognitive biases.
I am against forcing babies into the world that will suffer for whatever lifespan they have. I am against forcing rape babies into the world. I am against telling a woman that because I decided I understand the nature of the universe and the meaning of life better than she does I can control the life developing inside her body by force. All these self-righteous "moral" positions are yours and not mine.
I don't claim to be an agent of the creator of the universe. That's your burden to bear.
Are you mad at me because I "trash" Christianity or because you know, somewhere deep inside yourself, that Christianity is pure fantasy? You've spent a great deal of energy attacking me using absolutely zero data-driven, evidence-based arguments. Even your marriage in decline conclusion was cherry picking. Tell me, why should I believe in your Christ, other than, because you say so?
I don’t hate the world. I don’t hate your religion. You should stop making assertions that have no basis in reality. It’s not helping you convert anyone to your way of seeing.
You should probably review your own thinking. In one comment you say human rights exist only in the minds of bored liberals and in another you insinuate babies have human rights. Which is it?
My atheism is mine alone. I don't force my views on other people so do not try and burden me with outcomes that have zero to do with my own atheism. Higher divorce rates are tied to people refusing to live their lives in states of unhappiness in any case. If you want to tie that to atheism then you are saying atheism is improving the world. The institution of marriage is a trap for a lot of people. If people don't want to be married who are you to complain about that? There is nothing magic about marriage.
Are you claiming that people cannot live a meaningful life without believing in your particular deity? Are all religions valid or only the one you represent?
I think you may be confusing Christianity with liberalism. Those two things can co-exist in a human mind with a large dose of cognitive dissonance mixed in, but Christianity is not responsible for the best aspects of "the West," and had to be dragged kicking and screaming along with human progress. American Christians are a force for regression more than they are a force for forward progress. That's why we are on the cusp of an immorally chosen Supreme Court regressing human rights back five decades and forcing women into giving birth to children who will then experience a lifetime of pointless suffering they are likely to pass on down that family tree you seem to be worried about.
Most people aren't pro-suffering but a significant subset of Christians seem to be. Anti-abortionists are really pro-pointless-suffering advocates.
This series is criticizing religion in general as false claims of authority not backed up by data or evidence. What's your evidence that Christianity is valid? Write that essay series and we'll talk some more.
Very well said. When you lay it out like this, it becomes easier to understand why the lemmings are running off the anti-vaxx cliff. I just don't understand why otherwise really intelligent people accept religious nonsense when they expect facts in almost every other aspect of life. It's bizarre.
I was 13 when I stepped away from our church - because it all seemed as realistic as the DC comics I was reading. I was growing up. I now viewed "God" and "Jesus" as being as real as the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy.
Keep up the good writing. I enjoy it.
I was about 13 when I became certain that most of Christianity was not rational and probably involved wishful thinking. Still unpacking it decades later.
Interesting. The big question. What is about us being two 13 year old kids who made decisions based on critical thinking and rational thought - unlike our peers. Is it because rational thought is not taught? I still get surprised at the beliefs people embrace. I guess I shouldn't. Maybe it's organic. Maybe we're not as evolved as a species as we thought.
Happy Thanksgiving. It is another fake holiday based on myths, but I do embrace gratitude and good food. Be well.
Bill, only good things to you during this fake holiday. You ask salient questions. Critical thinking, logical fallacies, and social psychology should be required subjects to graduate from secondary school.
My unvaccinated conspiracy-minded, religiously motivated dad died of COVID-19 just a few minutes ago. That's what I am thinking about today. It's sad how many people allow cognitive dissonance to cut years or decades off their lifespan.
My condolences. You had your differences. Painful as they were, still...he was your Dad. Peace, brother.
Thank you Bill. I am at peace. So is Dad, finally.
Well... it appears someone had second thoughts *deleted* ... I’m sorry for your loss, Pen. Had my Dad not passed before Covid, I’m certain he would have suffered the same fate.
He was trying to witness how Jesus struck his worldview bigly when he had a son.
I do meaningful work helping people who need it and I am an atheist. I would like to understand why you decided having a son meant you also needed Christianity. I want the whole species to have a good life.
I don't hate my culture. I think it has a lot of room for improvement. You lob a lot of passive-aggressive insults while making fantastic claims that aren't backed up by any evidence or data. That's because you are stuck in your own echo chamber of cognitive biases.
I am against forcing babies into the world that will suffer for whatever lifespan they have. I am against forcing rape babies into the world. I am against telling a woman that because I decided I understand the nature of the universe and the meaning of life better than she does I can control the life developing inside her body by force. All these self-righteous "moral" positions are yours and not mine.
I don't claim to be an agent of the creator of the universe. That's your burden to bear.
Nothing about your son. Everything about your beliefs. Strange.
Are you mad at me because I "trash" Christianity or because you know, somewhere deep inside yourself, that Christianity is pure fantasy? You've spent a great deal of energy attacking me using absolutely zero data-driven, evidence-based arguments. Even your marriage in decline conclusion was cherry picking. Tell me, why should I believe in your Christ, other than, because you say so?
I don’t hate the world. I don’t hate your religion. You should stop making assertions that have no basis in reality. It’s not helping you convert anyone to your way of seeing.
You should probably review your own thinking. In one comment you say human rights exist only in the minds of bored liberals and in another you insinuate babies have human rights. Which is it?
My atheism is mine alone. I don't force my views on other people so do not try and burden me with outcomes that have zero to do with my own atheism. Higher divorce rates are tied to people refusing to live their lives in states of unhappiness in any case. If you want to tie that to atheism then you are saying atheism is improving the world. The institution of marriage is a trap for a lot of people. If people don't want to be married who are you to complain about that? There is nothing magic about marriage.
Are you claiming that people cannot live a meaningful life without believing in your particular deity? Are all religions valid or only the one you represent?
I think you may be confusing Christianity with liberalism. Those two things can co-exist in a human mind with a large dose of cognitive dissonance mixed in, but Christianity is not responsible for the best aspects of "the West," and had to be dragged kicking and screaming along with human progress. American Christians are a force for regression more than they are a force for forward progress. That's why we are on the cusp of an immorally chosen Supreme Court regressing human rights back five decades and forcing women into giving birth to children who will then experience a lifetime of pointless suffering they are likely to pass on down that family tree you seem to be worried about.
Most people aren't pro-suffering but a significant subset of Christians seem to be. Anti-abortionists are really pro-pointless-suffering advocates.
This series is criticizing religion in general as false claims of authority not backed up by data or evidence. What's your evidence that Christianity is valid? Write that essay series and we'll talk some more.