Flat earther dies in rocket crash. [friendlyatheist.patheos.com]

Geoffrey51 comments on Feb 23, 2020:

At least he died doing what he loved at the top of his game.

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2020:

@Geoffrey51 I know, In am being mischeivous.

Flat earther dies in rocket crash. [friendlyatheist.patheos.com]

Geoffrey51 comments on Feb 23, 2020:

At least he died doing what he loved at the top of his game.

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2020:

ER no, NASA are at the top of the rocket game.

Who has been the most influential Atheist/Agnostic famous person for you?

Fernapple comments on Feb 23, 2020:

You got a good list there, should keep you in reading for a while. But since all the best ones have been mentioned a couple of times at least, I will add just a couple of outfielders. Andre Comte-Sponville, THE BOOK OF ATHEIST SPIRITUALITY, and H. G. Wells, THE OUTLINE OF HISTORY, for a secular ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2020:

@Allamanda Can try.

Who has been the most influential Atheist/Agnostic famous person for you?

Fernapple comments on Feb 23, 2020:

You got a good list there, should keep you in reading for a while. But since all the best ones have been mentioned a couple of times at least, I will add just a couple of outfielders. Andre Comte-Sponville, THE BOOK OF ATHEIST SPIRITUALITY, and H. G. Wells, THE OUTLINE OF HISTORY, for a secular ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2020:

@Allamanda Mine was about £8-50p, paperback.

Who has been the most influential Atheist/Agnostic famous person for you?

Fernapple comments on Feb 23, 2020:

You got a good list there, should keep you in reading for a while. But since all the best ones have been mentioned a couple of times at least, I will add just a couple of outfielders. Andre Comte-Sponville, THE BOOK OF ATHEIST SPIRITUALITY, and H. G. Wells, THE OUTLINE OF HISTORY, for a secular ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2020:

@Rossy92 A lot of the science and history in it is now very out of date, but it is a wonderful overview still and a great read.

Brain v prawn How artificial shrimps could change the world A Singaporean technology could curb ...

LucyLoohoo comments on Feb 22, 2020:

It only let me read a few paragraphs and then wanted money. HOWEVER....if the proposal is shrimp farming...I"m in favor! I've seen tilapia farms in Kenya which provide safe protein and save the environment.

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2020:

I had the same problem. But I do not think that it was in favour of shrimp farming, just the opposite.

Create a Grooup

JohnnyQB comments on Feb 22, 2020:

Seems to me that creating a group here would be like putting a chair in the middle of an empty room and just sitting there...by yourself ha.

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2020:

Yes, if the site grows then it may be worth starting one now to bev on the ground and running as the site becomes more active, but the truth is that the site seems to be shrinking in terms of actual active members now.

Why are all these believers in god allowed to harass us on this site?

Fernapple comments on Feb 22, 2020:

I rarely see any. You could try changing your settings, I believe that they tend to target those who list dating, if you switch to, 'for the community' it may help.

Fernapple replies on Feb 22, 2020:

@of-the-mountain Yes they are mostly males. But the site does not divide people into male /female but only int daters and community, the trolls I am told mostly tend to join in on the dating side.

Very good advice about how to keep happy and well, with out spending too much time money or effort.

Jetty comments on Feb 22, 2020:

Hi. I like walking in the woods. I often look up and admire the splendor of old trees. Ents from the Lord of the Rings. Lol. It's a wonderful feeling - kinda spiritual.

Fernapple replies on Feb 22, 2020:

Yes I am the same, especially in the winter when the trees help to keep the winds off, and there are no flies, summer is for the hills.

I am sorry to say that the 'Like' menu seems to have stopped working.

Bierbasstard comments on Feb 21, 2020:

Only thing I notices is the drop down doesn't work on the comment at the bottom of the page. Most of it gets cut off on short comments.

Fernapple replies on Feb 22, 2020:

Yes that happens to me too. I wonder if it is common to several type of device, I am using a Windows 10 computer now and it does not seem to have happen for a while, but it happened a lot when I was on XP. What are you using ?

OK, so this is a video about a man who works for the church, but give him a chance and you may ...

Cast1es comments on Feb 21, 2020:

Enjoyed not only the specified video but several of the ones at the end as well . I wonder what ever happened to the Florida couple who used to post one here routinely .

Fernapple replies on Feb 22, 2020:

Yes I miss them too, though I think they may still post on Facebook.

OK, so this is a video about a man who works for the church, but give him a chance and you may ...

Robecology comments on Feb 21, 2020:

There's a lot to be said about the kind, the quiet, the humble yet hard working #religulous. I'm a regular donor and lifelong friend to a family in Riverhead NY who runs a religious school for "wayward children" (kids rejected by their parents, caught up in the legal system)...so by and ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 21, 2020:

Yes I know some lovely christians too, they seem to come from the two extremes, really gentle naive people and the some of the most complete ~~~~~~~~ you could ever hope not to meet. Though actually that intro was tongue in cheek.

Glitches be glitchin'!!

1of5 comments on Feb 21, 2020:

Fvbderfojg Shit, spell checkers even messed up.

Fernapple replies on Feb 21, 2020:

I know you meant to write 'shot' right. LOL

Is it wrong to take advantage of deeply religious people for economic gain?

Marionville comments on Feb 20, 2020:

No you wouldn’t be taking advantage by selling religious artefacts, it would be a straightforward business transaction. You offer goods for sale and the purchaser can decide to buy or not...his decision. That is how commerce works, and you have no requirement to like or endorse the goods you ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 21, 2020:

@Marionville Yes but that is about someone being forced to sell something, the exact opposite of someone actively choosing to sell something. It is like the cultural appologists who say that. "I only support religious culture, and enjoy the arts, I do not believe." Without owning the fact that a religions artistic legasy, can be and often is the bait on the hook which lures people into the religion in the first place, and sometimes keeps them in it. Ultimately, anyone who promotes a religion in any way, even at its most peripheral has some responsibility for every action of that religion, even the most extreme fundamentist excesses. And yes I do sometimes enjoy religious art myself, but I do admit, that that makes me a tiny bit guilty.

Is it wrong to take advantage of deeply religious people for economic gain?

Marionville comments on Feb 20, 2020:

No you wouldn’t be taking advantage by selling religious artefacts, it would be a straightforward business transaction. You offer goods for sale and the purchaser can decide to buy or not...his decision. That is how commerce works, and you have no requirement to like or endorse the goods you ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 21, 2020:

No sorry. I would say that stocking them in a shop which you owned/managed, would count as an endorsement and a promotion.

Has a fellow member on this site been an encouragement to you lately?

Fernapple comments on Feb 19, 2020:

Always liked your posts and comments, any support that can be given would be a small price to pay.

Fernapple replies on Feb 20, 2020:

@Donotbelieve Strength.

Has a fellow member on this site been an encouragement to you lately?

Fernapple comments on Feb 19, 2020:

Always liked your posts and comments, any support that can be given would be a small price to pay.

Fernapple replies on Feb 20, 2020:

@Donotbelieve Well ok then. Don't have expectations that your place on the bell curve will be towards the higher end.

Has a fellow member on this site been an encouragement to you lately?

Fernapple comments on Feb 19, 2020:

Always liked your posts and comments, any support that can be given would be a small price to pay.

Fernapple replies on Feb 19, 2020:

@Donotbelieve Don't push your luck. LOL

A Neanderthal skeleton unearthed in an Iraqi cave, already famous for fossils of these cousins of ...

Charlene comments on Feb 19, 2020:

Is this really surprising? For me ,no..yet the 19th century attitudes that they were knuckle dragging cretins still lingers,even within the field of paleo anthropology. THAt is,for me, is the real surprise.

Fernapple replies on Feb 19, 2020:

Nineteenth Century.

“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his...

Fernapple comments on Feb 19, 2020:

I do hope he was right.

Fernapple replies on Feb 19, 2020:

@TCorCM He certainly is about the hate, but I am not so sure about the love.

Have you ever thought of religion and communism as not being that different?

Pedrohbds comments on Feb 19, 2020:

Nope, because communism is an ideal system, the same as free market capitalism. They are like "final targets" but anyone that really studies it know that this final target is probably impossible but in thesis we can get always closer to it. The problem is when people start to harm each other ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 19, 2020:

@Pedrohbds Yes, in some ways I have always thought that it was easier to respect the fundamentalists than the mainstream religious, even less the fringe appologists, since at least the fundamentalists are honest about their beliefs, however mad those beliefs, both to themselves and others. The joke is when you are told by appologists, that 'they' are not true christian/jews/muslims, based on the argument that most c/J/ m, are not like that. As though numbers was a measure of truth. Yes the fundies are indeed the true C/j/m who are at least following the laws they were given as far as they can. I even find it hard to like the cultural c/j/m who admit to not believing a word of it, but say they are just following the tradition, for the arts and cultural values. Yet even they, have their heads in the sand to a degree, because they ignore the fact that, the arts and culture of a religion, are for many the bait on the hook which lures people in to belief systems and help to make those systems seem respectable. So that even the most fringe appologists, (and there are a few on this site, ) are willfully ignoring the fact that they are to a degree condonning and aiding the lunatic fundamentalists, like the Westboro. And refusing to accept their responsibility for that, is basically the same argument used by the dealer in drugs, who says. "I only sell the suff people want, if they go and overdose on it, thats their problem, nothing to do with me."

[youtube.com] IF YOU ONLY HAD A DOG - Parody

Pralina1 comments on Feb 18, 2020:

He ain’t deserve a dog .

Fernapple replies on Feb 19, 2020:

Hard to hate a dog that much.

Have you ever thought of religion and communism as not being that different?

Pedrohbds comments on Feb 19, 2020:

Nope, because communism is an ideal system, the same as free market capitalism. They are like "final targets" but anyone that really studies it know that this final target is probably impossible but in thesis we can get always closer to it. The problem is when people start to harm each other ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 19, 2020:

Well argued.

So my question is should you always follow the Law?

resserts comments on Feb 19, 2020:

Did Socrates espouse allegiance to the law? It's been a while since I've read much about his teachings, but I don't specifically remember that. In fact, his death seemed in some respect to be a defiance of the law, a political statement of sorts. From what I recall, the death sentence was supposed ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 19, 2020:

NO, that is pretty much how it went.

Hey, everybody. Angry face is back. Cheers.

freeofgod comments on Feb 18, 2020:

Now the sad face is gone. Who needs a 'meh' emoji? That's like no opinion. Why would anyone chime in that they have no opinion??

Fernapple replies on Feb 19, 2020:

@altschmerz No, I think that they have tried to make the site bland, and cut out any negativety. Which is just silly, if you don't let people express themselves on a social media site, then why would they come here at all.

Just want to let you know that we're tweaking the design of several pages but may be returning ...

Fernapple comments on Feb 18, 2020:

Agree with everything everyone says about the negative emolis. But also the colour difference between the read and unread items on the alerts list is just too slight now, I always like to go to the bottom of the unread alerts and work upwards, but it is now really hard to see where they start.

Fernapple replies on Feb 19, 2020:

@bingst Agreed And the personal icons on the fist page are now too tiny to be of any use.

I see this here all the time.

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Feb 18, 2020:

I agree. I have had a couple of men tell me that because I know the Bible so well and refuse to blanketly condemn all Christians, I am a conservative Christian troll here to infiltrate and try to convert. Right.

Fernapple replies on Feb 18, 2020:

Really! What planet did they come from ?

Hey, everybody. Angry face is back. Cheers.

freeofgod comments on Feb 18, 2020:

Now the sad face is gone. Who needs a 'meh' emoji? That's like no opinion. Why would anyone chime in that they have no opinion??

Fernapple replies on Feb 18, 2020:

Its not gone it has just changed to a milder form,. Its the third one down.

Hey, everybody. Angry face is back. Cheers.

RavenCT comments on Feb 18, 2020:

Yay! 😠👽👻💩

Fernapple replies on Feb 18, 2020:

And of course here is one, with only the best of wishes of course.

Hey, everybody. Angry face is back. Cheers.

bobwjr comments on Feb 18, 2020:

Welcome back, give them hell

Fernapple replies on Feb 18, 2020:

And of course here is one, with only the best of wishes of course.

Hey, everybody. Angry face is back. Cheers.

AnonySchmoose comments on Feb 18, 2020:

Oh, good !

Fernapple replies on Feb 18, 2020:

And of course here is one, with only the best of wishes of course.

"If something is true, no amount of wishful thinking will change it." - Richard Dawkins

Marionville comments on Feb 17, 2020:

Pretty much self evident.

Fernapple replies on Feb 18, 2020:

Yet it is the very basis of religion.

Homepage just changed; must learn it again.

Fernapple comments on Feb 17, 2020:

There seem to be less icons on the like menu, again.

Fernapple replies on Feb 18, 2020:

@Storm1752 Good question. You just hope that with the angry button, it is not a case of PC gone mad, because some poor souls may find it offensive.

Loving the new look. 😃💕🇨🇦

Fernapple comments on Feb 17, 2020:

The colour is better, but we have lost some icons off the like menu, and the notification bell does not give numbers anymore.

Fernapple replies on Feb 18, 2020:

@Barnie2years Yes mine does now. They must have fixed it.

ADMIN! I am liking a lot of the changes made, but we need and angry emoji & an eye-rolling one too!...

bingst comments on Feb 17, 2020:

Sad face is also missing.

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

No its still there but the button looks different, a sort of neutral face.

Generally I like the new changes to the look of the site.

Pedrohbds comments on Feb 17, 2020:

in the tab where the site is open the number of notifications is shown

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

I can't see it.

I think you guys have the wrong idea about what you call "Hinduism"

Fernapple comments on Feb 17, 2020:

That is certainly true, but the fact that a thing is much more beside, does not prevent it also being a religion. Else when I asked my friend if he had a religion, why did he reply Hindu ?

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

@WilliamFleming Yes that is my view too.

Homepage just changed; must learn it again.

Fernapple comments on Feb 17, 2020:

There seem to be less icons on the like menu, again.

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

@AstralSmoke No.

Generally I like the new changes to the look of the site.

Cutiebeauty comments on Feb 17, 2020:

The site seems to be loading faster for me...

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

That's true, and it seems to mark the read allerts as read by changing the colour quite well now, its just that the colour change is so slight.

I think you guys have the wrong idea about what you call "Hinduism"

Fernapple comments on Feb 17, 2020:

That is certainly true, but the fact that a thing is much more beside, does not prevent it also being a religion. Else when I asked my friend if he had a religion, why did he reply Hindu ?

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

@WilliamFleming True but if they don't use Hindu to refer to the collective belief, then what do they use ? The belief system maybe defined by outsiders, but that does not mean that it is not a legitimate definition. Protestant was a term originally coined by Catholic, and it covers Church of England, Baptist, Methodist etc. many different beliefs, but it is still a legitimate term.

I got invited to a "Sacred Womb Healing Event" It is apparently an all day thing.

bookofmorons comments on Feb 17, 2020:

and what does it entail?

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

@BufftonBeotch Oh, shit. I think that, even if I had a womb, I don't think that I would let it go to that. The word kind of gives it away, whats wrong with uterus.

I still love people’s reactions when they find out I’m an atheist.

Fernapple comments on Feb 17, 2020:

I went bald many years ago, so the two little horns are quite visible, which means that I don't have that problem.

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

@GalaxyJumper They grow fast if you have too much sex.

Homepage just changed; must learn it again.

Fernapple comments on Feb 17, 2020:

There seem to be less icons on the like menu, again.

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

@developer Yes but where has the angry face itself gone.

Homepage just changed; must learn it again.

Fernapple comments on Feb 17, 2020:

There seem to be less icons on the like menu, again.

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

@AstralSmoke The larger buttons are certainly OK, and the new colour is good, but I can not see a box around notifications ? And does the icon I am sending you count as 'Sad' ? I clicked on it and an angry face came up.

Homepage just changed; must learn it again.

Sgt_Spanky comments on Feb 17, 2020:

These changes were not expected and have left me frightened, and confused, and sexually dysfunctional.

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

@Sgt_Spanky That is nice to know. But it is alright to be frightened, and quite natural, just don't let it turn you towards religion.

Homepage just changed; must learn it again.

AstralSmoke comments on Feb 17, 2020:

It hasn't changed that much and I'm not sure that it is any better. The question is why?

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

I suppose it is like government, trying to find something to do so that you can look too busy to address really difficult problems.

Homepage just changed; must learn it again.

Sgt_Spanky comments on Feb 17, 2020:

These changes were not expected and have left me frightened, and confused, and sexually dysfunctional.

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

Just like you were before then. LOL

I think you guys have the wrong idea about what you call "Hinduism"

Petter comments on Feb 17, 2020:

Also, kernels of social discrimination, such as the caste system, which modern India is struggling to abolish.

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

In some places the caste system is getting stronger, in part in reaction to modernizing attempts.

I watched click recently and sat watching the UK head of You tube defending the poor reproducibility...

Fernapple comments on Feb 16, 2020:

Yes I saw that too. You Tube is like everything else you have to use your judgment.

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

@Mcflewster I think that You Tube, like many internet services, has grown beyond the point where it can be controled anyway, either by its managers or state governments, most of which it is now more powerful than anyway.

“I’ve never met an animal I didn’t like, but I can’t say the same thing about ...

Fernapple comments on Feb 17, 2020:

I don't think she met a lot of animals, or was she making the common confusion of animal with mammal.

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

@Marionville Oh. I am being very pedantic, on a, be mischeivous for fun, morning.

“I’ve never met an animal I didn’t like, but I can’t say the same thing about ...

Fernapple comments on Feb 17, 2020:

I don't think she met a lot of animals, or was she making the common confusion of animal with mammal.

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

@Marionville So she knew some blow flies and bobbit worms then ?

Is there a place where nobody believes in any gods

Fernapple comments on Feb 16, 2020:

Yes lots, a least if you don't bother with tiny marginalized minorities. Most Buddhist and former Buddhist countries, many pre-industrial Animist cultures, China, Japan, the Czech Republic, and large parts of northern Europe where nones are fast becoming majorities.

Fernapple replies on Feb 17, 2020:

@JeffMesser No, it is both a religion and a philosophy the two are not mutually exclusive.

Is there a place where nobody believes in any gods

Fernapple comments on Feb 16, 2020:

Yes lots, a least if you don't bother with tiny marginalized minorities. Most Buddhist and former Buddhist countries, many pre-industrial Animist cultures, China, Japan, the Czech Republic, and large parts of northern Europe where nones are fast becoming majorities.

Fernapple replies on Feb 16, 2020:

@JeffMesser Some do but it is not universal, or inherent in the religion.

American Exceptionalism A Double Edged Sword By Seymour Martin Lipset

Fernapple comments on Feb 16, 2020:

Like your post, but the link does not work.

Fernapple replies on Feb 16, 2020:

@Jetty Yep got it now.

I find the Antikythera Mechanism fascinating, and here is a new talk on the subject. [youtu.be]

Fernapple comments on Feb 16, 2020:

Wonderful talk, thank you for posting it. Its a cold wet day here and that was a good hour to start the day.

Fernapple replies on Feb 16, 2020:

@Omnedon Yes, Im in love.

WHAT DEEP FAKES WOULD YOU GENERATE?

1of5 comments on Feb 15, 2020:

Me being nice to someone.

Fernapple replies on Feb 16, 2020:

Come on ! Nobody would swallow that one.

Evolution is just a Theory? CORRECT.

Fernapple comments on Feb 15, 2020:

I think that you may be preaching to the converted a bit here.

Fernapple replies on Feb 16, 2020:

@Robecology If you are in FB jail, that means you must be doing a good job. Well done.

Annoying religious sayings .

FearlessFly comments on Feb 14, 2020:

"god" works in mysterious ways :P

Fernapple replies on Feb 15, 2020:

Oh that has to be the worst, not only does it credit god for everything, but it gives him a get-out for everything as well.

Today my heart goes out to all the missing and murdered women, especially the Indigenous Woman.

WilliamFleming comments on Feb 14, 2020:

Worldwide, 79% of murder victims are men. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homicide_statistics_by_gender Globally, less than 1% of deaths are due to homicide. We can not live in constant sorrow in the human condition and still function. I view the river of organic bodies as a continuum—a ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 14, 2020:

No I can not agree with that. Few, if any, murder victims are kindly given a lethal whiff of gas while they sleep or something similar. Most murders are carried out in ways that cause great fear and pain, sometimes unimaginably, and deliberately so. Not only that, but murder often causes a great deal more pain and grief to friends and family than other forms of death. The murder stats of less than 1% year after year, still represent a huge ongoing vollume of pain and misery for the human race. It is almost certainly true that most murder victims are male, but it is good to be wary about the percentages. Since in many countries of the world, especially those where the births of girl children are not counted or valued, niether are the deaths of women, many communities not even bothering to report such births or murders, or the murders are left uninvestigated by the authorities. A friend of mine from a third world country, informs me that in the rural villages, the deaths of unwanted wives are simply described, to the police as. "Fell down the well." And no investigation is ever carried out.

"Put away the crack, before the crack puts you away, you have be there when your baby is old enough...

Allamanda comments on Feb 14, 2020:

so who said this? It's not a quote without attribution.

Fernapple replies on Feb 14, 2020:

Yes I think that in a quotes group it is an obligation to at least put "Anon" or "Me".

Clean Up On Aisle 6!

WilliamFleming comments on Feb 14, 2020:

My first paid job was picking cotton. Our parents sent us out to pick cotton because they thought that would be good for our characters. We were not permitted to spend the money but had to put it in the bank. Picking cotton is hot, grueling work for a youngster, and I developed patience, ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 14, 2020:

Yes I feel what you mean about town kids being different, but you can learn social skills later in life though, but I do not know if you can learn aloneness skills later. So maybe we are the lucky ones.

[msn.com] Huge rise in UK unemployment figures

Fernapple comments on Feb 14, 2020:

Its moved on. Is now a link to a royal gossip post.

Fernapple replies on Feb 14, 2020:

@Petter That it seems is the joke intended. I am sorry to say that I just saw H. and M. (sounds like a sexual practice, ) and turned back, did not even get as far as sack. I think Moravian's humour is too clever for the likes of me.

I met a guy for lunch today and it was an identical experience to almost every other guy I've met ...

LiterateHiker comments on Feb 13, 2020:

With a master degree, I love intelligent conversation and witty banter. My friends tell me to lower my standards. So few years ago, I met three local guys with only a high school diploma. All three men were extremely boring. One man talked on-and-on about fishing and hunting trips in ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 14, 2020:

It has to said though about the 'hunting, shooting and fishing bores'. That they were the species R. Kippling was thinking of, when he coined the immortal phrase. "The female of the species is more deadly than the male." LOL

Being intelligent , unfortunately , does not mean a person is moral .

Fernapple comments on Feb 13, 2020:

No being intelligent does not make you moral. But it does make it easier to be moral, because it makes it easier to understand what is moral and what is not. It also makes you more self reliant, which makes it harder for those who promote the opposite, immorality, to sell you their product.

Fernapple replies on Feb 13, 2020:

@Geoffrey51 Ah, yes I remember now, the one I am thinking of, is called the, universalization principle. It is very good too.

The worst scam profile I've seen in a while. Check it out, and have some giggles! @Gina666

Fernapple comments on Feb 13, 2020:

Says not available. Yep 'it ' messaged me, but that has gone now too.

Fernapple replies on Feb 13, 2020:

@1of5 Sorry I did not get to read the profile if it was funny. First real scamer I have had direct contact with, pity it ended that quick I always relish a new experience.

Religion has always been used as a tool to control the population.

Fernapple comments on Feb 13, 2020:

Because it saves the effort of having to think things though for yourself. Laziness is the second greatest force in human life and history after boredom.

Fernapple replies on Feb 13, 2020:

@Freedompath True, there are many reasons really.

Being intelligent , unfortunately , does not mean a person is moral .

Fernapple comments on Feb 13, 2020:

No being intelligent does not make you moral. But it does make it easier to be moral, because it makes it easier to understand what is moral and what is not. It also makes you more self reliant, which makes it harder for those who promote the opposite, immorality, to sell you their product.

Fernapple replies on Feb 13, 2020:

@Geoffrey51 If I remember right, is that not the one, which is basically based on the same logic as grand mother's ? "How would it be if everyone did that."

Religion has always been used as a tool to control the population.

Word comments on Feb 13, 2020:

Religion... pure and faultless is this: to help widows and orphans in need and avoiding worldly corruption. James 1:27 How is helping widows and orphans why avoiding worldly corruption a way to control people? OR, why are you using the word "religion " to label something other than helping ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 13, 2020:

Morning Fred, been missing you.

More stories from the deep past, this one relates to a lot of modern things as well though if you ...

Robecology comments on Feb 12, 2020:

Shared on FB...my christian friends hate when I do this....

Fernapple replies on Feb 12, 2020:

Have you ever tried explaining to them that, you can be Christian without being a creationist, they don't have to buy the whole dumb package ? Or would that require too much brain strain on their part ?

Skeptic that I am I can't help but wonder who the heck runs and funds this site and why?

Fernapple comments on Feb 10, 2020:

It would be nice if those who fund and operate this site were openly available. But you have to remember that, we live in a world where, reveling openly that you are the funding or inspiration behind a site like this, would make you a target for half the nut-jobs on the planet.

Fernapple replies on Feb 12, 2020:

@prometheus That's true, though I am not really bothered if they baptize my dead relatives or not. What I would worry about however is trading with any business related to the Mormons, since they have a long history of using such companies for all sorts of financial fiddles. Including laundering their tax exempt tithes.

The music needs no introduction, but the very young player has not been seen much before.

Marionville comments on Feb 12, 2020:

Wonderful Gershwin piece....very talented performance all round, but especially by the young piano soloist.

Fernapple replies on Feb 12, 2020:

Yes a lot of the orchestra seem to be very young too, maybe it is a youth band, but my Polish is none existent.

I have seen the future of the internet.

Pralina1 comments on Feb 11, 2020:

♥️♥️♥️ I never heard of such critter ♥️♥️♥️ I will research when off and rested . What a cutie ♥️♥️♥️

Fernapple replies on Feb 11, 2020:

Here you go have a cute overdose. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdLUZRyhPb0

According to the Gospel, Jesus Christ once said: "Love your enemies like you would love yourself" or...

Fernapple comments on Feb 11, 2020:

It can be seen as a metaphor for, put hate behind you, because hate, especially frustrated hate, will do more harm to you than it does to your enemies. However it could also be an invention by later authors, who wanted to put deliberately enigmatic words in their hero's mouth, because that is a ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 11, 2020:

@Condorandino I have no idea really, but he certainly is not motivated by love.

Mozart’s sister, Maria Anna, was a genius, too — but we forget her - The Lily

Geoffrey51 comments on Feb 10, 2020:

Here is a thought. Mozart died at about 34 I think. He has a massive output for 29 years of composing. This includes 40 symphonies around 20 musical plays and operas along with the hundreds of other pieces. What if the Mozart catalogue is actually the pair of them. The logistics would make...

Fernapple replies on Feb 11, 2020:

I often wondered about W. Wordsworth the romantic poet and his sister, they had an almost incestuous relationship, and everyone said that his poems took a sudden plunge downhill after her death. That has always been put down to grief and depression, but I sometimes wonder if there may not have been a more direct cause. Just thinking out loud.

Religion is not the source of morality, as we all here know, everything is natural and does come ...

TheMiddleWay comments on Feb 7, 2020:

"That is why religion is, and increasingly is, only a source of bad ideas, especially in areas such morality, " So "thou shall not kill" or "thou shall not lie" are both bad ideas because they comes from a religious source and not a secular one? Interesting... ;) Theres a distinction between ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 10, 2020:

@TheMiddleWay That is a straw man argument, a very common one that religious apologists always use, the science argument. But I did not say 'science' I said 'science AND philosophy plus psychology. of which the second is perhaps the most important. The setting up of science as the only opponent of religion, to avoid having to address the other problems, is a very cheap and shabby trick, which has long passed its sell by date.

You Can’t Have It Both Ways .

Fernapple comments on Feb 7, 2020:

No religion is not the source of morality, everything is natural and does come from nature via us. BUT. The important point about religion is that it unbalances any debate over morality or anything else. Because it enables those who accept it to claim an extra, supernatural, authority for their ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 10, 2020:

@skadoYes genetic drives can be manipulated to a degree, but there is no need, because a successful culture needs only fulfil those basic few genetic needs to progress. And culture is totally plastic to a degree, there have been successful cultures which espoused just about every idea you could possibly imagine. From Christian, god has to die for the weaknesses humans, to Aztec, humans must be sacrificed to make up for the weakness of the gods. Exact opposites, yet both worked. Many apologists see science as the opposite of religion, but there are many other growing powers competing for their share of the human mind : government, health services, private corporations, the internet etc. which will tell people what to do, if that is what they want, and those are growing in number and power all the time, there is more and more competition in the market place. But even more importantly. When once religion lost its explanatory power, how to live, to philosophy, how life works, to science, and how people work, to medical psychology, then religion is empty and hollow, no longer needed as such. And when that happens then it comes, without any weapons or armour up to fight against the greatest force in human life. The force which really governs history, ( however much we may thing otherwise, ) and creates hero's and kingdoms, while destroying corporations, fashions and governments, even bringing empires crashing down and wasting the greatest of armies, namely the humans complete lack of attention span, or boredom in other words. Which is our most primal powerful and ruling instinct, far more than all the others put together, which drives nearly everything that happens in human history.

Religion is not the source of morality, as we all here know, everything is natural and does come ...

TheMiddleWay comments on Feb 7, 2020:

"That is why religion is, and increasingly is, only a source of bad ideas, especially in areas such morality, " So "thou shall not kill" or "thou shall not lie" are both bad ideas because they comes from a religious source and not a secular one? Interesting... ;) Theres a distinction between ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 10, 2020:

@TheMiddleWay That may well be true, though I would put the percentage much lower, because there are other powers: government, health services, science, private corporations, the internet etc. which will tell people what to do, if that is what they want, and those are growing in number and power all the time, there is more and more competition in the market place. But even more importantly. When once religion lost its explanatory power, how to live, to philosophy, how life works, to science, and how people work, to medical psychology, then religion is empty and hollow, no longer needed as such. And when that happens then it comes, without any weapons or armour up to fight against the greatest force in human life. The force which really governs history, ( however much we may thing otherwise, ) and creates hero's and kingdoms, while destroying corporations, fashions and governments, even bringing empires crashing down and wasting the greatest of armies, namely the humans complete lack of attention span, or boredom in other words. Which is our most primal powerful and ruling instinct, that drives nearly everything which happen in human history.

It seems to me we may be invaded by shills and trolls paid by Trump supporters to steer voters.

KKGator comments on Feb 10, 2020:

On this site? I haven't noticed anything like that at all.

Fernapple replies on Feb 10, 2020:

@KKGator Good test. LOL

Hope you are all okay and not too badly affected by the storms over there

Sofabeast comments on Feb 10, 2020:

North East Scotland, a wee bit windy, but otherwise wooly hat and jumper weather. It's often colder in summer.

Fernapple replies on Feb 10, 2020:

Isn't it supposed to be colder in summer, or have I been living in Britain too long ?

When I post something it never comes up on my own profile page.

Fernapple comments on Feb 10, 2020:

Are you looking under comments not posts ?

Fernapple replies on Feb 10, 2020:

Yes I think that it takes you to comments first by default.

You Can’t Have It Both Ways .

Fernapple comments on Feb 7, 2020:

No religion is not the source of morality, everything is natural and does come from nature via us. BUT. The important point about religion is that it unbalances any debate over morality or anything else. Because it enables those who accept it to claim an extra, supernatural, authority for their ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 10, 2020:

@skado There is a genetic basis for all things, but genetic drives are easy to manipulate, especially culturally, that is why organized religion, the bit which is really harmful bit, exists in the first place. We have an even stronger genetically created drive to eat high calory food, yet many people still manage to choose a heathy diet. Over 40% of Britains, and rising, have chosen a religion free world, despite the massive inherited culture of religion, while the majority of the sixty percent claim to be only nominally culturally attached to their religions.

Religion is not the source of morality, as we all here know, everything is natural and does come ...

TheMiddleWay comments on Feb 7, 2020:

"That is why religion is, and increasingly is, only a source of bad ideas, especially in areas such morality, " So "thou shall not kill" or "thou shall not lie" are both bad ideas because they comes from a religious source and not a secular one? Interesting... ;) Theres a distinction between ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 10, 2020:

@TheMiddleWay Yes that is very true. Though to take my local example at least 40%, and rising, of Britains have chosen to drop the baggage to date, that is quite a lot. Though we do have a state church and church in state schools which helps to kill it.

An interesting development in computer programming? [youtu.be]

Fernapple comments on Feb 9, 2020:

Brilliant post, it had me convinced for quite a while.

Fernapple replies on Feb 9, 2020:

@FrayedBear Watching it a second time, now I know the voice does sound just a little off, but not the first time round.

You Can’t Have It Both Ways .

Fernapple comments on Feb 7, 2020:

No religion is not the source of morality, everything is natural and does come from nature via us. BUT. The important point about religion is that it unbalances any debate over morality or anything else. Because it enables those who accept it to claim an extra, supernatural, authority for their ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 9, 2020:

@skado If you wish to call secular morality religion and say that supernaturalism is not the same as religion, then you are welcome. Everyone is entitled to define their own usages of words to suit themselves, but if people wish to be understood by others and help others towards a better aproximation of the truth, then it is better to keep with the most common usages which most people understand. I always try to use the clearest language possible. Certainly one of us has a defined the word religion in a way which puts him in a minority of one. Why isolate yourself from taking part, in all the mainstream debates, just for a senitmental attachment to a word.

Religion is not the source of morality, as we all here know, everything is natural and does come ...

skado comments on Feb 7, 2020:

That works perhaps for one, fairly narrow, understanding of the word, "religion" but not for all scholarly, or even popular, understandings. Other well-informed and well-reasoned views exist.

Fernapple replies on Feb 9, 2020:

@skado Of course the thing called religion will continue, it has always reinvented itself, that is just what I am saying. And the way in which it is reinventing itself at this time, is as a criminal organization for the benefit of the least moral sections of society. Because it has so much more to offer them than it does to everyone else: a perfect refuge where they can escape the scrutiny of society at large, a home where increasingly they can meet like minded people, a perfect mechanism for twisting immoral desires into sham goodness and a screen of respectability to hide behind.

Religion is not the source of morality, as we all here know, everything is natural and does come ...

skado comments on Feb 7, 2020:

That works perhaps for one, fairly narrow, understanding of the word, "religion" but not for all scholarly, or even popular, understandings. Other well-informed and well-reasoned views exist.

Fernapple replies on Feb 9, 2020:

@skado No it is all of religion, both the seemingly moral and benign half, which is fading fast, and the immoral criminal element which grows and prospers. All the wishing and dreaming in the world can not turn the tides of history when the inevitable powerful trends are established. The Roman empire may have built good roads and brought law and order to many, but all the praise heaped on it by its admirers could not stop the growth of class divisions and corruption, the advance of drying deserts, economic decay nor the increasing isolation of a centralised government and the growing respect for local tribal government, bringing it down.

[boredpanda.

skado comments on Feb 7, 2020:

I don't know if this is related or not, but I was equally shocked to learn that about a third of adults have no capacity for abstract thought, and most of the rest have only varying degrees of capability. "The research demonstrates to us that only a few (about 10%) of the adult population are ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 8, 2020:

It says that it is needful to teach these skills, although it also says that the education system fails to teach them and then says that rote learning is used instead. Actually I would think that rote learning helps to crush them, and discourages people from practicing and enhancing them as much as they can, because it quite deliberately promotes a fear of getting things wrong. Best play safe and learn to chant the mantra. I love the very quotable passage at the end, though it is not attributed. "How could we take something as natural and wonderful as learning and turn it into education? "

Religion is not the source of morality, as we all here know, everything is natural and does come ...

TheMiddleWay comments on Feb 7, 2020:

"That is why religion is, and increasingly is, only a source of bad ideas, especially in areas such morality, " So "thou shall not kill" or "thou shall not lie" are both bad ideas because they comes from a religious source and not a secular one? Interesting... ;) Theres a distinction between ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 8, 2020:

@TheMiddleWay Quite but it is also about looking at the way the ideas of religion are changing. PS you wanted some stats. https://faithsurvey.co.uk/uk-christianity.html

You Can’t Have It Both Ways .

Fernapple comments on Feb 7, 2020:

No religion is not the source of morality, everything is natural and does come from nature via us. BUT. The important point about religion is that it unbalances any debate over morality or anything else. Because it enables those who accept it to claim an extra, supernatural, authority for their ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 8, 2020:

@skado Yes but that is the whole point, the reigions with 'scholarly, well informed and well reasoned views' are fading and declining, it is only the hate pedaling religions which grow, because you can get scholarly, well informed and well reasoned views, from many places without the burden of religion, only the hate filled religions offer a refuge for the hateful which they can not find in mainstream culture. I am not trying to praise secular morality at all, I am only saying that it exists, and that by so doing it markets the same 'good' things as religion, without the added baggage which comes with religion. And that therefore, people with the good intent, wanting to buy good ideas, will natural choose that, simply because people will always choose the less costly product if they are otherwise the same. Religion however offers to give false authority to any ideas, even bad ones, and therefore people of evil intent who want to pedal their own bad ideas will naturally choose that. That process is natural and unstoppable.

Religion is not the source of morality, as we all here know, everything is natural and does come ...

TheMiddleWay comments on Feb 7, 2020:

"That is why religion is, and increasingly is, only a source of bad ideas, especially in areas such morality, " So "thou shall not kill" or "thou shall not lie" are both bad ideas because they comes from a religious source and not a secular one? Interesting... ;) Theres a distinction between ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 8, 2020:

@TheMiddleWay I am not trying to appease secular morality at all, I am only saying that it exists, and that by so doing it markets the same 'good' things as religion, without the added baggage which comes with religion. And that therefore, people with the good intent, wanting to buy good ideas, will natural choose that, simply because people will always choose the less costly product if they are otherwise the same. Religion however offers to give false authority to any ideas, even bad ones, and therefore people of evil intent who want to pedal their own bad ideas will naturally choose that. That process is natural and unstoppable.

Religion is not the source of morality, as we all here know, everything is natural and does come ...

skado comments on Feb 7, 2020:

That works perhaps for one, fairly narrow, understanding of the word, "religion" but not for all scholarly, or even popular, understandings. Other well-informed and well-reasoned views exist.

Fernapple replies on Feb 8, 2020:

@TheMiddleWay Yes but the whole point is, that the reigions with 'scholarly, well informed and well reasoned views' are fading and declining, it is only the hate pedaling religions which grow, because you can get scholarly, well informed and well reasoned views, from many places without the burden of religion, only the hate filled religions offer a refuge for the hateful which they can not find in mainstream culture. And that is a universal truth, about the two divisions of religion.

Religion is not the source of morality, as we all here know, everything is natural and does come ...

skado comments on Feb 7, 2020:

That works perhaps for one, fairly narrow, understanding of the word, "religion" but not for all scholarly, or even popular, understandings. Other well-informed and well-reasoned views exist.

Fernapple replies on Feb 8, 2020:

Yes but the whole point is, that the reigions with 'scholarly, well informed and well reasoned views' are fading and declining, it is only the hate pedaling religions which grow, because you can get scholarly, well informed and well reasoned views, from many places without the burden of religion, only the hate filled religions offer a refuge for the hateful which they can not find in mainstream culture.

"Where you there?

Geoffrey51 comments on Feb 7, 2020:

Yes, ignore it and get in with my life because it has no intellectual currency and I don’t care what someone with that mindset thinks.

Fernapple replies on Feb 7, 2020:

@DavidLaDeau Well said. Its very like. I did not get upset, when they took their share of the widows pension. I did not get upset, when they tortured my neighbors child with fears of death. I did not get upset, when they told the girl next door that she had carry an unwanted child. I did not get upset, when they spat on my friend and his husband. I did not get upset, when they beat the woman I never met, with heavy canes. I did not get upset, when the child in a foreign land died of a preventable disease. I did not get upset, when they spent the hospitals money on a new church. I did not get upset, when they concealed crimes, for no one raped or humiliated me. I did not get upset, when they tried to suppress learning and knowledge so that people would not know how to question. I did not get upset, when they forced a nine year old to marry. I did not get upset, when they took a dirty knife to a tiny little girl, (I could not hear her scream.) I did not get upset, when they put people to death for being humane to others. I did not get upset, when they threw stones and bullets at one another's children, its their argument after all. I did not get upset, when they;- Sorry I think that I have to go now, I hear some knocking at my door. Maybe its them? I am sure it will be alright though, they have nothing against me do they ?

YOUR THREE LAWS AS A "DICTATOR"

Geoffrey51 comments on Feb 7, 2020:

That’s a pretty good start for a despot!

Fernapple replies on Feb 7, 2020:

Most of them start well, it is when they start to run out of good ideas that the problems begin.

Religion is not the source of morality, as we all here know, everything is natural and does come ...

Nardi comments on Feb 7, 2020:

I don't feel that main stream religions will knowingly entertain evil ideas of morality as a way to remain relevant and/or popular. They may be naive but they sure as hell are not dumb they will know that promoting evil will lead to their demise. The world is becoming a smaller place and once the ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 7, 2020:

@Nardi The Point of course being that the reinvention with good liberal ideas, does not help them, yet the evangelical, racist, male supremisist fringe grows and increases, because they have something to offer that people can not get elsewhere.

Religion is not the source of morality, as we all here know, everything is natural and does come ...

TheMiddleWay comments on Feb 7, 2020:

"That is why religion is, and increasingly is, only a source of bad ideas, especially in areas such morality, " So "thou shall not kill" or "thou shall not lie" are both bad ideas because they comes from a religious source and not a secular one? Interesting... ;) Theres a distinction between ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 7, 2020:

No that misreads it, it says. "It did of course inherit and get infected with a few good ideas, which it kept, as long as they were those that could be made to live with the evil ones without conflict, so that it could present them at the front of the shop as a smiling face to sell the product." And religion does indeed sell many good ideas such as. "You shall not kill." The point however is that it sells those good ideas less and less as time goes by, and it increasingly sells the holy war, and. "Thou shall killl in the name of your god." Because that is the direction it is moving in, and it is moving that way and becoming ever more the realm of people who want to do harm, because as secular morality improves, it is the people with evil intent increasingly turn to religion as their mode of life.

Religion is not the source of morality, as we all here know, everything is natural and does come ...

Nardi comments on Feb 7, 2020:

I don't feel that main stream religions will knowingly entertain evil ideas of morality as a way to remain relevant and/or popular. They may be naive but they sure as hell are not dumb they will know that promoting evil will lead to their demise. The world is becoming a smaller place and once the ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 7, 2020:

True but the English churches are dying despite embracing good ideas. Because they are in a market place where many others are selling good ideas at far less a price. Yet the hard line evangelicals and the racist churches grow and prosper.

Hi there.

Cast1es comments on Feb 7, 2020:

I can't see you in it . Are you tiny ?

Fernapple replies on Feb 7, 2020:

Right hand side of the photo, on the triangle of grass just in front of the cars.

Religion is not the source of morality, as we all here know, everything is natural and does come ...

DavidLaDeau comments on Feb 7, 2020:

If god is the source of morality then it is subjective. If god is not the source of morality god is not necessary. I disagree with the authors statement that "which left religion with the ONLY role of promoting bad ideas". The idea of Christianity is doing good in the modern theology. The ideas ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 7, 2020:

The point is not that religion does not do a lot of good, or that good people do not belong to religions, the point is that the direction that it has now got to take is that of promoting bad ideas, simply because it has nowhere else to go. So that while there are now many good ideas in religion, and it may in the past have done much good, it will increasingly attract bad people, because they have nowhere else to go as secular morality improves, and it will find that the only thing it can sell are bad ideas because others are selling the good ones better.

A couple months ago, a local skeptic organization screened the documentary, "Hail Satan?

Allamanda comments on Dec 21, 2019:

One could compare with the UUs - this is from Wikipedia. There's less of a jokey or defiant posture of course if you enjoy that. Unitarian Universalist Association Adopted in 1960... The Principles are expressed, We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 7, 2020:

@Allamanda No it does not appeal to me either, I always thought that a movement based only on negative views can not last, and has no appeel to me,especially if its opponent fades away. If that happens then it will either have to die or reinvent itself as religions always seem to. But I do not live in a theocracy like the US, so that perhaps an organization which gives hurt people a chance to vent, is no bad thing, where it is needed.