@MissKathleen

Thank you. I took this sunset photo at Emerald Lake, in Necklace Valley, WA. Sunset set the cliffs afire, first gold, then red.

"Fucking" anything nicely secularises pretty much everything.

@prometheus Feels amazing, too.

Whip it good!

I once used it to describe a foreskin. Got a blank stare in response.

For sure a lot of the world's problems and especially America's are caused by really bad math - especially statistics which is actually frequently counter intuitive (Monty Hall problem anyone?). If people knew statistics they definitely wouldn't waste weeks of their lives on their knees praying...

To the rest of us a miracle is just a good black swan event.

@prometheus Well said

Why so angry at my answer...what did I say that got you so riled up?

Among atheists saying "miracle" is generally understood to not require divine intervention, but I feel like just using that word gives power to those that though there is a personal god doling out miracles like cotton candy or Presidential pardons.

@prometheus That is probably because the word has been misappropriated by the religious.

@prometheus Bingo! You win today's cookie.

Surely magic doesn't exist just the skill to develope an illusion of magic. Nevertheless less it still remains on everyone's wish list. The pity is eg. in trying to magic up a Million dollars is that it stops people thinking about how to get a million dollars without magic.

@Mcflewster Surely, miracles don't exist, just the skill to develop an illusion of miracles.

Well if there was a word for a singular event. I think serendipitous could work... "it was serendipitous", or "it was serendipity" cover a lot of use cases. But wishing someone "good serendipity" might take some explaining.

TIL "Thaumaturgy".

Sensation sounds too sensationally - requiring a spectacle. Serendipity is starting to warm with me.

I love Unlikely Phenomenon on 34th Street but the idea of Santa Claus makes me ill. I also love The Sensation Worker but it changes the story.

Science and math the shit out of it? Could work but would probably need to be ridiculously prevelant to have effect.

Or maybe just devalue it mockingly. "Woke up this morning and the sun rise - it's a miracle!"

dumb luck

@Dougl35534 that works in some cases, but in others I'd want something with more positive connotations. I would wish my friend having a lung transplant "dumb luck" in the outcome.

Shhhhh, don't tell them that, with math like that they will assume you are a witch!

It’s just a word. It can mean whatever you want. It isn’t a fiction just a word...no need to capitalise it, it isn’t about religion unless you make it so.

I didn't mean it in that sense. I think it is fair to look for a work that expenses empathy with someone in the hope they get a positive outcome in a statistically unfavorable situation. And a more positive word or phrase than "I wish you a snowball's chance on hell".

@prometheus frankly I URGE Atheists to stop minimizing the evils of religion.....millions of baby boys are tortured and harmed for life during/after CIRCUMCISION..... the alleged miracle of childbirth is promptly followed by the barbarity of antiquity ....how quickly the great Ayaan Hirsi Ali is forgotten after her book condemning ritual genital mutilation that slices off the labia and clitoris from her body and millions of girls from Africa.... I refuse to remain silent during our community discussions about words that kill, maim, brainwash and rape

@prometheus empathy for 2 living rapist popes ? KAROL Wotjyla alias jp2 branded a "saint" responsible for 2 alleged miracles???? It is worse than a crock of shit to let these miracle bad boys remain revered rather than condemned universally...... mirroring and enabling believers hopes for miracles IS NOT EMPATHY.... if you really want to help them, discuss real solutions, Express sympathy for their pains/fears ....there is no hell to suggest snow balls melt there so if prospectS for success are nearest zero BE HONEST and say I shall Google search for someone working on such a problem....prEyer and miracles are 100% failure activities

Yeah it is too easy to say "good luck" and have it come across as sarcastic, but said sincerely with empathy it should work. Fortune works but doesn't exactly roll off the tongue in all cases.

@prometheus said with sincereity and empathy..."good luck".....nope ...doesn't work for me.. thanks though

@HankSherman a sad statement of the times that "I'll pray for you" could come across as more sincere than "good luck".

@prometheus thats true, I always took "I'll pray for you" with a grain of salt....and considering that I have had "good luck" as a saying for many years, am sadden that some prick used it in a sarcastic way , and it seem to have caught on. So.....I agree on your comment

@MissKathleen I Am American by birth. My genetics are literally more Britt. Than most britts. My grandfather was from Canada and thought he was french. Nope. He made up the name when he immigrated to the U.S.

The avatar is something I use online as CompelledUnbeliever the name of my Youtube Channel. The Celtic knot was stolen from the celts and made into a Christian symbol for the trinity. So as a joke I stole it, my daughter added the red "A" and now it is my personal atheist avatar!

@MissKathleen The celtic knot existed in the Celt culture before the Christians Christianized it. I simply commadeered it for myself in that tradition.