If "god" fixes all ailments, why do religious people trust doctors and science more than "god"?

Benthoven comments on Oct 7, 2017:

Ironically, I don't think that they realize they do. When they get sick--especially if it's serious, they run to a doctor, but still continue to "pray." Although in extreme cases, they won't seek medical help at all.

What is the non-theist replacement for "I'll pray for you?"

Benthoven comments on Dec 26, 2017:

"I'll think for you."

So I was sitting in traffic during the afternoon commute today when I saw part of a billboard up ...

Benthoven comments on Mar 17, 2018:

It’s ironic that they want me to believe that Jesus can free “me,” and yet they’re so bound up in fear, paranoia, anger, animosity, hostility, insecurity... If I were looking for freedom, those are the very things I would want to be free from.

Chris Rock’s ‘bet he white’ joke about mass shooters slammed as ‘racist' - AOL Entertainment

Benthoven comments on Aug 8, 2019:

First of all, racists don't even know the meaning of the word racism. And that's the first problem. Then there's the "outrage" at being called out, and the need to say that it's someone else being racist, and not you. And I really don't think there's such a thing as "racism" against white people in this country. Based on the definition of racism as I read it, it's just not possible. Prejudice, yes. But not racism. And this quote is priceless: “If a white person posted this about black people their career would be over but when it’s the other way around nobody gives two s***s,” when police are killing black people, our President attacks black people, Fox "news" attacks black people. The problem is, Racist Conservatives are so fragile they just can't handle a joke... especially when it's true. As for the post, I've been seeing it all over my social media, and until the title of this article spelled it out, I totally didn't get it. "D'oh!"

Nudists?

Benthoven comments on Feb 8, 2018:

Not necessarily a big fan... There are some things that cannot be unseen, which is why I make sure to wear extra clothes. ;)

Can anyone do this in only four words?

Benthoven comments on Jun 30, 2018:

The earth banished God

Did I read this correctly [myfox8.com]

Benthoven comments on Nov 14, 2018:

Trumpanzees are ugly ugly people. Isn't it ironic that those who refuse to believe in evolution cannot themselves evolve?

I grew up with a Catholic father, and a Southern Baptist mother.

Benthoven comments on Dec 23, 2017:

I was AG for a while. OMFG... There really isn't any way to explain to evangelicals how "pagan" their religion really is. They just don't want to see it.

Something for you people that drank last night to stare at! LOL Enjoy!

Benthoven comments on Jul 7, 2018:

Three superheroes for the price of one.

I give ya something to cry about!!!

Benthoven comments on Jan 15, 2019:

Not to mention the "Dark Ages" (yes I know they don't call them that anymore, but I do). If we weren't always fighting the church, we probably would be a freakin' Star Trek society by now.

Genes are amazing..... my niece 6 months and me when I was 6 months.....

Benthoven comments on Aug 23, 2018:

When I was in school and up through my thirties, my family was surprised at how much I looked like my dad's brother, Nick. My sister and I used to joke that we had different dads. My mom never thought it was funny, so it's something we only did among us. But now that I'm older, I'm really started to wear my dad's face... and he wants it back.

Here’s an easy quiz: if a theist told you “I believe in god because my faith provides me with an...

Benthoven comments on Jun 7, 2018:

That's why I beleive in Allah!

Out to dinner

Benthoven comments on Nov 23, 2018:

In the words of the great Homer Simpson... "D'oh!"

Drive-in movies

Benthoven comments on May 12, 2018:

We used to sneak in through the trunk, with tonz-o-booze. To this day I don't remember actually "watching" a movie. We were mostly out drinking, having fun, and for my part, making friends with a Saint Bernard who was the only guy who would listen to me.

How do you deal with Door-knockers?

Benthoven comments on Dec 24, 2017:

Baby oil and a dirty magazine.

Yup it's true..sorry kids.

Benthoven comments on Jun 18, 2018:

I guess it's okay. They only serve house Vodka there.

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

Benthoven comments on Jun 28, 2018:

Quoth the Raven.

Finding someone who believes and feels the same as you is the most compatible thing to do:) It sure ...

Benthoven comments on Apr 13, 2018:

I don’t think there’s anyone who thinks and believes like I do. There are always going to be differences: caused by perspective, location, upbringing, filters, gender, nationality, culture... I think ‘values’ are the secret. That we share a set of ‘compatible’ values.

Whoever named Newfoundland just wasn’t even trying.

Benthoven comments on Aug 2, 2018:

Maybe they were trying to score more points in Words with Friends.

Without a doubt, semantics are the cause of more disagreements on this site than the fundamental ...

Benthoven comments on May 21, 2018:

Words have two different types of meanings. There's the 'denotative' meaning: it's dictionary definition, and the 'connotative' meaning: or the emotional aspect of that word. I've noticed that most discussions rarely focus around the denotative meaning, but the connotative.

Favorite books of fiction?

Benthoven comments on Mar 22, 2018:

I happen to love the Harry Potter books. The movies too, but the books are more in-depth/involved. I read the Lord of the Ring series when I was younger, but in a way I like the movies better. I have not read or seen Game of Thrones, but I hear it’s an amazing series. Even to this day, I enjoy the Chronicles of Narnia. But my all-time favorite book is Dracula. NOT the movies. There have been no movies that have done the book any justice. The brilliance of telling the story through the journals of those who were living the story, and the psychological warfare the monster played with his victims... it was all far more frightening than the blood.

Sad but true..

Benthoven comments on Jan 15, 2019:

Until Canada finally conquers our government we'll never have medicare for all. But once the Canadians take over, we'll be such a better country.

If There Was a God, Ann Coulter's mother Would Have Eaten Her at Birth. Film at 11

Benthoven comments on Jun 28, 2018:

Sigh! It's not too late.

A thought just struck me.

Benthoven comments on Dec 23, 2017:

How about turning failure into money? That's the real miracle.

because - someone's gotta pay... ;)

Benthoven comments on Apr 5, 2019:

That review was obviously written by a prejudice quacker. I suspect some serious quackery here.

It is truly perplexing to me when Christians act as if their opposition to abortion is rooted in a ...

Benthoven comments on Nov 20, 2018:

Personally, until God stops aborting fetuses, then the argument is moot.

Have you ever been "caught" by a family member?

Benthoven comments on May 31, 2018:

Caught doing what?

Neither did I

Benthoven comments on Nov 23, 2018:

On the other "hand..."

What are your thoughts on age gaps in a relationship?

Benthoven comments on Apr 8, 2018:

It depends on the gaps. Something I’ve “observed” as an author is that we tend to see “bodies” first. They’re hot, beautiful, sexy… but that’s all based on OUR idea of those words. Again, observation, we see in other (at first) what we see in our own fantasies. “He has the face of an angel.” “What a beautiful soul.” But soon, the real “them” comes out, and it’s not going to match our image of what they should be. If we still love them AS them, stripped of our projections, then age isn’t as big of a deal. But they have to feel the same way too. If they’re ‘just bodies’ to us, then at some point, no matter how ‘gorgeous, sexy, adorable, angelic’… they are, eventually, going to be themselves, and that means they’re going to stop being the “body” and start being them.

Yay! I got awarded $2,230 for each semester in college.

Benthoven comments on Mar 22, 2018:

If I may quote the great philosopher:

Anti-Vampire Mob Kills Eight In Malawi, Forces Out U.N.

Benthoven comments on Dec 7, 2017:

Those who say that people are basically good inside never stop to read stories like this.

What is your own opinion about the Law of Attraction?

Benthoven comments on Mar 5, 2018:

I think it's brutal and perverse. It's another way of blaming the victim. Did something horrible happen to you? Well, you attracted it by your thinking. Want money, then attract it. Don’t have money, that’s because you’re making it work against you. Some people even go so far as to refuse to hang out with poor people, or fat people, or people with whom they consider “negative” so that they don’t attract those things to their lives. If something bad does happen, say, you were attacked,, then that’s because you and your attacker got together before you came here and agreed that this was how you were going to work things out. It’s kind of a “spiritual” blame the victim scheme.

Funny Hats! Why do almost all religions include funny hats?

Benthoven comments on Jul 6, 2019:

It goes with the gown and brings out their eyes.

Damn forangers

Benthoven comments on Jan 15, 2019:

I blame Foreigner for a lot of things. Thanks to them I'm Cold as Ice while at the same time, Hot Blooded. I wanted to be a Jukebox Hero, but That was Yesterday. Now I'm just a Dirty White Boy with Double Vision playing Head Games while Waiting for a Girl Like You.

PH Mythology: Separating pHacts from pHiction

Benthoven comments on Feb 8, 2018:

The story I hear is that it's inflammation that causes the most problems. But now I hear that it's "more complicated than that." https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/inflammation-both-friend-and-foe/

What is the position of religion in philosophy? I want to know your opinion

Benthoven comments on Jun 28, 2018:

Religion is a philosophy, albeit less informed that many philosophies.

My Shaman stone I got 2 days ago.

Benthoven comments on Aug 4, 2018:

Okay... but where's the punchline?

Make house for homeless rather than mosque ? or church ⛪

Benthoven comments on Aug 23, 2018:

I would say do both...

After sneezing in public, someone says "Bless you", do you say thank you? If not, what DO you say?

Benthoven comments on Jun 22, 2018:

I say, "Thank you." Seriously, I'm not that narrow.

What's your favourite toilet paper?

Benthoven comments on Jan 30, 2019:

I like to use Trump's Art of the Deal.

Head shoulders knees and toes. LOL

Benthoven comments on Jun 28, 2018:

My favorite version of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTKmhj2edQ0

Do You Pay It Forward?

Benthoven comments on Mar 10, 2018:

I try to do nice things when I can, and, for me, it’s important that they don’t know I did it. I feel weird if people know I bought their coffee or that I sent the letter of commendation because the person who helped me was so exceptional. If they know I did, then it feels (to me) more like a transaction and not an actual gift. I want that person to treat me exactly as they would if they had no idea I did anything for them.

One may not always be but should be.

Benthoven comments on Feb 16, 2019:

All of that means nothing without a martini at the end of the day.

Intuition versus rational decision making: "analysis paralysis" overthinking and putting off a ...

Benthoven comments on Dec 12, 2017:

Rational thinking, I think, is tough on us humans. We don't DO rational very well (at least not yet) and our brains are still hardwired to our emotions. Still, we try to keep rationality in the mix. Yet if we get too rational we lose empathy, and that's just as bad. I also think intuition is part of our evolutionary history (and we haven't figured out how to use it well). Out in the jungle, if something was sneaking up on us, our survival depended upon our ability to "sense" that even if we couldn't see it. If I'm walking down the street and someone's following me, I've got to suss out if they're just going the same direction I am, or if they have nefarious motives. I think this is why we have practice dealing with emergency situations, so that "instinct" can take over. Fire drills, earthquake drills... self-defense classes... all of these "teach" us how to better understand intuition, while helping us balance that with reason. We get better at each of these if we practice them. One of the best books on the subject is called The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals. https://www.amazon.com/Gift-Fear-Gavin-Becker-ebook/dp/B0036Z9U2A/ The book talks about how situations arise that carry with them warning signals. In some cases, it takes a certain amount of intuition, in others it's more common and recognizable if you know what you're looking for. As with so many things in life, knowledge and awareness are the key.

And the difference is

Benthoven comments on Jul 1, 2018:

Illegal... but way more fun.

In the wake of the Las Vegas shooting, I keep hearing Republicans say that it's premature to discuss...

Benthoven comments on Oct 6, 2017:

Having spent years in fundamentalist churches, I'm familiar with their arguments. Rather than argue about whether or not prayer works, I remind them how Jesus prayed. He didn't think that God was supposed to do his work for him. This is especially obvious in his Sermon on the Mount. I then remind them what Jesus' brother had to say on the subject: "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." So I remind them that thoughts and prayers aren't enough. They're going to need to do something. Does it work? Rarely. But I don't think they're going to listen to anything else.

Do ever think to yourself, Self, I wish there was a site where there was no discussion of religion ...

Benthoven comments on Aug 9, 2018:

Well, the name "Agnostic.com" suggest that it's tied to thoughts and ideas about reality or spirituality. Neil DeGrasse Tyson has a great Facebook page where that's exactly what people do, get together and talk science. It's pretty interesting. Its nice to see that there are some pretty smart people out there.

How do YOU cope?

Benthoven comments on Jun 10, 2018:

My brother-in-law was one of the sixteen maries killed over Mississippi last year, and it has been brutal. When friends ask how I'm doing, I tell them, "I'm riding the wave. When it's up, I'm up. When it's down, I'm down. When it's crashing... then I hang on for dear life." There's nothing more that I can do. A friend of mine gave me this book, and it was a great help. It's called, "It's Okay that You're not Okay," and it has some powerful insights into grief and we can integrate it into our lives while allowing it to be what it is. https://www.amazon.com/Its-That-Youre-Not-Understand-ebook/dp/B073XXYKLP/

Do you hold doors for women?

Benthoven comments on Mar 5, 2018:

I'll hold the door for whoever is behind me.

You can find anything on the internet with Google.

Benthoven comments on Aug 2, 2018:

I hate it when I did that. I once locked my keys in my car and then it started pouring down rain... and the seats were soaked because the top was down.

"You should always keep an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out.

Benthoven comments on Apr 17, 2018:

Bottom's Up!

The great “dick” debate I keep having this ONE person telling me I’m sexist because I use...

Benthoven comments on Jun 6, 2019:

People are becoming waaaaayyyyyy too sensitive.

I wonder what they were cooking up in the lab? So there's holy water and this one...

Benthoven comments on Dec 3, 2018:

Yah, but if you don't, you're just going to spend your life wondering what would have happened if you did.

We meet in real life. How do you greet me?

Benthoven comments on Dec 7, 2017:

I think a lot of it depends on how well we know each other and how comfortable I am around you.

When someone calls me ugly, I get super sad and hug them because I can only imagine how tough life ...

Benthoven comments on Nov 26, 2018:

I'm not ugly, I'm just having a bad-face day... well year... oh whatever. But in my defense, nobody's turned to stone from looking at me (either the good way or the bad way).

CHRISTMAS MUSIC THAT DOESN'T SUCK....

Benthoven comments on Dec 5, 2017:

To be honest I love Christmas music. I'm not a fan of Mariah Carey or Elvis, but there are many others I like. For starters, I like those guys who make fun of Christmas, like Dennis Leary many years ago when he released A Merry F&^$ing Christmas. Weird Al's Christmas at Ground Zero, and of course Bob Rivers parodies... My favorite being "The Restroom Door Said Gentlemen." My Christmas taste is rather eclectic. I have A metal version of Silent night, A dance version of it, and a classical version... and I love them all. A few years ago I purchased the Twisted Sister Christmas album. I think it's about the style of music, but also about interpretation. There are only ten actual Christmas song which get get covered by just about every musician on earth, but it's how they hear that song, and how they translate it. I also really enjoy Danny Elfman's Nightmare Before Christmas.

What is the correlation between intelligence and a sense of humor?

Benthoven comments on Oct 10, 2018:

Well, the smarter YOU are, the smarter your humor will tend to be.

Whats the best argument for wining over a religious person? For efforts of trying to convert.

Benthoven comments on Jul 12, 2018:

There really isn't an argument. If this were a reasonable argument, we wouldn't be having it. When beliefs are challenged, they dig in, and become even more defensive. The best thing to do is ask them questions that cause them to think about what they're really saying, and hope that they might someday notice the gaps.

Ever wake up in such a horrible mood (for no reason) that you walk around cussing and grumbling all ...

Benthoven comments on Feb 8, 2018:

And the coffee didn't help? ;) That sometimes happens to me too. Sometimes it's because of a dream I had which puts in me a foul mood, or sometimes it's the way I slept, it could be my medications, they can mess with my head a bit as well. And people wonder why I put Vodka in my cereal.

What if you are wrong and there IS a god

Benthoven comments on Jan 12, 2018:

I’m often the recipient of Pascal’s Wager, and whenever I’m asked, “What do you lose?” my response is always this: “You lose your soul.” And Christians are proof of that. When you give your life over to anything or anyone—you give your life away: including your conscience, your will, and your heart. This is why they're so comfortable telling us that god loves us, AND he’s going to torture us forever just to show you just how much he loves us. Their god is an alcoholic father and their psychology is that of the children of alcoholics. When god is sober, he’s loving and kind and giving… but when he’s on a bender, it’s hell-fire and brimstone in the most torturous way. To that end, most Christians suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome because of it. I am told often that "Christians are “loving,” and while I can partially agree with that statement, I ultimately come down here: they can’t be totally loving—not as long as they never call into question their god’s predilection to eternal torture, or his lack of concern to the suffering of humankind. Love does not torture, and love would not accept torture as a possibility. If a Christian has to convert me because they’re afraid I will be tortured, then there’s nothing loving about that… that’s fear, and naturally, that makes your motives suspect. Keeping with the hell meme: a loving god wouldn’t send anyone to hell. The loving thing to do would be to send you back and make you do it again until you get it right. Therefore, if God were truly loving, he would reincarnate you, rather than torture you forever. But ultimately I ask this question: “You show me one person—just one—suffering in hell right now, and I’ll consider your hypothesis.

Topless men but not women on profile pics.

Benthoven comments on Dec 24, 2017:

Topless men? Where... WHERE?

Do they know the meaning of the word unconditional?

Benthoven comments on Aug 9, 2018:

The farce is strong with this one.

One picture worth 1000 words.

Benthoven comments on Oct 1, 2018:

It's disturbing, but true.

What does it mean to be open/closed minded?

Benthoven comments on Nov 13, 2017:

For me, I think it's about beliefs. Beliefs are basically giant generalizations we make about the world around us. It's baked into the cake. it's the way the mind works. And from an evolutionary standpoint, it seems to makes sense. I've read that we have thousands of thoughts ever day: between fifty and seventy-thousand thoughts per day. It makes sense that the mind is going to try and find a way to simplify things. Where we become "narrow," is where we refuse to challenge our beliefs, even in the presence of data. So, to me, holding onto an ideology even in the presence of data and facts... that's narrow mindedness.

So atheist or agnostic men don't shave, huh?

Benthoven comments on Jan 11, 2018:

That's news to me.

Bored this morning and scrolling and started reading some of the "cities" y'all are from and I'm ...

Benthoven comments on Apr 13, 2019:

Enumclaw Washington... been there a time or two. I'm from Seattle, about three days drive north of you (mostly because traffic has become untenable). I was just back there this year, and it was one of those rare sunny days. Man what a beautiful area. And I've heard "Y'all" coming from many Washington folks.

Do you have any beliefs that aren't supported by evidence?

Benthoven comments on Feb 13, 2018:

I tend to ask for evidence when people say things to me that sound "untrue," but I have a ton of beliefs that I'm not even aware of, so it's possible that they're back there. Unfortunately, I don't find out about them until someone says something that's opposite that belief, then I get my hackles up, and that's how I know I have a belief... because it's just been challenged. But I've said often that "beliefs only happen in the absence of data," and therefore any belief would, by definition, be unsupported by evidence. Once evidence is present, there's no need to believe anymore. Still, I have lots of beliefs that I allow to hang out because they're useful. For instance: I "know" that ghosts and demons and other mythical creatures don't exist, but as a writer, and one who writes about ghosts and vampires and demons, I allow myself to think about them 'logically' as if I did believe in them. I know magic isn't real, but I'll watch Harry Potter over and over and over again. I understand mythology is simply a series of stories we tell ourselves about the world around us, but I still love the Lord of the Rings trilogy. So much that I've read the book a hundred times, and spent the extra pennies on the special version of the movies that added in all the extra scenes. I'm pretty sure that nothing happens after we die, but I still play with what it would be like to come back as a ghost, or to have to find my way to the gods the way the Egyptians did, or what Heaven might look like if it were real. For me, it's about the story. While these things can't happen in real life, they can in our minds, and that fascinates me. In my mind I can come back from the dead, levitate the TV remote to me when I forget to bring it with me, or point my finger and make something appear from thin air. These things happen in my head while I read or tell the story. So I play with them.

Open minded?

Benthoven comments on Nov 20, 2018:

I think it means being aware of what you think, and especially about what you 'believe', and being willing to challenge those beliefs any time new information comes to light...

Trump tells US spy chiefs: 'Go back to school' President Donald Trump has called US intelligence ...

Benthoven comments on Jan 30, 2019:

We are so screwed as a nation.

Hahahahaha. So accurate!

Benthoven comments on Aug 16, 2018:

The ability to think like a Conservative.

God's will

Benthoven comments on Apr 21, 2018:

When someone talks to me about ‘God’s will,’ I ask, “Do I have to spend the night in a creepy house with Mystery, Inc. before I get what God willed to me?”

After reading Jesus Interrupted by Bart Erhman where he states that lay people know so little about ...

Benthoven comments on Oct 22, 2018:

The only way to get them to see those inconsistencies is get them to read the gospels in the first place, and they would rather do anything else than read the gospels... despite how much they claim to love them.

This is one of two requests for projects on which I am working: Do you have Generalized Anxiety ...

Benthoven comments on Dec 5, 2017:

Do I have GAD or does it have me? I tend to think that it has me...

Should Jesusween replace Halloween?

Benthoven comments on Oct 28, 2017:

Brilliant. I say, why not. Then we can have a war over Halloween as well.

45's all classy and shit!

Benthoven comments on Jan 15, 2019:

Evangelicals worship him as Jesus, while the rest of us know he's actually Satan.

"Oh my god!", "go to hell!", "Jesus Christ!", "soulmate" and other phrases featuring religious ...

Benthoven comments on Mar 3, 2018:

People that get all freaked out over these terms are no different than Christian Fundamentalists. The idea of being a "free thinker" is that we have honor the right of others to their own process. If you're going to censure me when I speak, then I have no desire to hang around. I did my time with fundemantalists, I'm done with that.

I took myself to lunch ! When I was still dating an over-the-top god person, we discovered this...

Benthoven comments on Sep 28, 2019:

Many years ago I read a book called, "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. She recommends that we set up a time to have a date with ourselves every week. I tried it, but I kept taking myself to cheesy movies, bad restaurants, and loud concerts. It was when I asked myself to meet my parents that I knew I had taken it too far.

Do you fear death?

Benthoven comments on Jan 18, 2018:

I really don't fear death... dying on the other hand, frightens me. I too have lost many that I love... spectacularly... and it's something very difficult for the mind to wrap itself around. That's because we are not used to "not being." Even when we're sleeping, we're dreaming, and so there's still some form of consciousness at work. I think the best way to look at is is within the context of a surgery or medical procedure. If you've ever had to have anesthesia administered to you, you'll notice that the moment the anesthesia takes affect, you're gone. You don't feel anything, you have no awareness. When they wake you up, you remember nothing past the moment you 'fell asleep.' But I think it's okay to fear it. I think that as humans we do many things around death. We fear it, we anticipate it, we court it, we play with it, we ignore it, we pretend we can beat it... but ultimately we know, nobody gets out of here alive. All of those responses are how the mind has figured out how to deal with the ultimate. We are capable of having all those feelings at the same time, and we've been taught to run away from them, but if we get to know them, they become allies. They can help us get more out of life and even more out of death.

Only 22 more points to go until I reach level 6.

Benthoven comments on Aug 17, 2018:

I've been stuck on level 7 for almost a year.

It seems things never change

Benthoven comments on Jun 28, 2018:

I have a character I created called "Mister Bitch." It's about a guy who bitches about everything.

I have always asked myself how a black person could be a Republican, as I seek answers, I landed on ...

Benthoven comments on Sep 19, 2018:

In his book, "Blink" Malcolm Gladwell shows a series of experiments were black and white people were asked to answer a series of questions quickly... without being given time to think... It turned out that both black men, and white men were prone to be more nervous when a black man entered a room. He goes into far more detail, but it's an amazing read. It explains a lot of ways racism has been so pervasive and we don't even recognize it. In fact, most of those taking the tests, even those who claimed they weren't racist had to "think" (or hijack their immediate response) before they could give a non-racist answer. It was just so ingrained. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking https://www.amazon.com/Blink-Power-Thinking-Without/dp/0316010669

MIZ!!! College Football is right around the corner. What is your favorite team?

Benthoven comments on Aug 23, 2018:

Football's coming up? I've got to sharpen my racquet and polish my bat.

Let's give him a choice...

Benthoven comments on Aug 7, 2018:

Unless the KFC gets him first.

Who's your Celebrity Crush or crushes?

Benthoven comments on Oct 18, 2018:

Man, that's a tough one. When you say "celebrity," do you mean the actual celeb, or the characters they play? And Does it have to be only one, or can I have a couple? And finally, how do I narrow it down all the beauties that grace my TV screen? But top of the list are the Winchester Brothers from Supernatural, followed by Castiel the Angel. I've had a life-long crush on Brad Pitt, which still goes strong, despite the beard (which I'm not that into). Ryan Reynolds... Jus' sayin'

This timeline shows the entire history of the Universe, and where it's headed

Benthoven comments on May 9, 2018:

Well I guess that explains why it never returns any of my phone calls.

Was Jesus a real person?

Benthoven comments on Oct 6, 2017:

I think that there are two "messiahs" mentioned in the New Testament. There's Jesus, the Jew, the peasant from Nazareth, and Christ, the creation of Saul/Paul. Paul's "Christ" is a Hellenistic deity who came to earth, ascended to Hades, released the prisoners, and then came back from the dead. Paul never once mentions Jesus by name, talks about his family, or even talks about Jesus and what he thought his mission was supposed to be. Jesus was one of many would-be messiahs in Palestine who thought he could bring God back to his temple and rule Israel. Unfortunately, the Gospels were written well after Jesus was killed, and were highly influenced by Paul, so knowing who he was and what he stood for is next to impossible.

Do you believe in fate?

Benthoven comments on Oct 10, 2017:

It seems that for some, life tends to take on a purpose. They are led, almost pushed in a particular direction. While others go through life with no apparent direction at all.

Where do y'all fall in this?

Benthoven comments on May 12, 2018:

I "define" God as that part of the Universe that recognizes itself and looks to figure itself out.

The moon

Benthoven comments on Mar 3, 2018:

We've seen the moon. We're moving on. We're headed to Mars, Saturn, the Sun. There's not a lot we can do there... at least for now.

Hi, I'm new.

Benthoven comments on Sep 28, 2019:

I dated a fundamentalist... It didn't end well. I wish you luck, and I hope that things can work out. But more than anything, take care of yourself. One of the challenges that I faced so many times is the way my partner and his friends tried to steal my very soul in the name of their god.

Do you have any dietary restriction or are there any foods you can't or won't eat?

Benthoven comments on Mar 13, 2018:

They call it the unholy trio: Alcohol, caffeine, and sugar. I love all those things. Still, I keep my drinking to a minimum, I try to avoid processed foods, and don’t really add sugar to anything. But coffee... that’s the one crutch that I cannot live without. And don’t say ‘decaffeinated.’

Maybe it's time to start picketing outside churches, especially on Sundays.

Benthoven comments on Aug 23, 2018:

I think it depends on the church. If it's a church that pickets Pride parades, Abortion Clinics, things like that, then "maybe..." Maybe if you handed out science literature... But it's something that could backfire bigly...

Excessive use of the word fuck.

Benthoven comments on Jun 7, 2019:

Fuckin' awesome. Now I don't have to go all by my fucking self. I can hang out with other fuckers.

Ever notice how you can want or need something in a very big way, and still forget about it?

Benthoven comments on Feb 8, 2018:

Or worse, have several different cups of coffee all over the house because you keep forgetting you poured one already.

I really feel like I'm going to drop out of college.

Benthoven comments on Jul 3, 2018:

As someone who's quit on a lot of dreams, you live to regret it, and it can eat you up a little bit--or a lot. Especially if you spend the rest of your life doing something you never wanted to do in the first place. There are a billion reasons that the curriculum isn't tracking with you, and once you figure that out, you'll find it extremely useful. Some people need 'hands on' to get the information. Others need to 'see' the process... There are probably some really great tutorials on YouTube if you know what you're looking for. It was recommended that you work for a dentist--or even volunteer an hour or two. Do you have friends in the class who will sit with you over lunch and chat about the course?

Favorite funny, satirical or spoof msuci video?

Benthoven comments on Mar 22, 2018:

This one still cracks me up! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqqZWAhNRlE

What do you miss about being a kid?

Benthoven comments on Apr 13, 2018:

That I could eat anything I wanted and not gain a pound.

You know, for years I've been urging people not to eat Spam unless it's wild-caught.

Benthoven comments on Jan 20, 2019:

This is great to know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QdPW8JrYzQ

What is the most interesting thing you have seen from an airplane?

Benthoven comments on Nov 20, 2018:

More horrific than interesting...

I'm an open book so ask me anything.

Benthoven comments on Feb 22, 2018:

Which is quicker, to Brooklyn or by bus?