David1955's Profile

UK secularism on rise as more than half say they have no religion [theguardian.com]

David1955 comments on Jul 11, 2019:

I congratulate my British cousins for moving in the right direction. I have read before that the actual functional participating Christians in the UK, compared to notional census form Christians, is very low. I think this is true generally speaking in so-called Christian countries. However, Islam is on the rise. That's a worry.

Understanding Unbelief – Understanding Unbelief is a major new research programme aiming to ...

David1955 comments on Jul 11, 2019:

This reminds me how much I like the term "Unbelievers" and wish it had been the name of this site, instead of the more specific Agnostic.com. By the by, I note that the link "Unbelieve.org" to this site has been abandoned. Shame.

Atheism Is Inconsistent with the Scientific Method, Prizewinning Physicist Says - Scientific ...

David1955 comments on Jul 10, 2019:

I see you've found another bright shiny thing to get agnostics and atheists at each other's throats again on this site, Middle. Of course. Well, I'm not going to be distracted from MY goal: opposing religion!

For the past week I've been beside my best friend and his 2 sisters as their mother entered the end ...

David1955 comments on Jul 9, 2019:

I went through the same thing for my own mother only last January. The whole week time stopped. All of the arguments evaporate, and you just deal with it, believer or non believer. My siblings are believers, while I am defiantly not. We all went through it the same. In the end, for all of us, that's the reality of it. I like to think that the non religious face these things as honestly as we can. Like you are.

Is Socrates right about Democracy?

David1955 comments on Jul 8, 2019:

Looking at these MAGATs -- Make America Great Again Trumpsters -- and similar delusionals in my own country, perhaps he was right. Democracy is based on the assumption that people might actually think sometimes. Sadly, that's too hard for many, addicted to reality ? television and internet froth. Depressing.

if there is not God, I would like to know where did everything come from?

David1955 comments on Jul 2, 2019:

Carl Sagan nailed that one back in the 80s. If god created the universe, then who created him? In turn, who or what created the thing that created the thing that created God? On it goes. Nothing explained. As he said, why not save the step of creating an imaginary thing and say, for now, the universe's creation is a mystery, but perhaps science will solve it. They've made a lot of progress since his 80s Cosmos series. A god explains nothing. Shame that religious people can't see that. I guess it makes them feel better, like children believing in Prince Charming and Cinderella.

My husband says, google is his god, because it knows everything and always has an answer for his ...

David1955 comments on Jun 29, 2019:

The Google thing is indeed tricky. I used to be a Mac guy; have been since the 80s. Now I'm a Google guy. I'm every bit as aware of the dangers of Google, but they give me what Apple does not -- all the online Google functions, Android phone, Google home, and I've just bought a Chromebook which was great value for money and fast as a rabbit. My expensive Mac died and I've had it with Apple and their over priced poorly made stuff. It's a whole set of integrated functions that I really like. But... but..I manage my Google account options carefully, and I use a private browser for most searching. I encourage others to do that also So, I exercise what control I can. God? No. But I cannot find a better alternative. And I don't refer to myself as agnostic, but atheist. My reasons are quite clear and ultimately stem from a total lack of evidence, and a rejection of all mysticism, supernaturalism and magic.

The Australian branded honey saga continues with Capilano Honey failing to provide evidence that ...

David1955 comments on Jun 23, 2019:

Dang! I used to eat their honey. I like honey a lot. I stopped buying their honey some time ago, though, when I read rumours it was full of junk.

From your personal experience, are some people simply not wired (say, neurologically or ...

David1955 comments on Jun 22, 2019:

I've been criticized before for saying something like this might be true. The 'born hard wired believers' notion. Some say we are all born atheist and socialisation is sorely responsible for religious belief. They criticise any idea that some people are born neurologically disposed to religion. I understand their objection. But I'm coming up to my 64th birthday (will you still love me....when I'm 64...!) and I have to say, from my experience, I really do think this, from the people I've known and observed. Yes, this is only subjective thinking, and experiential based, but I cannot deny it. It's depressing, since it suggests religion in some is in their wiring. On the bright side, I do think that the great majority of people are not born this way but acquire religion through family and culture, and mostly go along with it. If that is true, there is hope this might change over time in our evolution and future.

I’ve been claiming to be Agnostic for over a year and a half now, but I’m leaning more towards ...

David1955 comments on Jun 22, 2019:

Walk right this way....just a little bit further...pleased to have you in the fold.

Which famous atheist/nonreligious person do you admire the most.

David1955 comments on Jun 20, 2019:

There are many, but I have to say Bertrand Russell. His logic and thinking was exceptional on religion, as in so many things.

I am wondering to what extent people decide to be atheist/agnostic or just grow out of religion

David1955 comments on Jun 20, 2019:

There are some people who kind of out grow religion and become sort of non religious but a bit neutral about it. But I find when people declare openly that they're agnostic, and even more so atheist, it's a clear statement about where they stand, and it's more than just out growing religion. In my view, anyway.

Cool, just noticed the Star Trek fan part.

David1955 comments on Jun 20, 2019:

May the force be with you....Oh Dang.. wrong group.... Live long and prosper!

I have just encountered my first Newfoundland word jillick and what a smasher it it is.

David1955 comments on Jun 19, 2019:

What does the word mean? I assume it is not the contraction of Jill licking. :-)

Do you suspect there is an evangelical arm of atheism that wants to convert religious practitioners ...

David1955 comments on Jun 19, 2019:

Is that what you think? If so, how about coming out and saying it, instead of "Do you suspect....( because I do.) No, by the way, to your question. Evangelical Atheists? Convert? Come on man!

Fuck. We are in trouble. Chaplins in public schools. Fuck. [thebigsmoke.com.au]

David1955 comments on Jun 17, 2019:

Australia has been in trouble for years, because it believes its own bullshit. Delusional countries, like people, find reality crashes in eventually.

Definition of "The Law of Attraction": The law of attraction suggests that you can attract ...

David1955 comments on Jun 17, 2019:

So, The Universe is just another word for God, basically. I'll pass on the new age religion thanks. I wonder if Donald Trump got all his inherited millions by sending out positive vibes to the Universe?

Does anyone else struggle with hating religion?

David1955 comments on Jun 16, 2019:

I strongly oppose religion. I hate what it does in the world. I don't hate people for being religious. I strongly condemn religious hypocrites and phonies who exploit and use religion for financial or political gain. I focus on exposing religion for the delusion that it is, and believe religion should be criticised, condemned, exposed, and actively fought against in all constructive ways, and never give in to religious trickery or emotional blackmail, at which they excel. That what I focus on.

Overtime with Bill Maher.

David1955 comments on Jun 15, 2019:

It was a great episode.

Atheist media?

David1955 comments on Jun 14, 2019:

I like Secular Talk on YouTube, though Kyle K mainly talks about politics. Not a criticism, I share his left politics. Bill Maher. Essential watching.

How to murder children - Bible Style

David1955 comments on Jun 12, 2019:

Honestly, what would we do without Christianity? Oh, I know, we'd be thousand years ahead in progress in the Western world. I like Deuteronomy 21.21:. Stone them to death. The old ways are the best. :-) Revelations 2.23. Kill them with death. As Nathan R. Jessop, AKA Jack Nicholson might say, "Is there any other kind?"

What is the main difference between Social Democracy and Social Liberalism?

David1955 comments on Jun 12, 2019:

The latter isn't an established political theory, unlike social democracy. Social Democracy is a theory of system of government and society, based not on extreme socialism but a mixed economy and directed to fair social and economic outcomes. The word liberalism has been contorted badly by conservatives. Look at Neo-Liberalism, which had nothing to do with liberalism except to destroy it.

How would you score the mental gymnastics here?

David1955 comments on Jun 11, 2019:

An utterly reactive mind, devoid of contemplation or thought beyond immediate response based on self- interest. Sad and dangerous.

So, God is in control.

David1955 comments on Jun 11, 2019:

Yes, I think you are on to something but there, namely the total absence of logic and consistency in religious thinking. It first occurred to me as a teenager, 50 years ago. The second thing I discovered all those years ago is that never ask religionists about such questions; it only upsets them, unless you enjoy upsetting them, which I do.

I have been asked this question and don’t know the answer so I am wondering if any of you guys do...

David1955 comments on Jun 10, 2019:

Bob Hawke, said he was an atheist in the 80s, I think. Gillard too.

Or Jiffy Pop

David1955 comments on Jun 10, 2019:

Dang! I hope this poor actress was comfortable wearing this somewhat less than flattering costume. I heard the ST TOS was made on a shoestring, but alfoil bras?

Questions.

David1955 comments on Jun 10, 2019:

Yes, the site is America-centric and Christianity-centric, but it reflects the current membership. I would very much like it to be even more global in the future and standing up to religions generally. I wonder how many out there are afraid to criticize Islam like they do Xianity for fear of being called Islamaphobe? These politically correct times...

Just curious. Who would not have joined this forum if it was called atheist.com?

David1955 comments on Jun 9, 2019:

I wish it was called that.

Being agnostic and being a close-minded dick are 2 different things

David1955 comments on Jun 7, 2019:

Wow! What a strawman post. The points made by others dismissing the questionable assumptions in this post are well made. I've noticed more of these knife in the back posts recently about non-believers, coming more to bury than to praise Caesar.

PELL - the prick’s going to get off isn’t he!

David1955 comments on Jun 7, 2019:

Whatever happens, Pell is a finished discredited man. Only Catholic true believers could believe otherwise, and like all cultists there's no getting through to them.

A couple of times, in the movie, "Religulous," Atheist, Bill Maher, is asked, "What if you're ...

David1955 comments on Jun 5, 2019:

Richard Dawkins gave the most brilliant answer to that question some years back. It was perfect. Any atheist who doesn't know or hasn't heard it isn't fit to call themselves an atheist. The best answer in Maher's doc, in my view, was when some religious Johnny tried that old religious emotional blackmail trick of saying that nothing but religion fills the 'empty spiritual void inside' and Maher cut him of with a "Well can I at least try?" Took the wind out of that religious dude's sails. I really like BM.

A Sham Election In Australia I believe there are literally millions who are concerned at the depths...

David1955 comments on Jun 5, 2019:

I share your anger or frustration. Truth is, the Labor Party sold its soul to the "devil" in the 1980s. I mean Hawke / Keating. The devil was right wing economics. In return they won a few elections as they did the bidding of Corporate right wing Australia who tolerated them. It has been largely dispatched politically ever since. A deal with the devil never ends well. Having sold its soul, Labor is lost between a discredited ideology on the one hand, and zero credibility on progressive politics on the other. I see only massive reorganization of the ALP away from union factional control, and an ideological rejuvenation, as a path forward, but I have no confidence that it will work, and even less that it is capable to doing it. The ALP has allowed the Right to rewrite the Australian mindset towards gross individualism and self-interest, and a myopic view of the world. You can't ideologically gut a political party on the left and expect it will end well. As a progressive Australian I find it depressing. There's little point criticising the Right wing parties on what they do. They are there to defend Capital. Dirty politics is their playbook. It's the ALP that deserves our contempt, and we need to be clear where the blame lies.

Deadwood, The Movie. I've waited a long time for this.

David1955 comments on Jun 3, 2019:

Al's final words and the end of the film are perfect. He had his faults, but Al knew BS when he heard it. I won't spoil it if you haven't seen the movie. Overall, it's hard to recapture lightening in a bottle after so long, but they did their best. PS. I don't think the Hearst family will be pleased.

Who said “There is a sucker born every minute.” Or worse to that effect?

David1955 comments on Jun 2, 2019:

Trump says it everyday, everytime he thinks about his "base".

I have gravity issues: I’m always dropping things, knocking things over, ...

David1955 comments on Jun 2, 2019:

I totally get you. Me too. I have a theory that some of us don't belong in this universe. We belong in a universe where there is *selective gravity* - meaning it's there when you need it but not when you don't. It's hard for us, having it working all the time, I mean it's not natural for some of us. Whether we fell through the wrong portal, or what not, I don't know. So, you're not alone....... Oh poop, I just dropped my coffee mug... again! :-)

I've posted this before but every time I do I get berated for doing so.

David1955 comments on Jun 2, 2019:

As @AnneWimsey said, this again? You know, you could call them fairies, flibbies, floonties, flubbies or flappies, but if any or all of these words meant little ladies with wings that fly, then it would still be unproven nonsense and anyone who believed in such things would be a believer in unproven nonsense. Linguistics or otherwise.

I don’t believe in god, but I do think that there is something either spiritual or universal going...

David1955 comments on Jun 1, 2019:

To me this is a classic residual religionist viewpoint. "I don't believe in God or religion, but I think there's something 'out there' " Honestly, there is no link between finding personal happiness or feeling at peace or whatever, and believing in things out there or up there or wherever "there". All my life I've heard religious people try to convince that they have some peace or comfort from their 'faith'. It's one of their delusions. We can't be fooled by any of that.

Just presented to me on f'buck, I don't know how or why:

David1955 comments on Jun 1, 2019:

It's funny, when I hear the phrase, The Christian Right. I always say, "Is there any other kind?" As if there's the Christian Left or the Christian Centre. I believe at one time there was a left wing Catholic group called Liberation Theology. (My friend wrote a Thesis on them. No doubt they've all been shot by now.) These Christos make me laugh. They prattle on about Jesus and the poor, all those dreary Hollywood movies with their Jesus sticking it to authority and the saviour of the poor and meek, but universally modern Christianity is the religion of right wing moralistic elitism and oligarchy and reactionary politics. Name the country, Australia included, it's always the same. I spit on them for their fragrant hypocrisy.

Religion isn’t something designed by an oppressor class to “control the masses.

David1955 comments on Jun 1, 2019:

Do you really believe this post, or are you playing devil's advocate? It comes across as back-handed support of religion. I have always felt that anything that explains, justifies, excuses or validates religion, even if one rejects it, makes it stronger. Like Captain Kirk standing up to "Apollo" we need to mock, jeer and laugh at religions and wish them to disappear.

One day will come.

David1955 comments on May 29, 2019:

I want to know what "normalised" sex means. I like your optimism. I wish I could share it. I see a world descending into oligarchy, ruling elites, a dark age of oppression, as the environment collapses, a failed species on a failed planet. Maybe, ah la the Star Trek narrative, the better world will follow this dark age. I won't see it, however.

Yes, they do!!

David1955 comments on May 27, 2019:

Not just Republicans, but Right Wing politics everywhere. They hate socialism and government spending, unless it's for a cause they like, the military and their corporate interests. I hope people one day wake up, rise us, and overthrow them.

I bloody hate telstra, useless krunts.

David1955 comments on May 27, 2019:

Australia is the rip off capital of the world - electricity, internet, streaming services, goods, you name it. I've been saying it for years, and had enough of "you can't criticize Australia, it is the greatest country in the world" as a reply. Fooey. Who stands up for everyday people? Not the politicians, whatever party. As for internet, I have internode, all part of monopoly iinet. They're all lousy. The NBN is a half-baked Australian amatuer solution, expensive and a joke. BTW, I wouldn't touch Telstra with a 50 foot pole. Yes, I wish I was back in Thailand too, internet and streaming.

A nice scary article to put people off renewables and keep with "reliable" fossil fuels".

David1955 comments on May 27, 2019:

I hate that the govt allows electricity companies to rip us off. And I think solar, despite all the noble talk about saving the plant, is a con. Where to go?

Do you think that studying the history of the world helping to make everyone become agnostic or ...

David1955 comments on May 25, 2019:

I certainly wish people would read about the history of religions, especially their own, from serious secular historians trained in the historical method. (It isn't true that all history is subjective. That's a cope out. Does anyone here believe that the history of nazi crimes in WW2 is a matter of personal historical interpretation. I very much doubt it.) People based their lives and values on a religion, or so they say, but are too goddam lazy to read one damn historical book about the foundation and history of their religion! Frankly, it pisses me off. And then they want my "respect" for their religious views, views that are based on ignorance and intellectual laziness. From my own experience when people do read seriously about their religion they start to think seriously about their "faith". Religion is an intellectual disease of ignorance, and knowledge is the cure.

Just posted in General & Hellos complete with a poll for you to respond to - please do! According...

David1955 comments on May 23, 2019:

Sounds about right. In two years I'll be joining them. The one in four, I mean. Oz is no different from other western Anglo countries. Look below the BS figures, the political BS, the bureaucratic BS, the media BS, and all the rest, and you'll find huge numbers of people who just get by, struggle, and are on the wrong side of the economic lolly. It was the ALP's role to help prevent that. They failed. They gave up in the 1980s. Wanted to win elections, they said. Really worked well, didn't it.

Does anyone feel Buddhism (or some sects of it or some parts of it) is more of a philosophy or way ...

David1955 comments on May 23, 2019:

Remember what Mad Otto from A Fish Called Wanda said: The central message of Buddhism is every man for himself. In an odd way, he was right. John Cleese, such a wise man, and a joke on a joke. The individual "path" you see. Look after number one.

What if I’m atheist not Agnostic? Just asking, to stimulate conversation.

David1955 comments on May 23, 2019:

Well I think agnostics are atheists who are really atheist about all the Gods except their culture God about which they choose to be agnostic. So, they're 99.999% atheist, really. Not such a big difference, when you get down to it.

An Australian Opinion - Just borrowed from Fbuk moments ago:

David1955 comments on May 19, 2019:

Well, I don't know about the poll, but I've been jaundiced about Australia for decades. We are a small minded people. We follow others, look for the big kid countries to pat us on the head and be their best buddy. Occasionally we show hints of being bigger. I saw it a bit in the Whitlam period, but maybe that was illusion. The Lucky Country reference was always misunderstood - it's dumb luck for uninspiring people who excel at boasting but not excellence and never independence. There are exceptions. There are inspiring people. There are enlightened groups, but they are overshadowed by the insular majority. I live here, but I don't really. I work online, globally. I have only perfunctory contact with Australia, and Australians, most of whom seem to watch channel 9 and show it. I never travel in Australia anymore. Have been to Queensland often but in the past. It's like visiting the Clampetts. The whole state. I could live abroad easily and never miss Australia. I have in the past. I don't have the money to do it at the moment. So I'll take this election as a confirmation of everything I've known about Australia for decades. That's why I was not surprised on Saturday. I'll continue to exclude Australia from my life, except where totally necessary. That's the truth.

I'm joining this group though I'm in NZ -- US born but my mother was an Aucklander.

David1955 comments on May 19, 2019:

We accept Aussie and Aussie-ish in this group. No typing with a NZ accent, however. :-)

if your mother was on her deathbed and she begged you to pray with her.

David1955 comments on May 18, 2019:

My mother was on her death bed 4 months ago. I was with her at the end. She was not conscious, so your hypothetical didn't quite apply. But I was asked to be involved in a Catholic family ritual before the end. I said no, due to my convictions. My mother knew my views on religion and that appalling church. She respected that. No need to pretend otherwise at the end. Was it easy to say no? No, but I did not waver. Keeping your convictions in tough times is when it truly matters.

Not ridiculing, just curious.

David1955 comments on May 18, 2019:

Well, first there are issues between non believers and here is a place to raise them. Second, the site isn't just for people to meet for personal reasons, but also to meet as minds, including discussing how we deal with religion and oppose it. I certainly would not assume that people raising questions about religion suggests they are doubtful or unsure. There are some like that. I call them residue religionists, and they tend to stand out. " I don't believe in religion but...." That sort of thing.

I am not an Atheist, I am Agnostic. There is a difference, actually a huge difference.

David1955 comments on May 16, 2019:

How about you focus on what agnostics and atheists have in common, and not the differences, and instead focus on the enemy, religion.

Why are agnostics and atheists so hostile to my non-theistic belief of theological noncognitivism?

David1955 comments on May 16, 2019:

Speaking as an atheist, I'm just unimpressed by linguistic wordplay and word games. I just want to free the world from the toxicity that is religion, in all its forms, delusions and camouflage.

Two days out from the 2019 Federal Election and former Prime Minister Bob Hawke dies at the age of ...

David1955 comments on May 16, 2019:

One of course shows respect for the departed. But I can't forget that I stood at a ralley for Hawke in 1983, cheering, along with the rest. So many hopes. I'll never have them again. Hawke elected and within weeks there was a labor government I didn't vote for. All promises ignored - budget problems, don't you know. Now it was deregulation, privatisation, free markets, floating this and that, ordinary people have to expect less, the big end of town cheering wildly, and Hawke sucking up to the elites. Keating running the show. All to save us from ruin and a banana republic. A health system never universal. Free education, not a chance. Greater and greater concentration of wealth in fewer hands. On it went for a decade. And in the end the political system moved to the Right, to the advantage of the conservatives for decades. Still it lingers. A new labor government from Saturday, maybe. Nicely on the Right, though, because that's all we can get now. I'm sorry for his family and loved ones. But I can't feel any grief or loss or gratitude, not like when Gough passed. I still miss him.

Some thirty years ago I was a member of a group called the "Society of Evangelical Agnostics" ...

David1955 comments on May 15, 2019:

If nothing is truly knowable, how can anyone say that they know or believe that? Then again, I'm an atheist.

In economic terms, Alabama was already a terrible place for women.

David1955 comments on May 15, 2019:

I feel sorry for progressive modern thinking people in the state of Alabama, for surely there are such people, as I have watched interviews and such with them. It must be hard for them in a state run by regressives.

When the Buddha obtained enlightenment he went out to teach his students asked, are you a god?

David1955 comments on May 15, 2019:

Before he died, the Buddha also told his followers, don't believe in faith, don't build religious temples, don't wear religious symbols, and don't separate yourself from the world. Ever taken a look at Buddhism? Lots of talk about faith, lots of temples, lots of followers wearing symbols, and lots of monks in temples "making merit". I wonder if they were listening? Religion, you gotta love it (not).

When the Buddha obtained enlightenment he went out to teach his students asked, are you a god?

David1955 comments on May 15, 2019:

It's means Buddha was a politician too.

Doris Day dead at 97 from pneumonia.

David1955 comments on May 14, 2019:

I see they are plugging the old myth that Doris saved her son Terry Melcher from becoming a Charlie Manson victim by getting him to move house. Manson myth number 989. Manson knew that Melcher lived in Malabu in 1969. If he wanted Melcher dead he knew where to find him.

All religions in the world were born/created with a view to leading the people to the right path.

David1955 comments on May 11, 2019:

"All religions in the world were born/created with a view to leading the people to the right path." You really think this is why religions were created?

Greetings! There has been some posting about atheists getting a bad name because atheist is a ...

David1955 comments on May 11, 2019:

We should recognise that there is, and has always been, a campaign, for want of a better word, to denigrate atheists and non believers generally. Those in power tout religion as it is one of the levers of their ideology to wield control over those with little or no power. The more non religion spreads, the more the attacks increase. *We must not shy away from the words and definitions that define us*. We need to be more defiant against these attacks. Whatever term you use, the religious apologists will still attack you for your "lack of faith". Nor should we attack each other, like non believers who attack so-called New Atheism and prominent atheist people. New atheism, old atheism, whatever atheism, it's should all be the same at the core. Stand up to people who claim atheism is "getting a bad name". If attacking religion gives me "a bad name" I'll wear it proudly.

Honestly it surprised me how much more that Atheists know Christianity its origins and whats in the ...

David1955 comments on May 11, 2019:

Yes, of course. Name a Christian church that encourages its believers to read real history about their religion. None. Truth is, most of them don't want to know either, sad to say. It actually annoys me as I consider it intellectual cowardice.

‘Decades in the making’: Megachurch pastor gives up on Christianity in profanity-laced ...

David1955 comments on May 11, 2019:

I think we should remember how hard it can be for religious practicioners to renounce their church and religion. Often they lose everything and it can be very hard. I don't know how hard it will be for this guy, but I've watched enough docs about people in this situation to appreciate how hard it can be. Generally in these situations I prefer not to take joy in rubbing it in but rather give credit to someone who has woken up and had the courage to say so, if they are genuine and all things are equal.

So, ScumMo and the Lib-Nats are getting into the political bed with the 2 biggest rat-bags Parties ...

David1955 comments on May 9, 2019:

Birds of a right wing feather.. Never let a principle get in the way of power grab. Right wingers rule book 101.

“To judge from the notions expounded by theologians, one must conclude that God created most men ...

David1955 comments on May 8, 2019:

It's simple really: God created Humans, though imperfect, and then he created sins, and was astonished and angry and vengeful that these things were attracted to each other, because he was an omnipotent and omniscient Being who couldn't possibly have known that this would happen. Like I said, simple really

As a Christian, I can remember mocking Islam and thinking how stupid the religion was.

David1955 comments on May 8, 2019:

Didn't Muhammad "rise" to heaven in a golden chariot or some such? That's the silliest thing I've heard since zombie Jesus came back three days later. How do people come up with this stuff. They certainly had fertile imaginations in the Bronze Age.

Time for someone to "leak" the Mueller report.

David1955 comments on May 8, 2019:

I blame Meuller. He needed to man up, take and keep control and do what he was supposed to do. I've had about enough of all this hero worship of Mueller. All the things he was supposed to be investigating, the financials etc, and in the end, nothing. Trump, no interview. Don "Fredo" Jr, no interview. No finding. No statement, nothing. And still they are hoping he'll come out and reverse Trump's suppression of the report through his lackies. Well, don't hold your breath. It might all come out in the end but by then it'll be too late. For two years Meuller has been attacked, insulted, abused, accused of every kind of misdeed by Trump and cronies, and he's taken it like a wuss. What's wrong with the man?

Is it possible to be an atheist and a Buddhist ?

David1955 comments on May 8, 2019:

Atheism isn't just a non belief in any god. It should also include embracing principles of reason and a rejection of mysticism of all kinds. Buddhism, despite its warm and fuzzy pretentions, is riddled with mystical nonsense, like karma and reincarnation which require a kind of faith, even if followers and practitioners claim otherwise. I lived in a buddhist country long enough to see it firsthand. There are a few ideas in buddhism I like, others I find repugnant. Some reconcile calling themselves atheist and buddhist, but I consider it sloppy thinking.

We serve the same god but give it a different name.

David1955 comments on May 8, 2019:

Rubbish. I feel no sense of political correctness to conform to any hero worship of Mr. Cassius Clay, AKA Muhammad Ali. If it's all all the same god, why are all the theologies inconsistent? Why have these religions fought each other for millennia? Why have countless died in these wars? Why is this one God so incompetent at conveying its existence and purpose? It's the God of stupidity and ignorance, created from our own foolishness, and it serves only to thwart our progress.

Retired Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating berates Australian Secret Intelligence organisation ...

David1955 comments on May 6, 2019:

Jeez I wish someone would tell that rabble of leftover ALP leaders to go fishing during federal elections. As if Keating hadn't done enough to help push the Australian political debate to the Right during his time with egomaniac Hawke. He's still looking for thanks. 30 years of political wasteland for the ALP since his glory econ-rationalism days, and still he won't shut the f--k up. He saved us from being banana republic, and instead created an oligarchy. I voted today, pre-poll. What a miserable experience voting for Shorten Labor, nothing else to vote for.

Should we respect other people's beliefs?

David1955 comments on May 6, 2019:

The principle is respect for the *right* of belief, not by necessity *the belief itself*, proving it doesn't involve hate or bigotry or speech deemed outside acceptable norms. "You must respect my religion" is one of most confused and erroneous claims religionists make. Never fall for it.

Perhaps atheists need religion to exist to justify their position.

David1955 comments on May 6, 2019:

The only thing atheists need is religion to disappear into the other side of history where it belongs, with all the other discredited irrational beliefs.

Sam Harris’s argument is that the real villains are the religious moderates.

David1955 comments on May 5, 2019:

You have characterised the argument crudely. It is not a matter of getting rid of religious moderates, but instead recognising that religious extremism hides behind, and in a sense is protected by, the false veneer and phoney respectability of so-called respectable moderate religion. It is an argument of modern atheism and i agree with it, as a fact about how and why religion exists. The attacks upon Harris and Dawkins and co are tiresome. They stand up to religion and call it out. I wish others would do the same.

"It is still a metaphysical faith upon which our faith in science rests – that even we seekers ...

David1955 comments on May 3, 2019:

The practice of science is not a faith based belief. The "flame" lit by faith pecedes Christianity by thousands of years. It is the flame of ignorance leaving destruction in its path. Plato wasn't Christian, impossible. God is not truth. Truth is not divine. Some people love Nietzsche. I am not one of them.

I'm glad the general forum was restored but it seems only a shadow of its former self.

David1955 comments on May 3, 2019:

Yes

How many on here either have decided to abandon major social media platforms (FaceBook, Twitter, ...

David1955 comments on May 3, 2019:

I'll have nothing to do with any of those, and you couldn't pay me to have anything to do with *anything* to do with Mark Zuckerberg. I figured him as a grifter a decade ago.

I urge everybody to watch this video on the Sixties from PBS on YouTube.

David1955 comments on May 2, 2019:

I continue to think that, despite the maligning of the 60s by reactionaries, malignant conservatives and the Right anti-modernist and 21Century proto-fascists, there are still elevant ideas and idealism from the 1960s which I hope will germinate in current and future generations. Despite Right Wing malice towards that decade, the influence remains: Hippy ideas evolved to the modern environment movement; women's lib evolved to the movement for identity equality; anti-establishment of the 60s evolving to the progressive movement against white privilege. That's why the Right still hate the 60s. They blame it for everything, all the changes to a world that suited them. The ideals of the 1960s may have been idealistic and even naïve; but we need idealism now more than ever. The Right have spent decades destroying all elements of idealism, and look at what they produced.

Hi everyone.

David1955 comments on May 1, 2019:

Hasn't this been sorted, a tech error fixed?

Mueller complained that Barr’s letter did not capture ‘context’ of Trump probe - The ...

David1955 comments on May 1, 2019:

What will it take for Mueller to man up and come out? Two years of abuse and personal attacks, the obvious attempt to scuttle his report, and still he won't call a press conference or demand to appear before Congress, to tell his story. Man up, Mueller! Your country needs you.

Given that life in itself is meaningless, what do we have in mind when we talk about the "meaning ...