It is the proud boast of women...

LenHazell53 comments on Dec 8, 2021:

Incorrect There are even more if you include the 15 deleted books from the RC Bible, however Esther, Ruth, Deborah, Huldah, Hannah, Sarah, Hagar, Miriam, Anna all recognised as prophets in the KJV Christian bible all are quoted directly as passing on the word of god.

Fernapple replies on Dec 9, 2021:

Yes except that most of the things atributed to those female "prophets," were probably made up, or edited by males. While some of them like Ruth, probably never existed outside of male imaginations.

Did Art and Religion co-evolve? [agnostic.com] .

hankster comments on Dec 8, 2021:

no. The concept of evolution involves chance and a random nature to its development. whereas religions and art are fabrications with intentions, with plans, in their development. Surely these intentions overlapped in thier purposes and development on occasion, but by design.

Fernapple replies on Dec 9, 2021:

You are quite right. A situation "evolved", in which both art and religion became possible and/or needed. From that, the cultural developments that we call art and religion began to be made. People are sometimes too loose in their use of the word evolution. In fact art and religion are are just two features of the phenomena we call culture, and are inseparable parts of that whole. ( Though skado would like to tell you that the word "religion", was originally used by the ancient Romans as a synonym, for our word "culture". Which makes it seem that he has already answered his own question. ) The word evolution originally meant, what we would call embryonic development, and only came to mean change to species genomes at around the time of Darwin. ( More loose usage, though in that case with some justification because there was no existing word. ) A good lesson in why human culture is an untrust worthy source of truth, when even its basic units, words, shift meanings and usages endlessly like quicksand.

Can you spot both bobcats photographed in Wisconsin forest?

Fernapple comments on Dec 7, 2021:

No. Though I did think that I could see one, so there may be three.

Fernapple replies on Dec 9, 2021:

@dalefvictor Yes that was the one I think I can see.

Did Art and Religion co-evolve? [youtu.be] .

Fernapple comments on Dec 8, 2021:

Of course they are the same thing anyway.

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2021:

@skado Religion is the use of artistry to indoctrinate, and the belief that art is always a source of truth, is a religious dogma.

SOME MORE NEWS - Simple, Obvious Solutions To Glaring Problems [youtube.com]

Fernapple comments on Dec 8, 2021:

Sadly the British post office which has long had a bank, is now trying to move out of banking services, because with current low interest rates there is little profit in it. This is thanks to M. Thatcher who, "privatized" ( sold it to capitalists) our post office, leaving us as just about the only ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2021:

@phxbillcee Yep that is what happened here, they just kept the profitable bits and ditched all the public service bits.

OK.

KateOahu comments on Dec 7, 2021:

There is a similar, less elaborate, place in Malta called “Domvs Romana”. It is on the island of Malta, near Rabat. https://www.corinthia.com/palace-hotel-and-spa/discover-malta/ten-incredible-ancient-sites-in-malta/ I also recommend seeing the rest of the sites at the link, if they are ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2021:

@MsKathleen Much less common in Europe, we have a few but not as many.

OK.

KateOahu comments on Dec 7, 2021:

There is a similar, less elaborate, place in Malta called “Domvs Romana”. It is on the island of Malta, near Rabat. https://www.corinthia.com/palace-hotel-and-spa/discover-malta/ten-incredible-ancient-sites-in-malta/ I also recommend seeing the rest of the sites at the link, if they are ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 8, 2021:

@MsKathleen Well we do only get one chance to see all the wonders of this beautiful planet.

OK.

KateOahu comments on Dec 7, 2021:

There is a similar, less elaborate, place in Malta called “Domvs Romana”. It is on the island of Malta, near Rabat. https://www.corinthia.com/palace-hotel-and-spa/discover-malta/ten-incredible-ancient-sites-in-malta/ I also recommend seeing the rest of the sites at the link, if they are ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 7, 2021:

That is lovely. I visited the habour site in Paphos, Cyprus some years ago and took these. The ruins of the old palace are in a spectacular site, on a rocky headland only yards from the waves.

Seems to me that in the opinion of many on this board, women have Bodily Autonomy when it comes to ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 7, 2021:

Thats very easy, first of all that is a strawman statement about the people on here. Because lambasting someone for making a choice, is not the same thing as saying that they should not have a choice. I for one would defend anyones right to refuse any medical procedure, even at the cost of my, ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 7, 2021:

@TheMiddleWay The John Lydgate quote did not appear until after I made my last reply. The quote I was refering to in two, was. "Pro-vaccine" does not mean forced vaccination." The risks of abortion are not relevant, since my whole point was that the anology between abortion and vaccines is not a vallid one anyway. The point of the petrol tank mataphore, which is a common one, is that the child does not know that the tank is empty before hand. That is so obvious I hardly though it worth going into detail on. Sorry you clearly are drunk, and I am not going to waste any more time.

Seems to me that in the opinion of many on this board, women have Bodily Autonomy when it comes to ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 7, 2021:

Thats very easy, first of all that is a strawman statement about the people on here. Because lambasting someone for making a choice, is not the same thing as saying that they should not have a choice. I for one would defend anyones right to refuse any medical procedure, even at the cost of my, ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 7, 2021:

@TheMiddleWay One. The "should" was intended, may be you missed the "not" before it. Please read carefully. Two. I don't know who you are quoting, but it is not me. Are you drunk ? Three. By that argument. Strictly speaking, the mere status of driving far too fast in your car does not affect anyone else either. The mere status of being the errector dangerous buildings, does not affect anyone else either. etc. But it is an effect to create risk, even if the risk does not cause direct immeadiate harm. The. "Nobody got hurt when I dropped lighted matches into the gas tank, because there was no petrol in there after all." Is a six year old absolutists argument.

Seems to me that in the opinion of many on this board, women have Bodily Autonomy when it comes to ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 7, 2021:

Thats very easy, first of all that is a strawman statement about the people on here. Because lambasting someone for making a choice, is not the same thing as saying that they should not have a choice. I for one would defend anyones right to refuse any medical procedure, even at the cost of my, ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 7, 2021:

@TheMiddleWay Yes but your question on abortion yesterday was a really challenging one, which made real demands on thinking. This is not in the same league. Sorry.

I was talking with two Mormon missionaries this weekend.

Fernapple comments on Dec 7, 2021:

Reduces to one question. Dear believer. Have you ever thought of asking questions ?

Fernapple replies on Dec 7, 2021:

@PeterL No best not waste your time, one question at a time is usually all they can manage to reject answering at any one time. Snowball them and they will just blue screen.

They say the most solemn occasion is coming. So let's think about the holy place.

ASTRALMAX comments on Dec 7, 2021:

I do not think that it is a question of throwing money at child poverty because to date it has not solved what is clearly an ongoing issue. There seems to be vested interests in keeping the population poor in some countries. Vested interests that are fuelled by unfettered greed of the leaders of ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 7, 2021:

True a lot of that happens, and most of the motivation is about public image. But the Catholic Church is an exception to that, because of course it has its own infrastructure which is down on the ground already, so that it could, if it wished, deliver aid directly where it is needed, as it does some, but only just enough to keep up that public image again, no more.

Sometimes even a house can tell stories. [youtube.com]

phxbillcee comments on Dec 7, 2021:

I wish there was more to it, but still...

Fernapple replies on Dec 7, 2021:

There may be more to follow. Watch this space.

“Your destiny is not determined by an outside force, it’s determined by YOU, and you ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 7, 2021:

Nah.

Fernapple replies on Dec 7, 2021:

@Marionville Yes you can choose to change course when the accidents happen, but then you had to, and you may not be given a choice. And the chances are that if you do make another choice, then that too will be redirected by fate. I did not choose to to not marry until I was nearly forty, but a cancer cell chose that fate for me, and my loved one, and I did not then choose to become a widow at forty three, but another cancer cell decided that for me and took my wife. I chose to be a garden designer and landscaper, but an offer too hard to refuse from a property developer, made me a contractor in the property industry. I did not choose to have to move back in with my parents in my late forties, but the property crash in the eighties sent the developement company bankrupt, and I needed land to start a plant nursery and our married home had none, so I became a nurseryman.

“Your destiny is not determined by an outside force, it’s determined by YOU, and you ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 7, 2021:

Nah.

Fernapple replies on Dec 7, 2021:

@Marionville Yes but the parameters are by far the most important thing. And even if you try within your parameters, the next most important thing is random noise. You can plan to restore a vintage car today, and while you are out buying the tools tommorow, a perfectly modern car can run you over and kill you. Life is a long list of random accidents which always change your path, all the more so if you are adventurus and brave, only the dull and weak end their lives doing what they set out to do. And even that is rare.

This is quite an odd thing I think.

Fernapple comments on Nov 30, 2021:

I am pleased to say that I can not remember when I last prayed.

Fernapple replies on Dec 7, 2021:

@SirDaddyGru Yes. Although there are some stats about it. I have read that in hospitals, if critically ill patients are told they are being prayed for, they actually have a slightly worse chance of recovery, it is only a tiny difference but real. So prayer may make things worse. The reason it is thought being, that patients who are told they are being prayed for become depressed because they believe that proves their condition is worse and more desparate.

Another vision of the future.

Barnie2years comments on Dec 6, 2021:

Pandemics have surfaced regularly and periodically throughout history. It occurs in nature very often when certain species are overpopulated. It certainly stands to reason that humans are just another animal and subject to the same laws of nature, even if we have the intelligence to mollify the ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 6, 2021:

It may be so. Though I am told that it is perfectly possible to create a mathematical model, of a virus for example, which is just infectious enough, mutates fast enough and kills slowly enough that it could exterminate everyone.

WARNING: GROANER AHEAD; What did the peanut butter say to the blackberry at the Christmas party?

Fernapple comments on Dec 6, 2021:

No, this must stop. Just pause to consider for a moment. Whatever would your grandmother think, if she knew what you have been doing on line ?

Fernapple replies on Dec 6, 2021:

@Sierra4 Oh, thanks. lol

Can you interpret these pictograms?

LenHazell53 comments on Dec 2, 2021:

1 Sandin' (sanding) block 2 Man overboard 3 I Understand 4 Reading Between the lines 5 Long Underwear 6 Crossroads 7 Down Town 8 Tricycle 9 Split Level 10 Three degrees below Zero 11 Neon Lights 12 Circles under the eyes 13 Big Chair 14 Double dice 15 Touch down 16 five feet ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 6, 2021:

@TheoryNumber3 Oh I would love that, though I think there is a group on unusual words.

Soo how many days to Christmas and does anyone care?

Fernapple comments on Dec 5, 2021:

Yes I do care. Christmas is a boring, time wasting little fart of a pointless holiday, when everything is dead including the transport, there is nowhere you can go to escape all the bad taste anyway, and people try to make you overeat until you feel ill, and the complain at you if you don't. I ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 6, 2021:

@Secretguy Oh, my normal existence is great fun, its just christmas that interupts it.

Nothing divine about gods

FearlessFly comments on Dec 5, 2021:

How does 3000 BCE to 2021 CE add-up to 8000 years ?

Fernapple replies on Dec 5, 2021:

You lost me, who mentioned 8000 years ?

Atheists are viewed as less desirable romantic partners, study finds

Killtheskyfairy comments on Dec 5, 2021:

I can’t love this enough. Great news! The religious will me alone then? I am thrilled! I make no secret of my atheism and complete disgust with the religious but now I’ll step it up a notch or two. I was told by a former boyfriend that men like religious women because most of them are ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 5, 2021:

Yes, if she is religious, it is very easy to say I love you for your faith and closeness to god, and by definition she will believe anything. lol

Nothing divine about gods

Beowulfsfriend comments on Dec 5, 2021:

Isn't it amazing how "the god" (insert name(s) here) waited so patiently for mankind to get into bigger groups before showing up. Proof that god(s) want to be involved in government and governing the masses.

Fernapple replies on Dec 5, 2021:

@hankster Not so sure. Most hunter gatherer societies have, and probably always had, religions based on combinations of animism, spiritualism, worship of the dead, and magic. Gods as such, only start to appear as nation states and city states start to form, they come quite late onto the scene really. That is not an absolute but the general case.

Can you interpret these pictograms?

LenHazell53 comments on Dec 2, 2021:

1 Sandin' (sanding) block 2 Man overboard 3 I Understand 4 Reading Between the lines 5 Long Underwear 6 Crossroads 7 Down Town 8 Tricycle 9 Split Level 10 Three degrees below Zero 11 Neon Lights 12 Circles under the eyes 13 Big Chair 14 Double dice 15 Touch down 16 five feet ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 5, 2021:

@TheoryNumber3 Yes, funny term, I don't know if you use it in America as we do in Britain, to mean none decimal fractions. Its one of those terms like "homework" that you never hear again after you leave school. That sort of usage of vulgar, to mean normal/ordinary rather than rude, is perhaps more common to hear among gardeners and botanists, where vulgar and the latin vulgaris are common plant names.

A lady married her husband's brother after she became a widow.

Fernapple comments on Dec 3, 2021:

I think that it is illegal under Christian law. It seems that the creator god was so confused about genetics, he thought that it counted as incest. How can you design DNA and then get something like that wrong ?

Fernapple replies on Dec 4, 2021:

@AnneWimsey, @Lorajay Here you go, I looked up the actual biblical law, and it is plain that marriage between some "in laws" is forbiden. The incestuous unions prohibited in the Law (some were legitimate at an earlier age in Israel) are those of son and mother, of a man with the wife of his father (Lv 18.8; Dt 27.20) and with the mother of his wife (Dt 27.23), of a man with his granddaughter or his wife's daughter or granddaughter (Lv 18.10, 17), of a man with his sister or half-sister (Lv 18.9; Dt 27.22; see, however, Gn 20.12), of a nephew with his aunt (Lv 18.12–14; cf. Ex 6.20), of a man with his daughter-in-law or with his sister-in-law (Lv 18.15, 16; 20.21); levirate marriage is an exception (Dt 25.5–10). Also forbidden was marriage to two sisters at the same time (Lv 18.18), although formerly it had been allowed (Gn 29.27–28). Penalties for incest were death (Lv 20.11–17), excommunication (Lv 18.29), and being cursed (Dt 27.20, 22–23), e.g., by being childless (Lv 20.21)...

A lady married her husband's brother after she became a widow.

Fernapple comments on Dec 3, 2021:

I think that it is illegal under Christian law. It seems that the creator god was so confused about genetics, he thought that it counted as incest. How can you design DNA and then get something like that wrong ?

Fernapple replies on Dec 4, 2021:

@AnneWimsey Here you go, I looked up the actual biblical law, and it is plain that marriage between some "in laws" is forbiden. The incestuous unions prohibited in the Law (some were legitimate at an earlier age in Israel) are those of son and mother, of a man with the wife of his father (Lv 18.8; Dt 27.20) and with the mother of his wife (Dt 27.23), of a man with his granddaughter or his wife's daughter or granddaughter (Lv 18.10, 17), of a man with his sister or half-sister (Lv 18.9; Dt 27.22; see, however, Gn 20.12), of a nephew with his aunt (Lv 18.12–14; cf. Ex 6.20), of a man with his daughter-in-law or with his sister-in-law (Lv 18.15, 16; 20.21); levirate marriage is an exception (Dt 25.5–10). Also forbidden was marriage to two sisters at the same time (Lv 18.18), although formerly it had been allowed (Gn 29.27–28). Penalties for incest were death (Lv 20.11–17), excommunication (Lv 18.29), and being cursed (Dt 27.20, 22–23), e.g., by being childless (Lv 20.21).

A voice from Atheist Ireland.

Fernapple comments on Dec 3, 2021:

Well that was a short video. LOL

Fernapple replies on Dec 3, 2021:

@twill Also agreed. LOL

Can you interpret these pictograms?

LenHazell53 comments on Dec 2, 2021:

1 Sandin' (sanding) block 2 Man overboard 3 I Understand 4 Reading Between the lines 5 Long Underwear 6 Crossroads 7 Down Town 8 Tricycle 9 Split Level 10 Three degrees below Zero 11 Neon Lights 12 Circles under the eyes 13 Big Chair 14 Double dice 15 Touch down 16 five feet ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 3, 2021:

@TheoryNumber3 Yes though the / or forward slash, is often used as a sub for the horizontal line in vulgar fractions, so I thought that "over himself" was a better bet on the original.

Can you interpret these pictograms?

LenHazell53 comments on Dec 2, 2021:

1 Sandin' (sanding) block 2 Man overboard 3 I Understand 4 Reading Between the lines 5 Long Underwear 6 Crossroads 7 Down Town 8 Tricycle 9 Split Level 10 Three degrees below Zero 11 Neon Lights 12 Circles under the eyes 13 Big Chair 14 Double dice 15 Touch down 16 five feet ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 3, 2021:

@MsKathleen Yes I only got that one after a prompt.

Who would have thought cells are sooo complicated.

Fernapple comments on Dec 2, 2021:

False colours of course, but does it say what part of the body the cell came from ?

Fernapple replies on Dec 3, 2021:

@JackPedigo Beautiful work of art though.

Can you interpret these pictograms?

LenHazell53 comments on Dec 2, 2021:

1 Sandin' (sanding) block 2 Man overboard 3 I Understand 4 Reading Between the lines 5 Long Underwear 6 Crossroads 7 Down Town 8 Tricycle 9 Split Level 10 Three degrees below Zero 11 Neon Lights 12 Circles under the eyes 13 Big Chair 14 Double dice 15 Touch down 16 five feet ...

Fernapple replies on Dec 3, 2021:

Love 19 Glance in the mirror, did not get that one, but I got 18 as He's over himself, rather than "beside". And Fearlessfly below has 23 as "See through blouse".

Watch: Far-right anti-vaxx pastor just can’t understand why there are no ‘big democrats’ who ...

WayneDalton comments on Dec 2, 2021:

Is he seriously that clueless?

Fernapple replies on Dec 3, 2021:

Or does he just think his paying audience are that clueless ?

I’m thinking about writing some music for the Christian market.

Fernapple comments on Dec 2, 2021:

I think your gift is for writing memes for atheists, I would stick to that.

Fernapple replies on Dec 2, 2021:

@mischl Only in very strange Christian circles. LOL

Got our first snow this week, on the cottages across the road and in the field behind.

JackPedigo comments on Dec 2, 2021:

Wow, a good amount. So far we have not even had a freeze. What is your latitude?

Fernapple replies on Dec 2, 2021:

53.5 about the same as Labrador Canada, though the maritime clime means we are a lot milder, just dark gloomy and wet.

Got our first snow this week, on the cottages across the road and in the field behind.

glennlab comments on Dec 2, 2021:

It's nice to look at, but just the thought of the cold that comes with it makes my bones hurt.

Fernapple replies on Dec 2, 2021:

Me too, and there are months yet to go. I really think that warmth and sun, are the most important things in life.

What IS your problem?!

Fernapple comments on Mar 27, 2021:

The secret of life and happiness is appreciation. The truly happy are those who can value the things they have seen before.

Fernapple replies on Dec 2, 2021:

@LadyLinK No not really, the person who appreciates little or nothing will be unhappy, even in a palace garden surrounded by lovers, the person who can appreciate many things will find happiness alone on the barest desert island.

Got our first snow this week, on the cottages across the road and in the field behind.

RussRAB comments on Dec 2, 2021:

Today's forecasted high here where I live is 77 degrees F. I have rose buds about ready to open.

Fernapple replies on Dec 2, 2021:

Envy.

Ants vomit into each other's mouths to form social bonds: [livescience.com]

KateOahu comments on Dec 1, 2021:

Ew.

Fernapple replies on Dec 2, 2021:

So do bees. Then we harvest their collective vomit and spread it on slices of bread for breakfast....

We're losing a whole generation of young men to video games.

Moravian comments on Dec 2, 2021:

I don't know who first coined the phrase "virtual reality" but it is so far removed from reality that it is laughable.

Fernapple replies on Dec 2, 2021:

Yes, just like "reality TV " though unlike that it is slightly qualified by the word "virtual".

How Sex Workers Operate in the Mormon Capital of the World | Hemant Mehta | Friendly Atheist | ...

AnneWimsey comments on Nov 30, 2021:

And why couldn't a sex worker attend church? Mary Magdalene?

Fernapple replies on Dec 1, 2021:

@AnneWimsey Very true, and I was working on the idea, that you were using her as an archetype. But thought I would add my boring two pence worth for the benefit of others who may be reading, and interests sake if you are having a dull day.

One Way We Can Know That God Exists

barjoe comments on Nov 30, 2021:

The invisible man

Fernapple replies on Dec 1, 2021:

@David1955 That sums it well.

How Sex Workers Operate in the Mormon Capital of the World | Hemant Mehta | Friendly Atheist | ...

AnneWimsey comments on Nov 30, 2021:

And why couldn't a sex worker attend church? Mary Magdalene?

Fernapple replies on Dec 1, 2021:

@AnneWimsey True. But I am not saying that there was no evidence she was not a sex worker, only that the evidence that she was, as with all else we think we know about her, is almost certainly fake. The bible itself actually tells us litttle or nothing about her, and the legends about her later life, are just legends. As to how she supported herself we simply don't know, she could have been living with her family, we don't even know that she was single, she could have been married, some people even think that she was the wife of Jesus, the fact is, we don't really know if she even existed. The common assumption that she was a sex worker, is just a proof of how deeply the churches unsupported, and often late, assumptions, are bedded into our culture. Like the widely held beliefs that there were only four gospels, or that the Magi were kings, none of it supported, even by the highly doubtful biblical accounts.

How Sex Workers Operate in the Mormon Capital of the World | Hemant Mehta | Friendly Atheist | ...

AnneWimsey comments on Nov 30, 2021:

And why couldn't a sex worker attend church? Mary Magdalene?

Fernapple replies on Nov 30, 2021:

Agree with your statement. But there is actually no good reason to believe that M.M. was a sex worker. That idea did not take shape until the middle ages, and was probably created by church leaders as part of a campaign to belittle the contribution made by women in the early church, making M.M. a forgiven sinner rather than an early witness, and even equating her with the woman taken in adultery. Which is another story invented at about the same time, being probably the last major addition to the bible not found in any early versions.

What were you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Fernapple comments on Nov 29, 2021:

Happy you are safe and well after your drive. But you should go more slowly in the wet, especially as you get more mature. Some people, like my father, never get that, and the older he got, the faster he went, it was terrifying. Your reactions and skills do go down with age even if you do not notice...

Fernapple replies on Nov 29, 2021:

@Paganlyl I am giving driving instruction, not to be hostile, but because having been on this site for a long while, it would concern me deeply if something unfortunate were to happen to Literate.

What were you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Fernapple comments on Nov 29, 2021:

Happy you are safe and well after your drive. But you should go more slowly in the wet, especially as you get more mature. Some people, like my father, never get that, and the older he got, the faster he went, it was terrifying. Your reactions and skills do go down with age even if you do not notice...

Fernapple replies on Nov 29, 2021:

@LiterateHiker Well then you should have slowed more. You don't hydroplane at a crawl.

They say Satan is god's son. What kind of DNA does this serial killing "invisible man" god have?

David1955 comments on Nov 28, 2021:

Son? I thought he was a 'fallen angel'? Isn't that the mythology? Not that I care at all.

Fernapple replies on Nov 29, 2021:

The Bible actually has very little to say about Satan or his origins, he just sort of developed bit by bit as it went on. Indeed, in the first place he may just be, like much of the bible, a mistranslation, since the earliest references are to "a satan", in other words a member of a class of angels called satans, because the word means roughly, "advocates for the prosecution". And there is nothing in the bible which says he was not a good servant, since he, or they, carry out gods commands perfectly, the idea of a rebel angel and of hell, only seem to develop later in Roman Catholic/Orthodox theology long after biblical times.

So none of us believe we have a creator but anyone have ideas away from evolution as well?

Fernapple comments on Nov 27, 2021:

Things are either made by a creator, or by a natural process. There is no third alternative, it either involved intelligence in its making or it did not. Even if you believe in the universe as an illusion, extreme solipsism, (Or the matrix if you like. ) an agent, either a natural process or and ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 28, 2021:

@Word We can not see anything, that is the point.

So none of us believe we have a creator but anyone have ideas away from evolution as well?

Fernapple comments on Nov 27, 2021:

Things are either made by a creator, or by a natural process. There is no third alternative, it either involved intelligence in its making or it did not. Even if you believe in the universe as an illusion, extreme solipsism, (Or the matrix if you like. ) an agent, either a natural process or and ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 28, 2021:

@Word No I think that the term "directed evolution" as normally used, refers to an external probably supernatural intelligence. Though it is certainly true that intelligence and genetic evolution, will probably have effects on one another in naturally occuring feed back loops, but that is not included in the normal , or my in this case, definition of "directed evolution".

From some not fun facts : Dogs like squeaky toys because it mimics the sound of their dying ...

KateOahu comments on Nov 26, 2021:

Is any of this true?

Fernapple replies on Nov 27, 2021:

In the UK it was, and probably still is quite legal to mail people, a couple of people, including a feminist activist, tried to get to see the prime minister by mailing themselve to him. Hitler was nominated for the Nobel prize, the peace prize no less, in 1939, by a Swedish polititian, but keep in mind that that is only nominated, not awarded.

What happens if you are sent on a very different path by evolution.

Diaco comments on Nov 26, 2021:

Such a cute creature! 😍

Fernapple replies on Nov 26, 2021:

Yep. I thought so too.

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody! We have a lot to be thankful for.

Fernapple comments on Nov 25, 2021:

Most of the positive stuff on the site is in the groups, it is true, the front page tends to be news and views, which are rarely positive. But today was a bright winters day and I had friends over for a game of petangue, then we had mince pies and wine afterwards. That was positive, but sadly ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 25, 2021:

@Storm1752 French form of bowls.

I get the feeling, increasingly, that Christianity, especially evangelical, is a death cult.

David1955 comments on Nov 24, 2021:

Christianity has always been a death cult -- a Bronze Age messianic, apocalyptic, dead and rising God death cult. Evangelical Christianity is merely a loop back to this religion's fundamental regressive themes, combining with reactionary conservatism, in contrast with and in reaction to the ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 25, 2021:

Religion provides the means to justify, the things like ultra conservatism, which you can not justify by logic and evidence. That is the main reason for it appeal.

“I can’t give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure:...

Fernapple comments on Nov 24, 2021:

Yes but it is a challenge.

Fernapple replies on Nov 24, 2021:

@Pralina1 Thank you for your faith in me.

Police misidentifying drivers’ ethnicity when writing tickets, to avoid the appearance of racial ...

Fernapple comments on Nov 24, 2021:

Why is it even required on a ticket, we do not do descriptions of the driver in the UK ?

Fernapple replies on Nov 24, 2021:

@Matias Yes, lets hope it fails to catch on though.

Now is the time to buy your delight?

Fernapple comments on Nov 24, 2021:

Just what you need in charge of the economy, someone who relies on prayers to keep the currency afloat.

Fernapple replies on Nov 24, 2021:

@FrayedBear You know me so well. LOL

“I can’t give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure:...

Fernapple comments on Nov 24, 2021:

Yes but it is a challenge.

Fernapple replies on Nov 24, 2021:

@Marionville Yes I know. The problem resonates with me just now. I help to run the village sports club. (By default because I never was much of a sportsman, just doing it for the community. ) Two of the prominant members have had a falling out, which will not be good for the club as a whole. They are both in their own way really good and well intentioned men, who work hard for the club, so I am forced to try and think of ways to patch things up and smooth things over. I know that it is almost impossible, and that there is a real danger of getting it wrong and making things worse, but do I have a choice. I think not. Best just rise to the challenge, and take the storms on the nose, I think.

Do you think retro-style is returning back?

Willow_Wisp comments on Nov 23, 2021:

Styles never go away, they just get ignored until someone decides to bring it back because it works for them. For example Betty Page resurrecting the Cleopatra hair style. Betty owned it like Johnny Cash owned Hurt by Nine Inch Nails. Few women could ever pull it off, but it was totally Betty. Rap ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 24, 2021:

Oh I would love to be in one of those, "funny Walmart people photos." Its near the top of my bucket list.

Deep sigh! Autumn Window - Alexander Volkov

KateOahu comments on Nov 23, 2021:

I looked him up. He has a number of lovely windows. https://www.alexandervolkovfineart.com/portfolio/regular-limited-editions/

Fernapple replies on Nov 24, 2021:

Lovely paintings. Thank you for posting about him.

Religion IQ?

Fernapple comments on Nov 23, 2021:

Is an IQ rating a good measure of real world working intelligence anyway ? In my opinion no. Real world working intelligence includes many qualities which go far beyond pencil and paper puzzle solving, such as setting high standards of truth, caring enough not to accept second rate answers, not ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 23, 2021:

@MsKathleen Yes that is probably true, although the only IQ test that I am familiar with, is that of MENSA which deliberately avoides knowledge based questions for that reason. But of course knowledge can indirectly help with nearly all problem solving, however abstract the puzzles may be, so it is probably impossible to remove the bias in reality.

How non-peer reviewed science makes it to the populous.

Fernapple comments on Nov 22, 2021:

Could not endure the grammar, was the article written by a ten year old ?

Fernapple replies on Nov 23, 2021:

@Gwendolyn2018 I remember reading an article by, I think Richard Dawkins, some while ago now. In which he said that there is a convention in some , mainly American universities, where some students and a few second rate, (his opinion) academics feel that to have papers taken seriously they have to write them in unintelligible "science paper speak", which serves no purpose , but in the minds of naive students, is supposed to impress their peers. He made the point that in his case it does just the opposite. Good plain English please.

How non-peer reviewed science makes it to the populous.

Fernapple comments on Nov 22, 2021:

Could not endure the grammar, was the article written by a ten year old ?

Fernapple replies on Nov 23, 2021:

@JackPedigo It seems to have moved on anyway. I went back to try and give it a second go, but it had gone. If the author knows that it is ephemeral, he may just have cut and pasted from a paper.

"I never barked when out of season, I never bit without a reason; I n'er insulted weaker brother,...

Fernapple comments on Nov 23, 2021:

And here is Byron on a Newfoundland dog's grave. Enjoy. Oh man! thou feeble tenant of an hour, Debas'd by slavery, or corrupt by power, Who knows thee well, must quit thee with disgust, Degraded mass of animated dust! Thy love is lust, thy friendship all a cheat, Thy tongue hypocrisy, thy ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 23, 2021:

@AnonySchmoose I liked the similar sentiments, given especially that Byron and Burns are in many ways polar opposites, who would probably have loathed one another had they met.

How non-peer reviewed science makes it to the populous.

Fernapple comments on Nov 22, 2021:

Could not endure the grammar, was the article written by a ten year old ?

Fernapple replies on Nov 23, 2021:

@Gwendolyn2018 It is very like the output of drunks writing in haste late at night.

What is your definition of stupidity?

Fernapple comments on Nov 22, 2021:

It may not exist at all. Just as there is no such thing as dark, only a lack of light, and no such thing as cold only a lack of heat, so there may be, no such thing as stupid only too little thinking.

Fernapple replies on Nov 22, 2021:

@Matias, @p-nullifidian The cause and effects would be very important and the definition much less so. But since a definition is a immaterial human cultural construct, and genetics a material part of nature, they exist in almost completely different magisteria anyway.

What is your definition of stupidity?

Fernapple comments on Nov 22, 2021:

It may not exist at all. Just as there is no such thing as dark, only a lack of light, and no such thing as cold only a lack of heat, so there may be, no such thing as stupid only too little thinking.

Fernapple replies on Nov 22, 2021:

@Matias Yes darkness can be an lack of light, you can produce a photon of light, can you find a particle of dark ? As to your other questions. No to the first, yes to the second, to the third death does not exist, and no to the last one.

This comment was posted Online by anonymous poster.

Moravian comments on Nov 22, 2021:

We do need children, just not too many. Someone has to look after us in our dotage.

Fernapple replies on Nov 22, 2021:

No , there is the option of actively choosing death before we reach our dotage. And that also assumes that our children will survive, long enough, to be there in our dotage.

Moving outside the religious norms of past generations has brought us here:

Spongebob comments on Nov 21, 2021:

Who defines what "more ethical" means?

Fernapple replies on Nov 22, 2021:

Becoming more ethical and defining more ethical , are perhaps one and the same.

Freethought is a philosophical position that holds that ideas and opinions should be based on ...

mischl comments on Nov 21, 2021:

Ryo1, no name, no photo, no gender. Are you a troll?

Fernapple replies on Nov 22, 2021:

@Buck No he's from Devon, a small country almost attached to England, which thinks that it is independant. (Think Newfoundlanders.) (They are very inbred, which could account for the ears. )

I love to cuddle up with a good book or preferably with a woman who has read one. 😁😉

hankster comments on Nov 21, 2021:

both.

Fernapple replies on Nov 21, 2021:

@hankster Well don't get mapel syrup on the pillows.

I love to cuddle up with a good book or preferably with a woman who has read one. 😁😉

hankster comments on Nov 21, 2021:

both.

Fernapple replies on Nov 21, 2021:

Greedy. Besides at your time of life, how can you concentrate ?

We Live By a Unit of Time That Doesn’t Make Sense The seven-day week has survived for ...

Fernapple comments on Nov 21, 2021:

Its simple. Go for twenty eight day months. Then every month starts on the same day, and nobody ever needs to buy another calender. You then have thirteen months in a year which is three hundred and sixty four days, so you make new years day a public holiday which is not given a week day ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 21, 2021:

@Diaco Thats why I said. "in leap years you have two of them"

I encourage everyone to trade up your weapons for web puns.

Fernapple comments on Nov 20, 2021:

Groan.

Fernapple replies on Nov 20, 2021:

@Willow_Wisp Love you too.

is the universe 13.8 billion years old no matter what direction we're detecting?

David1955 comments on Nov 19, 2021:

Yes, and don't stop until you get to the restaurant at the edge of the universe. Questions like yours, and what does the universe expand into? are the kind of questions which, as they used to say in the 60s, "really blows my mind, man!"

Fernapple replies on Nov 20, 2021:

@hankster It may not have an edge anyway, because some cosmology says that space is so bent that if you keep going far enough in an unbending line, you will eventually arive back where you started.

My wife just completed a 40-week body building routine... It's a baby boy, weighing 7 pounds!

Fernapple comments on Nov 19, 2021:

Now you will be body building, while your brain melts though lack of sleep. Enjoy and congratulations.

Fernapple replies on Nov 20, 2021:

@Lilac-JadeCanada Yep, I read Sticks48 below after I posted, but thought that I would let it stand.

Schnitzel (meat in breadcrumbs) 😆

Fernapple comments on Nov 19, 2021:

Muesli and melon. Its breakfast time here in the UK.

Fernapple replies on Nov 19, 2021:

@Ryo1 Well there are a lot of people here, not all of them come from a country bordering on the UK.

Do you dance to this when you do your housework?

Paul4747 comments on Nov 19, 2021:

Who does housework? If I can still see carpet somewhere in the place, it's all good.

Fernapple replies on Nov 19, 2021:

Oh, I remember, there used to be a carpet in my house too.

Come to Britain.

Fernapple comments on Nov 17, 2021:

It is worth pointing out, that this is a Christian group doing the survey, and that the stats are only about Christians for the most part. So it is not the British population as a whole, since it ignores the large percentages of other faiths and none believers. It it hard to tell with some of the ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 17, 2021:

@Ryo1 Yes. I think that it is interesting that in the stats. (From Wiki.) over 7% are given as, "not stated". It could be, that an awful lot of those could be none religious, which would push, no religion, up to nearly a third.

Why not evolution?

Diagoras comments on Nov 16, 2021:

Couldn't an argument be made that anything humans do is a result of evolution? I think the same tribalism is what leads non believers to denial about the topic. Within most species typical and atypical behaviors can be found. Why would we be any different?

Fernapple replies on Nov 16, 2021:

The important point is that. "Religions were invented by criminals to control people and take their money." and, religions being "most likely adaptive". Are not in contradiction. My desire for large high cal. meals, is adaptive for life on the African savanna, where good meals were hard to come by. That adaption does not mean that today it is not criminal, for powerful food manufacturers to produce and market large amounts of junk food designed to be addictive, to an already obese population. We have come a long way from the centre of Africa where our adaptive traits evolved, and what was once an advantage may now be a disadvantage. While the adaptive desire for large meals does not specify any particular diet, either, so that all of the diets offered today around the world, may not be healthy, or contain only wild African game and roots. So it does not follow that today's religions have to be useful or adaptive, just because the early religions were. While the fact that there is hardly a single thing held by today's religions in common, proves that they have all moved very far for what they were originally. I would say therefore that the main reason that most sceptics do not credit religions with origins in evolution, if that is indeed the case that they don't, though reading these replies I have doubts, is that they simply do not know about some very obscure science which has very little bearing on their real interests, and does not really conflict with their views.

Why not evolution?

Tejas comments on Nov 15, 2021:

I'm not sure I understand the question. Evolution is a natural process that continues to exist as long as there are living organisms. Religion is man made, and without the existence of humans it is non existent.

Fernapple replies on Nov 15, 2021:

@MsKathleen Skado himself calls it the "capacity for religion" but the, capacity for, is not religion, any more than the capacity of my belly for large meals means that I over-eat.

Why not evolution?

p-nullifidian comments on Nov 15, 2021:

A distinction should be made, in my opinion, between the behavioral and biological sciences. Religion is mapped into the former, and while we may say that religions have changed over time, or even that human behavior has ‘evolved,’ there is no genetic information to be passed. In other words, ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 15, 2021:

@skado There is no language gene, complex emergent properties such as language, are aways the result of several genetically preformed characteristics, which themselves will almost certainly result from the effects of whole groups of genes interacting with each other, and with environmental factors. Siam cats, do have a single gene for dark fur, but it only expresses itself if they get cold during development, therefore it is perfectly possible to have a pale Siam cat, you just keep the kitten warm. There are therefore few inevitable paths leading to any inevitable aspects of religion, just as the needs we have to communicate can be filled by spoken language, writen language, and sign language, and as in the case of hermits, we do not even need to use language at all. Genetic determinism certainly exists, but it is never as simple or as inevitable as a 'gene' for language or a 'gene' for religion. And there is no reason to think that the genetic needs, for what is generally termed, religion, can not be filled by other means, just as written and sign language can fill the need for communication, just as speech, and bread from Canada can fill our hunger just as well as meat for the wildlife of Africa, we evolved to eat. So there is no reason to think that philosophy, science, litrature, arts, sport, nationalism, etc. can not meet our genetic need for religion.

Why not evolution?

Paul4747 comments on Nov 15, 2021:

There actually does seem to be an evolutionary bias to believe in invisible beings and conscious action on the part of inanimate objects, e.g. "That rock looks like it's going to fall on someone", "Those clouds are going to rain on us," "This car refuses to start when I'm late for work." This seems ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 15, 2021:

It was perhaps in The God Delution, and also in, Unweaving The Rainbow, but certainly R. Dawkins has widely recounted the idea, though, if I remember correctly, he did always say that he did not originate it.

Why not evolution?

Tejas comments on Nov 15, 2021:

I'm not sure I understand the question. Evolution is a natural process that continues to exist as long as there are living organisms. Religion is man made, and without the existence of humans it is non existent.

Fernapple replies on Nov 15, 2021:

@skado Because the idea that religion is an evolved trait, and the idea that, it was just a bad idea that someone made up, are not contradictions. Since the capacity and ability to make up bad ideas is and evolved trait, but that does not mean that they are not bad ideas. The same mistake appears most of all in your second point, asking if religion is just a product of criminals, which seems to assume that criminals are not themselves products of evolution. My desire to over eat, and put on weight , is a product of evolution, dating from the days when good meals were hard to find. But that does not mean that it is necessary, inevitable or good to overeat. My doctor tells me that if I put on weight, it will make me unfit, unhappy and shorten my life, so it is not good. I managed to stop doing it and lost weight, so it is not necessary or inevitable either. And the doctors reasons for saying that are many, but the greatest is the observation that people who do not overeat, are usually fitter, happier and longer lived. So is the observation that societies which are less religious, and more secular, are generally happier and score higher on every feature of societal health, such as life expectancy, low criminality, better education, fewer unwanted pregnancies etc. the list is endless.

The Benefits of Claiming "Atheism" for Atheists Should Not Be Ignored

Fernapple comments on Nov 15, 2021:

I have to hold my hands up and say that I do just the opposite. If I was bothered about labels, then I would put myself down as an Agnostic Atheist Broad Church Sceptic, but for the most part if asked I will just say atheist. Because it is simple and people tend to understand it, but I live in ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 15, 2021:

@MikeInBatonRouge thank you.

Meet the "bulldozer of the Aussie Bush," aka the Wombat, the fur covered Tank, the only marsupial ...

Fernapple comments on Nov 14, 2021:

Never met one but, I love the idea of Wombats, because we have such a lot in common; bad attitude, portly figure, nosy, and a strong tendency to turn round and show the world my big ass.

Fernapple replies on Nov 14, 2021:

@Triphid Only one of those two, I leave you to work out which.

Remember the adage if it’s too good to be true it probably is. [wjtv.com]

Fernapple comments on Nov 13, 2021:

Link not available in Europe.

Fernapple replies on Nov 13, 2021:

@JackPedigo Thank you, that explains it.

I equate morality with religion and so I do not presume to have them as a godless one but I do have ...

MikeInBatonRouge comments on Nov 13, 2021:

WTF is secular humanism if not a morality system? Humans create morality. Religion is only a tactic for branding it and claiming some cosmic authority for that given brand.

Fernapple replies on Nov 13, 2021:

That's it in a nutshell.

I equate morality with religion and so I do not presume to have them as a godless one but I do have ...

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Nov 12, 2021:

I often say that I have no morals, but I am ethical. I also equate morals with religion, i.e. Christians claim that homosexuality is immoral, but it is not unethical. Adultery is not even unethical if all partners agree on the parameters. Ethics evolved from the need to protect the clan/tribe...

Fernapple replies on Nov 13, 2021:

The danger with that is that you risk giving up the ground to relgion, if you do not challenge their fake claim to be the sourse of morallity. Especially as most people will not understand/care about, the fine distinction between ethics and morals.

I equate morality with religion and so I do not presume to have them as a godless one but I do have ...

waitingforgodo comments on Nov 12, 2021:

Ethicists take the sword of Damocles and cut the Gordian knot without splitting the hair to the throne.

Fernapple replies on Nov 13, 2021:

Wow ! That takes the prize for, the most mixed metaphore of the month, without a doubt. I think that I will float downstream until cock crow, before I try herding those cats through the eye of the neddle.

I equate morality with religion and so I do not presume to have them as a godless one but I do have ...

LovinLarge comments on Nov 12, 2021:

Love that meme! I expect religion has conditioned us to equate morality with religion but in fact morality is rooted in philosophy not religion.

Fernapple replies on Nov 12, 2021:

It is also a lot older than at least organized religion.

Buddah, Jesus, and Mohammed Stepped Into History... Or Maybe They Didn't

Storm1752 comments on Nov 11, 2021:

I marvel when I read things like in Wikipedia that the idea JC was a made-up myth has been thoroughly dismissed as a "fringe theory" and "the broad consensus" is this "person" most definitely did exist, no doubt about it. Then I read about the "evidence" supporting this nearly unanimous ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 12, 2021:

@Storm1752 Love it well researched.

Buddah, Jesus, and Mohammed Stepped Into History... Or Maybe They Didn't

Storm1752 comments on Nov 11, 2021:

I marvel when I read things like in Wikipedia that the idea JC was a made-up myth has been thoroughly dismissed as a "fringe theory" and "the broad consensus" is this "person" most definitely did exist, no doubt about it. Then I read about the "evidence" supporting this nearly unanimous ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 12, 2021:

@Storm1752 Yes, I would agree that the Roman forgery conspiracy theory is one of the better ones. Not all the theories are equal. But it is still mainly speculative, and we do not know if the forgers were inventing it as new, or were using lost earlier texts and myths to build on. It certainly has many of the qualities of a forgery, but you can have copies and fakes of earlier forgeries, and earlier texts rellating can be destroyed. Do not also forget, that the Flavians stole all the documents held in Jerusalem's temple, perhaps the only library of Jewish religious writing in the Holy Land at the time. What did they find in there ? What did they destroy ? What did they copy ? Why did they really take it ? Who else knew what was in there ? Who did they bribe to cover things up ? Was the Flavian Jesus an original invention, or was there a real Jewish leader who the Flavians wanted to eraze by substituting their own ? Or did the Flavian actually want to put the record square, in their favour, after someone else started promoting their own anti-Roman myth ? I would say, that even if we assume that the Flavians had something to do with it, we still have no idea what was really happening. Ps have another look at the debate we took part in with Skado a couple of days ago, I added another bit you may like.

“There is always going to be a reason to get irritated by people’s behaviour but if you can find...

Fernapple comments on Nov 12, 2021:

"I followed his gaze, and saw, coming down towards us on the sluggish current, a dog. It was one of the quietest and peacefullest dogs I have ever seen. I never met a dog who seemed more contented – more easy in its mind. It was floating dreamily on its back, with its four legs stuck up straight ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 12, 2021:

@Marionville Innocent fun.

“There is always going to be a reason to get irritated by people’s behaviour but if you can find...

Fernapple comments on Nov 12, 2021:

"I followed his gaze, and saw, coming down towards us on the sluggish current, a dog. It was one of the quietest and peacefullest dogs I have ever seen. I never met a dog who seemed more contented – more easy in its mind. It was floating dreamily on its back, with its four legs stuck up straight ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 12, 2021:

@Marionville It comes in the book, Three Men In A Boat, just after someone has persuaded them that it is safe to drink the river water.

Buddah, Jesus, and Mohammed Stepped Into History... Or Maybe They Didn't

Storm1752 comments on Nov 11, 2021:

I marvel when I read things like in Wikipedia that the idea JC was a made-up myth has been thoroughly dismissed as a "fringe theory" and "the broad consensus" is this "person" most definitely did exist, no doubt about it. Then I read about the "evidence" supporting this nearly unanimous ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 12, 2021:

I have heard many different ideas about the Jesus figure, completely mythical, myth built on a small real figure, fictional, allogorical, historical, etc. the one thing that all the theories have in common, is that the tiny amount of confused messed up and doubtful evidence is not enough to support any theory. The real answer is that nobody has, or probably ever will have, the faintest idea what the truth is.

Ever wonder where Trumptards will lead us if given a free hand to destroy democracy and install a ...

anglophone comments on Nov 11, 2021:

I wonder in this day and age how such sexually psychopathic individuals end up in positions of power.

Fernapple replies on Nov 12, 2021:

@SnowyOwl And always do.

Anyone know this guy?

barjoe comments on Nov 11, 2021:

They just made single use plastic bags illegal in Philadelphia. I do this everytime because I almost never have a parking spot in front of the house. They either make you buy a bag or bring your own. My local gives old school brown bags like back in the day. You have no choice but to make two trips....

Fernapple replies on Nov 12, 2021:

@Julie808 A few years ago in Turkey I stopped in a supermarket, and not having many items, I thought that I would carry them out in my arms. But the young lady at the check out spotted this, took them of me, and insisted in packing them into a bag for me. The young lady at the next checkout even came over to help her. (It was a slow day.) Then they gave me big smiles and opened the doors for me. Silly old foreign man. Obviously does not know how supermarkets work !!!

There is a difference I think between atheism/agnosticism/non-belief, on the one hand, and ...

Storm1752 comments on Nov 10, 2021:

So you're asking: if a religious group, say, believes something which isn't (literally) true, as an adaptation which enhances its ability to survive and reproduce, why would I have a problem with it? I wouldn't. What is this thing that isn't literally true? Is it true in any sense of the word? ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 12, 2021:

@Storm1752 No I agree with you, the system is not broken and Skados sentimental clinging to the only real broken bit of it, is a serious mistake. While ignoring the most common modern usage of the word religion and exchanging it for an ancient out modded usage, is just an attempt to tap dance round the real issues. It ignores, or even seems completely blind to the very real progress which is being made in, secular ideology, human rights, environmentalism, socialism, democracy, nation states, internationalism, health, secular philosophy, science and law etc. While trying to rename the whole of human culture with the name of religion, is just a cheap devious shabby trick, typical of a certain low type of apologist, with whom Skado seems to be enthralled, to abolish the very real difference between a real ideological sub-group and all the others and regain religion it its centrality, which it has justifiably lost, just by an Orwellian renaming game. ( Like changing Facebook to Meta.) Even if it can be justified by a trivial reference to an ancient and forgotten historic usage. ( And yes I am aware that "usage", could be seen as an appeal to the, ad populum, fallacy, but I think that usage is more applicable in this case than an appeal to the fallacy from authority, especially ancient authority, "must be true if its old" .) The future of religion, real religion, and especially theist religion, is to become increasingly, (as we can observe happening ) the ideological wing of organized crime, and the home of the dangerously antisocial. For the simple reason that, religion has only ever been able to prosper because it provided an alternate view to mainstream secular culture, without that it has no place in the market. And as all the other modern cultural institutions, increasingly, come to agree on certain moral and ideological standards, religion has nowhere else to go, and nobody else to attract save the criminal.

There is a difference I think between atheism/agnosticism/non-belief, on the one hand, and ...

Storm1752 comments on Nov 10, 2021:

So you're asking: if a religious group, say, believes something which isn't (literally) true, as an adaptation which enhances its ability to survive and reproduce, why would I have a problem with it? I wouldn't. What is this thing that isn't literally true? Is it true in any sense of the word? ...

Fernapple replies on Nov 11, 2021:

@Storm1752 Not genetic superiority, but genetic advantage, that is to say an advange in passing their genes on to the next gereration. And no Islam did not establish a great empire because of its greater science, art and high culture, the biggest growths in the empire were made by primitive followers of the prophet in the first hundred years after his death. Religion and the zeal it generated, was certainly the main driving force, and the main reason why the established empires failed to stop the Arabic expansion, was because the new religion offered to free any slaves who joined, and the slave owning empires fell like dominos before its liberal agenda.

So a nurse from my work is quitting to become a full time youth pastor.

TheMiddleWay comments on Nov 11, 2021:

You, or rather your nurse, need to define what is meant by "improve" for the challenge to make any sense.

Fernapple replies on Nov 11, 2021:

Yes, otherwise it leaves the issues open for the 'nurse' to redefine the criteria after the event, as well as being vague for onlookers.