What was God?

Fernapple comments on Mar 9, 2021:

One thing worth remembering, is that generating a word, is a nearly cost free exercise and can be fun. It was especially one of the few amusements available in the past, when there were no modern media, organized sports or government arts departments. Look at how much Shakespeare and other ...

Fernapple replies on Mar 10, 2021:

@skado Yes of course I overstate my case for the sake of jest, but I still stand by the basic idea. That the origins of the god/gods idea is to be found in the trite, shallow, banal and probably also, the fashionably modern. Firstly because the god idea is in fact a very new one, so new and resent an invention, that it could be said, that it was practically thought up yesterday. Your own, “god and good have the same root", statement, indicates that the time was linguistically, at least, not long ago. Indeed nearly throughout, that whole period when, as you say. “collective forces of nature were never a joke to early humans. And their ignorance-driven fears were never idle playthings the way ours can be when we are accustomed to secure food sources, tornado warnings two days in advance, and housing that excludes not only venomous reptiles but even bloodsucking mosquitoes.” Gods did not exist. And were not felt to be needed. Indeed they were probably a luxury which could not be afforded by those engaged in the earnest struggle for survival. Archaeology provides no evidence for gods before the Neolithic, and anthropology tells the same story. Which is that, for the vast majority of human history and prehistory, religions based on Animism, ancestors and shamanism filled all of human needs. Gods only really begin, at about the time of the Neolithic revolution, perhaps ten thousand years ago in a few places, twenty thousand at most. And of course for the many Mesolithic, and the couple of Palaeolithic cultures, which survived into the twentieth century, Animism was, and is, still the norm, save where they were influenced by outsiders. (Some cultures even avoided gods into the iron age.) Yet religion as a whole, can be traced back at least two million years, which means that, religion was godless yet served humans with all their needs, for at least ninety nine percent of its history, probably more. To live with insecure food sources, you need to understand the animating sprit of the creatures you hunt, ( not literaly ) and to deal with poison and disease you need to understand the spirits of the venomous snakes, disease and the plants and animals which may offer you real help and mutual aid. There are simply no resources to develop pseudo heroic humans, with imagined fake histories. They are the creations of cultures with disposable wealth. Secondly. While I am happy to go along, with the heroic struggle for survival argument to a degree. I do think that it tells only a fraction of the truth, and may in many ways be, very much be just a modern misunderstanding of prehistory. While the lives of prehistoric people may have been brutal sometimes, those moments of brutality would have been just that, moments and no longer, or they would not have ...

How We Survived Growing Up in Apocalyptic Cults.

dermot235 comments on Mar 8, 2021:

The damage done to people who were in Cults like this must be severe. An apocalyptic cult full of pedophiles can't be good for your mental health. I think we can all agree on that. The line between Religion and a cult is not that clear to me. Cults do differ from most religions in that they demand ...

Fernapple replies on Mar 9, 2021:

@Cyklone My thought exactly. Though it has to be said that, to use a metaphor, diseases with violent symptoms, which kill quickly a high percentage of victims, usually burn out quickly, however infectious they are and however fast they spread. But diseases with only mild symptoms can often spread across the whole population. In other words extremism spreads quickly but moderation brings persistence.

No lamps either?

LenHazell53 comments on Mar 8, 2021:

My son still refuses to believe I could have lived in a time when there were only three TV channels.

Fernapple replies on Mar 8, 2021:

I can remember when there were two. When we used to think the third one when it came along was a waste of time, and colour TV was a laughable idea, that would never happen.

Applied Agnosticism 101

David1955 comments on Mar 8, 2021:

First, I'm an atheist. Second, I don't like Tacos, so, what else is there to say?

Fernapple replies on Mar 8, 2021:

@silverotter11 No beer, no Vegemite, no tacos, perhaps it is best to become a christian afterall, and hope for a better life hereafter.

Quran or Bible?? What book is worse?

Surfpirate comments on Mar 7, 2021:

The Quran is a marginally better read and it has half as many pages so you can get through it faster.

Fernapple replies on Mar 8, 2021:

Yes but does that make it better or worse ? LOL

What’s the greatest thing about life itself ?

Deb57 comments on Mar 7, 2021:

As the Barbarian.

Fernapple replies on Mar 8, 2021:

I think the author of Conan may have plagiarized Gengis Khan, I seem to remember an almost identical quote attributed to him. Interesting.

Applied Agnosticism 101

David1955 comments on Mar 8, 2021:

First, I'm an atheist. Second, I don't like Tacos, so, what else is there to say?

Fernapple replies on Mar 8, 2021:

Beer.

Shooting in a newly classified world heritage site to document what are possibly the most pristine ...

girlwithsmiles comments on Mar 7, 2021:

Unfortunately looking quite bleached like the rest if it 😞 I do tend to think of the colour coral when it comes to healthy reefs.

Fernapple replies on Mar 8, 2021:

@Redneckliberal Yes, I was meaning that girlwithsmiles photos were perhaps a bit enhanced, not yours. Sorry not being plain.

Mt. Stuart, 9,420', from Tronsen Ridge, WA

Fernapple comments on Mar 7, 2021:

Always a good idea to include some foreground in landscape shots, to give depth and contrast, plus chromatic perspective, note how the dark shades on the trees are much stronger than the shadows on the mountains.

Fernapple replies on Mar 7, 2021:

@LiterateHiker It still looks really lovely though, great shot. Here is one with a lot of foreground I took in Turkey.

Shooting in a newly classified world heritage site to document what are possibly the most pristine ...

girlwithsmiles comments on Mar 7, 2021:

Unfortunately looking quite bleached like the rest if it 😞 I do tend to think of the colour coral when it comes to healthy reefs.

Fernapple replies on Mar 7, 2021:

His may be a bit bleached, and coral can be very colourful, but I think that there is a bit of photoshop colour enhancement there.

Survey: Atheists Are More Likely to Get Vaccinated Than Any Religious Group | Hemant Mehta | ...

Moravian comments on Mar 7, 2021:

So what is the problem with the 10% of atheists who refuse the vaccine ?

Fernapple replies on Mar 7, 2021:

Some really stupid theists ticked the atheist box by mistake ? LOL Joke yes, but really you do get things like that happening in surveys.

[eurekalert.

GeorgeRocheleau comments on Mar 7, 2021:

How do you go about fermenting wool?

Fernapple replies on Mar 7, 2021:

@GeorgeRocheleau It is the wool, the method raises the nap on the fibres it seems, to help the dye bond better to the wool. Folllow the link, the article is really intersting and quite short.

It's starting to make sense now...

barjoe comments on Mar 6, 2021:

God being a woman is no more a fallacy than God being a man.

Fernapple replies on Mar 7, 2021:

God is a dog, just spell it backwards. It is a secret code, made by the ancients, to conceal the secret knowledge of the holy Tailwaggers, that god transformed itself into a multipart body so that it could enter peoples homes and keep watch on them, especially when they were on the toilet. And if you think that is crazy. Let me tell you about this religion, which worships a zombie with three bodies, who was born out of a virgin.

[eurekalert.

GeorgeRocheleau comments on Mar 7, 2021:

How do you go about fermenting wool?

Fernapple replies on Mar 7, 2021:

The article says, that you let the animals in your barn pee, shit, and trample on it for a few days, then soak it in a stream.

Pizza outlawed in Georgia To Suppress the Vote I can’t make this up.

barjoe comments on Mar 6, 2021:

It goes back to the old free lunch laws, but it's really meant to punish black voters who have the fortitude to wait in intentionally long lines.

Fernapple replies on Mar 7, 2021:

@Paganlyl We have the option of either.

Pizza outlawed in Georgia To Suppress the Vote I can’t make this up.

barjoe comments on Mar 6, 2021:

It goes back to the old free lunch laws, but it's really meant to punish black voters who have the fortitude to wait in intentionally long lines.

Fernapple replies on Mar 6, 2021:

In Britain it is hard to imagine having to wait in line to vote. Generally there are enough booths and stations provided, so that everyone can walk in and cast their vote with no wait. If we, and a lot of other countries, can manage that, how come the country which likes to think of itself as the worlds leading democracy can not. In the UK it would be regarded as showing a shameful lack of commitment to democracy if that situation arose.

An Unfortunate truth The best lack all conviction, while the worst, Are full of passionate ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 6, 2021:

Ironically though. Yates was probably referring to Christians as the best, and sceptics as the worst.

Fernapple replies on Mar 6, 2021:

@LenHazell53 Thank you, did not know that.

“The plain fact is that education is itself a form of propaganda - a deliberate scheme to outfit ...

Marionville comments on Mar 5, 2021:

Depends on your definition of the word education...I believe education is equipping children how to think, but not what to think. Propaganda is instructing children in what to think and is certainly bad, but it isn’t education, it’s indoctrination.

Fernapple replies on Mar 5, 2021:

There is a third thing between propaganda and education, which is pseudo-education, that is to say, things which are not untrue and therefore falsifiable, like propaganda. But which are of little use and value, and therefore do not dispute the ground with education like propaganda and falsehoods, but which still prevent it by blocking it with bulk. Pseudo-education can, and is, therefore much used by those who would prevent real learning, because it is much safer and harder to counter than direct propaganda, and being willing to learn it proves that the student's passive compliance perhaps even better than being willing to accept falsehoods.

and for all the mask addicts USA is on a good path to finally get rid of a non working method to ...

Fernapple comments on Mar 5, 2021:

( This has been said so many times before it is getting really boring. ) The main purpose of masks is to prevent you infecting others, if they do not prevent you getting infected, that is besides the point. Though it is hard to see how they would not at least help a little bit, even with ...

Fernapple replies on Mar 5, 2021:

@LovinLarge Yes I know, I was putting a heavy spin on it.

Best country?

Fernapple comments on Mar 4, 2021:

There is nothing that breeds complacency more quickly, than the belief that you are the best at something. So you make no effort and then one day you turn round and find that the world has left you behind. Hubris is the parent of apathy.

Fernapple replies on Mar 4, 2021:

@lerlo I am sixty four. And I remember the so called happy days of the sixties and seventies, and the fact that most people lived in misery, and that the glories of those times only existed for the white middle class, at the expence of everyone else, both sides of the Atlantic.

So damn pathetic.

Druvius comments on Mar 4, 2021:

What's pathetic is people get their knickers in a twist over this. How, EXACTLY, is this harming anyone? Times change, deal with it, sheesh.

Fernapple replies on Mar 4, 2021:

@Druvius Yes that is the point, it is just one hospital trying it, and maybe not going to stick with it.

So damn pathetic.

girlwithsmiles comments on Mar 4, 2021:

Well they must have more experience than most if they’re finding the need to adjust. Language adapts and changes to meet the need of current society. Life goes on.

Fernapple replies on Mar 4, 2021:

Its fake news anyway.

So damn pathetic.

Druvius comments on Mar 4, 2021:

What's pathetic is people get their knickers in a twist over this. How, EXACTLY, is this harming anyone? Times change, deal with it, sheesh.

Fernapple replies on Mar 4, 2021:

Its fake news anyway.

Best country?

Fernapple comments on Mar 4, 2021:

There is nothing that breeds complacency more quickly, than the belief that you are the best at something. So you make no effort and then one day you turn round and find that the world has left you behind. Hubris is the parent of apathy.

Fernapple replies on Mar 4, 2021:

@lerlo I think that mass shootings and the decline in education are very much the symptoms of the unhappiness which went before , and I do not recall that the US was ever number one in education.

Best country?

Fernapple comments on Mar 4, 2021:

There is nothing that breeds complacency more quickly, than the belief that you are the best at something. So you make no effort and then one day you turn round and find that the world has left you behind. Hubris is the parent of apathy.

Fernapple replies on Mar 4, 2021:

@lerlo For education perhaps Switzerland, for human happiness maybe Denmark. But always keep in mind the wisdom of Oliver Goldsmith. "How wide the limits stand Between a splendid and a happy land.” By which he means that the greatness of countries, is built on the misery of their peoples, and that it is impossible for a country to be a 'world leader' and have a happy people.

Can physics prove if God exists? [bbc.com]

Petter comments on Mar 3, 2021:

IF something exists, its existence can be demonstrated by suitable tests, using instruments and interactions, once intelligent beings have created them. IF something does not exist, then no test of its existence will ever succeed. This latter is the rationale behind religion and the existence of...

Fernapple replies on Mar 3, 2021:

And if it does not exist, then you can make it do or say anything you like, and that is the rational behind using your invisible colegue to justify every form of abuse.

I just received the second shot. That's a big relief.

barjoe comments on Mar 2, 2021:

That's great! When my turn comes, ill get mine. I'm getting impatient.

Fernapple replies on Mar 3, 2021:

You and me both.

[youtu.be] A few top scienist and top reporters. This blows my mind, a must watch.

EarnestEccentric comments on Mar 2, 2021:

Somebody dusted his water/coffee with a bit of mescaline I'm afraid... he'll be all right in a few day if someone doesn't dust him again... 😜

Fernapple replies on Mar 2, 2021:

Nah, high up on a mountain in Peru, typical effects of altitude sickness, very common and a prefect clinical example.

The 50 most ridiculous lines from Trump's CPAC speech.

bobwjr comments on Mar 2, 2021:

Only 50 ?

Fernapple replies on Mar 2, 2021:

He must be trying to up his game.

Canadian Atheist Group: Churches Breaking COVID Rules Must Lose Tax-Exempt Status | Val Wilde | ...

LenHazell53 comments on Feb 28, 2021:

That's fair, "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's,"

Fernapple replies on Mar 1, 2021:

Unfortunately God never turns up to collect his share, so the chuches get to keep it.

Research Suggests Proper Fit of COVID Face Masks Is More Important Than Material

AnneWimsey comments on Feb 28, 2021:

I find that pinching the little tab inside closely around the top of my nose also cuts "glasses fogging" by almost 100% except on the most humid days

Fernapple replies on Mar 1, 2021:

Glasses fogging would be a good sign that it is not working well.

Lack of evidence for something is most definitely evidence that the thing in question may not exist.

t1nick comments on Feb 28, 2021:

I am with you. My strong feelings regarding theism and agnosticism have been frequently espoused on this website. Both,IMO, are variances of Pascal's wager.

Fernapple replies on Feb 28, 2021:

@nogod4me He liked to call people gnostic as and insult word, yet he pedaled a very gnostic form of humanism himself. In the end he said that he had collected enough on gnostic atheists, for the book about them he is going to write. Bet that will be and entertaining read. ( That's gnostic irony. )

Lack of evidence for something is most definitely evidence that the thing in question may not exist.

t1nick comments on Feb 28, 2021:

I am with you. My strong feelings regarding theism and agnosticism have been frequently espoused on this website. Both,IMO, are variances of Pascal's wager.

Fernapple replies on Feb 28, 2021:

@barjoe Don't worry DangerDave called everyone that.

Some Catholics Are Eating Plant-Based Burgers to Avoid Eating “Meat” on Fridays | Hemant Mehta |...

Apunzelle comments on Feb 27, 2021:

What’s the question? If it’s vegetarian, it’s not meat even if it’s called a burger.

Fernapple replies on Feb 28, 2021:

I suppose the question is, not if you are losing the meat from your diet, but if you are losing the abstinance and hardship from your lifestyle.

FonelessFools

AnonySchmoose comments on Feb 27, 2021:

That fool might be me. Because I refuse to pay monthly charges for a smart phone, the world continually expects me to use a smart phone. I'm in a prison of my own making, the world contends, yet I don't agree. Stubborn fool.

Fernapple replies on Feb 28, 2021:

The great thing about being landline only, is that people can only bother me when I am at home or in the office. The rest of the time I am free.

Yes it is a joke, and a video, but the punch line at the very end is very quotable.

Robecology comments on Feb 27, 2021:

Love Penn; here's a couple of memes I have for him; Penn does ramble a bit...but his point is clear...just because we don't accept that there is a "god" doesn't imply that we shouldn't love and reach out, and offer solace to the religious. I've often felt this...they're just delusional...but ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 28, 2021:

Like the second one especially, it fits my thoughts too. Deserves a posting on its own.

I have noticed that from time to time, a debate will ensue on line here, about whether Jesus was a ...

barjoe comments on Feb 26, 2021:

Jesus is a fictitious character. There were no Xtians until late 2nd century.

Fernapple replies on Feb 27, 2021:

@Word Yes but, as you say, Mat. Mark and John are only pruported to be aposteles, as you say, and only purported to be so in the bible again, so this is just another case of using the bible to prove itself. And did you not read what I pased on, the official church theology, and the known history says, that Mat. Mark Luke and John did not write any of it, those names are 'known' to have been added in a quite deliberate and recorded act of faking much later, even the churches who did it admit that.

I have noticed that from time to time, a debate will ensue on line here, about whether Jesus was a ...

barjoe comments on Feb 26, 2021:

Jesus is a fictitious character. There were no Xtians until late 2nd century.

Fernapple replies on Feb 27, 2021:

@Word Yes I have seen this man before and it is very bad apologetics, he only addresses if the bible has been corrupted, since its history began, which ignores whether the original sourse text was any good in the first place, and whether that was already corrupted before the historical bible. It may be that anyone saying that the bible is fiction has a burden of proof, but I would never say that, all I would say is that there is no good reason to believe it is fact, and a lot more evidence that it may be fiction rather than fact. Also the fiction or fact is a false dichotomy anyway, since no book ever published was ever completely one or the other. Even the telephone directory contains some errors, and out of date matter, while even a fantasy like Harry Potter contains a few real places and perhaps some generalized and metaphorical truth.

I have noticed that from time to time, a debate will ensue on line here, about whether Jesus was a ...

barjoe comments on Feb 26, 2021:

Jesus is a fictitious character. There were no Xtians until late 2nd century.

Fernapple replies on Feb 27, 2021:

@Word Its first establishment is fiction. But that is no help with the gosples since we do not know if they were first written as fiction or nonfiction, or even if the first of them or the book from which they were copied was written at all, there is a good argument to be made that it was assembled scrap book fashion from different bits. The usual history accepted by the mainstrem churches like the R. C. and the Anglican is. The four canonical gospels were probably written between AD 66 and 110. All four were anonymous (the modern names were added in the 2nd century), almost certainly none were by eyewitnesses, and all are the end-products of long oral and written transmission. Mark was the first to be written, using a variety of sources; the authors of Matthew and Luke, acting independently, used Mark for their narrative of Jesus's career, supplementing it with the collection of sayings called the Q document and additional material unique to each, John was the last and probably pragerized the others.

I have noticed that from time to time, a debate will ensue on line here, about whether Jesus was a ...

barjoe comments on Feb 26, 2021:

Jesus is a fictitious character. There were no Xtians until late 2nd century.

Fernapple replies on Feb 27, 2021:

@Word Irrelevant if A.C. D. published as fiction or none fiction. But I believe that it was fiction, some authors are honest, some are not.

Seagulls driving worms to the surface, by paddling, you can see one make a catch. [youtube.com]

Behind-the-dog comments on Feb 27, 2021:

I had no idea they did this. I wonder if it's a learned behavior, and if so, could it be an example of culture among gulls (the way variations in learned behaviors are among different groups of [chimps](https://janegoodall.ca/our-stories/chimpanzees-and-culture/)).

Fernapple replies on Feb 27, 2021:

Yes I am sure that it is a cultural learned device. I do not know if you remember, but in the UK Blue Tits, (American Chickades I think.) learned how to open milk bottles that were delivered to peoples doorsteps in those days, and drink the cream of the top. One or two started to do it in one city, (Bristol) and it rapidly spread over the whole country. And milk bottles of course have not been arround long enough to be subjects of evolution.

I have noticed that from time to time, a debate will ensue on line here, about whether Jesus was a ...

barjoe comments on Feb 26, 2021:

Jesus is a fictitious character. There were no Xtians until late 2nd century.

Fernapple replies on Feb 27, 2021:

@Word The fact that a book contains facts, does not make it a work of nonfiction. A. Conan-Doyle wrote a work of fiction about a detective called Sherlock Holmes, who lived at 221b Baker Street. Bakers Street exists, that is a fact, but the Sherlock Holmes stories are still fiction. New York exists that is a fact, but Spiderman is still fiction.

I have noticed that from time to time, a debate will ensue on line here, about whether Jesus was a ...

barjoe comments on Feb 26, 2021:

Jesus is a fictitious character. There were no Xtians until late 2nd century.

Fernapple replies on Feb 27, 2021:

@Word No, I did not say that to because it has contraditions proves that it is fiction. I said that because it has contraditions does not prove it is fact.

What religion began, nationalism has completed, with the nation as the secular substitute for God.

Canndue comments on Feb 27, 2021:

Yes, no, no, yes , yes

Fernapple replies on Feb 27, 2021:

Good answer, but sorry Krish55 is even better.

I have noticed that from time to time, a debate will ensue on line here, about whether Jesus was a ...

barjoe comments on Feb 26, 2021:

Jesus is a fictitious character. There were no Xtians until late 2nd century.

Fernapple replies on Feb 27, 2021:

@Word Yes but. A. You can not use the Bible to prove the Bible. B. I am not in charge of the churches.

@Admin Hey there! I'm sorry to say but is there any reason as to why i can't write back to ...

Fernapple comments on Feb 27, 2021:

Will try a test mail.

Fernapple replies on Feb 27, 2021:

@Lizzyambs No I have not got a reply. Will look into it.

[youtube.com] Billie Jean

Fernapple comments on Feb 27, 2021:

Paddling to fetch worms to the surface perhaps ? Nice if someone gives you a soundtrack to help you work.

Fernapple replies on Feb 27, 2021:

@PondartIncbendog Its not just the soft ground, it annoys the worms and suffocates them driving them to the surface. Here are some seagulls and you can see what happens. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QsqeHtRmHI

I have noticed that from time to time, a debate will ensue on line here, about whether Jesus was a ...

barjoe comments on Feb 26, 2021:

Jesus is a fictitious character. There were no Xtians until late 2nd century.

Fernapple replies on Feb 27, 2021:

@Word I have never heard of any serious theologian even, including those of the R. C. church who thought that the gospels were eye witness accounts, even the mainstream churches don't claim that. ( The evangelicals maybe.) And they certainly don't read like eye witness accounts, very few first person for one, the only way in which they resemble eye witness, is in the number and types of the disagreements between them, but that would be true even of second or third hand accounts, being derived from eye witness at some distant time. You also have to remember that attitudes to writing was very different then, today we make a distinction between fiction which is admired for its imaginative creativity, and reportage, which is admired for accuracy. But in those days the most admired quality was to put a new spin on an old story, since by so doing you were both reverencing the past and giving it the benefit of creativity, which was often seen as god inspired. In other words inaccuracy was valued.

I have noticed that from time to time, a debate will ensue on line here, about whether Jesus was a ...

barjoe comments on Feb 26, 2021:

Jesus is a fictitious character. There were no Xtians until late 2nd century.

Fernapple replies on Feb 26, 2021:

@Joanne A lot of the stories power comes from things like the parables, which to anyone with a degree of feeling for such things, I would say, come over as quite literary in nature. The sort of thing that a writer with a pen would compose, and not an illiterate wandering rabi. So you have to wonder if there is not an invisible ghost figure somewhere in the mix, behind st Paul and the gosple scribes Mat, Mark, Luke, and John, none of whom seem to have the quality for that sort of invention. Just speculation out loud though.

Friday and its hot again in texas got the air on

Fernapple comments on Feb 26, 2021:

OK normally you do humour, today you do wisdom, obviously you are a polymath.

Fernapple replies on Feb 26, 2021:

@waitingforgodo No Phd sorry, got a certificate for first aid when I was eleven, and a prize for junior maths though. LOL

Take that, Evangelicals! Pope Francis accepts the big bang and evolution of science - not the ...

BD66 comments on Feb 25, 2021:

The pope isn't Catholic.

Fernapple replies on Feb 26, 2021:

This may amuse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMf4OtC7SXY

I don't often follow fashions, but I needed a screen for the bottom of the garden , and these things...

AnneWimsey comments on Feb 24, 2021:

Plant morning glory or bougainvillea along the bottom? Or yardlong beans, okra, cucumbers?

Fernapple replies on Feb 25, 2021:

Great idea thanks.

I don't often follow fashions, but I needed a screen for the bottom of the garden , and these things...

Mooolah comments on Feb 24, 2021:

compost?

Fernapple replies on Feb 25, 2021:

Yes I make that too, the idea of this is that it uses stuff too hard to compost easily, but as it slowly rots it creates great wildlife shelter, and to keep the screen going you just add more as you cut it.

A little more on bird feeding, this one is thoughtful and in depth, with some great video footage ...

Robecology comments on Feb 24, 2021:

Be sure you're feeding birds...

Fernapple replies on Feb 25, 2021:

He would be welcome too, as long as something is left. I keep getting a squirrel visit and trying to get a photo, but they are very quick and wary, but I will have their mug shots one day.

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

bbyrd009 comments on Feb 24, 2021:

lemme find the Cassini story, i'll get back to you, but the point is that science has *plenty* of room for ego, hate, lack of respect for truth, can be manipulated to say anything, etc

Fernapple replies on Feb 25, 2021:

@skado Don't confuse religious doctrine with religion. Few if any human institutions have much in common in what they become or what they do, with their original doctrine. Marxism was about economic justice for all classes, but the communist system created vast economic cruelty based on a ridgid class system in most of the countries it infected. The US constitution set out freedom and democratic rights, yet the States repressed millions of black slaves horribly, and made native Americans virtual outsiders and second class people in their own land. Probably more than half of the worlds schools, all of which claim to be about education, are in the business of indoctrination and repressing education. I could go on, there are thousands of examples. A friend of mine always used to joke that you could always tell which countries are horrible repessive dictatorships, because they always have 'democratic' in their title.

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

bbyrd009 comments on Feb 24, 2021:

lemme find the Cassini story, i'll get back to you, but the point is that science has *plenty* of room for ego, hate, lack of respect for truth, can be manipulated to say anything, etc

Fernapple replies on Feb 24, 2021:

Of course science does, every part of human life does contain those things, internally by default. But science does not glorify them, set them up as ideals and try to promote them in the world beyond, indeed science by its nature is not in the business of idealising anything.

Rounding the corner for the last stretch.

Fernapple comments on Feb 24, 2021:

No but they send you the invoice.

Fernapple replies on Feb 24, 2021:

@Word PS. here's a few more points.

Interesting on how few people show up on the new contributors list anymore.

LenHazell53 comments on Feb 24, 2021:

I did not even know there was one

Fernapple replies on Feb 24, 2021:

ditto

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

skado comments on Feb 23, 2021:

If you’re trying to portray politics as hate-free I may have a hard time suppressing a chuckle. If the “world” is increasingly adopting good attitudes, that means it’s increasingly letting go of bad attitudes. If there is a fixed proportion of the population that is continuing to hate, ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 24, 2021:

@skado I like this last, will make it a post perhaps.

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

skado comments on Feb 23, 2021:

If you’re trying to portray politics as hate-free I may have a hard time suppressing a chuckle. If the “world” is increasingly adopting good attitudes, that means it’s increasingly letting go of bad attitudes. If there is a fixed proportion of the population that is continuing to hate, ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 24, 2021:

@skado Once religion was everything, you performed a ritual before you started work, or when you gave birth, you went to the shaman when ill, unhappy, in need of advice or in love. But over a long period of time better ways have been found to do almost everything for which humans have a need, leaving religion on the sidelines. Better to see a doctor if you are ill, a psychologist or philosopher if unhappy, an engineer and a navigator if you want to cross the sea, social welfare if poor, a school for education, etc. etc. the list is endless. At which point you have to ask, what in the end will be left to religion, and what is even today observably left to religion ? It can only be that which more rationally constructed institutions can not, or do not, want to do, in other words criminality, with which religion always did have the most deep connection. Of course, many people get a positive experience from religion, or they would not do it. But people also inject themselves with toxic chemicals, anorexics starve themselves, and flat earthers spend vast amounts of time trying to prove the ridiculous, because they feel they get a positive experience from doing so. It is arguable that religion is growing in the world, I have heard a lot of statistics to the opposite, but what is certain is that almost all of the growth is in Islam. A far bigger share than the shrinkage elsewhere accounts for perhaps. And Islam is the most shameless at promoting a divisive and dualistic world view, even shameless nationalistic hate, which may not account for all its growth, but it certainly is a big attraction for many people.

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Feb 23, 2021:

No offense, but what is the support for science saying that there is no support for hate and what does that mean? Culture and psychology support the practice of hate and has since before recorded history as this report about what might be the earliest evidence of warfare: ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2021:

@Gwendolyn2018 Very true. Though I do not think that it will go away. Religion will almost certainly remain a useful term for a long time to come, if only because all terms can be changed over time to an infinite degree. As epicurian originally meant self denying, and an aesthetic philosophy, yet came to mean hedonistic, at least in popular culture. So in perhaps a hundred years from now 'religion' will come to mean more or less the same thing which we use nazi or fascist for today, but the word will still be in use.

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

skado comments on Feb 23, 2021:

If you’re trying to portray politics as hate-free I may have a hard time suppressing a chuckle. If the “world” is increasingly adopting good attitudes, that means it’s increasingly letting go of bad attitudes. If there is a fixed proportion of the population that is continuing to hate, ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2021:

@skado I am not saying that hate is religiously inspired, except at second hand when it works to inspire political hate. What I am saying is that hate is moving into religion, because that is where it finds the most suitable environment, where it can grow and prosper. Whilst most other human enterprizes become less friendly towards it, just as religion is doing the opposite. I would contend that we have created a secular enterprize which can counterbalance the worst of our animal instinct , or at least that we have now got closer to doing that within the secular environment than we did within religion, even at its best. Religion will almost certainly remain a useful term for a long time to come, if only because all terms can be changed over time to an infinite degree. As epicurian originally meant self denying, and an aesthetic philosophy, yet came to mean hedonistic, at least in popular culture. So in perhaps a hundred years from now 'religion' will come to mean more or less the same thing which we use nazi or fascist for today, but the word will still be in use.

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

wordywalt comments on Feb 23, 2021:

There will always be people who are looking for easiest answers to hard questions, and those who are willing to commit themselves as true believers to any conspiracy theory or total system ideology to avoid feeling powerless and ignorant.

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2021:

Yes my point is not whether such people exist, but where in the future you would be best placed to find them if you want to go looking.

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Feb 23, 2021:

No offense, but what is the support for science saying that there is no support for hate and what does that mean? Culture and psychology support the practice of hate and has since before recorded history as this report about what might be the earliest evidence of warfare: ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2021:

No it is not support from science, when I say, science does not support hate, I am merely noting that science is totally indifferent to hate either way. That hate is not going away is part of the point, human nature does not change with the passage of time, but the ways we use hate, and the institutions we use to forward it may change. My premise was mainly just to set up an observation on the future role of religion. Because of course all human institutions have to find a human need to fullfil if they are to survive. So that in a world where governance and law, take care of the moral, economics the matierial, medcine physical and mental health, the state education, science curiosity and the search for truth, where does religion go looking for a need to answer. Like you say hate is not going away, but the corner in which it takes its next stand is up for grabs, and role will go to the institution which needs that support most, and has the least interest in objective truth. So which one would you bet on ?

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

holdenc98 comments on Feb 23, 2021:

the absolute uni - thought strict party line nature of both the posts and comments, coming out of agnostic.com today (this presumed bastion of free thought) on the subject of the twin revolutions is terrifying. to find uni - thought absolutism like this in earlier history one has to go back to ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2021:

@holdenc98 Wisdom is nuance.

Five ways to feel good.

hankster comments on Feb 23, 2021:

pet an old dog.

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2021:

@hankster Nothing happier than a pair of old grey muzzles, laid on the veranda in the sun.

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

OldMetalHead comments on Feb 23, 2021:

Majority opinion is easily manipulated and often wrong. Christianity is declining, which I think is a good thing, especially since it seems to be getting replaced by secularism. However, there is bad news to go along with the good. Islam will continue to grow, and it is expected to equal ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2021:

@OldMetalHead Without a doubt, who is the 'true' follower/ believer, the violent minority or the moderate majority is another issue, but I would agree that the hard line violent minority certainly have a much better claim.

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

OldMetalHead comments on Feb 23, 2021:

Majority opinion is easily manipulated and often wrong. Christianity is declining, which I think is a good thing, especially since it seems to be getting replaced by secularism. However, there is bad news to go along with the good. Islam will continue to grow, and it is expected to equal ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2021:

True, but I was addressing religion including Islam and not just Christianity, and I think that you will see the same trend in Islam, in that moderate moral people, will increasingly leave, or fade in their support for it, and it will be increasingly hyjacked by the hate filled minority.

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

skado comments on Feb 23, 2021:

If you’re trying to portray politics as hate-free I may have a hard time suppressing a chuckle. If the “world” is increasingly adopting good attitudes, that means it’s increasingly letting go of bad attitudes. If there is a fixed proportion of the population that is continuing to hate, ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2021:

@Canndue Perhaps you are right, that is a whole other ball game to a degree, but I was using poloitics in the widest sense, including especially international politics such as the bill of human rights etc.

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

holdenc98 comments on Feb 23, 2021:

the absolute uni - thought strict party line nature of both the posts and comments, coming out of agnostic.com today (this presumed bastion of free thought) on the subject of the twin revolutions is terrifying. to find uni - thought absolutism like this in earlier history one has to go back to ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2021:

Yes I agree with you, and I would be the first to point out that religion does a lot of good. Yet there is an observable trend, and trend is a none absolute word, for religion to become the last refuge of just that mindless dualistic hate culture as it becomes increasingly unacceptable in so many other places. I am sorry if it came over as absolutist, but I was being brief and taking shortcuts because, I am more interested in the deeper reasons behind the thing, and peoples opinoins on them, than the thing itself.

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

DenoPenno comments on Feb 23, 2021:

As we progress and get better and better where does hate go? It hides. Hate hides until something or someone comes along and tells it to come out and express itself. It might even be said that this is normal and then you see hate run for public office. There might even be flags to support police ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2021:

Indeed yes, hate is a normal part of all animals lives, but of course it can express itself in many ways , sometimes to good effect, ( I hate to see people starve, I will give to a charity, or ask my govermment to send more aid. ) But hate can be destructive of course, and as you rightly say, it loves to hide until it can pounce. My point therefore, was to ask, where destructive hate's next main hiding place is likely to be. And of course all human institutions have to find a human need to fullfil if they are to survive. So that in a world where governance and law, take care of the moral, economics the matierial, medcine physical and mental health, the state education, science curiosity and the search for truth, where does religion go looking for a need to answer. Like you say hate may be a natural need.

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

MikeInBatonRouge comments on Feb 23, 2021:

I question the post's premise a bit. I think we can perhaps say the "idea" of human rights is spreading around the globe, but to say the "adoption" of said rights is becoming "...the norm" seems to me to be woefully premature. Hate remains alive and well. e.g. Trumpism, Brexit, neo-nazis in ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2021:

I think you may well be very correct. My premise was mainly just to set up an observation on the future role of religion, human nature does not change with the passage of time, but it does find different ways of expressing itself, and institutions may change their roles over which part of it they express.

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

Paddypereira comments on Feb 23, 2021:

Well, nobody has only faults or only qualities. People many times have the need of making others look bad and think they are righteous to harm others because they don't like them, see them as evil or whatever, not realising that they're being evil themselves. Speaking for myself, I wish I could say ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2021:

Yes I agree we all have done harm and have a dark side, me included. But while most people would like to improve, and put their weaker pasts behind them, a few would like to celebrate it and promote it to others, whence they seak a platform.

This came up, thanks syntiger6.

skado comments on Feb 23, 2021:

If you’re trying to portray politics as hate-free I may have a hard time suppressing a chuckle. If the “world” is increasingly adopting good attitudes, that means it’s increasingly letting go of bad attitudes. If there is a fixed proportion of the population that is continuing to hate, ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2021:

I did not say that politics is hate free, I said that it at least demands respect for majority opinion, (some of the time ) which is not much, but it is something however trivial. And, since a lot of political hate is religiously inspired, touche'. "If the 'world' is increasingly adopting good attitudes, that means it is increasingly letting go of bad attitudes. " Yes that follows, but that does not mean that bad attitudes may not persist, nor shift their location. Indeed if those holding them are a diminishing minority, or feel threatened by a improving world, then you would expect them to regroup, back away and cluster in an evil refuge of their own making. That is the point of the post. Nor did I say that they were a fixed proportion, but the argument works, whether they decrease, increase, or remain the same. The world (as a whole ) may well improve, despite a bad minority growing more evil and more numerous. Paragraph two, shows some very bad logic. I mention syntiger6 because these thoughts here came up as a comment on one of his posts, and I wish to give him credit for the inspiration, plus explain to members who have seen that, why a similar one appears twice.

Five ways to feel good.

hankster comments on Feb 23, 2021:

pet an old dog.

Fernapple replies on Feb 23, 2021:

Why do I feel that you have an hidden motive when you say that , you old dog ?

"I say quite deliberately that the Christian religion, as organized in its churches, has been and ...

Freedompath comments on Feb 21, 2021:

I believe that is mostly true. I think it would be possible to use some of the fables on how to be a better person. It seems to me that the modern religion has morphed into more like an addiction than a teaching tool.

Fernapple replies on Feb 22, 2021:

@Word NO that bit isn't.

The last several weeks, this site has had a number of odd malfunctions.

Admin comments on Feb 21, 2021:

Will check the color theme issue tomorrow... been working on translation support for multiple languages.

Fernapple replies on Feb 22, 2021:

Don't forget the 'View Perks' buttons please.

"I say quite deliberately that the Christian religion, as organized in its churches, has been and ...

Freedompath comments on Feb 21, 2021:

I believe that is mostly true. I think it would be possible to use some of the fables on how to be a better person. It seems to me that the modern religion has morphed into more like an addiction than a teaching tool.

Fernapple replies on Feb 22, 2021:

@Word Because being tied and bound in an obligation, does not just mean a good obligation, it also means being tied and bound to a criminal enterprise.

Evangelist: Pray for Me in Asia Because Buddhists Have “Emptiness on the Inside” | Hemant Mehta ...

altschmerz comments on Feb 21, 2021:

One of the commenters on the site said, "Ignorant, arrogant evangelist trying to use words like 'animus' and 'spiritus' to suggest something unholy. 'Animus' simply means (1) hostility or ill feeling or (2) motivation to do something, and 'spiritus' just means breath or spirit." Typical ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 21, 2021:

I though he said anamists actually, but he does not have a good speaking voice. Its funny, I see a lot of these evangelists on line, and none of the speak well, what happened to Elmer Gantry ? (Hope I spelled that right. But anyway you can look him up on google.)

I was in the kitchen having toast and coffee in my slippers and pajamas reading agnostic.

Fernapple comments on Feb 19, 2021:

I have seen none. But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, so agnostic I remain. However there is no observable benefit that would be gained from the existence of a higher power, so its existence or not is of no importance. But I would strongly suspect that if there is a higher power, ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 21, 2021:

@nogod4me Off course, you must have realized by now I am just being silly. But silly with a point.

Hello all, please how can i get to the admin/support on here?

Fernapple comments on Feb 20, 2021:

Hello and welcome. Sorry but it is a rule of the site that you can not message people until you reach level 5 or 6 I think. It is annoying but it does protect members against spam and scam. Don't worry if you are not a robot or a troll the levels soon stack up. But you should be able to reply to ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 20, 2021:

@AnneWimsey Just found it, it says that you must reach at least level two. Very strange as well in that I never get any spam or scammer messages on or from this site.

Hello all, please how can i get to the admin/support on here?

Fernapple comments on Feb 20, 2021:

Hello and welcome. Sorry but it is a rule of the site that you can not message people until you reach level 5 or 6 I think. It is annoying but it does protect members against spam and scam. Don't worry if you are not a robot or a troll the levels soon stack up. But you should be able to reply to ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 20, 2021:

@AnneWimsey Seem to remember that I could not message until I reached about five. Strange.

I was in the kitchen having toast and coffee in my slippers and pajamas reading agnostic.

Fernapple comments on Feb 19, 2021:

I have seen none. But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, so agnostic I remain. However there is no observable benefit that would be gained from the existence of a higher power, so its existence or not is of no importance. But I would strongly suspect that if there is a higher power, ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 20, 2021:

@nogod4me Ah yes but theists think they know that no other gods but their exist, therefore they are atheist about all but one in twenty thousand or so gods.

Don't know if this is happening to everyone but I think there is a bug.

Word comments on Feb 20, 2021:

If I recall correctly, I posted something about that a week or so ago. @admin

Fernapple replies on Feb 20, 2021:

There is nothing obvously visible of your post now. Or that is the wrong link.

Looking for suggestions...

Fernapple comments on Feb 20, 2021:

No can't help. Our village gardening club made me Vice Chairman, but they never asked me to organize any, so I left.

Fernapple replies on Feb 20, 2021:

@EarnestEccentric I try my best, one in fifty can't be too bad.

Don't say his name anymore! It is driving him crazy. "The other guy"!

anglophone comments on Feb 20, 2021:

The Tangerine Turd. The Swamp Machine. Humpty Trumpy. The Pussy Grabber. The Loser. The Retard in Chief of the Repugnicant Party. The LyingEvilSelfseekingEgomaniacNarcissisticIdiot. Putin's Poodle. QAnon's Stooge. The Madman of Mar-a-Lago.

Fernapple replies on Feb 20, 2021:

Someone once said that. "If people give you a nickname it is a sign of the highest respect, if they give you two it is a sign of the lowest disrespect." So if they give you a dozen or more .....?

I was in the kitchen having toast and coffee in my slippers and pajamas reading agnostic.

Fernapple comments on Feb 19, 2021:

I have seen none. But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, so agnostic I remain. However there is no observable benefit that would be gained from the existence of a higher power, so its existence or not is of no importance. But I would strongly suspect that if there is a higher power, ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 20, 2021:

@nogod4me We are all agnostic to some degree, except for theists, who are atheists about every other god but theirs.

This is a world wide pandemic.

Fernapple comments on Feb 19, 2021:

No because. One. There is a lot of value in getting as many people done, as quickly as possible, without waiting around to find out which is best, and then getting that one up to maximum production. Two. A range of sightly different vaccines will make it less likely, that a mutant virus can ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 20, 2021:

@powder Yep, that is how I am using it.

I was in the kitchen having toast and coffee in my slippers and pajamas reading agnostic.

Fernapple comments on Feb 19, 2021:

I have seen none. But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, so agnostic I remain. However there is no observable benefit that would be gained from the existence of a higher power, so its existence or not is of no importance. But I would strongly suspect that if there is a higher power, ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 19, 2021:

@nogod4me My thought exactly. I sometimes think that if there is a higher power, it may like atheists the best, because we don't, tell it what it should be doing, or set up false claimants in its place, but then I think that's probably too gnostic, best just stick to don't know.

I was in the kitchen having toast and coffee in my slippers and pajamas reading agnostic.

Fernapple comments on Feb 19, 2021:

I have seen none. But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, so agnostic I remain. However there is no observable benefit that would be gained from the existence of a higher power, so its existence or not is of no importance. But I would strongly suspect that if there is a higher power, ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 19, 2021:

@nogod4me Yes but remember, the original post was not talking about the Biblical god, but only a higher power. Is there a higher power ? I don't think so ? But then if you had asked a nineteenth century scientist are there such things as radio waves. Ergo, I could be wrong.

I was in the kitchen having toast and coffee in my slippers and pajamas reading agnostic.

Fernapple comments on Feb 19, 2021:

I have seen none. But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, so agnostic I remain. However there is no observable benefit that would be gained from the existence of a higher power, so its existence or not is of no importance. But I would strongly suspect that if there is a higher power, ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 19, 2021:

@nogod4me No, but then repeatability is evidence.

I was in the kitchen having toast and coffee in my slippers and pajamas reading agnostic.

Fernapple comments on Feb 19, 2021:

I have seen none. But absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, so agnostic I remain. However there is no observable benefit that would be gained from the existence of a higher power, so its existence or not is of no importance. But I would strongly suspect that if there is a higher power, ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 19, 2021:

@nogod4me Well yes that is true to a degree, but to continue the anology. If I checked a couple of hours later, but it took your cheque three days to clear.

What do you get when you do not know the difference betwen 18% and 60%. A Texas Republican.

AmyTheBruce comments on Feb 18, 2021:

I must be missing the reference. Could you explain what you mean?

Fernapple replies on Feb 19, 2021:

@t1nick Thank you.

Why billions of people won't eat pork (or why we don't know) - YouTube

Fernapple comments on Feb 18, 2021:

One reason not mentioned strangely is perhaps, xenophobia, hatred not of pigs, but of the people who eat them. The earliest and most basic part of all Abrahamic religions, and the period from which the law giving first stems, is the story of the Jewish Exodus. How a group of slaves came out of ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 19, 2021:

@Triphid Very true, I should perhaps have put it more strongly, but was perhaps more interested in how the story may have started.

Why billions of people won't eat pork (or why we don't know) - YouTube

Fernapple comments on Feb 18, 2021:

One reason not mentioned strangely is perhaps, xenophobia, hatred not of pigs, but of the people who eat them. The earliest and most basic part of all Abrahamic religions, and the period from which the law giving first stems, is the story of the Jewish Exodus. How a group of slaves came out of ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 18, 2021:

@Mooolah I often cut up French people into small pieces to feed my frogs ?

Why billions of people won't eat pork (or why we don't know) - YouTube

Fernapple comments on Feb 18, 2021:

One reason not mentioned strangely is perhaps, xenophobia, hatred not of pigs, but of the people who eat them. The earliest and most basic part of all Abrahamic religions, and the period from which the law giving first stems, is the story of the Jewish Exodus. How a group of slaves came out of ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 18, 2021:

@AnneWimsey Yes. I often thought. Since there are some health problems with under-cooked pork, so if god knew everything, why did he not just tell them to cook it well. LOL ?

Ambery1199 and mike1199 seem something odd? Both all about bitcoin?

Fernapple comments on Feb 18, 2021:

Do you think that they may be using the site for marketing ?

Fernapple replies on Feb 18, 2021:

@Word That makes two of us.

Dialogue between a cute Pakistani Muslim and an Arab atheist Atheist :what is the punishment for an...

xenoview comments on Feb 18, 2021:

Funny. A muslim is a follower of islam, and an arab is a race.

Fernapple replies on Feb 18, 2021:

An Arab is someone who speaks Arabic. Though some say that only Arabic speakers can be true Muslims. What the s##t just a bunch of religiotards trying to put labels on people again.

Why billions of people won't eat pork (or why we don't know) - YouTube

Fernapple comments on Feb 18, 2021:

One reason not mentioned strangely is perhaps, xenophobia, hatred not of pigs, but of the people who eat them. The earliest and most basic part of all Abrahamic religions, and the period from which the law giving first stems, is the story of the Jewish Exodus. How a group of slaves came out of ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 18, 2021:

@Word True, and I would not say that health and hygiene were not important parts of the laws. Only, let us not put whitewash on those times, they were people just like us, and there were probably just as many bad nasty reasons for doing things, and making laws, then, as there are today. When a white American evangelical tells you not to put on a face mask, it could be that, as they may claim, they are concerned about the heath dangers that could come about because of badly washed masks. And/or it could be just, that they hate any instruction which comes from a government which they hate in turn, because it will not indulge them in their racism. That is not to say that there is no danger from unhygienic face masks kept on too long and not washed properly, ( though it is trivial compared with Covid, ) just that the reason given is not always the only motivation for saying something, and not always the main one.

Why billions of people won't eat pork (or why we don't know) - YouTube

Fernapple comments on Feb 18, 2021:

One reason not mentioned strangely is perhaps, xenophobia, hatred not of pigs, but of the people who eat them. The earliest and most basic part of all Abrahamic religions, and the period from which the law giving first stems, is the story of the Jewish Exodus. How a group of slaves came out of ...

Fernapple replies on Feb 18, 2021:

@Word Yes that is in the video. But such reasons of health and hygene tend to dominate the debate, because of course, theists today, are trying to justify the texts, and put the best spin on them. It is possible and probable that health was a contributing reason, it is the most often given today. (By theists especially.) But I doubt that in the Bronze Age, health seemed anything like as urgent an issue as fighting the guy coming at you swinging a sword, for the land to feed your children, and persuading those children to keep up the fight.