mysteries explained [youtu.be]

Fernapple comments on Dec 27, 2019:

Sci show is always a good ten mins. Thank you.

And the world was never the same:

Fernapple comments on Dec 26, 2019:

Newton belonged to a heretical Christian sect which did not believe in the holy trinity. And his college at Cambridge where he did most of his important work, was of course 'Trinity.'

Did anyone get any presents they really like? 😆

Fernapple comments on Dec 26, 2019:

Not known for doing a good job, keep an eye on him.

Did anyone get any presents they really like? 😆

Fernapple comments on Dec 26, 2019:

I got a good night out and a great meal with my best friend. What more could you want.

I would like to know more about how we view ourselves.

Fernapple comments on Dec 26, 2019:

Curious. Friendly, Good humoured. But you have to have the negative as well. Hyperactive, and can't concentrate. Thoughtless. Pedantic. That's why you have to have these as well.

I was listening to a Atheist Experience video on YouTube and a concept that that I never considered ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 26, 2019:

Our understanding of Satan and his history comes mainly from the middle ages, and especially later writers such as Milton and Dante, he hardly appears in the bible at all. The association with the snake in Eden is made much later; it was just a common snake to start with. In the later books of Moses God sends 'A' Satan, presumably meaning there are more of them, to deliver the plagues of Egypt, so he/they are clearly still doing as he/they are told at that stage. ( A satan, is just a lower case noun, meaning roughly, 'opponent'. Later King David is said to be one.) In the book of Job, Satan is still Gods drinking buddy who helps him torture Job for a bet. It is only in the new Testament that he starts to show signs of rebellion, but even there, it is not suggested that he lives in, or is the ruler of hell. The changing face of Satan is one of the best proofs of how inconsistent and extensively rewritten the bible really is.

Why Didn’t Jesus Do Something?

Fernapple comments on Dec 26, 2019:

Also remember that he, if he existed and was the son of god, and/or the people who invented him, and were supposed to be inspired by god, made no mention of bacteria or viruses as the sources of disease. You would think that god who made them would have known about them.

China Wants to Rewrite the Bible to Conform to Communist Standards | David Gee | Friendly Atheist | ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 26, 2019:

Why not everyone else has.

Merry Wednesday everyone, and a Happy Thursday.

Fernapple comments on Dec 26, 2019:

Nice pagan names.

The Inevitable Death of Evangelical Christianity | Keith Giles

Fernapple comments on Dec 26, 2019:

Things like religions rarely die, they just morph into something else. So it is certainly possible that the modern type of evangelical christianity will fade away, as fifty other forms of christianity have already. ( It is after all, now coming up against the greatest force in human life, that which brings down every empire and great movement in the end. Namely boredom, and humans complete inability to concentrate on anything for long. ) Hopefully to be replaced with something better.

Be Christ-like...

Fernapple comments on Dec 26, 2019:

Should that not be? "Beat a group of capitalists with a whip." Not a politician, though OK they are almost invariably the same thing.

Reason to be proud.

Fernapple comments on Dec 25, 2019:

And certainly not Ruth. LOL

Are you a "Season's Greetings" or "Happy Holidays" person?

Fernapple comments on Dec 25, 2019:

Thank you, been a great year.

Why are some people barred from the Senate? It doesn't sound very democratic.

Fernapple comments on Dec 24, 2019:

I thought that the senate was the only place where you could not get barred ?

Midnight in Australia now so I can now wish you a very very very merry day! Celebrate the best way ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 24, 2019:

Looks like he's on his way to forgetting it.

I need to tap into the Agnostic Hive Mind for some assistance.

Fernapple comments on Dec 24, 2019:

Look up snow dome makers and see if you can get the dome and fluid replaced on the original.

What do you think of the concept "guns don't kill people, people kill people?"

Fernapple comments on Dec 24, 2019:

Yes, but guns make it a lot easier for people to kill people. Thats like saying, its not cars, trains and planes that make people go on journeys. They don't, but we would make a lot less journeys if we had to walk everywhere.

How do you feel about ritual gift-giving?

Fernapple comments on Dec 24, 2019:

A gift in February is worth twenty at Christmas, and should be valued twenty times as much.

Space for solitude

Fernapple comments on Dec 24, 2019:

I live alone, but strangely that does not seem to provide solitude as such. So my garden and walking in the country do it for me.

I really despise Christmas, the music, the militant adherence (my "family) to stupid rituals and ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 24, 2019:

Yep. That about hits the nail on the head. If it was not so cold in the Northern Hemisphere, it would be the best time of the year, for an off grid camping holiday.

What's a funny saying your parents said?

Fernapple comments on Dec 24, 2019:

My grandmother always used to say, to something outlandish. "Shocking Mrs Bocking." Never knew where that came from, have to google it. I always used to be amused when people say, to something questionable. "I am not over duly concerned." I always wondered, who Julie was, and why she had to be consulted on everything.

Strongest argument made by atheists

Fernapple comments on Dec 23, 2019:

Just. Which God? When there are ten thousand or more known gods, and even more sects claiming to be the only true version, the chances that any one person has hit just by luck on the only perfect choice, makes the national lottery look good. So that if they raise the question. "What if you are wrong ?" Then you can say, with perfect logic. "Well if I am wrong and there is a god, then we are almost certainly both wrong."

“Scientists say human extinction is likely.

Fernapple comments on Dec 23, 2019:

Probably no bad thing if we do go, give the next species a chance. I see though, that the one thing they don't mention is infectious disease, which seems likely given that we are now one of the panets best possible food sources, and that we use almost no quarantine, as we jet round the globe. While it is said that it is perfectly possible to model an infectious disease which could wipe out an entire species. It is perhaps only a matter of time.

Horsetail Falls in Yosemite - in February, there is a specific angular solar effect that makes the ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 23, 2019:

Wow. Wonderful, and all the more exciting, because so many things have to come together to make it work.

A little beauty to brighten your (my) day - it is gray & rainy here in the mountains of NC

Fernapple comments on Dec 23, 2019:

Alstromaria ? Is it potted and indoors ?

I love experimenting with Cranberries.

Fernapple comments on Dec 23, 2019:

Wow. How come your not married ?

I am currently watching the Hollywood epic "The greatest story ever told".

Fernapple comments on Dec 23, 2019:

I don't think that the film is an accurate account of any of the four biblical stories, and many people before have said that the bible stories themselves do not make any sense anyway. One common theory is, that Paul was responsible for putting a pro Roman twist on to the story, but that it was not done very well and the gaps show. Remember though that the Romans were very busy executing dozens of Jewish saviors, and that in times of trouble, resistance movements can be very fractional, so it is possible that at least one of the many would be Jewish leaders fell foul of his/her own authorities, who may of course have been quizlings trying to make a compromise with the Romans. Remember things get complicated, Josephus for example, started as a Jewish rebel, became an informant, and ended as the Emperors scribe, secretary and biographer. With some people saying, that he was bribed by the Emperor with the original copies of the Jewish Old Testament looted from the temple in Jerusalem. (Some then go on to say that he was the forger of the Gospels, but that is pure conspiricy theory.)

Maybe adding appeal to secularism, rather than talking stink on religion, is a more productive ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 23, 2019:

The more 'nones' there are out there setting examples of being good human beings, and living good lives, the more secularism will grow. Setting a good example is perhaps the most powerful thing you can do.

I've now had 911 visitors to my profile. Does that make it an emergency?

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2019:

There you go 912, panic over.

Is the entire universe God?[mindmatters.ai]

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2019:

Possibly.

I think we've had very similar quizzes before - it's very quick, 15 Q's, and at the end an ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2019:

Only 14 though I did guess which one I got wrong.

Sometimes a concept is baffling not because it is profound but because it is wrong. - E.O. Wilson

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2019:

And sometimes it is dressed in baffling language so that you can't see where it is wrong.

Can we avoid insulting believers ?[churchandstate.org.uk]

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2019:

Better yet don't assert your sceptical views at all. Instead just set a good example of living life as a good human being, and if asked why, explain why you do it. Second. Do not forget that the religions, churches and temples, 'WANT', their faithful to be insulted. That is especially why they send them out to evangelize. Because when they are insulted, that reinforces the indoctrination they are trying to plant, that the rest of the world is hostile, and that the only moral human people are those inside the church, mosque or temple, who follow the doctrine. If you insult them you are playing the churches game for them.

No one teaches a newborn human to breath.

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2019:

Yet if we are made by evolution, then since evolution by natural selection has no foresight, it can not equip us therefore, for the consequences of any technology or arts we may create for ourselves. So that when the genetic ground work for language was laid down, and we then went on to create languages and cultures, there could be no genetic tools in place for dealing with the consequences. ( For example, the fact that with agriculture, we can eat far more than is good for us. ) But the most important of these, is, that we could not be pre-equipped to deal with the vastly increased capacity we have gained, for creating fictions and lies, that language and culture have given us. So that if people start to propagate stories about flying unicorns, Loch Ness monsters or sky daddies, we could have no genetic defenses built in. Or maybe it is good that nature created us very gullible, and we should believe everything we are told.

Therapy dog caught stealing donated toys at police station

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2019:

The story is no longer there.

Afterlife thoughts... Do you believe in an afterlife?

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2019:

The existence or none existence of an afterlife is of no real importance in itself. To be of any importance it would have to either be proved to affect this life in some way, or to be affected itself, by this life, in some way that could be demonstrated. An invisible or nearly invisible afterlife, with no evidence about its nature, like the invisible deist god, affects nothing. While hearing voices is a very common failing of the human brain, which is programed to seek patterns and to favour false positives over false negatives, plus being well able to generate perfectly life like hallucinations. For interests sake, you may find it interesting to research Joshua Slocum, the round the world sailor. Who famously recorded, not only hearing voices but seeing and having a true conversation with a hallucinatory pilot who he found aboard, and actually at the wheel steering his boat, in the middle of the Atlantic. Though he never concluded that it was anything but a hallucination made by his brain.

Climate change anyone... My peach trees seem to think it is spring 😢

Fernapple comments on Dec 22, 2019:

It was like that here in the UK last year, but so far it seems to be a more normal winter with us this year.

Christmas day is almost here and I do not feel it at all.

Fernapple comments on Dec 21, 2019:

No, you are not alone.

“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.

Fernapple comments on Dec 21, 2019:

Wish you all light dry snow to shovel and a little winter sun, few cold winds and the early signs of spring coming soon.

I am a syntheist who accepts both theism and atheism.

Fernapple comments on Dec 21, 2019:

You may think what you wish, from an Atheist/Agnostic view point, but religion by its very nature is divisive, since the only product it has to sell is exclusivity, there being no profit, power or any other value in religion, to a god/spirit/understanding/knowledge which is freely available to everyone. That is why words like deist and spiritual were invented. So I think that it is with the other side you need to make your peace, though I do not think that you will have much luck.

Just joined.

Fernapple comments on Dec 21, 2019:

Hello and welcome. Enjoy the site. And if you have time do check out the groups, there is something for everyone.

so I was on a site for the city I grew up in and someone posted something angry about trump and God ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 21, 2019:

Don't worry, they stop being annoying after 50 years or so.

Im not really feeling Christmas mood this year, to be honest. What about you?

Fernapple comments on Dec 21, 2019:

Don't worry its called age, but it comes with a bonus called growing up, (I think, it never happened to me.) which brings the joys of real deep freedom.

Had a chance to stop and take a snapshot with my phone on my way to school to pick up the kids.

Fernapple comments on Dec 21, 2019:

Good shooting, but don't take your eye of the road too long.

The winter solstice.

Fernapple comments on Dec 21, 2019:

I have heard that the solstice was thought to last for several days yes. You have to remember that at or near the solstice any changes in the suns position from one day to the next is tiny, it moves fastest at the equinoxes, and until people developed modern instruments to measure it, movements near the solstice were probably undetectable. Also of course, shortest day does not always fall on the same day but either 21st or 22nd, depending on when the calender was last adjusted by the leap year in part. Also most church holidays are historical accidents, set where they are for a whole range of reasons, just look at Easter. These may be of interest, perhaps you haveto take the scholarship sceptically especially the first. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg2nB5mrZbE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoXoq4DBtu4

Why Doing Good Makes It Easier To Be Bad.

Fernapple comments on Dec 20, 2019:

Especially as so much of Christianity as a religion is about providing people with fake ways to do good. Examples. Donate to the church when they hold out the collection plate, saves you having to find a charity and make sure your money is well spent. Confess to the priest, saves you having to own up to and face the person you really harmed. Sit on the pew for an hour, saves you having to help build a community. Etc. etc.

"Your next post should be People Who Over Post."

Fernapple comments on Dec 20, 2019:

If someone in the world likes you, you have won life's lottery, if someone on the net gives you a like, you have made a worthwhile contribution. (And between you and me, I have not been keeping count, but I do think you get a few more than one like.)

Dear Universe,

Fernapple comments on Dec 20, 2019:

Great new word.

Look again at that dot.

Fernapple comments on Dec 20, 2019:

Pale blue dot. One of the best.

Based on this I find myself somewhere between an existentialist and a humanist.

Fernapple comments on Dec 20, 2019:

It is a bit crude and simple, but it would be a good exercise for people coming here to study it before they begin. In the long term however it is better, I think, to explain your own position carefully to the people who care about you, and forget putting labels on yourself for those who don't care about you. They won't be listening anyway.

Atheist: let's assume that heaven is real.

Fernapple comments on Dec 20, 2019:

The Buy-Babble is said to make it a sacred duty to enjoy watching the sufferings of those in hell, so presumably if you care about people, you are not going to heaven anyway.

Why does god choose some to go to heaven and not others?

Fernapple comments on Dec 20, 2019:

That is perhaps the most blatant expression of the selfishness of religion I ever heard. Well at least they are honest. Unlike a lot of religions who try to fudge the issue of exclusive claims, or sweep it under the carpet.

This is wrong

Fernapple comments on Dec 20, 2019:

And some people have said that the US is not an empire ?!

Thanks to everyone that has made this the best online forum! I just hit lvl 9.

Fernapple comments on Dec 20, 2019:

Well done. And I think you are right, it would be a good idea if reasons could be flagged up when groups and posts are taken down. Though I have heard that several eights and nines have left, sometimes because they have become unhappy.

Well, this is my first post so I don't know really what to say.

Fernapple comments on Dec 19, 2019:

Hello and welcome, Enjoy the site, and do check out the groups if you have time, there is something for everyone.

“Indifference and neglect often do more damage than outright dislike”.............J.K. Rowling.

Fernapple comments on Dec 19, 2019:

And the most harm of all is usually caused by good intentions and poor understanding.

I am a 100 % sure atheist! The Bible is a fairy tale! Try to imagine an omnipotent being (God) who...

Fernapple comments on Dec 19, 2019:

Hello and welcome, enjoy the site.

Thats true

Fernapple comments on Dec 19, 2019:

You may not like all of them, but looking at them from the other side of the pond, I can say that none of them made the US look totally stupid. Some respect due.

Hell-- that awful place that we're all told to be scared of.

Fernapple comments on Dec 19, 2019:

Hello and welcome. Enjoy the site. Like any good con artist, religion changes its lines all the time to suit its victims. Its changing its attitude to hell (as well as lots of other things) now. What is really strange is how you can change everything, over and over to suit yourself, yet still claim that everything you say has the added authority of a perfect , eternal and unchanging god behind it. The trick is to stay just ultra-conservative enough, so that people without any historical knowledge can't see you changing.

Some of you say religion makes people happy. So does laughing gas. - Clarence Darrow

Fernapple comments on Dec 19, 2019:

Warm sunshine, waves on the beach, snow on the mountain, wine in the glass, the small flowers which lurk in hidden corners, busy street markets, drifts of autumn leaves, the fur on dogs noses, talking about old time with friends, cafe tables on the street, sunset and dawn, mist and rain, people eating things that I made, customers who leave smiling, waterfalls, the glow you get after a long walk. Etc. Etc.

Just in case you might possibly have forgotten; we are god damn lucky to be here.

Fernapple comments on Dec 18, 2019:

A merry winter solstice to everyone too. The light returns and the season of new life is on the way. And for our Australian friends, it will cool down soon.

You don't say!

Fernapple comments on Dec 18, 2019:

So nothing much has changed then.

“The lonely one offers his hand too quickly to whomever he encounters.

Fernapple comments on Dec 18, 2019:

He was always a cheery soul.

Terry is a wise man

Fernapple comments on Dec 18, 2019:

He was a wide man a couple of hours ago, I did not know you could diet posthumously. I bet he could have used that idea in one of his books. LOL

Hello friends, I shaved my head 😍

Fernapple comments on Dec 18, 2019:

You look fine suits you, but it may crackle on your pillow as it starts to grow back. I am a shiny top. (Mine fell out without any help.)

How do you all feel about Omnism?

Fernapple comments on Dec 18, 2019:

It depends what you mean by Omnism, there are several alternatives, but to address some. If you go into the restaurant and try to eat everything on the menu you will make yourself ill. If you go into a restaurant and say, do not show me the menu, anything will do, you are foolish. (We are defined by our choices not by our endurance of everything thrown at us.) And if you tell your friends that they can eat well in every restaurant in town, they will get food poisoning. Not everything served in all restaurants is safe or wholesome. If you tell your friends that, MOST of the restaurants in town serve at least one thing that is good, and that you should be polite and respectful when viewing any menu. Then are are perhaps wise. To quote R. Dawkins for once. "If your mind is too open, your brains will fall out."

Any Thoughts?

Fernapple comments on Dec 18, 2019:

Someone said a long while ago. "The internet is the place where religions go to die." When it started religions were very keen on it, because they thought that you can use it to sell anything, you can, but if you put it out there you have to remember, it is also used to evaluate anything. What they missed was, the important thing about the net is, that because people can say what they wish, you don't have to be polite and respect peoples feelings like you do face to face. That is a harsh environment for ideas, and one especially bound to be hard, on those shallow beliefs unsupported by evidence.

One Million Moms Responds To Hallmark Channel's Same Sex Wedding Reversal With “Death to Gays” ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 17, 2019:

If even the name of your group is dishonest, well that says it all really.

When discussing life on other planets, why is it that most people assume that life in other planets ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 17, 2019:

It could well be that there are other basic life forms out there. We only have one sample of life after all and one is not a very big sample. Having said that however, there are many different environments both here on earth and on the few planets and moons close enough to us to have been explored to some degree. And so far we have only found carbon and water based life, which is a fairly strong indicator that that is likely to be the only type. Especially since, it is a reasonable assumption that a fairly rich chemistry is needed for the advent of life, and water is such a good solvent that we do not know of any other naturally solvent likely to produce anything like such a rich chemistry.

Oh Wow, just got told by my Evangeloon neighbor that I was " Being sinfully slothful in the eyes of ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 17, 2019:

You could of course tell him that you should not lay concrete at that temperature, since if it cures too quickly in the heat, it will be soft and weak.

I just got word! I am now, officially, a GREAT-GRANDFATHER! The Baby was born at about 8:15 AM ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 17, 2019:

Congratulations.

Ok I am looking into anthropology... my FIRST question is; The process of carbon dating?

Fernapple comments on Dec 17, 2019:

This is perhaps a better question for the, science or anthropology groups. But having said that, I understand that carbon dating is a fairly accurate way to date things to within a few hundred years. It is based on the idea, that living things prefer to absorb the carbon fourteen isotope rather than the carbon thirteen, and that therefore you find more carbon fourteen in living things than the background. However since fourteen degenerates into thirteen at a fairly standard rate over time, the balance changes slowly after a thing dies. I also understand that the accuracy of dates has gradually improved over the years, since the rate varies slightly due to sun spots and other climate factors. But the results have gradually been improved by calibrating carbon fourteen dating using things such as tree rings, which can be dated accurately and therefore give a precise dating measure.

Hi everyone.

Fernapple comments on Dec 17, 2019:

Welcome and enjoy the site. If you have time check out the groups, there is something for everyone.

In my opinion there is total knowledge broken up into what you know and what you don't know.

Fernapple comments on Dec 17, 2019:

Hello and welcome, enjoy the site.

Oh Wow, just got told by my Evangeloon neighbor that I was " Being sinfully slothful in the eyes of ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 17, 2019:

Aways funny how god always says whatever the believer wants him to say.

“I could not understand why men who knew all about good and evil could hate and kill each ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 17, 2019:

Thinking they knew about good and evil, was the problem, and still is. In fact you could make a good case for, even believing there are such things as good and evil, being at the heart of the problem.

WAS RUDOLPH A RED NOSER?

Fernapple comments on Dec 17, 2019:

Yep, its a fairy story. But interestingly, reindeer live in the coldest regions, and are the only deer with fur covering their noses, they would get frost bite if they did not have it. So red noses, and even the cover picture which shows the other deer with black noses are both wrong. LOL

THE RESULTS Earlier I posted a thread asking why only about 1% of registered users seem to be ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 17, 2019:

Dating. Don't have an opinion. I asked what was the point of it once, and was told that we have had several marriages ! Groups. Yes there are a lot and I think it should be made harder to start new ones, but I can not see that they put members of, and remember that if you do get the numbers of active members to grow then there may come a day when there are too few, they could even be a reason why some people stay. Age. Maybe the site is only for older people, because younger people simply take none religion for granted and don't see a need to talk about it, or think that religion/none religion is not important any more. Perhaps wishful thinking on my part. Inactive members deletion. Good idea, although they don't actually cost us anything, so not that important. But I would make it longer than a year, perhaps two. And send out a warning notice such as. 'If you do not log on in the next month.' The reason for that is. Supposing you have been very ill and have just spent a year in intensive care, you recover and try to go back to your life, then find that your account is gone and you have to start over. Or perhaps at least a way to reactivate old accounts.

What can be done about the inactive members problem on this site?

Fernapple comments on Dec 16, 2019:

That's about normal for most sites, groups and clubs, perhaps a little low but not that much. Sites of any sort which have ten percent or more active members, are very rare, lots of people join lots of things and then never take part, it is the same everywhere. We are though perhaps a little worse than average because. A. A lot of religious people come here to find out if we have horns, or swap baby cooking tips, and when they find we don't they leave. ( See my blog for recipes. ) B. Some people come looking for dates and either fail and go, or find someone and go. C. we are very boring people.

Two standard alcoholic drinks a day no longer safe, health officials say [theguardian.com]

Fernapple comments on Dec 16, 2019:

Shit. Jumping out of planes with only a fabric bag attached to your back is not safe, skying is not safe, nor is, surfing, playing football, driving cars, walking in bear country, wild swimming or having sex with strangers. But you are not going to stop people doing it.

Worst or most difficult time of year to be Agnostic, don't you think?

Fernapple comments on Dec 16, 2019:

It is hard to think that you are forced into the position of being a party pooper, when you want to join in by nature. And I can offer no cure for that. Except to try what works for me. Perhaps you should remember, as I try to, that Christmas is not a Christian festival anyway, but a far older festival, of now long forgotten pagan traditions, that have no religious meaning any longer, but still retain their natural and historic meaning. All the things that we do, such as, throwing a party, bringing evergreen decorations into the house, lighting lamps, having a big fire, giving gifts, putting on fancy clothes, all predate Christianity. And what is more, they all have far greater historical significance; just imagine how much it meant to poor, people in the past, ( and even the rich were poor by our standards, ) that the winter had reached its shortest darkest day, and that now they light would begin to return, in the days before modern lighting and heating, and when the lack of and transport and storage meant that food, especially tasty fresh food would run out over winter, while beloved animals might have to be killed because they could not be fed. So then, they threw a party, to celebrate that change and to cheer themselves, because they knew that there was still a long way to go to spring. In so doing they created all those traditions, which go back beyond the first histories. Yet may still mean much today, and even if they don't we can still celebrate their delivery, as a historical memory, just as I believe you Americans celebrate Thanks Giving. So, I light a candle and bring some sweet pine and holly into the house, and remember all those who went before, and suffered far greater hardship from the seasons than I ever will. And I celebrate that even for us today, including me, there is still much to be joyful about the turning of the seasons, especially the growing light and returning spring.

I'd like to make a suggestion as I watch more folks jump ship over moral differences with the site ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 16, 2019:

You can hide groups, just do that with the ones you don't like. If they still appear on your page then you have reason to contact Admin.

‘Journalism is dying’: US govt ‘has its tentacles’ in every part of media, reporter who quit...

Fernapple comments on Dec 16, 2019:

You have to think though. RT does not of course come from a country where the government takes a hand in the press. I have watched RT for a long time, and the complete about face, and the change from reasoned reporting to blatant America bashing which occured when Putin took over, was stark.

Surviving oral cancer and quickly regaining my full health and virility makes me feel very much like...

Fernapple comments on Dec 16, 2019:

Welcome back.

“I must not fear.

Fernapple comments on Dec 16, 2019:

I like that, though it is another one that gives the brain cells a workout.

Why the Best Things in Life Are All Backwards

Fernapple comments on Dec 16, 2019:

Good advice, especially if you stick to the end. A bit banal to many people, but there are still many for whom this would be news. Though you have to wonder, if for many people the wrong approach is built into their nature, and they would be incapable of understanding this.

My Cousin posted this on FB today , needless to say he won’t get many hits from my Mother’s ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 16, 2019:

Please explain the, "Crickets on the post." expression, it sounds like fun and it is not one we use in the UK.

Be aware of what you watch, hear and read. Does it nourish you? Accept nothing less.

Fernapple comments on Dec 16, 2019:

So its goodbye to Agnostic.com then.

I am new to this site, wondering if it will be worthwhile.

Fernapple comments on Dec 15, 2019:

Seems mainly to be about US politics, which is strange really, given that it is supposed to be an international site for sceptics. Having said that there is fun to be had.

They abandoned that log ago

Fernapple comments on Dec 15, 2019:

If they abandoned the log, can I have it for the fire ? LOL

Is Santa's Sleigh Carbon neutral?

Fernapple comments on Dec 15, 2019:

Pulled by reindeer, so not much CO2 but a lot of methane.

Universal basic income tested in Jackson, Mississippi to help African American women ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 15, 2019:

I am told that the introduction of a state legal minimum wage, almost invariably in all the developed countries that have introduced it results in economic growth. Perhaps, because people on low incomes spend a higher proportion of it close to home, and it forces businesses to become more efficient to pay the raised wage bill.

A lot of the arguments in support of the bible focus on the historical accuracy of the texts, then ...

Fernapple comments on Dec 15, 2019:

The seeming consistency of the bible, is very shallow, and in fact it has very little historical accuracy if any. I think that the idea that it was deliberately rewritten to fit with historical facts, gives too much credit to the church, since if they did that, they made a very bad job of it. And it is hard to see any reason why they would want to, since if historians disagreed with the bible, then obviously the historians were wrong. What we do know also of the bible is, that it was rewritten many times by many different scribes, no two of who agreed. Accuracy was simply not valued in the same way in the past as it is today, indeed rewrittings were often said to be inspired by god, to explain away differences between different versions. What the church did do however was to keep the bible secret, not allow people to read it or to copy it into popular modern languages. One reason for this being given, that people would misunderstand it, if allowed to see it for themselves. You may see that as meaning, see it for the rubbish it is, if you like.

Madison’s reasons for Church State Separation, 1785.

Fernapple comments on Dec 15, 2019:

The other side of the coin though , is that across Northern Europe many countries have state churches of some sort, (though never enforced membership ). And guess what ? Across Northern Europe religion is nearly dead, compared with the US anyway. One of the best reasons for having a state church, is that it kills the church.

The Purpose of Life:

Fernapple comments on Dec 15, 2019:

Yes my funeral wish, would be to be left out in the woods. No waste.

I’m sure that this is true.

Fernapple comments on Dec 15, 2019:

Wisdom is accepting nuance in everything. And when you do that, there are few certainties, so wisdom equals doubt. I think..........

“The divorce between Church and State ought to be absolute.

Fernapple comments on Dec 15, 2019:

Yep. I just read your last post, and then wondered. Would the defense budget be so high, if the churches had to pay their fair share ?

Anyone else think this is madness?

Fernapple comments on Dec 15, 2019:

Spend half of that on foreign aid ?

Another Sunset shot from the Kayak.

Fernapple comments on Dec 15, 2019:

Now that is good shooting. But don't drop the camera in the water.

After a cold stormy night we had a full house for breakfast this morning, the still image belies the...

Fernapple comments on Dec 14, 2019:

Goldfinches, so tiny you wonder how they could ever make it through a single winter night.