I turned 56 a couple of days ago.

Fernapple comments on Sep 28, 2019:

Check out the comments on this post if you have not already, you may find them fun. https://agnostic.com/post/407326/ive-just-begun-my-59th-year-woohoo-does-life-get-better-as-you-get-older-wisdom-comes-with-exper?aid=2013684

Old Irish saying, "You can't plow a field by turning it over in your mind"

Fernapple comments on Sep 28, 2019:

Good saying. And a nice photo, do you know where it was taken it looks like somewhere where they have invasive eucaliptus trees ?

If you have 12 minutes and 42 seconds to spare, don't go dizzy easily, this might be worth watching:...

Fernapple comments on Sep 28, 2019:

Lovely, it is a long time since I saw graphics based on the Mandelbrot set, reminds me of younger days. Great music too.

I asked my sister how her Philosophy class in college is going when she visited today.

Fernapple comments on Sep 28, 2019:

P. S. How can a believer teach a philosophy class ? Either you adopt philosophy or theology, nothing in between. Yes I know that historically the christian church especially, tried to make a compromise with certain schools of philosophy, to broaden its reach, but the end result of that, was only to discredit those schools and create science as an alternative philosophy untainted by that unhappy marriage.

"The church is like a swimming pool.

Fernapple comments on Sep 28, 2019:

Good one. Though I think that is probably a wider rule which applies to many things. Most of the silence is at the deep end also applies.

I turned 56 a couple of days ago.

Fernapple comments on Sep 28, 2019:

Looking good.

My thoughts and beliefs regarding our planet is to cause as little disruption as I can.

Fernapple comments on Sep 27, 2019:

Actually forgive my last flip comment I just could not resist. I respect deeply your effort to tread lightly on the planet. I do the same and find that it is hard, there being just a few things that I can not live without, this computer for one. But I do try to keep it until it is old, and all of those things. Yet since I live alone without family, (At least I did not do the worst possible thing and have children. ) it is a choice between a computer and a little travel, or death, which is perhaps the best thing for the planet, but I am not quite ready for that yet, getting there though.

My thoughts and beliefs regarding our planet is to cause as little disruption as I can.

Fernapple comments on Sep 27, 2019:

Bidet.

I asked my sister how her Philosophy class in college is going when she visited today.

Fernapple comments on Sep 27, 2019:

Very short paper. "No good evidence." End paper.

499 countdown.... teeshirt time! I want one in black... as dark as my cold cold heart. :D

Fernapple comments on Sep 27, 2019:

I went for the purple, so that I can still wear it if (when) they make me emperor.

I've just begun my 59th year! Woohoo! Does life get better as you get older?

Fernapple comments on Sep 27, 2019:

Depends where you start from, if your childhood was truly evil then life can't do anything but get better. Happy Birthday.

IF GOD EXISTS, DO YOU THINK HE, SHE, IT GIVES A FLYING FIG WHAT YOU THINK?

Fernapple comments on Sep 27, 2019:

I don't give a flying fig myself. Come on Remiforce most of your posts are interesting, but wait till the barrel fills up a bit before you dip in, don't scrape the bottom.

Can never get enough of these delicate little beauties...

Fernapple comments on Sep 27, 2019:

Good choice of background, the white on white works really well.

What's Your Biggest Regret?

Fernapple comments on Sep 26, 2019:

Nothing the pain makes you.

Assuming you'll have a "normal" lifespan, what's the one event or development (real or imagined) ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 26, 2019:

Don't know if yours is even possible, so I would go for something more modest. I would like to know if there is another living ecosystem, in the solar system. Yet now I think that space exploration will not prove that one way or another in the next twenty year or so that I may have if I am lucky.

Sad but true

Fernapple comments on Sep 26, 2019:

For a second I thought that this was a news story.

My daughter and I after an 18 mile bike ride.

Fernapple comments on Sep 26, 2019:

You both still look very fresh.

I had a hard time choosing the last word because there are so many that would fit ie, brain, heart, ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 26, 2019:

Waistline, real hair. Yes I know its about personal physical traits, but he started us down that line.

Back in Yuma, after a long day of travel. Got Miss Lisa (@Sassygirl3869) here, too.

Fernapple comments on Sep 26, 2019:

Nice to know that some people on this site do manage to get together in person, that must be fun.

How do you get over the anger you feel at religion when you’re a new atheist?

Fernapple comments on Sep 26, 2019:

Take a holiday somewhere secular. UK is nice.

Very interesting

Fernapple comments on Sep 26, 2019:

May help in the short term, but in the end the plastics will still degrade and end up as micro pollutants, I would have thought.

What happened?

Fernapple comments on Sep 26, 2019:

Several people on here mentioned it, that's what makes this a good community, not much about Easter etc. but alway a reminder about the equinox.

This village sucks! Just found out that the grocery store will be closing.

Fernapple comments on Sep 26, 2019:

That tends to be village life. None of the advantages of life in the town, none of the advantages of life in the country, but most of the downsides of both. You remember Aesop wrote the "Town mouse and the Country Mouse" all those years ago, back in the days of the Roman Empire, but he never bothered to include the village mouse.

I love all of you

Fernapple comments on Sep 26, 2019:

I agree we all see the same world just through different filters, but "we're all the same singular consciousness" is a bit too woo for me. However since you are not pedaling religious dogma, I will love you back. Best wishes.

So, a question for both our gardeners group and our food-glorious-food group: GARLIC! WE use the ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 26, 2019:

My father used to grow garlic, and did not find it hard. The great thing about it is that if you have enough of your own grown, and therefore cheap, you can use it as a spay to keep insects and other pests of the other vegetables. It save the cost of shop bought sprays, and of course is good if you are organic.

Pretty relevant one, nowadays

Fernapple comments on Sep 26, 2019:

“A little learning is a dangerous thing; drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again.” Alexander Pope.

I am part of a team working on developing a program to reclaim, reuse and recycle Lithium Ion ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 25, 2019:

Not involved myself, but the greatest honour to anyone involved in recycling, keep it up, and I hope it proves profitable.

[atheistrepublic.

Fernapple comments on Sep 25, 2019:

Yes skeptic is not a faith, but it can be a community.

Some theist clowns on Facebook were posting their usual religious bull shit, so I created this .

Fernapple comments on Sep 25, 2019:

Cute hog. Be glad to use it, could you mail about 3 pounds to me, preferably smoked and salted.

All hypocrites they are.

Fernapple comments on Sep 25, 2019:

Sorry but small mistake, the Bible actually encourages drinking. I only mention it however because it reminds me of a funny example of how, when you start using faith rather than reason as your main source you can end up believing anything. I once heard someone ask a christian tea totaler, who gave her faith as the reason for not drinking. "But did not Jesus drink and turn water into wine for a marriage feast." The reply. "No he did not, that was not wine, it was just grape juice."

My new mantra - chuck it in the fuck it bucket

Fernapple comments on Sep 25, 2019:

Interesting, years ago we had in this country (UK) a very similar phrase. "Bucket and chuck it." Which we used for the most basic form of toilet system.

It has been raining here IN AZ today pretty much constantly since a thunderstorm began at 4 AM.

Fernapple comments on Sep 25, 2019:

We don't get a lot in this part of the UK, but the small ones we call midges, have been bad this year.

Hello! I need some help, pretty please! My new house closes escrow this Friday, and I am eager to ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 25, 2019:

The combination of spring bulbs and ferns works well in woodland. They will together give you nearly year round interest, since the ferns will follow the bulbs, and there are many of both that you can collect. The ferns at least are not the favourite with deer, though they will eat a lot of bulbs, but the chemical scent deer away sprays work well. Think also about a near invisible electric fence, though you need to move it about now and again for the best effect, otherwise they get used to it and learn to jump it sometimes. Azaleas also go well.

What is your opinion?

Fernapple comments on Sep 24, 2019:

If it is intelligent then it is as good as a god, if not intelligent then no. But you have also to answer this question. Since more complex things generally come from less complex things, then how did a complex thing like an intelligent god come about with nothing to evolve from or to design it.

There are few shameless hypocrisies as when certain religions (I'll pick on christians here as I ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 24, 2019:

I think it was R Dawkins who said. "We are all atheists about 99.9999 % of all the gods that were ever believed in. Atheist just go one god more."

There are so many religions out there.

Fernapple comments on Sep 24, 2019:

Already there. And there are more like us every day.

DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD TURN TO THE COMFORT OF THE CONCEPT OF GOD WHEN YOU'RE DYING?

Fernapple comments on Sep 24, 2019:

What is even worse is that the final comfort we give to many animals, is often denied to humans because of the historical legacy of theism.

I'm glad I'm not one of those stupid people...

Fernapple comments on Sep 24, 2019:

There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who don't.

I'm glad I'm not one of those stupid people...

Fernapple comments on Sep 24, 2019:

Most people have more than the average number of legs. (Think about it.)

I threw an end of summer Tiki Bar party at my house last night.

Fernapple comments on Sep 24, 2019:

Great Idea.

Since "God" is a product of the imagination, the slogan, "In God We Trust", says, "We Trust Our ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 24, 2019:

Sadly perhaps not, god is the product of the imaginations of mainly criminal people who wish to use others, so in god we trust, could mean, "In criminals we trust."

Old saying, "When you assume, you make an ASS of U and ME"

Fernapple comments on Sep 24, 2019:

A consequence of urban life and the breakdown of real community, is that we all have to meet more and more people who we know nothing of, that of course means that lazy people make more and more assumptions to save effort. a lot of modern moral thinking is about trying to find ways to persuade people not to make assumptions.

Wow.

Fernapple comments on Sep 23, 2019:

Welcome and enjoy.

So many people today label themselves as Atheists.

Fernapple comments on Sep 23, 2019:

It does not matter what you call yourself , as long as you are clear when asked about your position. I usually call myself an agnostic atheist, as I think would most people here, at least those who are well informed. But I am happy to regard anyone in the skeptical spectrum as a fellow, be they, agnostic atheist, atheist, agnostic, gnostic atheist, agnostic, skeptic, humanist and even deist. Because wherever you stand on that issue, remember, that gods only affect lives if you believe that you have messages from them. The big difference is not between skeptics but with those who think that a god/gods gives the directions, a silent god is harmless, and pointless just as much as a none existent god. Therefore I am also happy to be called a 'board church skeptic'. P.S. Beware a little trick that theists sometimes play, where they define god in terms so vague that no one could deny, disprove or object to it. And then when they have got you to agree that that definition is acceptable, even to you, they suddenly start talking about their own personal sky daddy, with no mention of the massive leap they just made.

So recently, a while after losing my faith, i finally realized i didn’t know anything about the ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 23, 2019:

Yep, there is always someone here, it just takes a while for your post to come up. Look at the map under the members button you will see that you are not alone.

How many hobbies is too many?

Fernapple comments on Sep 23, 2019:

No travel in mind as well as space, the butterfly may not achieve so much as the ant or own a fine high nest, but it sees a thousand times more, and does no harm.

Thiest think that religion is above being mocked, it’s definitely not.

Fernapple comments on Sep 23, 2019:

No, its very strange that, you can mock someones politics, taste in music or films, but you must not touch their fairy-tales.

Made this for my son.

Fernapple comments on Sep 23, 2019:

And. Travel in space and thought.

So it’s been maybe over a year since I was on this site. I hope everyone has been doing well.

Fernapple comments on Sep 23, 2019:

Fine thanks, there must be a lot of new members like me who joined since you left, so lots of new people to meet. Explore and enjoy.

If you could quit your job and do whatever you wanted, what would you do?

Fernapple comments on Sep 23, 2019:

I am already doing it, but I would travel more, travel a lot more. Travel writer perhaps.

Research Has Found That People Who Talk To Pets Are Smarter Than Those Who Don’t

Fernapple comments on Sep 23, 2019:

If you like talking to dogs especially, you will love this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omaHv5sxiFI

Research Has Found That People Who Talk To Pets Are Smarter Than Those Who Don’t

Fernapple comments on Sep 23, 2019:

Depends how you measure intelligence, there are many skills and traits of personality which go to make up real working intelligence that is useful in the day to day world, not just problem solving, and verbal skills, but things like honesty and demanding high standards.

To all you who do NOT buy in to the Flat earth thing...but are aware of what an "equinox" is...

Fernapple comments on Sep 23, 2019:

Two equinox each year, two solstice, thirteen full moons the migration of dozens of animals. You would think that there were enough things to build secular festivals around, that we would not need the church for holidays and parties.

Woke up to find that my 2 daughter had tagged me when she shared this on FB.

Fernapple comments on Sep 23, 2019:

I guess she is a very lucky girl.

Nothing wrong with being a badass!

Fernapple comments on Sep 23, 2019:

Soon be at level 63 since it is not long until my level upgrade day, just need to earn a few more day survival points. And when you reach sixty six in the UK you get a financial prize that pays for extra beer.

why-no-contact-with-aliens

Fernapple comments on Sep 22, 2019:

Maybe they know what we are really like, and they are not stupid.

Yep. It's pretty easy.

Fernapple comments on Sep 22, 2019:

Yep, never had a orange one either.

Survival of the Friendliest - Nautilus

Fernapple comments on Sep 22, 2019:

The slight difference between this and the old, generalists are in less danger than the highly specialized, hardly counts as new.

The Funniest Tweets from Parents This Week

Fernapple comments on Sep 22, 2019:

"There is truth in wine and children." Plato quoting Socrates.

What is your main method of research that leads you to change beliefs on a topic?

Fernapple comments on Sep 22, 2019:

All of the above, but especially go for a walk and think about it.

evil spiders

Fernapple comments on Sep 22, 2019:

Yes, and watch the fun when they scratch like fury.

one more week until we are in the new house.

Fernapple comments on Sep 22, 2019:

They say that moving house is very stressful, the main thing, is to look after your health while doing it, in other words however frantic things get, make sure you take the time out to eat an d sleep properly, then you should be OK.

Interesting Things That Don't Exist Physically - Language is imaginary.

Fernapple comments on Sep 22, 2019:

No don't agree, love can not be none existent , because as you say, " produced by the cumulative effects of physical, chemical, and psychological responses in our bodies." And the cumulative effects of physical, chemical, and psychological responses in our bodies, are real, therefore love is real, what you mean is that our mistaken 'idea' of love is not real, but that is quite a different thing. And that does mater because there are quite a lot of things we commonly use which really do not exist except as ideas in that sense, for example, heritage, culture, art, society, religion of course, nation states, family, pain, pleasure, money, value, inches, pints, memberships, etc. yet they all represent something that is real.

Would you be too hot or too cold?

Fernapple comments on Sep 22, 2019:

Cooler is better for the waistline, warmer for relaxing. But people change, when young I hated it hot, but now as everything slows down with age, I like to toast myself.

Louie, my charge for the weekend.

Fernapple comments on Sep 22, 2019:

I hope he takes you somewhere nice and gives you lots of healthy exercise.

Wheelin' it in the MC - Part 1 - Street Photography 9 is in the suburb of Royal Oak

Fernapple comments on Sep 21, 2019:

Love the second one, that is a very cool lady.

We know less than we think we know.

Fernapple comments on Sep 21, 2019:

Interesting but a bit short. Still if not much known what can you say.

Need a little help.

Fernapple comments on Sep 21, 2019:

Verbascum AKA Mullin and also known as Arons Rod, for the religious, nice plant but usually dies after flowering.

I must get something off my chest: when I post and express a closely held opinion here on ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 21, 2019:

Look, just see offensive evil creeps like me as a challenge, turn it round on them lead them by the nose to the flaws in their logic. And if they block you for being really nice, count it as scoring a point. But unless they are threatening never block them, don't give the the satisfaction, but even better treat them as a chance to learn about human nature in all its forms, then you will be ready even if you meet one of us jerks out in the big world.

Name something absurd about religion that you can't believe people actually believe it.

Fernapple comments on Sep 21, 2019:

The talking donkey who could see invisible angels.

What are your most interesting travel stories?

Fernapple comments on Sep 21, 2019:

We had read that the village of Santana on the north coast of Madeira was one of the best places to see the traditional small thatched cottages which were once a major part of the local life. We were quite pleased by the handful of these picturesque structures that are exhibited in the main square for the benefit of the tourists, but I did wonder if any still remained which were as yet in use as they were first intended. So when my friend wandered off into the back streets, I happily followed. Most of the privately owned cottages however seemed to be in a dilapidated state and in use mainly as garden sheds and store rooms, eventually however we came to one which seemed more cared for than most with a neat garden and a sharp painted finish. We had paused only for a second to take a photograph, when a elderly woman came hobbling a speed down the road towards us. When she caught up to us, which she did quite easily after moving very rapidly for someone so mature. We tried to apologize for making the photographic intrusion without permission, but the lady would hear none of it, and insisted that we take more if we wished. Then she beckoned us into the garden with an invitation to please admire her potted plants. We had hardly glanced over the bright flowers in their deep pots, before she immediately asked us inside to show us around her cottage. We entered shyly but were delighted to see such a neat perfectly furnished, if small, two room building, we were then told to sit on the bed even though it was perfectly made with neatly folded sheets which matched the air of careful pride the whole cottage showed. Her family photographs were offered for admiration, then she asked us if we had ever been into a cottage of that sort before, and seizing my camera she immortalized the moment for us by taking our photograph, indeed she seemed very proficient with a camera needing none of the usual brief instructions most people ask for when using someone else's gadget. Finally she told us the long and tragic story of the illnesses which age had visited upon her, and then she held out her hand. I had rather a lot of coins in my pocket, so I dropped about half into her palm, whereupon she twitched her fingers, so I dropped the rest of my coins in just keeping back enough for a parking space if needed. The fingers however twitched again, so I parted with that too. Then satisfied she had all she could get with many smiles and thanks she showed us out of her house. However, we could not help however noticing as we left that the small cottage in fact stood in the garden of a large shiny modern bungalow. And then also there was I remember quite distinctly, the smell; that slight musty smell that you only get in houses when no one has lived there for very a ...

I do not always make the most interesting posts but I have to say this is a great community.

Fernapple comments on Sep 21, 2019:

Thanks for the flattery, but we only work for hard cash. So what do you want ?

Saw this on a guy’s shirt at my gym: “Pain is weakness leaving your body”.

Fernapple comments on Sep 21, 2019:

Pain could also be your body telling you that you are overdoing the exercise, and starting to cause damage. Remember when the 'burn' was made fashionable by a film star guru of the gym, until the medical establishment shot the idea to blazes.

My BFF’s husband made this garden gathering basket for me.

Fernapple comments on Sep 21, 2019:

BFF ? 'Brown Fox Friendly.' 'Better if Force Fed.' ?

Environmental Factor - September 2019: Lavender oil linked to early breast growth in girls

Fernapple comments on Sep 21, 2019:

At the heart of the organic movement is a strange idea, that something produced in a lab and subjected to the most stringent safety tests the law and good practice require, is less likely to be safe. (Nothing can ever be perfectly safe.) Than something produced in nature by a plant, which probably evolved over millions of years of refinement, to kill, maim, harm, hurt and deter animals like us, because we may want to eat the plant otherwise. The 'organic' religion and the whole idea of a 'caring' nature is as stupid as any theist's doctrine.

So-called experts tell us some artists, musicians and other well-known personalities are/were ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 21, 2019:

The arts as a whole are just another religion, and like all religions an empty fraud. In some religions you are asked to believe that there is an invisible man in the sky, in the arts you are asked to believe that there is an invisible line which makes one human product an art and another just a craft.

Best Remedy?

Fernapple comments on Sep 21, 2019:

Avoid dairy products, and tomatoes.

Ah-h yes .

Fernapple comments on Sep 21, 2019:

Don't forget the early middle ages, when bits like the story of the woman taken in adultery were added.

Ah-h yes .

Fernapple comments on Sep 21, 2019:

Perhaps the most beloved of all versions, because of course being riddled with contradictions, you can make it say anything you want. And then still claim you have the word of god on your side.

The tragedy is that every brain cell devoted to belief in the supernatural is a brain cell one ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 21, 2019:

Every dollar, every hour sat on a pew, every piece of land with a church built on it......

I have a new grand-niece!! Baby Nora was born yesterday.

Fernapple comments on Sep 20, 2019:

Best wises, grab a kiss while shes all fresh and wrinkly.

How many famous people dead or alive can you name?

Fernapple comments on Sep 20, 2019:

3247 And number 2345 owned a cat with one eye.

Since it's Friday, here's a story for no reason at all.

Fernapple comments on Sep 20, 2019:

"At work today." Something is trying to tell you it is time you retired. When you start to get clumsy, can't be trusted with sharp things........

My partner says that my labeling religious people "delusional" (which has mental health ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 20, 2019:

Willfully ignorant, truly ignorant, mentally ill, dishonest, corrupt, frightened, there may be many reasons, and most believers will have a little of more than one. But I do not want to put any on the hook except the rich exploiting minority perhaps. It is far better to talk and set good examples, it will take time but but quick results usually unravel quickly, it took chistianity a thousand years plus to become established to the point it is, things change faster perhaps in the digital age, but not that quickly.

MN public school board chairwoman: Evolution is outdated because ‘it was discovered in the ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 20, 2019:

Chistianity created CE '0' to '300' ten times older.

Some weird stuff I remember about being raised a Catholic: seeing my first statue of St.

Fernapple comments on Sep 20, 2019:

No memories, but it seems obvious that if you want to control others for your own profit and power, then creating an ideology, which as Hitchins said, is. "A cult of suffering." Seems like a good way to justify all the harm you are going to do in the process.

Churchill, "In war, truth is precious.

Fernapple comments on Sep 20, 2019:

"Truth is the first casualty of war." Meaning that the lies start to fly even before the bullets.

Edinburgh Castle! ❤️

Fernapple comments on Sep 20, 2019:

Great shot, you would not believe from that shot that it is so near a busy city centre.

Magic portal

Fernapple comments on Sep 19, 2019:

Wow what a depth of field. It is amazing what can be done with digital cameras these days, though this was not easy, but we would never have dreamed of it back in the days of film.

Flag- what does this represent? Xtian but what else?

Fernapple comments on Sep 19, 2019:

Some say that the top one is based on the coat of arms of the Washington family. The lower one is a picture of an instrument of torture.

Just bought my first car.

Fernapple comments on Sep 19, 2019:

No perhaps not, but travel no matter how you do it by bus, train, car or plane, or even just long walks, will make you a better wiser, stronger more human person, as long as you approach it with an open mind. And that will make you a better, stronger more useful member of every social group you engage with, and also better at getting the value out of those engagements. Just don't use it to drive round the block and fetch the groceries.

IF YOU SAY YOU "BELIEVE", IS THAT ADMITTING YOU DO NOT KNOW, & IS KNOWLEDGE EVEN POSSIBLE?

Fernapple comments on Sep 19, 2019:

Simple there can never be absolute certainty of truth from either, you can only make approaches to the truth and try to find the closest position you can. Which usually means that which is supported by the most evidence and most resists disproof. That is why science works by disproof. If I throw a dart at a dart board, I can never get a dead center bulls eye. Even when I think I have, if I get a very fine ruler then it will possibly be a little off, and if that still shows a dead center, then a microscope will probably show that it is still a little wrong. Science has been deplored by some theists because its approach can never produce absolute truth, but only approximates. But religion/belief only fakes absolute truth, they throw the dart through the door of the games room without switching the light on, close the door and declare a dead center bulls eye. Then threaten anyone who argues they may not have won, or who wants to look, with a punch on the nose, or hell fire whatever. That is why science is the philosophy of humility and admiting what you don't know, while religion is the philosophy of pride, pretending to all knowledge.

Photographer removes our smartphones to show our strange and lonely new world

Fernapple comments on Sep 18, 2019:

But of course they are not ignoring people on the whole, they are just communicating with someone else, who is not in the photo.

Someone's Gotta Tell the Freakin' Truth.

Fernapple comments on Sep 18, 2019:

Not all of them perhaps, but it is true that altruistic ideologies do tend to attract criminals like flies to rotten meat. Because of course if you are a fake, then you may as well be the biggest and best fake you can be, playing for the biggest prizes, and it is easy to fake religious devotion. Plus the genuine believers are among the least suspecting of people, so if you are a person with no real conscience you could not design it better for yourself.

Do we need religion to provide a sense of justice?

Fernapple comments on Sep 18, 2019:

Sorry but you need to do a search on animal morality, there are hundreds of studies out there on the instinctual origins of morality and especially a sense of justice. It does not begin with human culture. But even so whether it starts with human culture or in our animal natures, it certainly does come before religion, religions claims to have created morality and justice are no different from the claims it once made that it could bring the rains, just a way to get money and devotion out of people for pretending to provide what was theirs to start with.

Drop the Old testament?

Fernapple comments on Sep 18, 2019:

No, because the new T only makes sense in the light of the old T, and dropping it is only allowing and condoning more cherry picking. The point of a religion like Christianity is that there is so much often contradictory text available, that its followers can cherry pick whatever they like, to justify what they like, they already move on as wanted and pick the bits they want and find interesting. What is shameful however, is that having cherry picked to the extent that it is the equivalent of making it up themselves, they then attempt to claim that they have the authority of god behind their beliefs because their holy book comes from god. Like having your cake and eating it.

MN public school board chairwoman: Evolution is outdated because ‘it was discovered in the ...

Fernapple comments on Sep 18, 2019:

Ah yes, it seems she is a Christian pushing a Christian agenda, and Christianity that was created when ?

Fruit and vegetables growing on mass.

Fernapple comments on Sep 17, 2019:

I run a business from polytunnel houses. And I remember when the Japanese tsunami struck, seeing film from the air, like this but moving, of the wave coming in and flattening polytunnel greenhouses in seconds. That moved me as much as anything, since I thought about the people and what they had invested in those tunnels, yes there were far greater tragedies, but if you work in a car showroom it must bring it home to you when you see cars swept away, and if a shop, then when you see a store flattened.

The last few years of my religious life were pretty good years.

Fernapple comments on Sep 17, 2019:

Its a free country maybe, but it is certainly a free website, so feel free.

Why do many conservatives feel find public education to be so abhorrent?

Fernapple comments on Sep 17, 2019:

You do not educate slaves, it makes them difficult to control. And you do not like to educate your own kind because it may make you ask questions of yourself, and want higher standards, which if you are not prepared to meet them will only make you unhappy. Having said that, when viewed from Europe it is not just the conservatives, but the whole political establishment both left and right and education as a whole which is abhorrent, and the left wing will catch on in the end even in the US. Then you are in even more trouble.