What is your Definition of:

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 10, 2018:

Atheist: does not believe in god(s). Agnostic: undecided about existence of god(s). Spiritual: senses a connection to all things living and nonliving.

Does evil exist? As non-believers do we still accept the concept of evil in its pure form?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 10, 2018:

Evil is an adjective, NOT a noun.

How old/young were you when you realized you were atheist/agnostic?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 10, 2018:

I was never a believer, but neither was I an atheist at first. With time my youthful agnosticism has matured, like a fine wine, into a full-bodied, robust, textured, proselytizer-proof atheism. I would not know how to put numbers on that timeline.

Why do you think the religious right are so intent on forcing their agendas on others???

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 10, 2018:

Some think they will get brownie points that will help them get into heaven. Some are just nosy, self-righteous busybodies who think they know what's best but in reality are shockingly ignorant. Some are a combination of the two.

It's just occurred to me that at some point on Friday this site will reach 50,000 members.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 10, 2018:

50,000 free thinkers! Yay! ?

Would you move for love?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 10, 2018:

Yup! Definitely.

The primary operating principle of the US constitution and government was to prevent tyrannical ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 7, 2018:

If what you predict should come pass, what then? I think this country has been through more difficult periods than the present one. But climate change is going to provide added stress every thing and every one in the not-too-distant future. We will be tested.

THE HAUNTED MANCHIN - Why doesn't Joe Manchin just take that final step and officially register...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 6, 2018:

Manchin is no more to blame for Kavenaugh's confirmation than the other 50 senators who voted "yes." Didn't he vote "no" on the repeal of the affordable care act? We lost this one but let's keep our eyes on the ball: a Democratic takeover of congress in 2018!

Cascade mountains sunrise over the Snohomish river this morning.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 5, 2018:

Beautiful!

For All Life As We Know It: The Case for Humanist Environmentalism - TheHumanist.com

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 5, 2018:

The previous version of the Humanist Manifesto had this: "...we have opened the door to ecological damage, over-population, dehumanizing institutions, totalitarian repression, and nuclear and bio-chemical disaster. Faced with apocalyptic prophesies and doomsday scenarios, many flee in despair from reason and embrace irrational cults and theologies of withdrawal and retreat." This, unfortunately, still accurately describes a significant proportion of Americans. And as they continue to embrace conspiracy theories and Russian propaganda the likelihood that they will suddenly wake up and start acting responsibly seems remote. More likely they will cling harder to their guns and religion.

Atheist political party

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 5, 2018:

Vanishingly small chance, but still worth pursuing.

‘Unfathomable’: More than 2,400 law professors sign letter opposing Kavanaugh’s confirmation -...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 5, 2018:

If K's nomination goes through there is something scary wrong with this country.

Senator grassley is a pure allout Judas goat leading his fascist republicans to further dismantle ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 5, 2018:

Now if we can just do away with the electoral college, keep Russia from hacking our elections, hold malefactors accountable, educate the poor and downtrodden, and stop burning fossil fuels before we drive Earth's climate system over a cliff we might have a chance.

McConnell is sick demented delusional sociopath psychopath who spews overt hate towards any ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 5, 2018:

Ditch Mitch for the good of the nation!

VOTE like your life, your future, your country depends on it! In Order to preserve our union as...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 5, 2018:

Right on! ✊

What are some of y'alls favorite podcasts?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 5, 2018:

Rachel Maddow keeps me up on the latest twists and turns in the continuing sad MAGA saga.

Discovery of first genetic variants associated with meaning in life -- ScienceDaily

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 5, 2018:

The link is rather tantalizing but it falls far short of explaining the claim. I need to see more before issuing an opinion.

Friends I find myself confuzzled.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 5, 2018:

True dat! But is it possible that she just used that as an excuse? Maybe she is trolling for a billionaire and she was not impressed with the size of your yacht.

How many of you attend services, but are agnostic?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 5, 2018:

Nope. I like to sleep in.

Question.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 5, 2018:

I would not say that society is advancing exponentially. More like haltingly, painfully slowly, with many reversals and course corrections. And whether it should have a place or not is academic; religion is here to plague us for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately.

That spiritual feeling.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 4, 2018:

The invention of gods begins with people's natural tendency to personify inanimate objects. Little kids automatically treat dolls or action figures as living beings. And even adults refer to boats as "she" while cars and trucks can be either gender. In prehistory the wind blew hard and lightening crackled and a mind that knew no science of air pressure or static electricity assumed that some angry intelligence must be behind that. Humans have always done this because we evolved to be very social beings. We see the world in terms of personalities with agency. It is deeply engrained and automatic. So then everything that happens to you happens for a reason. The idea of random chance or dumb luck, indifferent to one's personal fortunes, is alien to us. The default assumption is that everything happens for a reason, the result of some personality with an agenda. And so we are off to the races. And who is to stop us? Anyone who disputes God's existence is labelled a heretic, cast out, burned, drowned, or dismembered.

Do you think that perhaps Religion/Religious Beliefs and Doctrines have and still are ONE of the ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 4, 2018:

One of the MAIN causes, yes.

I just don't understand how people can stand being alone.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 4, 2018:

There is something to be said for independence. Being in good company is nice too. Life is going to give us a mixture. You gotta roll with it.

New age beliefs common with relgious/non religious americans [pewresearch.org]

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 4, 2018:

It's an interesting table. Thanks for posting!

Have you stopped watching a TV show, or listening to a musician due to their political beliefs?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 4, 2018:

I have had difficulty watching anything with Clint Eastwood ever since his empty chair soliloquy.

The existing/non existing Universe

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 3, 2018:

We live within an incredibly tiny slice of that brief wave.

Doubt vs gullibilty

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 3, 2018:

If you share facts that cause the superstitious to cast off their shackles you are to be praised, but not too profusely. The facts do not belong to any single one but to all.

When your first name is different, people naturally do not interact with you.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 3, 2018:

Or maybe they simply cannot remember the name and don't want to let on that they forgot. (?)

Both American Democrats and Republicans generally brand themselves as "pro humanity", how true is ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 3, 2018:

Most climate science deniers and people who support Trump's deregulation of the fossil fuel industry (including generation of electrical power with "clean" coal) are Republicans. Inasmuch as these policies, if left in place, would eventually lead to catastrophic global warming and mass extinction of species including our own, I would say that Republicans cannot be characterized as "pro humanity."

Homosexuality?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 3, 2018:

It is generally understood among professionals that homosexuality is not something people choose. Rather, it is fundamental to their nature and a manifestation of the natural variation that exists in all biological populations. We are not all stamped out by the same cookie cutter. Life is not simple. Attempts at "reprogramming" are foolish and cruel. We should accept people as they are, and quit trying to impose artificial expectations.

Truth as such has no value in itself.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 3, 2018:

The only thing wrong with the opium addict is that they might fail to notice the house burning down around them -- and that their own belief system, which encourages rejection of science, is literally throwing gasoline on the fire.

Do you love where you live?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 3, 2018:

Here in San Diego we have the best weather in the country, year round! The season for mountain biking, sailing, golf, tennis, or hiking Runs from January through December. My biggest complaint is the air quality. Cars, trucks, and power plants constantly fouling the air with harmful particulates and greenhouse gases. And the climate change that those gases are causing has ushered in a new regime of wildfires: their season is now year-round as well. Every year now worse than the last, with multiple megafires at times burning simultaneously. And the Trump administration is hell bent on deregulating the fossil fuel industry. I am especially proud of Californians who are standing up to the illegitimate regime in Washington in moving forward with our commitment to the Paris Accord and the ultimate goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions!

Do you believe that a cure for cancer exists, but it's not available to the public because medical ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 2, 2018:

Call me an optimist, but I don't think anything good in cancer treatment is being held back because of cost. On the other hand, pharmaceutical companies are choosing, for economic reasons, not to develop new antibiotics. Lack of research in this area is cause for great concern. The list of "superbugs," bacteria that are resistant to many or all antibiotics, is growing. And with modern transportation these bugs can show up anywhere, at any time.

What's worse?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 2, 2018:

Emotional/psychological abuse is often the most painful and difficult to get over. And the abuse can be inflicted verbally, non-verbally (through policies and procedures like discrimination or shunning), as well as physically. It's possible for someone to be abused physically and not really be aware that they are being abused. But if they are abused emotionally they definitely know it.

Unpopular Opinions I know you got 'em, what are they?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 1, 2018:

The US military budget is too big. In fact you could call it bloated. In 2017 it was half of all discretionary federal spending, about 600 billion dollars. Under Trump, defense spending has only increased. And also under Trump, the portion of this expenditure that is paid by the richest 1% of Americans (who own nearly 40 of all the wealth) has decreased.

So is it nature not nurture after all? | Science | The Guardian

Flyingsaucesir comments on Oct 1, 2018:

It's both. It's nature AND its nurture. There is a heck of a lot about us that is hard-wired, heredetary, instinctive. And there is also our capacity to set our own course, based on our learning; the sum of our experiences. Call it executive function. The two are inextricably entangled. It's how we evolved.

Do you think it is necessary to try to change people’s perspective about their beliefs or just get...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 30, 2018:

Trying to change people's beliefs is bound to be a thankless task. Better to give them the tools and information to make better choices on their own.

Hello to everyone! Where is everyone from? I'm from Manitoba, Canada.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 30, 2018:

San Diego! ?

I've asked this question in a different forum, and the answers were interesting.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 30, 2018:

My best advice: be genuine. Be a gentleman. Go slow.

What exactly is mindfulness?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 30, 2018:

I have always maintained that multitasking is bunk. Thanks for verifying! ?

Garage sale vs Store?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 30, 2018:

I'm not a very good consumer. I just can't get excited about shopping of any kind.

Atheism Isn’t Really A Big Deal | Martin Hughes

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 29, 2018:

Atheism shouldn't be a big deal. For the most part it isn't, until they decide somebody has to be burned at the stake or beheaded for it. Then it's a big deal.

Am I only one who dislike the rapid-fire questions from a stranger?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 29, 2018:

I don't like to be interrogated. I find it kind of rude.

[yahoo.com] Jeff Flake Brings The Senate Back From The Brink. Why Can't He Get Re-elected?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 29, 2018:

Short answer: he's too moderate for the current environment of extremism.

If roads,police, hospitals are social projects why shouldn't health care, social security, and ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 29, 2018:

Indeed, why not? Well the rich and powerful in this country have been wildly successful at controlling the terms of debate. They have appropriated the mythologies of rugged individualism and manifest destiny and woven them together with the Christian ideas of original sin and puritanical zest for punishment, whipping up fear of welfare mothers and deadbeat dads, dividing people with hot-button issues like freedom of choice vs right to life, and painting labor unions as communists in order to keep the proletariat fighting amongst themselves rather than banding together to create a more egalitarian society. It's classic divide-and-conquer tactics used to achieve the strategic goal of elite hegemony.

How do you deal with bullies?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 29, 2018:

The only bully in my life is Donald Trump. By way of coping I try to set up little monuments to him. One a day, on average. Each representation is an homage to the ephemeral nature of the man in office, who will one fine day be whisked away to oblivion as each monument is, only moments after construction, with a mere turn of a diminutive chrome handle.

Do atheists, who find no magic in the world, live drab, boring lives, by comparison?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 29, 2018:

No, I think it's the other way around. Being wracked with superstition and fear sounds drab and boring.

I am going to the truth truthfully, and I know that it will find me someday .

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 29, 2018:

I'm not 100% sure, but think I get where you are coming from.

The world would have been better off without religion.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 29, 2018:

Yes. The world would be better of without religion as we know: steeped in superstition, dismissive of science, promoting fear, hatred, and ignorance. However, the there is nothing wrong with seeking to reconnect or more literally, re-link with ones origin, as is meant in "religgio," the Italian word from which the word religion is derived. Modern science, specifically the fields of Earth science, cosmology, and evolutionary biology provide a very powerful explanation of our origins and connection to all things both living and non-living. To understand the science takes time and patience and sustained effort, however, and this is where it has trouble competing with religion, which deals in easy answers and hand-waving where things don't add up.

How do you move from cheerfully flirting to being vulnerable?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 29, 2018:

I have had that regret at not having been more bold many times, but I have also been shot down on more occasions than I care to count. I think the latter experience does tend to increase the likelihood of the former.

So I grew up in a rather religious Muslim family and I remember my family being pretty superstitious...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 29, 2018:

I remember stuff like "step on a crack and you'll break your mama's back" but I never actually took it seriously. Even at a young age I could see that there was no connection between where I placed my feet on the pavement and my mother's continued spinal health.

Watchtower

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 29, 2018:

I have talked to plenty of Jehovah's Witnesses who knocked on my door looking for converts, but I don't think I have ever met any who have themselves been converted. Congratulations on a mighty leap forward! To what do you attribute your own epiphany?

Does anyone truly "believe"?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 29, 2018:

You mean like where it says in the Bible that it's OK if you beat your slave to death as long as he/she doesn't die on the day of the beating because that shows that you didn't mean to kill them because after all why would you deliberately destroy your own property? That sort of thing?

I have been JimG on agnostic.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 29, 2018:

Reprob8: I like it.

Guys ask why women are so pissed off.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 28, 2018:

We have guys in our midst who act like dominant male chimpanzees. We really have not evolved very far, have we?

Is scientific knowledge limited in principle?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 28, 2018:

To plumb the depths of nature's mysteries is bound to take longer than the time it takes to pluck a chicken. And it's gonna require some pretty sophisticated, precision equipment. The kind of stuff that only a highly technological society can produce. All that goes out the window if civilization collapses. Now let's see. What could possibly bring about the demise of this shining city on a hill? Greed? Corruption? Racism? Superstition? Atavistic tribalism? How about a mix of all those lovely ingredients together with some feedback loop spiking global temperatures, some crop failures, a squeeze of jihad and a dash of thermonuclear war. That'd do it. Tick tock.

Being a woman is worse than being a farmer

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 27, 2018:

It's a good thing I don't have to do all that. Whew! Dodged a bullet!

Is scientific knowledge limited in principle?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 27, 2018:

I have to admit that I just don't know. The human mind can compass a lot. The question is, is nature a lot weirder than we imagine it to be? Can we ever fathom dark matter and dark energy? Multiverses? I tend to think that some people will be able to eventually grasp whatever nature presents us. But that still leaves the mass of humanity stumbling in the dark.

Does anyone find themselves staying quiet about being athiest/skeptic around friends?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 27, 2018:

For the most part religion just does not come up as a topic of discussion. At least not in my experience. If someone casually expresses a belief I generally do not feel that I have to go there. If students ask me directly I tell them that as a science teacher in a science classroom I have to keep my beliefs private, so as not to sow confusion. I tell them that science does not deal in beliefs. In science, belief is irrelevant; what counts is what in supported by independently verifiable evidence: facts. God and the Devil? No evidence that they exist. Next question!

Some people are just born into a lucky life while others aren’t? True or false?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 26, 2018:

A person born in a slum to abusive or negligent patents could be said to have been unlucky compared to someone born in a prosperous neighborhood to loving and competent parents. Yet the "lucky" one might become a dissipated drug addict while the other might pull him/herself up by his/her bootstraps and become a great success story. So which was the lucky one?

Are we still a primitive species?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 26, 2018:

Modern humans have only existed for a couple hundred thousand years. Our common ancestor with apes dates back to about 8 million years ago. In between there were a number of lineages small populations that evolved in relative isolation, occasionally interbreeding, all except our own strand eventually going extinct. The biggest anatomical changes in these populations involved changes in brain size and cranial capacity. When one body part evolves faster than other parts this is sometimes called mosaic evolution. It was not the whole brain that changed. The cerebral cortex expanded the most, while the brain stem is essentially the same as it was in our early vertebrate ancestors. Some people refer to this primitive part as our "reptilian brain." Actually you could just as well call it our fish brain. It's this primitive part that drives deep-seated anxieties and knee-jerk reactions. Are we still a primitive species? You bet!

It's my birthday! 🎉🎉🎉🎉 I scheduled 3 job interviews today.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 26, 2018:

Good luck and happy birthday!

“Molecules” made from three photons have been created by physicists in the US.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 26, 2018:

Wow! Splendid!?

I would be interested to hear about people's experiences on the job market.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 26, 2018:

Congratulations!

From my experience there are large numbers of people that will not come out and call themselves an ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 26, 2018:

Nope, can't say I have seen that. But then I don't have a lot of conversations with people about their religions.

Road to theocracy

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 26, 2018:

I don't think you can separate religion from politics without eradicating religion from the face of the Earth. Small project. If we just roll up our sleeves we can knock it out in a couple of weekends.

Does a ring really matter?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 25, 2018:

For anyone looking for a mate it is nice to be able to tell at a distance who is taken.

Are you an example for people around you?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 25, 2018:

I ride a bicycle to work.

Aren’t the democrats being hypocrites on their dirty war against Kavanaugh after backing Bill ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 25, 2018:

Special Prosecutor Ken Starr went through the Cinton's lives with a fine-toothed comb going back decades and found nothing. The investigation went on for years. No one was indicted or pled guilty or went to jail. Eventually Bill's pecadillo with Monica Lewinski came to light and it didn't faze people. They still liked him by and large. This is all very different from the current situation. The Mueller investigation has turned in dozens of indictments. Several people close to Trump have pled guilty to multiple felonies, including his National Security Advisor, his Campaign Manager, and his personal lawyer. Trump himself is now an unindicted co-conspirator in multiple felonies. Trump lost the popular vote and only gained the Whitehouse with the illegal aid of a hostile foreign power. It is looking more and more like he colluded with that malignant foreign force in its efforts to sway the American election. And members of Trump's own staff apparently feel that they have to protect the country from this erratic, ignorant, obtuse, bigoted, unstable, sexual predator President. Trump makes Nixon look like a choirboy.

Do you think there should be a high school course to teach common sense laws to teenagers?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 24, 2018:

You just might be on to something here. There do seem to be a lot of youths who are unsure about where the boundaries lie, or what the long-term consequences of trespassing are.

Anyone else feel isolated?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 24, 2018:

I am joined with the few friends I have first by mutual interests such as sailing, mountain biking, similar political views, and similar tastes in music. What keeps these relationships going is that we not only share experiences but we learn from one another, we help each other realize our goals, we are there for moral and/or practical support when there is a problem. We all can be trusted to do what we say we are going to do. Nobody tries to get over on the other. We respect one another's boundaries. We enjoy one another's company.

Where do you prefer to be beach or mountain?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 24, 2018:

Niether. I'd rather be out on the water sailing.

Do you agree with stem cell research?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 22, 2018:

Yes! Stem cell research could potentially lead to being able to produce replacement limbs for amputees, new pancreases for patients with type 1 diabetes, new livers for victims of type C hepatitis, new kidneys for people with renal failure, and many other such positive goods. Many people have already been saved from untimely death from leukemia with new bone marrow made from stem cells. Scientists are discovering that stem cells can come from a variety of sources, and they are even making headway in turning differentiated cell back into stem cells.

I am not sure what I expected when I joined this site.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 21, 2018:

There are some pretty intellectual posters here. If you stick around you will get to know them. There is also some fluff. It's a nice mix.

I spent decades applying inductive & deductive logic algorithms to computer programs and ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 21, 2018:

Ha ha ha! ?

Franklin Graham on Judge Kavanaugh Accusation: 'Not Relevant' | CBN News

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 21, 2018:

...and then lied about it under oath in order to ascend to a lifelong appointment to the highest court in the land? If there were ever a place where you want to err on the side of caution, this is it.

Many atheists groups on f/b advocate that they should be closed groups mainly because it's useless ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 21, 2018:

I think it's better to engage IF the atheists are articulate and cordial and firm and patient and well-versed in the sciences, logic, and reason, and are good at debunking myths and superstitions. Then I think you have a chance of swaying people. If it devolves into a shouting match that is counter-productive.

Ed wheelen, a good friend of brett kavanaugh's, speculates all over the public place that ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 21, 2018:

It is not likely that she would make up the story and less likely that she would mis-identify a person she was already acquainted with.

I could use some words of wisdom, friends.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 20, 2018:

It sounds like you would be better off biding your time for now. Don't make waves when there is nothing concrete that you can point to. Work on personal relationships. Don't get flustered or angry. Keep your cool. Document everything noteworthy, but keep it private. Don't email on sensitive issues until you have all your ducks in a row.

I am agnostic and I am dating a mormon. Is this a recipe for disaster?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 19, 2018:

Whoooowee yes! One would think. But who knows?

Permission to step outside the marriage?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 19, 2018:

I think yours is a pretty reasonable, practical, and sensible approach. One might even say compassionate.

Is it possible to keep your child away from the idea of religion?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 19, 2018:

No, it is probably not possible to shield her from religious ideas any more than the influenza virus. But teach her to think critically and she will be inoculated against a host of ailments including con artists, charlatans, grifters, deadbeats, clerics and clergy.

Smearing the victim has begun! Do you know she knitted, and wore (gasp!) a pink pussy hat for a ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 18, 2018:

I believed Anita Hill then and I believe Christine Blasey Ford now.

Did (a) god create humans

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 18, 2018:

Progress is being made! Yay!!!?

EU to stop changing the clocks in 2019 | News | DW | 14.09.2018

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 18, 2018:

I have never cared much for falling back and I like springing forward even less. Not just because it was another one of Tricky Dicky Nixon's wonderful initiatives, but because it's a pain in the butt and you don't get anything out of it. It's about time it went away.

How do you respond when a loved one asks you to pray for them?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 18, 2018:

Nobody in my family would make such a silly request.

What's your most outlandish belief? (Mine is, I believe crop circles are not man-made.)

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 18, 2018:

Wow! You're right! That IS an outlandish belief. ?

Job satisfaction.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 17, 2018:

My job may not be the ideal thing but there are good aspects too. Even though it is a job of long hours of work, difficult personalities, politics, and damn few perks, I do have a sense of mission. And there are probably good reasons why I landed where I did. In any case there is little point in dwelling on the negative. Life is full of trade-offs.

Anyone else think of his site as a secret society? :P

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 17, 2018:

Yeah, secret except for the flashing neon sign AGNOSITIC.COM in the clubhouse window. If it were secret, we wouldn't have a steady trickle of believers sneaking in here intent on saving our souls. But we do, though they don't get very far, poor frustrated bastards, lol! ?

What do you do when you're blue?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 16, 2018:

Rama, aka Ramachandra, one of the seven avatars of the Hindu god Vishnu, is tradirionally depicted with blue skin. His weapon is the bow and arrow. When I'm blue I make like Rama by stringing my intellectual bow with information and take aim at the root of the problem. Hopefully arrow flies true and I don't shoot myself in the foot, lol.

Are there any Bill Maher fans here?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 16, 2018:

I like to catch a little Bill Maher online during my lunch break. He shares my attention with Stephen Colbert and John Oliver. Lately, Rachel Maddow has been getting the lion's share of my meagre spare time.

I wonder if someone driving a VW bug knows that they're starting fist-fights wherever they go?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 16, 2018:

I'm afraid I don't see any reality in this statement, or get it if it's meant as a joke.

Would there be something called Religion after a 100 years hence

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 16, 2018:

Unfortunately there is no sign that religion will go away any time soon. On the scale of human history (200,000 years +/-), one hundred years is a veritable blink of an eye.

Are you happy enough?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 16, 2018:

I must be, since I have not eaten my gun, and have no plans to do so.

What happens to your spirt / mind when you die?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 16, 2018:

There is no evidence of a spirit outside of the sum of the neurological activity that takes place in our brains. When we die, that activity ceases. The atoms that make up our bodies return to abiotic reservoirs where they may remain indefinitely until other organisms, typically autotrophs (plants, algae, and cyanobacteria) use them as raw materials for building their own tissues. These may be consumed by a series of different heterotrophic organisms (first herbivores, then omnivores, carnivores, detritivores, and decomposers) at different levels of the food web. It is possible that atoms from our body could occupy any or all of these levels simultaneously. Of course this recycling of atoms has been going on since life first evolved on Earth some 3.5 to 4 billion years ago. Many of the atoms in our bodies have already been through countless food webs. It is certain the atoms making up our bodies were recently bits of corn plants and beef cows and such. Before that those same atoms may once have made up the bodies of pine trees, termites, hedgehogs, bears, bison, eagles, worms, and theropod dinosaurs. What we call "our" atoms are really only on very temporary loan to us. Like leaves of grass we spring up, have our day in the sun, and then disintegrate. You only get one shot at this thing called you. Enjoy it while it lasts!

Why is it that most people here are from the US?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 16, 2018:

It an interesting question. Here is what Wikipedia has on the subject: Accurate demographics of atheism are difficult to obtain since conceptions of atheism vary across different cultures and languages from being an active concept to being unimportant or not developed.[1][2] In global studies, the number of people without a religion is usually higher than the number of people without a belief in a deity[3][4] and the number of people who agree with statements on lacking a belief in a deity is usually higher than the number of people who self-identify as "atheists".[3][1] According to sociologist Phil Zuckerman, broad estimates of those who have an absence of belief in a deity range from 500 to 750 million people worldwide.[1] Other estimates state that there are 200 million to 240 million self-identified atheists worldwide, with China and Russia being major contributors to those figures.[3] According to sociologists Ariela Keysar and Juhem Navarro-Rivera's review of numerous global studies on atheism, there are 450 to 500 million positive atheists and agnostics worldwide (7% of the world's population), with China having the most atheists in the world (200 million convinced atheists).[5] Of the global atheist and non-religious population, 76% reside in Asia and the Pacific, while the remainder reside in Europe (12%), North America (5%), Latin America and the Caribbean (4%), sub-Saharan Africa (2%) and the Middle East and North Africa (less than 1%).[6] The prevalence of atheism in Africa and South America typically falls below 10%.[7] According to the Pew Research Center's 2012 global study of 230 countries and territories, 16% of the world's population is not affiliated with a religion, while 84% are affiliated.[8] Furthermore, the global study noted that many of the unaffiliated, which include atheists and agnostics, still have various religious beliefs and practices.[6] Historical records of atheist philosophy span several millennia. Atheistic schools are found in early Indian thought and have existed from the times of the historical Vedic religion.[9] Western atheism has its roots in pre-Socratic Greek philosophy, but did not emerge as a distinct world-view until the late Enlightenment.[10]

Hey Agnosticating Intelligiosos; Just wanna say how great of a time I'm having on this site.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 13, 2018:

Right on bra! Look forward to reading your posts! ?

Are you very concerned what happens to your body after death?

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 13, 2018:

I am not concerned in the slightest about what happens to my body after I die. I just don't want anyone to be inconvenienced by it.

The Real Problem I Love this site and the clarity of thinking exhibited, even love chasing down the...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 13, 2018:

You are right. Humans are hard-wired for tribalism. Free thinkers are variants on the more independent end of the spectrum. Still, we have community. It is just loosely knit.

Capitalism works on much the same principle as evolution.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 12, 2018:

Alas, no, I am not surprised at the internally conflicting opinions of religious folk. Neither logic nor reason have much to do with their conclusions. They are mostly concerned with subjugation of women, purity of the race, and above all, making money.