How to possibly tell your parents that you do not follow there religious beliefs?

JohnnyMiller comments on Apr 11, 2018:

All I can say is that your mileage may vary. I told my family that I was an atheist and now my mom is the only one that even talks to me anymore and she's pretty much in denial of it. My step-father disowned me, calling me a worthless piece of shit on facebook before blocking me. Most of my family ...

Gareth replies on Apr 11, 2018:

Well that clears the decks for you to find real friends.

I am a former atheist, but after using psychedelics I have come to believe there is some form of ...

Gareth comments on Apr 10, 2018:

You're on the wrong forum. You need to find one with a credulous, gullible and, preferably, solvent readership and start your own religion by peddling your experiences to them.

Gareth replies on Apr 10, 2018:

@GoldenDoll You're kind :)

A cosmology question.

BufftonBeotch comments on Apr 10, 2018:

Well, there is also the idea that even at light speed you are speaking of maybe a third or fourth generation born and raised on a ship that are going to have an obviously very different culture and outlook. But I think between galaxies as that might be very cold and barren. Like the darkest ...

Gareth replies on Apr 10, 2018:

Hi godef. That's not quite correct. It would take at least 125 million years as viewed from earth, but from the traveller's point of view it would take less. If they went at light-speed all the way it would take them no time at all in their own frame of reference (which is the one the OP is referring to). Spacetime is non-intuitive. You can check out the twin paradox if you don't already know it.

A cosmology question.

BufftonBeotch comments on Apr 10, 2018:

Well, there is also the idea that even at light speed you are speaking of maybe a third or fourth generation born and raised on a ship that are going to have an obviously very different culture and outlook. But I think between galaxies as that might be very cold and barren. Like the darkest ...

Gareth replies on Apr 10, 2018:

I agree, but at near-light speed, because of time dilation, you could theoretically be there in next to no time.

Is it possible for you not to judge people based on their appearance?

Gareth comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Totally off-topic - is that Highbury Fields?

Gareth replies on Apr 9, 2018:

No cigar for me

Who rides a bicycle everyday, every other day, weekends?

Gareth comments on Apr 9, 2018:

I cycle as much as I can. It's the nearest thing to being able to fly.

Gareth replies on Apr 9, 2018:

Here's a stat I came across recently - the first 20 minutes of cycling every day adds an hour to your life. So effectively, you get younger as you go. Just don't overdo it.

Who rides a bicycle everyday, every other day, weekends?

Byrd comments on Apr 9, 2018:

i used 2 ride a bike or walk everywhere, i got hit by a largeish truck tho while riding, and i havent been on a bike since...not that i dont want 2 but the bike was destroyed and i just never got another one, i think that was about 18 years or so ago

Gareth replies on Apr 9, 2018:

So sorry to hear that.

Do you believe all children are naturally born Atheist?

NicoleCadmium comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Agnostic? Yes. Atheist? No. Agnosticism is the natural state of not knowing, and when you're first born, you know nothing beyond the experience of finding your way out of your mother. To outright disbelieve in god(s) as required by Atheism, you first need to understand the concept of gods. Something...

Gareth replies on Apr 9, 2018:

I'm just having fun Nicole. Have a nice day.

Do you believe all children are naturally born Atheist?

NicoleCadmium comments on Apr 9, 2018:

Agnostic? Yes. Atheist? No. Agnosticism is the natural state of not knowing, and when you're first born, you know nothing beyond the experience of finding your way out of your mother. To outright disbelieve in god(s) as required by Atheism, you first need to understand the concept of gods. Something...

Gareth replies on Apr 9, 2018:

"agnostic noun plural noun: agnostics a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God" That's quite some baby.

Is Buddhism a religion?

Silver1wun comments on Apr 8, 2018:

It is hair splitting nonsense to consider Buddhism different because no deity allegedly oversees it. An 'ism' of any kind that calls upon members to abdicate individual reasoning faculties and accept doctrinal codes established by others, especially sexually sick old men, is functionally a ...

Gareth replies on Apr 8, 2018:

Atheism is an 'ism'. It's not a requirement of Buddhism that you abandon reason or believe in anything out of the natural order.

Do you trust the Mainstream Media?

SpikeTalon comments on Apr 7, 2018:

Nope, I don't trust any of them. I browse the web looking for solo journalists and any news reports they have, and then base a decision. In short, if money is involved in the equation (which all major media sources are in it for money, none operate for free), then it's a safe bet the public is not ...

Gareth replies on Apr 8, 2018:

"Where do you suppose the mainstream media sources get their funding from aside from maybe a few private donors?" In my country the main 'mainstream' media source would be the BBC. It gets no money from advertisers and none from donors. It is entirely funded from taxes and end-users. Let me assume you are only aware of US media (my apologies if that is not the case). I took The New York Times as an example and looked at its revenue figures. As best I could ascertain, its quarterly revenue of £399m included digital subscriptions of $79m and paper sales of around $60m. In other words, about a third of its revenue is independent of advertisers or donors and without whom it would not really have a business. TV and web media will obviously be less end-user dependent, but in a non-monopoly they will also be not only free to, but almost obliged to critique one another's objectivity and independence, which is a wonderful corrective to systematic bias. PS "qualified" can mean "limited" or "restricted".

Do you trust the Mainstream Media?

Wildflower comments on Apr 7, 2018:

Mainstream media is all about the money.

Gareth replies on Apr 8, 2018:

Ironic, much?

Do you trust the Mainstream Media?

SpikeTalon comments on Apr 7, 2018:

Nope, I don't trust any of them. I browse the web looking for solo journalists and any news reports they have, and then base a decision. In short, if money is involved in the equation (which all major media sources are in it for money, none operate for free), then it's a safe bet the public is not ...

Gareth replies on Apr 8, 2018:

I thought I had read your post carefully enough and the sense of your second sentence was: "if money is involved......[you are] not getting the truth/facts". That wasn't qualified in any way.

Do you trust the Mainstream Media?

Wildflower comments on Apr 7, 2018:

Mainstream media is all about the money.

Gareth replies on Apr 7, 2018:

Do you grow all your own food, because supermarkets are all about the money too?

Do you trust the Mainstream Media?

SpikeTalon comments on Apr 7, 2018:

Nope, I don't trust any of them. I browse the web looking for solo journalists and any news reports they have, and then base a decision. In short, if money is involved in the equation (which all major media sources are in it for money, none operate for free), then it's a safe bet the public is not ...

Gareth replies on Apr 7, 2018:

And you think "solo journalists", presumably not working for money, are the real deal?

How would you handle this?

wordywalt comments on Apr 6, 2018:

Let it be. Some people find comfort in those words.

Gareth replies on Apr 6, 2018:

Equally, some may find discomfort. It might depend on the audience.

True or False: How we think is determined by the mind, not how things really are.

Gareth comments on Apr 5, 2018:

That's not a well-formed question. You are positing that there is something called "the mind" which stands in opposition to "how things really are" and asking which determines "how we think". I don't even accept the premises, never mind that all the terms are vague.

Gareth replies on Apr 5, 2018:

I studied Kant's "Kritik" as part of my MA. If you'd written "How we think is determined by the mind and not by how things really are" it would have been less ambiguous. Philosophers are sticklers for that kind of precision. It's not exactly the problem Kant was tackling (which was more about the limits of a priori knowledge) but good luck with getting some interesting responses.

After a recent visit to the States, I was struck by how the local atheists was an equivalence ...

birdingnut comments on Apr 4, 2018:

True. In Thailand, the Muslims act like Buddhists and are highly tolerant.

Gareth replies on Apr 4, 2018:

In Songhkla, Yala and Narathiwat provinces, which are substantially Muslim, there are occasional bombings and shootings. As everywhere, there is a radicalised Wahhabi minority that buys into violence and a huge majority that doesn't.

So why do people assume that there was only one big bang in the universe?

Gareth comments on Apr 3, 2018:

I studied physics and your question makes no sense to me. Please explain how you think the current model is inconsistent with observed data.

Gareth replies on Apr 3, 2018:

Lol. Okay, start with Occam's razor (google it if it's not already familiar).