Hope you are all doing well.

Paul4747 comments on Mar 15, 2020:

My daughter made me coffee and cooked breakfast yesterday. Nobody's made me coffee in my apartment ever!

Mystery religions were prevalent in Egypt and all the middle east at the time of adoption of the ...

Paul4747 comments on Mar 15, 2020:

Also, the "virgin birth" prophecy was no such thing. In the Hebrew, it was foretold in the book of Isaiah that "a young woman" (*almah*) would give birth. Not nearly as sexy as a "virgin" giving birth- young women give birth all the time. The Greek translators screwed up and used the word for "virgin" instead. 2000 years of stupid has been the result. Even now there are Xian websites trying to explain how "young woman" really *meant* "virgin", just to excuse the Greeks and maintain that it really was holy inspired translation and not a fuckup.

Mystery religions were prevalent in Egypt and all the middle east at the time of adoption of the ...

Paul4747 comments on Mar 15, 2020:

Yes, but *those* were just myths (say the believers). How can they tell their mythology is the true one? Faith, baby. (I know it doesn't make any sense. Joseph Campbell pointed this stuff out decades ago. His series with Bill Moyers on PBS started me on my long journey of investigating comparative religion and questioning how *any* of it could be true, leading me through agnosticism and eventually to atheism.)

An Opinion Piece Soul is self.

Paul4747 comments on Mar 15, 2020:

I have little argument with that.

What do you do for fun?

Paul4747 comments on Mar 15, 2020:

It's an extremely depressing 'verse, since there *are no* good guys. Every faction is equally grim.

Greek Orthodox church says 'holy cup cannot carry disease', allows congregations to share spoon: ...

Paul4747 comments on Mar 14, 2020:

The stupid, it burns.... the goggles do nothing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkaBT-u7qn8

Some praise for ritualistic practice

Paul4747 comments on Mar 14, 2020:

I always put my left sock on first... and once both socks are on it's the same with shoes. I haven't noticed any effect on my life so far. So much for rituals.

Paula White Featured Speaker At Event Promising ‘Supernatural Protection’ From Coronavirus | ...

Paul4747 comments on Mar 14, 2020:

"When we celebrate Passover as Jesus instructed there is a supernatural protection that is activated when we apply Jesus Blood and celebrate the Passover Lamb." So where exactly are they getting their supplies of Jesus Blood? Or is it a brand name? "Jesus Blood, direct from Israel, every drop guaranteed holy!!!"

You're watching a YouTube video about atheism and an ad from a religious organization pops,this is ...

Paul4747 comments on Mar 14, 2020:

I agree completely. That's another great reason why I never watch those things. My general thoughts on you tube- great for watching old music videos that I remember from my youth, other than that I can do without it.

Using the Fear - With a global pandemic sweeping across the globe, now is the time to look hard at ...

Paul4747 comments on Mar 14, 2020:

Hope my kid enjoys my insurance benefits.

An Atlantic Magazine article (sorry for the length-entire article): The Trump Presidency Is Over...

Paul4747 comments on Mar 14, 2020:

Thanks for the article, no apology necessary.

Christian Leader: Not Accepting Jesus is “a Sickness Far Worse Than Coronavirus” | Hemant Mehta ...

Paul4747 comments on Mar 13, 2020:

Praying at lions, bears and rattlesnakes is also just as effective.

YouTube: "Kenneth Copeland heals viewers of Coronavirus through their televisions" This disease ...

Paul4747 comments on Mar 13, 2020:

The Justice Department, I heard on NPR, is going to be fining Jim Bakker for selling these quack "cures" for the COVID-19 virus. (I suppose that's if the chief executive doesn't get wind of it and order them to keep their hands off.)

Show us your most "liked" photo.

Paul4747 comments on Mar 12, 2020:

Erm... mine is in the Sexy Classy Pics group, so I'm going to pass on posting it here.

Mochi: The traditional Japanese dessert requires pounding, molding and shouting

Paul4747 comments on Mar 11, 2020:

Before or after you eat it?

If any non-falsifiable evidence of a god's existing came to light, I would be persuaded to change my...

Paul4747 comments on Mar 11, 2020:

Let's take just your first "what if" as a controlled experiment. If a purported god wanted to prove its status as such to me, by turning water into beer (I don't much like wine), then let's get a glass from my cupboard, fill it full of tap water from my faucet, and then "god" can say, "Let there be beer." If it then becomes beer, that's pretty convincing evidence that this being at least has god-like powers. It doesn't prove, however, that they created life, the universe, or anything, nor does it show omnipotence, omniscience, or benevolence, the traditional attributes of god (except to the extent that I now have a refreshing drink). I would be more convinced by, for instance, a godly message broadcast into every mortal mind simultaneously, in their own language, at the same time each day for a month; maybe along the lines of, "Terribly sorry that I didn't do this thousands of years ago, because it would have saved so much useless bloodshed and pain; but here's the thing, I didn't think you would actually be so dim as to kill one another over what God's name was. I can't believe what morons you people are. There's something terribly wrong with the lot of you. Stop it immediately."

I’m seriously beginning to loathe Christians.

Paul4747 comments on Mar 11, 2020:

If this is happening at work, your best response is to reply, "Thank you for your concern, but that's really nobody's business but my own." Eventually they might get the message. Then again, if you're like me, you can ask them if they're not worried that they're breaking God's law by wearing clothes made of more than one fabric (Leviticus 19:19), and then point out that there are probably some Muslims over there, in that sort of direction (make sure to point vaguely), that they could be converting. And then go to lunch and have some kid boiled in its mother's milk. :D

Right-Wing Pastor: God Sent Us Coronavirus Because of Homosexuality | Beth Stoneburner | Friendly ...

Paul4747 comments on Mar 10, 2020:

Which is why it specifically kills only gay people? Oh, wait- you mean it doesn't work that way? I seem to have detected a flaw in the theory...

Orthodox Israeli Rabbi Claims Coronavirus is God’s Revenge for Gay Pride Parades | Beth ...

Paul4747 comments on Mar 10, 2020:

But why wait so long? The parades have been around for years.

Yesterday i had a transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE).

Paul4747 comments on Mar 6, 2020:

Doctors have no sense of humor in pre-op. When I went for surgery on my pinched nerve, I asked 2 different docs (and the nurse) if they could make the scar in the shape of a "Z" so it would look like I had a fight with Zorro. Blank stares.

A beauty from India!...

Paul4747 comments on Mar 6, 2020:

What, only 2 arms?

New Zealand Pastor Blames Coronavirus on Airborne Demons Controlled by Satan | Beth Stoneburner | ...

Paul4747 comments on Mar 4, 2020:

The best part about this is the author's name. Now I want to change my name to Stoneburner, too.

Bernie... Oh Poor Bernie Why is no one endorsing Bernie?

Paul4747 comments on Mar 4, 2020:

Oh, the humanity....

The Stop Sanders movement has gone public [cnn.

Paul4747 comments on Mar 4, 2020:

I'm not sure how exactly the "Democratic Establishment" can force primary voters to vote one way or the other, but, as I've long predicted, the middle of the country isn't ready for Sanders, and Super Tuesday proved it.

What do you suppose gives rise to and supports belief in God?

Paul4747 comments on Mar 1, 2020:

Survival adaptation means humans look for a causative agent behind everything, even seemingly random events. A rustle in the grass may be the wind, or it may be a leopard, so it's "safer" to assume a leopard. On a cosmic scale, the evolutionarily "safer" assumption seemed to be that there were causative agents behind the storms and the lightning, the floods, the tides, the movements of the herds and the growing of the crops. If one propitiated those agents, then one could exert some control or at least predict the events of life. As we learned more about the actual causes behind all those things, it became clear that they needed no "agents" or gods to cause them; they're caused by natural processes, which we can study and to some extent predict and correct for. That hasn't stopped many people from believing that a god controls everything anyway, down to whether or not they win the lottery.

Christian Writer Claims Her PMS is One of the “Effects of Sin” | Beth Stoneburner | Friendly ...

Paul4747 comments on Feb 29, 2020:

Well, gee whiz. If the flesh is sinful, I can see where that's a problem. But, are women who don't get PMS just more holy, or what? I see she doesn't address that at all.

Does anyone belong to the Humanist Association of America?

Paul4747 comments on Feb 28, 2020:

Somebody must, I should think. I don't know anyone personally, though....

If you drive an expensive car, you're probably a jerk, scientists say

Paul4747 comments on Feb 28, 2020:

"They came to this conclusion after asking volunteers to cross a sidewalk hundreds of times, filming and analyzing the responses by car drivers." Well, there's the problem right there. If the drivers were already on the sidewalk, they weren't paying attention to the pedestrians *anyway*.... But seriously, folks.... I don't like driving in my nearby university town, Ann Arbor, myself, because the pedestrians seem to have an insufferable sense of superiority over the *drivers*. They stroll out into traffic whenever they feel like it and expect cars, buses, articulated tractor-trailers, to come to a screeching halt and let them pass. Most don't even check to see if there's anyone coming. Whereas I myself feel it's in my interests to use the crossings, wait for the Walk signal, or at the very least look out for the onrushing 2,000 pounds of steely death. The car will do a lot more damage to me than I'll do to it in a collision, so I feel it's incumbent upon me to yield the right of way.

I love how most people who believe the bible can trace their belief to the notion that the bible ...

Paul4747 comments on Feb 25, 2020:

The "magic" in the Bible stories is defined as either miracles, when provided by YHVH or his son Yeshua, or else it's the work of competing gods or demons. Either way, by definition it's a violation of the laws of physics, just like creating the universe in 6 days would be. In other words: fairy tales. It should, by rights, be taken just as seriously as anything out of the Arabian Nights or Just So Stories. Unfortunately, many Christians (many Jews and Muslims as well) have a vested interest in believing their books are literally true, because if they're not, then it casts doubt on the existence of their god and the validity of their belief. After all, what are they doing wasting all that time and money in churches, temples and mosques if their god isn't real? What are they doing killing people who believe differently, if their god isn't real?

Why are many Christian people against D&D (Dungeons and Dragons.) playing?

Paul4747 comments on Feb 24, 2020:

My take on it, after all these years, is a little more subtle than "They don't like it because it encourages magic and witchcraft". Players act out the role of characters that they invent, and inhabit a fictional world. In that fictional world, the character they portray, almost by default, will worship some deity that is not Jesus or his Dad, because- *Gasp!*- in these fantasy worlds, *Christianity doesn't exist!* Imagine the horror of a world without Christ! If your teenager can successfully imagine being a dwarf who worships Dvalin, the God of all Dwarves, it's only a step away from turning their back on the One True Church!! And those fictional gods are even better than Jesus, because they grant actual magic powers to their clergy. When did you last hear of the Pope calling down a lightning bolt to smite someone with whom he disagreed sharply? If the Pope had the power of even a middling-level D&D cleric, he'd be able to cast Control Weather and do something about all these tropical storms with which we've been vexed lately. Just pop him on a plane to wherever the trouble is. And no famines, because they can magically Create Food and Water. Imagine having to explain to your kids why your god can't do what the D&D gods can do. Your run-of-the-mill Xian may not know enough about the game to realize this stuff, but I'd bet my boots the higher-ups do, and that's why they don't want their youth involved in it, nosiree.

Not knowing that Gods and Devils are made up fictional characters is like not knowing that ...

Paul4747 comments on Feb 21, 2020:

I met Spider-Man once when I was a kid, he made an appearance at the mall! (Sort of like meeting Charlton Heston, dressed up as Moses. Another actor playing another fictional character.)

A vulnerable great niece of mine had trouble with her phone communications whilst on holiday and ...

Paul4747 comments on Feb 20, 2020:

So, if I read this right, God was going to... fix her phone...?

Have you ever thought of religion and communism as not being that different?

Paul4747 comments on Feb 19, 2020:

Other than Marx using a quote from Acts in his Manifesto? Not so much. Religion is intended to tell people how to live a spiritual life, and how to relate the life of the mind to life on earth; it's most akin to philosophy. Communism is an economics doctrine. Capitalism also promises that everyone will live happily ever after if they just follow its principles (have you read The Wealth of Nations or any get-rich-quick book?). Capitalism is actually more like religion than communism, particularly the Prosperity Gospel type of Christianity- in both cases, if you don't get rich, it's not the system's fault, it's because *you* did something wrong.

I just looked at my last post after doing other stuff for awhile and it seems a bit crazy.

Paul4747 comments on Feb 16, 2020:

I admit I'm confused... you quit smoking, but it sounds like you still smoke marijuana? Good luck, no matter what.

It does sound kind of nasty.

Paul4747 comments on Feb 16, 2020:

Dr Van Helsing says: Vampires suck.

Now that's a real prick!

Paul4747 comments on Feb 16, 2020:

Definitely use protection.

Can the number of "Nones" be slowing?

Paul4747 comments on Feb 16, 2020:

Polls are increasingly misleading, as we found out the last Presidential election cycle. When I was young, the phone didn't ring every ten minutes with telemarketers and anonymous wrong numbers, so we tended to answer it when someone like the Gallup Poll called. Now, people screen their calls. As a result of this type of behavior, I haven't taken part in any random poll in over 20 years. Does *anyone* answer their phone anymore? I tend to doubt any survey results these days, especially when one extrapolates 6900 responses and pretends that speaks for an entire nation.

Valentines day with a bang

Paul4747 comments on Feb 16, 2020:

Who says it's a "she"? Sounds like cooking instructions from a guy if I ever heard them.

The fine print...

Paul4747 comments on Feb 16, 2020:

Oddly enough, I can't translate the washing instructions, but I could read the apology part.

Peggy isn't a sloucher

Paul4747 comments on Feb 16, 2020:

Or maybe Viola is a bitch?

Ok..so it's a couple days late

Paul4747 comments on Feb 16, 2020:

When you're serious about your lube

Christmas cactus is still blooming

Paul4747 comments on Feb 16, 2020:

One more day and it's a President's Day cactus. Thank you... I'm here all week.

In that order

Paul4747 comments on Feb 16, 2020:

Great name!! Do they have hussies to go?

In that order

Paul4747 comments on Feb 16, 2020:

If we'd shopped there 19 years ago, I just might still be married...

Eric has a good memory

Paul4747 comments on Feb 16, 2020:

This is why it's so important to lock the door of the rumpus room.

Polly snorts

Paul4747 comments on Feb 16, 2020:

I get it....

I watched "What On Earth" to discover that we have satellites everywhere that can zoom in on ...

Paul4747 comments on Feb 16, 2020:

A more apposite question: how would one fit 2 pair each of the unclean animals, 7 pair each of the clean, into a boat only 450 feet long, given that we have identified over 5,000 species of mammals alone? Why would marine dinosaurs not still be alive? They wouldn't drown in the rising **flood water**. If there's anything Ark-shaped on Mount Ararat, it's probably the remains of an ancient Moose lodge.

Politics Question. How will you vote...and WHY?

Paul4747 comments on Feb 14, 2020:

Absentee, because I'm lazy.

"I Waited Until I was 41 to Lose My Virginity. But Was it Worth It?"

Paul4747 comments on Feb 14, 2020:

I agree about never engaging in sex with someone who "*insists*" on it. That's a no-no. On the other hand, I never found any use for virginity, so I lost mine just as soon as I met someone willing to help me out with that. (She was so much fun.... ;))

Being intelligent , unfortunately , does not mean a person is moral .

Paul4747 comments on Feb 13, 2020:

My experience is, for a lot of people, the more you have, the more you want. Those who have the most are concerned with building up more, not being satisfied with what they already have. How else do you explain people like the Koch brothers or the Walton family, who are worth hundreds of billions, but manipulate the law to get out of paying taxes and manipulate their businesses to squeeze out every last dime of profits? Even among those who have almost nothing, there's a pecking order- people in prison will hoard toilet paper and soap (which we give out free!) and ramen noodles, because having more than everyone else means having power in the prison economy.

What happened when you came out of the closet as an atheist?

Paul4747 comments on Feb 13, 2020:

Long term; it was one cause behind my divorce. There were plenty of others, though. I was an agnostic all along, but pretended and tried to be an Xian for years.

I'm not sure into which category to post this speculation, so I eventually plumped for "general" ...

Paul4747 comments on Feb 13, 2020:

It's just a standard "You'll go blind if you keep doing that" morality tale. YHWH was a jerk. I'm not sure if the cities are even established to have existed; if they did, most likely they perished in warfare or due to changes in the desert weather patterns.

I am a member that left for several months.

Paul4747 comments on Feb 13, 2020:

I've truly never thought about the age of other members very much. People are who they are. Most don't live near me in any case, so it hasn't entered into the equation. Since we're a self-selecting group, I've no idea how to go about "attracting" anyone of any particular demographic... I personally joined because I wondered if there was such a thing as "Christian Mingle for agnostics", and this is where I wound up. I even had a few dates as a result. Not for quite some time now, though. It is what it is. (A tautology.)

Vintage. Hornie little thing.

Paul4747 comments on Feb 12, 2020:

Da hell is up with that costume? Opera used to be a lot more interesting, I guess.

Ever see a prettier motorcycle rider?

Paul4747 comments on Feb 12, 2020:

Hey, someone ruined that photo by sticking a motorcycle in there!

Can sex overcome religion? You know what I mean!

Paul4747 comments on Feb 12, 2020:

Well, it did for 15 years in my case...

How many of you have lied or decieved a potential employer about your being agnostic or atheist.

Paul4747 comments on Feb 12, 2020:

I once interviewed for a job as a youth counselor at a reform school. As I read more about the job, I realized it was a Christian organization running the place, which didn't come through in the job posting. So I danced around the issue as much as I could, and nobody actually asked me if I was a believer, I think they just assumed everyone in the world was. I didn't get the job anyway, since I was just looking for something to fill in time before heading to grad school that fall, and they wanted someone permanent.

How many of you have lied or decieved a potential employer about your being agnostic or atheist.

Paul4747 comments on Feb 12, 2020:

Out of curiosity, what does any employer have any business doing asking about your social media? Or anything you do on your own time? Only if you're running it on company time is it any of their concern. And then, only to tell you to quit fooling around and get back to work.

Incredibly, it seems to be so... There are Atheists who fear hell! [patheos.com]

Paul4747 comments on Feb 11, 2020:

People are afraid of a lot of irrational things. My daughter is so afraid of spiders that she won't step on one, she'll scream for me to come do it. People are afraid of harmless species of snakes. People are afraid of cats or dogs. You say, "But all those things exist"? So what? It's the irrational fear we're talking about. People can have an irrational fear of a serial killer coming after them, just because they saw it on the news... in another city. Being afraid of a place of which you were taught to be terrified, all your childhood- I get that. Especially since I wistfully think sometimes, "Hey, if there *were* an afterlife, here's what I would like it to be..."

America Isn’t Growing Hostile Towards Christians, It’s Growing Hostile Towards Religious ...

Paul4747 comments on Feb 10, 2020:

*We’re just growing hostile towards hypocrites and religious bullies who aren’t content to just live their lives the way they please, but who instead seek to impose their extremist beliefs on the rest of us.* Except that the Bible calls for precisely that, in so many words. The Torah demands that those who don't follow the Law as it's laid out be punished with stoning and worse; even a child who disobeys their parents is supposed to be brought before the elders and then stoned to death by the whole community. These laws aren't optional, if YHWH runs the Universe- they're **The Rules**. And Jesus said he was not here to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. So, if you're truly living by God's Law, then there's no such thing as pluralism. Indeed, anyone working on the Sabbath (whichever day that is) had better watch out- even picking up a stick is supposed to be the death penalty. And woe to anyone wearing a garment made of two kinds of cloth!

Christian Blogger on Hitting Kids: “You Must Make Sure It Hurts to be Effective” | Beth ...

Paul4747 comments on Feb 9, 2020:

I got snatched bald-headed once or twice when I did something outrageous as a kid (figuratively speaking, I wasn't abused, I just got a smack or two on the ass)... but what I really remember was times the old man told me he was disappointed in me. He hadn't laid a hand on me in years by then, I had gotten beyond that. It was far more important to me that I live up to the old man's standards. That was like a punch in the gut, because I knew I'd let him down, and myself as well. I would rather have taken a beating.

Anyone else find that there are very few agnostics where you live?

Paul4747 comments on Feb 9, 2020:

There are plenty within 50 or 75 miles, but that seems a long way to ask anyone to drive for dating. Either to ask her to meet me, or me to meet her, or even meeting half way, if it were to be a regular thing. It's hard enough starting up a relationship, much less one where you only see each other once or twice a month, or less, purely because of living so far apart.

Not having been on a real date in a very long time, I was thinking of inviting someone.

Paul4747 comments on Feb 9, 2020:

I was hoping someone might jump me in celebration of leap year. So far, no such luck...

Punctuation is a thing! Just sayin'.

Paul4747 comments on Feb 9, 2020:

It's killing me not saying "just saying"... :D

What if the money that is spent on religion throughout the world was instead spent on science?

Paul4747 comments on Feb 9, 2020:

What a wonderful world this would be.

My friend and user-interface designer who helped with this site has emerged from his hibernation and...

Paul4747 comments on Feb 7, 2020:

The "similar posts" hover pop up appears off the page (in other words, can't be read) when using the Firefox browser. I don't recall this issue before switching browsers. On a Dell laptop, I should have said originally.

A convoluted argument hard to grasp for agnostics, but if it were to succeed...? [sojo.net]

Paul4747 comments on Feb 7, 2020:

It's not hard to grasp at all; use biblical language to appeal to the religious. The problem is, as far as I'm concerned, I'm extremely cynical about such an approach working. Fundamentalist Christians are unlikely to listen to anyone outside their own constricted viewpoint, and the official viewpoint is that God is in control and therefore it doesn't matter what we humans do.

I would like to know how many of you would vote against someone soley due to their open religious ...

Paul4747 comments on Feb 5, 2020:

It depends what you mean by "open religious agenda". Obama and Clinton regularly invoked God and went to church, but they were also thoroughly liberal and accused of being atheists and godless for keeping religion out of public policy. Indeed, their policies (pro-choice, pro-LGBTQ) were diametrically opposite the religious agenda. Considering it's still nearly impossible for an openly atheist candidate to get elected to national office in America, would I fault a candidate for putting on a good show while still supporting my own agenda? No. I take the best I can get, while hoping for better one day. I'm a pragmatist.

No no no... Yes?

Paul4747 comments on Feb 4, 2020:

I'm all confused.... what's the question?

The Science of Death: The Best Eulogoy, According to a Physicist.

Paul4747 comments on Feb 4, 2020:

I prefer the sentiments of Thomas Hardy, as quoted in *The Dogs of War*: "That _ be not told of my death, or made to grieve on account of me; & that I be not bury'd in consecrated ground; & that no sexton be asked to toll the bell; & that nobody is wished to see my dead body; & that no mourners walk behind me at my funeral; & that no flowers be planted on my grave, & that no man remember me; to this I put my name."

Trump's defenders in the impeachment trial argued that we are too close to an election to remove a ...

Paul4747 comments on Feb 4, 2020:

It doesn't matter if it's an election year or not. The impeachment was mainly to do with manipulating another nation to influence the election. The Republicans in the Senate are abdicating their constitutional responsibility in the hopes that Trump won't be reelected, and at the same time they won't pay the price inside their party for finding him guilty of the crimes he's committed. If they were honest with themselves, Republicans know that, were they to substitute the name "Obama", "Clinton", "Warren", "Biden", "Sanders", pick a Democrat, in place of "Trump", doing the exact same deeds, they would be howling for their heads. The trouble is finding a Republican who is honest with themselves.

A Nashville Art School Will Purge All Non-Christian Faculty Now That It Has Been Taken Over by a ...

Paul4747 comments on Feb 2, 2020:

The Pilgrims didn't actually come here to escape religious discrimination, as such; they just wanted to practice *their own kind* of religious discrimination. They wanted to be on the top of the heap for a change.

I can't say I'm very shocked by these comments, but it does make me wonder how these people could ...

Paul4747 comments on Feb 2, 2020:

An atheist writing this kind of stuff would be held up as proof that we're violent extremists. In religious circles, though, this is just considered "overzealous". We provoked them and deserve whatever we get.

Anyone else not watching the Superbowl?

Paul4747 comments on Feb 2, 2020:

I would have been, if I'd been at work at the prison. Sort of. (For those who don't know, I'm a corrections officer.) The TVs in the recreation rooms would have been tuned to the games and most of the prisoners would have been up there watching. I would have been watching them, watching the game, to see that no fights broke out, no contraband or drugs were being passed, and so on. Turns out, when the vacation book was being passed last year, I took today off as an incidental day. I forgot all about it and showed up today in uniform, then came back home again. :D I haven't followed sport in almost 20 years, since I took the job. It was too hard to keep track, what with working most weekends, and now I find it's mostly an annoyance because the prisoners gamble on the games and the losers frequently don't pay up, with consequences you can imagine. I enjoy the technical aspects of the game, after all, I played briefly in high school, but all sport has become such a big money enterprise when that money could have gone to much better causes. I haven't been to a live professional event since they tore down Tiger Stadium (damn them!!!).

What sexual behavior would you not do?

Paul4747 comments on Feb 2, 2020:

I'm pretty sure I don't want to be flogged. Don't think I want to give anal or get pegged, but I might be open to (hah! didn't realize there was a joke there) getting or giving a little ass play. I don't *think* I want to be involved in a scenario where there's another man, but hey- if she's up for FMF, then I guess to be fair I have to be up for MFM (another stealth joke!). There would be a couple other things probably, but I haven't really thought about it.

I'm very curious why some men want to cum on a woman's face?

Paul4747 comments on Feb 2, 2020:

I've always been curious about this one too. I don't get into it for the most part. As for whether women like it- someone, somewhere, likes just about anything you can name. I dated (very briefly) someone who said among other things that she wanted me to "cum all over her", I'm not sure what specific areas were implied.

I was asked a question by the man I have been seeing for the past 10 weeks and did not have a good ...

Paul4747 comments on Feb 2, 2020:

I couldn't have come up with a better answer. It sounds to me as though he's insecure and wonders if your relationship might go the way of his marriage. And the only answer to that is, who knows? If he's looking for guarantees, there are none. He should try living in the moment for now and see how it goes. As Bill Murray said in *Groundhog's Day* (very appropriate, don't you think?), "Why not stay a while, and if you still like it, stay a little more, and then if you still like it, stay a little more?" Or words to that effect...

What to eat?

Paul4747 comments on Feb 2, 2020:

I'm thinking... Goose?

My daughter just informed me that my step-son who lives in another state has passed.

Paul4747 comments on Feb 1, 2020:

I'm sorry for your loss.

🗣️ Good morning all... A ten shun!

Paul4747 comments on Jan 31, 2020:

Do I need to join in stating the obvious, or can you just take it for granted? ;)

Sunset...beach...

Paul4747 comments on Jan 31, 2020:

...words.... pictures...

Bernie is the opponent Trump wants.

Paul4747 comments on Jan 29, 2020:

It doesn't really matter to me who Trump wants. The point is, *I*'m against a lot of Sanders' (and Warren's) proposals. Let's take "Medicare For All". How do you pay for it? What will it cover? Why *must* I give up my employer-paid health care, if the government plan isn't better? My union went through a lot to get me health care. I think everyone deserves health care, but I don't see why we should be forced to give ours up. Then there's the way Bernie never answers any questions. Every interview I've heard him give devolves into him wriggling around recycling talking points, while the interviewer tries to pin him down to giving a single damn answer.

Bernie is the opponent Trump wants.

Paul4747 comments on Jan 29, 2020:

Trump is mainly running on hatred. "Hate the Democrats. Hate socialists. Hate immigrants. Hate foreigners. Hate other religions. Hate anyone different. I'm the only one who says it's okay to hate, so love me!" As noted extensively elsewhere, Trump normalizes his followers' prejudices. He endorses their hatreds with his own.

Not sure how this works but there seems to be a demeaning air toward all religious leaders here, ...

Paul4747 comments on Jan 27, 2020:

I respect religious people (leaders, followers, whatever the role) who choose to follow the most positive principles of their religion, and use those to help others. For example, this guy https://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/ is one of my favorites- and not just because he makes fun of the *Left Behind* books (although there is a lot of fun to be made there). The Reverend King was not perfect, and never claimed to be perfect. It's well known that he liked a drink or five, he enjoyed the company of ladies considerably younger than his wife, he had a temper. And he was well aware of his failings, and strove to some extent to overcome them, with mixed success. But he never claimed to be *better than* anyone else- he was first among equals. Time and events cast him in a leadership role, and he took it up, when one gets the sense that he might have been happier staying out of the limelight, even though he also derived great satisfaction from the successes of his movement. Personally, I respect him because, unlike so many "leaders" today, when he was vilified by those who opposed him, he never responded in kind. He refused to stoop to their level. I've read (although I don't recall where) that someone offered him blackmail material on J. Edgar Hoover, which he burned rather than use. He was fundamentally decent; which you can say about all too few of our "leaders" now.

Why energy drinks are worse for you than coffee of soda pop

Paul4747 comments on Jan 24, 2020:

Also, the only one I ever had tasted just *awful*, which was reason enough for me never again to waste $4.99 on 2.5 ounces of unidentified ooze in a tiny bottle. (I never tried the bigger ones, but they're an even bigger waste.) Thanks for the scientific backing for my instinctive prejudice!

I'm very interested to hear your thoughts!

Paul4747 comments on Jan 24, 2020:

Kissing is best.

Democratic Candidates Link Arms on MLK Day March in South Carolina

Paul4747 comments on Jan 21, 2020:

Annnnd... that's the last time we get a display of unity until the convention.... now the knives come back out for the primaries.

New haircut today. What do you think?

Paul4747 comments on Jan 20, 2020:

It seems my added approval is late and unneeded.

I've been exploring/researching touch and sensuality, beyond sexual.

Paul4747 comments on Jan 20, 2020:

Anybody want to cuddle? ;)

Depressed Agnostics?

Paul4747 comments on Jan 18, 2020:

If the reported rate of depression were higher, that might be due to believers seeking counseling in their church or so on. It doesn't follow that the actual rate of depression is higher among atheists/agnostics, and even if it were, correlation is certainly not causation.

What do you see as being the best approaches to normalizing agnostism, atheism etc?

Paul4747 comments on Jan 18, 2020:

When enough people are atheist or agnostic, statistically that becomes normal.

Less fear of hell?

Paul4747 comments on Jan 18, 2020:

Even when I was a small child I don't remember being afraid of hell. I guess I was lucky enough to be raised in a non-denominational, vaguely-Christian, just-be-nice-to-people sort of way, and then if you were nice enough you went to heaven. When I seriously started reading the Torah and the New Testament, I actually found myself looking forward to hell, because if YHWH turned out to be real, heaven in his company would be insufferable. Robert Heinlein's *Job: A Comedy of Justice* bears me out on this.

This top is too tight...

Paul4747 comments on Jan 18, 2020:

Much better now. ;)

Mississippi Bill Would Force Teachers to Say the Ten Commandments Every Day | Hemant Mehta | ...

Paul4747 comments on Jan 18, 2020:

Undoubtedly it would not stand up in court, if it even passed through committee. The First Amendment still being in the Constitution, and all... The bill's sponsor being a Democrat just goes to show that moronic religiosity is not the sole province of one party.

How do people feel about pulling good guy (or good person) deeds as an atheist?

Paul4747 comments on Jan 18, 2020:

If someone is walking up just as I've pulled a shopping cart out at the grocery store, I offer it to them. That kind of thing. I don't do organized volunteering because I'm not a joiner. I work with and around too many religious people to believe that religion has anything to do with how many "good deeds" you do.

What about believing even if you know it is not true?

Paul4747 comments on Jan 17, 2020:

Pragmatism as defined by "giving up and going along"? So, rather than educate people about germ theory and microbes, just let them believe it's evil spirits, as long as they do what they need to do?

Good morning all... Here's a pic to motivate Wakey Wakey time...

Paul4747 comments on Jan 16, 2020:

Just makes me want to go to bed....

Kentucky Christian School Expels Student For Eating Rainbow Birthday Cake | Michael Stone

Paul4747 comments on Jan 15, 2020:

*Insert facepalm meme here*

Why does life exist?

Paul4747 comments on Jan 15, 2020:

No, no, there is no why!! Clear your mind of questions. No more will I teach you today.

The Proof: That God Exists There is a hierarchy in Animalia, not only as quantified by the DNA ...

Paul4747 comments on Jan 15, 2020:

How very Orwellian. Too bad you don't seem to know much about either evolution or the law. The supposed "hierarchy" of animal forms is an antiquated concept. All animals share common ancestors, none "higher" than another. To pick an example, chimpanzees and hominids diverged several million years ago from a common ancestor. Both species have been evolving for the exact same length of time. And if we want to talk about which species prey more efficiently on the others, it could be argued that viruses are at the top of the food chain. They prey very effectively on humans and on all other animals, even modifying our behavior to assist their own replication. When we fight them, they evolve resistance with frightening speed. Your bio says you're a libertarian and an American, in which case you know, or should know, that the power of our government derives from law, not from arbitrary authority. We, through our elected representatives, tell the government what's right and wrong, not the other way around. WE make the law. We The People *are* the law. All that said, I hope your post is just a harmless troll. Because you really should know all these things.