I am not an Atheist, I am Agnostic. There is a difference, actually a huge difference.

genessa comments on May 16, 2019:

look at everyone making decisions about what an atheist is and what an agnostic is when in fact there is such a huge difference that sometimes there is an overlap! i don't happen to have an overlap. but look, someone below said an agnostic doesn't care whether there is a god and an atheist cares very much. well, i am an atheist, not an agnostic, and i do NOT care at ALL whether there are any gods. i know agnostics who don't claim to know whether or not there are any gods and also don't care. so that definition is true of some but it's not true of all, or even most, so it's not definitional at all. it's like saying "dogs are animals who don't bite." "no, dogs are animals who do bite." some dogs bite, some don't, and the definition of dog has nothing to do with biting. the definitions of agnostic and atheist have nothing to do with whether we CARE whether or not there are gods. the definitions also have nothing to do with whether or not we're curious, whether or not we're arroganst (i've heard that too) or whether or not we want proof either way. so you are an agnostic and not an atheist. okay. fine. that's your business. and you think there is a huge difference. wrong, but okay, whatever. were you planning to support that statement in any way, or even just present what you think the huge difference is? g

[agnostic.com] Very bland and who adds a pic of themselves and writes 'Very sweet'?

genessa comments on May 16, 2019:

look how many other profiles in other locations have WORD FOR WORD the same profile! https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS734US735&ei=oTbdXOTNIM2s5wKF5qOgAQ&q=%22I+have+a+big+heart%21+I%27m+romantic%2C+and+love+to+cuddle%21+I%27m+not+afraid+to+say+I%22+am+wrong%2C+or+say+I+am+sorry%21+I+am+patient%2C+I+smile+a+lot%2C+I%27m+very+positive%2C+a+great+loving+Woman%2C+and+a+lot+more%21+I5l3j69i61j0.2576j0j4%26sourceid%3Dchrome%26ie%3DUTF-8&oq=%22I+have+a+big+heart%21+I%27m+romantic%2C+and+love+to+cuddle%21+I%27m+not+afraid+to+say+I%22+am+wrong%2C+or+say+I+am+sorry%21+I+am+patient%2C+I+smile+a+lot%2C+I%27m+very+positive%2C+a+great+loving+Woman%2C+and+a+lot+more%21+I5l3j69i61j0.2576j0j4%26sourceid%3Dchrome%26ie%3DUTF-8=psy-ab.3..0i71l4.26947.31018..32126...0.0..0.0.0.......2....1..gws-wiz.IEjd3Kg1EiE g

how do you define success? is it all about money or peace of mind. my brother is really rich he...

genessa comments on May 15, 2019:

are those the only two choices: money or peace of mind? how about accomplishment other than wealth, such as inventing something useful for the world, or fighting for justice, either of which necessarily provides peace of mind? there are a gazilllion ways to define success that do not involve money or peace of mind. g

Has anyone here had any experience of or with Satanists? A gay young man I met is a Satanist and ...

genessa comments on May 15, 2019:

not i. my understanding is that the satanic temple named itself that to annoy christians and otherwise has nothing to do with the christian character, satan (note that in the hebrew bible, there is no devil/satan/beelzebub/etc. but rather a prosecuting attorney, or ha-satan, who works for god) but rather advocates for freedom of religion. i have mixed feelings about that. on the one hand, good for them! on the other hand, it does rather reinforce ignorant folks' impression of atheists as satanic. guess you can't win them all. g

Sarah-Art. Looks like a pornstar

genessa comments on May 15, 2019:

jhovana kelly.she claims to be. whether the real kelly is a model or a porn star i do not have the energy to further research. g

[forward.com] Jewish Nazi, Stephen Miller is the person behind Fuhrer Trump's brainstorm to ...

genessa comments on May 15, 2019:

don't be ashamed. you are not responsible for miller's self-hatred, which is the worst kind. if he were in a concentration camp, he would be the first to volunteer as capo, and he wouldn't do it to protect his people either. g

Temporary setback. Sympathy for people with chronic pain.

genessa comments on May 15, 2019:

even temporary pain sucks. i, like @linxminx, also have arthritis and fibromyalgia, as well as neuropathy from my diabetes and some other stuff. like her i try not to complain; folks do NOT understand, any more than they understand that depression isn't just feeling sad. i had a recent experience of which your post has reminded me. i go to adult day care thrice a week, and the director is a nice person but i felt dismissed this past monday when i was feeling some rather unusual pain that i could not attribute to anything i know i have. i had back spasms in a place that i have never before had them, and the pain migrated to the front into my ribs and affected my breathing. i mentioned it to the director and she said "let's talk about our aches and pains!" and mentioned something that hurt her, and then walked away. it was rather shockingly dismissive. my pain got worse and by the end of the day i had to cancel my ride home and instead call for an ambulance, and guess what? the paramedic had the same attitude! he kept asking me if i was SURE i wanted to go to the hospital! i was fearful that he would write down that my insurance shouldn't pay because it wasn't a real emergency! i think chest pain and an inability to draw a full breath counts as a real emergency. when i got to the e.r. the doctor expressed his fear that my pain my be coming from a pulmonary embolism. he ordered an x-ray (which an urgent care could have done) and an ultrasound of my legs (which would NOT have been done immediately at urgent care). they found nothing. they said a p.e. was not eliminated totally but less likely than previously thought. they didn't offer me an alternative explanation but they did send me home with the usual instructions: call your doctor. but to be dismissed so, twice in one day! at least the doctor wasn't like that. but lay persons.... they definitely do NOT understand. i do not wish your pain upon you and i cannot say i am glad you have it. i don't and i'm not. but i AM glad that since you DO have that pain, you are wise enough to interpret it properly and imagine what it would be like to have it chronically. not only would people not understand what it's like, but if they DID purport to understand, then they wouldn't take your seriously if you had a pain you knew was DIFFERENT from your chronic pain! g

Hey guys! I posted a few weeks ago about my process of leaving religion and I know deep down that ...

genessa comments on May 15, 2019:

it is sort of scary to be on your own if you've been relying on that kind of "guide" right? but the more certain you become that the guide was your inner self all along, the sooner you'll stop punishing yourself, and then you'll realize that the only hell there could be is the one you create for yourself (not counting external circumstances such as, say, being a pregnant girlchild in alabama). the terror will subside. g

What was your most enjoyable dream? What was your worst Nightmare? Can you go back and continue a ...

genessa comments on May 15, 2019:

i can answer part of that: yes, sometimes i can go back into a dream after a brief awakening. i am not sure how i do it. i just do it. g

"We are stardust brought to life, then empowered by the universe to figure itself out - - and we ...

genessa comments on May 15, 2019:

he borrowed the stardust imagery from carl sagan, which is fine. g

How many of you had one of these.. I did. This was my start into wanting a motorcycle... the rest ...

genessa comments on May 15, 2019:

i had a normal bicycle. later, in japan, a friend lent me his bicycle, and i injured myself with it. still later, i rented un velo in france and injured myself worse with it. i stay away from bikes now. g

Morality is optional when you're conservative

genessa comments on May 15, 2019:

i don't even think it's optional. i think republicans punish each other if they are ethical. you have to be a criminal to be appreciated. g

When i finally opened my eyes after 30 years and was able to look unbiased at the bible and the ...

genessa comments on May 14, 2019:

the romans were the early-middle middleman in the deal. popes and then the british kings tweaked it even more. but before the romans, there was paul, and paul invented the beginnings of christianity as we know it, and if he had gone anywhere but to greece things might have worked out somewhat differently. first of all there is an old jewish expression -- yes, THAT old -- "he's a real son of god!" that just refers to a pious person. the greeks, on the other hand, had in their religion real sons of gods, gods who raped human women who then produced demigods. so that is how the greeks understood paul's statements about how good jesus was. second of all, tourism wasn't going to be greece's economic mainstay for a couple millennia, so they were supporting themselves raising pigs and fishing, and half of what they fished for wasn't kosher either. they were NOT going to convert to judaism! (cut my WHAT off? are you KIDDING?) so paul had to decide which was more important: converting the greeks to judaism, which is against jewish law anyway (jews are not permitted to proselytize!) or make the greeks goofy for jesus. he chose the latter. christianity is born! and by the way, the greeks went and called this new god a "christ," which does mean savior but savioris not an accurate translation of messiah. the messiah was never meant to be a savior. that's not a jewish concept at all. in judaism one is responsible for one's own sins. the messiah was prophesied as a human king who would bring peace (not an apocalypse, for example) in his own time (not after being killed on purpose so he could be resurrected and then vanish and then everyone could try to guess when he was coming back and make bumper stickers guessing what he would want them to do in the interim). now, you may say, jesus may never have existed, and surely did not exist as portrayed at any rate. of course! but that makes no difference to disciples, apostles, emperors, popes, kings or american evangelicals. g

Atheists make up a wide variety of independent thinkers. Is there a unifying purpose that would...

genessa comments on May 14, 2019:

much as i would like to say we're smarter than other people, i think our only unifying attribute is that one way or another we came to the conclusion that there are no gods, or probably are no gods (see, even in that we are diverse). as for a unifying purpose, the only one i can think of we MIGHT have (i have it, myself) is working for the separation of church and state. everything else is up in the air because there are no tenets or rules to atheism, other than the actual definition of the word, which ITSELF is broad (do you believe there are no gods or not believe there are any gods?) not being a religion and all, it has no other attributes unless you count being reviled by a portion of the theistic population. g

I write this with a sadness I am unable fully explain with words. My Noble friend of 14 years is ...

genessa comments on May 14, 2019:

i am awfully sorry. g

Do you have pictures on your refrigerator?

genessa comments on May 14, 2019:

one picture and a boatload of magnets. g

GOP Sen. Tom Cotton says farmers' tariff 'sacrifices' are nothing compared to the military's ...

genessa comments on May 13, 2019:

oh tom cotton who violated the hatch act with impunity? that tom cotton? someone ought to make a q-tip out of him. g

[agnostic.com] I think he has been here before. Usual MO, widowerer, bio is very bland and posts ...

genessa comments on May 13, 2019:

yeah he's giving me a little argument in his heaven and hell post.seems he can say he is an atheist and a believer all at once because, although he says in his profile he can't live without god, in the details section he says he's 50-50. he's a bit of a whiner, too. g

For previous believers, what was it that made you unconvinced about god and religion? To be more ...

genessa comments on May 13, 2019:

i was raised a secular jew and was never religious, but i did (until age 15) believe, in a vague way, in some kind of personal god, sort of like an invisible friend. as a lonely and abused child, i needed a witness and this god filled that position. i didn't read about religion or anything like that. i just felt the need to examine my beliefs one day after realizing that my folks had gotten something wrong and i'd bought into it (it was silly; they said long-haired boys were dirty and i found out that simply wasn't true) and god went right out the window. it was a tad startling in its way but not a huge shock, and it didn't take any big philosophical delving or research. i just realized that there was no such animal. g

What is your opinion on Catholic schools? Are they forms of modern brainwashing?

genessa comments on May 12, 2019:

i have never been christian and went to public school. however, i know people who went to catholic school and they all have been abused, physically. one friend told me a nun picked up his desk, with him in it, and tossed it across the room. brainwashing? surely. however, there is, or at least was, physical abuse too. g

I heard about this movement on NPR the other day and had to seek out more information. It's called...

genessa comments on May 12, 2019:

i have not worn a bra since 1970. i have not worn underpants since 1997. i have never worn a corset. i don't wear stockings or pantyhose. i do not wear makeup. there are many things about my body i would change if i could but those things i just mentioned that i eschew would not solve any of them and in fact could make some of them worse. g

The orthodox definition of the theistic god includes omnipotence, omniscience, and omnibenevolence ...

genessa comments on May 12, 2019:

sorry -- i have never been christian. g

Christian Mom: It’s a Travesty That Girls Are Outperforming Boys Academically | Sarahbeth Caplin |...

genessa comments on May 12, 2019:

many moms: "don't argue with him. don't let him know how smart you are. men don't like smart girls." my mom: "you can be whatever you want to be." g

Last week my son's girlfriend came over with her brother. We got into some intense discussion. The ...

genessa comments on May 12, 2019:

like the old man throwing the beached tortoise back into the ocean, the kid who scoffed and said "it makes no difference," and the man's response, "it makes a difference to THAT tortoise!" g

Trump Joke of the Day The Pope and Trump were on stage in front of a huge crowd. The Pope leaned...

genessa comments on May 12, 2019:

i have seen versions of this joke, and sometimes obama was substituted for trump. it made no difference except for whom one liked. as much as i hate trump, i don't find this joke funny because it is not specific to trump. you could, depending on who you were, substitute anyone you didn't like. that's not enough. now, i saw a funny one that wasn't funny when i first saw it because it was posted by an anti-obama, pro-trump person, but reversing it made it funny NOT just because i hate trump and love obama, but because it touched something real in trump's life. here is that joke, MY way: trump and obama accidentally found themselves in a barber shop at the same time, both in for a shave and a haircut. they didn't say a word to each other during the ministrations, but their respective barbers finished at the same time. trump's barber asked him if he would like a splash of aftershave. trump said, "no; i don't want to go home to melania smelling like the inside of a whorehouse." obama's barber asked him if he would like a splash of aftershave. "sure," he said. "MY wife doesn't know what the inside of a whorehouse smells like." that joke doesn't work the other way around! reminds me: an incorrigible evangelical trumpkin friend of mine posted a picture of melania on facebook, calling her beautiful. i refrained from responding by posting one of melania's pornographic photos. i am a nicer person than i give myself credit for being. i did hide the post, though, and hide all from the idiot from whom she got the picture, too. g

Religion and tradition repressed people and kept them stupid. Science and freedom of movement are ...

genessa comments on May 12, 2019:

science isn't causing us to do what we're able to do. we could've ended humanity in the stone age by just setting each other on fire. we can just do it faster and better now. the planet would survive -- but it would be uninhabitable by humans and a hell of a lot of other species (more if we destroyed ourselves faster, fewer if we took our time and destroyed them first). freedom of movement is just freedom of fast movement; we moved out of africa and we never did stop moving. religion is the arbiter of morality; ethicality is the purview of the secular, and i will not talk about morals as a good thing. i talk about ethics as a good thing. religion and ethics often clash. living in a fantasy world has its own intrinsic problems, whether religion or mental illness is the cause. so is your question about whether religion is worse than climate change? apples and oranges. or are you asking whether religion is worse than science and freedom of movement? yes, of course it is. science is good. freedom of movement is good. we can control what we do with our knowledge and abilities. whether we WILL control them is another story. g

[agnostic.com] This may be a scam. This member [agnostic.com] Davisseaton joined May 6th. ...

genessa comments on May 12, 2019:

one sees this on youtube all the time. here... rather unexpected but i guess it had to happen SOME time, eh? g

The chance to really start over. But should I take it? What would you do? Hey guys, I've been ...

genessa comments on May 12, 2019:

the first person you should ask is your ltr. find out whether she will go with you. then you have more information to help you decide. g

What liberals need to do is get back to these core values and quit pandering to the bankers and ...

genessa comments on May 11, 2019:

what liberals need to do is stop pretending that liberals are corporatists and panderers. if you actually paid attention to what liberals say and do and how they vote (i mean in congress, and in scotus) you would realize that liberals are not the right target of these accusations. this is propaganda that appears to come from the left but it is really coming from the right. g

Ouch! Mayor @Pete Buttigieg responds to ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ slam that he is “Alfred E Neuman”...

genessa comments on May 11, 2019:

funny thing is, when i was a little kid, jfk was running for office, and i saw a poster of him in my elementary school. it occurred to me later that this was kind of weird and maybe wouldn't be permitted these days. anyway, i didn't know who he was but i thought, because of his red hair, that he looked like alfred e neuman, which of course he otherwise didn't. (robert morse does, a bit, don't you think?) so to connect a president with neuman is funny to me -- but neuman is clever and trump isn't. ah well. g

Am I the only one this has happened to?

genessa comments on May 11, 2019:

well, satan has never been part of my language, since he has never conceptually been a part of my life (there is no devil in judaism, and ha-satan just means prosecuting attorney; all that satan-is-evil stuff is christian,and i never have been christian). but this reminds me of a nice line i heard on the old match game the other night. the mama turkey says to her progeny, "you're a bad child. if you father was alive he'd be rolling over in his ____." the contestant said "stuffing." the proper answer, which most of the celebrities got, was "gravy." g

Is there anyone....

genessa comments on May 11, 2019:

most vets do NOT support trump. that's another one of his lies. alas, the other two groups do tend to support him. i don't think it is necessarily ALL hypocrisy. some of it just stupidity. g

Which Religious Group Wants To Base U.S. Law On Its Faith? The Answer May Not Surprise You. May ...

genessa comments on May 11, 2019:

it would never in a million years have occurred to me that the answer was "muslims." i know a few muslims, and they just want to live their lives. on the other hand i've known a hell of a lot of christians, and most of them were pretty intensely interested in changing me. g

After reading the interesting post on left-handedness, I have a question: I am a left-hander. I ...

genessa comments on May 11, 2019:

i don't know many lefthanders, or i do and they haven't mentioned it (not necessarily hiding it -- it just hasn't come up). therefore i cannot speculate or generalize. i DO know that lefthanders have more right-brain activity and righthanders have more left-brain activity, so looking up what side of the brain controls what might be helpful. i can also say that i am not ambidextrous and am righthanded by the usual definition, which is that i use my right hand to write and handle such tools as forks and spoons, but on the other hand there are certain things i can ONLY do easily with my left hand, and yet other things i can do equally easily with either. i can further say i am pretty damned independent (and stubborn, some might say). i cannot attribute this independence or stubbornness to these anomalies of handedness, nor (on the other hand) say for sure they're not connected. what a longwinded way to say "i don't know!" i hope it was a tad helpful, nonetheless. g

So a woman on a dating site initiated contact with me. We chatted for a couple of days, and things ...

genessa comments on May 11, 2019:

there are a few possibilities but we who have not been communicating with this woman are not in as good a position as you to figure out which, if any, apply (ies). 1. she is offended, possibly horrified. 2. she isn't sure whether you're pulling her leg. 3. she thinks you're trying to back out of whatever relationship or budding relationship you have or could have. 4. she's stupid. g

Maybe this is a wierd question...is "coming out" as an atheist in any way similar to coming out as ...

genessa comments on May 11, 2019:

it wasn't for me, because i was never closeted. i have always been open about my lack of belief in any gods, even when i realized, at the age of 15, that they didn't exist. it isn't as if i got asked a lot. i am trying to think whether i ever got asked, at least until the internet arrived. but my observation of what others, from religious families or communities or workplaces, have experienced leads me to believe that there is a parallel. i think "coming out" is an apt expression to use. g

When is too late to start looking for a life partner?

genessa comments on May 11, 2019:

i met my life partner when i was 48 and he was almost 52. i'm 67 now and he will be 71 next month. i am wondering why anyone thinks there is a time limit on this, other than our own mortality? g

Has anyone else had to cut ultra religious family out of their lives?

genessa comments on May 10, 2019:

i never had religious relatives or at least not since the great-grandparents died, after which we were raised secular jewish. i do have a niece who has been brainwashed not to talk to me (nothing to do with religion) who married not just a nonjew but a christian missionary. so now she teaches sunday school and participates in the brainwashing of small children. i don't know how this happened to her. she was always a smart, loving child. i don't know how her mother, my sister, feels about that, since she, my sister, is the one who taught her not to communicate with me. (she has turned some friends against me too.) as i say, that part has nothing to do with religion. so no, your experience is not mine, and i am sorry that it has happened to you. it shouldn't happen to anyone. g

What is the "incel" movement all about?

genessa comments on May 10, 2019:

incels do not remain involuntarily celibate. they rape and do not consider it rape; they consider that they are taking their due, that all women owe all men sex. g

Guess who is back for the 4th time . Reported him of course . That's not the reason I am posting ...

genessa comments on May 9, 2019:

i don't think i know him, or at least don't remember him, and see no posts or comments either, so it's probably not you lol. he has a follower, just one. i wonder if he is conning her? g

Scientific evidence is great and all but I think its also important for everone to back up and ...

genessa comments on May 9, 2019:

i have no proof that the tooth fairy doesn't exist but i still know, not think maybe, not speculate, but KNOW she doesn't, which is a bummer because she's owed me a quarter for a half dozen decades, and the interest on that would pay off our mortgage. we don't know everything but that doesn't mean we don't know anything! g

Finally!!!! Potential progress!! 🤩 Rep. Adam Schiff introduces amendment to overturn Citizens ...

genessa comments on May 9, 2019:

the senate will be as stubborn as always -- but you know what? all this cool legislation the house has been passing EXISTS now and can be reintroduced when the senate turns blue next year. those of you thinking, ach, the democratic party is the same as the republican party (wrong wrong wrong!) or isn't all it's cracked up to be (nobody's perfect, folks) should take heed. there is more to getting the senate back than partisan power or thwarting trump, who we hope won't be in office anymore anyway. it's a matter of getting things DONE that have long needed doing and getting things REVERSED that should never have been done to begin with. giving the dems power means giving ourselves a better place to live and be citizens. g

As a Christian, I can remember mocking Islam and thinking how stupid the religion was. How could ...

genessa comments on May 8, 2019:

christianity in its bibles (jews have no old or new testament; there is just the hebrew bible) and islam in its quran are violent, maybe not equally, but at any rate violent in stories, not violent in actual action. in the modern day, modern muslims do not perform those bloody laws any more than modern day jews and christians stone people to death for, say, adultery. HOWEVER, islamists (who do NOT follow quran and even perform terroristic acts on muslim holidays) and radical christians (who do not follow the christian bibles, nor understand them as far as i can tell) are plenty violent, and in the united states, christians (should we call them christianists?) are way more violent than islamists. i refuse to judge practitioners or believers in religions by their "holy" texts, since they are followed to such wildly varying degrees even by the devout. i judge them by their actions. g

How do you de-stress?

genessa comments on May 8, 2019:

your methods sound good. if they work, they work! me, i smooch on my old felines and young puppy, give my guy a big hug is he hasn't been too big a pain in the ass, i play three computer games and one mobile game, and they're intense, so my concentration goes solely on them and not on my problems. i am not the type of person who lies in the sun at the beach; i splash in the water or walk around collecting shells. so concentration is my relaxation. it doesn't work for everyone. g

Seeing that we are all atheists agnostics what makes a person choose good over evil? The definition ...

genessa comments on May 8, 2019:

our humanity. the question presumes among other things, that believing in a god makes a person choose good over evil., have you seen the prison stats? there are an awful lot of christians in there, very few jews, even fewer atheists. whatever makes a person choose good over evil, it sure isn't religion, or belief in a god. g

Elizabeth Warren shames Mitch McConnell by reading directly from Mueller report on the Senate floor...

genessa comments on May 7, 2019:

good for her! as it happens, i am leaning strongly toward her for the primaries. i like several other people, and anyone of them, even those i dislike a little, is worlds better than trump (a low bar, but the ones i do like, i feel meet a much higher bar) but so far in my mind she is winning with her fearlessness, her actual plans and legislation, and this kind of behavior from her. she is not alone in courage, or having plans, and i can't wait to see who chooses whom veepily lol. but it's early days. ignore polls, folks. it's all name recognition at this point. msnbc's evening analysts are inviting all of the candidates, one at a time, to their shows, so if you want exposure to them all, and the ability to compare and contrast, that's a good network to watch of an evening, not only these days but especially these days. when campaigning ramps up and the debates begin, more people will start polling differently as the ones who don't watch msnbc get introduced to the gang. (so i am not worried about electability.) but so far... so far.... president liz sounds pretty darned good! g

When is it okay to say "I love you"?

genessa comments on May 7, 2019:

my thought is that it doesn't run on anyone's calendar or schedule. this is an impossible question. there is no time-related answer. when you feel it and are not afraid to say it, that's when. g

We serve the same god but give it a different name. All rivers have different names yet the same ...

genessa comments on May 7, 2019:

no we don't. most of us here serve no gods whatsoever. why would you say we serve the same god on a site geared toward folks who either do not believe there are any gods or firmly believe there are no gods? and by the way, even what ali said about rivers isn't true. it isn't the same water. it may be the same water flowing through all parts of EACH river (and i have heard the opposite -- that you can't step into the same river twice because it is always changing). all rivers do not have the same water in them. anyone who has ever seen at least two rivers knows that. g

Mnuchin refuses to turn over Trump taxes to House Democrats [cnn.com] As Steve Bannon put it, the ...

genessa comments on May 6, 2019:

i don't think the dems are expecting pillow fights. this is just an extension of the snowflake myth. i would not propagate it, as i do not believe it. g

JImmy Dore satire; Satirical Sanders character referring to Biden, "He's so phony his balls are made...

genessa comments on May 6, 2019:

none of that is true and i'm fed up with this kind of divisive propaganda. people not voting for a democrat next year is what will get us trump for not four more years but the rest of his life, as he aspires to be king and the republicans are ever so willing to accommodate. the democratic party is NOT full of crap. you're talking about the wrong party here. g

I live in a very Christian and republican area. I'd love to meet a group of like minded people in my...

genessa comments on May 6, 2019:

also try rent-a-friend and be specific! g

I live in a very Christian and republican area. I'd love to meet a group of like minded people in my...

genessa comments on May 6, 2019:

do you have a free newspaper that takes free or cheap ads, or craigslist, to advertise a meetup? or make posters and post them where they can be seen, preferably not on church doors rofl rofl g

Should we respect other people's beliefs? I'm not asking whether people should have the right to ...

genessa comments on May 6, 2019:

it depends somewhat on what use people make of those beliefs. i knew someone who believed the moon landing was a hoax. he wasn't hurting anyone. i also knew someone who thinks jews run the world and he IS hurting people because he goes around purveying antisemitism (also infecting innocent young women with sexually transmitted diseases, but that's a whole 'nuther story). everyone has foibles. not everyone's foibles, however foiblish, are harmful. g

So, an acquaintance that you run into every week posts THIS; "Muslims HATE pork, beer, bikinis, ...

genessa comments on May 5, 2019:

i guess the acquaintance doesn't like jews either, since pork and jesus are out. anyway, muslims don't HATE pork; they're not allowed to eat it. they also not only don't hate jesus, they consider him a prophet (which means jews should be lower down on the list than muslims if these are the criteria). i didn't know jesus wore a bikini or had a dog, or drank beer come to think of it. my choice would be 5. mention some of the above. what care i if a shitstorm comes back? like their opinion would mean something to me? and i DO have a block button for when things get tedious. g

Isn’t it wonderful that the world is getting better at last. You can’t argue with Pinker’s ...

genessa comments on May 5, 2019:

who the hell is pinker, what statistics, and do my own observations of how the world is getting worse count for nothing? feh! g

Perhaps atheists need religion to exist to justify their position. That’s what Jacques Derrida ...

genessa comments on May 5, 2019:

why do i have to justify my "position" to anyone? i don't have a position. i just happen to be aware that there are no gods. so if no one else believed in any gods, there still wouldn't be any. what i know has nothing to do with what someone else believes. g

Has anyone else noticed that Christians are sometimes the most amoral, hypocritical and ...

genessa comments on May 5, 2019:

how is treating people like crap not christian? when does one get to admit that if the majority of christians behave a certain way, that's how christians behave? i don't think of amorality and hypocrisy as unchristian. i think of them as very christian. it is one of the gazillion reasons i've never had any desire to be christian. g

How many of us here have done some shit like this

genessa comments on May 5, 2019:

nope, never actually ever called anyone a pansy. g

When you were a child what were you favorite comic books? I preferred Archie, Betty and ...

genessa comments on May 5, 2019:

i never read comic books as a kid -- with one exception. when i went into the hospital, aged nine give or take, to have my tonsils out, we stopped in the gift shop and i picked out a comic book. it was a green lantern and it was about a boy who had a piece of moon (or extraterrestrial at any rate) rock in his head that made all his dreams come true while he was dreaming them -- and he had a penchant for nightmares. the green hornet figured it out and saved the day. i have since then searched and even found a list of all green lantern comic book plots and never found that one. did i dream it myself? g

I'm a middle school Science teacher. I have to say that I HATE it when my students claim they are ...

genessa comments on May 5, 2019:

nope, i cannot relate at all. it is logical to disbelieve in gods. why does atheism have to be researched and proven? the claim that gods exist is what needs to be proven, not the absence thereof. it took you a long time; no shame in that. however, if it came more easily to someone young, how is it offensive -- unless you're jealous that they didn't have to go through what you went through? i've been an atheist since i was 15. i didn't do any research. i just realized there were no gods. should i have kept believing because i hadn't read enough religious texts? and which ones should i have read? i wasn't christian before i was an atheist, so would it have been necessary to read christian texts? my family was secular-jewish but i had no idea whether or not my parents believed in any gods until i was an adult and asked. it turns out mom wasn't sure but thought she did believe, and dad wasn't sure but thought he didn't. they'd never mentioned it to me one way or the other, so i wasn't brainwashed and i wasn't following my parents' beliefs (as i didn't actually know them). how do you know your students' upbringings? how do you know what they have or have not read? how do you know they're repeating what family members told them? have you that little respect for your students? maybe you should view them as human beings with minds of their own. g

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz Signs Law Making Marital Rape Illegal [patheos.com]

genessa comments on May 4, 2019:

i thought it already WAS illegal! geez! but i voted for tim and i'm glad i did. g

Against cheerfulness: Practising the Greek virtues of wisdom and courage is one thing. But being ...

genessa comments on May 4, 2019:

not all cheerfulness is fake or insincere. you can be cheerful by nature and still be angry or upset about certain things, or even about many things. comedians who point out society's ills do so by making us laugh but we laugh because we recognize the truth of what is being pointed out. as for laughter's being the best medicine, that actually has nothing to do with cheerfulness per se. laughter is LITERALLY good medicine. i have felt physically better after watching an episode of murphy brown. it WORKS. it isn't hypocritical, psychotic or fake. if you don't take care of your mind and body, how can you fight the injustice of the world? now the insane cheerfulness i see in the pinwheel-spinning eyes and frozen smiles of evangelicals is another matter. ugh! g

I just watched Rachel Maddow interview of Kamala Harris. They talked about Bill Barr's testimony ...

genessa comments on May 4, 2019:

the cool thing about the democratic candidates so far is that (again so far) they have kept good relations going, and if this continues to be the case, some of those who do not become the eventual candidate (and only one can, after all!) will likely become cabinet members. g

What is the longest amount of time you have ever gone without sleep?

genessa comments on May 4, 2019:

without ANY? three days. that was about 40-45 years ago. without more than an hour or two at a time? a week or more. without meaningful sleep? years. g

I've been attending AA meetings for some 8 months now. The organization itself claims to be neutral...

genessa comments on May 4, 2019:

i have no experience of such organizations but i read an article within the last year about how aa may not be as effective as it claims to be. i do not want to discourage anyone from trying to recover. recovery is good. if it's working, it is working. but if i needed such a service i would be hesitant to go to one that urged acceptance of a higher power. g

I remember growing up loving this stuff, I will not touch it today. How many of you was made to eat ...

genessa comments on May 3, 2019:

we did not have a kosher household but my mom nonetheless did not serve this. i discovered it on my own as an adult. i love it. g

"Make Elizabeth Warren Hate Again" "We don’t just need Elizabeth Warren’s ideas. We need her ...

genessa comments on May 3, 2019:

we don't need anyone's hatred. warren's anger is righteous. she's not a hater. g

Hi! I'm new here and I right now I'm going through a "deconversion" period. I was raised as a ...

genessa comments on May 3, 2019:

you are a work in progress (aren't we all? but i mean regarding religion). you may remain a believer in some kind of god, or you may do what most of on this site would consider better and that is realize there are no gods, a scary realization UNLESS and UNTIL you also realize that this is not a bad thing. you can still be a good person. you can still stand up for your rights and not take crap for loving whom you love and being who you are. let me just say i think you're doing great so far and however it works out you have my admiration for giving it the amount of thought you have given it, and hopefully will continue to give it. you do not have to reach the same conclusion most of us here have reached (again, we hope you do lol). the fact that you are thinking at all puts you ahead of the game! so many just accept whatever they've been told, without thinking at all. good luck and keep us posted. g

OH, MY GOD May be this question has been asked and discussed here before. My apology. As a ...

genessa comments on May 3, 2019:

do you feel comfortable saying "oh shit" when you bang your toe? are you REALLY calling on anyone to defecate? it's an expression. when i say "holy moley" i am referring neither to holiness nor to garlic. g

Just random thoughts. I haven't been on here much just because too much talk about religion in ...

genessa comments on May 3, 2019:

i had no idea it was prayer day. i knew it was holocaust remembrance day. i think every day has a lot of stuff marked on its calendar spot. no one on msnbc mentioned prayer day though. g

What to say when hijacked by two born agains in public

genessa comments on May 2, 2019:

i think "go away" is a good first parry. if that doesn't work, "go the fuck away" is a bit stronger. g

Just wondering here. Has the Christian public presence grown since 9-11 or has it always been as ...

genessa comments on May 2, 2019:

not necessarily specifically since that date; i have noticed its presence growing since before then. but yeah, since then too. g

I'm thinking of coming out on Facebook as an atheist so all my believer friends will know my stance....

genessa comments on May 2, 2019:

it is good that you want to come out but your planned diatribe is inconsistent. in the last paragraph you say you don't want to tell christians what they believe is nonsense and in the same breath call them narcissistic sheep. even if they were inclined to accept you as an atheist, do you think they will feel so accepting after you call them that (and more)? make up your mind whether you're going to approach this emotionally or logically, confrontationally or explanatorily. using all methods at once will just engage people and then they won't pay attention to logic. in addition, you've only explained why you don't believe in a good god, not why you don't believe in any gods. the obvious answer from the brainwashed is "god works in mysterious ways" or some mumbo jumbo about sin or we should ask questions or whatever. you appear to be rejecting their evil god, but admitting it exists. you may not be doing that but you APPEAR to be doing that. i suggest a cooler-headed announcement. g

The person who has never really attempted to ask himself or herself the basic questions of ...

genessa comments on May 2, 2019:

not everyone is that intelligent, and by saying so i am not putting anyone down. not everyone can do this. most people would not even understand those questions. they just want bread and circuses and someone to love. we may think they're not living life fully, but maybe we shouldn't expect so much from the average person. g

I run a very modest Airbnb and was wondering how to leave a Gideons Bible ironically? [abnb.me]

genessa comments on May 2, 2019:

put it in a bookcase with other books, and file it under FICTION. g

Why do the very people we trust commit sin

genessa comments on May 2, 2019:

who here trusts church folk? not many, and certainly not i. i would not call any of the people to whom you're referring "the very people we trust"! also, what is sin? there is ethical and unethical behavior, and there is crime. sin is a religious concept. you won't find a lot of folks here thinking about sin. as for why church people do bad things, the answer is simple: because they can. g

Barr ensures Congress can't stop Trump now [cnn.com]

genessa comments on May 2, 2019:

no, barr has ensured that an angry house will work harder than ever to carry out its investigations. he has blown it. if only he cared. he's just playing for time. it may work but not forever. g

Electing an atheist president? [bigthink.com]

genessa comments on May 2, 2019:

we may or may not have ever elected an atheist president. we haven't elected an openly atheist one yet, although it is possible lincoln was one. not sure. trump is probably less an atheist as an opportunist. there are so many things he doesn't believe in (pretty much anything except his own right to take anything he wants, be it a pussy, a country or everyone's money) that not believing in any gods is likely incidental, not philosophical. i don't think he examined evidence/lack thereof and came to a logical conclusion. he would be an accidental atheist at best and should not count. it might be a long, long time before we have an intelligent and openly atheistic president. the american public is still too superstitious. when football players stop praying before games, when congress stops holding invocations, maybe that will be a sign. i'm not holding my breath. g

THE GENERAL & HELLOS BLACK HOLE -- There's some kind of ongoing glitch that draws my posts from...

genessa comments on May 2, 2019:

i believe that moderators are able to move posts they find inappropriate or otherwise don't want in their groups. i am not sure if this is so, or how they do it, or if they have total freedom in their choice of a landing spot. you can ask the moderators of the groups in question whether (and if so why) they have done this. it's the only thing i can think of that might be happening, it isn't happening to me, as far as i know. g

Oh Yes! and I don't even like Hillary. :)

genessa comments on May 1, 2019:

i just saw her on the rachel maddow show, not for the first time, and i still like her. someone tried VERY hard to condition us not to like her. it didn't work with me. g

Okay so I want to vent about my grandpa for a moment here. I thought it was not impacting me as ...

genessa comments on May 1, 2019:

there is no effective way to prepare. i knew my mother was dying and her death was a shock anyway. you also can't force someone to live if they are resigned to death, or force them to take treatment if they're convinced it will kill them, or kill them faster. all you can do is love him. well, one other thing: you can write him a very calm letter explaining how you feel and what you think about treatment (and leave the dream part out; he doesn't need to know that; make this about HIM). emphasize that you love him and are not trying to control him. it might not change his mind but it will let him know how you feel. g

[thetimes.co.uk] The new definition of Islamophobia could hamper counter terrorism operations. ...

genessa comments on May 1, 2019:

but there IS islamaphobia and it has no new definition; it is what it has always been: fear or hatred of muslims, period. there IS antisemitism, and although some people think criticism of israel is in and of itself antisemitism, some criticizm of israel is (the jews don't deserve a country, israel should be given to the palestians, israel should not exist as a country) and some is not (israel has a fascist prime minister and his policies are hurting and sometimes killing palestinian people). meanwhile, we poke fun of christianity, not christians (except for evangelicals, for they deserve our reactions to their pushing their religion on us). jews don't proselytize. you're right in that we don't poke FUN at muslims; we spew HATRED about them -- not about islam, not about islamists (who themselves are not representative of islam or muslims) but about muslims, as if we must hold every muslim responsible for terrorism. therefore i disagree with everything you've said. g

How many on here either have decided to abandon major social media platforms (FaceBook, Twitter, ...

genessa comments on May 1, 2019:

not me. i'm a writer and i have a nice big collection of potential readers on facebook, which i also enjoy on many levels, not least the ability to connect with old friends and distant family. i also subscribe there to such venues as nyt, wapo, salon, the atlantic, dan rather's news and guts, and many more, and i get directed to news about which i care faster there than i do here. i don't see a conflict. i enjoy both sites differently. and this site is not exactly narcissism-free! g

What specifically happened that made you turn into an atheist/ nonbeliever?

genessa comments on May 1, 2019:

i just stopped one day to reconsider everything i believed in because i found out that something my folks had always told me turned out not to be true (they hadn't lied; they were just wrong). god went out the window pretty fast. it wasn't traumatic or anything. g

What is with this Atheist/Agnostic divide stuff lately. It sounds like Catholic/Protestant, ...

genessa comments on Apr 30, 2019:

i see that some of y'all have not noticed. i have. it saddens me. i think both labels embrace a range and the ranges sometimes overlap. i call myself an atheist but i don't diss agnostics for being undecided (not my concept, just what i see in the arguments) and i don't care to be dissed for being arrogant (not how i see myself). it is also irritating when people start telling us who we are and what we do or should believe, and that applies to each other as well as to believers. it is equally annoying when a believer tells me that atheism is a religion and when an agnostic tells me the same thing. my main concern isn't what other people believe. let 'em believe in the cheesecake deity if they want, or the tooth fairy. it starts to matter to me when religion gets legislated, executed and/or adjudicated, or forced upon us through other means. this is where atheists and agnostics are, or should be, the same: fight for separation of church and state (and separation of door-knockers, street-doom-criers, pamphleteers and such from ordinary people minding their own business). g

Here's an interesting retort for those Religious Apologists who try to silence rational and factual ...

genessa comments on Apr 29, 2019:

as @mischi also implied, sometimes you can only reach someone from within that person's own bubble. i have but two words for christian trumpkins: "golden calf." for generic evangelicals, i just tell them, firmly, that i am not interested. if they persist, i get firmer. i have not been converted yet, so it must be working. g

Satanic Temple sues Minnesota city over rejected pentagram monument. "Since the protests in Belle...

genessa comments on Apr 29, 2019:

they make good points but not everyone is clever enough to get them. most people probably believe that the satanic temple is as its name proclaims: satanic, and since so many religious folks believe in the satan of the christian bible (not even present in the hebrew bible, i might add -- there is a ha-satan, which simply means "the prosecuting attorney" and has nothing to do with sin or demons or any of that jazz) they will see this as a paeon to their worst enemy. this will not convince them to separate church from state. it may have the opposite effect of galvanizing them into advancing the careers of such jackasses as we already have, who proclaim that america is a christian nation and should put god above country. i hope the point gets across to more people than otherwise but i fear a backfire instead. g

Which 5 candidates will drop out first?

genessa comments on Apr 29, 2019:

only 15 are shown here. there are about 20 now (and counting). i don't know who will drop out before debates; some may fail to reach the debate requirements, which may then prompt them to drop out, or effectively squeeze them out. all i can say is that i hope none of them will put personal ambition before the country and divide the liberal vote by then running as an independent. g

Is nationalism overrated?

genessa comments on Apr 29, 2019:

by whom? only nationalists overrate nationalism, and not all of them even admit that. g

So instead of wasting my time going to church today I picked up my yard

genessa comments on Apr 29, 2019:

well, next sunday can you come pick up MY yard? i'm tired! :-)) g

Matt Dilahunty once made the statement that "Atheists are those that don't BELIEVE in a god, and ...

genessa comments on Apr 29, 2019:

no, i don't agree. what i think is that people spend too much time trying to define words that actually each have more than one meaning in that their meanings are broad. an atheist can be someone who doesn't believe in any gods, or someone who firmly believes there are no gods. both are atheists. some agnostics explain themselves by saying they don't believe in any gods but cannot state that there definitely are none because they don't know; others say they're simply unsure; others are offended when people say agnostics are unsure. there is a RANGE for each and they overlap. i won't oversimplify just so we can have two clearly labeled barrels to toss people into. g

Unequally yoked

genessa comments on Apr 29, 2019:

i don't consider that my job. unlike some christians, do not feel i must save everyone. let people be. if your family is happy as they are, as long as they're not trying to make you be something you're not, why try to make them be something they're not? my guy watches wrestling two nights a week. i think it's stupid. he enjoys it. i leave him alone. g

I call him by the old fashioned term "Asshole"

genessa comments on Apr 29, 2019:

now, now, don't insult assholes. depending on your metabolism, an asshole is useful between one and whatever number of times per day. there is no earthly use for trump. g

Death arrangement

genessa comments on Apr 29, 2019:

from google: Body donation. Contact local medical schools and teaching hospitals. ... Direct cremation. This involves simple cremation, without costly memorial services. ... Direct burial (also known as “immediate burial”). ... Mausoleum. ... Backyard burial. ... Burial at sea. ... “Green” cemetery burial. ... Cryonic freezing. g

this post isn't actually about my being a mess, but i have to explain that i'm a mess for the post ...

genessa comments on Apr 28, 2019:

hey everyone i appreciate all the advice about the tinnitis but what i was eager to share was how the one show that is usually reliable turned into a horror show for me because of my ptsd regarding eyes! lolol! okay, just thought i would mention that. carry on! g

Despite being atheist, im pretty sure I 100% believe in Tarot cards.

genessa comments on Apr 28, 2019:

there definitely are tarot cards in the world. i own a pack. the cards are pretty. when i used to resd them for people, i did NOT, as someone suggested below, ask questions. i read them cold. however, the cards have no magic powers whatsoever. as has also been suggested below, they provoke thoughts and feelings. they enable me, the reader, to give decent advice, and insofar as one can predict predictable things (no, you should not murder your husband or you'll go to prison) it can help in that regard, but it cannot enable me or anyone else to make predictions about things beyond our control. it is not, i repeat NOT, magic, or connected with spirits or spirituality, or anything supernatural. those who have no affinity for the cards will find them useless. those who have unrealistic expectations of them will find them useless. those who want to attribute powers to them will be disappointed. g

It seems like every day at work I get religious people randomly asking me if im Christian and ...

genessa comments on Apr 28, 2019:

from googline texas aclu: How do I contact the ACLU in Texas? If you would like to file a complaint, click here to fill out our legal complaint form. Texas Bar Lawyer Referral Service (click on “find a lawyer”) or call 1-877-9TEXBAR (toll free) Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid or call 1-888-988-9996 (toll free) now, you don't have to contact them right away. you can complain to the powers that be in your company that you are being harassed. make sure you have a concrete request, such as "i would like the other employees to stop giving me christian literature, asking me about religion and/or trying to get me to their churches." be as calm as possible. you can meanwhile mention that you thought of going to the aclu but realized that a simple request might be appropriate, since soliciting religion and harassment in general are INappropriate in the workplace. the mention of the aclu may serve as a kind of protection against being dismissed. i don't know if texas is an at-will state, which, if it was, would mean an employer doesn't need a reason to fire an employee, but if discrimination is involved, that trumps the at-will bit. so mentioning the aclu and making it clear that you feel you're being harassed expressly because of religion could be that much protection. if your efforts there are ineffective, then you will want to contact the aclu and ask how to proceed and whether they think you need them to press charges. g

This editorial cartoon was published in the NY Times international edition, to be followed on Monday...

genessa comments on Apr 27, 2019:

disgusting. g

Deuteronomy 20:16 New International Version (NIV) 16 However, in the cities of the nations the Lord...

genessa comments on Apr 27, 2019:

side note that doesn't really answer your question (but i thought i should mention it): the disorder you wish to mention is not schizophrenia but dissociative identity disorder, once called multiple personality disorder and probably due for another name change in the future because for some reason that always happens. to answer your actual question: yeah, the bibles are inconsistent. note that you mentioned bits of two different bibles. the quotation from deuteronomy is out of context (the context doesn't help that much but is interesting so i link it here, and please note that this is a direct translation from hebrew and did not pass through the hands of emperors, popes or kings): https://www.mechon-mamre.org/e/et/et0520.htm meanwhile, yes, that portion of the hebrew bible is brutal, dealing with war. of course that's people, not a fictional skydaddy, making that recommendation for how to treat conquered people. i know you know that but are presenting this as god's words because you want to make a point. i cannot help you with regard to the chrisrian bible since i have never been christian and have no deep knowledge of that particular bible. i do know that if jesus existed (maybe and maybe not) he was jewish, so i suppose that jesus, even as a fictional character, would be well familiar with deuteronomy. meanwhile, one does not have to be schizoid or dissociative to change one's mind, or to be flighty and inconsistent. if there was a god and he said those things, and if we counted jesus as not only having existed but being a manifestation of the same god quoted in deuteronomy, one could just consider him an untrustworthy son of a bitch, not necessarily mentally ill but just unreliable (at best). good thing there is no such animal, eh? g

I have a buddy I was in Vietnam with. He is one of my best friends. We have only met only once ...

genessa comments on Apr 27, 2019:

alas, his political views and his racism are wrapped up together. i wish i had a solution. there probably is none. he is the product of his upbringing, and his upbringing is largely brainwashing. the best you can do, i think, is ask him not to rant on racistly. explain that it makes you feel bad (i think "offends" would not be a useful word even if it's accurate). explain that you don't feel the same way, offer to explain why but give him a way out -- for example "if you want to know why it makes me feel bad i can tell you, but if you'd rather just drop it, that's okay too, but it hurts me to hear what you're saying so please don't lay that on me." g