One of the very few Christians never seems to judge me, never tried to tell me I'm sinning.

racocn8 comments on Jul 4, 2018:

It's all drivel. One can scarcely generate meaningful statements within the context of profoundly delusional thinking. Indeed, such statements can only be understood as having originated within delusion.

Do you think a civil war is coming in the U.S.?

racocn8 comments on Jul 3, 2018:

One of my perspectives/scenarios follows: That Trump is a puppet of the Deep State as much as Hillary, and that a great deal of what Trump does is scripted for him by agencies outside the White House. How likely is it for Putin to put Trump in office without the blessings of Deep State power brokers? Consider the Stuxnet virus sabotage of the Iranian uranium centrifuges. That may have set the stage for the odd bonding of Israel, Germany, Russia and the US intelligence. Resources from all those countries seem to have been needed to achieve the Stuxnet virus. I would classify that effort as being generated by the Deep State, and only acceded to by the president. Per George Will's assessment of Trumps intelligence, Trump couldn't possibly be originating most of what he does. I'm inclined to believe his White House advisors only relay dictation from their own connections (or it could all be as advertised, and that's a horrible thought too). I wouldn't put it past the Deep State to orchestrate mass destruction if they see that as desirable, as might have happened with 9/11.

Do women look older than men at the same age?

racocn8 comments on Jul 2, 2018:

Aging is extremely variable, and the rate of age appearance may be linked to specific races and subgroups. One can look at many Asians, Americans and Africans to see some people who have few wrinkles. Yet, others in those groups do get severely wrinkled too. I can't recall seeing the same tight skin on Europeans. Diet and other lifestyle factors likely play a big part.

Seven questions

racocn8 comments on Jun 30, 2018:

Paradoxes are paradoxes for a reason. Logic tangles often derive from self-referencing statements. (Re your intro: coy<>cute) 1/One. One cannot demonstrate an objective anything to a subjective perspective. 2/Two. The perceived universe is indeed an hallucination. 3/Three. Non-existing entities cannot generate evidence evidence, much less proof, of their existence or non-existence. That is why the burden of proof rests with the claimant. 4/Four. Ethics/morality are physiologically based and then rationalized. Perceptions of fairness and subsequent responses are encoded in DNA and expressed as memory RNA in the nervous system (i.e. instinctual). 5/Five. Moral Relativism is correct. Perceived Fairness is physiological, and does vary accordingly. Not everything that is true is also universally nice. Six a through d: 6a. consciousness = legalistic arbitrary speciesist jargon, referenced by legal rights given to an arbitrary subset of humans, cerebral neuronal activity generating the hallucination of self. 6b. personhood = legalistic arbitrary speciesist jargon, referenced by legal rights given to an arbitrary subset of humans in 20-21st century. 6c. sentience = sensory nervous impulses 6d. souls = reincarnated unicorns. i.e. an imaginary term referenced as incorporeal personality other than body-based personality. 7/Seven. (...other...?) One cannot teach the blind to see. Aliens don't use our 'technology' and we don't know what to look for. Aliens are here. We are a nature preserve. In fact, the Fermi Paradox was answered long ago, but the military-industrial-intelligence complex has a don't ask-don't tell policy. .

To all of the men who think that a woman's place is in the kitchen, just remember.

racocn8 comments on Jun 30, 2018:

And many women didn't know how stupid it is to bring a knife to a gunfight. Seriously, women impose wholly artificial role stereotypes on themselves, and almost universally fall short of recognizing and denouncing these memes for what they are. As Jesus didn't say, 'first remove the log from your own eye'.

Take it to the grave?

racocn8 comments on Jun 30, 2018:

Yes. Surely you don't expect me to reveal them. They wouldn't be secrets any more...

Anyone have any good atheist jokes or puns?

racocn8 comments on Jun 24, 2018:

Atheism is a religion like abstinence is a sex position, or like 'bald' is a hairstyle! Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man, living in the sky, who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of 10 things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these 10 things, he has a special place full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever til the end of time...but he loves you. -- George Carlin You heard about the dyslexic agnostic insomniac- - -He’d lie awake at night wondering if there really was a dog. Ok, not about atheism: One day the zoo-keeper noticed that the orangutan was reading two books - the Bible and Darwin's Origin of Species. Surprised, he asked the ape, "Why are you reading both those books?" "Well," said the orangutan, "I just wanted to know if I was my brother's keeper or my keeper's brother." A preacher is complaining to his best friend that someone had stolen his bicycle. "Oh, my. What should I do? Who would do such a terrible thing?" His friend suggested that he recite the Ten Commandments in his upcoming sermon, with special emphasis on Thou shalt not steal. Sunday morning came, and the friend sat listening to the sermon. Afterwards, he was perplexed, and when alone with the preacher, he asked: "I thought you were going to talk about "Thou shalt not steal"?. The preacher replied. "Yes. Yes. I was. But as I was reciting the other commandments, I got to the one about adultery and I remembered where I left my bike!" Who were the five constipated men in the bible? 1) Cain, because he wasn't Abel. 2) Moses, who took two tablets and had to run down the hill. 3) Balaam, who had trouble with his ass. 4) David, who sat on the throne for forty years. 5) Titus, whose name explains itself. Jesus was a cross-dresser. A man was dying and the priest was summoned. The priest said “You should renounce the Devil”. The man replied “This is no time to be making enemies.”

UFO’s, science, and religion

racocn8 comments on Jun 24, 2018:

Only the tiniest fraction of the Internet videos depict UFOs. Most of the videos are fakes or simply show unidentifiable lights. Maybe they are UFOs, but the videos have no informative value. A handful show vertical acceleration. I haven't seen any that show the rapid 90 degree angle turns that are signatures of non-terrestrial technology. Are any UFOs craft directed by ET? The best evidence is the behavior of the military-industrial-intelligence (Deep State) organizations. The documents, actions and policies from these strongly argue that ETs are studying the planet and us. Many of the best reports come from highly trained military pilots and similarly credible military witnesses. These reports are submitted in spite of institutional policies of denial, disinformation, censorship and intimidation. Significantly, many reports center on incidents where UFOs are in proximity to facilities with nuclear weapons, the encounters at Malmstrom's associated ICBM bases being especially prominent. Skepticism is a noble calling closely allied with Agnositicis and Science. However, the Skeptical Community leaders have adopted the military's tactic of dismissing all reports as weather balloons (etc) regardless of the reported information. For Debunkers, their minds are made up, don't confuse them with facts. Debunkers are NOT scientific in that they are neither interested in the truth, nor are they open-minded. Debunkers of UFOs are really deluded religionists, or imagine they are helping the military-industrial complex. Just as bad as the Debunkers are the vast bulk of UFOlogists who accept all reports uncritically. Even the most credible UFO researchers always "fall off the cliff' at some point. To be sure, the subject of UFOs is hugely problematic on a vast array of dimensions, and the truth cannot be discerned. Some elements of the 'government' have information, but they're not telling. What is telling is that the Pentagon has 'declassified' three tiny fragments of gun camera footage. There is a great deal more of that they aren't sharing. So yes, those who know even a little something don't believe the society can 'handle the truth.' As we all know, they are right about that.

Boyfriend is agnostic, I'm an atheist. How to cope with disagreements?

racocn8 comments on Jun 6, 2018:

This boyfriend refuses to even consider your recommended action to address this conflict. That's more than just not a good sign, it is a BAD sign. If he won't cooperate with your harmless suggestion (because he's afraid of what it'll do to him / he's afraid where he'll be if he realizes his revered hidden beliefs are crap) can you really expect him to cooperate in resolving future conflicts ? This is really so obvious, as is your reluctance to break off from this wretch. As jesus didn't really say, "Heal yourselves".

Prof Stephen Hawking's multiverse finale - BBC News

racocn8 comments on May 15, 2018:

Proposing an infinite number of universes with constants with values that are not 'fine-tuned' to allow life seems like a dodge, a dodge to avoid the claim that 'God' fine-tuned those constants. Those who Invoke a God to do the fine-tuning forget the multitude of other problems with the proposition that God exists, and how the God proposition creates more problems, and doesn't *really* solve any problems. Probably the biggest problem with the multiverse concept is that it becomes its own untestable, unprovable belief system; a belief system that diverts attention and effort away from the question of those 'fine-tuned' constants. Perhaps there is another explanation that IS testable. Perhaps if we applied an alternative mathematics to understanding the physical world, the 'fine-tuned' values would be required to have the values they have, rather than being 'fine-tuned.' There is good reason to suspect that a large body of theoretical physics has been censored by the military-industrial complex, so the physics we 'know' has been corrupted by omissions (In the interest of 'national security').

Should I get an Atheist sticker for my car?

racocn8 comments on May 10, 2018:

Religion is all about creating reasons to hate other people. Atheists are roughly tied with Muslims as the most hated minority. Identifying your beliefs to other drivers is also dangerous while driving. Our society is simply not mature enough *yet*, not to expect a bad outcome. Probably the better question is: In what reasonable ways can atheists teach their rationality?

My daughter has taken up Christianity, despite all the work I put into her and her sister early on, ...

racocn8 comments on May 10, 2018:

My daughter rebelled against me, probably in part from my ex-wife coaching her. Being shunned by ones own daughter has been extremely painful, but I've been advised that extreme rebellion by children is actually pretty common. Indeed, the history that I've heard of China, Russia and England all include multiple instances where whole regimes fell, bloody revolutions fought, and tolerated religions flipped, all because the new generation rebelled against their parents. It IS a major pattern. You probably do have at least 25% chance that the grandchildren will reject the beliefs of the parents, merely as a matter of that selfsame rebellious nature. I am inclined to suspect that the rebellion is linked to manic-depressive mental illness/tendency. Or, linked to other mental illnesses. One might hope that (after the Trump debacle) progressives might develop an atom of spine and compel candidates to answer the hardball questions that matter. Once idiotic beliefs receive the examination they deserve in a public forum, more people will drop them entirely. Certainly, all Christians pick and choose issues to believe. For your daughter, there is always hope. Be able to answer any challenges she or her cohort may express. But, consider yourself to have had the phenomenal outstanding luck to be more rational that most of Humanity. Apply yourself to make the most of that rationality. Set the example, not just for your daughter, but everyone who knows you.

Delusional theology

racocn8 comments on May 9, 2018:

You have to realize that before science and mass communication (books), religious notions were essentially unopposed. People really didn't have alternatives to the fairy tales except other fairy tales. However, after books and the advent of natural science, the existence of alternative explanations are a relatively recent challenge to religion, especially with Galileo and Darwin. As natural science has improved, the true character of reality reveals just how absurd the fairy tales are. In this age where people choose whether to be informed or not, those choosing the 'or not' option may develop an allegience to these fairy tale memes. This allegience is akin to the obedience one allows when they are hypnotized. Obedience to outdated notions in the face of commonplace facts is a serious issue when it comes to public policy, as with reproductive medicine and climate change. When 40% of the population, or more, believe nonsense and reject verified science, that is a feature where democracy falls on its face. The behavior of religious people becomes a danger to the rest of society, and we are in a fight for survival over this fact whether we realize it or not. We must be militant on governance based on facts or risk extinction. People who are genuinely delusional may be helped with medication. People who are self-deluded as a matter of social convenience can be educated. However, the BIG question is whether we simply try to ostracize the self-deluded as Sam Harris recommends, or take stronger steps to disenfranchise them from political influence. Still a third option is to research the underlying psychodynamics and/or neurochemistry and enact a physical means (virus, deprogramming) to reduce the allegience to BS. We would all like to play nice on this subject, but the clock is ticking, and everything is at stake....

What is your reaction when people say something doesnt matter, its in gods hands?

racocn8 comments on May 9, 2018:

Some people assign everything to God; that's how their mind works, or how they're screwed up. I remember how, when a plane crashed, someone said to me how God heard the prayers of the relatives of those who did survive. I was nonplussed at the grotesque implication, that somehow God controlled the plane crash so as to kill just the ones he disfavored. I asked the person if God ignored the prayers from the families of those that perished. It's a cheesy, infantile game promulgated by the shallow-minded. Sadly, we have no power to increase IQ... (Yes, yes, I know many smart people are religious, but you know what I mean).

One of my favorite musics to listen to is film scores.

racocn8 comments on May 8, 2018:

I would almost consider film music to be a hobby. While John Williams is king, a neck and neck second would be Bernard Herrmann. Also, Maurice Jarre, Dimitri Tiomkin, James Horner, Danny Elfman, Ennio Morricone, and so many others. I highly recommend a few brief samples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL9-NdpMYuM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1BwcCuEOtM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE17XzMao_c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubVc2MQwMkg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESx0WnJcTN0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-0hZu4Ew4o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5TV247wxiY

I'm feeling a wee bit melancholy this evening.

racocn8 comments on May 5, 2018:

Depression appears to be commonly reduced by CBD. This is now widely available. I personally have a bias toward CBD from indica or sativa rather than from hemp. Try whatever you can get and see if it helps.

CONFIDING.. HELP OR HINDER?

racocn8 comments on Apr 29, 2018:

“Most certain, if you are she, you do usurp yourself, for what is yours to bestow is not yours to reserve.” Twelfth Night: Act 1, Scene 5, Page 9, Shakespeare. This is an admonishment against selfishness, which may be one interpretation of your statement. Another interpretation is that you are anti-social for some reason, with the rationalizations given. #3 is that you've never gotten any 'help' you thought was useful from confiding. What is the goal of confiding, and is that the real goal being sought? Mostly, confiding is grist for social interaction and bonding. Note how therapists seek confiding but only respond with advice or analysis, rather than exchanging a confidence of their own.

I think the human race is doing a splendid job of destroying our lovely planet.

racocn8 comments on Apr 29, 2018:

If you believe the content of Al Gore's latest documentary, I believe it said that the rainforest is not a net producer of CO2, and are not the 'lungs of the planet' as everyone has been told. For certain, Humanity is changing the Earth. The Earth's biology has seen previous die-outs, and we're causing a new one. The Earth will renew itself eventually, assuming we aren't here to prevent it. What matters, because it matters to us, what really matters is that Humanity will never be able to enjoy the Earth they awoke in. Most species of wonder will be gone forever. That wonder will never be again, and if any part of Humanity survives, they will have to make do with museum memories.

What is your favorite paradox?

racocn8 comments on Apr 18, 2018:

Is your answer to this question "no"?

Things that people put in dating profiles that are pet peeves. Discuss.

racocn8 comments on Apr 18, 2018:

Religion-Other (and then they don't elaborate.) Christian (non-starter unless mitigated) Gentleman must be 6' or taller (1. Lose weight; 2. Try to love someone besides yourself) Endless reading/music lists. Post-operative transexual Pre-operative transexual Answered >500 questions Anti-male comments. No reply to a sincere query (Yes, you're just so busy being rude; maybe the grapes really are sour.) Pervasive spelling and grammatical errors Unable to determine if candidate is geographically undesireable

Atheism isn’t a culture as any atheist can tell you.

racocn8 comments on Apr 16, 2018:

Atheism is very much a culture which a very colorful and distinguished history. Thankfully, our culture is a bit more enlightened than in Twain's time, but progress has been painfully slow; we may be very grateful for what acceleration is occuring. Please note how social evolution on specific topics can and do reach tipping points. Most importantly, religionists often behave and make judgements based on their myths, and it's purely a matter of luck whether they get it right. Allegience to atheism is all about believing and behaving according to the best approximation of rationality (BAR). That BAR is as high as one can get, and outclasses religious 'morality' on every count. The BAR is all about skepticism, self-examination and personal integrity. There is no room for the pretense of affirming ambiguous epigrams. Atheism is supported by science in that, by definition, nothing in reality is reasonably understood to be supernatural nor miraculous. And yet, to be clear, nothing within the understanding of science has been observed to be supernatural nor miraculous, and that comes as close to a disproof of the supernatural and miraculous as is needed (Respects are paid to Sagan's proposition that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.). Higher physics do dive deeply into intellectual paradox as they inquire into hidden dimensions and entangled non-locality. Thus, to the extent that atheism rejects the supernatural, it embraces those regions of science that are only made possible in the absence of God. The other example being evolution of life being as profound as any other known scientific formulation.

I was watching one of the Atheist Experience docs where they were talking about religious people ...

racocn8 comments on Apr 16, 2018:

We are in a Culture War except that the secular side scarcely understands it. The 'moral' codes of religionists are nothing of the sort. Religious morality is nothing more than the excuse for xenophobic hatred, said xenophobia including Others whether by gender, race, ethniciy, sexual custom, or even other churches. Hating other people, for whatever reason, is now the major part of most Evangelical practice, and a big part of other religions. Exposing and neutralizing this hatred is the duty of all thinking citizens. Exposing the hate underlying religious values is a major focus for the freedom of speech. Just remember how much hard work has been done to (be able to) teach evolution, to end slavery, to gain Women's Suffrage, to have Civil Rights, and to gain fair treatment of LBGT. We are now far, far above the morality of the Bible and the Judeo-Christian God. But, we have a lot more work to do. These truths cannot be repeated too often. Exposing and denouncing religious bigotry must be a primary goal to undermine religious allegience. Publicizing the hypocrasy of politicians voted in by the Evangelists (Like Trump and Moore) is true Patriotism.

Is it hypocritical for me, as an atheist, to celebrate religious holidays?

racocn8 comments on Apr 16, 2018:

I look upon agnosticism as searching for Truth and wisdom. Recruiting people to understand science and how religion is morally degenerate should always be considered. Agnosticism is not declasse, but religion should be. Look on these get togethers as an opportunity to enlighten or inhibit the willfully ignorant. Know and be able to deliver the best arguments and counter-arguments against Christianity/Judaism (or whatever). Know your audience and gauge whether it is appropriate to discuss the perversity of individual holidays. If people are unreachable and you want to remain 'close', then hold your fire. Otherwise, planting seeds of doubt is Holy/Wholly laudible!

It Really Doesn't Matter

racocn8 comments on Apr 8, 2018:

Praying = Wishing. EOL

Suicide- thoughts?

racocn8 comments on Apr 8, 2018:

I've only had thoughts of suicide once. I had gone on vacation and, in my sense of leisure, stopped taking my Prozac prescription. Also, I got a bit of intestinal flu. Thus, the 3rd day I was knocked out with fatigue and while in bed, began to feel suicidal in the most discrete way. It was so unusual and out of character. While I assigned the cause to the intestinal flu, I suddenly realized it was the withdrawal from the Prozac. I immediated took the capsule and very quickly recovered. Ten months later, I very gradually got myself off that shit. Bottom line: the thoughts of suicide represent a neurochemical imbalance. Having done some informal testing, I recommend CBD extract, preferably from a CBD dominant cannabis strain (not Hemp) in order to contain some small percent of THC (caution, the THC is the psychoactive part). If that doesn't help, consider trying THCA extract if you can find it. THCA & CBD are not psychoactive, but the cannabinoids may constructively interact (probably mis-identified as the Entourage Effect). Good luck.

Tract on Agnosticism

racocn8 comments on Apr 8, 2018:

I could only skim given my attention span. (lost me on #2) Even so... 1. These are arguments, not proofs, and some arguments are much better than others. 2. #4 is just wrong. Science takes no position on God except that unmistakable evidence doesn't exist, and other evidence requires supposition and handwaving. Relying on science is an argument by authority. 3. Other items are unclear, even with elaboration (universe is not perfect...) 4. #6 is silly; #7 OK 5. It might be best to have a concise summary up front, with the best arguments first, estimated validity and percent contribution to the whole.

How many others reached a point like myself, where they cannot or will not date a god believer?

racocn8 comments on Apr 8, 2018:

I'd love to be charitable about it. I had a lady friend for some years who said she was Christian, but never said a word about it. I'll say I am somewhat open to it, but probably only if the lady was similarly never proselytizing. I had to give up my last lady friend who was devoutly Buddhist, but she had a lot of other problems too (boozy, inconsiderate, dramatic). It's really awful how religionist memorize and repeat trite epigrams, but have no idea what they mean; usually they don't have any real meaning... Being a scientist, I am particularly offended by Christianity because a big part of Creationist culture is to denounce science, evolutionists and athiests in particular as Satanic. You'll never hear Christians denounce their brethren on account of their bigotry... Being Christian is good for one solid strike. Each mention of God in their profile gets another. Do the math.

Proof of no god?

racocn8 comments on Apr 2, 2018:

First, the proofs of God: 1. The intricate colored mandala I see that develops when I take psilocin. 2. How the rows of the Periodic Table increase in number of members as 2N^2. Okay, maybe that one is just evidence. The disproofs: 1. The depth of hatred within people disproves God generally, and the facile hatred of believers disproves their individual Gods specifically (Jesus, Allah, etc.). The rationalizations for hatred are simply not believable. 2. The utter lack of any kind or sort of evidence for God implies that God is a sneaky trickster. This notion, AKA the Loki Hypothesis, can never rise above being a laughable rationalization.

Should religion be taught in schools?

racocn8 comments on Apr 2, 2018:

I believe science or history classes should include specific elements that briefly describe the tenets of 'Scientific Creationism' and demonstrate the forms of dishonesty and disinformation. Sadly, I doubt science teachers are capable of doing this. Indeed, quite a few are Creationists themselves. I believe it is important that students understand that religionists in our culture have sough to sabotage the search for truth and knowledge.

How do you deal with Door-knockers?

racocn8 comments on Apr 2, 2018:

I can't believe that talking through a doorway has more than a non-zero chance of changing their mind. I am convinced that to be going door-to-door means that these people are beyond the pale or reason. A) Say the equivalent of "Not interested" and close the door. I posted a sign that says "No Soliciting".

How do Believers become Non-Believers

racocn8 comments on Apr 2, 2018:

While I was in college, I read the New Testament twice and fraternized with Christians in the hope that I might receive the Born Again experience. I could not get past the hatred directed toward scientists in general and evolutionists (like myself) in particular. As much as I wanted to have a divine experience, nothing happened. I believe that both Christianity and Islam are intrinsically prone to radicalizing their believers, and that this tendency makes these systems an immediate danger to everyone.