Godstuff (some of these are just too, too, funny)... [youtube.com]

wordywalt comments on Jan 25, 2018:

Such video recording should be played widely so that people can see what idiotic, demagogic, charlatans these nuts are. It would do a lot to help discredit them.

Can you guys give me some feedback on athiest churches?

wordywalt comments on Jan 25, 2018:

An atheist church is an oxymoron. Find a more appropriate term.

One of my best friends is very religious.

wordywalt comments on Jan 25, 2018:

Well intended, but senseless magical thinking.

Oh!! Burn on YOU!! John Pavlovitz message to white evangelicals.

wordywalt comments on Jan 25, 2018:

A well deserved description of far too damned many evangelicals!

So, leaving religion out of it...do you believe in anything "supernatural"?

wordywalt comments on Jan 25, 2018:

No. Not at all!

At least this feller understands his faith... [baptistnews.com]

wordywalt comments on Jan 25, 2018:

He is right. Many evangelicals have contaminated their own faith.

Now for my American Agnostic.

wordywalt comments on Jan 25, 2018:

It would have bankrupted you here in the USA -- all because too many Americans seem to have a pathological fear of anything which might be called :socialized medicine."

Can you "choose" to believe in something?

wordywalt comments on Jan 25, 2018:

As a child I believed in religion because I did not know any better. As an adult, I have always deliberately chosen what I believe, based on evaluation of existing evidence.

Loneliness and disconnection in the virtual age.

wordywalt comments on Jan 24, 2018:

I do feel that so many people today spend so much time fiddling with their electronic devices that they are fostering a disconnect in terms of real face-to-face contact.

Fountain Pens; Does anybody else use one?

wordywalt comments on Jan 24, 2018:

It has been so long since I used a fountain pen that I can't remember when I used one last.

"Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man -- living in the sky -- who ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 24, 2018:

Carln was a lovable iconoclast. He could get to the heart of matters quickly!

How old are you really? I remember 19 out of 20 Oh My!

wordywalt comments on Jan 24, 2018:

The only one I don't remember is the P.F. Flyers." What were they?

Stephen Hawking Says Humanity Won't Survive Without Leaving Earth

wordywalt comments on Jan 24, 2018:

Probably true. But, the difficulties of prolonged space travel are so difficult, I don't believe that any significant deep space travel is or will be feasible.

If you already know, that you have the best woman in the world, then what are you waiting for ?

wordywalt comments on Jan 24, 2018:

To whom are you talking and what are you talking about?

The virtual afterlife will transform humanity | Aeon Essays

wordywalt comments on Jan 24, 2018:

What a senseless endeavor.

Oklahoma Lawmaker: Rape and Incest are the ‘Will of God’

wordywalt comments on Jan 24, 2018:

What a vile human being that legislator is!

Do you recall any epic moments in history that you witnessed?

wordywalt comments on Jan 24, 2018:

I can recall a lot of historical days. I remember V-J Day in 1045 ending World War II. I was in West Berlin when the Berlin Wall went up in 1961. When the Cuban Missile Crisis happened, I was in the Army Reserve and was placed on standby alert to be called up immediately if needed. I remember the assassinations of John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy. The day when Nixon resigned I remember fondly. The day I am looking forward to is the day Trump is impeached.

Having a thorough religious education, I attended Yeshiva (an Orthodox Jewish seminary) , but was ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 24, 2018:

Human existence has no inherent purpose. It simply is. What meaning there is to our existence is that which we give it by our own decisions and actions.

How Do You Honour Your Familiar?

wordywalt comments on Jan 24, 2018:

The loss of a dear pet is hard. A few years ago, my little cat companion of 17 years reached a stage where he was in almost constant pain and failing, and I had him euthanized. I had adopted him as a young, starving and injured cat about 1 - 2 years old. We spent many loving hours together over the years. I buried him in my venerable garden, in a place where some of his molecules may still be or become part of me.

Is Atheist vs. Agnostic conflict a real thing?

wordywalt comments on Jan 24, 2018:

There is no basis for any conflict. Both groups are headed in the right direction.

Who do you think can defeat Trump in 2020? (Select all that apply)

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

I would also add Jue Biden.

I have done a decent amount of reading on Epigenetics.

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Eugenics has been largely discredited as a discipline for almost 100 years. In the 1920s it reached some stature in academic circles until close analysis revealed false and racist assumptions at its core along with flawed research. The only place since that it had any use was in Nazi Germany to try to develop pure Aryans. Your idea of poverty having a genetic base is equally as wrong and misplaced.

Are you Bilingual/Trilingual/Etc.?

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

As an American, my first language is English. I spent 2 and 1/2 years in West Berlin, Germany over 55 years ago and learned to speak and read German fluently. My first wife was from Berlin. After returning to the U.S. my main use of German was in was in speaking with my wife. Still, though rusty in vocabulary, still speak and understand German after 50 years.

"When we fully understand the brevity of life, it's fleeting joys and unavoidable pains, when we ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

What a beautiful passage! Too bad that we are not always and socially programmed to live in such a manner!We should all try to live by that ode and to model that for our children.

Generation Gap Do you see your generation as better, stronger, tougher than the one after or ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

The generation before me were the young adults during the Great Depression. They were tougher -- had to be, but not wiser. They were the people of the 1960s and 1970s who saw their world changing so much, and tended to reach back to the certainty of the past, including religion and southern racism. My generation -- the late Depression and early World War II one -- became the one committed to personal success and few deep commitments. The generation after me -- the baby boomers who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s were both stronger and wiser. They began to care about social issues and bettering our country and society and to become activists in pursuit of those issues. They took chances for something other than simply themselves. If their momentum could have continued for another decade, this would be a different and better country. Let me add. I find two things that trouble me about today's young people. First, it concerns me that these young people spend so much time fiddling with electronics and texting instead of face-to-face personal contact -- and that they even seem to prefer the safe distance of electronics. Second, I don't really see any commitment among many of them to do anything to make a difference. I hope I am wrong.

Mississippi bill would require teachers to recite the Ten Commandments every morning – ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Must be defeated!!

Freebrainers.

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Let us hope that free -thinking does not devolve into superstition, ignorance, and irrationality.

For those who would say 'no' to the term 'church': What would overcome your objection?

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Stay away from the term "church" -- it is an institution designed to inculcate and maintain belief in a total system religious ideology.

When Silence is not Golden.

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Silence is also not golden when we see so many of our members of Congress lose their moral cores, or when we hear Trump lie many times every way, when state legislatures gerrymander districts for political advantage, when we see civil rights infringed upon, when so many people are acting with utter incivility, when people try to take advantage of or use others. This nation should be in a moral uproar in what is happening today!!

In these days of increasing tensions between the powerful states of our World, we are beginning to ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

The best way forward would be for all nations to renounce all intents of expansion or control of other nations' territories, or ideological control of others. That would solve 90 percent of the problem. Unfortunately, that is not going to happen with people like Putin, Assad, Netanyahu, Kim Jung Un, and Donald Trump around.

What kind of laugh do you have?

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Depends on what I am laughing at. Can range from a chuckle to a roar of laughter.

What is yourt favorite book?

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Herman Hesse's STEPPENWOLF.

God seemed to have become a brand, a packaging, and people purchase this trusted brand with such ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Yws. Just look at how morally compromised so many televangelists, prosperity gospel, and evangelical leaders are!

Age. Does it come to one defining moment when you realize you have gotten older?

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

One knows that he or she is aging. At 30, I had to wear glasses for the first time. At 40, I had to get bifocals. In my early 40 I started greying around the temples, and game up teem sports. At 45 I had back surgery and developed diabetes. By 65, my hair was grey and worsening vision forced me to give up driving. And, so it goes. Your are forced to continue to peel back layers to find and maintain the inner core of who you are and want to be.

Some say that the earth(modern civilization as we know it) has lived and died before.

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Many civilizations have come and gone, but I doubt that any of them were as advanced technologically or knowledge-wise as today's.

Who in your family do you most admire?

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

I have loved them all, but admire? We call have had feet of clay -- some more so.

11 reasons Why Christianity and its God should be thrown into the dustbin of history

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

All valid reasons.

The Radical Christian Right and the War on Government

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

It is a real threat to our democracy and freedoms.

4 Tips for Talking to People You Disagree With

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Good gfround ryles for civil discourse.

Who do you think exemplifies hypocrisy more than anyone else in public life?

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Donald Trump/

Although l was raised Baptist and went to every church srvice/bible study there was (because my ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Your story sounds very much like mine!

I have a friend who doesn’t have any friends.

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Huh!

If you could teach everyone in the world one concept, what concept would have the biggest positive ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 23, 2018:

Treat others with full dignity and respect.

Are our enemies really our enemies?

wordywalt comments on Jan 22, 2018:

All Nazis fought for a totally immoral cause. Many were drawn in by the ideology, the emotional appeal, and/or the propaganda. Many of them grew to regret their decisions to get involved with the Nazi party and movement. Some of them actually did some things to help people. But all Nazi true believers WERE evil!

Population crisis wars break out for food and water?

wordywalt comments on Jan 22, 2018:

Because those areas are ruled by a backward facing religion and culture (entwined) such wars are almost inevitable.

A sickness has infected the Catholic church in Scotland | Kevin McKenna | Opinion | The Guardian

wordywalt comments on Jan 22, 2018:

Why would one want a totalitarian state of any ilk?

How did we let an unqualified Fundamentalist use our educational system to indocturnate our kids?

wordywalt comments on Jan 22, 2018:

We elected a morally bankrupt Republican Congress and president. That is all it took.

Day 1

wordywalt comments on Jan 22, 2018:

Dive right in! The water is fine.

Why do we need feminism?

wordywalt comments on Jan 22, 2018:

Well stated!

If you knew you were going to die one year from today, what would you do and how would you want to ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 22, 2018:

I would spend some time with my daughters in Kansas, go fishing, and otherwise live as I am living today.

Oklahoma state senate proposes an amendment to state bill 1457.

wordywalt comments on Jan 22, 2018:

An absurd bill which shows the strange thoughts of true believers.

I am a little overwhelmed because I never exchanged thoughts about a superior being's existence.

wordywalt comments on Jan 22, 2018:

Many of us, when we are young, fear death simply because we feel that we have a lot more life to live and do noit want to be deprived of that. In our old age, the fear of death fades into near non-existence.

I've noticed most on this site don't think Trump is a good president.

wordywalt comments on Jan 22, 2018:

A wandering amalgamation of a few good points and many points of misinformation and misinterpretation. He does not even attempt to deal with Trumps Egomaniacal, lying, characterless, and sociopathic behavior. That video is not of any value.

What do you think is the common link in this "group"?

wordywalt comments on Jan 22, 2018:

Intelligent and caring dialogue. Most, but not all, contributors to this site meet these criteria.

ARE WE ALONE. So the question,are we alone in the universe?

wordywalt comments on Jan 22, 2018:

Even if there are living beings in other places in the universe, they are so distant in time and space that their existence is largely irrelevant to the human species.

If someone was to start an atheist church, would you attend?

wordywalt comments on Jan 21, 2018:

No. I would not attend. Doctrine, ideology, dogma? I do not wish to be a true believer in any ideology. An atheist organization should renounce all rites, robes, trappings, or "priestly class." The pur0pose of any atheist organization should be only to protect our rights, to socialize, and to pursue common goals.

It seems very apparent to me Trumpublicans have engineered the government shutdown to energize their...

wordywalt comments on Jan 21, 2018:

You give Trump too much credit. He is not capable of forming real plans or strategies.

Tomorrow spring semester starts again.

wordywalt comments on Jan 21, 2018:

Rocket science is also a whole lot of physics and engineering.

So, based on my question about what political affiliation you most connect with, I notice that most ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 21, 2018:

Both. In graduate school studied intellectual history, political theory, philosophy among other topic -- and I have devoted much thought and study to American politics. I also have strong attachments to the reasoned and moral stands I take. BUT, please understand that I am also vehemently opposed to Marxism in any of its forms, because Marxism is another terribly flawed total system ideology like religion.

Have all your plants died?

wordywalt comments on Jan 21, 2018:

Not all of them, but the freeze did a lot of dmanage in my year in Florida.

Does any credible dictionary or philosopher accept the definition of atheism as "a lack of belief in...

wordywalt comments on Jan 21, 2018:

No. Atheism is CHOSEN disbelief in any deity or religion. It is not a LACK of anything!.

I'm an idiot about american politics. Why does the government need to shut down? WTF?

wordywalt comments on Jan 21, 2018:

It should tell you something about the inability of the Republican Party to govern. They control the House, Senate, and Presidency, but can't get anything done of substance. That is because they are masters of obstruction, captives of moribund ideology, but have no real policies or ideas that be put into action with positive effect. They have also lost any moral core.

Hopefully soon, there'll be a proper shift wherein intelligence, education, science and freethought ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 21, 2018:

That we MUST NOY let happen!!

Yeah we've all been through that numerous times and we shall stay in that box forever

wordywalt comments on Jan 21, 2018:

I was married to a woman who was totally unable to let herself be vulnerable. She did not give a damn about anyone but herself and her blood relatives. She had zero empathy and used and abused people. She had a need to control so that she would not be vulnerable.. She was not open to new learning or trying to improve herself. Needless to say, marrying her was the biggest mistake I ever made. If a person is to grow, to find any real joy in life, he or she must be willing to be vulnerable.

Atheism a religion?

wordywalt comments on Jan 21, 2018:

Of course not. A religion is a total system ideology (one which purports to explain or include everything with a dogma supporting belief in a god or deity. Not believing in a god meets NONE of those characteristics.

So I went to lunch with my mom and sis today and told them about this website and how happy I was ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 21, 2018:

Sounds like it would have been better to broach this topic with your mother earlier. There are things we all wish we had done when it could have made a difference.

Why don't we have a agnostic church ?

wordywalt comments on Jan 21, 2018:

Since leaving religion some 60 years ago, I have enjoyed NOT feeling obligated to go to some meeting place on Sunday. I would much rather have the day to myself to spend as I wish.

Is this the smartest thing Trump has ever said?

wordywalt comments on Jan 21, 2018:

Trump says so much that something he says on an extremely rare occasion has to be correct. The vast majority of what he says is nothing more than egomaniacal crap.

What political party do you consider yourself to be?

wordywalt comments on Jan 21, 2018:

social democrat or progressive.

Do People Understand That DACA Recipients Are Not Illegal Immigrants?

wordywalt comments on Jan 21, 2018:

Those against DACA are nothing more than ethnocentric bigots.

Nonprofit Is Suing Ben Carson's HUD for 'Dodging' Record Requests About White House Bible Study

wordywalt comments on Jan 20, 2018:

No one, no agency, an no organization should ever be above the law.

If we ever do confirm the existence of life elsewhere in the universe, do you really think it will ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 20, 2018:

No. True believers would find a way to deny that it means anything.

Life and Taxes

wordywalt comments on Jan 20, 2018:

Like all Americans, I receive services, and I should pay for them. I am not and do not want to be a freeloader.

I need a little advice, can you help me?

wordywalt comments on Jan 20, 2018:

I would also contact the police and tell them the story. Even if they don't find any reason for charges, they can still make it clear that his conduct must stop.

Has anyone else ever see the movie Birth of a Nation 1915 by DW Griffith?

wordywalt comments on Jan 20, 2018:

Yes. It was a very racist movie. It should have never been released,

I think it's ironic that religious voters actually back policies that are a mix of Social Darwinism ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 20, 2018:

Nothing. Evangelical true believers simply refuse to acknowledge any inconsistencies or contradictions.

After life

wordywalt comments on Jan 20, 2018:

No. No proof exists.

I'd like to see an assortment of groups added to this site. How about you?

wordywalt comments on Jan 20, 2018:

Not sure what you mean.

What could have we accomplished?

wordywalt comments on Jan 20, 2018:

Agreed! If the human species had spent the amount of time focused on productive thought and action that it has wasted on religion, we would be a much more advanced, just, and caring society today!

Am I alone?

wordywalt comments on Jan 20, 2018:

I have been single, depressed, and under great stress before, but never felt alone.

Isn't it time we set age or term limits on our Congress and Supreme Court

wordywalt comments on Jan 20, 2018:

Yes, I believe that senators should serve no more than 3 terms, representatives no more than 6 terms, and supreme court justices no more than 15 - 20 years. As Thomas Jefferson said, The earth belongs to the living." He called for a complete change in government every 19 years.

Why isn't our voting day a National holiday? Why can't we mail our votes in like absentee voters?

wordywalt comments on Jan 20, 2018:

Absolutely!

Should money continued to being spent on a mission to Mars when so much money is needed for research...

wordywalt comments on Jan 20, 2018:

I do not think the Mars mission is worth the cost.

To every single member of this site that ever served in the military.

wordywalt comments on Jan 20, 2018:

Thank you.

Do You Believe The World Will End, Or We Face Global Extinction?

wordywalt comments on Jan 20, 2018:

There is virtually a 100 % probability that the world will eventually be destroyed in in some cosmic event -- strike by a giant asteroid, burning out or explosion of our sun, being sucked into a black hole, etc. There is also a 100% probability that the human species will go extinct in some manner. The question is whether the destructiveness of our species, environmental changes, or the combination thereof is/are the cause'(s) or if the cosmic event comes first. Eventually, there will be no tace of the fact that we ever existed.

While reading Dale McGowan's Atheism for Dummies, one statistic said that only 7% of people over 70 ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 19, 2018:

I am proud to be in that minority.

Atheism - Pew Survey

wordywalt comments on Jan 19, 2018:

An informative poll, trending in the right direction.

Warning -- Math Puns Ahead When I was a high school mathematics instructor, I was known for my ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 19, 2018:

Really witty puns!

Televangelist is giddy like a child over his new private jet: ‘You and Jesus bought this!’ – ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 19, 2018:

All televangelists are greedy frauds and charlatans.

I've felt for a long time that those who cling to religious beliefs, or seek to have them, tend to ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 19, 2018:

There is much research on this topic. But your use of the word "trait" is inappropriate. A trait is an inherited characteristic. What you are talking about is a pattern of behavior. You are correct in your observation. Read Erich Fromm's ESCAPOE FROM FREEDOM.

The Bible Says The World Will End On June 24th 2018

wordywalt comments on Jan 19, 2018:

These nuts keep coming out of the woodwork.

Is the church system a business?

wordywalt comments on Jan 19, 2018:

Yes. And, now evangelicals are using their untaxed income and wealth to influence politics to give them even more power.

Do you still have nightmares?

wordywalt comments on Jan 19, 2018:

I have been divorced from my first wife for 24 years, but still have nightmares about her -- though not as frequently as before. Some people inflict so much emotional trauma that one cannever forget them or the trauma.

I remember when MADTv made this parody when I was in high school ... sigh [youtube.com]

wordywalt comments on Jan 19, 2018:

Now Trump is trying to make this parody a reality. How our culture has regressed.

I would defend the liberty of consenting adult creationists to practice whatever intellectual ...

wordywalt comments on Jan 19, 2018:

The whole creationist position is nothing more than blindly ignorant devotion to false mythology.

If ghosts are real, do they have mass?

wordywalt comments on Jan 19, 2018:

Ghosts are not real, period. The whole question is moot.

I have significant Xian background, and I have been agnostic for over 20years.

wordywalt comments on Jan 19, 2018:

Mo. I lost all doubt many years ago. At the age of 80. I am certain that all religions are false myths.

My husband Jock was brought up without religion, never christened into any church.

wordywalt comments on Jan 18, 2018:

I will be cremated. There will be no funeral or celebration of any kind. My wife and daughters will scatter my ashes at a site of my choosing .

Who are your favourite authors /poet's and why?

wordywalt comments on Jan 18, 2018:

Hermann Hesse and John Le Carre.

What is happiness?

wordywalt comments on Jan 18, 2018:

The question has no firm or fixed answer.