Yup

so true

yes, we are moving forward, we are evolving.....to something.....dont' know what.....but yes, we are changing.....big time. After you are 60, time moves so fast.....omg....

@FlyingEagle1952 I know. I am 73 now.

I know that there is truth and human opinion, didn’t mean for everyone to take what I shared so literal. I just found it interesting.

\@K9Kohle789O I agree with you. I was in Florida for 16 years during my marriage. Wow the school systems suck there. Florida is okay for the real cold winter months, especially as you get older. Today, I went to the Knox College Homecoming Football game, then I saw a play. It was a great day, chatting with some college students. I'm old enough to be their grandfather now....pretty spooky. Brought back a lot of memories.....great experience. I'm still in the game.

Thank You! Very welcoming, I appreciate that!

You know that in science lack of proof is not proof?

@Norman347 However, also in science, you can not draw conclusive facts from a lack of evidence/proof.

Totally agree; nicely put into words.
Thanx

Thank You! I know that everyone grieves in their own way and religion is a coping mechanism for some, I respect that. Keeping a positive mindset and moving forward, is my coping mechanism. My Grandma was a devote Catholic and lived her life through that, I appreciate what a wonderful woman she was. She lived a long 92 years and she’s at peace. He passing wasn’t easy but knowing she had all those years helps to ease the pain.

Prodigious!

Oh, I’m shocked and stunned, no one has. Hope you have some great memories of your Grandma by the way.

@girlwithsmiles I have amazing memories with my Grandma, thank you!

Yes, for an hypothesis to become a scientific hypothesis, we have to be able to test it.

This whole thread illustrates for me the difference between opinion and opinionated. I have an ex who once called herself opinionated and I politely corrected her. She's a strong woman with strong opinions, always reasoned out, almost always willing to discuss them, debate them, always looking for the burden of proof, either in her argument or others'. That fits with "a view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge" or "a statement of advice an expert on a professional matter", which are the two relevant definitions of "opinion" here.

"Opinionated" is defined as "characterized conceited assertiveness and dogmatism". That's largely your Abrahamic Talibans, but also sections of the scientific community can be susceptible to that. Key examples are Albert Einstein and Lord Kelvin, both brilliant physicists, both falling flat on their faces more than once with their dogmatic confirmation biases.

You (and others) are right - the last line of the meme lets it down. Other than that, I'm broadly okay with its message.

You’re welcome, thank you!

Thank You, this was perfectly worded and I appreciate the encouragement!

Please explain “atheist trap”

You BELIEVE we are here for a reason. Good... That is YOUR belief! Personally, I'll stick with evolution. Your warning of not to "fall into the Atheist Trap" sounds eerily similar to "You are going to hell if you don't believe in god." You remind me of a low grade troll.

This is going to get ugly....

I’m learning and reading, my decisions are my own. Thank You

@Marcie1974 Some are so relieved to be free of the strictures of whatever religious trap they fell into by birth and upbringing, or took on themselves for some misguided reason, they overreact and go to the other extreme, fall into ANOTHER trap, another belief system, which is just as limiting of the infinite possibilities of life.
The old "out the frying pan, into the fire" syndrome. The "throwing the baby out with the bath water" scenario.
Agnosticism, on the other hand, is the correct perspective, in my opinion. Suspended between belief and disbelief, one can fully appreciate the vast wonder of our existence, the reasoning goes.
This of course is my opinion, and I'll maintain and protect it, as long as possible, from those who want to tell me opinions are for sissies, that I have to "take a stand!"
No, I don't.
Neither do you.
Because there is no tenable, defendable "stand" (feasibly and rationally) possible.

you said it all, I hate the Bible and all the wrathful bullshit.....but I'm not an atheist either, We are spinning in the wheel and the sun rises every day. To me there is some kind of purpose, but sometimes it seems really lonely and empty, and without meaning,. I've had spiritual experience that I'm still trying to understand. I've learned to live with it. One thing I know about life, I've never heard of a man committing suicide while getting a sloppy blow job. Omg....what we will do for a piece of ass!!!!

@RiverRick I sometimes wonder, what were the dinosaurs thinking about. Or how about ants? Do they think or what? I mean they do everything for the queen. My friend sent me a video of ants 'saving' their buddy from a cobweb, helped him escape. Then there was another video where this monkey was electrocuted on this commuter train track....and this monkey came over and starting bouncing the thing around, hitting him, and shaking him until he finaly came back to life......wow it was something else to watch, some guy was videoing and got it on tape, So these monkeys, in India, learned to how perform resuscitation.......omg.....some of these nature shows are amazing.....I mean this world is just full of life.......it's all pretty amazing.....and very short too....life is short...I do believe animals have emotions too......elephants will morns the dead for a few days.....we are in a dimension of evolution.....we used to be dinosaurs......then it all changed and it keeps changing.....billions of years.....the games continues....I don't see mankind being here in 300 years, something is gonna happen, the planet can't take it.....cock roaches will take over....something, but we will be gone....

@FlyingEagle1952 This is almost how conspiracy theories start. Something that may have a rational explanation which we don't know if substituted by a belief in something supernatural or similar. Maybe the monkey was used to beating on his friend to wake him up from a sleep? Who knows? I'll agree that nature is amazing! But some things defy explanation.

@FlyingEagle1952, @Storm1752 The "rational" stand is that god doesn't exist. That's the RATIONAL stand. It's the same as me telling you that a big green monster lives beneath my bed... But you just can't see him. BUT... I KNOW HE IS THERE! Yes, you'd think I was crazy! Can I prove that god doesn't exist? No... No more than you can disprove the big green monster that lives beneath my bed!

@RiverRick Celestial teapot.

@Storm1752 that’s a pretty broad statement though. What about people who did their research and took time, sometimes years, to thoroughly examine their belief system. I’m not sure why you consider that an atheist trap. Also, atheism is NOT a belief system. That’s the opposite of what it is.

You say agnosticism is the correct perspective, in your opinion. That’s all well and good for you. But by saying it’s the “correct” one, you are no different than a church leader saying their religion is the one true (or correct) religion. I’m not trying to be snarky, but do you see how it comes off as hypocritical to say agnosticism is the correct perspective?

You are absolutely entitled to identify as agnostic. But I do not think you have the right to say that atheists are arrogant for how they identify.

@RiverRick That's YOUR opinion, River. MY opinion is is, there are too many perplexing anomalies, we've all heard of or read about, to simply take categorical "stands" like, for instance, god by ANY definition does not exist.
What about legitimate question marks such as crop circles (the ones not made by men with rakes and plywood), reincarnation, psychics (the ones without earplugs, cheat sheets), UFOs, paranormal activity, etc.?
To just dismiss it and say, 'I don't care. It's all phony," without bothering to investigate is intellectually evasive, in my opinion.
I think some people need to KNOW, to have absolute certainty, an anchor, an immovable foundation, on which to base their life. To have uncertainty and unresolvable mystery is intolerable.
I think personally there IS a core explanation, whatever it is. There must be, from my perspective.
But I can't prove it. And you can't disprove it.
That's why it's just my opinion. And why your opinion is also unproven conjecture.

@RiverRick, @Marcie1974 If they did years of research, great. Their opinion is a more of an educated guess than is typical. But it's STILL one of those things which cannot be proven, right?
How can you research the definition of god, for instance? If I say I define it as e=mXc squared, does it matter if YOU define it as an fictitious deity? I'd say, "no," because it's all mental gymnastics. It has no real meaning. It's nothing tangible, unless you're a pantheist and say god is everything, every grain of sand, every light particle, every quark!
Like the song says, "Nobody's wrong, if everybody's right!"
Enough.
Yes, using the word "trap" WAS arrogant. Sorry for being provocative. It IS my opinion, but so what? No need to p*ss people off.

@Storm1752 so basically I’m wrong and fell into a trap because I identify as atheist?

@Storm1752 Crop circles, reincarnation, psychics, paranormal activity and UFOs? You Florida people are always good for comic relief.

@Marcie1974 He lives in Florida... No need to say more.

@RiverRick good point!!!

@Marcie1974 Why do you care what I think? I'm not "god." I'm little 'ol insignificant me. Read back over what I wrote.
That's what I think.
You and your fellow scoffers, naysayers, doubters and deniers are more than welcome to keep your heads firmly in the sand. I don't care.
I wasn't talking to you anyway.

@LenHazell53 Now I know why I avoid posting anything remotely controversial, thank you so much for your insight. Have a great day!