[kayla.meyer_144]

Ditto, except for being the dergon stuff. 
 
But the fight is with the ones who believe it’s their way or the highway (to Hell). May all saints go to heck, keep Heaven for the real ones.”  I have no argument with most believers even if they don’t get me. Great talks over whiskey..[;)]

[eyoab2011_711]

Rather laugh with the sinners than die with the saints….the sinners are much more fun
 
But really what does religion really have to do with morality?  Religion is about control

[joshua.glaze_811]

My experience (and probably yours) is that “it has to do with” family, education and healthcare.
 
 

Quote from Thor

But really what does religion really have to do with morality?  Religion is about control

[kayla.meyer_144]

“Who you are” connects most intimately with what you think & what you do. I’m not following your point at all, cigar, especially in the context of the topic.
 
And no Thor, I don’t agree that religion is all about control. Can be, there are too many examples, but there are many examples of independent thought & actions. There are many examples of religious leaders being murdered for not being “controlled.” They do leave a legacy. Religion is just one path leading us to “42.”

[ruszja]

You will be elated to hear that the montgomery county maryland school board has voted to abolish christmas, easter and rosh hashana from the official school calendar. All are now referred to as ‘students have day off’.
 
Yay, secularism !!

[kayla.meyer_144]

You misunderstand 100%, fw, Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. I look forward to the season each year & that is no sarcasm. I don’t care if there is a Christmas tree in school, in the public square & city hall or the White House, if fact I like it. I don’t care that people play religious music & sing songs of religion, I enjoy that all. The holiday existed long before 2000 years ago and people celebrated the occasion. My wife loves Rockefeller Center when the tree is up & we see many faces that are all happy & probably not all Christian, starting with me.
 
We need more holidays that make people smile and laugh.
 
Santa is coming!
[attachment=0]
 
 
 

[suyanebenevides_151]

I love this idea of “who you are”
 
It’s not what you think or what you do in life, it is “who you are” now
 
More delusion

[Unknown Member]

You may never have been a part of a group (neither have I ) for whom it was disadvantageous, or even dangerous, up to and including lethally so, to openly work and live as the person “who you are”, so you can be forgiven for denigrating the concept on a semantic basis, but don’t fool yourself into thinking that you have a real accurate read on what is being discussed when the phrase is used. The phrase clearly encapsulates what you think and what you do in life, among other things.

More delusion.

[odayjassim1978_476]

Amen..the one time in the year where everyone/including corporations…lol Mitt Romney.. puts on some makeup/glitter/glow
…chestnuts roasting on an open fire…jack frost nipping at your nose and folks dressed up like eskimos…everyone knows …some turkey…oh I luv it…just like Charlie brown Christmas special I can’t wait to see(really tells the story of a bunch of kids/adults at work who notice someone on the team looking down and decide to create a project for him to master but then they do everything to sabotage u  from the loudmouth team member(lucy) who dictates how things are to be done..to the nice guy linus who just can’t give up just 1 thing for 20 minutes to your best friend(snoopy) who boos u .

Quote from Frumious

You misunderstand 100%, fw, Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. I look forward to the season each year & that is no sarcasm. I don’t care if there is a Christmas tree in school, in the public square & city hall or the White House, if fact I like it. I don’t care that people play religious music & sing songs of religion, I enjoy that all. The holiday existed long before 2000 years ago and people celebrated the occasion. My wife loves Rockefeller Center when the tree is up & we see many faces that are all happy & probably not all Christian, starting with me.

We need more holidays that make people smile and laugh.

Santa is coming!
[attachment=0]

[MG_888]

I was born an atheist, resisted all attempts by my parents and society to change that, still an atheist.
 
Of all the recent atheist movements, the one I like the best was “the blasphemy challenge”.  The one where the kids get on Youtube and say stuff that would make their parents lose it. 
 
I’ll have to check out Openly Secular.

[kayla.meyer_144]

Imagine electing the first “openly secular” President? Not likely soon.

[kayla.meyer_144]

Actual laws mandating a belief in God?
 
[link=http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/us/in-seven-states-atheists-push-to-end-largely-forgotten-ban-.html]http://www.nytimes.com/20…ly-forgotten-ban-.html[/link]

But 53 years later, Maryland and six other states still have articles in their constitutions saying people who do not believe in God are not eligible to hold public office. Marylands Constitution still says belief in God is a requirement even for jurors and witnesses.
 
The six states besides Maryland with language in their constitutions that prohibits people who do not believe in God from holding office are Arkansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Mississippis Constitution says, No person who denies the existence of a Supreme Being shall hold any office in this state. North Carolinas says, The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God.

Pennsylvanias Constitution contains no prohibition, but does say that no one can be disqualified from serving in office on the basis of religion as long as they believe in God and a future state of rewards and punishments (a reference to heaven and hell)
 
Pew also found that 53 percent of Americans polled in April said they would be less likely to vote for a presidential candidate they knew was an atheist. Being an atheist was found to be the least desirable trait a candidate could have worse than having cheated on a spouse or used marijuana.

[btomba_77]

[url=http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/us/politics/republican-convention-issues.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0]Republican party platform abandots Church/State separation[/url]

It is a platform that at times seems to channel the partys presumptive presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump calling to destroy ISIS, belittling President Obama as weak and accusing his administration of inviting attacks from adversaries.   But the document positions itself far to the right of Mr. Trumps beliefs in other places and amounts to a rightward lurch even from the partys hard-line platform in 2012 especially as it addresses gay men, lesbians and transgender people.

The numerous additions to the platform on marriage, family, homosexuality and gender issues were a reflection of just how much society and the law have shifted since Republicans adopted their last platform four years ago. And the debate this week showed just how unsettled many Republicans remain with those changes. …{W}hile public and legal opinion has moved steadily in one direction, the official declaration of Republican Party principles appears to be heading sharply in the opposite direction. 

[b]The platform demands that lawmakers use religion as a guide when legislating, stipulating that man-made law must be consistent with God-given, natural rights.  It also encourages the teaching of the Bible in public schools because, the amendment said, a good understanding of its contents is indispensable for the development of an educated citizenry.[/b]

 
You don’t have to be liberal to oppose this.  This should be opposed by every person who supports a strong US democracy.

[kayla.meyer_144]

Pandering to the white and evangelical votes who oppose social change and are fearful of minorities and foreigeners. Anyone who is “different.”
 
Be afraid. Fear is their friend.

[heenadevk1119_462]

You mean the foreigners that go around the world killing people?
 
Oh yeah, I woudn’t be afraid of people who yell “Death to Dr. Fager”
 
That would be “phobic”
 
You guys are really silly.

[kayla.meyer_144]

Quote from Dr. ****er

You mean the foreigners that go around the world killing people?

You guys are really silly.

Now let’s not forget the Americans who have “gone around killing people,” like other Americans. From before Timothy McVeigh to the recent mass murderers all Americans, including Omar Mateen.

[aldoctc]

Ignorant people believe religion.
 
Smart people don’t.
 
Powerful people find it useful.

[heenadevk1119_462]

Ignorant people believe in [foolish] religiuos teachings and particular religions.
 
Smart people are equally distributed within religious traditions or not.
 
Some intelligent people who claim not to believe in “religion” … do. I can name these religions they believe in.
 
Powerful people use it because as stated above, everyone has his own god or religion, as you say.
 
If you don’t recognize that, you aren’t very smart.

[btomba_77]

[link=https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1459658826425249798?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1459658826425249798%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.flyertalk.com%2Fforum%2Fomni-pr%2F1821071-flynn-discussed-sanctions-russian-ambassador-despite-denials-officials-say-53.html]https://twitter.com/RonFi…-officials-say-53.html[/link]
 
Mike Flynn loves a theocracy:
 

If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion. One nation under God, and one religion under God.

Michael Flynn tonight: “If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion. One nation under God, and one religion under God.” pic.twitter.com/ShGVrsQ9hW

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) November 13, 2021

[kayla.meyer_144]

Whether you believe in 33 million or 9 billion names of god, each one represents  a different god/religion, so which one should be the theocracy? Even Christianity has very many different flavors running the range from very inclusive & liberal to very exclusive and conservative. Jesus teachings seem to be beside the point. So which?
 
One can be very sure Flynn is not talking about catholic inclusive & forgiving religion where how you treat the least of us is his prime concern.

[btomba_77]

[link=https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1528441681191788544]https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1528441681191788544[/link]

GA GOP Gov candidate Kandiss Taylor today: Were gonna do a political rally and were gonna honor Jesus .. Theyre not gonna tell us separation of church and state. We are the church! We run this state! .. The church runs the state of Georgia!

[kayla.meyer_144]

A republic, if you can keep it.
 
Poor Ben was not thinking of the Republic of Gilead.

[btomba_77]

They want a US theocracy …

[link=https://michiganadvance.com/2022/05/23/michigan-gop-house-candidate-says-birth-control-should-be-banned-blasts-sex-outside-marriage/]https://michiganadvance.c…-sex-outside-marriage/[/link]

[b]Michigan GOP House candidate says birth control should be banned, blasts sex outside marriage[/b]
 
[b]
[/b]
[h2]Eubanks claims abortion and gay marriage are outside the Christian moral order[/h2]

In an interview[link=https://www.facebook.com/watch/?extid=CL-UNK-UNK-UNK-IOS_GK0T-GK1C&v=731409301329345] with the far-right website Church Militant[/link], Jacky Eubanks said that if it ever came to a vote in the Michigan Legislature, I would have to side with it should not be legal, adding that birth control gives people the false sense of security that they can have consequence-free sex, and thats not true and thats not correct. Sex ought to be between one man and one woman in the confines of marriage.

The reason the West is great is because western civilizations underpinning is Christianity, she said. And you cannot have a successful society outside of the Christian moral order and things like abortion and things like gay marriage are outside of the Christian moral order and they lead to chaos and destruction and a culture of death.[/QUOTE]
 

[kayla.meyer_144]

Yes, Christian moral order as established in the Constitution regarding the morality of slavery.
 
Originalism, 2000+ years old.

[kaldridgewv2211]

I saw the video.  First thing I thought was this looks like a girl who would say something like sex should only be in marriage.

[btomba_77]

[b]GOP Candidate Will Only Pick Christian as Running Mate[/b][/h1]  
Colorado gubernatorial candidate Greg Lopez (R), who hopes to unseat Gov. Jared Polis (D) this November, said in a Republican primary debate over the weekend that he would have a No-Jews, No-Muslims, No-Atheists policy when it comes to selecting his potential Lt. Governor, [link=https://onlysky.media/hemant-mehta/colorado-gop-gubernatorial-candidate-only-christians-can-be-my-running-mate/]Next[/link] reports.
 
He said would only consider other Christians.

 

[kayla.meyer_144]

WOW!
 
Christian identity theocracy on its way!

[btomba_77]

[link=https://news.gallup.com/poll/393737/belief-god-dips-new-low.aspx?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top]https://news.gallup.com/p…axiosam&stream=top[/link]

[h1]Belief in God in U.S. Dips to 81%, a New Low[/h1]

Gallup first asked this question in 1944, repeating it again in 1947 and twice each in the 1950s and 1960s. In those latter four surveys, a consistent 98% said they believed in God. When Gallup asked the question nearly five decades later, in 2011, 92% of Americans said they believed in God.
 
A subsequent survey in 2013 found belief in God dipping below 90% to 87%, roughly where it stood in three subsequent updates between 2014 and 2017 before this year’s drop to 81%.

…
The groups with the largest declines are also the groups that are currently least likely to believe in God, including liberals (62%), young adults (68%) and Democrats (72%). Belief in God is highest among political conservatives (94%) and Republicans (92%), reflecting that religiosity is a major determinant of political divisions in the U.S.

[/QUOTE]
 

[kaldridgewv2211]

I’m kind of surprised it’s 81%.  thought there would be more atheists.

[btomba_77]

[b]Lauren Boebert Blasts Separation of Church and State[/b][/h1]  
 
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) [link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWOSF3SHdUo&t=5271s]told worshipers at a religious service[/link]: The church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not supposed to direct the church. That is not how our Founding Fathers intended it.
 
She added: Im tired of this separation of church and state junk thats not in the Constitution. It was in a stinking letter, and it means nothing like what they say it does. Her comments were first reported by the Denver Post.

 

[kayla.meyer_144]

Based on arguments by the newly minted findamentalist religious Court, the Supremes likely agree, if it is not SPECIFICALLY EXPLICITLY STATED in the Constitution, it does not exist.
 
Christianity automatically wins, the only question remaining is what flavor of Christianity.

[btomba_77]

Kinzinger on  The Christian Taliban
 
There is no difference between this and the Taliban. We must oppose the Christian Taliban. I say this as a Christian.
 
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), [link=https://twitter.com/AdamKinzinger/status/1542116624328695808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1542116624328695808%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffpost.com%2Fentry%2Fadam-kinzinger-lauren-boebert-christian-taliban_n_62bd03dce4b00a9334e3a102]on Twitter[/link], lashing out at Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) who said she believes the church is supposed to direct the government.
 

There is no difference between this and the Taliban. We must opposed the Christian Taliban. I say this as a Christian

https://t.co/zt8mFKc3Jt

— Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@AdamKinzinger) June 29, 2022

[btomba_77]

[link=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/11/29/uk-census-christians-now-minority-england-wales-first-time/]The Telegraph[/link] 

[h1]Christians now a minority in England and Wales for first time[/h1]

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) results show that 46.2 per cent of the population (27.5 million people) described themselves as ‘Christian’ in 2021. This marks a 13.1 percentage point decrease from 59.3 per cent (33.3 million people) in 2011. 
 
The census data also shows that every major religion increased over the ten-year period, except for Christianity. 
 
Despite this decrease, ‘Christian’ remained the most common response to the question about religion. ‘No religion’ was the second most common response, increasing to 37.2 per cent (22.2 million) from 25.2 per cent (14.1 million) across the ten-year period.
[/QUOTE]

[img]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FiuVjkdXgAYrk3y?format=jpg&name=large[/img]
 

[adrianoal]

strict atheism is its own religion
 
humans aren’t so smart as to be certain about the deep truths of the universe (we thought we were late 19th century, famously with “two small clouds” to sort out– which turned out to be relativity (so space and time are deeply intertwined with all sorts of bizarre consequences) and quantum mechanics [don’t get me started, but clearly we don’t understand what QM is telling us about the true nature of reality]). In other words, IMO modern physics should make us LESS likely to be atheists, and more likely to be agnostic.
 
When it comes to the ultimate truths about the universe, I go with humility. Who knows what’s really going on? Not us.