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thubery 06-Mar-13, 08:36	Thanks for including me. A bit about me in relation to this forum I am 75yrs old, catholic until age 18. I was taught to look critically at faith by an Oratorio Priest and teacher at my school. He taught me too well. I am now a rationalist and accept only what can be supported by evidence, and prepared to change my mind if there is conflicting evidence. I am an atheist because I can find no evidence that a god exists (there is also no evidence that god does not exist, but logically that is OK). I was once a communist, and still feel that they had something worth giving, it just got corrupted. I resent the frequent assertions that atheists must be miserable, lost souls, without purpose. I am nearing the end of my life, I am happy, feel fulfilled, know what I need to teach my grandchildren. Not bad I think. I know I can go into non-existence happy and content. The rest of the universe is for my descendants and their genes Tony
charlippar 12-Mar-13, 13:13	Me too! Interesting threads started by some intriguing peeps in this club. It's good to see. Thanks for having me! "I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth. I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being." - Uncle Al
thubery 12-Mar-13, 16:32	charlippar Hi Uncle Al, I like your last sentence. After all, to an early hunter-gatherer society, it was quite reasonable on the evidence at hand, to think that the sun plunged into the earth each night and burst out of the earth again the next morning. We needed loads of evidence, much thought, and even more checking to come to the realisation that we exist on a ball of rock that orbits the sun. But we have come some way, and it is an exciting quest. Tony
charlippar 12-Mar-13, 17:14	Tony Thanks Tony! I was pretty excited when I found that Einstein quote... It helped organize a few ideas and notions I had about life. Hope things are swell..) Char
brigadecommander 12-Mar-13, 18:59	thubery well said. 'On the back of a rock',I like that. Here is that rock, and how we got 'stuck' on the back of it.;www.youtube.com
charlippar 12-Mar-13, 19:32	brigadecommander Neat video so far. I like the way David Attenborough talks and how he bops his body around..)
brigadecommander 12-Mar-13, 19:52	it has many segments to it. and will take time to go through each epoch. I have to learn it for school. but most people find it boring. They would rather believe in ancient religious fantasies like, parting the red sea, then to use their brains and see the great wonders all around them. I will be on the Great barrier reef by June to finish my masters in micro-biology. Most of the fossil site in this Documentary, i have had the luck to visit.
charlippar 12-Mar-13, 21:12	Wow, yeah that is lucky. Some of those places look mighty groovy. That's real fine work you got yourself engaged in. Fascinating the records that can be found in the rock. Take luck on your journey to the reef and have fun!!
the-sigularity 26-Jan-14, 23:07	I agree with all of you. However, whoever invented the notion that there are supreme being/s had good intentions. This was something that people needed to curb at least some of the atrocities that people commit. If people were made to believe that there is a supreme being that will frown upon their actions, a lot (not all) of these people would probably not be as inclined to commit acts that might harm others. The main reason people want to cling to these ideas, is the promise of immortality. Other stories that would encourage people to believe were introduced to lead people to love (or at least like) the idea that good things should be adopted, are Christmas, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and other religious dogmas that are celebrated. I was (as probably some of you were)born into these beliefs, and can see, that even now children that do not realize the untruth of these doctrines, (until after they mature), take joy and pleasure in following the things taught by parents in a good way. I myself have those childhood memories. This happened when men did not have access to all the technology that we have today. At present, we are living in a time when many new discoveries, and facts show that the writings that are found in the bible/s are either contradictory to common sense or can be invalidated. I believe, that in the future, the trend towards separating those errors from the majority, will be realized, and most of humanity will concentrate more on the facts that emerge from the evidence which exists in our present and future environment. The reason I started thinking this way was; How or why would a god create people to suffer in sickness and create most people in such a way that over ninety-nine percent of the people on earth would be condemned into eternal suffering, after having suffered here on earth. And why did god allow evil to triumph over good. According to history god's chosen people (Jews), over six million, were tortured, persecuted, ridiculed, and executed? Would a supreme being let babies that have done nothing wrong, suffer and die even before they have had a chance to live? If these babies (children) were not allowed to live for some reason, why would god allow them to be born in the first place?
saintinsanity 24-Feb-14, 23:32	For me it was much simpler I wanted to believe in christianity, but you see, people can't walk on water and such, so I was stuck.
the-sigularity 25-Feb-14, 07:53	There was once a man According to biblical history, whose name as we all probably know or have heard, that was able to perform miracles. Walking on water is not an impossible feat to accomplish if you can solve the problem to perform the act. I don't know how this is done, but I have seen evidence of some people being able to levitate, which I think may work on the same principle. In the future, if people remain in this planet long enough, people will be able to defy gravity. History has shown that what was thought impossible before, is now possible. It is even difficult for me to understand how an airplane can lift, and transport so much weight. (tons and tons) Another thing I ponder, is how can pictures (colored video) be viewed from across thousands of miles by the use of electrical wires. There are so many things that we do not understand, but do exist. (This is not to say we could not understand, if we delved into these things).

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