For me, organized religion (and they were all the creations of man) is nothing more than a curiosity. I've never received any comfort or peace of mind or "prayerful" answers from anything supernatural. And yes, all religions are based on the supernatural. A divine being who created, and is in control of, everything? That's as supernatural as it gets.
It's impossible to search the source (in the case of religion) when no "source" has ever been proven. Even the Bible and Quran are nothing more than individual interpretations of events which may or may not have occurred. The Bible and Quran were written by others. No person, organization, or religious order has ever proven that what is contained in those texts is anything more than ancient stories and fables.
Every human being has a right to their own beliefs.
This planet would be better off without a lot of things, but I doubt being religion-free would solve all our (collective) problems. Too many on this planet rely on their "religious" beliefs (in one form or another) to guide them. It's been that way for too many millennium (and has become too controversial a subject) to hope for major change in the future. Religion, IMHO, was created (and is based on) fear and greed. Unfortunately, the human race (as a whole) has not evolved far enough to function beyond the fear and greed.
Every dog I've had over the last 30 years has been a rescue. I've had as many as 4 at a time in my house. At one time I had 15 rescued horses. The best advice is to dig deep into your supply of patience. From my experience, a rescued animal thrives on structure, stability, and consistency.
I know I will never be without pets. They've helped me cope with life for more than half a century. For more than 20 years I was into private equine rescue. We had 15 rescued horses (along with 5 rescued dogs and any other animals that happened to show up on our doorstep). For many long years those wonderful creatures were my only link to sanity. When my middle daughter died in 06, having her horse and her dog around were the only reason I got out of bed every day. The work with our horses was tremendous and never ending, but it was so worth every ache and pain to ourselves and our wallet.
About 4 decades ago an old horseman told me something that has proved true time and time again. "The best thing for the inside of a human is the outside of a horse." I've found that saying to be true for just about any pet.
We're all dying. The moment we're born, we begin to die. Anyone's life can be snuffed out in an instant, no matter how healthy they may or may not be. Cherish each moment you spend with a person. And simply because a person is unfortunate enough to have some health issues, no matter how severe, it doesn't mean they are not worthy or deserving of love and happiness. None of us is perfect in any way, most especially those who believe they are.
Freedom is never free! It often comes with a hefty price tag.
The only connection between freedom and religion is that all of us are free to maintain our own belief system. Totally eliminate religion from the world and the human race will still be as greedy and stupid as we've always been. In the grand scheme of things, human beings haven't come as far as we'd like to think we have since our ancient beginnings.
You appear to be making some very broad generalizations which could come back to haunt you one day!
1. Death is not an emotion. It's a fact of life. Grief is one of the emotions which arise following the death of a loved one. We all handle grief in our own way and in our own time.
2. Who says men aren't "supposed" to cry?
3. Man's biggest mistakes have always had a woman behind them? (Do you honestly believe that?) Men make those big mistakes because men are human and humans have a tendency to make mistakes. Humans are complex creatures with little true ability to understand themselves or others.
BTW, if you honestly believe that women are the true cause of the mistakes which men have made which contributed greatly to the world's problems, why are you on CS? From what I gleaned in trying to decipher your wall of text, you should possibly consider staying away from women entirely in order to avoid making any more stupid mistakes in your life.
And now we've stooped so low as to blame Eve because Adam was an idiot who did something he knew he wasn't supposed to do? What's next!!!
Ooby, I wish my daughter and her family liked eating away from home more often. They eat out a couple times a year. They prefer my home cooking, so I do a lot of it.
I love potato soup! I especially like it with wild leeks. Store-bought leeks just don't have the intense flavor of the wild ones. I also like turnips in potato soup.
Put some ham chunks in with the beans, season to taste, cover with water, and turn on the fire. Cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently, until the beans are thoroughly cooked.
That's what I'm making tomorrow, except I make 20 quarts at a time. When it's done, I'll whip up some biscuits and we'll enjoy ham and beans.
Unfortunately (at times), being a giver is part of my core programming. Always has been. I've spent my life giving to and doing for others with no thought to my own wants and needs. I've been told recently that I need to be a bit more selfish and start thinking about me once in a while. I find doing that very difficult. Every time I think about doing something just for me, I actually feel guilty. It just seems so mean and selfish to think only of myself, no matter how insignificant the situation.
Lately I've been trying to figure out if an adult can learn to be more selfish. I know children learn to be selfish when they're young and it carries over into adulthood, but can an adult really learn something like that?
The forums have been a real eye opener for me. I spent nearly 3 decades in forced isolation. The forums have showed me that the world changed drastically in the last 30 years. And no one sent me the memo!
The worst experience of my life? My 22-year old daughter and my father died on the same day; 12 hours apart. And they shared the same birthday: Valentine's Day. Losing a child (even an adult one) is not something you ever get over. Parents aren't supposed to outlive their children.
Either way it wouldn't make any difference to me. I'd move on. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder anyway. By the time he realized he made a mistake and tried to reconcile, it would simply be too late. With me, when someone moves out of my life, they're out of my life for good.
Personally, I wouldn't date a man who feels the need to wear a wig/toupee. If he's too vain and shallow to accept his own baldness, then he may have deeper problems I won't adapt to.
I vaguely remember reading a story of a man who kept his daughter prisoner in a specially-constructed cellar for almost 2 decades and fathered 7 children with her. And his wife knew about it and raised one of the kids as her own.
Depending on where he is incarcerated, he may not live long enough to serve his entire sentence. Hardened criminals (murderers, etc.) abhor child molesters and many of the molesters have serious "accidents" while in jail.
I used to hand-raise exotic birds and the hatching process always fascinated me. Then began the 2-hour feedings around the clock. Within the first week the babies would begin to look like tiny pterodactyls. They'd hear the microwave beep and would start making noise, no matter whether I was heating their food or cooking for my girls. Then came the pin-feather stage and playtime and toys and learning not to bite, etc. As much fun as raising my own kids, but happens a whole lot faster.
I remember such a catastrophe predicted for Y2K. I knew a man who spent many thousands of dollars building an underground shelter for Y2K. Spent 2 years bringing in supplies. While he spent the "fatal night" in security, I was sitting at my computer laughing. But at least Y2K had a definite date.
It's funny that these religious happenings have no definitive time period. I guess we're just supposed to make the preparations, then sit back and wait. Just make sure you lay in a supply of nerve pills to help with the anxiety of the waiting.
Of course there is going to be a major catastrophe. At some point in the future. Some humans will survive; most won't. The human race has been rushing blindly in that direction since the beginning of our little stint on this planet. Humans, as a species, are too stupid and greedy to look beyond themselves and see the big picture. They don't have the common sense to do what it takes to prevent these man-made social disasters. If humans had EVER possessed that kind of common sense, we wouldn't have to worry about them happening.
The human race may never evolve to the point where it is intelligent enough to prevent its own demise, but I guess there's always hope.
If your own doctor tells you again that nothing is wrong, find a new doctor. This could be serious. Better safe than sorry. I found out the hardest way imaginable that doctors don't know everything, as we're raised to believe they do. And some doctors simply don't care what's wrong with a patient, as long as they get paid for the office visit.
OPie, just checked out your work in the pic thread. Fabulous! You definitely have a distinct talent. If you (or anyone else who likes to bake) would like to know where to download some great e-books on baking, let me know privately.
I guess I'll do anything to get a bit of mail from someone other than scammers! I need a life!
Got rid of my mobile phone several years ago. I was tired of it. If it's important enough, someone will know how to get hold of me without instant access. I see 10-year olds wearing a blue tooth attachment every waking moment and texting constantly. Sad, truly sad.
Walking is one of those things we humans tend to take for granted once we learn to walk as a child. I stopped taking walking for granted when I woke up after an accident and could no longer walk. It took me 6 years of incredible pain to learn to walk again after the surgeon told me I wouldn't be able to.
For me it means finding a good source for downloading ebooks to read. My electronic library contains probably 10,000 volumes on a wide range of topics. Good grief, I need a life!
imsophie1 Forum Posts (501)
RE: life and death--for the atheist
For me, organized religion (and they were all the creations of man) is nothing more than a curiosity. I've never received any comfort or peace of mind or "prayerful" answers from anything supernatural. And yes, all religions are based on the supernatural. A divine being who created, and is in control of, everything? That's as supernatural as it gets.