Atheism (Atheist) means no god --- "a" ---meaning without; and theos = god. So atheists aren't against anything which doesn't actually exist in the first place. They don't believe in not believing or in hating believers. Atheists simply have no supernatural being(s). It's pretty simple really. There isn't a reason to make something up anymore. For tens of thousands of years that's what humans did to explain stuff. Now we don't need to make believe anymore. There isn't a god. The universe is a testament to "a"= without "theos"=god.
Posts by Panda
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24Defining God and Atheism
by DT ini'm a nontheist, atheist and agnostic.
i guess i like the term nontheist best, even though it basically means the same as atheist.
to me, nontheist simply says what i am not, while atheist has come to represent what someone is, at least in the minds of some people.
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43
Why do the majorityof JW's look so happy at the hall?
by JH ineach time i go, i see a bunch of happy people, young and old.
some smile more than others, but just about everyone seems happy to be there.. maybe we left because we weren't that happy, rather than finding flaws in the religion.. maybe they look happy because they aren't allowed to look sad..
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Panda
They smile because they are happy. They belong to a cult and all of their futures are decided if they do as they are told. They are happy because they no longer have to think about lifes big questions. They are happy because they 'know' why we are here; what purpose does life have for them; what happens when we die?, is there a hell? why do bad things happen to good people? At the KH they get to bask in the opiated mist of the bOrg; they are with their kind of folks so they smile --- but I don't remember many smiles in Wisconsin or Illinois, so maybe it's the weather?
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24
Defining God and Atheism
by DT ini'm a nontheist, atheist and agnostic.
i guess i like the term nontheist best, even though it basically means the same as atheist.
to me, nontheist simply says what i am not, while atheist has come to represent what someone is, at least in the minds of some people.
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Panda
Hmmm... I wanted to say something clever. Something like "What would happen if god and atheism walked into a bar?" I mean, would the universe implode or something? Or how would anyone define atheism if there wasn't even a question about whether there was a god/being. Imagine there's no heaven, it isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion too...
I consider myself an atheist. But I also consider myself (and this is more important as far as world peace is concerned) an anti-theocrat. I rememeber a few years ago some atheists were throwing around the word "brights", which is nice enough but maybe not as definite as atheist. When my theist friends ask how to describe my beliefs (should anyone ask) I tell them to call me a raging atheist --- that way I circumvent all the wonderous christian arguments for belief in a god.
But I also like to label myself as a non-believer. I find that non-believer gives pause to the conversation. A long enough pause for me to skeedaddle---
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48
My neice died this morning
by MsMcDucket inmy neice who had cancer died at 3:00 a.m. my sister just called and told me.
i'll put up the obituiaries when it's posted.
no need for responses.
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Panda
Mrs Mc D , I am very sorry to hear about the death of your niece. Cancer is still so horrible even when it goes into remission and then returns. I hope your sister will have many comforters around her while she grieves.
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10
The Gift of Fear
by Panda innow a book to explain those creepy feelings you get from some people.
and why we are often taught to negate our instincts in favor of what society teaches us.
some really terrific examples from many law enforcement agencies.
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Panda
SPAZnik, So what did you really think? Just kidding. It is one of those books that you just cannot believe anyone would find fault with, except maybe the predators like the guy on the airline who tried to pick up the young woman. That was so amazing. And you have got to wonder how often have we seen this same situation and while it may have registered we pushed those thoughts away because "it's none of my business".
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10
The Gift of Fear
by Panda innow a book to explain those creepy feelings you get from some people.
and why we are often taught to negate our instincts in favor of what society teaches us.
some really terrific examples from many law enforcement agencies.
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Panda
Lisa and MM Maybe your local libraries have a reading group that might consider this for a discussion. I'm trying to get our local police to have a reading group starting with this book. One police investigator is considering what sort of schedule we might do so everyone gets a chance to participate if they'd like to read it.
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10
The Gift of Fear
by Panda innow a book to explain those creepy feelings you get from some people.
and why we are often taught to negate our instincts in favor of what society teaches us.
some really terrific examples from many law enforcement agencies.
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Panda
Hey Hortense I am a re-reader myself! Especially a book like this one. Whenever you've recommended the Gift of Fear have you used any online reading guides or do you use something else in discussions? I really like the reading group at NYTimes ... much better than the paper LOL but they don't always read something I want to discuss.
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10
The Gift of Fear
by Panda innow a book to explain those creepy feelings you get from some people.
and why we are often taught to negate our instincts in favor of what society teaches us.
some really terrific examples from many law enforcement agencies.
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Panda
Sounds a contradiction?
RC, I guess you could look at it that way,as a contradiction because who would consider fear as a gift. But consider this that without fear our own ancestors would never have survived. That fear is a gift for knowing what you should fear. In our society young children and especially girls are taught to be polite to adults, listen to them and follow instructions; this despite predators using these social mores to their own ends. In evolution the gift of fear was selected as a useful trait. If we learn to pay attention to that fear we won't always blame the victim (as in domestic violence cases). Fear is important and just as your question implies our society has attempted to make fear undesirable. I hope you'll read this book.
edited to add the author's name Gavin de Becker -
10
The Gift of Fear
by Panda innow a book to explain those creepy feelings you get from some people.
and why we are often taught to negate our instincts in favor of what society teaches us.
some really terrific examples from many law enforcement agencies.
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Panda
Now a book to explain those creepy feelings you get from some people. And why we are often taught to negate our instincts in favor of what society teaches us. Some really terrific examples from many law enforcement agencies. This is the kind of NF book that you'll read over and over again --- well at least twice anyway. The author is no rookie and neither are the contributing police investigators and profilers. There are many average people who have avoided horrific outcomes because they listened to their instincts. This book is a must --- oh did I mention a discussion on controlling religious cults.
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36
I'm on pins & needles. About to get the best birthday present ever!
by coffee_black ini'm sitting by the phone because my son and daughter in law will become parents any minute.
contractions are 1 minute apart, so it looks like bailey will be born today...on my birthday!
how kool is that!!!!!!!
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Panda
Great News! Welcome to Bailley and thank goodness that she isn't a borg and you can celebrate her b'days every year. Congratulations and enjoy every minute of her. Panda