Sunday School

I think Saturn is really the perfect proof of the flying spaghetti monster. Not only is Saturn in the shape of a meatball but it is surrounded by millions of strands of pasta in the shape of rings (the holy spirit of the infinite grace of the FSM). I mean what…do meatball shaped planets and pasta rings just naturally form all by themselves?

Just because it’s Sunday School day:

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:

What constitutes a flourishing human life?

The argument of the author, Hrishikesh Joshi, that flourishing lies in human reasoning, and that speaking our minds allows for greater reasoning, and therefore flourishing – is neat.  But I don’t buy the angle that flourishing lies (only) in greater reasoning abilities.  I…[Read more]

Thanks, Reg!

Have a great week!!

Reg,

All of these–sectarian warfare and terrorism, self-mutilation, slow killing of cattle not even for food but evidently for “kicks,” and live crucifixions–are all traditions not worth conserving.

@TheEncogitationer – I would basically agree with what you say. One word I listen out for is “Traditional”.  I have heard people claim not to be right leaning or even to be liberals while at the same time telling me that we must hold on to “traditional family values”.

** the links I have inserted below show scenes of blood, cruelty to animals…[Read more]

Reg and Fellow Unbelievers,

Whenever I hear the words “Conservative” or “Progressive,” I always have to ask: “What are you wanting to conserve?” and “What are you progressing towards?”

If someone wants to conserve the ideals of The Enlightenment, such as Reason, Science, Secularism, Exploration of the Earth and of the Natural Universe,…[Read more]

RE: Progressophobia

Yeah, not afraid to admit there has been progress but in reality, oftentimes it seems like the US is actually in shambles.

Bill Maher on Progressophobia.

It’s a rare thing that I agree with Maher to that extent.

For me, I have to spend time focusing on how things have gotten better. I grew up learning how to avoid or deal with all of the things that were still bad. The survival instincts I developed from childhood are geared toward that—navigating potential harm. So…[Read more]

“We should all be able to echo the words of Voltaire and say “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”.

I am unlikely to say that.

i) I find it’s one of those overly romanticized views that doesn’t stack up well in reality. The idea of nobly sacrificing oneself in some sort of 19th century resistance mov…[Read more]

Reg,

I’ve heard the title, but haven’t seen it.  Since you recommend it, I’ll have to check it out sometime.

Thanks, Reg!!!

Have a great week everyone!

@TheEncogitationer – Thanks for those selections. I have only seen Defiance (twice).

Have you seen Life is Beautiful? I think it is a great movie.

Reg and Fellow Unbelievers,

If you derive inspiration from the story of Faye Schulman, there are six movies out there that you will absolutely treasure.  They need to be in a six-pack boxed set for all who still use DVDs and the set should be called:

Chutzpah!: Nice Little Jewish Boys and Girls (And Friends) Fight Back, Vie For Justice, And…[Read more]

I don’t call them cyber-criminals or hackers. They are terrorists. They should be hunted down like terrorists. If it means launching a tactical drone strike on a house in eastern Europe then do it. Damaging the industrial and commercial systems of another country is potentially an act of war. Holding the databases of the national health s…

[Read more]

Fellow Unbelievers,

Kindest and highest thoughts on this D-Day for all those on this day in 1944 who fought, bled, and died on the shores of Normandy and beyond.  .

They did all this so that the tyranny of Nazi Totalitarianism could be first routed then driven back until it no longer occupied a square inch of dirt on the face of the Earth and…[Read more]

I don’t call them cyber-criminals or hackers. They are terrorists. They should be hunted down like terrorists. If it means launching a tactical drone strike on a house in eastern Europe then do it. Damaging the industrial and commercial systems of another country is potentially an act of war. Holding the databases of the national health service t…[Read more]

Consciousness, to my mind, is properly understood as an epiphenomenon of the brain. Like a rainbow, it happens given sufficient conditions, in the case of consciousness, in a brain. I grant I may be proven wrong someday, but I doubt we’ll ever get much further than that.

Ironically (distressingly?), similar sufficiencies may end up being possible…[Read more]