I used
to have this saying when I was practicing my religion. "I believe I will have another". My place of worship was the nearest bar.
Now it is
"Praise be the Flying Spaghetti Monster"
Most people use their beliefs to dictate and then retroactively justify their behavior. You can claim it's just a vocal minority of those who are hypocritical or using religion in bad faith, but those "good ones" do little to eliminate it from their ranks often making excuses for them themselves.
The inherent contradictions of most major belief systems, particularly, the monotheistic/Abrahamic ones indefinitely lead to the teachings being used for the purpose of power and control. Peace and love is an option when the teachings also include war and violence against non-believers.
This makes everything subject to individual interpretation, but these things aren't interpreted individually by design, they interpreted by chosen leaders to the masses and those leaders by default will often not be using their power to the best intentions. Thus the problem with organized religion.
Exactly - recent family gatherings have necessitated no discussion or quiet secretive ones. I'm enthusiastic in my support and participation in marches against this regime, but unable to talk about our country's demise with beloved family.
"We keep on being told that religion, whatever its imperfections, at least instills morality. On every side, there is conclusive evidence that the contrary is the case and that faith causes people to be more mean, more selfish, and perhaps above all, more stupid."
I literally have this version of COEXIST tattooed in rainbow colors across my chest. It wasn't comment worthy in Colorado, but it will make people change aisles at the grocery store here in Louisiana.
Principles, values, morals, are the foundation for beliefs, belief's determine ones behavior do they not?
Do beliefs come from a religion or an inner compass of right and wrong?
Look at this list of countries which REFUSED TO CONDEMN RUSSIAN NAZI FUHRER AND WAR CRIMINAL VLADIMIR PUTIN'S UNPROVOKED INVASION OF UKRAINE IN A VOTE AT THE UN. A true AXIS OF EVIL!
Back when I first started this internet thingy and chatting to random strangers, in the early days of Twitter, I got asked (by an American) how, as an Atheist, I knew how to not be a bad person when I had no god to tell me...
Better get rid of all religions, they do not bring any good, on the contrary, they bring divide, suppressing women, and the absurd and dangerous idea that man is above nature.
True, but that is ‘belief’, one can believe in an afterlife and that can give hope. But I really think that it is more rewarding to see that all life is connected and that we are part of a bigger thing, called nature, in which our function is to enjoy and contribute, just like any animal or plant.
aw, thats sweet, ill be ok tho i hope.. like i understand being against the actions of our government (im against it too) but some people take things too far..
I believe that the fact that we hurt each other make is strong. When somebody hurts you have a time to thing about it, it is like a signal that asks you to ask yourself if you were doing correct stuff or not
Sorry, with what has occurred since January 20th with all due respect we are way past the point of "coexisting"...
You seem to have missed it - these sons of bitches want us to forcibly accept their removal of constitutional protections - or kill us...
a trumpster family member recently posted the Coexist meme on fb after a long denunciation of the libs in her life shunning her hardline politics and telling us we need to accept who won in 2024 smh...
All religion is deliberate fraud & harmful to both individuals & to society; it is not benign. It is the assumption that it does no harm, and some good, that people use for a reason to be tolerant of it. But we can no longer afford all of the harm & danger that it causes. We must expose it as fraud.
SOME Dems, yes. Some are "Corporate Dems". There are also other kinds. We have a two party system that we cannot escape or replace anytime soon. So, logically, we have to work from within the one party that reflects & represents our best interests, and which is the more intelligent, pro-science.
The deliberate erosion of education by the GOP has happened under the watch of the Dems. The Dems block progress while the GOP pulls us toward feudalism. The Dems pass pro-corporate legislation while the GOP repeals economic regulations.
All attempts to regulate capitalism have only served as speedbumps on the road to oligarchy. This is the inevitable result of pretending there's any difference between economic power and political power.
Neoliberalism has failed.
We need a democratic economy. We need Democratic Socialism.
I agree that we need to make the Democratic Party that we have into a Democratic Socialism. We need a new & better system, but it has to come by making a change from within what we already have by changing what it is about. That will take people having a much better education that's continuous.
The Dem Party will become a Dem Socialist Party when pigs fly. Both party apparatuses are bought and paid for by billionaires. That’s why there is no coherent, unified response from Dems to the radical right lunatics.
The wealthy on both sides have one goal - protecting and hoarding more wealthy.
While I agree with you on this, I still see the 10 commandments as the only law necessary for a civil society. Governments that write contradictory laws are anti-society. God resides within, we are our own creator.
We are earth, air, water and fire. Unfortunately some chose to be the devil.
The 10 Commandments & laws given by ancient rulers were for THEIR benefit, not for the benefit of the masses. Those rulers had their own laws, rules & duties for life within their own private society. They wanted to keep US down, in line, and easy to control. There are better things like this:
Religion is a mental health issue. Ancient rulers created organized religion as psychological warfare to better control & manipulate the masses with. Today, it is still used for that. We CAN and MUST defuse it through education.
This is silly…do you truly believe if the Ten Commandments didn’t exist you would run around doing murder?
If your answer is ‘yes’ there’s a lot about your moral character you may want to take a closet look at.
Religion (religion still with us today, organized religion), was created by ancient rulers for their own benefit & was made to divide us. It was used by them to better control & manipulate the masses with, as well as to gain wealth & retain power. They honed it & made it into psychological warfare.
1 John 4:20, which states, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' but hates his brother, he is a liar. For whoever does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen."
Where's the pentagram or unicursal hexagram? Those two actually promote individuality and tolerance. The rest just keep vying for world domination to fleecing the blind.
You do realize that the tenets of Islam renders it incompatible with all other beliefs systems and therefore makes your dream of coexistence impossible.
They have twisted the narrative of religion so many times, to fit their agenda! They are easily compromised. It has rotted their brains, no better than zombies.
I think it's continual pendulum swing between the two sides of human nature, fear and exploration. Fear is winning at the moment, but it won't forever because people get sick of fear. Just a shame that things are shit in the fear stage and that progressive people have to wait.
One of these things is not like the others
One of these things doesn't belong
Can you tell which thing is not like the other
By the time we finish our song?
Did you guess which thing doesn't belong?
If you guessed this thing is not like the others
Then you're absolutely right.
Religion is a weapon of mass destruction, you see it all around the world every day. It’s being used in America. Evil people manipulate it for their benefit, the followers must have someone to believe in. Thus the results, war, genocide, famine, disease. The world would be much better without.
How then do you explain that the absolutely worst regimes of last century were those who rejected religion most loudly like Stalin Soviet and Maos China?
In peace and hatred. Sure. None of the mega church are going to punch me in the face but the majority of them believe that I will burn forever in screaming agony for being gay even if I am Christian for a lot of them.
I am in “the woke religion” actually according to them.
yes but also humans are to dumb to live without moral structure and some semblance of sense - if they dont believe in a god they'll start believing in worse shit
yes, it is how you treat people, have manners and respect for others and treat others like you want them to treat you. I don’t know where all this hate came from, but it started with Trump and it needs to end.I don’t remember this country being so hateful before him.Yes, there was hate not like this
Pic gravely misleading, religion is all about dick measuring supremacism. Only secularism guarantees co-existence. Ie a society where those symbols are rendered meaningless.
Wake up every day to
more shit! It will only end with a general strike by millions.
Seems Americans are so lazy and self satisfied that fail to meet the moment. Lose democracy? Oh yeah.
In a different comment I mentioned that bad beliefs are what lead to bad behavior. I just don't think people should completely discount the influence of beliefs on behavior. People who don't have a good and thoughtful appreciation for those who are different end up hurting those who are different.
I have no idea what you just said or what you mean. I think most people who see a quote like the one on the OP will almost discount beliefs effect on behavior, and will also think that there has to be a certain way of belief to match their modernist world view.
Always, actually. It's a matter of psychological fact. For example, if you Believe you are in danger, you will try to protect yourself. This basic behavioral science has been used to manipulate the religious for centuries, including myself when I was growing up.
Seems like an oversimplification that does not account for nuance, subconscious beliefs, insecurities, or rebellion. I, for one, have acted contrary to my beliefs on some occasions.
All of those are different varieties of beliefs, actually. "Beliefs" do not merely describe personal convictions or holistic views. Beliefs can change moment by moment and can be very specific or broad, internal or external. Beliefs are the easiest thing to change.
Except in social scenarios, where groupthink and groupshift can make you behave in a way contradictory to your beliefs, or in matters of cognitive dissonance, where your beliefs and actions don't align, or in cults, where beliefs and actions can directly contradict and still retain followers...
Like, in the example you gave, "belief" is defined as "that which you are convinced of," but a belief can also be something people can "be convinced they are convinced of" but not necessarily act upon. One example is all of those "I believe the bible" folks who act like they've never heard of it.
Perhaps most of the time, but not always. You behave based on how and what you think. It's bad beliefs that's lead to bad behavior. This is a philosophical discussion that can go on for days.
You might claim that "you love your neighbor" but your behavior might be more along the lines of "I love my neighbor" with the unspoken part of "as long as they look like, act like, talk like, have the same income, and worship the same way as I do".
The thing is your beliefs drive your behavior. If your behavior doesn't line up with what you say you believe - you don't at your core believe what you say you believe. You don't "value" what you proclaim to "value".
If you're gonna hate anyone, it should be because of their actions and choices rather than their immutable characteristics like skin color or sexuality.
"hate" doing a lot of lifting here..... Unlike the groups listing, we actually do just disagree with them. While those listed go out of their way to bully and ostracize others due to hate, not disagreement. Hope this helps
To a point. Being a silent Nazi is still a dangerous person, and we shouldn't just ignore that. The loud and violent Nazis shouldn't be tolerated. Murderers and child molesters are the same way.
Without religious tolerance, you can't freely exchange ideas which challenge a person's belief system. Doctrine becomes stagnant and science become heretical.
The Republicans in the House and Senate, Trump’s cabinet & including Trump and his family are all corrupt to the bone and should all be ashamed of themselves. These are not normal people!
I remember when the U.S. versions of Christianity followed these and other moral principles instead of beating and kidnapping people in your own country. Golden Calf Christians practice the philosophy of cruelty, hatred and selfish exclusion. FYI, this is NOT Jesus' way.
The KKK is a Christian group. The Bible says to love your neighbor, but it also outlines how to own them. It has some horrific actions by god. I’m glad it isn’t plausible.
Like before 1865? When the church fully endorsed chattel slavery? Was that when Christian’s had principles, the good old days?
Christians have lost power for centuries. And life has gotten better as a result.
We can pick many, many, many points in our past where someone who thot they were doing right, did wrong. While I agree Christianity has many ugly past episodes, to focus on what is possible in the future seems more fun to me. It's not only religious histories that have ugly pasts, ya;ll
So when was this glorious moral path that Christians followed?
I’m looking through history, and all I can find is rape pillage and murder so far.
A little help?
No one can "help" you have a sane view of history. If rape, pillage and murder is ALL you see in religion's past you're right, there is nothing for you in this world.
Try looking at histories in a little more detail, and stop trying to make your argument by accusing me of saying something I didn't.
Do not lump all Christians in with those crazy Christian zealots. Different violent times in history! Very violent! Idiots R still hiding behind The Bible! Bad people R everywhere! There R good loving people that follow the teachings of Jesus and strive to be decent, respectful & caring to others!
That didn’t address my question.
When was this glorious christian era? When the church wasn’t a machine for terror?
Given that’s the case, why would anybody want to be a part of that?
Sure, some German Nazis were probably decent too. Does that mean nazism isn’t a bad idea?
Your behavior comes from your beliefs. You act out what you believe. As a Christian it appalls me that so many of my fellow believers are acting contrary to the basic standards of our faith, and choosing the most callous and bigoted interpretations. They don’t believe basic Christian beliefs.
James 2:14-16: “What good is it if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.If one of you says to them, “Go in peace;keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs,what good is it?”
Just about all religions preach that we should treat people with kindness and decency. It's too bad that way too many so-called believers are hypocrites who fixate on some small detail in their scripture so they have an excuse to hate whoever they don't like. 😑🤦♂️
In the meantime please call your senators and demand that they stop the big beautiful bill which will kill millions of people in the United States bye stripping Medicaid and Medicare and giving Trump absolute power and power to overrule judges come on giving musk a free pass for the golden canopy
How about we change that up since it’s been around for ever and it’s not working….. I’m thinking just keep your shit to yourself. I feel that that would help us get along.
OPs point is that believing that doesn't make you a good person unless you act on it. If you hate nazis but are complicit in their crimes you hating nazis doesn't do much toward making you a better person.
Behavior by the violent political party shows what kind of people follow that party. Murdering 2 Jewish people and vandalizing and burning buildings and vehicles also shows what kind of people they are.
For those of you who has never been to a protest, the time to start participating in demonstrations is NOW. There is no other way. Phone calls to Congresspersons isn't going to cut it. Posting on bluesky isn't going to cut it. June 14th, NO KINGS rallies will be nationwide. PROTEST, or acquiecse.
These people just mindlessly repeat what they heard at young atheists debate club or something.
If they ever stopped to think they'd realize that the worst regimes of last century were the ones that rejected religion most loudly like Soviet from the beginning in 1922 and China from 1949.
You're talking about regimes being against religion being the worst. You have to narrowly qualify that to make it fit and then come up with excuses for the ones that were loudly religious.
The current US regime is heavily endorsed by Christians and is working very hard to be as vile as possible.
Personal god religions create in groups and out groups. You may not follow the slavery and genocidal parts of your religious texts, but they still exist. The god of the Bible had children mauled by bears for a minor infraction. Also faith tends to damage scientific understanding.
A number of close friends of mine have lost jobs over the last few years because someone realized they were Christians and started campaigning to their customers.
In this case it is non believers that create this situation.
As for faith tending to damage scientific understanding, tell that to Georges Lemaître (yes, the Catholic guy who first proposed big bang and who initially had his theories rejected by the mainstream science community because they did not like the idea of a creation : )
That can happen when you are part of a religion that has texts of the god commanding his people to kill nonbelievers. He even flooded the world. Acting dead for 3 days doesn’t fix that.
It's important to coexist when you can, however - don't tolerate the people that want you dead for being who and what you are - that's how we got all these damned Nazis.
Sounds good on the surface, respecting others' beliefs and all. But at some point, you have to realize that putting up with delusional social constructs is destructive to reality and society in general.
Our nation's founders realized this with a strict separation of church and state.
You can protest all you want. They don't care. Gandhi had the Indian National Army, MLK had Malcolm X. If your speech is the only option then no one cares. If there's no "Or else" implicit in your speech, then they really don't have anything to worry about, do they?
His damage to the brand with continued association with Tesla is only going to get worse. He left government because he was coming up against the 130 day limit of the "special government Employee" classification. He wasn't allowed to stay any longer. The Tesla boycott was a handy excuse.
Faith is believing in something for no good reason. Religion is the rejection of the observable world in favor of a narcassistic fantasy where you are the beloved creation of the universe.
Religion is more of a set of practices to provide comfort and perceived order and structure in an otherwise complex and chaotic universe. You are definitely not the beloved creation of the universe in Hinduism or Buddhism, for instance.
Science (and engineering) supports neither Noah's Arc nor the flood. Flood myths are common in ancient mythology, possibly starting with the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh from nearly five millenia ago. Genesis was written, or rather "compiled", over a long period of time and much later.
It depends. What exactly were the right-wing bumper stickers? Something pro-gun or pro-police wouldn't necessarily be contradictory. But something pro-Confederacy would be.
They took some liberties with the 'Coexist' symbols, really. The male/female/hermaphroditic symbol isn't an 'E', and there's no 'S' in the yin/yang symbol. Not sure what the 'I' in 'Coexist' stands for...?
That said, that's not the point of the 'Science' logo.
Much.
Better to ask people to grasp reality and share a common understanding of the world that actually works than to ask people with contradictory descriptions of "the one true way" to try to be nice to each other.
A secular society and government with a godless constitution. If people insist on holding onto religion, that's fine. But, no federal money or laws to advance their interests or ideas.
Comments
to have this saying when I was practicing my religion. "I believe I will have another". My place of worship was the nearest bar.
Now it is
"Praise be the Flying Spaghetti Monster"
Which god is the good god?
Looking at the books seems to have a lot of evil shit in most of them, fully supported and endorsed by the "Word" of the originators.
That all being said, shit people can take excerpts from any book to "prove" they are right.
Mind that detail.
~Christopher Hitchens
Do beliefs come from a religion or an inner compass of right and wrong?
We are down to 32% of the country... Consider 68% didn't vote for Trux.
I'm an atheist but I've seen it. People get a lot of good out of religion. Sometimes it's bad, but not always.
Same for ANY fandom. Religion is simply a belief for how the world works. You're arguing for no one to believe in anything.
I personally find no solice in religion or connection. Being part of something bigger brings me no peace.
Everyone has different needs. Sometimes religion is necessary.
A delusion is believing something despite it being proven false. There's no way to prove religion as false.
Hearing voices and seeing spirits or thinking you have powers believing they are real is a delusion.
Religion, specifically Abrahamic. . . Is not sustainable for the world.
They want to take our rights away, and if they open such a can of worms they should be prepared to lose their rights to religion.
You seem to have missed it - these sons of bitches want us to forcibly accept their removal of constitutional protections - or kill us...
You understand that religion is thought control, and so I urge you to consider that the Dems are just as guilty as the GOP at enabling the plutocracy.
Neoliberalism has failed.
We need a democratic economy. We need Democratic Socialism.
The wealthy on both sides have one goal - protecting and hoarding more wealthy.
We are earth, air, water and fire. Unfortunately some chose to be the devil.
22 Unique Traits Of Religious People
https://www.academia.edu/98605644/Unique_Traits_Of_Religious_People
If your answer is ‘yes’ there’s a lot about your moral character you may want to take a closet look at.
I am indeed superior and epic 😎 ❤️ 👍
had magical meaning tied to word "better"
needed correction, none available
same same
True love for 'God' should be demonstrated through concrete acts of kindness, service, and compassion rather than just being spoken about.
If a person claims to love God but hates their fellow human:
📍... they are considered a liar📍, as they cannot genuinely love God if they do not extend love to those around them.
This...💕
In order to change your behaviours, you need to challenge your beliefs - they are not inseparable.
“Ah, on what little things does happiness depend!” to quote Oscar Wilde.
One of these things doesn't belong
Can you tell which thing is not like the other
By the time we finish our song?
Did you guess which thing doesn't belong?
If you guessed this thing is not like the others
Then you're absolutely right.
Allahu?
It was about religion.
I am in “the woke religion” actually according to them.
like 80% anyways.
Christians claiming they don't accept anybody else.
That speaks volumes about their religion.
more shit! It will only end with a general strike by millions.
Seems Americans are so lazy and self satisfied that fail to meet the moment. Lose democracy? Oh yeah.
https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/53587
Religious fundamentalism operates with the opposite mentality: your beliefs make you good no matter your actions.
I will not happily get along with overt, PROUD bigots just because some of them might be nice.
I've been saying two things for years:
1. Donald Trump might actually win. (Why? Because the other side kept helping him more than he managed to self sabotage.)
2. He is absolutely not a good guy or anything any Christian should look up to. (Why? Because I have read my Bible.)
Christians have lost power for centuries. And life has gotten better as a result.
I’m looking through history, and all I can find is rape pillage and murder so far.
A little help?
Try looking at histories in a little more detail, and stop trying to make your argument by accusing me of saying something I didn't.
Why is a simple question so difficult to address?
When was this glorious christian era? When the church wasn’t a machine for terror?
Given that’s the case, why would anybody want to be a part of that?
Sure, some German Nazis were probably decent too. Does that mean nazism isn’t a bad idea?
Unless it’s intentional.
Believing untruths definitely does not make one better.
So, basically, to punch a nazi is better than not doing it.
Actions speak louder than words
Superstition ain't the way…..
These people just mindlessly repeat what they heard at young atheists debate club or something.
If they ever stopped to think they'd realize that the worst regimes of last century were the ones that rejected religion most loudly like Soviet from the beginning in 1922 and China from 1949.
Judge people by what they do, not what they say or write. See also every country with "democratic" or "peoples" in the name.
The current US regime is heavily endorsed by Christians and is working very hard to be as vile as possible.
A number of close friends of mine have lost jobs over the last few years because someone realized they were Christians and started campaigning to their customers.
In this case it is non believers that create this situation.
2. Prove it.
2. Ever seen Avengers?
As expected.
Our nation's founders realized this with a strict separation of church and state.
👏🏻 Can we be friends? Cuz I think this is love at first sight hahahaha
As an atheist, you can choose what to believe based on what you think makes sense.
Science has no idea where the BB came from and neither do you. :/
The boat full of animals is likely a work of fiction but it is based on scientific fact.
Religion obviously wont be 100% accurate. But neither is science. The Earth was flat not long ago according to the world's best scientists. 💀
Mean Diddley
If Your
Actions don't
Match !
#ActionsTellYourTrueStory
That said, that's not the point of the 'Science' logo.
Better to ask people to grasp reality and share a common understanding of the world that actually works than to ask people with contradictory descriptions of "the one true way" to try to be nice to each other.
I want to trust them but I can’t.