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  1. Penumbra

    Why does God need a creator?

    The post doesn't address deities at all. It's interesting that that is what you read from it. It was, instead, more of like a description of the universe as currently understood, along with some potential ideas, and why the argument I was responding to was not a valid contrast. Getting...
  2. Penumbra

    Why does God need a creator?

    The idea of a zero-energy universe doesn't answer all questions, but it's certainly an interesting topic for looking at ways for how something exists. It's an interesting direction to pursue, if one can determine that the whole universe actually balances out to zero. Besides, it had little to...
  3. Penumbra

    Why does God need a creator?

    Is the universe really trillions of things? All matter can be converted into energy. And the expansion of the universe has evidence for the universe once being a singularity, with even the fabric of spacetime itself having expanded. Plus, there are reasonable suggestions that this could be...
  4. Penumbra

    Why does God need a creator?

    An argument is different from a definition. To say that spirit can do X but other things cannot do X, without basis, is not an argument. It lacks a persuasive element. What it is, instead, is just a definition, a usage of semantics, that doesn't provide content. It's a matter of defining...
  5. Penumbra

    Same-sex marriage races ahead

    It's similar to the difference between a white restroom and a colored restroom. Supposedly separate but equal, yet often not equal, and an entirely unnecessary division anyway.
  6. Penumbra

    Leaving liberal religion

    There seems to be a theme there of linking things together that do not necessarily have to be linked. For example, many Unitarian Universalists are atheists/humanists/agnostics, etc. Not all UUs believe that something is, "out there". Many do, some don't. Considering that UU for the most...
  7. Penumbra

    Why does God need a creator?

    That's a non-argument. For that to become an argument, you'd have to explain, in detail, why a spirit can have always existed, but why other things cannot have always existed. What unique properties of a spirit allow it to have always existed, in comparison to other things?
  8. Penumbra

    Why does God need a creator?

    Usually the argument of god needing a creator is a reactionary one, and is most meaningful in the context that it is usually made. It's usually made in response to the idea that the universe requires a creator. Some people argue that the universe is too complex or too specific to have...
  9. Penumbra

    Respect to Women in the US

    Well this is from wikipedia, but the article does list 238 references: Red = "marital rape is criminalized" Orange = "marital rape is a form of non-criminal domestic violence" Black = "marital rape is known not to be criminalized" Marital Rape. The majority of rapes that occur in...
  10. Penumbra

    Responsibility without freewill

    Sometimes things evolve not because they're required, but because they're more efficient than other methods.
  11. Penumbra

    Responsibility without freewill

    Depends what the purpose of punishment is. If a pet dog viciously bites someone, something has to be done about the dog to keep it away from people. We don't blame the dog, though. Still, there may be consequences for the dog. Punishment can be rehabilitative. It can correct...
  12. Penumbra

    Responsibility without freewill

    I think it's the right word. As for beneficial illusions, I think in some ways, almost everything is illusionary to some extent. By that I mean, the brain filters much of reality in order for the small remaining part to be useful. Right? For example in terms of vision, we don't see...
  13. Penumbra

    Unrelenting misery

    I'm sorry to hear that about your father in law. My father died in 2013, and for the last few years, he was also in misery. Surgery after surgery, medicine after medicine, all to fix him, and he was very uncomfortable. He was accepting of death, but also rather impressively able to deal...
  14. Penumbra

    Responsibility without freewill

    Free will, I think, is a fairly important illusion. We seem to have evolved with the predisposition to view other people as moral agents. It's a cultural universal, as far as I know. And it's hard to function otherwise. Religion itself may be the predisposition to personify forces of nature...
  15. Penumbra

    Love test.

    If I had a partner that was polyamorous or interested in an open relationship, I'd be willing to listen to their viewpoints and understand their reasons and work with them to make sure they are satisfied.
  16. Penumbra

    Am I the only one who finds Slavery to be "beautiful"?

    Seems to me there's a big difference between consensual BDSM that some people do, and the actual practice of non-consensual slavery. Either way I don't really get the appeal, but viewing the latter from the romanticized viewpoint of the former, is not accurate, I'm sure.
  17. Penumbra

    Why Don't The Progressives Care About the Injustices Toward Arabs from Arab Governments?

    I've openly criticized Islam itself and Arab cultures in regards to status of women and other social issues, both on this forum and elsewhere. Are you sure you're not just seeing what you want to see, with regards to progressives? Can you clarify?
  18. Penumbra

    do you salt your fruit?

    Never.
  19. Penumbra

    A same-sex kiss

    I have generally had little interest in kissing people I'm not intimate with, but as far as gender itself goes, I have no problem kissing either gender. I'm attracted to men and simply not attracted to other women, rather than like, repulsed by other women.
  20. Penumbra

    Do We Find Faith/Religion Or Does It Find Us?

    I started out as an agnostic theist and intended to go in the direction of further religiosity and after researching a lot to do that, I quickly ended up going in the opposite direction towards non-theism, which was not my original intention. Then for the next decade and counting I've been more...
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