What Keeps You Coming Back to RF?

[vulcanlogician]

Why do you think that is, given you are a nonbeliever? I am a believer and I am not that interested in religion nor do I find it fascinating.

Why do I need to be a believer?

I love Greek mythology. One of my faves is the myth of Arachnia. Do I think the myth explains anything factual about the origin of spiders? No.

I think the myth of Arachnia is very wrong about where spiders come from. But still, there is a ton of truth in that myth. The myth isn't so much about where spiders come from as it is about how petty powerful people can be.

Christianity, Hinduism, Islam... they all have the same thing going for them that Greek mythology has. They describe certain parts of reality that a purely factual account (sometimes) cannot. I'm fascinated by that.

But that doesn't mean I'm willing to believe any of it in the slightest. No.

Good ideas from religion sometimes. But religions tend to be rather careless with their factual statements.

Hence my disbelief. But I'm still fascinated.

If a religion says something true, I'll be the first to admit that I agree with that particular truth.

But the same goes for falsehoods.

Plus that, I like metaphor and allegory. And religion is chalk full of that.

 

[Heyo]

Why do you think that is, given you are a nonbeliever? I am a believer and I am not that interested in religion nor do I find it fascinating.

For you religion is just a normal thing, other people do it just like you do.
For me it is abnormal, a thing other people do that I don't understand. It is the extraordinary what fascinates us, not the mondaine.

 

[wandering peacefully]

I don't know anything about 5G, although I see all the commercials constantly on TV. I have xfinitymobile and an iPhone so I could have 5G if I wanted it. My new wannbe boyfriend lives on BLM-managed public land out of a vehicle and he charges his cell phone and his radio with a charger that uses the sun. That would not work here since there is no sun for most of the year, but he is down in the southwest corner of Utah where it is sunny most of the time.

I never run a vacuum so it makes no difference to me.

Thanks. I am having no gathering, it is just me myself and I, and the eight cats who are all sleeping right now.

No, my large gang of coons never returned, but there are a couple who still come around at night. I wonder if the rest are hibernating. It is really weird to look out on the deck in the daytime and see all the food and no raccoons.
During the summer the coons would knock the bird feeders down if they could reach them. Now I have hung them all out of reach.

Yes, the cats are my constant companions. So you will now have more than one?

No, I only had one cat that died several years ago. I figured I would never find another one as cool as he was and I didn't want to have to take care of a domesticated animal. I also can't stand cat litter and it would have to be an indoor cat because I know how many birds outdoor cats kill. I have a resident flock of around 500 various birds year round so that is out of the question. But they have since come up with all of these fancy, robotic litter boxes so I'm considering a cat again.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

I am obsessed with religion and find it endlessly fascinating.

I'd say something similar keeps me coming back, but it's examining how people think and why they believe the things they do. The religions are part of that. I've gotten a lot of data points over the years looking at the various kinds of believers and skeptics to get a better idea of how religion affects thought. I've gotten a clearer understanding of what faith and critical thinking are and how others understand them, and what I mean by spirituality, gods, the supernatural, religion and the like. I've discovered that I have more in common with the Dharmics and pagans than I previously thought, and that many people who call themselves polytheists and even monotheists are essentially the same as atheistic humanists in their worldview. I've become more focused on what it is I object to about some religions.

But religion is just part of the faith and epistemology survey. I look at the spectrum of Americans and non-Americans and how they think about things like vaccines, Trump, and global climate change - all issues with large faith-based contingents. This is where I use the phrase endlessly fascinating.

The religions and their doctrines (the things believers believe) don't interest me much, and unlike you, I must confess that I still find little value in myth. I learned from morality stories as a boy about boys crying wolf and chickens crying that the sky was falling, but at this stage of life, that's not how I learn or teach anybody teenaged or above. I don't know what most of the biblical myths are useful for teaching. What's the lesson in that flood myth, or the tower of Babel myth, or the story of Job? To me, they're perverse lessons, like the baby in a crib falling out of a tree, except that in these stories, everybody drowns or runs around unable to understand one another or a man is persecuted unjustly and for no apparent reason. Yet others call this stuff eternal truth and treasure it. I really don't know why, but it's been enlightening examining how people use that word truth.

So, this site is an opportunity for me to clarify and make my thoughts explicit to myself by writing them out. Also, they evolve as suggested above as result of that. And it's a chance to practice writing skills and to develop cogent arguments, not to mention practice evaluating the arguments of others and identifying and naming fallacies. And it's a pleasant environment and activity. You're pleasant and enjoyable to read.

 

[JustGeorge]

I have so many vacuum cleaners they are coming out of my ears. In fact, I have at least three or four brand new vacuum cleaners that have never been used, and they are still in their boxes.

That sounds really good. About half of the upstairs, which is the only part of the house that I use, is tile and the other half is carpet. When we first moved here the cats messed up the carpet so it is a lost cause, and I have it covered with carpet runners and throws I bought at Goodwill. I doubt it could ever be cleaned, even professionally.

Now that I think of it, we actually have three rugs. One in the puja room(cats are never allowed in), one in the dressing room(cats only come in when people are present), and one in the living room. All bets are off with the living room one. Though, surprisingly, the first one to pee on that rug was Ares... and no, it wasn't an accident...

My niece was babysitting him, and he got a hyper/naughty spurt out of nowhere... I think she was upset, and I told her I was, but the reason I gave her wasn't what she expected, so it made her laugh: "I am upset about it, yes. I wanted to be the first one to pee on the new rug!"

When we bought that rug, we bought a carpet shampooer, because we figured mess would be inevitable.

 

[Trailblazer]

When we bought that rug, we bought a carpet shampooer, because we figured mess would be inevitable.

Oh, and I forgot to mention how many carpet cleaning machines I have, and how many different cleaning solutions.
I took it all out and it's in the living room under the cat pole, but after what happened last summer I have pretty much given up on cleaning the carpet. I have to protect myself from getting depressed, so I cannot do anything that reminds me of the past. I know how to 'manage' grief and depression since I have had so much of it in my life.

If I ever get married again (ha, ha) the man can do that work. It was never my job before since I had so many other responsibilities, but the man of the house never did his assigned duties. One of the jobs Mike held for a long time was maintenance so if he came here (ha, ha) he could deal with it.

 

[JustGeorge]

Oh, and I forgot to mention how many carpet cleaning machines I have, and how many different cleaning solutions.
I took it all out and it's in the living room under the cat pole, but after what happened last summer I have pretty much given up on cleaning the carpet. I have to protect myself from getting depressed, so I cannot do anything that reminds me of the past. I know how to 'manage' grief and depression since I have had so much of it in my life.

If I ever get married again (ha, ha) the man can do that work. It was never my job before since I had so many other responsibilities, but the man of the house never did his assigned duties. One of the jobs Mike held for a long time was maintenance so if he came here (ha, ha) he could deal with it.

You better write that into any marriage contract...

 

[Trailblazer]

For you religion is just a normal thing, other people do it just like you do.
For me it is abnormal, a thing other people do that I don't understand. It is the extraordinary what fascinates us, not the mondaine.

The thing is, I am a Baha'i because I believe in God and Baha'u'llah, but that is about the extent of it. Religion is not a normal thing for me, and since I was not raised in any religion it has always felt foreign to me. I do not attend Baha'i activities such as Feasts, study groups, book clubs, or devotionals, and I do not engage in religious practices although I do say Baha'i prayers at times.

So for me religion is abnormal, a thing other people do that I don't understand.

 

[Trailblazer]

You better write that into any marriage contract...

It'll be there, especially if he wants any sex.

 

[Trailblazer]

I am obsessed with religion and find it endlessly fascinating.

I am obsessed with atheism and find it endlessly fascinating.
I suppose that's why I spent the better part of my time on forums for the last 10 years posting to atheists.

 

[Trailblazer]

I'd say something similar keeps me coming back, but it's examining how people think and why they believe the things they do. The religions are part of that.

I'd say something similar keeps me coming back, but it's examining how people think and why they disbelieve the things they do. The atheists are part of that, and I do not mean that in a bad way. I'm just curious.

 

[Trailblazer]

Why do I need to be a believer?

You don't. Nobody 'needs' to be a believer, they just are because they believe in God and sometimes a religion, although not all believers have a religion. Why people believe in God and religions varies by individual.

But that doesn't mean I'm willing to believe any of it in the slightest. No.

You either believe or you don't believe, you cannot make yourself believe in something you don't believe in, not anymore that I can make myself disbelieve in what I believe. My belief is about what makes sense to me, not some emotional thing, but I don't think that is true for every believer. We are all different just as all nonbelievers are different.

 

[Revoltingest]

I am obsessed with atheism and find it endlessly fascinating.
I suppose that's why I spent the better part of my time on forums for the last 10 years posting to atheists.

I find atheism really boring.
But its relationship with religions is interesting.

 

[Trailblazer]

I find atheism really boring.
But its relationship with religions is interesting.

Atheism might be boring but that does not mean that atheists are boring.

 

[Revoltingest]

Atheism might be boring but that does not mean that atheists are boring.

When talking about atheism we are.
But we make up for that by being pretty.

 

[Trailblazer]

When talking about atheism we are.

You don't believe that God exists. What else is there to talk about?

 

[Revoltingest]

You don't believe that God exists. What else is there to talk about?

See.
Booooooooring!

 

[John53]

You better write that into any marriage contract...

That avatar scares me!

 

[Trailblazer]

See.
Booooooooring!

and that's why us religious people have to pick up the slack and talk so much.

 

[JustGeorge]

That avatar scares me!

Why's that?