fredwiggy

Everyone's opinions are valid. Some aren't true. Trying to call me ignorant when you have no evidence of anything besides a Creator is foolish as well. What knowledge does anyone have that there isn't a God? None whatsoever. Just their opinions. Like I said, better to keep your opinions to yourself so they don't hurt anyone. If you believe that everything came to be from something outside of a Creator, that's your deal, along with some others. You won't convince the billions of believers to change to your side so again, why bother?

I ignore those who are mentally ill, toxic people who use their narcissism to control others. No one can control you if you don't let them, at least after realizing they are trying to.

But you can't stay over night when you really need comfort, unless you hide behind some boxes.

And I say anyone that believes the universe, which is composed of matter, came into being from a big bang that just happened by itself, is out there also.

Warped is a parent that doesn't teach their children positive things. Teaching them about God isn't hurting them in any way and gives them hope. What would happen if there turned out to be no God? Did they waste their time being good people? Where is any loss ? Of fun? Living a positive, helpful, loving life and having God in it doesn't subtract anything. I'm not afraid of God, as I know I, and everyone else, will meet him someday. Hopefully I'll be prepared. I don't condemn anyone. Not my job. Only my job to spread the word. It's up to others what they want to do with that information. I live near Cambodia also. My belief is more valid because I believe in God, and with that I believe there's a forever in heaven. If you don't believe in God, how is there a heaven? Who created heaven if not God. They believe in an afterlife, enlightenment. What is that if it doesn't have a heaven? And where I live there are Christians, both foreigners and some Thais. My ex's sister is a Christian. And what would you be curing me of? A faith in God? What's the cure? Believing that we all came to be from nothing? From a big bang that created all of life, all the species, all the planets and that life just happens to have all it needs on earth?I think I'll stick with what makes more sense.

Christianity looks at women as equals. Believers see all of creation as miracles, and it's strange to me, and millions of others, that some think all of creation just happened by chance, which is impossible. That's our proof, and it's all we need to believe there's a creator. Like I said, it's best to keep your beliefs to yourself, as trying to turn people away from God is usually fruitless, and a complete waste of your time anyway. Why bother?

Expats, no problem, as we can afford it ,but I meant the locals. I stayed at my ex's mom's house while the house was being built, a few months. I didn't like it but it was okay, just as staying at my girlfriend's house is now. Just a fan. When it gets cool here, she says it's cold. I'm from New Jersey, and I told her this country never gets cold, only cooler.

It's been in hell since time began , and where is it not still there, although western influence is helping the younger generation fight for more freedom? Remember in Buddhism, women are still looked at as inferior. This means millions of women, as in all male dominated societies, which is still caveman thinking. Thai culture values serenity and no displays of public anger, but daily we see this isn't so. It's a good way to think but actually practicing it is a losing battle. If they stood by their Buddhist beliefs as far as serenity, it would be fine, but people still are people, all with anger inside, and keeping it under wraps? When I see people daily chasing one another down the road armed with whatever, it doesn't appear to be serenity in practice, and when they hit others and pay them off, it opens the door to more violence, because if all we get is a small fine if we say we're sorry with a wai, we know we can do it again and again and get the same result.

I'm afraid of very little besides the fact some here would shoot you for absolutely nothing but a harsh look, something I never experienced in 62 years back home. They will gang up on you 5 against 1, armed with sticks and machetes, also something that only happens in gang against gang back home. There are ultra violent people all over this country, and many have no thoughts about what comes next, as life doesn't mean as much here as it does outside. In all my life, I have never seen so much in daily news about the cowardly attacks that go on here daily. Of course America has a lot of crime, but it's usually gang related or mass shootings, which will increase here, as it seems to be a competition for insanity.

I wouldn't say a million. Maybe 3 or 4, but the negatives far outweigh the positives. Leave out girls that will go with an older man, albeit for his money, the cheaper living conditions and travel expenses (public), and fresh mango, and there isn't many more.

This is okay in general, but a lot let others get away with a lot of damage and use that saying. It doesn't work for a lot of things even though it's the go to phrase of most. It's why it's still behind the times here.

True for us foreigners and well off locals, but there are millions here that can't afford the bills from A/C use, let alone the units themselves. In my village I actually can't recall seeing any AC units in the 6 years I've lived here, and in my travels, most of the homes I see don't have any, although many do. My GF and her family do not have any, and when I told her I would get her one, she said the bill would be too high, even after I said I would give her more to cover it. they're used to living with fans all of their lives. My ex's house (mom's) is the same. Just fans since I met them.

Pad Krapow Gai is very tasty.

Explains what? Didn't you read after those words?

What is irrational to you makes perfect sense to us. Thinking the universe just came to be from no creation makes no sense. It still shows in our thinking of the miracles that we see everyday here, which to us come from a creator. Our "proof" makes more sense than yours and others that think as you do. Buddhists don't believe in God, or actually most don't, so that keeps them away from Gods paradise. No false gods is one of the commandments which makes sense also.

I don't see anyone taking months off but see them there almost daily doing something. Of course there are the rice farmers who plant, wait then harvest, but they do have to weed, fertilize, among other plantings, and around the house work involving farming. Whatever they do, it's outside where it's uncomfortable most of the year, besides rainy season, where it's still uncomfortable besides being a tad cooler but more humid. Many foreigners stay inside most of the day, either at home or in a bar, with air conditioning, so they don't see it. My ex mother in law is here at this part of the farm, where my house is, at least 5 days a week doing something. It does come with times spent doing nothing, but when they work, it's pretty hard.

The most important thing a child can learn is who to trust, and who not to. This is learned from 0-5, and enforced from then on. There are many child molesters and most aren't believers in God, because they know it's against his laws. That Catholic priests do this is an abomination, and of course againt what God says. There are also many millions who believe in the one God. many have been killed by extremists that use religion as a crutch, and they're of course wrong, because all religions are against killing. That there is life after death comes from faith in God's teachings. You can choose to believe otherwise and you will see when you die. Trying to convince others that there is no God is a total waste of your time. If you are wrong and you succeed you are helping them enter hell. If you are right it doesn't matter, so it' s still a waste of your time. You don't lose anything believing in God. In fact, you are more likely to follow his rules, which , besides the ones regarding him, make complete sense.

If there is an entity that can make a universe from his mind, I'm sure he's capable of most anything. Some don't realize just what goes into the creation of just the human brain, let alone how all life has what it needs here, as far as air, water and food, all the different species that exist here, how the earth is just the right distance from the sun to sustain life, how the moon works for the earth, and many other things that are miracles themselves. They believe all this happened by chance, a universe created when nothing existed, meaning any type of matter. That's plain ridiculous and impossible, but they have people they follow they trust, which sways them from the real story of God.

Like I mentioned in another's post, a bad experience in formative years can turn a person away from God. If someone tries to force God down your throat, you might resist. If they tell you believing will protect you in Vietnam, that probably won't happen, because war is not a normal circumstance and with free will, people will kill each other for all kinds of ridiculous reasons, religion being one of them. God might save people here and there, as miracles do seem to still happen, but for the most part, he's left us to do what we want, and by not following his rules, look at what's happened to the world since Jesus left. There will always be "reports" saying Jesus and God aren't real, for all the same reasons. Hatred towards the people who taught them about God, which lead to "why should I if he acts that way"? I was raised in a Catholic family, with a very loving mom and a stern dad that provided. I eventually was born again into just a Christian attitude, seeing Catholicism as okay in a lot of ways but with money being too involved, and praying to people besides Jesus and God doesn't help. Again, how you were raised from birth to pre teen is everything as far as the life's learning process.

The reason children are "brainwashed" at an early age to believe in God, which is actually the most important thing they can learn, is because children are at an age where they will believe what their caretakers say, because they are feeding, holding, hugging and helping them. 0-5 are the most important years of a person's life, and those years afterward enforce whet they have learned before. This is also the reason so many turn away from God. It's also learned at a very young age, by parents who were abusive, spoliers and neglective. This force feeding by parents who were not acting like parents, and who their children trusted, made anything about God bad. If a child is never taught about God, in a loving setting, they will have to learn from the world,which is filled with disturbed people who are taught hate and if the child's peers are someone they trust, learning happens.The same with children turning to drugs and alcohol. If they see their parents abuse it, it's normal to them. If their parents are authoritarian or absent, they learn what to do from their peers, and again, those peers might have issues. Normal people don't grow out of honor to God, they engulf it, because in a world that's usually sad, where most of the time there are problems, all you have left is hope for a forever when you die, with God. Without this, you live and die with nothing to look forward to. If you don't believe in God, that's your deal. Just don't try and sway others to turn away because you might have had a bad experience growing up, with no parents to teach you the right way. Believers usually will always believe, because we know life is hard, and is supposed to be, so as not to get complacent with the nice things life offers you that never last.

Have you ever worked on a farm, like millions do here? I have helped for a few years, my ex's mom's farms, and I will never take away from a Thai how hard daily work here in the sweltering heat is. Did it for a few years, helping out, lifting rice bags onto the tractor trailer, cutting rice and cassava, stacking, digging holes, draining the ponds for fish, etc etc. I worked outside in Texas making decks with a relative before I moved here, and that was just as hard, as Texas heat actually is tougher than Thailand as far as average, but working here rivals that. The migrants that work here are usually from bordering countries, hired by Thais cheap. Thais will do the same work, so what they're doing is illegal. It's the same as rich hiring migrant Mexicans in a few states in America to pick fruit. Americans will pick fruit, but not as much as Mexicans, and the migrants work cheaper. They keep them on the farms, and they'll stay until someone rats them out. The employers are the ones who should be fined heavy, as I feel for the migrants who only want to feed themselves and their families.

Life here doesn't mean the same as life where many of us come from, no matter the western country. They pray for the dead, which does nothing, because it's how you live that determines where you go after you pass, and no one can help another's soul. The way animals are treated here, by and large, shows the lack of respect for life , which snowballs down to how humans are treated as well. Animals are part of your family, and still have meaning when they pass from puppy and kitten cute stage to older and more stable, less playful, and more loyal. A 2 year prison sentence for the paid murder of a cop is a death or life sentence back home in the US, with very little chance for parole. The people who sat there and did nothing are guilty of course, but them getting up to 2 years also is ludicrous and insulting, as is the original sentence to the life of the policeman. Every time this happens, it gets news worldwide, and more and more people look at Thailand as what it's been for many decades, a place to come and have sex with pretty women, eat some good food and leave, a lot never returning because of what happens here daily. It's amazing how much they depend on tourist dollars and they are shooting themselves in the foot all the time, allowing this kind of corruption to continue. A bad reputation for a lot of things here, deals trade, tourism and other business a bad hand and it will only get worse with each and every thing that happens here daily. This is a disgraceful sentence handed down and will happen again and again because once something happens that is despicable that is punished this softly, others will see it and not care about what little consequences might be given. This happens all over also, not just here, but seems to be a lot more here than other places. Some in the US get 20 years for marijuana crimes, while another kills and gets 5, all because of crooked judges, lawyers and prosecutors.

Or, in retaliation, a foreigner fighting back against those armed with sticks and putting them all down for being cowards and teaching them not to fool with westerners.And I don't mind a bit about being splashed with water because I saw this firsthand since the first time I visited here in 2015.

Exactly, just as it's illegal to burn anything during a drought in America, fires bringing devastation, loss of life, homes and businesses, along with wildlife, trees and native plants. You burn, you pay, unlike here where they don't care and let millions breathe in toxic fumes.

Have you actually been to the US? Granted, a lot of women, and men, are fat there, but that doesn't stop people from having sex. You say it's about control. Here, the control is money. There, if you treat a woman right, you won't have any trouble regarding sex. I, and every man I knew had absolutely no trouble. You might want to look at the population there and see they're having sex.