JensenZ

This is an incredibly absurd comment. We're talking about institutional religion, from 500 years ago, instilled on an uneducated population. 94.5 percent of the population is Catholic. It's in their DNA. Perhaps you could suggest that over 100 million Catholics must give up their religion.

There's no need for you to repeat anything. If you're interested in mentioning your theories, just link the appropriate post, which would take less time than typing out your reply.

Disingenious? How did you arrive at that conclusion. Let's check the meaning of it: Disingenious: Oxford: "not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does. I'm certainly not pretending I know less than I know about the situation among the poor of the Philippines. I specifically used the Philippines as an example because I know too much about what goes on there and have spent years living in poor communities there. What I experienced there had a life changing affect on me. Yes, I'm blaming religion and specifically the Catholic Church for the over 27% of about 114 million people living below the poverty line. I believe the real number is far higher. When the Spanish colonized the Philippines in the 1500s, they forced this religion on the people. In Thailand it's under 10% of about 71 million people living below the poverty line. In 1970, they were twins, with the same population of 36 million. Look at the difference now: In 1970, the economies of the Philippines and Thailand seemed like identical twins. Almost five decades later, it’s worth recounting just how much that has changed. https://www.nationthailand.com/perspective/30325556 In Thailand, unbound by Catholicism, they introduced a successful family planning program. In the Philippines, the Catholic priest still lectures couples before they marry that contraceptives are evil. In fact, this lecture is mandatory to be married in a church. The result is that Thailand has a fertility rate of 1.54, and Philippines is nearly double, at 2.77. What is the process of church wedding in the Philippines? You and your partner need to attend a canonical interview at least a month prior to your wedding. This is typically conducted by either the parish priest or an assistant. Once you have submitted your application and pay the reservation fee, you will be scheduled for an interview. Anyway, getting back to your original comment: "The real tragedy is the suffering of living, and the purpose of religion is, well, it should be, to alleviate that suffering." Religion does not alleviate the suffering of the poor. You need to feed them first.

Which leads us directly to the "problem of evil" and Theodicy (defending God in an evil world). 1. Theodicy: An attempt to justify or defend God in the face of evil by answering the following problem, which in its most basic form involves these assumptions: God is all good and all powerful (and, therefore, all knowing). The universe/creation was made by God and/or exists in a contingent relationship to God. Evil exists in the world. Why? 2. The Logical Problem of Evil: The logical problem of evil is a deductive one. Namely, given the above problem (God is loving, all powerful and all knowing, yet evil exists), is it rational to believe in the existence of God? 1. God exists, is all good, all knowing, and all powerful. 2. Such a being has no limits to its ability. 3. A good being will always eliminate all the evil that it can. 4. Evil exists, so God must not. https://www3.dbu.edu/mitchell/theodicy_brief_overview.htm May I remind people of the biggest genocide in world history. The Flood. It's impossible to know how many people were killed by God in The Flood, but in the 1656 years after Creation, until The Flood, there were probably upwards of 4 billion people living at the time. 8 were saved. This is just one example of God directly involved with the mass killing of people throughout Biblical history. If I intentionally kill a single person, I'm either going to spend my life in prison, or be executed (after many years on death row), depending on where I reside.

Wrong. You cannot separate most religions and God, and especially not the Catholic Church. Let's take a quick look at the meaning of the word "religion": Oxford: "the belief in and worship of a superhuman power or powers, especially a God or gods" Basically religion is worship of a god. It's certainly what I'm talking about here and the theme behind this thread: "Do you believe in God and why". It doesn't define any particular god.

Further to what I posted here a few days ago, I thought it was interesting to look at daily historical temperature records in various cities around Thailand. The global warming brigade are quick to jump on recent highs to suit their narrative, but in actual fact, most places in Thailand are at or lower than records which were set many years ago. OK, so one place in Thailand set an all time high, exceeding a 2016 high by about 0.8C. This is evidence of nothing. Upon searching the Windows Weather App, which gives the historical 30-year highs on any day of the year, I note that the record highs were set as follows for 24 April: Bangkok: 2009: 39C Pattaya: 2009: 35C Phuket: 1998: 35C Chiang Mai: 1995: 40C Phetchabun: 2007: 40C Udon Thani: 2007: 42C Granted, the current temperatures in some places are equal to or near the record 30-year highs, but the point is these high temperatures are nothing new. People quickly forget other heat waves. I don't appreciate the way they twist statistics to try to prove a theory. I'm not saying there isn't global warming, but one heat wave doesn't prove it. Due to limited records, it is still a theory.

How does religion alleviate the suffering of billions of impoverished people who chose the wrong parents (read: unlucky to be born into extreme poverty)? Does it feed and house them? Most people suffering in this world need a square meal (and clean water) and a roof over their heads. Religion is of no use whatsoever other than offering some hope that better will come after they have died. In the Philippines the Catholic priests preach about the sin of using contraception, but don't do a thing to feed the poor families produced as a result of excessive procreation...

Been there. It's not a good time to have air conditioning units repaired or installed. The thing is most people wait until the hot time of year before they have their units serviced (or at least try to).

I'm sad now - we really needed your sympathy.

Nah, that's just a house in need of some decent insulation in the roof LOL

Similar for me. 2170 (March 20 bill), 2970 (April 19 bill). 2 refrigerators, 2 aircons working most of the day/night, plus some extra aircon units I don't normally use much.

A correction to this earlier info... The sun is directly overhead in Pattaya Central on April 24 (13:14) and again on August 19 (13:20). The lowest elevation is on December 21 (13:15) @53.63 degrees, which corresponds well with December being the coolest month. What's going on in August I'm not sure. It's probably cooler than April due to more cloudy days and the start of the wet season. There isn't much variation in max temperatures from April to October though - always hot. It's either hot or hotter LOL It was calculated from this website: https://www.sunearthtools.com/dp/tools/pos_sun.php?lang=en#annual

I stand corrected. You are correct, the sun is directly overhead twice a year between Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn... so in Pattaya, the first day is April 24 and then next would be around October 24 yet December is the coolest month.

No, it doesn't work like that. There's degrees of positivity and negativity. Either way, positive and negative are spins (views) on reality, which is how things actually are, not how they are perceived. One person sees a glass as half full, another as half empty, the reality is 125 ml. You would call a person who puts a positive spin on events a positive person, and vice versa for negative. Humans try to put a positive spin on most tragic events. That's the main reason for existence of religion, to overcome the reality of death... "it can't be the end".

Similar increase for me. March 19 bill to April 19 bill, a 35% increase. I did use more air conditioners, which contributed to the increase.

If 44.6 C was the hottest recorded temperature in Thailand recorded in 2016, until a new record of 45.4C in 2023, that means that from 2017 - 2023 (7 years) the highs were lower than 44.6C. They are misusing statistics to suit their biased opinions. All it shows is a short 7-year cycle with no intermediate highs offered. Any cycle will have highs and lows. Were there highs at or lower than 43.8C in this 7-year period. If so, would they be claiming that the climate is cooling? Of course not. They are looking for numbers to suit their narrative. I'd want to see what we never will see. Accurate temperature readings for hundreds of years.

No, it's only cool for the first 15 seconds, then it's warm as the hot water from the roof makes its way down (this is a condo). Of course it depends where your water tank is kept, but in a condo it's usually on the roof. The last place I lived was a townhouse and the tank was in the basement, providing cooler showers.

Cold showers? LOL. The cold showers warm me up at the moment. The only way is to put water in a drum with ice and use a scoop.

A good way to discover how much meaning your life has is how many people are there that will miss you when you're gone. If you people miss you, then you had meaning to those people which in turn gives your life meaning. How many people would attend your funeral? I'll start the ball rolling with a resounding zero. It's not a bad thing if you cause no sadness to any people when you pass.

That's because the sun is directly overhead in April - May. The actual day when the sun is 90 degrees overhead: 1. Chiang Mai: May 14 2. Bangkok: April 26 3. Pattaya: April 24 4. Phuket: April 10

Raising children certainly gives meaning for a good chunk of your (young) life though. Here's a rough summary of my belief. The only difference is that I do believe in the existence of a God. https://www.philosophybasics.com/branch_existentialism.html "Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice. It is the view that humans define their own meaning in life, and try to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational universe. It focuses on the question of human existence, and the feeling that there is no purpose or explanation at the core of existence. It holds that, as there is no God or any other transcendent force, the only way to counter this nothingness (and hence to find meaning in life) is by embracing existence."

That's an honest answer - hope you reach your goal... and don't end up where I am LOL

Whether you think your life has meaning or not will depend on many factors. If, for example, you had children, then your meaning is clear - to raise your children. You can give your life meaning. Religion gives meaning - that a God loves and cares for you and you will be rewarded with an afterlife. I grew up as a Christian - studied the Bible from cover to cover.

I thought I made it quite clear I'm not suffering from depression. I function well with no medication whatsoever... so "one of surrender and acceptance" is my category. What's your category? Where are you at?

I forgot to answer this, and it's a good question. Probably around my 60th birthday it became clear that I can't afford to get old. With no family (I'm an anti-natalist too, of course), it's clear that old age (when I need help) is not a possibility. It is one of the negative sides to being reclusive without family.