I didn't realize Tom was still around. 97 years old. Nor did I know he was an accomplished mathematician and educator.

He is the  man who wrote and sang "The Elements", which recites the names of all the chemical elements known at the time of writing, up to number 102, nobelium.   It's a pity the USA doesn't have creative talent like this anymore.

13 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

Any religion that mutilates men in order to try to control their sexuality is questionable.

If you're talking about Judaism and circumcision, isn't that the same religion that banned pork, probably because they figured out that eating undercooked pork didn't work out so well?  And that the wives of circumcised men suffered fewer "social diseases"?

 

Whether either of those ended up being true, there's methods behind what may appear to be religious madness.  Based on the science of the day.

 

14 hours ago, save the frogs said:

 

My mom, rest her soul, was a Catholic.

She had lost her first daughter at a young age. Traumatized her for life. 

She needed something to believe in.

And she maybe wasn't intellectual enough to search for any alternatives.

 

But even people who are intellectual and curious-minded enough to seek out alternatives to Catholicism, where does that usually lead them? To some other questionable belief system? To atheism? Belief in nothing?

 

I didn't watch the OP. I bet he's an atheist. Atheists love to knock religions, but they got nothing better. 

 

For some people, it served a purpose and they didn't harm anyone while following this religion.

 

I was highly critical of Catholicism growing up, but then realized that some people need it and it serves a purpose. 

 

 

Atheists love to knock religions, but they got nothing better. 

I think that Richard Dawkins did offer better alternatives to a delusional religion.

He sometimes talk about listening to beautiful poetry or music, bringing him at times to tears.

I ask my son to look at the clouds, and see the beauty in them.

 

And as he says, believers are taught to believe in a religion (Delusion) without proof.

The result is people who get to think that 'that is what I believe', is a perfectly good argument.

 

Raised under a Christian culture will shape nicely the mind of an individual.

But accepting this belief without proof, makes good people do bad things, thinking that they are right in doing so.

 

So how about learning how to find a purpose in life, without brainwashing ourselves into a delusion...

 

 

13 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Religious people particularly the non denominational type eg Hare Krishna,Muslim etc are such beautiful religions.

 

As a supervisor in my workplace,I had a team member complain to me one night that his work partner Ali was leaving the floor mopping to pray and not doing the mopping 

 

I immediately told him that it's beautiful to pray and he should finish the floor mopping on Ali's behalf whilst he prays !

 

made up rubbish   was it "Ali"?    or "Asif"

13 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Religious people particularly the non denominational type eg Hare Krishna,Muslim etc are such beautiful religions.

 

As a supervisor in my workplace,I had a team member complain to me one night that his work partner Ali was leaving the floor mopping to pray and not doing the mopping 

 

I immediately told him that it's beautiful to pray and he should finish the floor mopping on Ali's behalf whilst he prays !

 

duplicated

there's a very good reason why this religion rubbish is targeted at children. and those who take to it late in life are normally nutters

13 hours ago, Baht Simpson said:

Buddhism, if you consider it a religion and not just a philosophy. Too much harmful baggage with the others.

Of this list of religions:

Baha'i, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism.,

JAINISM might be the best one..

 

As I did some study of Buddhism, and was so happy to come here as a tourist, to immerse myself in the belief that I found so wonderful.

 

Only to realize that there is no such thing a Buddhism here, at least nothing described in books.

 

Wearing amulets, and hoping to win the lottery, does not make one a Buddhist....

14 hours ago, Baht Simpson said:

Atheism is not a belief in nothing, just a disbelief in creator gods and organized religion. 

 

As an atheist I fully believe in:

 

Goodness
Kindness
Determination
Confidence
Sincerity
Helpfullness
Family
Self-respect
Respecting others
Gentleness
Good health
Peace
Tranquility
Equality
Quality

 

and more.

 

All the things that make us good humans can be found outside organized religion. 

 

I also respect people's right to choose a religion as they see fit but there's no compunction on me to respect that religion.

Etymological Breakdown

Prefix: "A-"

Origin: Greek

Meaning: "Without" or "not"

Function: Negates or indicates the absence of the root word it precedes.

Root: "Theism"

Origin: Greek, from "theos" (θεός), meaning "god"

Meaning: Belief in the existence of one or more gods or deities.

Combined Meaning:

Atheism literally means "without belief in god(s)" or "not theism."

 

 

22 minutes ago, Andre0720 said:

Of this list of religions:

Baha'i, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism.,

JAINISM might be the best one..

 

As I did some study of Buddhism, and was so happy to come here as a tourist, to immerse myself in the belief that I found so wonderful.

 

Only to realize that there is no such thing a Buddhism here, at least nothing described in books.

 

Wearing amulets, and hoping to win the lottery, does not make one a Buddhist....

You didn't study very well.  If I was your Buddhist professor, I'd say that you flunked your course in Buddhist Studies In Thailand.  An "F" for you!  Better luck in you next academic endeavors.

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.  Love is the law, love under will."

6 minutes ago, connda said:

You didn't study very well.  If I was your Buddhist professor, I'd say that you flunked your course in Buddhist Studies In Thailand.  An "F" for you!  Better luck in you next academic endeavors.

So much substance in your post, I do not know where to start.....

 

Well, thanks for your input on Buddhist religion, that will certainly benefit the readers here....

And your teachings here will help me move from an 'F' to a 'C' I would hope.

So I will read it again, before taking your knowledge test....

11 hours ago, Andre0720 said:

So how about learning how to find a purpose in life, without brainwashing ourselves into a delusion...

 

 

6 hours ago, rattlesnake said:

 

Atheism is a belief system, with everything it entails in terms of dogma and hostility towards non-believers (in fact, I have often found atheists to have very little tolerance towards those who don't share their belief).

You are confusing the dogma of faith with the dismissal of ignorance.

1 hour ago, impulse said:

If you're talking about Judaism and circumcision, isn't that the same religion that banned pork, probably because they figured out that eating undercooked pork didn't work out so well?  And that the wives of circumcised men suffered fewer "social diseases"?

 

Whether either of those ended up being true, there's methods behind what may appear to be religious madness.  Based on the science of the day.

 

The problem is when it becomes blind law. The same pigs that are competitors for food in the middle east are not in Poland, so the restriction is obsolete.

2 hours ago, impulse said:

If you're talking about Judaism and circumcision, isn't that the same religion that banned pork, probably because they figured out that eating undercooked pork didn't work out so well?  And that the wives of circumcised men suffered fewer "social diseases"?

 

Nope.  They did it because God in his infinite wisdom commanded it.  No need for logic.

 

"The pig is also unclean; although it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses."

Deuteronomy 14:8

 

"For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised"

Genesis 17:12

It seems to me that one of the greatest arguments against religion is the existence of both Satan and Mara. Let me explain. If the bible were a divinely inspired book of absolute truth and it uniquely found out about Satan, then how come Buddhism came up with its own Satan, Mara? It would thus appear that humans just think the same way and conjure up these figures.

 

Of course you could read it the other way round and claim that the existence of both Satan and Mara corroborates that such a figure must exist in the afterlife.

2 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

It seems to me that one of the greatest arguments against religion is the existence of both Satan and Mara. Let me explain. If the bible were a divinely inspired book of absolute truth and it uniquely found out about Satan, then how come Buddhism came up with its own Satan, Mara? It would thus appear that humans just think the same way and conjure up these figures.

 

Of course you could read it the other way round and claim that the existence of both Satan and Mara corroborates that such a figure must exist in the afterlife.

Claiming Satan was at faut allows for scapegoating and dropping charges against the guilty. There is no devil, so there is no pardon.

20 minutes ago, cjinchiangrai said:

Claiming Satan was at faut allows for scapegoating and dropping charges against the guilty. There is no devil, so there is no pardon.

 

There's always a chance of dropping charges against the guilty in Catholicism. That's kind of the whole point.

 

But doesn't it strike you as odd that in Christianity there is a devil, and in Buddhism, a wholly different doctrine, there is a devil as well? Anthropomorphic thinking surely?

1 hour ago, Andre0720 said:

So much substance in your post, I do not know where to start.....

 

Well, thanks for your input on Buddhist religion, that will certainly benefit the readers here....

And your teachings here will help me move from an 'F' to a 'C' I would hope.

So I will read it again, before taking your knowledge test....

This may help your grades;

Known as the Tripitaka, the sacred texts of Buddhism are broken down into three sections known as baskets. Referred to in the West as the Three Baskets, the Tripitaka includes the Vinaya Pitaka, the Sutta Pitaka, and the Abhidhamma Pitaka.

17 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

Any religion that mutilates men in order to try to control their sexuality is questionable.

Catholics don't practice circumcision- that's jews and moslems.

1 hour ago, Sierra Tango said:

This may help your grades;

Known as the Tripitaka, the sacred texts of Buddhism are broken down into three sections known as baskets. Referred to in the West as the Three Baskets, the Tripitaka includes the Vinaya Pitaka, the Sutta Pitaka, and the Abhidhamma Pitaka.

Buddhism isn't a religion because it has no God. It's a belief system.

2 hours ago, cjinchiangrai said:

9 hours ago, rattlesnake said:

Atheism is a belief system, with everything it entails in terms of dogma and hostility towards non-believers (in fact, I have often found atheists to have very little tolerance towards those who don't share their belief).

You are confusing the dogma of faith with the dismissal of ignorance.

That's the point - Atheism is as much a a  belief system as any religion.

 

For me being Agnostic makes more sense,  of which one comparison is:

"Atheists typically maintain that there is no God, while agnostics believe it's impossible to know for sure whether one exists or not"   makes far more sense.

 

As an Agnostic, I confess I don't know, but also that I don't care! It has no bearing on my life.

 Other people's belief in any of the conventional religions is just that - belief without proof. If it comforts them, then my view is enjoy your belief as long as you don't harm anyone else in the process. THAT is where the harm lies - religions get "hijacked" by extremists , then twisted and used to promote evil.

 

For me, belief without proof is basically a conspiracy theory where people try to evade responsibility for their own thoughts/actions and blame someone/thing else.

 

And, finally, I love this quote:

All religion is a foolish answer to a foolish question         (Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby in "Peaky Blinders")

 

2 minutes ago, Magictoad said:

Buddhism isn't a religion because it has no God. It's a belief system.

I am well awre of that, thank you. However, no where did I say anything about religion so why did you feel compelled to say that?

9 minutes ago, Magictoad said:

18 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

Any religion that mutilates men in order to try to control their sexuality is questionable.

Catholics don't practice circumcision- that's jews and moslems.

And what is far worse than male circumcision is female circumcision aka FGM - that is actually cruelty and illegal in many countries

 

As a circumcised male, I'm actually grateful to my parents for having it performed. There's a whole raft of reasons why various people consider it a good practice, probably for this thread.

18 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

Any religion that mutilates men in order to try to control their sexuality is questionable.

 

Any body performing this mutilation on little boys,  for anything other than sound medical grounds.

should be jailed for child abuse.

 

They are nice good hearted people. They had, and presumably still have good connections with the Italian Mafia. During WW2 they had good relations with the Nazi's as well (just read history for that one)

5 hours ago, Andre0720 said:

JAINISM might be the best one

yes, but seriously very strict. Although Mahavira is the greatest role model. Not to follow but to learn and study. 

1 hour ago, VBF said:

That's the point - Atheism is as much a belief system as any religion.

It's not really though is it? The only condition is that you have the belief that no gods exist until there is sufficient proof otherwise. 

 

In most religions the belief system entails all sorts of conditions, dogmas and rituals that must be adhered to to be a real follower. None of these appear in atheism.

 

Moreover there must be endless discussion and argument between religious sects and denominations on how all of this is applied and what it means.  None of this is applicable in atheism. And there are no leaders or rules to follow. Nowhere near comparable as a belief system. Not even a philosophy.

2 minutes ago, NativeBob said:

yes, but seriously very strict. Although Mahavira is the greatest role model. Not to follow but to learn and study. 

Yes, it can be taken to extreme levels, which is always a worry.

1 hour ago, Magictoad said:

Catholics don't practice circumcision- that's jews and Muslems.

Someone forgot to tell the doctor.