First off, let me tell you something about myself. I am blind. Yep, scary ain't it? And I am supercrip because I can surf the web and even post on forums.

This being said, it is not the most important thing about me, nor do I even feel particularly bad or sad about it. However, some comments by theists regarding my 'handicap' do hurt me.

 Why is it that some theists feel it's ok to point out that my being blind is a punishment from their particular god? Either he punished my parents (if they think I was born this way) for transgressions in their lives, or it's because I have strayed from the path (if they think I got blind later in life). I find it rather painful, ignorant, insulting, cruel, degrading and completely absurd. And the scary thing is, that those who say it aren't even considered (by their own standards as well as society's) to be fundamentalists. Moreover, some will suggest that if I pray sincerely, and repent of course,  I will 'get cured'. 

Isn't the time that we punished people for things they could do nothing about long over?!

How do I respond to such ignorance? Anyone have any suggestions?

The all too common phrase, "What would Jesus do", is practically the Christian motto. It would presumably be something that most Christians would try to live by in a basic and general sense.

The following is a recounting of what I heard on the radio tonight as I was driving home from work.

A 17 yr old male caller phoned Dr. Drew on Loveline tonight, asking advice on how to get help for an issue he was having. The issue was not some simple "I have a bump on my groin." No, the boy called in because he realized that he is only sexually attracted to 5-10 yr old girls. Dr. Drew was floored. I sitting there listening on the freeway was floored. I think all the listeners that heard the call were floored.

Dr. Drew asked if he was sexually abused, and the boy said he doesn't remember his childhood that well. However, the boy did mention that he has been having flashbacks involving the shower and his dad. Of course, Dr. Drew suggested to the boy that he might need some help with recovering from sexual abuse even though he doesn't remember actually being abused. The boy seemed to realize that Dr. Drew is probably right, but he still sounded unnerved.

Quantum entanglement

Quantum entanglement 

It's only a matter of time before every new age hippie/snake oil salesman/and religious nunter, puts their own spin on this, (pun intended)

? what do you kown

? what do you think  

well I found this excellent  Theology paper that seems to point to the basis of our useless bi-product of evolution "Religion".  Though its a simple find online  it seems to have a non-biast look into the Evolution of religion.

 http://www.urantia.org/papers/paper86.html

so what I would like for us to do is pick this apart a bit for a healthy Debate my guess is its probably been done here but not within my time of membership.

I think the parts I would like to pick at for starters is not at the very top but rather:

3. DEATH--THE INEXPLICABLE

4. THE DEATH-SURVIVAL CONCEPT

So since I am feeling some sleep Deprevation as I did not sleep well in the past 36 hours my thoughts may be scattered and shortened.  that said lets start a lil into this.

So we se here up to the present that Death is a concept that to this day in a shok to the system of all people and yes that includes us Atheist. so we can all have an agreement that we all morn but the difference is how we deal with it. but I really wonder if a "Theist" yeallyhas any les problems dealing with death than us atheist.

So hey Everyone, I am Slayn a 29 year old Rational thinker. I figured since the past month so people have been seeing me pop up at random posting stuff so I figured it was time to state the position  that I seem to argue with.

I tend to be a philosophical person using the facts I gather through science and for what is sort of the grey areas I make a rational theory(factual Judgement). believe me I may not know everything about Science as I willfully admit I guess you would refer to me as a Humanist in my veiws, as I see kind of a logic within human nature. I guess I annoy my girlfriends past and present when I try to get them to rationally get them to understand their words or behavior.

So in the Idea of any gods existence using a fully open mind as I stab at theories from all angles, I tend to lock it down to the concept of an emotional state nothing more. Scientifically it Obviously fails all logic. so Philosophically I have toyed with the Idea but it always ends with the destructionist arguement Debunking the plausibility, my non religious friends try to get me to see that a plausibility of no god is implausible.

Usually the arguement gets down to primative evolution and a lack of knowlege: which they say without technology there can only be a magic.

By this reasoning technology would have no prevalence to our daily lives as technology is man-made the fore Magic would have to be a constant. the only real magic we see today is explained "watch me pull a rabbit out of my ass" sort of thing so this is a fallible arguement.

A friend of mine died a few days ago of congestive heart failure, he was 41 yrs old.  I'd only known him about 3 yrs, he was a customer on my mail route who would meet me at the mailbox most every day.  He was born with congestive heart failure and suffered greatly from other conditions during his 41 years.  At one point medicine he was taking caused him to black out and fall, shattering his arm.  He suffered great pain in that arm for many years.  In addition to all this his mental development was that of about a 12 year old.  It's been difficult delivering mail there knowing he's not coming out, we had become good friends.  He was a big fan of KISS and Ace Frehley (I downloaded all of their music for him), and he was a big believer in your god.

My question is this; why would your god (or any god) suffer this gentle individual with such misery from birth?  What could the unborn have possibly done to deserve such a fate?  I don't want to hear any crap about how we can't fathom his reasons or tests of faith (remember, he was a believer) or any other such bullshit.  Come up with some straight answers that make moral sense, or even common sense.  In my estimation, if your god exists, the Epicurean argument applies.

This subject has been touched on a couple times before.. but the debate always gets taken off on some huge tangent.  So I was just looking for some responses from the vast resevoir of knowledge that is RRS.

 I've had the conversation with a couple of my collegues here that might consider themselves materialist--at the end of the discussion, seems that fatalaism is a necessary conclusion.

 I.e. if we are in a closed materialist system that follows universal laws, how exactly does one "choose" anything? "Universal laws" are not consistent because they "choose" to be consistent--they're consistent because that is what they are.

 I.e. "Choice" or "freewill" are merely necessary actions based upon normative rules, no different then a rock falling to the floor.

IF this be true, then why exactly are we are discussing "rationality" and "irrationality"? "Why do you believe this?" Or "why do you believe that?" These questions or assertions would seem to be meaningless in a fatalist structure.  The answer will always be "because that is what I do" or "I have no choice."

Actual "freewill" would seem to require something "supernatural."  "Supernatural" being defined, in this case, as an element which is not bound by "universal law." I.e. an element which allows for "stimuli" to be created not merely received.

Kudos to Brian for the statement I heard him make on the radio show.  Something like, "if you put a bunch of people in a cave from birth, they would learn to adapt and survive."  HA!!  A bunch of people from birth huh?  They wont just die of starvation, they'll survive and teach themselves, 1 to 2 years later how to hunt and eat. Riggghhht.  So I’m assuming you believe the first creature was a baby?  Or ape?  Or baby ape?

Its funny how hypocritical you guys are, you say Christians are like terrorist, putting the fear of hell in people to make them believe in a God that doesn't exist.  While you do the same thing by putting the fear of no God into people, no hope for any afterlife, no hope of moral bliss, no hope of a better place after death, just nothingness.  All the pain and hurt you went through in life for no reason at all.  All the time you spent on earth, just to die. 

Atheist spend all their time in their empty lifestyle of work and partying, drugs and sex, book writing, web-site making, rational responding, etc.. A materialistic endeavor, a futile campaign of work and play, an endless drought of high life or low, ridding the world of people awaiting a blessed hope, who die trying to encourage others that there is something better after this terrible place.  The whole of population is already in agreement with you guys, maybe not as irrational as making the absurd statement, that lacks absolute surety that there is "No God."  What is your motive?  The world would be a better place if all 6 billion people didn't believe in anything at all?  If people just went on in emptiness the world would be a better place?  This is what you preach?  And you say Christians are bad.  WOW!!  Anyone with a brain can see that this way of thinking has lead to another pointless act, in the name of the GREATER GOOD, yeah....  I mean, what's the point? 

In discussing Fundies with a friend of mine, I brought up how ridiculous their worldview is & threw something in about them lacking common sense, to which he replied there is no such thing as common sense, b/c then it would be common & everyone would have it. Well, that makes "sense" I guess, but now, I find myself in general conversation wanting to use that phrase, but find it hard to break the habit. Thoughts? Do u believe in the concept of "common sense"? If not, what is a more appropriate term?

[EDITED: clarity]