Golgotha

Is there no consistency with homophobic America christians? In one breath they claim gays are an abomination cause that s what the bible says. In the next, they reject everything else the OT claims like stoning non-virgin daughters, not working on the Sabbath (Saturday actually), and no pork, seafood, or woven fabrics. The bible is full of nonsense that chistians ignore, so how do they get to use it to justify their hatred of gay folks today?

Jesus said nothing about it. There s nothing really outside of the old JEWISH laws that prohibits homosexual behavior. This besides the fact that most bible scholars agree they re talking about rapist, like prison sex and/or the fashionable gay relationships form Greece and elsewhere around the Mediterranean at the time.

Do homophobic christians know or care about this? Why or why not?

I don't have a problem with conservatives per say, as a strong liberal, only with EXTREMISTS.

However, I've read of several scientific studies that show they simply think differently than liberals, which goes a long way in explaining our fundamental differences. The stats show they assess threats more than liberals, who are more open to new experiences. On a neurological level, right-leaning people are more cautious and sensitive to threats and things that illicit disgust.

I believe it's important people understand each other and show mutual respect, even if we disagree on social issues, so this knowledge helped me let many things go in that regard. But I've heard that conservatives, especially tea-party types, don't like being told about these studies, perhaps do to the aforementioned mistrust of modern science, because it makes them seem paranoid or inferior in some way. I don't see it that way at all, especially when you consider that every culture NEEDS people who think differently in order to prosper. The studies prove we can't change people's minds with logic/reason alone and have to learn to compromise, as well as proving neither side is "right" about any given issue, which could help diffuse extremism.

Is it offensive to conservatives to cite this neuroscience and why? Is there something wrong with using proven science to assist our culture in working together, even if some people are offended by the hard truths it teaches us?

I get called/stamped a "social justice warrior" online pretty much whenever I express a strong, liberal (SANE) opinion. Mostly for pointing out when people are being homophobic, racist, and/or misogynistic. It's almost as if "SJWs" are seen as some organized group that's out to impose some bizarre leftist ideology on the whole planet. But that's not it, right? I mean, it's just a reflexive, pejorative label like "bleeding heart liberal" or "white knight", isn't it?

What the hell is wrong with equality? Justice? Fairness? Civility? Does calling people out on their bigotry, even if its based on some silly "religious freedom to discriminate" somehow place me in this subversive group of gestapo-like leftists known as "social justice warriors"? What does this term REALLY mean? And doesn't it entirely depend on WHO is doing the accusing here, and how guilty the accused actually is? Is it the same as saying "bleeding heart liberal" or is there some ultra-modern cultural distinction I'm not aware of?

I thought I was just keeping it real. Apparently I'm part of secretive, new world order or Illuminati thought police who want to make everyone treat other human beings with kindness and respect.

Silly me!

Loudly I've noticed, that many evangelicals who frequent yahoo answers R&S, and who thus are rich in points and site status, offer MANY answers but few questions. Ironic how these whom answer seem to mirror the religious authority in communities everywhere. Mega churches churn out product, targeted to youth, so that as authority figures there, they too will offer only answers. After all, time spent w/Jesus yields spiritual experience.

(ranting?)

When it comes to carpentry, painting, how to charge your phone in 5 seconds, I can understand why those who offer answers alone deserve "compensation" of a sort. As experts in the field, some even value their time monetarily. But when discussing questions of a religious nature, who is authority? Priests? Pastors Ricks? Olsteens? Falwells? Those who've thoroughly "studied" the bible? You?

Who should those w/questions about faith turn to in the information age? Why not google's AI? 'Works for the basics. Why would anyone come here to ask YOU unless what YOU think matters more than what is "true"? Do you ever get the feeling you're being studied in a sociological experiment, to see how your brain works? ...how you interact w/others when it comes to religion.

What does one "win" by answering 49,862 questions on R&S? Does it earn you respect? Does it earn you points with God himself? Are you proselytizing or filling yourself w/pride? Does that mean you are "truly filled w/the holy spirit" or something scarier?

What do I win?

http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/study_sho...

A new study making the rounds on FB proves that children who are indoctrinated into a faith early on (how MOST people of faith are introduced) have trouble telling fantasy from reality. That means that, compared with secular kids who are not indoctrinated, they are more gullible and less able to distinguish fact from fiction. Atheists like to joke that believing in god(s) is no different than believing in Santa Claus, this now appears to be creepily accurate.

Now if you are one of the faithful who rejects scientific findings like evolution, climate change, or whatever doesn't sit well w/your religious beliefs, a study like this is sure to induce nervous laughter & passionate head-shaking. But the thing about science is, it's true whether you believe it or not, and the evidence speaks volumes. IF you or (let's make this less "offensive") some muslim terrorists in Palestine was indoctrinated so young that they literally cannot tell fantasy from fact, how can they be reasoned with? Say a kid was sexually abused from a young age....what would it take for him to learn that this was wrong? Many who are abused go on to abuse their kids too. It's the same with religion. If you think it's normal to believe these myths literally, how could you even comprehend that you are abusing your kids by indoctrinating them?

Is religion child abuse?

Why not?

My eldest sister met her bf at church, they are catholic. Religion is definitely a taboo subject w/the fam, as most of them are believers. If I were to say something like, “Too bad Judge Judy isn't on the Supreme Court, maybe THEN the country wouldn’t have been a$$-raped by 5 catholic MEN like so many shuffled pedopriests!”, it wouldn’t go over too well, is my guess. The thing is, the MORE religion imposes itself on secular society & politics, the more reason we ALL have to TALK ABOUT IT!

This is no longer an issue of offending believers by saying, “Religion is Mythology” or something, Hobby Lobby brings us one step closer to a theocracy or at the very least, corporate owned state. HOW & WHY are precisely what said discussions should be about. If nothing is discussed, nothing changes for the better...

In the old days (and today in many countries) you CAN disappear for talking sh!t about God. Not so in America, thanks to free speech. But if a subject is taboo, or considered rude, what’s the difference?

Can we talk about religious harm NOW? Why or why not? It’s not just this ruling, it’s many aspects of American culture, like the aligning of the right w/bible literalists (46% is NO FRINGE!), they're most of the tea party. Science denial, that’s a religious issue. Redefining civil rights, religious…Gov’t spending for the war on terror, religious….pretending “Jesus is a capitalist”, religious…Will this be a taboo subject right up until it’s too late?

Too soon?!?

Maybe THAT'S why theists fight back so hard on these issues. Not just god(s) existence, but on how much religion should mean to a society/culture. Religion is mythology, believed. So back when the Mayans or Ancient Greeks or (pick one) culture had gods or a GOD, some of them may have asked HARD questions too. Obviously, we have a record of the Greeks doing it. We like it so much we base our entire SECULAR gov't on it today, by voting and other rights.

Through out all those discussions, public & private, dangerous as they may be, NONE of those ancient cultures (and few in the "third world" of today) had the knowledge of our universe that we now do, thanks mainly to science. Reason can be subjectively defined, as many theists prove when they speak of it.

"Just look around! How could all this be w/out God??"

However, the fact is we just know more today. And in recent years, more of us are ABLE to discuss these sorts of things openly. It's still considered rude to discuss politics/religion in real life, right? Afraid to upset people? Why? Every culture questions their god(s), how is this even blasphemous? WHOSE god(s)? Which one? Depending on where you're standing on the planet it could be many.

So what's wrong w/accepting them all as mythology? Isn't that what all these previous culture's god(s) are to us? Why is our's real? Isn't it the water we're swimming that's hardest to observe?

What if christianity is indeed myth? Can't myths be true AND false? look up Monism

Seems like a gross oversimplification to me. Obviously, if it’s liberal vs. conservative, we’re talking about politics. And when it’s theist vs. atheist, we’re talking about religion. But since religion tends to impose itself on more than just the church goers, we've got this “culture wars” label to deal with. Of course, it’s sort of a catchy umbrella term for ANYTHING people feel strongly about and/or say, “This shouldn’t be this way…” or “Why are we paying for this with public tax dollars?” or “I’m offended by your opinion on this!” or "It's Adam & Eve not Adam &...."

But we’re not talking about fat-free yogurt, are we? Should the media & others label these religious critiques and apologetics as “culture wars”? Does it matter which culture? How about the west vs the middle east’s culture? Then what? Abortion doesn't count, since that’s not a cultural issue so much as a women's reproductive issue. Though the religious often latch onto it to support their views....as w/gay rights. Is the redefining of "rights" culture wars? The redefining of "science"? Of "truth"?

Is this really about morality? How? The bible isn't moral at all, nor is the qu’ran. Is it about religious rights and/or freedoms? How? Whose rights? Isn't this just a little more serious than a "culture war" when ACTUAL WAR is so often waged via religious nationalism? Do the words "religious" & "harm" fit together?

If you ban someone, they can't answer you anymore, right? I've only banned 2 folks here, though I'm sure I've been banned by many more. I'm not interested in censoring anyone, obviously, but I would like to hear from some others. Some FRESH VIEWPOINTS!

The second person I banned earned it by answering almost all my questions w/total non-answers that were merely religious assertions ("No that is NOT how it works!"). Not every theist (or atheist, ftm) who I'm sick of seeing answer me does stuff like that, but I feel like they do repeat themselves often and tend to defy my instructions.

Since asking here is such a "costly" and RISKY venture, it seems fairly obvious & LOGICAL that I can specify how I would like my questions answered in the "Addition Details" box. Limited wordcount as well as complicated questions facilitate this AND hinder it. Why should I have to put up w/answers that often purposely defy my instructions w/"I did not click the link, but..." OR "I did not watch the video, however I feel that...."?!

What is the point of crafting an intelligent question w/a link to reference which usually contains EVIDENCE, if the person who answers won't bother with it?!

Please do not answer this question by scolding me, shaming me, berating me, or otherwise calling me a loser for spending so much time & effort on Yahoo Answers. May I remind you, I am not someone w/50,000 answers & NO questions!

..the kinds of people I'm referring to w/this COSTLY god(s)questions.

http://ncse.com/blog/2014/07/misconception-monday-...

Apart from the whole “teach the controversy” thing (via comparative mythology? SURE!), now that hobby lobby's made religious freedom infinitely more vague in relation to civil rights, where does that leave a kid’s right to an education? Say I’m a creationist & my kid goes to public school because I don’t want them to be a social moron when they grow up like the Flanders’s, can I now site this supreme court ruling & insist my kid be excused from any discussion of evolution in his/her biology or elsewhere? What if there’s a group project about it? Do they get to turn in a creation MYTH diorama? Where do we draw the line w/this “religious freedom to abstain from participating” thing?

How about global warming? What if the teacher starts talking about that, maybe even in passing because the weather is jacked? Can the student “exercise their rights” not to hear about it because they choose to believe God’s rainbow promise? Can’t “infringe on their religious rights”, right?!

Just about anything could fall under this ruling in public life:

Say your boss, whose family owned company, decides that he can’t hire/work with people of any other faith…and he’s a mormon. If YOU were fired for this (christian), would you still support this supreme court ruling? IS IT a question of religious rights vs civil rights? IS IT a question of rights at all?

Prove it, using the examples I gave.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZIGw4zKR98#t=209

IF you are not willing to watch this brief (3:42min) video entitled, "20 Questions From The Hobby Lobby Ruling", PLEASE just skip this question. Thanks.

(Please ALSO note how nicely I ask)

Also, please skip this if you are just going to whine about "some godless heathen bringing up hobby lobby again..."

Seriously, stop reading now.

I am VERY interested in your opinion on these particular questions since it should be obvious to anyone here that it is QUESTIONS that oppressive religions fear most, not answers.

They've got "all the answers", don't they?

Any and/or all of them: Can you help answer them? Explain fully.

#8 is of particular interest to me, as is #13

PLEASE do not answer if you are not willing to watch in order hear at least ONE which you are about to attempt to answer.

Thanks so much.

I really, really appreciate what a great, honest christian you are.

Thanks.

You're awesome.

In his amazing science documentary, "Did god create the universe?", world renown scientist, Steven Hawking simplifies a cosmological concept that is difficult for MANY people, even educated non-believers, to comprehend: How can something come from nothing? Theists, & even deists insist that God CREATED the big bang (assuming they accept what science has discovered). This is because it seems completely illogical to imagine the universe is a "free lunch" as Stephen says.

But if you imagine a man digging a hole in the ground, you see that the mound of dirt he excavates is exactly the same amount of material that is now missing from the hole. In this way, he has a zero sum gain. In other words, the positive & negative are both present..they did not go anywhere or come from anywhere ELSE.

The universe is the same. Matter & energy (which are the same thing) are positive forces which have a negative force that accompanies them, in the same way the dirt mound accompanies the hole in the ground. It's currently known as DARK matter/energy. Although we still know very little about it, this solves the fundamental problem of where all this stuff "came from"!

Nothing was gained, only converted. No divine guidance needed, only natural phenomenon doing what comes naturally. Obviously I can't explain it as well as he does, so unless you FEAR EDUCATIO, watch it.

Can this question, which often appears to be the last "god gap", be explained w/this analogy of a dug hole?

Why/Why Not?

So often, christians say don't waste your breath..."No one is going to change anyone else's mind about religion. You can't argue against GOD, so why bother? Why this obsession w/belief?" It requires humility to admit you are wrong, I've had to many times. When I was a christian, I was certain of many things, just as much of my family are still, but a college education changed all that. Seeing the way other christains I knew behaved did to.

IF no one had ever bothered to disseminate that knowledge to me about mythology, science, ethics, & religion, I certainly would never have left the faith. Nor would I have had to humble myself. Pride is "sin" for a good reason, it keeps us from admitting that what we thought we knew was wrong. But isn't THAT the only way to grow as a person? The only way to learn?

If everyone was like R&S christians w/30,000+ answers & often NO questions, what kind of stagnant and dangerous culture would we live in? Would it be like Saudi Arabia or other countries under sharia law, where your doubts could very well equal DEATH?!

In the west we have freedom of speech AND freedom of religion. Are these mutually exclusive? Doesn't religion teach that humility is virtuous? Then why do the religious continually behave as if it's dangerous? Why are so many of my questions here reported by them? What is wrong with admitting you are wrong and perhaps growing?

WHY is it a "waste of time" for religious harm to be discussed w/the religious? Fear?

This question was deleted, even though I'd already chosen a best answer. Can't God handle my questions here?

Now that the hobby lobby ruling sets precedent, what's to stop other religious wackos from exploiting it? Read this article or skip this question, please. It's short and explains how mondays Supreme court ruling has extremely dangerous consequences in the U.S.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/30/religious...

The court said it only had to do w/catholic opposition to contraception (?!?!?!), but there are MANY examples of precedent being all that is required for people to clutter our courts with insanity based on far less precedent. IF someone had a deeply held religious belief they felt justified a murder they committed, such as honor killings (Deuteronomy 25:11-12, Leviticus 20:13, Leviticus 20:10) OR say they wanted to marry a child & islam supports that....What next? How does this ruling HELP society? How does it help women's rights?

Will the court NOW make exceptions for all matter of crimes and misdeeds since those who commit them may proclaim their god's law matters more than ACTUAL LAWS?!

http://www.alternet.org/pandoras-box-opens-religio...

...already it begins.

Since Monday's supreme court ruling, something's going down in America on the battle ground of "religious freedom" vs. Civility.

http://www.alternet.org/pandoras-box-opens-religio...

Homosexuals join women as second class citizens when it comes to religious certainties for American businesses, big AND small. This is no longer just about some Mom & Pop hobby shop w/abortifaciently-confused moms & pops....this has unraveled something that's been building online for sometime.

You don't have to venture far outside of answers.yahoo to find that religious fundies have been SERIOUSLY put on the defensive. Religious-based bigotries & science denying idiocies are no longer tolerating. Young folks & educated Americans who actually CARE about our culture & our country have been prying apart the ever widening cracks in the religious rights' arguments.

But this goes beyond religion OR politics. Now we're messing w/ civil rights based on a religious "right" to discriminate. Am I wrong? Straiten me out. Is it the fact that the internet spreads REAL education that crushes long standing religious certainties like creationism, homophobia, or christian elitism? What's going on? What accounts for this backlash by the religious? 9/11? Muslim terrorists? Right-wing militia terrorism?! Or just plain old fear that the faith virus is dying do to logic & reason asserting itself publicly? W/clarity...

What sayeth ye of faith?