Kyle S

This whole Bradley Manning trial has gotten me terrified of being an honest, decent human being. Look what the US government does to people who tell the truth; first he gets convicted with 20 years, and now they're pushing for a life-sentence.

Ever since I heard about this, I've been lying my face off and cheating people left and right. Why? Because apparently that's the only behaviour that the US government finds acceptable. Try to bring some transparency and accountability into this world (especially if it pertains to them) they'll nail your incorruptible @ss to the wall!

What about all of you? What kind of lesson does Bradley Manning teach you? Does anyone else see a contradiction on the part of a government that espouses a strong conviction to truth and justice; then turns around and goes totally ape-sh*t on someone who epitomizes those values?

Perhaps it's just my own experience, but it's dawned on me recently that pretty much every relationship I've been in has started in the spring, in or somewhere around March.

Has anyone else had similar experiences? If so, it would be nice to hear your explanation for this phenomenon. I have plenty of theories of my own, but I'd like to hear yours.

I had an argument with a friend the other day about suicide. I'll break down how it went for you: my friend is of the opinion that someone cannot be mentally healthy and make the conscious decision to end their own life; by the act of killing themselves, my friend believes that makes the person mentally ill because no mentally sound person could possibly choose to commit suicide. I said to him that I've toyed with the idea of killing myself when I'm older. I clarified that I do not intend to kill myself anytime soon, as I'm still young and have lots of things that I'd like to do in life. But I explained it to him that if there comes a time in my life when I'm satisfied with my life and I feel that I'm truly happy, I'd like to take the next step in control over my life by ending it myself, on my own terms.

My friend was visibly troubled by my opinions, and after talking a lot about how selfish it is, how much it'd hurt my family and reasserting that I could not be of sound mind if I thought that way, he finally played the religion card. God gave us life, and by committing suicide, he feels those people are throwing that gift back in his face. Now, for anyone who is truly religious, I feel safe in assuming that they also believe that God knows everything that's going to happen in advance. So if God gave life to the people who were going to commit suicide, with his full knowledge, aren't they just behaving in accordance with "God's plan"? If there is such a thing as fate, and a person who commits suicide was predestined to do so, then how is that acting in defiance to God's will? If God didn't want people to commit suicide, then there would BE NO suicide, as he would not bestow the gift of life on people who he knew would kill themselves, right?

So my question is this, if everything that happens is part of "God's plan", including murder, destructive forces and genocides, then how is it that taking your own life with a perfectly healthy outlook on and appreciation for life seen as an act of defiance towards that plan?

The way that I've decided to live my life, I can already tell that I'm going to make a lot of enemies. I'm not afraid to speak truths that inevitably manage to p*ss some people off.

I'm in my mid 20's and, from my perspective, my life is only just starting to blossom.

But I'm already banking on the possibility that someone will try to kill me at some point in my life. I simply won't feel like I've done something meaningful if I haven't at least received a death threat.

And if that doesn't come to pass by the time I'm in my 60's, I've resolved to shoot myself. But not because I'll feel like a failure in life. I would never kill myself because I was depressed, too pathetic. I want to end my life on a happy note, so I will only kill myself when I'm satisfied that I've lived life to the fullest and am in the happiest state of peace and contentment.

My question is this, how would you feel if someone you knew just decided that they were going to dictate the terms of their life, from start to finish? Do you think a sane, rational, sincerely happy person can make the conscious decision to end their own life when the time suits them? And how would you feel about someone like that? Do you think that person selfish? Liberated? Delusional? Brave? Or is it difficult to grasp the concept that suicide is not only for the depressed and terminally ill?

The way that I've decided to live my life, I can already tell that I'm going to make a lot of enemies. I'm not afraid to speak truths that inevitably manage to p*ss some people off.

I'm in my mid 20's and, from my perspective, my life is only just starting to blossom.

But I'm already banking on the possibility that someone will try to kill me at some point in my life. I simply won't feel like I've done something meaningful if I haven't at least received a death threat.

And if that doesn't come to pass by the time I'm in my 60's, I've resolved to shoot myself. But not because I'll feel like a failure in life. I would never kill myself because I was depressed, too pathetic. I want to end my life on a happy note, so I will only kill myself when I'm satisfied that I've lived life to the fullest and am in the happiest state of peace and contentment.

My question is this, how would you feel if someone you knew just decided that they were going to dictate the terms of their life, from start to finish? Do you think a sane, rational, sincerely happy person can make the conscious decision to end their own life when the time suits them? And how would you feel about someone like that? Do you think that person selfish? Liberated? Delusional? Brave? Or is it difficult to grasp the concept that suicide is not only for the depressed and terminally ill?

For those of you who are unacquainted with the term, "pegging" is a sexual act where a woman performs anal sex on her male partner via strap-on dildo.

I've heard opposition to this act from enough heterosexual men (and women) to understand their argument and here it is: "I would never do that because it's gay" or "anyone who would want to do that is OBVIOUSLY a closet homosexual".

The only rational I can think of for this argument is that the male subject of this act is pretending in his mind that it is actually a man's penis being inserted into his bum-hole and so is fantasizing that he is really having gay sex with a man and not a woman.

This seems highly speculative as to what is going through a man's head when he's having sex.

By this same rational, couldn't the argument be made that any man who prefers to have sex with women who have completely bald pubic regions are secretly fantasizing that they're having sex with a prepubescent girl?

Before you condemn this act consider this; the human anus (on both males and females) contains several hundred nerve endings and is, thus, only second to the clitoris or penis head as the most sexually stimulating area on a person's body. Moreover, reversing roles with the woman being the "giver" and the man being the "receiver" can foster new understanding in each other's respective roles in sexual intercourse and can even bring new found respect for one another in an intimate relationship.

Really what I'm looking for here is peoples responses and opinions on pegging. I enjoy engaging in it with my girlfriend and I'm just curious to see if anyone can come up with a different reason for condemning this act other than the aformentioned reason.

Remember, the true test of manliness is being able to take what you're more than happy to give.

For those of you who are unacquainted with the term, "pegging" is a sexual act where a woman performs anal sex on her male partner via strap-on dildo.

I've heard opposition to this act from enough heterosexual men (and women) to understand their argument and here it is: "I would never do that because it's gay" or "anyone who would want to do that is OBVIOUSLY a closet homosexual".

The only rational I can think of for this argument is that the male subject of this act is pretending in his mind that it is actually a man's penis being inserted into his bum-hole and so is fantasizing that he is really having gay sex with a man and not a woman.

This seems highly speculative as to what is going through a man's head when he's having sex.

By this same rational, couldn't the argument be made that any man who prefers to have sex with women who have completely bald pubic regions are secretly fantasizing that they're having sex with a prepubescent girl?

Before you condemn this act consider this; the human anus (on both males and females) contains several hundred nerve endings and is, thus, only second to the clitoris or penis head as the most sexually stimulating area on a person's body. Moreover, reversing roles with the woman being the "giver" and the man being the "receiver" can foster new understanding in each other's respective roles in sexual intercourse and can even bring new found respect for one another in an intimate relationship.

Really what I'm looking for here is peoples responses and opinions on pegging. I enjoy engaging in it with my girlfriend and I'm just curious to see if anyone can come up with a different reason for condemning this act other than the aformentioned reason.

Remember, the true test of manliness is being able to take what you're more than happy to give.

For those of you who are unacquainted with the term, "pegging" is a sexual act where a woman performs anal sex on her male partner via strap-on dildo.

I've heard opposition to this act from enough heterosexual men (and women) to understand their argument and here it is: "I would never do that because it's gay" or "anyone who would want to do that is OBVIOUSLY a closet homosexual".

The only rational I can think of for this argument is that the male subject of this act is pretending in his mind that it is actually a man's penis being inserted into his bum-hole and so is fantasizing that he is really having gay sex with a man and not a woman.

This seems highly speculative as to what is going through a man's head when he's having sex.

By this same rational, couldn't the argument be made that any man who prefers to have sex with women who have completely bald pubic regions are secretly fantasizing that they're having sex with a prepubescent girl?

Before you condemn this act consider this; the human anus (on both males and females) contains several hundred nerve endings and is, thus, only second to the clitoris or penis head as the most sexually stimulating area on a person's body. Moreover, reversing roles with the woman being the "giver" and the man being the "receiver" can foster new understanding in each other's respective roles in sexual intercourse and can even bring new found respect for one another in an intimate relationship.

Really what I'm looking for here is peoples responses and opinions on pegging. I enjoy engaging in it with my girlfriend and I'm just curious to see if anyone can come up with a different reason for condemning this act other than the aformentioned reason.

Remember, the true test of manliness is being able to take what you're more than happy to give.

And by extension (no pun intended), why is that such a vital aspect of masturbation material?

To women; how do you feel about a guy wanting to excrete a bodily fluid of his onto your face, chest or into your mouth?

To men; do you think that pleasuring yourself to this (rarely deviating) sexual routine since you were 13 has had any sort of influence in how important you view your own orgasm versus your partner's?

To both; what do you think porn would look like if the man's ejaculation didn't signal the end of the scene and wasn't considered the "money shot"? Do you think you could still get off without that aspect?

A codex containing the Gospel of Judas was discovered in Egypt in the 1970's. It was carbon dated by experts from National Geographic and found to be from the early 2nd century. This gospel belongs to the category of Gnostic Christian writings (essentially all writings about Jesus that didn't get put into the NT for political reasons, of which there might be more than 22, as opposed to the 4 that are found in the Bible).

This Gospel paints Judas Iscariot into a very different light from what we're used to hearing about him. In this Gospel, Judas turned Jesus over to the Romans only because he was ordered to do so by Jesus. The teaching that Jesus taught to Judas in private (because he was the only disciple that truly understood Jesus' message) that the body is more or less a prison that contains a part of God. Not everyone contains this part of God, as most of us are the imperfect offspring of lesser gods and angels who demand sacrifice, destruction, suffering and greed. But Judas was one of the immortal souls who could find salvation after death. In private, Jesus asked him to set in motion the events that would lead to his death, as he could not commit suicide. Jesus also seemed to predict Judas' infamy in our time by telling him that he would be cursed by the followers of all the other disciples. Despite knowing this, Judas complied with his lords wishes and was later stoned to death by the other disciples.

This story poses a threat to Christianity not only because it shows the disciple we think to be a traitor to be the most faithful of all but also because it shows Jesus' crucifixion and death not to be an act that symbolically redeems humanity (which history will show, in fact, it never did) but instead is a simple act of escape.

The Church has consistently denounced the authenticity of this Gospel in spite of admitting to having an ancient copy of it in the Vatican archives. Also understanding the origins of Christianity, it's easy to understand why these Gospels (not just Judas, but also the Gospel of Philip and Mary Magdalene, as well as the other 19 documents) were kept out of the official book.

Yet in light of this relatively recent discovery, shouldn't the church, or just people who truly believe in Jesus, adjust their views to start seeing Judas as a saint rather than a traitor, or Mary Magdalene as a strong woman rather than a whore? Don't the former options seem a bit more inkeeping with the teachings of Jesus, even regardless of their truth? Or has this information just completely gone over your head? Will you continue to think of Judas as a dispicable traitor?

Bear in mind that "democracy" comes from the Greek word "Demos", which means "The Poor", i.o.w., a system run primarily by elected representatives who come from the lowest socioeconomic class within a society.

Who was the last president the US elected who did not come from a privileged background?

And how many US citizens feel that popular opinion is consistently disregarded in the US governments decision making process? How about privatized economic interests?

Essentially; how many Americans still believe the government accepts even the first line of the Constitution which states that this shall be a country "run by the people, for the people"?

The Meaning of Life. I've had a team working on this over the past few weeks, and what we've come up with can be reduced to two fundamental concepts. One: People aren't wearing enough hats. Two: Matter is energy. In the universe there are many energy fields which we cannot normally perceive. Some energies have a spiritual source which act upon a person's soul. However, this "soul" does not exist ab initio as Orthodox Christianity teaches; it has to be brought into existence by a process of guided self-observation. However, this is spiritual progress is rarely achieved in a persons life owing to man's unique ability to be distracted from spiritual matters by everyday trivial.

....Now what was that bit about hats again? Oh yes! People aren't wearing enough of them.

Just share one of the most random things that bothers you.

Mine is that I can't stand women who refer to their spouses as "hubby"...buhhh

Ladies?

From what I can see, when it comes to the religious right using The Bible as a source of justification for their homophobia, they always quote either Genesis or Leviticus, chapters in the Old Testament, to back up their claims that marriage is only meant to be between a man and a woman. But did Jesus ever specifically call out the gays and tell them that there was something wrong with them?

You'd think that given the context of Jesus' time (living on the eastern Mediterranean, in a time of great influx of Greek culture...and Greek customs (wink wink)) he would have dedicated at least one sentence specifically addressing the issue of "sodomy".

But my light-hearted humor aside, I really would like to know if Jesus spoke on this issue and, if not, why is the Jewish community so tolerant of gays?

As I've aged, I've found that I used to like destroying things and then slowly began to enjoy creating things more. My teenage years were full with a very strong desire to break things. I felt suffocated under all of these perceived illusions that "grown-ups" had built around me, and I felt like I needed to shatter them, to burn them and tear them down out of defiance.

But as I've grown older, I've found that I rather enjoy creating things. Doesn't matter what. I could write a song or a short story, build something out of wood or stone. But I've found that the satisfaction, and the need all together, to destroy has almost entirely vanished from my body.

So what do you all think? Do you enjoy the satisfaction that comes from dismantling things more or do you like the satisfaction that comes with creation more? And do you think your preference is a result of how old you are?

We're all quite familiar with the concept that Jesus died on the cross for the purpose of redeeming mankind by taking all of humanities past, present and future sins and having God forgive us; thus allowing us to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Right, we're all still in agreement? This much I've got right? Okay. Well then I would just like to ask any Christians, relying on their expertise in the matter, if there is any mention in The Bible about what would have happened had Jesus NOT died for our sins? It sounds like God was cooking something pretty nasty up for humanity until Jesus decided (or was sent down?) to die for our sins. I was just curious as to whether there was any elaboration as to what God had planned for us up until that point. How did God forgive people's sins before Jesus came about?

If there isn't anything in The Bible, I'd gladly accept your own personal take on what you think humanity avoided with Jesus' death. Avoid vague, rude or one-line answers please, thank you

At least from what I can tell from an observer's perspective, women seem to be a lot more comfortable around other women. From what I can tell, this is still true for women in lesbian relationships. It seems like they're a lot more intimate with each other and much closer than men and women are in heterosexual relationships.

So back to the title, I've sometimes find myself wishing that I was a woman just so I could be a lesbian relationship, because I envy the closeness that, at least I feel, is often lacking in straight relationships.

Guys, have you ever thought about this?

and ladies, what do you think? Especially bisexuals, I want to hear from women who have had relationships with both men and women

For those who've read the book, how would you feel about it's teachings being adopted into a religious (would spiritual be more comfortable for you Atheists?) practise? Share your thoughts on this idea or just tell what you thought about the book itself. Definitely worth a read if you ask me.

If you haven't read this book, I don't care if you're Christian or Atheist or Islamic, you need to read this masterpiece of literature.

But for those of you who have read this book, Atheist or whatever religious affiliation, would you be comfortable with attempting to live your life by this book as you would The Bible or The Qur'an? It seems to have all of the positive aspects promoted by religions laid down without the demand for dogmatic praise or following, thus being nothing more to Atheists than a book of poems which help explain a more fulfilling way of life

respectful answers, thanks