?

For example (to keep things simple) homosexuality/homosexual marriage.

Religion didn't invent marriage, Religion does not own marriage- Religion does not dictate marriage.

But a lot of religious people discuss the *legality* of marriage as though they are in church, talking about their belief system and how it pertains to people of their faith, when the reality is they are discussing a non-religious, civil topic, and how it pertains to the whole of society, including those who have not chosen to be burdened by the rules they chose to follow when they took that faith.

It seems many people seem to think that, because *THEY* have rules (they have chosen, by way of being an active member of their religion) to follow, EVERYONE (including those who have chosen not to be members of that religion, or to follow those traditions of that religion, or to interpret them differently, etc) has to follow them as well.

The argument is that homosexuality is wrong, but it is only subjectively wrong in to some religions It is not objectively wrong in and of itself.

Raping a child is wrong in and of itself. Murder is wrong in and of itself.

People having consensual intimacy is not wrong in and of itself.

That is a personal religious belief, they have every right to feel that way. But why don't some recognize that their right to *feel* a certain way does NOT mean they have a right to actually decide what OTHERS should do?

I feel enlightened, and I would like to start a religion.

I don't need help with all of it. Firstly, I am already legally ordained, so I can function in the full capacity as a religious leader. I am already working out particulars like the name; how our religion can best benefit all life on this planet; what traditions, holidays, habits/rituals, etc we might have. I'm working on how to be helpful to the mental and emotional state of the people in the religion, what it can offer them. And, of course, the shared search for meaning, purpose, answers to the "whys" (since science takes care of most of the "whats" and "hows"), and how to be a place of comfort, fulfillment, and support in the world as imperfect as it is. Etc.

Once I have these things hammered out, I need to learn- how I go about inviting people to hear what I have to say? Welcoming those who might be interested, and might be fulfilled by my religion.

I don't want to bother those who aren't seeking an ideology, I don't want to make people feel like I'm trying to convert them against their will the way many kinds of proselytization feel. I'd just like to put a new option out there, for people who would benefit and be interested to consider one.

Is there a guide for how to do this, how others have done this, or an example of it being done etc somewhere? I have looked up many religious leaders, but none of what I have found has detailed their methods regarding taking their ideas from paper to the pulpit.

When things happen, I hear a lot of people talk about using fertility drugs, finding surrogates, etc as a "blessing" but they never seem to see their original condition as anything but a speed bump.

Why don t theists have a stronger wish to give love to a child in need when their deity has taken their ability to make one themselves?

Have you heard of any health problems that can come from vaping?

Alternately, if you ve heard of any, but can debunk them, I d be interested in that as well.

Is it because fake news? Liberals?

What?

Pick your deity, Yahweh, Allah, Anubis, whoever- that's "God" for this example.

What if God *has* a God(for clarity, lets call God's God "ElderGod")?

How would God KNOW? What if ElderGod created God out of itself, and so it seemed like God was alone, when really, ElderGod is everything that God is made of, and everything that God has made as well?

What if ElderGod has sins too, and God is breaking them? What does that mean for us?

So, last night my friends, ambigusweetie and I were having a hurricane party, drinking heavily, and at one point I boasted about being able to take a punch, and dared my sweetie to punch me in the stomach.

He obliged, I'm happy to say I didn't budge, everyone was duly impressed, and the night went on as planned.

This morning, I wake up and my stomach hurts, below the sternum but above the navel, square in the center, where I got punched (not surprising, he's got bony hands and is pretty strong). It's mostly just tender to the touch, I can forget about it completely when I'm standing. It feels like a bruise, but there's only the *barest* hint of discoloration in one area (probably where his index finger connected).

If it doesn't get worse, do I have anything to worry about? How long would be "too long" for it to heal/stop hurting? I'm not super concerned (as I said, I can take a punch, and he didn't "Houdini" me, he waited until I was prepared) but I just want to be sure that there's not some concern I'm unaware of and should be on the look out for.

Appreciate any replies. ^_^

***PLEASE READ BEFORE DECRYING MY QUESTION/INTELLIGENCE:

This is question is specifically in reference to the Atheists who are anti-theist, believe that science has true objective facts, AND who make truth claims about the non-existence of Gods apropos of nothing. Gnostic Atheists are those who believe there are no Gods, and do not require evidence, or a truth claim about the existence of Gods, to hold this position.

To be explicitly clear: I am *not* talking about "agnostic/areligious/non-truth-claiming Atheists.

I am aware of unfalsifiability, and "disproving a negative" issues inherent with gnostic/religious/truth-claim Atheism (pick whichever term you prefer), and that is partly why I am curious about this in the first place.

----------------------

Gnostic Atheists, why do you not consider your beliefs to be religious?

You have no *proof* of them, only inductive evidence, you live your life based on them, and you proselytize.

This is TO "Gnostic" Atheists, but answers ABOUT said Atheists from "Agnostic" Atheists are more than welcome, as long as you're not going to falsely claim that "gnostic" Atheists don't exist, because boy-howdy, they do.

Religious/Theists- This question isn't for you, nor is it intended as a platform for you to proselytize, so please don't. If you'd like, I've asked many questions to the religious that you may be able to offer useful insight into. Please answer one of those instead.

I'm not even talking about non-belief.

Even (mostly?) among true, strong believers, there is an incredible amount of disagreement about what holy writings should be interpreted.

Wouldn't a God be able to expect, and avoid, such a thing?

I know humans are thick-headed and like to argue, but surely the creator of everything could figure out how to overcome that somehow?

Atheists, we know how you feel about this, please don't waste pixels replying just to feel clever and witty. I promise a question just for y'all is coming soon.

I don't believe in Abrahamic religions, but I don't believe there's enough evidence to disprove them either.

Even so, I don't worship either the Jewish, Christian or Muslim Gods. I see less about them that inspires worship than scorn.

That made me wonder about people who *do* believe in those Gods would think/act if they didn't have to worry about the afterlife.

My question to Y!A is, HYPOTHETICALLY, if there were no Heaven or Hell mentioned anywhere in the Bible, would you still be a member of your religion?

"According to the US Dept of Agriculture, the average adult needs to consume about 2000-2500 calories to maintain their weight"

Great! What is the "average adult" according to the US Dept of Ag? No clue!

But at five feet tall, I know I m NOT it. If I eat 2500 calories a day I won t maintain, I ll gain.

Can someone help me here?

If your father did things like holding your first mistake against you for your whole life, had children horrifically mauled to death by bears for not respecting bald people, slaughtered the children of people who disrespected him, only forgiving you for your first mistake because you brutally tortured his other child to death etc...

would you want him in your life?

would you worship him?

Brass tacks, what's the meaningful difference between

"That's our best guess"

and

"God did it"

when the issue is something unfalsifiable?

She lost. Shut up about her already, ffs. Can you idiots not defend that mango without bringing up someone else to compare him to?

I know it must be HARD to find merits of his own to defend him on, but TRY.

I get hunting for food, people have to eat.

"Trophy" hunters are another matter. I see nothing positive about it at all.

What isn't freakish about killing things for the purpose of hanging their bodies in your house?

What about killing a magnificent animal makes you want to smile and take a picture with the body?

In my personal opinion, it's a sign of something mentally wrong.

I was just on a four-day fast and I was craving cigarettes MORE THAN food.

Let me reiterate: For four days I ate no food, and drank only water. During this time, my body wanted cigarettes, which offer absolutely *nothing* a human body needs, far more than it wanted *food*.

I was going to have a longer fast, but caved in *because if I quit fasting I could smoke again*.

That is insane. They should be illegal. How do we make it happen?

Let me just start by saying I'm going into this fast *obese*, I'm not already thin and starving myself dangerously; I've got enough "food" hanging on my body to last me a while.

That said, I'm a little older (32) and I'm worried about my skin tightening as I lose weight, I neither want (nor can afford) to remove a bunch of loose skin after losing weight.

What are some good exercises I can do *safely* during the fast that will keep my skin toned as I lose the weight?

The stock market is, in my opinion, a disgusting, sleazy and stupid concept. It's original form made some amount of sense, but today it's nothing but a big joke.

But not a funny one.

Businesses don't NEED the stock market, people who believe in a company can put money into it, they don't need stocks to do that. We've seen the success of this idea with crowdfunding.

Is there any way we can leave this disgusting economy-hijacking gambling habit in the dust and let companies rise or fall based on those who have the guts to invest in real-world people and businesses they believe in and want to see succeed, rather than PLAYING with money, completely divested from the real world things it's attached to (which is essentially all the idiots on wall street are doing)?

I don't like the word "supernatural" because it implies explicitly that things can exist outside of their natural place, and that doesn't make sense to me.

For instance, I believe in what people call "ghosts" (I wouldn't, but I've f*cking SEEN one.) but I don't think they are what people think they are. My best guess is that what we call ghosts are something like a "glitch" in spacetime, or a peek at the fourth dimension. They're not the conscious "souls" of dead people, they're more like a smear on the lens of reality.

I believe in aliens, no opinion on what they're up to or where they might be. Nothing supernatural about this, statistically they're more likely than not.

I believe in some kinds of "magic" and "ESP". Magic/prayer could be explained by whatever we finally figure out can explain the placebo effect.

ESP stuff is trickier... and a little more "out there" and quantum-theoretical, having to do with consciousness and stuff that ONLY makes even a crumb of sense if you know about the factors involved, so I won't go into it here, but suffice it to say, the theory is based in science and logic, not wishful thinking and fairy tales.

I don't believe anything is supernatural, but I believe that many phenomena we do not understand has a natural cause/explanation and if/when properly understood, would fit right in with everything else we "know" about reality. Is there a word for this?

I don t care about getting a degree, and I don t want the information for "practical" purposes like getting a job.

I just want to learn more. I want to study more complex ideas with other people who are also learning them.

My first impulse was college, but the more I learn about it, the less good of an idea it seems. First, I d have to deal with a lot of children who aren t there for the right reasons, then Id have to deal with all the people who are there for the "right" reasons (to get a degree), too.

Finally, I d have to pay WAY too much for a degree I don t give a fig about and have no use for.

Is there an alternative?