young earthers get the bozack

sean hannity is second from the left.

I think Obama really needs to consider giving pink slips to his campaign strategists.

The base they are cultivating for him are getting to pushy, reactive, and nasty.

Or just forget all about it. I give up.

fixed it Bit NOLA - Sitemonitor

I'd rather be created by a loving God than accidentally evolved from basic matter. If I were actually a result of the natural process of evolution (with no input or care from a higher power - i.e. a higher power doesn't even exist), then my life is essentially meaningless since I will eventually die (as will everyone else) and be forgotten to have ever existed within a hundred years or so. What a bleak outlook! I prefer to believe that life (and personal consciousness) is eternal and that the force behind it all is God. I've had enough of "eat drink and be merry" only to find it empty and hollow in the end. The strongest connections I've had with other people and with God have been through spiritual experiences brought on through faith, fellowship, prayer, and selflessness.

Tim in Japan @ 4:

sean hannity is second from the left.

That's an insult to the Neanderthals.

For all the people who point out that MLK was a preacher, let me remind you what Pastor Jerry said when MLK was using the same Bible for Civil Rights: "MLK is a tool of the Devil." Christianity has such a confused textbook that people can point to the same set of verses and then say two different things. The fact that this "One True Faith" has thousands of sects and that the only way you can know a sect is correct is if you belong to it, and that these sects can't even agree on whether their Divine Rabbi on a Stick was God or not, much less whether or not he would or wouldn't approve of Pastor Hinn's new Lexus, would seem to indicate that mabye, just mabye the logical people atheists have a point. It's pathetic beyond words how a religion founded from a Jewish Rabbi with twelve male disciples alone in the desert could become the anti-Semitic, homophobic death-worshiping monstrosity it is today.

curt @ 10:

I'd rather be created by a loving God than accidentally evolved from basic matter. If I were actually a result of the natural process of evolution (with no input or care from a higher power - i.e. a higher power doesn't even exist), then my life is essentially meaningless since I will eventually die (as will everyone else) and be forgotten to have ever existed within a hundred years or so. What a bleak outlook! I prefer to believe that life (and personal consciousness) is eternal and that the force behind it all is God. I've had enough of "eat drink and be merry" only to find it empty and hollow in the end. The strongest connections I've had with other people and with God have been through spiritual experiences brought on through faith, fellowship, prayer, and selflessness.

Amen, curt!

Life's purpose? To experience feelings of happiness.

Brad @ 16:

Life's purpose? To experience feelings of happiness.

Actually it's to become stronger when faced with challenges you don't think you can overcome. Happiness is what makes that bearable.

Regarding comment #10,

For me, the idea of a god that built us from clay and monitors our lives like one might do with lab rats takes the dignity out of humanity. I can do well without a purpose forced on me by a cosmic big brother; the only purpose and the only dignity that can truly matter are those that we give ourselves.

We, as a species, rose from apes and conquered the whole planet. We, as a species, developed language, technology and the arts. We have made it this far, and I will not let that be taken away from us by a pipe dream of the aforementioned big brother figure that dropped it all in our laps like spoilt brats.

Fortunately, the evidence is on my side.

Amen, Jo!

Every religious experience I had in my younger life was pure delusional bullshit induced by the nuts around me and shared in my own nutty little heart.

Now the really meaningful stuff had nothing to do with J. C, or the Big Man.

curt @ 10:

I'd rather be created by a loving God than accidentally evolved from basic matter. If I were actually a result of the natural process of evolution (with no input or care from a higher power - i.e. a higher power doesn't even exist), then my life is essentially meaningless since I will eventually die (as will everyone else) and be forgotten to have ever existed within a hundred years or so. What a bleak outlook! I prefer to believe that life (and personal consciousness) is eternal and that the force behind it all is God. I've had enough of "eat drink and be merry" only to find it empty and hollow in the end. The strongest connections I've had with other people and with God have been through spiritual experiences brought on through faith, fellowship, prayer, and selflessness.

To recap:
You prefer fantasy to reality. You find that to be a comfort in times of need. Good for you.
Reality is bleak. Life is pain. Your life on earth is what you make of it.
Blaming it all on a higher power only tries to shift the blame.

curt @ 10

my life is essentially meaningless since I will eventually die (as will everyone else) and be forgotten to have ever existed within a hundred years or so. What a bleak outlook!

Just because no one will remember you in a hundred or a thousand years, why does that mean your life is meaningless? Statistically speaking, no one really gives a crap about you now. That doesn't mean you're worthless, just normal.

Brad @ 23:

Asking "what is the purpose of life" does tend to open one for being told what purpose others have for you.

'Zactly. Or as my Mama used to say, " You go around looking like you don't know the answers, someone's gonna give you theirs."

curt @ 10:

I'd rather be created by a loving God than accidentally evolved from basic matter. If I were actually a result of the natural process of evolution (with no input or care from a higher power - i.e. a higher power doesn't even exist), then my life is essentially meaningless since I will eventually die (as will everyone else) and be forgotten to have ever existed within a hundred years or so. What a bleak outlook! I prefer to believe that life (and personal consciousness) is eternal and that the force behind it all is God. I've had enough of "eat drink and be merry" only to find it empty and hollow in the end. The strongest connections I've had with other people and with God have been through spiritual experiences brought on through faith, fellowship, prayer, and selflessness.

There you go, anthropomorphizing a concept again. I bet you actually think "god" looks like a white haired old man sitting on a throne among wing-wearing "angels".

I really don't care what beliefs you use to give your life meaning beyond the humdrum existences we all have, just don't tell me what to believe. Also, do not judge me for my beliefs that happen to be different from yours. If you happen to need the crutch of religion to help you get through the day, so be it. I respect your need for that kind of support. Just don't expect that others need it too.

Don't really think there's anyone around who knows the purpose of anything.

That presumes that there is a purpose and that the aimlessness of the universe is null and void. To be sure, there's lots of cause and effect, but everywhere I look I see perfectly abundant repetition and perfectly beautiful uselessness that suffers loss everytime someone proposes some ultimate use for it.

Galaxies and planets are smashing together as we type, and the point is...what?

My happiness!!!!!!!! ME, ME, ME, ME, ME. Of course. That must be it. Or maybe it's all about W's happiness. He's having a helluva time, and nothing's gonna change his world. Happiness Pie! MMMMMMMM.

As far as evolution goes, I like to think of myself as linked to the past and hopefully the future. I love the fact that I can go out in my yard and feed the raptors. I know they are just waiting for us to fuck up so they can have their own back.

It won't be long now.

Thanks for the linkage Bluegal.

As for me - I am happily both a Christian and believe in evolution. They are not mutually exclusive to me or to many other people like me.

It is anyone's right to believe in pure creationism. However, I would have to say that as we head into a more complex social/cultural and technological world, I would rather not have a president who was limited by his creationism beliefs.

For the record, we have many ills, but Catholics (which I am) do not take the Bible literally.

And as far as the Bible goes, most of it has God dragging people into the future, not reverting them to the past. We should take heed to do the same FWIW.

Ex-Canuck @ 30:

There you go, anthropomorphizing a concept again. I bet you actually think "god" looks like a white haired old man sitting on a throne among wing-wearing "angels".

I really don't care what beliefs you use to give your life meaning beyond the humdrum existences we all have, just don't tell me what to believe. Also, do not judge me for my beliefs that happen to be different from yours. If you happen to need the crutch of religion to help you get through the day, so be it. I respect your need for that kind of support. Just don't expect that others need it too.

Hear, hear. And stop trying to pretend that your literal interpretation of the Bible means that it is a science book and that your inane ideas of the world of science need to be taught in schools.

Oh, I have. It helped when I learned that accomplishment is a tad more important than my general satisfaction with my self.

Happiness is well and good, but easily programmed. Other things are a Bit more challenging and worthwhile.

It's the achievment that counts. Where it meets with others.

Again, self-esteem and even regard for your own effort are far, far , far from the point.

paranoia @ 25:

Whats interesting in one polls that show Edward as being the best chance for defeating the Republican candidate, yet Hillary and Obama are presented by the media to be the favor. As strong as Edward has become, and painted as a angry man, is the most threat to the corporate. How is it that 70% of the American want to end this war and we get 2 of the most pro-war candidate up front leading the primaries????

mass stupidity????

Saw this on Digg: 100 Greatest Quotes from fundamentalist christian chat rooms

The main site is down, but dugg trends has it: http://duggmirror.com/comedy/100_Greatest_Quotes_from_fundamentalist_chr... A few of the evolution related ones:

- There are a lot of things I have concluded to be wrong, without studying them in-depth. Evolution is one of them. The fact that I don't know that much about it does not bother me in the least.

- You got it backwards. Creationism is based upon science, reason and tons of evidence. Evolution is based on the blind acceptance of superstitions and fairy tales.

- I can sum it all up in three words: Evolution is a lie

- I often debate with evolutionists because I believe that they are narrow mindedly and dogmatically accepting evolution without questioning it. I don't really care how God did what He did. I know He did it.

- [Replying to 'as for not seeing evolution it takes several million years... incase you missed that memo...'] several million years for a monkey to turn into a man. oh wait thats right. monkeys dont live several million years.

- Everyone knows scientists insist on using complex terminology to make it harder for True Christians to refute their claims.

- Deoxyribonucleic Acid, for example... sounds impressive, right? But have you ever seen what happens if you put something in acid? It dissolves! If we had all this acid in our cells, we'd all dissolve! So much for the Theory of Evolution, Check MATE!

- Muslims countries aren’t as interested in ID because they don’t need to deal with nearly as much atheist scum evolutionists with their evolving mind tricks. All our liberties are allowing the atheists here to destroy our society. George H.W. Bush was intelligent and thoughtful enough to say that atheists shouldn’t really be citizens. Maybe his son will have the intelligence to make a similar point, maybe in his next state of the union adress outlaw evolution. He wouldn’t need to say much, simply something like “every evolutionist is now an enemy of the Republic,” and then explain why. The muslim countries know how to deal with these people(one of the rare things they do right). Why can’t we follow their lead?

- all the evolutionists, tell me something. i know how the big bang "has happened, but tell me, wouldnt an explosion, especially one that size, take away life instead of allow it? think about it. ex: the a-bomb, the h-bomb, grenades, cannon balls (when fired from a cannon of course), mines, rocket launchers, and anything and everything in between. they all have taken lives.

- Don't you know that evolution is basically a racist concept? Some evolutionists still teach that white people evolved from "negroes" who evolved from apes-- Meaning "white people are more evolved!"

wisedup @ 47:

All religions are based on belief. Sience leaves belief out. Prove it I say. I'm for any system that inspires us to be good to eachother,but something that is 'untrue' is 'untrue' whether we like it or not. A fried egg that looks like jesus, is not proof.

Faith, not belief. Because I believe in things that can be proved. ;)

Brad @ 13:

If we were engineered to be slaves for workship (archaic spelling,) that would help explain the tendency to look to others for guidance, rather than to suffer pain from effort-driven context-building.

I have my share of university degrees and consider myself reasonably well read but I confess that I am baffled. Can anyone interpret the above quote. Babelfish does not do bullshit to english.

Peter G @ 50:

Brad @ 13:

If we were engineered to be slaves for workship (archaic spelling,) that would help explain the tendency to look to others for guidance, rather than to suffer pain from effort-driven context-building.

I have my share of university degrees and consider myself reasonably well read but I confess that I am baffled. Can anyone interpret the above quote. Babelfish does not do bullshit to english.

I'm not touching it with a pole of any length.

However, my old neighbor, the 6' 9" Stan Przybysz, would say it don't make no sense anyhow.

Brad - thanks for Ron Paul dollar link. what a hoot! Not only is there a disclaimer at top announcing that "only the first $2300" of proceeds can be donated to the campaign, but also there is a little bit further down inviting one to 'get in' as a seller for a special fee.

So not only are the Paulians silly, Ron Paul and others are making a mint - quite literally offa his campaign push, but also they are running an MLM as well. Wow, I wonder if Paul would propose that all government offices run on an MLM pyramid scheme basis. What a buncha loons.

head hurt. thinking, bad.

curt @ 10:

I'd rather be created by a loving God than accidentally evolved from basic matter. If I were actually a result of the natural process of evolution (with no input or care from a higher power - i.e. a higher power doesn't even exist), then my life is essentially meaningless since I will eventually die (as will everyone else) and be forgotten to have ever existed within a hundred years or so. What a bleak outlook! I prefer to believe that life (and personal consciousness) is eternal and that the force behind it all is God. I've had enough of "eat drink and be merry" only to find it empty and hollow in the end. The strongest connections I've had with other people and with God have been through spiritual experiences brought on through faith, fellowship, prayer, and selflessness.

So what you would rather be true is your standard? Hows that working out for ya?

Many christians agree with the theory of evolution. The Catholic Church itself finds the evidence strong and has no problem with it. It's usually only certain christians, usually fundamentalist protestant ones, who are literal creationists.

The head of the human genome project is a born again christian himself. He recently wrote a book trying to dissuade christians from believing what the nutjobs in the creationist racket try to sell them.

Andy K @ 45:

Form Ishmael.org:

The Question (ID Number 733)...

Near the conclusion of "Ishmael," you proclaimed that humans in the Taker culture have stopped evolving, because they do not live in the hands of the gods. This is the only idea of yours that I cannot wrap my mind around. I don't understand how or why evolution would cease for a segment of one species but not for another segment of the same species...especially considering the segment for which evolution supposedly has ceased contains the vast majority of the total species' population. In addition, how have the Leaver peoples evolved, and what proof do we have of that evolution?

...and the response:
[from author Daniel Quinn]

You have three different questions here. Regarding the first question, I would say that the members of our culture have simply removed ourselves from the conditions under which evolution takes place; this is the whole point of taking our lives into our own hands. To say that I "proclaimed" it suggests that the statement is to be taken on faith. I would say rather that I merely asserted it, and presented grounds for the assertion, which will be examined in greater detail below.
Regarding the second question, it's entirely possible for one "section" of a species to evolve separately from other sections–if the conditions under which the one section live become different from the conditions under which the others live. An excellent example of this can be found in the very distinctive physical differences that developed among Leaver peoples living under the conditions of the far north–-the Eskimos. Over time (hundreds or thousands of years), their bodies adapted to two significantly different conditions from the rest of humanity: severe cold and the absence of nearly all forms of edible fruits and vegetables, leaving them with a diet that consisted almost entirely of meat. By contrast, immigrants to Alaska from the lower United States do not have to adapt to these conditions, because they bring with them central heating and supermarkets supplied with food from the south. This illustrates very clearly why these Taker immigrants are not evolving: they don't need to; they're shielding themselves from the conditions under which evolution takes place.

I believe the answer to the second question also answers the third. The Eskimos exemplify how Leaver peoples evolved, and their physical differences from peoples of the south constitute proof of that evolution.

The questioner had a follow-up query: Would a reasonable alternative hypothesis to your assertion that people in the Taker culture have stopped evolving be that they do continue to evolve but not how they would have if they had adopted a Leaver culture? I cannot think of an example to offer, but the idea is that Takers continue to evolve in a way that perhaps is not beneficial to them or in a way that reflects their Taker culture.

My reply: Evolution is not an ongoing, inevitable process, like, say, aging. It's a response to new conditions that favor some individuals (who survive to reproduce) over others (who do not survive to reproduce). I can see no conditions at work today that would have this effect on humans. When (and if) the combined effects of our impact on the environment finally combine to cause a general ecological collapse, there will be no time for Homo Sapiens to adapt (just as there was no time for Tyrannosaurus or Triceratops to adapt).

consciousness that is

Peter G @ 63:

Sorry about that. Hit the wrong button before finishing the comment. Mr Quinn's answer is purest nonsense. We have not stopped evolving because we can't. It may be true that some external forces no longer have significant effect on human evolution, predation is a good example. I don't much worry about getting eaten by something on a day to day basis. We have also learned to modify our environment to suit ourselves. Nevertheless the fiercest competition is not between species but withing a given species. As long as a population of humans sufficient to propagate exists we will evolve.

Sorry, Peter, but I think that if you read Quinn in context(and I apologize for presenting a less-than-whole Quinn), you might come to a different conclusion. Quinn writes about inter- and intra-species conflict and presents the arguments that we of the Taker culture have changed the rules of the game so that we not only have halted human evolution- at least in the vast majority of the species which is part of that culture- but we have taken the place of the gods themselves so that we no longer live in harmony with the rest of the life on earth, and in fact disallow the natural evolution of the life forms with which we were formerly interdependent.

Sorry if I assume that you haven't read Quinn. Have you?

Daddy-O @ 65:

This should convince all the idiots that Kucinich and Paul are the best choices:

Who Takes Money From Lobbyists?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Money

The answer?

Everybody…

Hillary Clinton: $567,950
John McCain: $340,365
Mitt Romney: $229,475
Rudolph W. Giuliani: $212,100
Fred Thompson: $90,000
Barack Obama: $76,859
Duncan Hunter: $30,900
John Edwards: $18,900
Mike Huckabee: $6,964
Ron Paul: $0
Dennis Kucinich: $0

but integrating these facts into proper context makes my head hurt.

Hillery = McCain + Romney!

curt @ 10:

I'd rather be created by a loving God than accidentally evolved from basic matter. If I were actually a result of the natural process of evolution (with no input or care from a higher power - i.e. a higher power doesn't even exist), then my life is essentially meaningless since I will eventually die (as will everyone else) and be forgotten to have ever existed within a hundred years or so. What a bleak outlook! I prefer to believe that life (and personal consciousness) is eternal and that the force behind it all is God. I've had enough of "eat drink and be merry" only to find it empty and hollow in the end. The strongest connections I've had with other people and with God have been through spiritual experiences brought on through faith, fellowship, prayer, and selflessness.

Wow. How pessimistic & depressing an outlook.
What I have never understood about flat-earthers (oops, creationists) is that because you've evolved by process from an ape, you are nothing but an ape & life is meaningless. It is also quite simplistic & binary to believe that if you are evolved from an ape, the only thing left is to be existentialist & 'eat drink & be merry'.
Several thousand generations ago, my ancestors were ape-like, but that doesn't mean I'm condemned to mimic their lives. I have more powers of thought, reason, compassion & every other ability humans have than any variation previously. My life isn't meaningless. My life's meaning is to use those qualities to the best of my abilities for the best of intentions. You can too, and if you need a device called God to allow yourself to do it, all power to you. The downsides of only allowing yourself to be your best using dogmatic religion is those same religions are manipulated by men with less than the best of intentions and have been since day dot.

Remember, none of those positive qualities you've mentioned require a belief in any particular God or Gods. They are human & universal.

=my2c
BC

curt @ 10:

I'd rather be created by a loving God than accidentally evolved from basic matter. If I were actually a result of the natural process of evolution (with no input or care from a higher power - i.e. a higher power doesn't even exist), then my life is essentially meaningless since I will eventually die (as will everyone else) and be forgotten to have ever existed within a hundred years or so. What a bleak outlook! I prefer to believe that life (and personal consciousness) is eternal and that the force behind it all is God. I've had enough of "eat drink and be merry" only to find it empty and hollow in the end. The strongest connections I've had with other people and with God have been through spiritual experiences brought on through faith, fellowship, prayer, and selflessness.

Well then, you should be glad to know that evolution is not an accidental process. It is guided by what I think are the laws of nature, but what you are welcome to believe is a deity. No conflict necessary.

Brad @ 31:

http://www.libertydollar.org/ld/ronpauldollar

Perfect symbology. "Trust in God", and right below that in large letters: "Ron Paul".

Brad @ 73:

Andy K @ 57:

************
And, Brad, workship is not an archaic spelling. It's an archaic word, maybe, but it's still spelled the same way today as it was many years ago.

In a lecture titled Lost Secrets of the Sacred Arc by Sir Laurence Gardner, Gardner looked in the English Language Word Etymological Dictionary from Oxford University that traces the origin of words.
He went back 700 years, said you find that the word we use as worship had a "k" in it.

Apologies, Brad. Thought you were using the archaic form of workmanship.

Or maybe you intended worthscipe or the Old English weorthscipe.

Daddy-O @ 65:

This should convince all the idiots that Kucinich and Paul are the best choicesRon Paul: $0 Dennis Kucinich: $0

Unlike Dennis Kucinich, L Ron Paul wants TO PRIVATIZE ALL FEDERAL LANDS, including the national parks.

And you think he doesn't take money from lobbyists???

Bwah-ha-ha-ha.

He doesn't REPORT money from lobbyists--that's a different matter entirely.

#48 Andy K, good point. Some say 'I believe in this or that'...but have no proof. Wishing,hoping,and faith are all based on future proof. I've been told for 60 years that jesus is coming back and send me right to hell or something. I think it's time I took off my fire suit.

When the meaning and purpose of life becomes a question, so does the value of it. This opens up the door for initiative force against individuals and the groups they may constitute.

Otay @ 83:

Brad @ 75:

Symbols for the symbol minded.

And we have for our symbol-minded...the Ron Paulites. Or should I say the L Ron Paulites.

What a staggering pronouncement. Simply withering.

Brad @ 84:

Otay @ 83:

Brad @ 75:

Symbols for the symbol minded.

And we have for our symbol-minded...the Ron Paulites. Or should I say the L Ron Paulites.

What a staggering pronouncement. Simply withering.

Nothing staggering in the mundane.

why would the lack of belief in an invisible puppetmaster constitute "a meaningless life"????i'm not only insulted,i'm pissed! talk about arrogance."i believe in invisible men,who intervene on my behalf,well,sometimes,when i mumble under my breath with my eyes closed,and hands held in the proper manner,and if you dont,well,your life has no meaning!!"gimme a fucking break! i have two fine human beings in my children,whom i've raised without the prospect of burning in everlasting hellfire by some allegedly benevolent father figure who lives in the clouds.this being the same guy who "loves us as his own".my wife and i have been together for 21 yrs now,and life as i see it is just damn good!not always butterflies and unicorns,but who's is? and dont try to say that the believers have it any better,because we all know that adversity is a fact we deal with on this planet.christians that i know have all the same trials and tribs that we all do,in spite of their individual skydaddies,so essentially your argument is without merit,in fact ,i would say that anyone that believes in omnipotent deities has noticed throughout their "meaningful lives" that their prayers have often gone unanswered,and that us godless heathens have done quite well for ourselves."judge not,lest ye be judged,eh???your arrogance is appall(ing,but i notice that this is a common trait among those who claim to know the "truth",as is explained in a book written 2000 years ago by men prone to superstition and myth.sorry for the rant but,damn!!!!!!!!!(this particular heathen is also given to the occasional run on sentence!!sorry,everybody!)

curt @ 10:

I'd rather be created by a loving God than accidentally evolved from basic matter. If I were actually a result of the natural process of evolution (with no input or care from a higher power - i.e. a higher power doesn't even exist), then my life is essentially meaningless since I will eventually die (as will everyone else) and be forgotten to have ever existed within a hundred years or so. What a bleak outlook! I prefer to believe that life (and personal consciousness) is eternal and that the force behind it all is God. I've had enough of "eat drink and be merry" only to find it empty and hollow in the end. The strongest connections I've had with other people and with God have been through spiritual experiences brought on through faith, fellowship, prayer, and selflessness.

You can believe whatever you want, that's your right. But understand that evolution isn't a matter of belief. It's a reality, and wanting or not wanting to "believe" it is irrelevant. Reality is what people need to learn. If their own beliefs collapse as a result of facing reality, then so be it. I suggest looking at your life as precious. If indeed we only get one, then it's all the more important we get the most out of it. Why focus on what comes after it? Enjoy it now, live to the fullest, be good to others, and learn and grow.

Playing Into Karl Rove's Hands

curt @ 10:

I'd rather be created by a loving God than accidentally evolved from basic matter. If I were actually a result of the natural process of evolution (with no input or care from a higher power - i.e. a higher power doesn't even exist), then my life is essentially meaningless since I will eventually die (as will everyone else) and be forgotten to have ever existed within a hundred years or so. What a bleak outlook! I prefer to believe that life (and personal consciousness) is eternal and that the force behind it all is God. I've had enough of "eat drink and be merry" only to find it empty and hollow in the end. The strongest connections I've had with other people and with God have been through spiritual experiences brought on through faith, fellowship, prayer, and selflessness.

Is the god your talking about is the one who puts us here with all our predetermined faults and then says if we don't fix them we'll burn in hell?

Yeah we DO need to be saved... from whack jobs who preach this shit and try and force their unfounded unproven delusions to be taught as "science".

Ocular and olfaction hallucinations.

curt @ 10:

I'd rather be created by a loving God than accidentally evolved from basic matter. If I were actually a result of the natural process of evolution (with no input or care from a higher power - i.e. a higher power doesn't even exist), then my life is essentially meaningless since I will eventually die (as will everyone else) and be forgotten to have ever existed within a hundred years or so. What a bleak outlook! I prefer to believe that life (and personal consciousness) is eternal and that the force behind it all is God. I've had enough of "eat drink and be merry" only to find it empty and hollow in the end. The strongest connections I've had with other people and with God have been through spiritual experiences brought on through faith, fellowship, prayer, and selflessness.

Believe what you want. Reality, OTOH says something very different. The Ancient Egyptians believed the souls of the dead came back and that they would live a life (presumably an animate one) in statues. Obviously, no African golems were stalking the Nile Basin and howling "Lemme outta here, I'm bored!" Why is it that Christian talk of an Afterlife should be different? Oh, and people can "Eat Drink and Be Merry," yet the next day they are fat and with a hangover.

Who cares what we think about death? All the Christian saints are dead, the third of Europe's populations scythed down by the plague is dead. For that matter, everything before us and everything after us will die, also. Our particular species of ape is arrogant, arrogant enough to believe in an eternal existence denied stars and galaxies. Yes, our reward is death? What of it? Our atoms will one day help make up future species, and the mixture of ours and theirs even more future species, until 5 billion years into the future and the Sun flares up and life is sterilized. Who gives a sh*t? None of us will be around to see it!

Better to focus on making your life more enjoyable now, as opposed to worrying about Biblegod coming down.

General_Rennenkampf @ 98:

...Our particular species of ape is arrogant, arrogant enough to believe in an eternal existence denied stars and galaxies. Yes, our reward is death? What of it? Our atoms will one day help make up future species, and the mixture of ours and theirs even more future species, until 5 billion years into the future and the Sun flares up and life is sterilized. Who gives a sh*t? None of us will be around to see it!

Better to focus on making your life more enjoyable now, as opposed to worrying about Biblegod coming down.

Part of making life enjoyable, for some individuals, involves promoting medical and scientific breakthroughs to protect and extend our healthy, youthful functioning. The voices of conservative Leon Kass, and liberal Daniel Callahan, prominent "bio-ethicists," insist we live plenty long and as a collective, should be concerned and put a stop to the "arrogant" efforts of scientists working to defeat involuntary aging and death. Naturally, many people love their own lives and their relationships with friends and family, are saddened at loss of function, dignity and life, and on that basis disagree with this "concern."
Our species of primate enjoys advantages not bestowed upon rocks and stars. We can use our minds and tools to effect changes that benefit ourselves. Nothing arrogant about it.

Barrack Obama’s book called “Audacity of Hope” in the third chapter titled the Constitution is revealing. Of course it has the standard text book commentaries on the wonders of Democracy, the elements of the Constitution, and it’s founders, are tied up here, too loose and not as positive or siding with an open mind. Many of his characterization of the theme in organized constructive government is depressing, negative and leaves out the high value of sharing our founding fathers had is considered hypocrisy, and likely tied to what even he commits to imply, America is not ready for a black president.

Obama, highlights the genius of the Constitution, and specifically the thirtieth, fourteenth, and fiftieth amendments passed as a Union finally perfected. A very amazing statement that does not support harmony and unity Obama makes claim in his “Audacity of Hope” in the beginning Prologue.

In the third chapter page 97 last paragraph he starts with inspiration and ends with doubt, he says,

“How can I, an American with the blood of Africa coursing through my veins, choose sides in such a dispute? I can’t, I love America too much, am too invested in what this country has become, too committed to its institutions, its beauty, and even its ugliness, to focus entirely on the circumstances of its birth. But neither can I brush aside the magnitude of the injustice done, or erase the ghosts of generations past, or ignore the open wound, the aching spirit, that ails this country still”.

Very well said to cast away the founding circumstance of freedom and liberty from tyranny, casting away the birth of Americas Constitution? An incredible thing to say all while giving love and praise for beauty and ugliness. The biggest uncertainty is the very last statement suggested by Obama. But what are the Ghosts of past generations, or the open wounds, what is that acing spirit that ails the country. And, please, Senator Obama, if you don’t know what they are how do you expect to unite and change the country or the world ?

For in the beginning of Obama’s Prologue He said: “ That’s the topic of this book: how we might begin the process of changing our politics and our civic life. This isn’t to say that I know exactly how to do it. I don’t. Although I discuss in each chapter a number of our most pressing policy challenges, and suggest in broad strokes the path I believe we should follow, my treatment of the issues is often partial and incomplete. I offer no unifying theory of American government, nor do these pages provide a manifesto for action, complete with chats and graphs, timetables, and ten-point plans”.

From the Prologue to the third chapter is a monumental contradiction of ideals and personal thoughts Obama presents. A grand surprise for someone that taught the Constitution at the University of Chicago for ten years. A very sad surprise. Obama admits in the very start He doesn’t know how he would do anything. But clearly in his campaign speeches offers change you can believe in. Very extraordinary.

Shh, don't tell, my family has records of the flesh-eating Zombies of Calvary, and we've kept them secret for years. The Romans had a helluva time with those Zombies, and you've almost spoiled our secret.....

Lol.