I feel so much better now

It probably forces you to think instead of relying strictly on faith. Having the answer to any quesntion be GOD, doesn't make you have to think at all.
BTW I'm not an atheist. Atheists KNOW that there is no God while believers KNOW that there is a God. How can either one of them really KNOW? I really don't care what people believe or don't believe as long as they keep their belief systems out of my life. As an American, I should have that right.

 

Conservatism breeds greed. How is that Christian?

 

Oh good grief . . . another false assumption. I have two degrees and am a practicum and an internship away from a third. Just because a person has faith doesn't mean that s/he can't have reason. As to people keeping their belief systems out of your life--yes, that is your right. However, I, as an American, have the right to practice my faith as I see fit. In part, the colonists settled this nation seeking freedom *of* religion and the freedom to practice one's religion. You, as an agnostic, can choose to be offended by religion all you like, but this nation still has more believers (in God or a god) than it has non-believers. If you spend less time being offended and more time in actual dialogue with people whose ideas you don't understand, then maybe you will be less judgmental of their beliefs.

Support that argument?

 

That's simply not true. The right only cares about those they think deserve it. Trickle down is a sad joke. How about a little trickle up for change.

 

Conservatism expounds capitalism, business. Buy low, sell high is the rule of business and it's a swindle at both ends with a LANGUAGE in the middle. Business is a brutal, ruthless thing and kind, compassionate people don't do well at it. I am quoting myself.

Just to let you know that Foul language is a No No on the site

 

You seem to have a lot of anger at the world.

 

I consider anger a reasonable response to the world. I am a white man, I point this out because my views have often led people to charge me with being some bitter minority person. I was raised in the pre-civil rights, Jim Crow south and received my spiritual training in a church full of lying, hypocritical Christians. I judge them by how they acted rather than the nonsense they preached. When I was in junior high as the civil rights movement was passed I sat in on several conversations where people were debating which 'nigger shooters' they should get. I finished my childhood in Vietnam. In college and my own reading I realized that about everything I was taught in grade, middle and high school was bullshit. Yes I tend to be angry. I would be stupid if I weren't.

 

Well, I find it is easy to label some as judgmental as long as you are unwilling to look at your own judgmental views. First I was an Atheist and now I am an agnostic. I wonder what I'll be judged as next. I don't know where you get the idea that I am offended by religion. I have just stated that I don't care what people's belief systems are. How does that make me offended by religion? Regardless of what colonists did or did not do or why they did it, none of it justifies me being forced to live my life under anyone else's superstitions.
I find that the God crowd continually sees themselves as the perennial victims and always under attack yet you find their brethren shooting abortion doctors, impinging on gay people's rights, and attacking other religious beliefs basing their aggression on their interpretation of the bible. If they believe that abortion is murder or gays are sinners or other religions are evil, let God judge them and let their religious beliefs stand or fall on their own merits. Religious aggression is not exactly a new phenomenon in the history of the world now is it?
The most hateful narrow-minded people I have ever met base their behavior on their adherence to their religious beliefs. I have also met some very wonderful religious people who live their lives based on their beliefs and they don't assault people both figuratively and literally with their beliefs. So I'm not anti-religion, I'm anti-religious hypocrite.


Support that argument?[/quote]Simple... Come on, what doesn't come down to money for RW'ers? I can't even count the number times I've heard RW'ers say that they shouldn't have to have our collective tax dollars (or as they put it, "their money") pay for anything they don't benefit from like, public schools, lunch programs, welfare programs, or anything else that they themselves don't directly benefit from all based on money. If that isn't greed, what is?

 

What benefit does being angry provide to you?

 

I wish I had one of those buzzers they use on a game show when the contestant gets the wrong answer. I'd set it off right now:

 

I looked into your source real clear politics. If you expect facts from a bunch chaired by George Will, you are far more optimistic than I.

 

Don't take his word for it. Look up the statistics yourself!

 

Moen, I'm not trying to judge you. I said atheist before because I was referring to you and to K Dawson, who clearly identifies as being an atheist. You made a comment that you were not an atheist but that you did not know how believers *knew* there was a God and how atheists *knew* there was not a God. That pretty much plays out as being agnostic--but if you have another word for it, then I'm happy to entertain it.

I find it interesting that you accuse me of being judgmental and then go ahead and make sweeping judgments against the "God Crowd" and against "RW'ers." Hypocrites are hypocrites, whether they have a faith or not.

 

Yes it is. The far left elite figured out long ago that they can create a solid voting bloc by getting people "hooked" on gov't. You can't deny that a great deal of the population is content to sit back & have the gov't take care of their needs/

....and they think everyone deserves "it".

Explain how this works.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/opinion/21kristof.html

 

How about this. We make life better for the poor so they have the security and funds to shop. This is the base of the economy, people buying things. They buy more, economy grows, jobs develop and, finally and I don't like this that much, the rich grow richer. But this is just basics. On a more important level, I believe a society should be judged by how they treat their worst, not their best.

 

I was just going to look for that to post. So the greedy RW'ers give more money that the ungreedy(?) LW'ers. Maybe someone has their definitions bassackwards.

 

I believe that there is no way to call someone else judgmental without being judgmental yourself. You can trade accusations back and forth all day and both be right. Arguing about issues requires you to make judgments.

As far as Agnostics go, the term literally mean "without knowledge" and that is probably as close to what I think as can be defined. But, Agnostics are defined in so many ways I preferring not to be defined by any of the misconceptions or alternate definitions people have of Agnostics. It just implies that I am any of several competing definitions.

 

Or, better yet, what say our government create a conducive environment for business and, in turn, the businesses will hire more financially-challenged people? After all, businesses (companies, corporations, operations, concerns... whatever you want to call them) are the only job-creating entities we have. Then, more people will be producing, earning money and, consequently, buying more goods. Our economy will grow exponentially! If only our government would do that.....................

 

How appropriate!