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@SkepticalOne
Sure, there are obvious ways to change the world. You can pretend you are, so you don't have to do any real work.
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@3RU7AL
No because that would require too many contradictions.
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@disgusted
Richard Dawkins has some good points, which I agree with. Otherwise, he is an interesting human being. If worse comes to worse, I would rather have an atheist, yet humanist society than, say, a Muslim or Young Earth type Christian society.
That being said, I see civilized society going in an atheistic direction. I just want to see it going in a humanist direction, and Dawkins seems to stand for those ideals.
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@keithprosser
He probably applies the 80/20 rule. Most effective people do.
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@SkepticalOne
It appears to be ineffective for changing the world.
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@SkepticalOne
Becoming vocal, even political. Look at Richard Dawkins. He writes books, has debates and discussions publically. He started out as an unknown mediocre biologist. Now he has hundreds of thousands of followers. He has probably changed many minds on the subject of religion. He is a household name.
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@SkepticalOne
That is quaint. I don't really believe that.changing the world takes action.
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@SkepticalOne
What would be your plan of action for making the world a better place, starting from there?
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@disgusted
There is something wrong with you. Dig deep and find it. Then fix it.
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@SkepticalOne
Arguing with theists on a forum no one goes to or knows about is hardly a place to start to change the world.
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@ludofl3x
Why are so many atheists here obsessed with religion that they come here every dsy? That's what I am trying to get at.
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@ludofl3x
So you've decided before hand that all religions are wrong.
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@SkepticalOne
I don't believe that's why you guys are here. You are full of shit.
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This forum should be retitled The Atheist Forum. 90 percent of posters are atheists.
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@TheAtheist
Personal experiences.also the solar system looks designed
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Why or why not?
I have been thinking about getting a job for the last few months. I haven't been hospitalized for the last two years. I think I could handle a job now. I have learned coping skills in therapy,and I'm doing pretty good.
Thing is, while I don't have to disclose that I am schizophrenic, i plan to because I don't want it to come as a surprise if I am symptomatic or have to take time off work, have a hospitalization etc. I also want an employer to understand my limitations, like I don't want to deal with customers. I also haven't worked in ten years or so, and I need to explain the gap in my work history.
I am just afraid no one will hire me the second they hear I am schizophrenic. I think I will probably have to apply for a lot of jobs before someone will hire me. I have other things stacked against me as well, such as I dropped out of high school, and have a sketchy work history(like walking out of several jobs, and never staying at a job for long).
My plan is to just apply for many jobs,and hope for the best. I could go through a jobs rehabilitation program at my mental health center, it might help.
Any advice would be appreciated.
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@keithprosser
"Evolved into good neighbors"? Maybe on the surface. When things are going good. I think we are always just one disaster away from barbarism.
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@3RU7AL
I'm not sure there is a framework. Almost nothing is black and white. There do seem to be different levels, that involve different categories of moral improvement. The chakra system seems to be set up this way. For instance, base instincts are involved with the lower chakras, and need to be addressed before something more complicated like moral courage which is involved with the third chakra. Maybe the chakra system is the framework, I don't know.
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@RoderickSpode
I don't believe there is any dividing line.all people are both good and bad
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@3RU7AL
(IFF) "high empathy" = "spiritual growth" (THEN) science can solve this. [LINK]
Self-improvement isn't science. It's consciensious hard work.
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@3RU7AL
ll of that is interesting, but it doesn't seem to have any tangible effect on "you gotta do what you gotta do".People with low empathy will continue to act as they act.People with high empathy will continue to act as they act.Whether or not they have souls seems, well, immaterial?
I don't know about that. Spiritual growth is involved. And that has to do intimately with the soul.
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@3RU7AL
What about a rock a river or a robot? Do they have souls too?
I doubt it.
Good idea, maybe we should eat termites.
Some people do. I would if I were hungry enough lol.
I understand that feeling some level of empathy for all living things is a symptom of a nascent super-ego and I also understand "you gotta do what you gotta do". I'm just not sure what any of this has to do with a non-physical soul (hidden variable).
Maybe I went off on a tangent? I don't know. I guess I just have a feeling that living beings, empathy, has to do with our spiritual growth.
I thought the whole point of "the non-physical soul" (hidden variable) was that we can't observe it scientifically.How do you propose we learn about and understand it?
We could start with energy. I know that there are energies involved, and we may at some time in the future be able to detect them. I have felt and seen it, so I know it exists. We may also come to an understanding of morphic fields, which I also believe exist. I believe they are somehow linked to souls.
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@3RU7AL
Please explain.Humans are currently unable to build a termite.We don't know exactly how it knows how to build a nest. We don't know where its instincts reside.Do you think it would be fair to conclude that, simply because we don't know these things, that it-must-be because they possess a hidden variable termite soul?
No, but if I have a soul, then i have to assume a termite has a soul as well.
And if we are convinced that termites have souls, does this mean we should stop trying to understand them?
Of course not
And if we are convinced that termites have souls, does this mean we should stop trying to kill them?
I don't know. It was arranged, and I don't know why, that life feeds on life . We are naturally territorial, as is every other animal,and probably plants as well. I don't have to like it,but i have to participate because nature or God had deemed it so, if I want to survive, and I do. So I have to kill animals and plants for food,and protect myself and my territory form other living creatures. I have thought about this a lot. I don't know why life has to feed on life, or if there is another way to live. Plants,and a few animals can survive on photosynthesis. Maybe it COULD be arranged in another way. I don't know.
I suppose as humans we could at least figure out how to create the least destruction of other living beings, like the jains, just eating fallen fruit and trying not to move around too much in hopes of not squishing bugs. We could stop bathing and washing our hands and using sanitizers to clean our homes in order to not kill and bugs or bacteria. But for me personally, I must not be very spiritually advanced, as I want to take a shower, and I like meat and will not give it up any time soon. I have tried a few times to at least be a vegetarian, but it never lasts long. And plants, do they feel pain, are they conscious being too? They could be. What is left to eat ? Gotta eat something.
You say "it changes everything" but I'm just not seeing it. What do you think it changes?
It means that if there is a soul, then there is the spirit world we need to learn about,and understand.
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@3RU7AL
A soul obviously means there is more to it than just our physical bodies. It changes everything.
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@3RU7AL
I think the difference between humans and other animals is PROBABLY that humans have the capacity to contemplate whether or not we have free will. I doubt a lizard or even a dog can or will do that.
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@3RU7AL
To some extent.
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@3RU7AL
People have a conscience that tells them not to be a prick. Follow that and you're way ahead of most.
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@Castin
Thousands of people throughout history have claimed out of body experiences, which can only mean a non physical soul exists.
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@Castin
That's about what I'm suggesting. Not sure of it of course, but some of my experiences suggest it might be the case.
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@Castin
I'm sure I've read some sci fi stories like that
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@Castin
A device to limit experience.
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@Castin
How do you know the brain isn't just a filter?
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@Castin
What evidence?
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@Castin
Do you believe we are souless machines?
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@Deb-8-a-bull
I don't think God cares if boys kiss boys
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@TheRealNihilist
Having a pro-life position yet be for the death penalty.
This is not a hypocritical position.
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@disgusted
Why do you think your OP deserves to be addressed?
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@disgusted
Your OP is designed to irritate pro-life believers, as is obvious. You are morbid. You lack empathy. You need to grow spiritually.
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@Dr.Franklin
Do you know how or why this date was chosen? and when?
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@Deb-8-a-bull
Stay out of my posts if you can't stop acting like you're 12 years old
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