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BevoAbyss

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  1. Thanks Roma. I appreciate that very much.
  2. A violent, militarized society, armed to the teeth, living in daily fear and existential dread β€” that's the MAGA-GQP goal. There's a name for it from science-fiction: ultraviolence. Burgess and Kubrick warned us in A Clockwork Orange. β€œUltraviolence” is the senseless, excessive, and wholly unjustified violence that terrorizes a neighborhood, a city, a society, a nation. It terrorizes all ages and demographic groups. Schools, night clubs, movie theaters, military bases, college campuses, grocery stores, fast food joints, and many other locations β€” all subject to senseless, random, bloody mass shootings. That's a society more likely submit to fascists and religious fanatics. Ultraviolence. That's the MAGA-GQP plan for America. It's right before our eyes.
  3. That Texags thread shows the clear power of unchallenged Christian propaganda, from birth to college and beyond. The thread also shows the inability of secular/science education to counter the sacred scrolls and fact-free fables β€” which serve as an all-purpose template to blindly interpret all of reality, along with past, present, and future events. That's the template for 40-50% of Americans and it's effecting a massive intellectual collapse.
  4. With all due respect, this 25 million is not that nuanced. They want predictability for fascists and theocrats on on Supreme Court and federal courts. If they did not want that, they would not vote for Trump. If they just want lower taxes and ignore the fascist judicial appointments, then they are enabling fascism and, in fact, are okay with fascism/theocracy. Fact is, 40-50% of America is ready for a fascist/theocratic state. Time's up for denial.
  5. In America, religion is being weaponized as a violent purity movement. Make no mistake, it is medieval madness. Religion is a pre-scientific philosophy that appeals to a variety of inherent fears, insecurities, idiocies, and violent tendencies that go back to hunter-gatherer societies and especially to our primate/tribal origins β€” with fears of the other or the outsider. When the faithful think the Creator of the entire freaking universe (two trillion galaxies and counting) has their back and says they are the special ones on the fast track to spiritual and eternal destiny β€” then they will often do bad things to other people. Very bad things. In the name of purity! In Christian history, it's the Inquisition in Europe and the genocidal conquest of the Americas. With GQP-MAGA, it's a 21st century version of medievalism and purity through violence. The clock is ticking backward, history is in repeat mode.
  6. Oops! Huge typo: "I never have to offer bullshit rationalizations about a God who remains unseen, never cures diseases, ends famines or stops wars, and seems utterly uninterested in anything on Earth. ("God works in mysterious ways." Lulz) God's trying to work in mysterious ways and I busted his plan! Ha ha!
  7. I was lucky. Damn lucky. β€” Mom was from a very poor family in the Hill Country, a God-fearing, Bible-believing Texas lady, yet who had a massive distrust of preachers of all kinds. She thought they were mostly con men. β€” Dad was a military veteran, degree from UT on GI Bill, and completely agnostic and uninterested in religion. He was a "live and let live" dude. Thus, my family never went to church or watched TV preachers. We never said a prayer at Thanksgiving or Xmas. Religion was non-existent in our lives. We were a secular family with emphasis on education, honesty, hard work, respecting others, and a trust in science/medicine. Which means I was not subjected to the relentless religious brainwashing propaganda in my youth. Thus: β€” I never have to think the Bible offers profound truths about life, morality, or human existence. β€” I never have to cherry pick passages/verses from the Bible to support my worldview or moral positions. β€” I never have to believe religion is a force for good, when, in fact, it is tool for the 3Cs: colonize, conquer, convert. β€” I never have to ignore or make excuses for the genocidal atrocities enacted by Christians all across the three American continents. β€” I have have to offer bullshit rationalizations about a God who remains unseen, never cures diseases, ends famines or stops wars, and seems utterly uninterested in anything on Earth. ("God works in mysterious ways." Lulz) β€” And I never have to feel guilty about too much fun, sex, or tequila. Damn lucky, I was.
  8. Two quick points. 1. Religious Belief: The single greatest predictors β€” by far β€” of someone's religious beliefs are where they were born on Planet Earth and their parent's beliefs. It's not truth, evidence, or virtue. It's where you were born and your parents. End of story. 2. Weaponization: As I have posted elsewhere at Surly, religion was weaponized and unleashed upon Native/Indigenous Peoples across three continents (North, Central, and South Americas) to violently colonize, conquer, and convert those few left alive. It's always the 3Cs (colonize, conquer, convert) first, then "freedom" second. It's freedom within religion, not outside religion. GQP-MAGA and their gun worship are not an aberration, they fit the historical record.
  9. Apologies if my recent posts appeared as black on black screen. Brian Fantana alerted me that it might be because I was pasting text from a Word doc, which I was use for long posts. I had no idea. Sorry about that!
  10. Thanks for the Nietzsche/Sartre connection. Much appreciated! This points toward what I see as failure of secular philosophy. No doubt, that Existence being the ultimate locale β€” site for the observable universe (or multiverse, Big Bang) at 13.75 billion years old and stretching across 100 billion light years β€” creates a huge void in space and time and human thought. Nietzsche's poetics that humanity is on a rope over an abyss was followed by Sartre's view that the vast/eternal nature of Existence created a "vertigo" that challenges all previous belief systems. We, as a species and individually, must overcome the voids and vertigo and make the leap over the abyss to a sane philosophy for the future. So far, secular philosophy has failed to develop a popular philosophy/narrative for the leap β€” a unifying narrative that connects humanity to the universe from we emerged. We need a secular, evidence-based narrative that recognizes universal human rights (for every human being on Earth, regardless of gender, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, ability, etc.) and protects the planet as the home/support system for all life on Earthβ€”along with providing meaning and a shared destiny in a seemingly meaningless universe. Sorry, Star Wars ain't it. Star Trek was on to something, but got derailed and overwhelmed. Two forces have filled that void. Church and Corporate Consumerism. Both tap into our primate tribalism and narcissism, with Corporate Consumerism selling endless lifestyles/identities for tribes and would-be individualists via brands and products. Church sells purity and eternity, a seductive and powerful claim, however bogus. Consumerism sells hedonism, pleasure, and exhibitionism, which are a lot of fun, but are eventually not good for the ecosystems. I admit I get a lot of fun, pleasure, and meaning in life from art, architecture, design, fashion, science, along with national parks and sleeping under the starry skies. Speaking of the starry skies, up there just beyond Earth, the Hubble and Webb telescopes are peering ever deeper into existence .. TLDR: Secular philosophy is weak, consumerism is fun but bad for the planet long-term, thus much more is needed for the human species to survive and flourish
  11. Thanks for the thoughtful-witty reply. My argument is not based in science. It is based in logic, as summarized in Points 1, 2, 3. Existence must precede Consciousness (Genesis 1:1). Contemporary cosmology supports this logical conclusion, but is not the foundation. Existence includes all forms of the universe, past, present, futureβ€”the multiverse, singularities, Big Bangs, etc. Even the β€œsingularity” had to come from some previous aspect of Existence, as logic suggests. As stated in the last sentence of my post: "astronomers are beginning to realize the Big Bang happened in a pre-existing universe of some kind." (Yes, I am familiar with Lawrence Krauss's fallacy "The Universe Came From Nothing.") Cosmological sciences support/correlate with the logic test. Genesis 1:1 fails the logic test. Completely. Once we abandon logic and evidence as starting points, anything can follow, no matter how fact-free or illogical. Look at GQP/MAGA for proof of that.
  12. Logic can disprove it. So saying God created the universe makes no sense to me. In fact, it is flagrant fallacy and contradiction. I know this post will not matter to any theists. But, I am tired of the sophomoric claims about science and God. A serious thread β€” weaponized religion β€” requires serious critical thinking. I claim no original thought here, just echoing what I read, discussed, and learned over time from about age 22 to early 30s. Sorry for long post, but this is about as brief as I can make it. ---------------------- Genesis 1:1 β€”β€Šβ€œIn the beginning, God created the heavens and earth.” The Bible and all theist claims are based on Genesis 1:1 That’s it. That’s the entire foundation of ALL theologies. Every PhD theologian/educator (about 5-6) I have discussed this with concedes the following, as do all serious discussions of religion and philosophy in books and articles I read back in the day. β€” God (or any Creator) must be pure Consciousness (or Spirit, etc). Otherwise, a God with any physical form would be part of the universe or empirical existence. So this means a Consciousness exists prior to all Existence (the universe, multiverse, or everything that exists, has existed or will exist in whatever form). So let’s make a simple diagram. Consciousness comes first >>> followed by Existence That’s the entire structure of Genesis 1:1. If Genesis 1:1 is false, impossible, or requires a fallacy or contradiction, then the rest of the Bible is just a collection of human-created myths, fables, and stories for a pre-scientific world, for a pre-secular consciousness. ---------------------- Refutation of Genesis 1:1. What follows is highly informed by my reading of Sartre’s Being and Nothingness, the seminal atheist/existentialist text of the 20th century, and other atheist/philosophy texts. 1. A Consciousness existing before Existence is impossible, a contradiction. A Consciousness that always existed is also a fallacy. If there is no Existence yet, what would the Consciousness be conscious of? Itself? Impossible. A Consciousness aware of only itself is a contradiction, an impossibility. 2. Consciousness can only be aware of itself in relation to Existence. A consciousness with nothing to be conscious of is a contradiction in terms. If there is nothing to be conscious of, then there is no way Consciousness can even know itself exists. Much less decide to create all of Existence and eons later choose to enlighten GQP-MAGA on a tiny planet amid two trillion galaxies. A logical diagram is this: Existence >>> Consciousness As Sartre famously said: β€œExistence precedes essence.” 3. Existence must come first, within which Consciousness emerged and evolved from the matter and elements of Existence. In fact, this is supported by ALL empirical evidence and contemporary science. Thus, the only logical and empirical conclusion to draw is God (in any form) does not exist. Never has, never will. 4. Finally, Existence has or needs no purpose, no teleology, and no Creator. Existence is what it is, in whatever form, everything existing in the past, present, or future. It is much more sane to counter that existence itself has always existed and is home to all universes, multiverses, big bangs, big crunches, and all galaxies and stars and planets that ever existed. That’s what logic says and that what cosmology is beginning to suggest, as astronomers are beginning to realize the Big Bang happened in a pre-existing universe of some kind. TLDR: Genesis 1:1 is a massive fallacy. Gods do not exist. The Bible is just a book of myths and fables.
  13. The Christians and theists who claim that America is a nation founded to be ruled by Christianity/religion always conveniently ignore the very first right in the First Amendment. The VERY FIRST RIGHT atop the Bill of Rights! 1. Congress shall make NO LAW establishing a religion.
  14. With all due respect, that is so sophomoric. Christians and theists (of all stripes) toss that out like it is some kind of irrefutable profound challenge, especially the ones who populate Starbucks in Suburban Dallas with their trusty Bibles. It's one big evidence-free, logic-free fallacy. 1. If you claim God exists, the onus is on you to provide evidence. Theists have none. 2. To claim a Creator created the universe is an extraordinary claim requiring extraordinary proof. None has been provided by theists. Not one tiny shred. Never. 3. There is plenty of science to show that a God is not needed as an explanation for: β€” Life on Earth; see evolution, biological, genetics, etc. After all, we share 98% of our genes with chimps/bonobos. β€” The universe to exist; see cosmology, astrophysics, etc. β€” In fact, our bodies are made of the most common elements of the cosmos: hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, phosphorous, and traces of others 4. To ask one to "show there's no God" is asking one to disprove a negative. That's hard, but not necessarily impossible. Poe: I can point you to "the logic that show's there's no God." It would take a longer post, but I doubt any theists would bother to read it or think it through. Bottom line: Theists never provided evidence of God. Science shows God not needed. Logic shows God non-existence (that'a future post).
  15. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and cronies should be tried as war criminals β€” by any sane, evidence-based definition of the term. β€” Unprovoked invasion of Iraq based on an evidence-free claim (lie) about weapons of mass destruction. β€” Violated Geneva Convention with torture of prisoners (a policy supported by the majority of Americans). β€” Bombed Iraq, then let it be ransacked and pillaged, while contractors raked in billions. β€” Hundreds of thousand dead. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Iraq_War
  16. Editorial gaffe. The above should read: "I don't see any other group blindly following the buffoon's orders and enacting a violent insurrection ..."
  17. Is that supposed to some kind of profound take down? Lulz. This ain't the football thread. You have no idea what I do for a living, what I may have said or written in multiple venues, across three decades. No idea. Nada. Zero. Did I say Christian fascismMAGA/GQP are the only problem in education or across America? No. I could name many more problems. But MAGA/GQP/Christian fascists are the most destructive force in America, in education and intellectual standards across culture. By far. No one is even close. Hell, even Ancient Aliens is a distant second! β€” I don't see any other groups attacking basic knowledge all across the culture. Building for decades, though it has accelerated in the past two decades. β€” I don't see any other groups seeking to ban school books wholesale, seeking to brainwash kids with Bible-thumping, seeking to enforce blind patriotism, and so on. β€” I don't see any other group actively attacking basic medical science and enabling the deaths of more than 1.1 million Americans with their idiocy amidst a global pandemic. β€” I don't see any other group advocating and believing the most insane conspiracy theories, from Q to Bill Gates to fake moon landings to believing to climate catastrophe is a hoax. The list is endless. β€” I don't any other group celebrating assault weapons (including in family photos) and doing absolutely nothing to prevent mass murders in schools. β€” I don't see any other group utterly enthralled by a news network that openly lies to keep its ratings. All the time! β€” I don't see any other group worshipping an orange-faced buffoon, an obvious serial liar and criminal who tried to overturn an election, who is easily the most malevolent and malignant man in America. β€” I don't see any other group blindly following the buffoon's orders and after enacting a violent insurrection to overthrow a presidential election. And still believe the insurrection did not happen. Now that are openly planning to steal future elections. The doublethink is astronomical. β€” I don't see any other group openly attacking the rights of women, people of color, and LGBTQIA+. They are nowhere near stopping. They will come for others. All because they believe the sacred scrolls (Bible) have ordained them to roll back secular culture and the rights of others they don't like. The literally believe the Bible overrules centuries of secular law and the recognition of human rights. β€” I could go on...... But, yeah, an atheist like me is part of the problem. Only for the Christian fascists educators and their enablers and apologists.
  18. Is that referring to me? If so, sorry dude, ain't happening on my end. Time's up for the apologia and excuse-making for Christian fascism, which has been building since Reagan. Time's up for tolerating the intolerant. Time's up for equivocating (#bothsides). Standing up to Christian fascism sure ain't coming from the weak-ass institutions of America: media, academia, corporate America, science organizations, or the Democratic Party. They are all standing down. Have been all my life. If the atheists and secularists don't stand up to Christian fascism, then who in the hell will?
  19. Never forget the code words: School choice = School Christian. Private = Prophets and profits. β€” About 3/4 of private school are affiliated with religious organization. Only about a quarter of private schools are not religious. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/schoolchoice/ind_03.asp The long-term GQP goal is clear: theocratic education for a Christian-ruled America.
  20. I recall reading Revelations as an adult. Concluded that most of the apocalyptic scenarios to come were based on mere extreme weather events β€” which they had no science and satellites to explain. Just think: If there had only been a Weather Channel, millennia of history might different!
  21. Don't forget that Penders' 1990 team blew out highly-ranked Xavier 102-89.
  22. With all due respect, I am not saying the same thing as you. I am not saying religion is a good thing used to "cover" for the bad that humans do to others. I am not saying religion offers some kind of moral compass that covers for bad behavior. That's cherry-picking. I am saying history is clear. For millennia, religion has offered a fact-free philosophy β€” born of a pre-scientific world with no telescopes or microscopes or modern sciences β€” that claims to explain the origins and destiny of humanity with a fundamental goal of conquest/colonization/conversion to rule/cleanse the Earth until the unseen savior returns. This pre-scientific philosophy appeals to inherent human narcissism and a variety of fears, insecurities, and violent tendencies that go back to hunter-gatherer societies and especially to our primate origins. Jane Goodall showed that to the world starting in the 1950s; Carl Sagan also explained it in his writings; others have as well. When people believe the Creator of the universe (or an all-powerful dictator) has their back and says they are super-special and on the fast track to spiritual purity and eternal destiny β€” then they will often do bad things to other people. The so-called charity and morality come after the bloodbath, not before. It's freedom within religion, not outside it. Always. The only thing to tame this has been the laws and rights from secular philosophy. Here's why most people believe religion is used as a "cover." 1) easy cherry-picking from the sacred scrolls, while ignoring other directives and passages. 2) The power of relentless religious propaganda at all levels, from the local preachers to the talking heads in media to the halls of academia. 3) Too many scientists who are lame secular philosophers. TLDR. Time's up for cherry-picking propaganda. MAGA is not an aberration.
  23. Spot on. Check out the bios of the scholars at the Civitas Institute. Among almost all of the non-economics profs, there is a clear pro-religion, pro-theology perspective in their worksβ€”albeit couched in scholarly terms and prestigious publications. Ain't no atheists in that Civitas. https://civitas.utexas.edu/people/ Of course, the great libertarian/capitalist delusion is that "free markets" and "religious freedom" are natural allies and can peacefully co-exist. In the end, it's always about freedom within capitalism and freedom within religion. Long live the profits and prophets. Now, no doubt, the union of capitalism and technological innovation have propelled society/culture forwards in ways, some/many of which are good or further social progress. Of course, the impact on Planet Earth's living systems is a massive negative, along with staggering inequalities. And capitalism serves the secular version of narcissism and tribalism by selling identities via endless consumption. Seems consumerism/trash/pollution has dwarfed most hopes of the eco movements, who can now only hope to minimize the carnage. In contrast, religion religion and theology are always about the backward gaze, the drive to return to a mythical yesteryear, a realm of spiritual purity and anti-science idiocy. Of course, the idea that God is looking out for America and its faithful is sheer delusion, yet another form of narcissism. In a universe of two trillion galaxies! Lulz. And that unseen God has to appear or do anything to prevent war, famine, disease, oppression, etc. Nothing. Ultimately, the capitalist drive forward (via innovation/consumption) and the religious drive backwards are incompatible and will tear society apart. Absent sufficient checks, one leads to ecological destruction and the other leads to cognitive destruction. TLDR: Unchecked profits and Prophets equal bad news long-term. Oligarchs and theocrats rule a Mad Max-Handmaid's Tale world. Sorry for long post.
  24. Really? A cover and copout? Go tell that to the Native/Indigenous Peoples on three continents β€” South, Central, and North America β€” who were conquered and colonized in the name of God and the Holy Bible. Same principles with the Inquisition. Religious history is clear. It's the three Cs: Conquest, Colonization, and Conversion (of those few still alive). Any so-called religious/Christian charity comes after the bloodbath. Not before.
  25. The Christian war against human progress is nothing new, going back decades, centuries, and millennia. In the "Free Speech" area of the West Mall in the 1980s-1990s, there were most always a couple of tables of Christian students passing out flyers and pamphlets touting creationism and railing against sin, abortion, evolution, etc. Walking from Texadelphia (pure greatness) on the Drag to Garrison Hall or the PCL, I and friends would sometimes stop and chat. Clearly, the Christian students had zero understanding of evolutionary science or even basic logic. All about the sacred scrolls (Bible). That's it. That's all it will ever be. Three decades later, they are winning in the courts and many statehouses. It's insane. Now UT is funding (with millions of dollars) that Civitas Institute to be run by a self-described "pro-life evangelical" with a doctorate from UT. I wonder if he was one of the students passing out flyers.
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