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SCOTUS decisions

birdman said:
Hi, I’m an atheist and think organized religion is bad and should be abolished. AMA!

If I could, I would attack religion on all fronts, but as an atheist in the deep south I am so under attack my self that I really just play defense or deny my beliefs.

Based on the descriptions here I’m a semi-nihilist. I think there are probably true things out there but our ability to know them is limited by things like perception, bias, instrumentation and measurement errors. This is really a Bayesian perspective on reality, not nihilism, but in practice I guess they are similar.
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Yeah I'm an atheist and borderline anti-theist (as it concerns organized religion). I'm all on board with individual religiosity and piety but at an organized level I believe that religion is a net negative for society.

Similarly, I'm essentially a nihilist. I don't believe in god (as a personified individual - if we're talking merely about a source of eternal energy that is and always will be then that's different), I don't believe in heaven and hell, I don't believe there has ever been a human who was the son or daughter of any god, and I certainly don't believe that Jesus Christ - a guy from 2000 years ago - was sent to absolve human kind of all sin for eternal salvation through his own sacrifice.

I understand that religion takes faith and perhaps it's as simple as I do not have that same faith. However, I also don't place blind faith in any other aspects of my life that have no logical basis and I apply that consistently to my religious views (or lack thereof).
 
And this may be off topic, but as far as belief in a specific religion goes (in comparison to "do you believe in a god or not, regardless of what god") I've never even gotten over the hump of "why would Christianity be right instead of Islam?" Further, that the Abrahamic religions seem to be geographically centered to a large extent seems to suggest that - if actually true - would either all be the same god with limited regional differences and understanding (where Judiasm, Christianity, and Islam all have the same actual god but simply believe in different prophets) or that they're all incorrect because they all suggest the same type of story with slight variations.

If you were a newcomer to all religion and had the buffet set up to select one, how would you ever distinguish between Islam and Christianity as far as which one to accept while rejecting the other?

ETA: And for those Christians on here, why did you choose to be a Christian over a Muslim personally? Other than (if there is any other reason) the fact that your family were Christians and therefore you are as well.
 
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ImTheCaptain said:
it's not under attack, its influence is waning. there is a difference
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The evangelical right believes their influence is waning because of attacks from immoral liberals predominantly centered around abortion and homosexuality. The evangelical right responded by circling the wagons around ever more absurd politicans who promised to stand up for "religious freedom" while alienating the masses they were meant to serve.
 
Wakeforest22890 said:
And this may be off topic, but as far as belief in a specific religion goes (in comparison to "do you believe in a god or not, regardless of what god") I've never even gotten over the hump of "why would Christianity be right instead of Islam?" Further, that the Abrahamic religions seem to be geographically centered to a large extent seems to suggest that - if actually true - would either all be the same god with limited regional differences and understanding (where Judiasm, Christianity, and Islam all have the same actual god but simply believe in different prophets) or that they're all incorrect because they all suggest the same type of story with slight variations.

If you were a newcomer to all religion and had the buffet set up to select one, how would you ever distinguish between Islam and Christianity as far as which one to accept while rejecting the other?
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Judiasm's call to prayer actually addresses your issue. It ends with "On that day His name be One and the world will be One."

Across the centuries, many have seen this as meaning God will be called by different names and that people will realize their faiths are part of mosaic of faith that create a universal one. You should put the pieces of all faiths together.
 
Wakeforest22890 said:
And this may be off topic, but as far as belief in a specific religion goes (in comparison to "do you believe in a god or not, regardless of what god") I've never even gotten over the hump of "why would Christianity be right instead of Islam?" Further, that the Abrahamic religions seem to be geographically centered to a large extent seems to suggest that - if actually true - would either all be the same god with limited regional differences and understanding (where Judiasm, Christianity, and Islam all have the same actual god but simply believe in different prophets) or that they're all incorrect because they all suggest the same type of story with slight variations.

If you were a newcomer to all religion and had the buffet set up to select one, how would you ever distinguish between Islam and Christianity as far as which one to accept while rejecting the other?

ETA: And for those Christians on here, why did you choose to be a Christian over a Muslim personally? Other than (if there is any other reason) the fact that your family were Christians and therefore you are as well.
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Infinite-space universe, but the Almighty Creator only gave a shit about a region the size of New Hampshire for like 500 years and then was never heard from again
 
AsesinoDeTortugas said:
You appear to dismiss the distinction as seemingly irrelevant, but my contention is the distinction makes your position untenable. If Christianity is under attack, then the onus is on those that seek to attack Christianity to cease such attacks and let Christianity exist as all other religions under the 1st Am. But if Christianity is merely threatened by an evolving society that is moving forward from ancient ideas on how life should be lived based on the Bible and Scripture teachings, then the onus is on Christianity to find a place in society that doesn't turn off a large minority of younger generations.
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The US, it seems, is simply following the same path that most of Europe, Australia, and NZ took decades ago. Europeans generally were far more overtly Christian around the turn of the twentieth century, but after getting blasted in two world wars, Christianity in nearly all of Europe went into a sharp decline following WW2, and has remained weak. It's been awhile since I looked up the exact figure, but I believe that only 1 in 10 people in the UK actively attend church, although a much larger percentage still describe themselves as "Christian" (just not very active, apparently). I believe the number is about the same in most other European countries, and in NZ and Australia as well. In a few decades it's likely that America will look a lot more like Europe and Australia in terms of Christianity, and American churches themselves will hold a great deal of the blame for their own decline, for reasons that have already been mentioned in this thread.
 
What's the rural v. urban divide of religion in Europe v. America? I know Europe has a lower rate of church attendance overall but do the demographics of those going to church look the same for the rural/urban areas?
 
Wakeforest22890 said:
What's the rural v. urban divide of religion in Europe v. America? I know Europe has a lower rate of church attendance overall but do the demographics of those going to church look the same for the rural/urban areas?
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I've read that in Australia the number of active churchgoers is slightly higher in most rural areas, but not by much, and rural church attendance is declining much as it is in urban areas. Not sure about Europe, as I haven't read much about the urban/rural split there.
 
li·bel[h=3]Dictionary result for libel[/h]
/ˈlībəl/
noun
noun: libel; plural noun: libels
1.
Law
a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation.

synonyms:defamation, defamation of character, character assassination, calumny, misrepresentation, scandalmongering; More

Does Trump really want to put himself in the position of proving media statements about him are false? Fox News and conservative media has way more to worry about than mainstream media. A few lawsuits could cripple the conservative media ecosystem.
 
Now that's what you call an activist judge. And that's also what you call shitting on the US Constitution. Good job, once again, Republicans.
 
PhDeac said:
li·bel[h=3]Dictionary result for libel[/h]
/ˈlībəl/
noun
noun: libel; plural noun: libels
1.
Law
a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation.

synonyms:defamation, defamation of character, character assassination, calumny, misrepresentation, scandalmongering; More

Does Trump really want to put himself in the position of proving media statements about him are false? Fox News and conservative media has way more to worry about than mainstream media. A few lawsuits could cripple the conservative media ecosystem.
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sure, all you need to do is jam up the process by suing everyone
 
PhDeac said:
li·bel[h=3]Dictionary result for libel[/h]
/ˈlībəl/
noun
noun: libel; plural noun: libels
1.
Law
a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation.

synonyms:defamation, defamation of character, character assassination, calumny, misrepresentation, scandalmongering; More

Does Trump really want to put himself in the position of proving media statements about him are false? Fox News and conservative media has way more to worry about than mainstream media. A few lawsuits could cripple the conservative media ecosystem.
Click to expand...

He just files and files and forces them to expend resources, time and money defending.
 
[junebug]You guys are missing the point. From an originalist interpretation, Thomas is right! [/Junebug]
 
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