en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/735275 Comments by HumanistDE http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/10/personal-experience-vs-science.html#IDComment473980651 Being critical concerning vaccinations is very well warranted. The list of industry-advertised vaccinations which have no proven benefit or which are even harmful is too long to dismiss. Remember that Industry's goal is to make money. Humans don't count. There are vaccinations that have proven to be effective and helpful. Flu vaccinations are not among them, so it is quite in line with being a sceptic, free thinking way of Life to reject them, which I do. Sat, 27 Oct 2012 07:18:57 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/10/personal-experience-vs-science.html#IDComment473980651 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/10/blowing-up-churches-is-not-answer.html#IDComment463622871 I see some merit in VJack bringing this up. Every vocal movement has inspired people to action. There are indeed some loners around who think that they can gain some praise by doing things in others' names. This post makes it clear that when we are fighting churches, we fight the churches' violence, not their buildings and especially not the human beings associated with them. Sun, 14 Oct 2012 13:48:08 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/10/blowing-up-churches-is-not-answer.html#IDComment463622871 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/08/a-question-for-atheists-about.html#IDComment431872772 My family must be commended for going a long way towards respecting my atheism. While thanksgiving is no big deal in Germany, Xmas certainly is, and my family keeps inviting me on such occasions. In one year, I openly confronted everybody with some of the less-discussed aspects if Xian faith. That led both to hot arguments as well as a concession of part of my family to refrain from Xian singing, putting the emphasis on the occasion being a family meeting. That was fine with me, but others were uninclined to respect that arrangement. Since both poles of my Xian family could find no censensus on this -one part of them willing to have no Xian ritual in order to have me along, while the other part insisting on performing such-, another regular day of family reunion was set on Dec 27th, when the holidays were over, on which I keep taking part. All the time, I made myself very clear just why my presence at Xian ritual was unacceptable for me, and I feel grateful towards those who not only respected my position but also defended it against other sharers of their faith. Fri, 31 Aug 2012 13:43:50 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/08/a-question-for-atheists-about.html#IDComment431872772 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/08/where-is-jesus-when-people-starve.html#IDComment420888563 I am perpetually amazed that Xians still claim that Gawd is good. They should read their bible. Killing 99.99999% of Humankind in a flood to reboot does not seem 'good' to me. Torturing Humans for eternity can hardly be called 'good' either. Mon, 13 Aug 2012 11:20:52 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/08/where-is-jesus-when-people-starve.html#IDComment420888563 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/07/thoughts-on-mass-murder-in-aurora.html#IDComment409401570 The whole point is that a population in increased readiness to use guns is more likely to misfire. The Death of Trayvon Martin was either outright murder or an overreaction that was bound to occur due to a culture of 'being ready'. It is the kind of mentality that kills in such incidents as dec 7, 2005 in Miami. If you are constantly preparing to use violence, chances are you will do so in circumstances that later turn out to be harmless. Thu, 26 Jul 2012 20:21:43 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/07/thoughts-on-mass-murder-in-aurora.html#IDComment409401570 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/07/thoughts-on-mass-murder-in-aurora.html#IDComment408519859 Reading the posts, I cannot help but marvel at the fact that I've reached my present age without ever owning a firearm. And everyone around me, for that matter. Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:48:00 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/07/thoughts-on-mass-murder-in-aurora.html#IDComment408519859 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/07/thoughts-on-mass-murder-in-aurora.html#IDComment408052006 GM, this a very sad fact about Humankind: Many people choose not to take responsibility and instead follow some doctrine or leader or religion. We've had this very much so here in Germany, and we have learned what the price of this is. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 20:19:57 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/07/thoughts-on-mass-murder-in-aurora.html#IDComment408052006 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/07/thoughts-on-mass-murder-in-aurora.html#IDComment407917081 Now thats what I call creepy, making the decision of whether to kill a human being subject to purely fiscal reasons. Sorry GM, but this is unacceptable. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 16:02:00 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/07/thoughts-on-mass-murder-in-aurora.html#IDComment407917081 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/07/thoughts-on-mass-murder-in-aurora.html#IDComment407413127 It is about vengeance. Removing a person from society can be achieved in different ways. I lack an answer better than to imprison such a person. And just that is being done successfully in many Western countries. Even then, it can be argued that even a murderer can change. Putting that person to death dprives him of that chance. No human being is so far removed from murdering another person as to be honestly able to claim to never commit a murder. Society can show itself to be morally superior to murderers by not killing them. Mon, 23 Jul 2012 20:28:57 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/07/thoughts-on-mass-murder-in-aurora.html#IDComment407413127 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/07/thoughts-on-mass-murder-in-aurora.html#IDComment407204363 What this is all about is a culture of violence, which is endemic in Western Civilisation, with the US far in the lead. Concerning the DP, you fail to acknowledge that the DP in itself makes a given culture more violent. What you call self defense is in fact a repartriition system, which we have run for some millenia, making matters worse. Let's take Norway. One year ago, they were subject to a deliberately planned mass shooting by one lone nazi. Norwegian culture has so far been so much less violent than the US that calls for DP were few and remained a minority. Vengefulness is part of what makes a society violent. And by confusing vengefulness with self defense, you obscure the matter. Mon, 23 Jul 2012 12:22:41 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/07/thoughts-on-mass-murder-in-aurora.html#IDComment407204363 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/05/why-do-we-still-have-office-of-faith.html#IDComment363836308 Apparently Dubya has learned some lessons from European policymakers. Sadly, church funding by governments is endemic in Europe, very much so in Germany. The German government does not only collect taxes on behalf of the major churches, it does provide funding in state-owned universities for the theological faculties. And employee discrimination in religious matters is openly endorsed. Quite sad to see this particular brand of policies setting root in the US, I would have hoped for others. Sun, 20 May 2012 15:57:08 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/05/why-do-we-still-have-office-of-faith.html#IDComment363836308 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/04/responsibility-of-religious-moderates.html#IDComment336703104 Great post, Vjack! This is one of the most important topics I keep arguing with people of faith. Concerning non-Xian faiths, it is helpful to point out the daily hypocrisy: whenever a muslim extremist commits an atrocious act, moderate muslims are, rightfully so, asked to renounce the crime. This standard is almost never applied when a Xian extremist commits anything like that. Examples abound, and it is very important to keep showing to Xians that extremists' crimes like those of Dubya were faith-based. It is important not to let people of faith get away with 'my faith is loving'. As long as a Xian considers the bible to be at least a miligram more true than any other literature, they should be reminded that their faith means condoning massive crimes against Humanity. In fact, what had been common practice for centuries, making people profess to a faith by force, has not been abolished because of new or better theological insight, but by the efforts of people like us. Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:53:16 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/04/responsibility-of-religious-moderates.html#IDComment336703104 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/04/christian-email-believe-or-you-will-be.html#IDComment336017351 In essence, the letter repeats the Xian core preaching of Gawd: Love, obey, worship me or fry! How this can be reconciled with the concept of a loving God is a mystery to me. Accepting this moral monstrousness as just has, however, one advantage: it makes it easier to live with the daily injustices perpetrated by those people of high station. This is what I call one of the central effects of Xian faith: the numbing of man's sense of justice. Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:05:05 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/04/christian-email-believe-or-you-will-be.html#IDComment336017351 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/03/harold-camping-thinks-his-botched.html#IDComment314347151 Both Jehovahs Witnesses and the New Apostolic Church have been though this phenomenom: predicting the End of the World, and living through it. As a result, many believers were disenchanted and left their faith behind, some becoming atheists, some joining other faith groups. I congratulate guys like Harold Camping for showing beyond doubt the illusionary nature of their faith statements. Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:25:16 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/03/harold-camping-thinks-his-botched.html#IDComment314347151 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/02/why-do-atheists-waste-their-time.html#IDComment298953504 There is nothing wrong with having a religious belief. If, however, this belief system claims to be representing an absolute truth and the way to live this belief is the only right way for everybody, this belief system is dangerous. No elaboration is necessary. It is quite simple: 'Know your enemy!' And by the way, by being able to break through all the religious euphemisms by virtue of one's knowledge, we are often able to show to believers what they really believe in, making some of them question it. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:41:40 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/02/why-do-atheists-waste-their-time.html#IDComment298953504 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/01/devil-playground.html#IDComment278559817 Although I am not exactly an expert in Linguistics, 'Rumspringa' roughly translates from German into 'time of jumping around'. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:47:49 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/01/devil-playground.html#IDComment278559817 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/01/sexism-in-atheist-community-sexism-and.html#IDComment272958497 Another distinction worth mentioning is that while misogyny targets women by definition, this is not true of sexism, which works in many ways. I have experienced sexist statements going in any conceivable direction, and there is no reason whatsoever to fall into the 'guilty men' vs 'innocent women' fallacy, which is also very sexist. To be more precise, sexist role models also disfavour men, and adressing and overcoming those is a path worth taking. Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:59:32 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/01/sexism-in-atheist-community-sexism-and.html#IDComment272958497 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/01/purpose-of-prayer.html#IDComment268753831 To clarify an obvious objection, the shown schematic applies to prayers which try to make an impact on unfolding events. There are other types of prayers, for example to express gratitude, for which the schematic does not fit. However, those prayers requesting something from gawd are the most public. Your reasoning can be taken a step further: those who pray show a lack of faith! Either your prayer is redundant or futile, and by praying about the issue you exhibit a lack of faith into gawd's ability to judge. Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:25:51 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/01/purpose-of-prayer.html#IDComment268753831 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/01/sexism-in-atheist-community-we-have.html#IDComment261298566 A start would be to admit that we all have, to some degree, some sexist elements in our thoughts. This is due in no small part to the gender-specific role models we are taught to conform to from very early on. Getting rid of those is a task lasting a lifetime. In patriarchic societies women are not expected to openly take part in decision-making, thus it is no real surprise that discussion structures tend to exclude women. We have a millenia-old culture of mysogynist dogma to overcome. If we are willing, we can move a great lenght in that direction. But we have to be honest with ourselves. Many times we are reproducing sexist structures. Every day. Towards friends, -many of them feminist- I make it clear that I want to be called on anything racist, sexist etc. that I say. Luckily, many people are courageous enough to do just that. Important topic, thank you for adressing it, vjack! Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:42:31 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2012/01/sexism-in-atheist-community-we-have.html#IDComment261298566 http://www.atheistrev.com/2011/11/god-liked-my-ancestors-better-than.html#IDComment227537297 While a world free from 'true' religion would no longer have that particular kind of conflict, there is a secular variant that is maybe even more destructive: National Exceptionalism with all its consequences. The thinking is very similar: We (Gawd's chosen people, Gawd's own country) are the good people by definition! Both strong faith and strong patriotism are resistant to facts. And are excuses to do unto others anything. Sat, 26 Nov 2011 08:24:58 +0000 http://www.atheistrev.com/2011/11/god-liked-my-ancestors-better-than.html#IDComment227537297