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I heard about bin Laden's death while listening to NPR. I cheered, then felt silly as I was in my car at the time. I would have preferred his arrest and trial, but I'll take what I can get.
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Stupid questions from you.
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Probably Bremerton. I like WA better than FL.
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No, I don't really like the name. Part of my distaste comes from the meaning, and part from others I've known with the name. No, it doesn't really suit me.
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I love debate for the mental workout more than anything else. I prefer topics relating to law, religion, science and politics.
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Nathan Fillion. He's a damned fine actor, seems a decent sort, rich, and as he's not gay (I think) he likely won't be upset if I continue sleeping with @antitheistangie
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Hmm...1993 or 1994, February, at a winter camping event with my parents' church. One of the other mormon kids thought it would be funny to hit me in the back of the head with a makeshift club and keep me buried in the snow for a while. Air temp was around -2, and you can imagine how nice it was when wet.
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Approach the subject individually. Most people don't like being called out on their bullshit in front of others; they lose face. If you wait until they are alone shortly after making such a comment, the event will still be recent without the risk of losing face in front of a group. Test out approaches individually. Approach one of the people that makes such comments whom you feel might be a more reasonable sort. Explain calmly, using words that aren't aggressive or hostile. Avoid insults. A basic template is "When you say x, I feel y."
Repeat as necessary. -
Probably smell. It is possibly the easiest to compensate for, makes it easier to do certain projects, and doesn't limit the enjoyment of interpersonal relationships. It would probably have the smallest impact on my life, though I quite prefer to have it.
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Not having cable, I'm not sure which shows are best. I don't really watch that much TV anyway. If the funds were available for cable television, I'd be very excited for HBO's new series based on the George R.R. Martin fantasy book series A Song of Ice and Fire.
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I go with PC and Xbox360 currently, though there will forever be a special place in my heart for the NES and N64. I tend to go with the RPG and FPS genres. Right now I'm playing Fallout: New Vegas on PC. Aside from the occasional bug (killed enemies sometimes fall through terrain), pretty good. Interesting game. On my list of all time favorites in no particular order, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Call of Duty, FEAR, Silent Hill (1-4, the new one I can't seem to get into), Mirror's Edge, Portal, Team Fortress, Left 4 Dead. I dig on Final Fantasy too. I'd also suggest picking up Mount & Blade from Steam if you get a chance. I like a bit of light games like Spore or The Sims, enjoy Civilization series, City of Heroes is my preferred MMO until the new Old Republic MMO is released by Bioware soon(ish?). I do miss the old Space Quest and Privateer games too. Can't run Privateer 2 on a newer machine very well, sadly.
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I'm much happier now that I've become an apostate. Convincing someone that their faith is bullshit generally requires that you spend a great deal of time slowly introducing new facts and concepts. Simple questions at first, eventually involved ones. It is generally important that you be gentle with your words. When one's faith is under attack, it is often considered a personal attack on the faithful person rather than just the theology. Sad, but true.
Still, I think such an effort would likely improve your friend's life in the long-term. Most women I know prefer to not be brood-mares dependent upon their husbands for entry into heaven, for example. Some like the life of inferiority, for some reason.
That said, asking basic questions about how (x) theology applies, how it has any connection to reality. Make sure that she knows you don't expect her to take your word for any of the claims, just point out the evidence and let her reach her own conclusion.
Is it worth it? Ultimately I think so, but the process takes a long time. She will most likely be ejected from her group, possibly the school, and lose a lot throughout the ordeal. Starting her on the path of discovery might be your best bet. Spark her interest in proving mormonism and she'll discover the bullshit of the theology. Just be careful. -
Basically, if you had some crimes or sins, the only way to atone for them and have any chance at salvation was to be executed, usually by slashing the throat. Brigham Young was fond of this policy he established during the Mormon Reformation. Despite claims to the contrary from within the church, some people were killed by the church under the blood atonement guidelines. There is even indication that such crimes included not just capitol offenses, but also apostasy or merely speaking out against the man dubbed Bloody Brigham.
Does that help? If you want more detail, I'll be happy to elaborate. Still, this is the basic gist of it. -
Given those two options, I would choose solitude. The clingy would be way too problematic. I need my space sometimes, and if I never get that I would likely go mad. An unfaithful partner would drive me equally mad, but in a different way. I'm not the jealous type, but I know the pain of being cheated on, and would rather not go through that again. So...neither. I've been with both, and can't stand either.
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Thankfully neither is actually possible. However, as I am usually the one not understood, it may be a nice change of pace to be understood. So, I'd rather be understood, only because it is generally the other way around.
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Well, the problem with proving or disproving a god through mathematics is that an undefined deity outside the natural universe cannot be defined mathematically. Well, at least not now. For the moment, I consider such things to be futile yet amusing.
First, a god must be defined to be testable. It would be interesting to see a mathematical proof of the basic idea that a non-physical entity--that is to say a supernatural one--cannot interact with the physical universe. If such a thing can be proved mathematically, it would negate all deities such as the Abrahamic god (by the simple fact that this deity is claimed to interact with the physical universe and perform miracles).
In the end, I think simple logic, basic scientific measurements and recorded history can disprove any god well enough. Again, this relies on a defined deity. Religious people tend to try and force their god to be undefined in all areas where science has begun to understand. God of the gaps, moving goalposts, etc. Once you can get them to define their god, you can prove that such a thing is false. And yet the ownership is still on the believer to provide evidence for such belief.
For example, it is easy to demonstrate that the likelihood of Jesus existing as depicted in the gospels did not exist by the simple fact that the claim is made that the dead rose from their graves as a result of the written events. The problem is, only one person noticed, and that person had a great deal to gain by lying (and nothing by telling the truth). Since such a thing defies the understood laws of the universe combines with the lack of credibility of the source and the lack of additional sources, it is reasonable to conclude that such a person didn't exist. -
The differences are small, generally. It goes a bit like this...
All things being equal, the religion of origin will sometimes influence what type of god they think of when discussing it. What specific things that started them on the path to Reason, etc.
The more fundamental the apostate's family, the more difficult it can be to leave, as the poor rational thinker may be forced to choose between honesty and having a family or friends.
Other than that, I haven't noticed much. We all began to doubt, and we all reached the conclusion that there wasn't a god. Though I haven't really studied large samples of statistical data (if it exists) relating to the question, I tend to think the former religion of an atheist means rather little regarding how the person will behave, or even their experiences in leaving. I think there are too many factors that it is impossible for anyone to say for certain at this point, and thus case by case. -
"traditional family" groups give me the willies. They're always so hateful.
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Off the top of my head, not really. There are some ex-mo forums out there, a few information sites. Sorry I couldn't be more help, but I'll likely start a blog of my own after I've made some headway on my book.
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I've never tried to deconvert a missionary or random mormon on the street. That would be an invasion of personal space, and just plain rude. More their territory, really.
That said, if any mormon tries to preach to me, I have no problem taking time out of my day to explain carefully and simply just how fucking stupid they are. I have had success with people I knew when I was a member, some of whom have left the church. Still, I let them come to me. An apostate is a tempting target, but they are more likely to lose their religion than I am to regain mine.
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Viking
Milky Way
Viking’s Bio
Ex-Mormon and proud of it, Total science nerd.
