Natural Wonder Fellowship

The many "versions" of the Bible tell sort of, mostly, kind of the same story but in quite different "flavors". A few days ago, I accidentally got BibleGateway away from my standard reference KJV to ESV while looking at Ezekial 23 (parable of a pair of sisters as stand-ins for 2 towns). I've apparently been using a very plain vanilla flavor -- when I've previously read this, I only took it as another of the jealous god, 'you're gonna pay for not worshiping and praising only me, me, me enough' stories. I never thought of it quite the way some versions present it. This pretty much absolutely convinces me the words are written by men, for men. No one else is that obsessed with their own genitalia and sexual performance. How dare she lust for someone better hung (or more skilled) than I! Male insecurity writ large (claiming to be 'the word of the Lord'). This is verse 20.  KJV - For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the fle...

I heard the late Christopher Hitchens recite, kinda sing, this off the cuff at a presentation several years ago. I think credit goes to Monty Python, but may be another group. Either way, I found it hilarious. Apparently, philosophers of the past really liked their drink. Immanuel Kant was a real pissant Who was very rarely stable Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar Who could think you under the table David Hume could out-consume Wilhelm Freidrich Hegel And Wittgenstein was a beery swine Who was just as schloshed as Schlegel There's nothing Nietzsche couldn't teach ya 'bout the raising of the wrist Socrates, himself, was permanently pissed John Stuart Mill, of his own free will On half a pint of shandy was particularly ill Plato, they say, could stick it away Half a crate of whiskey every day Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle And Hobbes was fond of his dram And Rene Descartes was a drunken fart ...

So, good day! It's been a while. Hope all is well with you and yours. People sometimes ask me why I don't believe in their, or anyone else's, god, gods, or goddesses. The simple answer is I see no evidence for any god. I see no evidence for any demon either. Humans can do evil things, sometimes individually but often in groups. That is the action of the people involved, not supernatural beings of any sort. Those wicked (or evil) actions are very often done in the name of some religious doctrine or god though. The Hindu pantheon of gods somehow justifies India's persecution of the Muslims, Buddhists, and others in that country. I am more familiar with the Abrahamic god (the so-called One God) and will limit my discussion to it. It's been said that rulers find religion useful for keeping the population under control. I believe that is indeed the case. As a social species, most of us want to belong to a group. This may be an evolutionary trait, safety in numbers and ...