Natural Wonder Fellowship

I've been asked "What "miracle" could "god" perform to prove that it, he, they, or she is an omnipotent, omniscient, and all-loving intelligent being composed of "pure spirit" (whatever that means) who exists “outside of time and space” (whatever that means) while somehow still being capable of interacting with the material world and who purportedly cares deeply about every individual member of one particular species living on one particular world orbiting one particular star among billions in one particular galaxy among countless trillions of similar galaxies in this entire vast universe?". Well, say "Hello, I'm [god's true name]" to everyone in their own language at the same time, maybe. That might be a start.  But with modern communications networks, how would we know it's not a trick by "big technology"? Or maybe a message from the anti-god of some religions? LOL  "When I was a child, I spake as a chi...

Why do we believe strange things? Why do we believe weird things? We need skepticism so we don't think the earth is flat or space is fake or "the rapture" is imminent. Encounters with Bigfoot [it's a hoot, about 15mins] and space aliens continue to exist in spite of numerous debunkings of fur or footprints. Why do we continue to believe silly unproven or even impossible things? Those who want to deceive you and those who are simply uninformed are almost equally responsible. In these days of division among us, we must find common ground in common facts. You're entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts. Politicians are famous for distorting facts to suit their scenario. The "church" and other power players regularly use "alternative facts" to sway your opinion to support their platform. The church is famous for forceful or fearful conversion to their way of thinking.  Primitive stories of feast and famine or deluge and drought become ...

“I believe that the universe was formed around 15 billion years ago and that humans have evolved from their apelike ancestors over the past few million years. I believe we are more likely to live a good life if all humans try to work together in a world community, preserving planet earth. When decisions for groups are made in this world, I believe that the democratic process should be used. To protect the individual, I believe in freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom from religion, freedom of inquiry, and a wall of separation between church and state. When making decisions about what is right or wrong, I believe I should use my intelligence to reason about the likely consequences of my actions. I  believe that I should try to increase the happiness of everyone by caring for other people and finding ways to cooperate. Never should my actions discriminate against people simply because of their race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, or national o...

Hello Thursday 18 Feb. I usually call this day of the week Thoughtful Thursday.  I was thinking, wondering why 'christians' accept bible stories 'on faith'. Have you ever wondered why bible god doesn't want you to think or question? Not only doesn't want you to question, but actively discourages knowledge, wisdom, or fact-finding. Instead, this 'god' encourages being child-like (or sheep-like)? What is one thing we can all agree on about being a child? A child will believe what they're told because their rational mind is not yet developed. We develop critical thinking skills as we grow. The bible 'god' discourages intellect and free thought and tries to confuse us. 1 Corinthians KJV: 1:19 - "For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."; 1:27 - "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of...

Hello people. I often post about 'think', as in think for yourself, be aware, be rational, be logical. I was kinda happy to see some people trying to do just that. Then I found that some of these people start 'thinking' with no basis in fact. From 'fake moon landing' to anti-vaxxers to Q-Anon, we must all start from known reality before we 'think-up' these wild conspiracies. If you mistake the salt canister for the sugar canister, your recipe is not going to turn out as you expect, and you adjust for next time. You've ruined one food dish. If you mistake the bible or the quran for a science book, your grasp of the real world will be badly skewed, but here you refuse to adjust. You may be ruining your life.  You, believer, tend to go from 'god created everything including humans and the entire universe is under 10,000 years old' to ' the moon landing was a hoax ' or 'the [American] election was stolen'. You become more  suscept...

Hello people! It's Sunday, 7 Feb 2021. It's snowing (again). It's cold (still), and going to get even colder (again). It is winter in the northern hemisphere; it's supposed to be cold, LOL. The problem comes with it being colder for longer, or more frozen precipitation than "usual". Climate change is real, it is happening. Most people recognize this, especially when it's affecting them personally. Many on the west coast of the U.S. recognize that the Santa Anna winds are worse, the droughts are worse, causing the wildfires to be worse. Storms are worse, igniting wildfires (It's certainly isn't a ' Jewish space laser ' from early this year or a ' directed-energy weapon ' from 2018). Where do these crazy ideas come from? My personal opinion is a lack of education and lack of critical thinking skills. The Gizmodo piece mentioned above states "What we’re seeing is a convergence of longstanding American fears about government mind c...

Hello, Friday. That 'religion' has tried to embed itself more and more into the U.S. government is a fact that few deny. The 'Evangelical Christians' have been supporting TheOrangeBuffoon since he realized he could manipulate them so easily. TOB simply spoke to their desire to have their religious doctrine become the law of the land. I read an interesting article the other day on the dilemma now facing those believers. Believers have been told their entire lives - don't think instead "Trust in god...  and lean not on your own understanding" and "in all your ways submit to him". There are dozens of similar sayings in their bible. That mindset is taught from their pulpits and by their parents. Maybe that's why Marjorie Taylor Greene 'regrets' that she was ' allowed to believe things that weren’t true' , and still be ' supported' by most of the GOP . " Allowed to believe " lies? -- what happened to check fact...

I recently saw on Quora, someone asked: "Do you think Biden needs to "prove" that his 80 million votes are legal as Trump has demanded?" One of the 'answers' just tickled me. The below response from Han Wu is too, too perfect, far too accurate...  The person who came up with a stupid statement need[s] to prove it, not the other way around. So let me give you an example of how this works: Trump: “I think your wife is not human. She’s actually three sheep in a trench coat.” Biden: “That is ridiculous, and you are stupid.” Trump: “Well, prove that she’s not actually three sheep in a trench coat.” Biden: “I have been married to her for forty years. I can testify that she is human.” Trump: “Oh yeah? Post a naked picture to prove it.” Biden: “Why don’t you post your wife’s naked picture.” Trump: “Deal! Here it is! Look how big her tits are.” Biden: “That… was a rhetorical question. I don’t have time for this garbage anymore.” Trump: “I got ya! You can’t prove that...

This is written on Jan 9, 2021.  I know I've previously written on Churches and Presidents , but the ongoing travesty is bearing fruit. The poison of nationalism, especially the so-called Christian Nationalism, has been spreading for years. It has only gotten worse since TOB* was elected president. He was "selected by god" say the preachers. "God uses flawed people to do his work" say the pious. "We know his flaws, he'll grow into the position" said the faithful. "He's a 'baby Christian'" said the ministers. Meanwhile, TOB declared brown immigrants "invaders" and followers of Islam "terrorists" (it didn't hurt any that most of them were brown-skinned). The self-declared "Law & Order" president has furthered the rift among the American people. Protestors of seating Kavanaugh and inaction on global warming have been detained, ticketed , maybe even arrested. Protestors in the Black Lives Matt...

Hello Friday. Now what are they doing!? Haven't big tech and big pharma done enough? Remember the issue with the chemical compound dihydrogen monoxide? It's still happening! Dihydrogen monoxide is in the lakes, streams, and rivers in the east, and there's a severe clean freshwater shortage in the western U.S. Now they're talking about  the potential for that element to play a big role in decarbonization! A billion-dollar industry, but future estimated profits are even bigger. Why hasn't anyone done anything? Where are the protesters? Don't you care about your children's future?   In the same way TheOrangeBuffoon won the November election 'if you ignore' about 7million votes, and in the same way opening the Alaskan Wildlife Preserve to drilling rights was 'for the good of the country,' and the same way 'don't think, accept on faith' is a doctrine for life -- you too can become a sheep. The virus is a hoax, and masks don't work...

Hello Thoughtful Thursday. It's January 14, 2021. I've been wracking my brain trying to see how so many people can be so easily mislead in so many matters. That sounds a bit pompous I guess, but to think, to truly believe that there is a supernatural being who cares how you live or love, or that TheOrangeBuffoon has any interest beyond his own, or that the moon landing was faked... is just ludicrous. In spite of all the evidence to the contrary some people actually believe these things. I often extol people to just think, to examine the evidence, to seek answers other than the pat answers from those in their own circle of people who think as they do. I wonder if I've been wrong; if I'm expecting too much?  I ran across the work of Piaget not too long ago. Jean Piaget developed theories of human intellectual and cognitive development in the 1930s. He described 4 stages of a child's development. Beginning with object permanence (something hidden from a baby is gone a...

The anniversary of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor naval base in 1941. A "surprise" attack. Three days later, the United States still hadn't taken measures to respond, besides talk maybe. Germany and Italy declared war against the United States, then the United States responded with its declaration of war.   I started this post about 20 minutes ago. I think the actions of TOB supporters yesterday reminded me so much of the "surprise" attack before I was even born that my mind did that weird thing it does occasionally. Today is Thursday I knew because I'd posted my ongoing 'Thoughtful Thursday' piece. Today is January 7 of a new year, not Dec 7 of last year. The "surprise" attack on the Capitol Building by TOB supporters yesterday was too similar to the "surprise" attack by the Japanese almost 80 years ago. It wasn't really a "surprise" at all, or shouldn't have been anyway. Just as we could have noticed the te...

Hello Thoughtful Thursday. The "Christian Nationalist" agenda has undertaken its boldest step yet. Following their loving god's message "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword"; "For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against..." Even in your own house, if they don't look like you or think like you, they can be discarded. "If you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one" (so you appear to be a typical band of sword-wielding zealots, per the apologists). "I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? …" (Luke 12:49). This hatred of "other", the brown-skinned, those who don't think or believe like you, those who dare demand equal rights (how dare they!) is not new to TOB's reign. It's been happening for years. TOB's audacity and open display of narcissism only exacerbated it, carried it to the extr...

I am deeply conflicted right now. It's 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, January 6, 2021. The votes in the Georgia senate races are still being counted. It is close, very close. One has been called for the democrat, Warnock. The democrat (Ossoff) is leading, by a tiny margin, in the other.  Reuters  is checking for results every 30-seconds. I saw no change in the numbers since 9:43 a.m. I'm certain I want no more of Trump's (henceforth TOB) Toadies in the government. But I'm not certain I can trust the democrats with lopsided control of both the executive and legislative branches of our government.  I can't trust the republicans to not lie; I've found them lying too, too often. But every great once in a while, I'll see a story on Fox News that sounds like it might be actual news (as opposed to some weird conspiracy story) but haven't yet seen on Reuters or WaPo. I go searching and sometimes find, "under the fold" or in a sub-section, coverage of that event...

Hello, 2021.  We can make this a better year than last year, hahaha! Don't we say that same thing every new year? Last year was a doozy from this point of view. Will we still think it's been the "worst year ever" in a decade or so? Or will we instead remember other "worst year ever"? The assassination of a president and massive civil unrest in the 1960s? The shameful presidential abuse of power and presidential resignation of the 1970s? The mini stock market crash of the late 1980s? The terrorist attack on U.S. soil in 2001 led to wars and murder of foreign nationals on foreign soil, by our government. Giant military and local police buildup, restrictions of individual rights, and privacy violations continued through the 2000s? There have been many "worst" years prior to this one. We've always managed to make it better *this* year. There are many ways we can be better. Let's continue that tradition.