Natural Wonder Fellowship

I have been assured that 'religion' is not the same as 'belief in a god'. I wonder if that means that organized religion, or "the church" (whichever one you mean), has corrupted the message so badly that its former adherents are moving to new interpretations? As for the supernatural, people are doubtful there's any such thing. There are some things we can't yet explain but I believe they are totally natural in that we will learn enough to explain them. The answers to complex questions have never been magic or superstition or pseudoscience. To claim that your daily life is a 'gift', or that your own efforts and hard work have no value diminishes our own accomplishments and reduces us to dependent children or sheep.  We, as humans with minds, can perceive our talents ('gifts') in the material world as separate from a deity (called 'duality', maybe?). According to the Zoroastrians, Plato(~430BCE) had similar ideas (tho there is som...

It's not even Thursday, but still, I think LOL. How do you stop yourself from having ideas, thoughts? How do you stop yourself from thinking? Why would you even want to? How can you look at a photo of someone with their hair sticking up and out all over and not think "jeez, s/he needs a brush"? Is that "judgmental"? Or is that just human? We have thousands of thoughts a day, some more significant than others. What shall I wear today? What must I do today? Where did I leave my shoes? Was that thing I just heard on the radio (TV, YouTube, whatever) true? It sounds kinda weird...   Know when someone is trying to manipulate you. Question everything that sounds a bit odd - the 2020 presidential election was stolen (but none of the other questions on the ballots that were cast that same election day were stolen)? The earth is flat (but we've known since antiquity that we can climb the hill to see farther)? It only takes a little to reject ridiculosity outright or ...

Thoughts on christianity bring me so much confusion. Not even discussing the many contradictory stories,  just the confusing or unanswered bits of some of the claims of various christian sects. To begin with, why and how do so many claim the Old Testament doesn't really count anymore? Only Jesus Christ and the New Testament stories matter, some say. These same people also claim the Ten Commandments matter, that JC was foretold (prophesied) by the OT, and that the OT god created everything in the universe (nearly as I can tell, the universe is an add-on; scripture says god created "the heavens" as in sky and stars at night). They pray to God, Lord, Father, and similar and end a prayer with "in the name of JC our savior" or something similar. So, I guess my initial question here is:  1.  If the Old Testament doesn't matter (except for certain bits you like) what did anyone need saving from? Why did JC need to exist as a human at all? (we're told JC came t...

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...

Such an interesting day, hahaha! Kinda like the 'Chinese blessing' of 'may you live in interesting times', maybe? Received e-mail FDA notice of investigation into a listeria outbreak in 'Hispanic-style fresh and soft cheese' in multiple states, including Maryland. The link provided wasn't all that helpful in identifying the specific cheeses. Swell! WTH is 'Hispanic-style fresh and soft cheese'? Is that what's in my bag of shredded '4 cheese Mexican style' cheese that I put on or in some dishes? Ok, Google,  what is Hispanic-style fresh and soft cheese called  and it answered me, LOL. That thing is sometimes amazing. It's fine, the bag has cheese names not mentioned in the notice. Also, turns out that the notice seems to be for the blocks of the affected cheeses?  I don't even like cheese remember. Hubby #2 was Wisconson born and raised. He taught me a bit about cheeses. I grew to kinda sorta a little bit like Monterey Jack. We...

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...

North Carolina is at it again. Their legislators are not happy that Arkansas, Tennessee, maybe Georgia, or a few other states yielded to pressure over that pesky Constitution. They're moving forward (for now anyway) getting ready to display The Ten Commandments in their schools . George Carlin addressed this issue years ago, from a reality perspective not a rights issue (my right not to be bombarded in my public school with your religious dogma) nor a constitutional separation issue.  As an aside in the discussion, can anyone tell me why your god is so insecure? Why does 'god' need people to write his stories and tell other people how to live or worship and tell other people what this particular 'god' wants? Why? How impotent is this 'god' of yours? 

All good things come from 'god', but all bad things are your own fault. Don't be concerned, let 'god' handle your problems. Don't think, let 'god' take care of everything. It's all part of 'god's plan'. Lay all your problems at 'god's' feet. 'God' works in mysterious ways. 'God' is beyond our understanding. 'God' is love.  Somehow, the above self-contradictory summary makes sense to some people. I'm not one of those people.  We are a plague upon the face of the earth. My daughter hates it when I say that, hahaha. Really though, we have been destroying ecosystems for construction or farmland since we learned how. We have created oases where there was only desert. We have poisoned water and air and land with our noxious discharges. We have stolen habitat from other life forms so that many no longer exist, and many more are teetering on the brink of extinction, thanks to us. We have done this and worse...

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...

Precious was the peacemaker, the considerate one. Whether dealing with Chad's bullying or Toes' crotchety-ness or her litter-mate's epilepsy or Princess' and Taylor's jealousy or Minnie's bouncy energy, she was the soother, the companion, the comforter, the friend -- or she would just ignore if they were not receptive at that moment. She wasn't great buddies with any of them, but she was soother to all. She had lost a lot of her chubby self over the past year or so. Of course, blood tests were "normal". We knew she had given up a week or so ago when she decided to not eat and not drink any longer. I've been able to keep her going for a while with lots of special foods, coaxing, and an appetite stimulant prescription ear goo, but she was tired. She will "lie in state" in the family room for a bit, so the rest can see understand what's happened. She'll be buried later today, up on the tree line near those who went before. Precio...

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...