Bikky

Which religions deny all truths except their own "divine truth" ? Well, the answer to that is quite simple. I could mention <insert name here> as an example. You can take your pick. Zoroastrian, Mormon, Christian, Muslim, Bash Buptist - whatever flavour you prefer. Can you have more than one religion? It's not that I'm particularly greedy, but if I had to believe, I would accept them all in the hope that one of them would lead me to salvation. (this is a second conditional statement, therefore purely hypothetical) Salvation from what, I don't know. Mortality? Morality? Personal responsibility for my actions? Fortunately, I don't fear or feel the need to be saved from any of the above. I have no need to believe. It might cause you some confusion, but I don't believe in atheism either! How could I? It's not a belief! a = without, theist = a believer in a deity. Ergo atheist = one who does not believe in a deity. See the logic here? An atheist, by definition, doesn't believe in gods. It's not a belief, let alone a significant one!

Well, if the shoe fits ...

It's good to know what you're up against. It's also an interesting read if you don't take it seriously and model your morality on it.

We're all better off not knowing these things TP! The pious are compelled to censor, destroy and deny any knowledge that doesn't conform to their own holy scripture. It's all for our own good. Imagine where we would be if we still had access to these writings. Back to my goats ...

My main problem with religion is that it stood and continues to stand in the way of progress. I often stop to wonder how far we could have progressed if the moral codes of our society weren't determined by the scribblings of a bunch of bronze-age goat herders. There was a time in recent history when medicine was the exclusive domain of the church. To practice medicine was punishable by death. This led to witch hunts where a great number of healers were summarily burnt at the stake in the name of god. Science of any description was seen as heresy. Why? Because the bible says so. Unfortunately, this attitude still persists today. If it weren't for those enlightened and extremely brave souls who believed that observation of reality was more important than the words of an ancient book, we would still believe that the Earth was flat. Thanks to these heretics, today you can comfortably visit your GP if you are sick - no need to repent your sins and be mumbled over by a man in dress waving a crucifix. Of course, science is dynamic by it's very nature. Things change constantly with each new discovery, as they should. What is accepted as reasonable conjecture today will undoubtedly be discarded tomorrow. Today, you can sit in your comfortable house and use electronic media to read an ancient book, or spout your religious views on the internet, travel to distant lands with ease (if god wanted us to fly, he would have given us wings). It's all the devil's work I tell you! We're all off to hell in a hand-basket. Where would we be without heretic science? I'm off to tend to my goats ....

Something I find very interesting is this concept of the "atheist doctrine" and "atheist faith". Both concepts are an oxymoron. I think I can presume that most atheists have at some time, pondered the possible existence of a god and rejected the idea. I wonder how many Christians have taken the time to ponder the possible non-existence of a god. Most atheists - contrary to Christian concepts - don't go preaching to believers that they should renounce their beliefs. In my personal experience, telling someone you don't believe in a god isn't indoctrinating anyone but it's taken as a challenge by many Christians who will try to convert you on the spot! How many times have you had your tranquil Sunday morning disturbed by humanists at the door insisting you accept their godless literature or that you donate to help them send atheist missionaries to godless countries to spiritually enlighten the inferiors? The Christian bible insists that it is the believer's duty to spread the word and some do this with great tenacity. This is all OK but if you say you don't believe, it's a doctrine!

I've read the bible - fascinating stuff, but for a non-believer, it's all a bit difficult to swallow. If you want a particular example of flexible truth, I refer you to the gospels (don't worry, I won't quote them). Please define for me; what were Christ's last words as he succumbed to nature? If you were to assign four reporters to cover an execution and they reported back with different versions of the victim's last words, how do you determine which report is true? Last words are last words. An absolute. Only inaccurate or untruthful reporting can logically explain this. If the gospels are so vague about a topic, how can I take the rest seriously? ... or am I failing to see the divine truth here?

There seem to be two types of truth. The self-evident truth - by this I mean observable, universal, measurable and unarguably true and the divine. One is true all the time regardless of personal belief and the other exists only for those that can choose to believe. Divine truths change dependent on the particular belief. I believe in the first because I have no option and it won't change even if I want it to. It's a constant. I'm happy with it.

GG can believe what he chooses. I will fight for his right to say or think what he wants. Whether I agree with his opinions is another matter. For me discussion about supreme beings, free energy machines, nostril fairies, underpants gnomes, Atlantis, heaven or hell is amusing and the history of religion is truly fascinating but I remain a skeptic - thoroughly unconvinced. Not my choice. Who knows, one day I may have an illuminated moment and start believing! One thing's for sure, I'm not going to waste a minute waiting and I won't be disappointed if it doesn't happen. Obvious reality and the universal laws that govern our existence are incredibly fascinating to me and enrich my existence no end. Fractal geometry, quantum physics, the science of ethics to name a few, do far more for me than religion and worrying about my salvation from who knows what.

Because this is the aviation laughter section. Religion makes me laugh!

Eternity! The mere concept scares the bejesus (literally) out of me. I'm really glad that I'm subject to the laws of the universe in that I have a use by date. Do you know why angels sit around on clouds playing harps and praising god? Because there's absolutely nothing left to do. Who wants to live forever? Think about it for a moment. The first few years would be OK. You would get to do all things you never had the nerve or opportunity to do when you were alive. Bungee jumping, skydiving, base jumping - a myriad of possibly fatal activities. I mean you can't die, right? But wait ... no danger, no adrenaline, no thrill. Alright, wheres my harp?

Atheist doctrine? Not believing in something is a doctrine? Now I'm confused. I'm off to indulge in my hobby of not collecting stamps. For me, people should have the right to decide what they believe and in fitting with this "doctrine", important decisions regarding faith shouldn't be made by children. You can tell them there is a monster under the bed and they'll believe it. Teaching children about heaven and hell is the same thing. Children deserve better than this. Wait until they have the maturity to decide for themselves. Is this a doctrine?

I was (like everybody) born atheist. I am still an atheist. I looked at various religions but soon discovered that either you believe in something, or you don´t. I could kid myself into thinking I believe something I don´t, but I would be lying to myself. Atheism is NOT a belief - it´s a lack of belief. I don´t believe in any gods. I love and respect nature and physical laws. The world I live in is full of wonder. I don´t see how forcing myself to believe in a diety could improve my life. The understanding of what is right and wrong is not the sole domain of the religious. If I do wrong, I don´t have a deity to forgive me - I have to live with my wrongdoings and learn from them. I don´t believe in an afterlife - this life is good enough for me. The idea of eternity scares the s##t out of me! I didn´t exist before I was born and I won´t after I die. To imply that atheists are immoral is ignorant. To imply that atheism is a belief is ridiculous and demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of what atheism is. The reason many atheists are rather militant relates to the above points and that we are constantly under pressure to conform to a belief system. Please keep in mind, atheism is not a choice. Either you believe or you don´t.

Thanks Doug! I'd like to share one of my favourites with you all. Hope you like it. Beautiful lyrics and great music to soothe the soul.

Firefox with the following add-ons is IMHO the ultimate in web browsing safety; Adblock (essential and fully configurable). https://adblockplus.org/en/firefox NoScript Allows you to decide which scripts any given site may run. http://noscript.net/ WOT Web of Trust. Will warn you if a site has a bad reputation based on user experiences. https://www.mywot.com/ As for antivirus and malware protection, I believe there is no substitute for user discretion. Combine this with Microsoft Security Essentials and security is yours - FREE! http://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/microsoft-security-essentials.aspx In my opinion, MSE is miles ahead of any other freeware antivirus in effectiveness, detection rates and uses minimal resources. Be warned, NoScript will take some configuration but the end result is worth it. Just my two centavos worth!

Hmmm.... left wing, right wing. Which do you prefer? I'm glad to have both! Sitting in the middle, nicely balanced and not giving preference to either but ready to lean one way or the other when required. One wing isn't any better or less needed than the other. Yes it's an obvious analogy - I'm sorry, but I relevant I think. Think about it. Fence sitting annoys the heck out of many people but it does give you a clear view of both sides. I like watching a good game of (almost) any sport and I'm never disappointed because I don't barrack for anyone. Isn't it strange? "Yay! My team won." or, "Damn. They lost". Our opinions will always differ and I'm thankful for that because the solution to a problem is generally easier to find if you leave your preconceptions at the door. I'm beginning to think few people here have anything in common! Please prove me wrong. My two bobs worth.

I believe there is. Aviation is a burgeoning industry here and having fluent English is an advantage. But... there are many hoops to jump through. It's not an easy process. PM me if you want details. FT is exaggerating just a little about working conditions here. True - wages are lower than in OZ but there are many benefits offered by employers. Private health and dental cover (usually for the entire family), life insurance, meal allowances, fuel cost reimbursement and more. And of course, paid holidays! Food is good and cheap. A kilogram of high quality coffee costs the equivalent of AUD $20. I bought 1200 gm of good cheese for AUD $10 this morning. Seriously, if you can't live on BR$50 a day, you're doing it wrong! I worked in remote Aboriginal communities for my last 12 years in Oz and I have seen and heard more than my fair share of racism and bigotry. Enough to last a lifetime and all indications are, this is getting worse - not better! A racist remark here will land you in jail and Brazilian jails have a deserved reputation. I voted with my feet. No regrets so far and I have no intention of returning.

M61A1 Life is great! Basically you can do what you like if you don't hurt anyone else. Want to walk down the street with a cold beer on a hot day, or crack one in the supermarket? Go ahead. There are lots of boxes to tick. I collected my "Identidade de Estrangeiro" yesterday after 2 years. But now I am officially a Brasileiro! Flying regs are more or less the same here. More responsibility is placed on YOU as a person. There is no nanny state here. If you fall in a shop - it's your problem, not the proprietors'! I haven't had much to do with the ultralight side of aviation here but do get the chance to rub shoulders with professional pilots. I teach Cambridge, conversational and aviation English. Little money but very satisfying. If you want to feel truly welcomed, come to Brazil! If you are all bigoted, forget it! An amazing mix of races and colours here. I love it!

Hmmm... Gay marriage anyone? Aboriginal land rights and welfare? Abortion? Whaling? I've been reading his thread with a sardonic smile. Little wonder I moved to Brazil. Sure there's lots of inequality, corruption, poverty, lack of welfare (and consequent crime) etc here. But the majority of people here are happy and positive. C'mon guys! You are too lucky. Go flying!