boooots Profile

Gee, old Walter is telling spider that Patty doesn't work at the same company anymore, and spider was going to stop and and say hi to Patty. Funny that Walter and spider know each other so well, and they both know Patty well too, but spider flies out of her airport and didn't even notice that she isn't there. Patty should have told them to take her photo off of their site online, as it is kind of misleading for those who want to stop in and see here if she isn't there anymore. Kind of makes one wonder how long Walter and spider are going to keep telling us they are not Patty. I wonder if there is anyone on here that doesn't know who Walter is. Notice how his posts are almost word for word the same as Patty's. One would almost think they are in bed together, or at least twins. (Friday | post #28547)

Yes, that does appear to be the case. (Thursday May 16 | post #534915)

I read sometime in the past week of a famous singer from one of the rock groups (that I never listened to) which were popular some years ago, and was perhaps in his 40s or so now, died o complications that they think came from a spider bite, which he had some time ago, at which time he almost lost his arm. I think he died because one of his vital organs, likely liver, had shut down. I suspect that is a very rare thing, and only certain spiders can be deadly, but it is interesting that you like to carry them in your pocket. In seems that spiders are one thing that I have a mild phobia of. (Thursday May 16 | post #534853)

Gee, if seems in that post, that you are saying the same things that I was saying in my last post, before this one, to you. It would appear we both put a value in serious discussion of a topic. I feel diminished when I put forth quite a bit of effort on a post and I get a put down reply. :) (Thursday May 16 | post #534848)

I guess I see Topix threads as two way discussions. A believer (or non-believer) makes some post, about his opinion on the topic perhaps. The other person looks at that post, and if he agrees he may say so, or even not say anything, or if he disagrees or needs more explanation, he may say so. Perhaps he only needs something explained a little further. The example of asking a believer why God does something, is obviously something that no one would know, but a believer may have an opinion about "why' whatever that something occurs. It seems, though, from both sides, we take questions about what we have said as personal attacks on our intelligence (and often they are personal attacks - but that should not be the case, in a debate - a debate is to discuss the topic, not the person doing the discussion.) When one person avoids the question by asking another question then it just sets up a vicious cycle/circle which gets nowhere, leads to bad feelings. To be specific, and I will use it from my view point so as to try not to offend you by stating what a Christian would do. Suppose you ask me that if I don't believe, then why do I come to a thread about God, since if for me God doesn't exist, then why do I want to discuss something that for me doesn't exist. I could have several legitimate responses: 1) I come here because I recognize that the existence of God is a topic that man has always debated, and I find it stimulating to discuss the topic, because it is something that others get quite interested in, 2) I may have had some bad experiences, such as attending a veteran's funeral and had the WBC demonstrators there thanking God that the soldier is dead because he was promoting gay agenda, and I feel that kind of behavior is not only not acceptable at a time of death for the public at large, but it is very wrong for a "Christian " to be thanking God for the tragic youthful death of someone else's child, 3) I, as an atheist, genuinely don't know if God exists, but because I don't hold a believe that God exists, though I am aware that billions do believe that, I may be honestly wanting to clarify some points put across by believers as to what makes them believe or why they believe, but because the answers so far have not told me that, I keep asking. What I find though is what I said above, usually the side being questioned, gets defensive, as if it is a personal attack on them, rather than a question to clarify something, and strikes out, which puts the other into a fight or flight mode, and because we all like to be on here, we chose fight over flight. That gets nobody anywhere. Yes, some people, on both sides of a topic, are just here because they like disrupting others. They get some kind of a kick out of that. There are several on Topix that obviously do that, because they don't seem to have any particular opinions on the topic, but constantly make repetitive posts (often just re-pasting the same post many times. But most of us like to be recognized for being able to express our side of a debate, not to get others upset with us. An answer which attacks the poster does not provide a good feeling to the person being attacked. (Thursday May 16 | post #534846)

An unbeliever, if he is being honest, is just trying to get a believer to justify what the believer believes. The unbeliever doesn't care at all about "God intervening" because the unbeliever doesn't have a God to care about its behavior. It is just a hypothetical question to a Christian, to hopefully get the Christian to step outside of his "belief" and actually try to rationalize what he believes, rather than just believing "because that is what a good Christians is suppose to do". As the fundamentalists keep pointing out, the only thing that really counts regarding the fate of everyone, is not how they lived their lives, but whether or not they believed in God. Even when I was a firm believer that God does exist, I could never quite wrap my head around the concept of it is "not by works alone that man is saved, but by whether or not he has accepted Jesus as his Savior". As a non-believer now, it ultimately doesn't matter to me, one way or the other, what a person does or what he believes, as to whether or not he will be punished later, because I don't believer the 'later' exists, nor does the ultimate God exist. However, for the sake of discussion, and to try to help believers to understand, or at least to communicate on an adult level, with non-believers, I can ask questions about a hypothetical God, in order that the believer will get beyond having to defend his faith, and actually give a rational response. It seems generally on Topix that what one gets from a believer is that one has to believe in God in order to believe in God, and until you do believe in God you will not be able to prove that God exists, and if you don't believe in God which means that you won't find God because you are refusing to believe so you can see Him, they you are going to burn in Hell. That seems to me to be a completely impossible request. I also think that a believer who uses that tactic has sort of got the wrong message from what those that taught him about God in the first place intended to teach him. When I said above that it doesn't matter to me what a person does in his life, I meant that only in relationship to how his actions would affect his afterlife, because I don't believe that one's actions mean a hill of beans in one's afterlife, because an afterlife does not exist. However, it matters a lot to me how a person does act while he is alive, because as social animals we depend on each other and we need others to act in such a manner that we will be able to continue to live as long as is naturally possible for us. Behaviors that are counter to one being able to live a long life, or for other around one to be able to live a long life, go against that. That is why man, over hundreds of thousands of years, has developed rules, laws, even written Bibles, to get some sort of control over all men, so that the one important man to each, "me", is safe. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, because I don't want to get hurt, so if I don't hurt others, hopefully, if all goes well, they are more likely not going to hurt me. (Wednesday May 15 | post #534683)

I suspect that many people do volunteer work because they want to be with other people, or to feel that though they are old they are still useful, and that is one way to get with other people, because, unlike getting a job, unless you are a known pervert of some kind, most people who volunteer are quite readily accepted because it let's other people off the hook of having to help out. I know people, like my mother, do volunteer work because they "should do it", but people like my mother have been 'shoulding' on themselves all their lives. Picked up the expression 'shoulding' back in one of my psychological encounter groups of the 70s when a leader was telling people that they do things that they 'want' to do, not what they 'should' do. The intent then was to stand up for yourself and do what makes you feel good, not what you think other people (or God) will think badly of you if you don't do it. I tend to be that kind of personality too, and those kinds of people tend to get walked over by a lot of other people who are not caring. I do not mean the above as a put down or a diminishing of the goodness of people for volunteering. I don't particularly like the fact that some atheists here (and I hope that I am not being taken that way) are attacking Christians as being generally bad people. I actually think that most 'Christians' are generally good people, and want to be good people. I have been somewhat shocked and disillusioned by the most out-spoken of the Christians on this site, because to me, though they claim to be such perfect Christians, their behavior here does not show that. There are a few Christians on Topix, who I have known for quite a few years on this site, who are not that way, but they in fact do side often with the non-Christians against what I would term very bigoted Christians on this site, because they recognize the hypocrisy of those people, and, as I would be if I was still a believer, are embarrassed by their behavior, and embarrassed to think they count themselves in the same group. (Wednesday May 15 | post #534675)

Mark, that was very well written and I don't think that any person who has the ability to logically reason would find fault with anything you said. You made quite a few points that I have not thought of before. (Wednesday May 15 | post #534668)

Has it actually been proved beyond doubt that teaching a pig to sing annoys it? :) (Wednesday May 15 | post #534504)

Why not just stop lying on Topix then, Patty, and no one will have any reason to find fault with you about anything, other than if you attack other human beings on here, who are only here to discuss a topic. (Wednesday May 15 | post #28108)

Actually you have to now take Minnesota off that list, Patty, and others will soon follow. Patty, you will have to stop telling us about how many states don't approve of gay marriages, because they all are going to make it legal. (Wednesday May 15 | post #28083)

Patty, PLH has you beat by many times in her knowledge of Christianity, and in what it means to act like a Christian. Your behavior on this site is beneath contempt. Why you keep throwing the Bible at people, especially the OT when you spend every day on here breaking one of the most important of the Cardinal Sins. Here is a list from Proverbs as quote in wikipedia: In the Book of Proverbs (Mishlai), among the verses traditionally associated with King Solomon, it states that the Lord specifically regards "six things the Lord hateth, and the seventh His soul detesteth", namely:[4] 1 A proud look 2 A lying tongue 3 Hands that shed innocent blood 4 A heart that devises wicked plots 5 Feet that are swift to run into mischief 6 A deceitful witness that uttereth lies 7 Him that soweth discord among brethren http://en.wikipedi a.org/wiki/Seven_d eadly_sins Ok, let's start at the top. 1. Yes, Patty does that daily 2. Yes, Patty has done that daily for 4 1/2 years 3. No, Patty hasn't done that 4. Yes, Patty has done that since she has been on Topix 5. Yes, Patty has done that too. 6. Yes, for sure - sort of repeats #2 7. Yes, one of her strongest sins. So, of the 7 Deadly or Cardinal sins, Patty, I can find only one that I am fairly certain you haven't committed, while the other six you have done on this site, so there is no discussion about those. I think I could get PLH on one or two of those also, but not 6. Perhaps you should take another look at just how qualified you really are. Oh, but I forgot. Jesus, came to take away all those sins from you, as long as you believed in Him, and stopped doing those things. So when will you stop doing them, Patty? (Wednesday May 15 | post #28070)

Is homosexuality a sin?

Sorry, but you have some "learning " to do. When it becomes illegal where you live for you to demonize gays, you will be a minority. Do you want to be demonized for being a bigot? (Wednesday May 15 | post #88951)

Is homosexuality a sin?

Sorry, you totally lost me on that post. (Wednesday May 15 | post #88949)