thatsmrshem

Thanks for the post, I got free time to kill and I always Loved Bill when i was a kid, I think I will watch

A lot of religious texts are extremely vague so that way all sorts of meaning can be potentially extracted from it, that is the trick. Example from my own family: When i talked to my own family about religion my parents pointed me to a bible verse (and for the life of me I can not find or remember it) that said, "God knows the mysteries of the universe at there most basic level." and they tried to use that as to example of god creating particle physics and quantum mechanics.

I apologize if this is in the wrong section. I just recently finished a book called, "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" By Phillip K. Dick. I had to read it for college and this is the first time I have ever read a book and been extremely confused by it, both emotional and intellectually. I was curious If anyone else has read the book and has any thoughts to share or any insight to what the book was suppose to get across to the reader. Thank you

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/gaps-in-data-on-arctic-temperatures-account-for-the-pause-in-global-warming-8945597.html Thoughts?

Thanks you so much guys, you really cleared this up for me. Special thanks too ribuck and Loveprevails for differentiating between and "if.. ought" and "is..ought"

I know this is discussed more then its fair share, so I apologize in advance for bringing it up again I have a gap in understanding when it comes to the "is ought" problem. for instance, one of Stef's metaphors that he uses when explaining the "is ought" dichotomy is the scientific method. he will say something along the lines of "There is nothing in reality that commands someone to use the scientific method, but that does not make the scientific method false or useless. so you do not have to use the scientific method, but you can't claim to be scientific." So if I understand correctly, no one has to use the scientific method, but if they don't, what ever conclusion they come too will be incorrect. so this is where my problem comes in. What if someone wants their conclusions to be correct? wouldn't they have to use the scientific method for their conclusions to be correct? but isn't that saying: the scientific method is how we achieve truth, so you ought to use the scientific method if you want to be true? in other words, an ought from an is? or am I missing something here? thanks in advance

I think your asking me why I looked up the claim my parents made and why I cared if It was true, please correct me if I am wrong. Well My religious upbringing has been very centered on the apocolypse and the return of the christ. So one of the things I was taught is too look for "signs and wonders." So I guess the posiibility of the claim being true because It was so astonishing (atleast to me) brought out a sort of fear that I may be wrong and could go to Hell like I was told as a kid. I think I see why you asked this question. you are trying to get me to see that how I have been trained to react to every so called "sign or wonder." Thank you

Thank you for the help. Well Im new to talking to people about Atheism so I might be a little too optomistic about reaching people with logical arguements.

Wow, thanks for such a speedy reply! My parents are those kind of people that beleive that every-thing happens for a reason (and by that I mean God planned or enacted it), So can someone detail an agruement I can try to use as to explain to My parents that coincidence can truely be just that, coincidence (Beside from the article that Alan Chapman linked)? Again thanks so much, and thank you in advance!

hello, I de-converted from the religion of my parents to Atheism a few months ago. It eventually came out to my parents that I no longer believed, like all things kept in secret do, and so a "discussion" followed because my parents are extremely religious. while talking atheism vs their religion with my parents (who are Judeo-Christians), they brought up a historical occurrence that stunned me a little. My mom said that on september 29th, 2008 the stock market (or more specificly; the DOW) dropped 777.7 points or 7%. This is a big deal for her because the number 7 is considered a holy number, plus september 29th of 2008 was the bilbical holiday of Rosh HaShanah. She brought this up because she wanted an explanation for miracles and wonderous signs. I looked it up to make sure it is factual and according to a couple different sources it is true (here is one for reference: http://www.startribune.com/business/29904294.html ) I am really at a loss as to how to respond; I would really appreciate some help because its really the only thing I have not been able to answer and unfortunently this one instance is a pretty bid deal to my parents. Please ask me any questions that you may have to better understand or to help me. Thank you