‘Barbie’ Who Spent Inheritance On G-Cup Breasts Makes Over £50K A Year On Webcam
Meanwhile, most of humanity doesn’t have access to surgery that’s actually medically necessary. Also, Barbie dolls only have B or C cup proportions.

Giraffe who killed Brit ‘had a history of violence and tried to kill before’
Has anyone else noticed that have suddenly been far more recent news stories about animals attacking people?

Caitlyn Jenner doesn’t agree with critics who call her ‘privileged’
Apologising and acknowledging are not the same thing.
A person who’s been far luckier than others doesn’t need to apologise, no one’s asking for that. But they should acknowledge that they’re lucky – and though they aren’t obliged, they really should do/give to help those who are less privileged. We – in the UK – are privileged compared to most of humanity, we’ve been lucky enough to be born into a country where living standards, public services and opportunities are incomparably better than what most others. It’s exciting how much we can do when we donate to the most efficient charities.

Kate and Gerry share poignant tribute to mark Madeleine’s 15th birthday
I really, really don’t want to seem uncaring to her parents – but thousands of children die each day because they lack clean water and food. The money spent on Maddy would save thousands of lives. Why doesn’t the media put more time into telling us about them, so that we’d be prompted to help?

Mayim Bialik – appeal for donatiions for child’s medical treatment
I desperately hope that you guys get a health system more like the one that we’re privileged enough to have – it’s far from perfect, because illness is an ongoing reality of life; but we’re lucky to have a National Health Service (funded by taxes) so that people’s treatment isn’t determined by how wealthy they are. And thankyou for using this heartbreaking situation as a positive reminder.
Oh, you mean the kind that prevents parents from seekig treatment anywhere else to the point where the child dies? Yeah, we’ll pass on that.
It wasn’t the government, nor the NHS that made the decision, it was the highest courts. The point is that there was enough evidence provided by medical experts for senior judges to agree that it was better for Alfie not to go to Italy since it would increase his suffering, and he’d still pass away. As all of humanity throughout history has learned, tragically disease can kill. It was a tragedy, not anyone’s fault. What I really, really don’t get is how much time and money people have expended on fighting for Alfie, when we can actually help some other children who are suffering because they don’t have basic healthcare. It’s thrilling how much difference we can make when we fund medical help for those with none (such as by donating to Save the Children US, Mercy Ships, Doctors Without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Doctors of the World UK, Children’s Heart Project etc)

Krispy Kreme Tops Starbucks as America’s Best Coffee Shop Brand in New Poll
We can feed a starving child for a month with £4/$6 – so why is it so normal to spend that amount on a coffee and doughnut?

All You Needed To Know About Intermittent Fasting And Why It Works
This makes me angry. I was diagnosed with anorexia 10 years ago and have had it ever since. Things like this^ contribute to ruining lives.
What are the BMIs of the woman in the left and right image? Having obsessed about weight and shape, and spent much time in an eating disorders unit (against my will, under the mental act) I’m fairly certain that the right side image shows a BMI below the healthy range (healthy as determined by standard medical charts). And it doesn’t necessarily matter – because you can’t necessarily stop there. If you train yourself to fast then, particularly since fasting itself impacts the brain (like an addiction) you can become unable to make yourself eat enough, even when you don’t want to lose any more weight. That’s why people end up with a medically recognised mental health issue, that can give us jutting bones – thinner than this^, and not what we ever wanted, but as a result of the slippery slope we get on.
I don’t mind that how I look now is unattractive by most peoples’ standards – but I do mind that I’ve been a burden to my family and the health service; I do mind that I have osteoporosis (a result of the anorexia – .so I could far more easily break a bone) and I do mind that I can’t concentrate or get food out of my mind. I have always desperately, desperately wanted to help those people in our world who are starving because of famine and war – and right now I’m useless and loathe myself for it.

Conservatives – It’s time you had your say. Join us today 🇬🇧️

My say is that wealth should be far, far more equally distributed. Will joining you bring that about?
The government could, for example, tax the very richest 5%slightly more, so that it can use the funds to help those who’ve not been so lucky – but that’s insane, right? You could develop ways of helping those without opportunities to do more with their talents – such as linking up people with disabilities or small children with the jobs that could be done from home – but why bother, eh? You could stop letting so much of tax payer’s money end up in the pockets of business chiefs by outsourcing so many public services to private companies, but I guess you’d rather not.

Brexit has made UK more racist, UN representative says
Racism is to subconsciously feel dislike of people of other races, and to fail to challenge those feelings, such that one might end up treating people of other races differently. Racism is not determined by the result of a vote to leave the EU. It may be a substantial number of those who voted for Brexit did so in part because of racism (even subconsciously – and some Brexiteers voted only for non race related reasons) – that would imply that racism contributed to Brexit, not the other way around.

Christian charities warn of ‘forgotten crisis’ in South Sudan – Premier
It drives me nuts – the media, rightly, reports often on problems in the Middle East, but suffering in Africa is almost entirely ignored, despite the fact that we can genuinely help people there if we donate to the right charities.

Why we need to see more women having affairs on screen | Rebecca Reid
No, we sodding don’t. To give in to temptation and disregard promises made and the emotional suffering that will be caused is not something we should be encouraged to think of as OK.

What I learnt sleeping with other women’s husbands
To give in to lust, and disregard promises made and the emotional suffering that will be caused is not something we should be encouraged to think of as OK. This^ is selfishness and cruelty – we can become more prone to doing things that we previously would have had moral inhibitions about when they’re shoved in faces through media – but The Times, and countless films and TV programmes do it constantly because sex sells.

We all need to admit that gender is a complicated thing
We each have our own interests, style and skills. Some of us have XX chromosomes, some of us have XY chromosomes (and a very, very few have another combination) – the former are female, the latter are male; that’s biology. It doesn’t matter – in that each human is equally and immeasurably valuable and must feel no obligation to conform to stereotypes. And if a person isn’t happy with the genitals they’re born with, it’s understandable; all genitals are disgusting. Fortunately, they don’t actually impact what we do in life, so people should be helped to overcome that anxiety and encouraged to focus on other things, rather than have surgery on them.

Apple is almost a $1 trillion company, but watch out for Amazon
It seems odd to me – most things that people buy from Amazon can be bought more cheaply via businesses on ebay, and most Apple gadgets have cheaply Android equivalents. And that we’re pressurised to upgrade our smartphones so frequently, and to buy any item that crosses our minds and have them delivered with Amazon, isn’t doing our planet any good.

Where Have All the Protestants Gone? Poll Shows Dramatic Drop in U.S. Christians: Reason Roundup
I’d read weeks ago that this was coming, yet still feel sad seeing people so keen to desecrate “Church” tradition.
However, what they’re abusing is not an accurate following of Christianity anyway, so I shouldn’t let it bother me – though this Gala does absolutely prove that most of the celebrities are happy to take advantage of Christianity to gain reputation points, even if they don’t realise that the costume they’re endeavouring to parody isn’t Christian.
In the desert, God gave the freed Hebrews instructions for precise, elaborate priestly attire to illustrate to the people an iota of His glory. But once Holiness had entered humanity in Jesus, ornate outfits and places of worship were no longer a requirement. Rather, Paul tells us to dress “modestly” – as opposed to showing off with ornate outfits; and the Bible tells us repeatedly to help the poor, not spend many $thousands on dresses whilst other humans live in rags.
So the Gala is mocking tradition that’s not entirely Christian, and looking hilarious doing so.
1 Peter 3:3 “Your beauty should not come from outward adornments such as braided hair or gold jewellery or fine clothes, but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.”
1 Timothy 2:9 “dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds”
James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”

Tim Farron just can’t escape gay sex | Coffee House
He’s said that he’s a Christian – and whilst many people have said this purely for show, perhaps he genuinely wants to follow Christ, who didn’t discuss homosexuality, it wasn’t a topic of debate at the time. Jesus prompted religious to leave a woman they’d been about to stone to death for her sexual sin, and said to her “Go and sin no more” – so Christians should be welcoming everyone, and urging everyone to consider God. Neither Christians, nor politcians, should be pressurised as Tim Farron has to make pronouncements on sex -they have incomparably more important things to discuss.

Government urged to change law to protect households from junk mail deluge
We ought to keep elderly friends/relatives/neighbours in mind. For us, as people who are online, cold calls and junk mail are mostly just an annoyance. For older people who aren’t as familiar with scams and how to check authenticity, and/or may have reduced short term memory (or dementia), things that arrive in the post can be a serious source of extreme stress and/ or danger of scamming. If we get a call/junk mail telling us that we won a prize and should call to claim our prize, or that we need to invest in certain services ASAP, etc, we know to ignore them, and we can use advisory websites and forums to find out more. But for some of our neighbours or grandparents, these predators could seriously con them (or just cause extreme anxiety). Far more than ever before (as there are far more older people), plenty of companies are actively targetting OAPs through catalogues and flyers in the post, cold calls and door-to-door sales, so that they can vastly overcharge or even steal from them.
Many of us know elderly people who we could help by giving them some gentle warnings, such as not to trust unexpected calls or mail that they receive.
All this is V obvious – but I’m certain that a reminder might do some good.

David Lammy – A picture speaks a thousand words. Justice for Grenfell.

 I don’t think the picture is enough – we really can’t get our heads around the horror, but everyone should be shown footage of the fire to get an iota of the trauma so that our brains can process more sympathy. I was watching it live (on BBC news in the middle of the night) and had nightmares – it’s good that I did, it’s human nature to struggle to grasp things we’ve not been through ourselves so we need to force ourselves to.

Tim Farron just can’t escape gay sex | Coffee House
He’s said that he’s a Christian – and whilst many people have said this purely for show, perhaps he genuinely wants to follow Christ, who didn’t discuss homosexuality, it wasn’t a topic of debate at the time. Jesus prompted religious to leave a woman they’d been about to stone to death for her sexual sin, and said to her “Go and sin no more” – so Christians should be welcoming everyone, and urging everyone to consider God. Neither Christians, nor politcians, should be pressurised as Tim Farron has to make pronouncements on sex -they have incomparably more important things to discuss.

Independent Online: “Historians are questioning if Jesus ever existed at all.” Is there any substance to it?
The Independent is unbelievably keen to brain wash us into believing conspiracy theories. Try this – https://etimasthe.com/2018/04/23/independent-online-historians-are-questioning-if-jesus-ever-existed-at-all-is-there-any-substance-to-it/
A few writers have published books with that conspiracy theory in recent years – it’s absurd enough to get them some book sales and for the hoax to spread around the internet. It doesn’t change the fact that there’s no dispute amongst actual historians that Jesus lived. I urge you to get informed. https://is.gd/m6MzKK . And though the notion that He rose from the dead sounds daft, there is remarkably good reasoning, based on history, to conclude that it’s true -but it takes a bit of investigation (I’ve personally found the books The Case for the Resurrection and Who Moved the Stone very helpful – but there are many more books, as well as articles and lectures by academics about it) https://is.gd/Bax24f

Humanists UK ‘Being a humanist means trying to behave decently without expectation of rewards or punishment after you are dead.’— Kurt Vonnegut

Yes, but that statement suggests that you’ve (Kurt V has) fundmentally misunderstood what Christianity actually teaches. Are you not familiar, for example, with Sola Fide?

Huh? That’s just the Protestants and it is the teaching of pure faith, something atheists don’t abide by. We would like to see proof, at least some highly suggestive evidence. There is none. You can just be a nice, decent person because that’s the right way to be. No inducements, no threats necessary.
Schools teach, colleges and universities teach. Churches preach.

just protestants? Jesus said that He is The Way – thus, irrespective of denominational labels, genuine Christianity (following of Christ) is NOT to believe that one gets to “heaven” by earning their way there (as the quote implies). How do you define faith and proof?

Are you followingHumanistsUK?

Yyes I follow it. Are not understanding and dialogue better than tribalism and echo chambers?

I don’t go on Christian pages to criticise your science errors

If you did address Christians for stating untruths about science, I wouldn’t object. But if a person fundamentally misunderstands a scientific concept that genuinely is true, it’s usually not consequential; if it turns out that there is a heaven, and some people have rejected the opportunity to go there, it’s more of a problem. I’m bothered that a significant proportion of the reasoning that I observe atheists to give for rejecting Christ rests on misunderstandings.

Has anyone come back to tell us – apart from Jesus of course.

I’ve not asked every human who’s lived if they’ve returned to life, or know anyone who has, have you? Were I to meet someone who claimed such, I would presume that they were near certainly wrong and seek testimonies from others who knew them. That’s not the point – you’re presuming that Jesus didn’t return to life because it runs contrary to what we naturally observe – but if a creator exists, the laws of nature are part of what they’ve designed and they are not bound by them. Had those in the area, at the time, when Jesus supposedly returned to life not seen that he’d returned to life – and given that those proclaiming that He had were being persecuted and killed for doing so – I don’t see that it’s possible that Christianity would have survived, and become the biggest movement in human history. But of course, this all needs far more discussion, and I really need to get on with other things ATM.

Yeah like what did the fig tree did to jesus for him to urse and pray for it to burn. Isnt he green or nature loving? Or the useless fig tree is just a metaphor like always?

LOL, fun question 🙂 He was giving evidence to His disciples that He wasn’t only human.

Children said they witnessed Mary at Fatima and people have said they witnessed all sorts of thing over the centuries: ghosts, witches, poltergeists and holy people of all kinds. We are also looking back many many years and reading accounts written by devoted followers of Jesus. Jesus said many good things and his ideas have prevailed, but this does not make him immortal in the physical sense.

Of course – but Jesus was seen by many people, and many were willing to give their lives to proclaim the news. His life fufilled prophecies made centuries earlier, such that after Jesus had re-ascended, Paul (who himself had been killing the early Christians, yet became the most prolific evangelist when He had a supernatural experience of hearing Jesus’) was able to convince academics who’d not seen Jesus that Jesus was the Messiah. Why is the fact that followers of Jesus wrote about His life and resurrection? Does it not make sense that the people who saw Him and wrote about Him were the same people who, as a result of seeing His resurrection, became His followers? It wasn’t like situations today where bias for one’s group might lead them to skew the truth, because the followers weren’t gaining anything from telling about Jesus – they were being killed. So today, we might not trust an account if written by a source linked to the subject matter, because of the writer stands to benefit from convincing the public of a skewed version of reality- but there was no reason for the Gospel writers to lie, they were dying, literally, to share what they’d seen.

Can you explain how your condition of genuinely following Jesus is not itself a process of earning your way to reward? I fail to see how it can’t be exactly that and only that. You seem to be suggesting that your point opposes Vonnegut’s.

That’s been something theologians have debated for centuries – simplistically, my point was that Christianity teaches that Jesus offers The Way (to heaven – and demonstrated victory over death by rising from it). Those who love God in turn feel genuine desire to do things to help other humans He created – we don’t help humans/follow God’s laws because we think that doing so will be the reason we get to enter heaven.

“a significant proportion of the reasoning that I observe atheists to give for rejecting Christ rests on misunderstandings”. Then you misunderstand Atheists Grace. Atheism simply means the absence in belief in the existence of God. The reason that they do not believe in the existence of God is that they have not been convinced by the Theists claim that God exists. I am sure that there are plenty of Atheists who don’t know much about Christ but there are plenty, such as myself, who know more than some Christians. My Atheism is certainly not due to a lack of knowledge. In fact, the more I learn, the more certain I become that there is no God. I have read books by some of the best Christian apologists and nothing I have read comes even close to convincing me that Christianity is true. I could still be wrong though and so I will wait until a Christian who claims that God does exist meets their burden of proof.

No, I’m well aware that some atheists are better informed than the quote ^ suggests -but there truly are many, many people who think that Christianity means to follow rules in order to get to heaven; and who never examine the many philosophical and historical debates that serious atheists and Christians have. How do you define “meeting the burden of proof”?

Really not going to waste my time getting into a debate with a delusional person. Delusional people cannot be reasoned with so I’d rather do something that has a point instead.

And yet you chose to reply to my comment, twice. I wonder how you’ve concluded that I’m delusional since you know almost nothing about what I believe, and don’t know what reasoning and evidence has led me to my conclusions. But I know you won’t answer. Have a nice evening

Whole argument by grace is a no true scotsman fallacy(A TRUE CHRISTIAN BELIEVES X), therefore is intrinsically false(self defeating), therefore not worth the time to debate.

I’ve seen numerous people claim I make the No True Scotsman fallacy lately – it seems your tactic of trying to define Christianity how you want so that can attack it (which is, of course, the straw man fallacy). I’m not making the No True Scotsman fallacy, because I’m not rejecting an action as unChristian on the basis of what’s frequently been observed in Christians (as in the NTSF, where one rejects someone is a Scotsman because they don’t behave in a way that Scotsmen have been frequently observed to behave).
Rather, I’m objecting on the basis of what Christianity actually is by definition – which is a follower of Christ; the word came into use, as you’ll know, to mock Jesus first followers, who themselves also asserted that we’re saved because of choosing to follow Jesus, as opposed to adhering to rules and trying to score brownie points with God, as the people around them believed, and as the quote^ suggests.
If someone does something uncharacteristic of a Scot, they’re no less a Scot because a Scot is someone from Scotland, that’s the point of the NTSF. Christianity is not defined by where one is from, or anything else that they’ve not chosen: Christianity is specifically to follow, through choice, Christ – and His teaching is distinctly different from Kurt V’s assumption^ of theists.

Instead of a confession and 5 holy mary just say 5 democracy and 2 human rights and you are a decent person and can feel good with yourself

Indeed, the notion that someone could absolve their misdeeds by speaking certain words certain numbers of times is illogical an UnChristian.

Intrestingly the quote did not even mention Christianity so unsure how its misunderstood it, but im sure you must have connected the 2 somehow to be defencive of Christianity

We live in a society where Christianity is the predominant version of theism, and Humanists specifically aim to critique theism, most often Christianity. The reason that the quote appeals to people is that it opposes a common, but an incorrect understanding of Christianity, which was historically prevalent.

OK… so your answer to me utterly removes any concept of any gods, basically, it’s a Humanist answer with Jesus as a mere mentor. Unfortunately theologians debating things will never come to that realisation because they sit within a box of faith in gods.

Jesus is absolutely not merely – or primarily – a mentor. First and foremost (so far as humanity is affected that is) He offers The Way to “heaven” (nothing to do with fluffy clouds an harps, obvs). He was witnessed to have risen from death by those in the area at the time, demonstrating His having defeated death, so that His followers knew they could let go of their lives to spread the news about Him.

Scots outraged over Donald Trump’s Irn-Bru ban
Obviously, he’s deeply concerned about the well-being of others, so he’s endeavouring to address the health impact of sugary drinks.

GRIME 4 Corbyn #JC4PM Labour tomorrow is firing Shoots over the Bow of the DUP/Tory alliance. Will they vote against the DUP and support equal Marriage in Northern Ireland? Support them blocking it? or be cowards and abstain from the vote altogether?

We need to keep issues like this^,and abortion, which I’ve seen much about from the Irish Labour Party recently, separate from the Tory/Labour war. They’re not part of the economic injustice that needs more opposition. If it weren’t for the Democrats support for abortion and gay marriage, Trump wouldn’t be in the White House.

‘Sadistic’ nuns arrested for torturing 65 children
Nuns should be in italics too – someone who’s genuinely trying to follow God will naturally want to behave as He’s told us, not the very opposite

‘Should my 16-year-old be allowed to sleep in the same room as her boyfriend?’
The change in attitudes to sex over the last few generations has done a lot of harm – suffering and healthcare costs due to STIs inc. HIV and cervical cancer(and the tests/treatments); HPV vaccines; abortions; emotional suffering (the brain releases oxytocin – pair bonding hormone – in sex, so people are far more likely to feel depressed later on after a broken relationship if it included sex) etc. I blame the corporate forces than have been profitting – magazines and TV/film/music sell by featuring sex, and now everyone’s convinced that it’s healthy to start ASAP and have plenty of different partners

Esther McVey to appear on Question Time so let’s all go out instead
Seriously? You genuinely think that you can make things better by sticking your fingers in your ears when people you disagree with are talking? How will you convince swing voters to vote left if you don’t study the right to perfect explanations of how it’s wrong?
I was in the QT audience in March – I got to look Liam Fox straight in the eye and urge him to have concern for the world’s poorest people as he negotiates the international trade deals resulting from Brexit. We can’t resolve problems by blanking those we disagree with/who are wrong.

Could Kanye West’s latest backlash put his career in the sunken place?
Doesn’t using the sunken place as a reference to a career disregard the incomparably more serious issues that Get Out was endeavouring to illustrate?

“I don’t like how some Christian groups meddle in politics”
I’ve wasted several hours debating abortion this afternoon after making the daft mistake of commenting on a U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders post and immediately had a barrage of furious replies. I should have learnt by now. What’s most frustrating, is peoples’ immediate assumption that, because I contradict the statement that abortion is just “between the woman and her doctor” (I pointed out that there’s another human involved, who’s affected more than the adults but has no say in whether an abortion happens) I must be a “religious” “Republican” “hypocrite” who’s pro-war and anti welfare. Obvs it doesn’t matter at all if they believe nonsense about me – but I’m heart broken that so many people reject Christianity entirely because they lump together everyone who wears that label. They don’t care what Jesus actually said and did, they just feel angry about what some people who call themselves Christians have done and think that’s a reason to ignore Christ.

Emily Thornberry vs Mr Men is just the start of taking down patriarchal kids’ cartoons
As a Labour voting female who grew up with these books, it never crossed my mind at all that they’re demeaning. Can’t Emily Thornberry focus on demanding equality annd help for genuinely oppressed people?

NHS will no longer have to share immigrants’ data with Home Office
OUTRAGEOUS – immigrants are using 0.3% of our NHS’s resources!
(I hope my sarcasm is clear enough)

Melania trolled for #BeBest speech
Apparently the leaflet is a copy of one created by the Obamas. Many people have criticised Donald Trump’s lack of green credentials, yet when Melania recycles she gets berated. Poor thing.

Living on £1 a day for 7 days
We should remember that there are people around the world who have no choice 😦 And they’ve no benefits system, NHS, food banks/soup kitchens/homeless shelters – or opportunities to work their way out of poverty. It’s incredibly exciting how much we can help them. For example, many of us spend on coffees/ take aways/ gym memberships (we can exercise with free weights and cheap exercise bikes/treadmiulls at home) – but we can sponsor a child for £25/month, which means that they get meals, lessons, health checks, and protection from the trafficking (inc sex slavery) that many of the world’s poorest kids are at substantial risk from.

We must try to understand how unwanted virginity leads self-hating incels to murder
Yes, they are born. All human beings are born virgins. If an evil or disturbed person does something evil and blames it on involuntry celibacy, why presume that their claim is accurate? Have not a number of murders also been by sexual partners/ exes? I think that the reality is that many people are conned -by commecial forces, magazines and TV/film/music sell by excessively featuring sex- into thinking that sex will make life happier. In fact the net benefits of the changes in attitudes to sex over the last century are outweighed by the net harm done. The immeasurable sum of suffering and healthcare costs due to STIs inc. HIV and cervical cancer(and the tests/treatments); HPV vaccines; abortions; emotional suffering (the brain releases oxytocin – pair bonding hormone – in sex, so people are far more likely to feel depressed later on after a broken relationship if it included sex) etc are what we should be concerned by.

I’m 20 and the pressure of being a virgin is overwhelming
Why? With all due respect, at at 20 what’s concerning is not being a virgin, but caring what peers think.
I’m 26 and I never stopped feeling grossed out by the idea of sex, and the hypersexuality of our society has added to that. And it’s evident that the change in attitudes to sex over the last few generations has done a lot of harm – suffering and NHS costs due to STIs inc. HIV and cervical cancer(and the tests/treatments); HPV vaccines; abortions; emotional suffering (the brain releases oxytocin – pair bonding hormone – iin sex, so people are far more likely to feel depressed later on after a broken relationship if it included sex) etc. I blame the corporate forces than have been profitting – magazines and TV/film/music sell by featuring sex, and now everyone’s convinced that it’s healthy to start ASAP and have plenty of different partners.
We each need, desperately, to find identiity and joy outside of our sex lives.
Being asexual is legitimate and fine, but how about letting others enjoy what they like too? I do agree that sex education, especially around health and consent, need massive improvements.

I’m not stopping anyone “enjoying what they like” – although I think that the reality is that many people are conned -by commecial forces- into thinking that sex will make life happier, and in fact the net benefits of the changes in attitudes to sex over the last century are outweighed by the net harm done.

I never stopped feeling grossed out by the idea of sex, — That’s not logical or natural.

Of course it’s logical – for the reasons I explained and because genitals are disgusting. It’s natural because I’ve not had therapy or medication that’s brought about the disgust. What it isn’t is normal, I’m well aware of that

And allow me, if I can Grace Dalton, to be as admirably clear as you have managed. I am struggling to think of a single monotheistic organised religion which does not result in its adherents loathing their own bodies and those of others, of feeling disgust and revulsion at lust and the idea of lust … and yet without the phenomenon of the desire for the body of another, without lust, we would not be here to carry on this jolly fascinating discussion

Very interesting 🙂 How have you concluded that all monotheistic religions advocate loathing the body? And what are your presumptions about my stance on “religion”?

Well, no, I said “result” not”advocate”. “Result” does therefore not refer to the statements of religious authorities, but the actual reported and observable behaviour of adherents of all of the major religions with the possible exception of Buddhism. I make no presumption about your religion, I wonder at the source of your approach to this question. And I offer this further tenative and somewhat wild observation. There is something self-abnegatory, self-denying, self-contradictory about religious inspired bodily shame. It works this way. The attitudes you express necessarily entails a revulsion for your own genesis. I would call this “self-abuse”. Oddly, among all organised religions, the term self-abuse is reserved for the perfectly harmless recreational friction of masturbation. It is odd to be simultaneously a self-abuser and against self-abuse. And I note Grace that in the graceful manner in which you expressed your argument, you directly revealed no religious affiliation or belief, which is very nice argumentation … but I wouldn’t be wrong, would I, in guessing that Christopher Hitchens is not among your favourite authors?

Indeed – and thankyou for acknowledging that – there’s a vital distinction between how self-proclaimed followers live, and what a “religion” (I hate the word religion – it has so many connotations that are antithetical to what Jesus actually taught and demonstrated) teaches.
Whilst it may appear that Christians are opposed to sex, I’m in a tiny minority in this. The vital distinction is that – in doctrine and in the minds of most Christians – it should only happen within marraige. St Paul even says that married couples should not deny each other. So a Christian could have a very active sex life – with their spouse. Whilst this sounds bizarre and boring to those who’ve not tried it amidst our sexualised society, Christian couples have enjoyed monogamy and avoided the emotional and medical problems that sex outside of marraiges can cause (not only near the time, but later on and for children).
But my apologies if I seem moralistic – I’m not judging those who’ve not restricted sex to marraige, I’m well aware that this is entirely the norm now.I’ve not heard Christians refer to masturbation as self-abuse – and having attended Church all my life and listened to many hundreds of sermons/ read articles by Christian leaders online, I’ve only encountered one message on masturbation. It’s not in the Bible, so most Christians don’t have views on it. Though I know atheists have created satire about Christians condemning it that may well have been believed to be factual. I personally am opposed to masturbation of course, in that I find the idea gross, but it’s none of my business what other people do, and my objection isn’t related to my being a Christian.

IIndeed, Christopher Hitchens is not my favourite writer – and the flaws in many of the arguments of the new atheist brigade frustrate me immeasurably. But I share their keenness to believe only in things for which there is good reasoning/evidence, as opposed to simply having faith. I came, gradually, to believe in the factual truth of God’s existence, and then of Christ’s resurrection, through examination of science and history respectively. I’ve been trying to become better acquainted with the many debated issues in apologetics since.

You must be heaps of fun at parties…

LOL, I’m far too boring to go to parties

I think you may need to re-examine science and history, neither of them support any gods existence or any resurrection, the later goes against science and has no credible historical basis.

How have you reached that conclusion?

Which conclusion? The god one well science explains the universe naturally with no need for the supernatural, and the only “historical” source for god is the Bible which we know contains many contradictions, scientific and historical inaccuracies. For the resurrection, rising from the dead 3 days later goes against science Historically once again you’re relying on the Bible, which was written decades after the events with no eyewitnesses, the writers at best are relying on hearsay at worst totally made up, neither of which are considered reliable methods. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, neither of them have what could be considered even semi decent evidence hence requiring faith to believe them.

No, science explains the details of how the universe works, not how iit came to exist in the first place. More intriguing to me, is that science shows that numerous parameters of the universe have to be so precisely correct, that it’s evident that it didn’t form by chance. This is also true of biology – the rate at which mutations happen and the number of mutations required for us to develop from nothing by chance – combined with the fact that each gene is entirely reliant no, science explains the details of how the universe works, not how iit came to exist in the first place. More intriguing to me, is that science shows that numerous parameters of the universe have to be so precisely correct, that it’s evident that it didn’t form by chance. This is also true of biology – the rate at which mutations happen and the number of mutations required for us to develop from nothing by chance – combined with the fact that each gene is entirely reliant on many others to function, and each complex organism reliant on other organisms to live – mean that it’s not possible that unguided chance brought about the biological world. There are many esteemed scientists who explain this far better than I can, one of my favourites is a colleague of Richard Dawkins http://www.johnlennox.org/guide-to-resources/on many others to function, and each complex organism reliant on other organisms to live – mean that it’s not possible that unguided chance brought about the biological world. There are many esteemed scientists who explain this far better than I can, one of my favourites is a colleague of Richard Dawkins http://www.johnlennox.org/guide-to-resources/

And that would be an argument from ignorance fallacy, you don’t understand it therefore god. Yes parameters have to be precise otherwise we wouldn’t be here, that’s not evidence for a designer much like Douglas Adams puddle example. Simply if it didn’t occur as it did we wouldn’t be here, the probability of it happening so precisely is tiny but so is you being born yet you are here.  As for your biology you do understand you are going against what the actual experts who study and research this their whole lives say, are you saying your understanding of biology is better than theirs? You are going against what scientists say yet claiming science supports you. Now even if we pretend you are correct and your fallacious arguments are proof of a designer that would not be proof for your very specific designer the Abrahamic god.

I’m well aware that resurrection breaks scientific laws – but iif, as I explained there is reason to think, a designer created the universe, that designer can choose to overrule those laws. How much have you investigated the resurection accounts? it takes a bit of investigation (I’ve personally found the books The Case for the Resurrection and Who Moved the Stone very helpful – but there are many more books, as well as articles and lectures by academics about it) https://is.gd/Bax24f There are many points to make and I need to get off FB, but consider this one; The New Testament was written by iindividuals whose lives were much endangered by their sharing about Jesus. Why do you suppose that enough of them would have willingly given up their lives to tell others about Jesus if they’d not actually seen that He’d defeated death, for the movement to become the biggest in human history?

The endlessly complex, unfathomably iinterdependent and improbable dynamic universe is not comparable to a puddle. I’m not opposing biology, I’m saying that it didn’t come about purely by unguided chance because that’s what it demonstrates. How much biology have you done yourself, by the way? I’ve been studying biomedical sciences at UCL, and learning more has only made it clearer that it couln’t have developed without a designer. But anyhoo, I need to go, have a nice day 🙂

Cliches suck, but no, a hair streak is not a huge problem. People not having clean water or enough food is a huge problem. People being trafficked into slavery is a huge problem. People working in sweat shops and comparably horrendous plantations and factories for almost no pay, so that we can enjoy our cushy Western lifestyles, is a huge problem.

The ‘gay cake’ fight: why the bakers had a right to refuse this order
There was in fact no discrimination – Ashers only refused to put particular words onto a cake, they didn’t refuse the order because of the customer. There’s no logic in forcing 1 human being to do something that another human being requests when it’s not at all a necessary service. I’ve never eaten customised cake and I’m coping just fine – like most of humanity. Much of humanity has no access to cake at all, and has to live on little more than rice.
Ashers didn’t cheat the customer out of his money, or refuse to make him a cake without the wording. Only a minority of celebratory customised cakes have wording on them. The customer could have had cake without words, have applied the words himself, or have ordered from another bakery. It’s plainly obvious that he’s persecuted Ashers to make a point.
God instructs humanity not to have gay sex – marriage implies sex, Ashers couldn’t endorse something that God has told humanity not to do, because God knows better than we do what’s best for us and loves us more than we can imagine.

Letters to the Editor: Religion and Marxism could coexist in the modern world
How are you defining “religion”? Following Christ is very different from religiously trying to earn one’s entry to heaven. Many aspects of Marxism and the early Church (before power lust turned parts of it away from prioritsing Jesus) are similar. But ultimately, Marxism can only be of any use in this lifetime – why don’t we spend more time trying to find out what happens next?

UK tourists hit by ‘disaster warning’: EU deadlock to trigger FLIGHT CRISIS
Not being able to fly abroad is not a crisis. With the cost of a flight abroad, we could seriously help people who actually are experiencing crises, which is why I’ve not been overseas since I was a child, and don’t feel deprived at all – I’m tremendously grateful to live in a country where there’s somuch to enjoy

Shunned by corporations, U.S. gun entrepreneurs launch start-ups
I live in London. I heard what Trump said at the NRA address about blood baths in London hospitals, and now understand why Trump gets accused of lying. His description was so inaccurate it was almost laughable – except it’s not funny, because he’s deceiving people to encourage support of guns. We have knife crime problems because Christianity has mostly disappeared from our culture and because of drug wars – everyone knows that it’s a good thing that guns are banned. We (British) also agree (not just left leaning voters) that our healthcare system is far, far, far better as a public “social/single payer” institution.

Opinion | How Long Have I Got Left?
None of us knows when we’re going to die – so why don’t we spend a bit more time trying to find out what happens next? It was well known enough in the area where he was that Jesus had defeated death (rising again) that His followers were willing to die to spread the message, and it became the biggest movement in human history. isn’t it worth looking at the evidence, so one can decide about following Jesus, who offers eternal life (heaven) before it’s too late?
This is a really eloquent and searing collection of essays, don’t devalue them by vomiting religion all over them. Aren’t there some perky GodVine videos you should be watching?
Why would are you assuming that I watch Godvine? I don’t, I don’t – but whether I do is irrelevant – whilst you may not have been 100% serious, you clearly are making assumptions with no evidence. You accuse me of “vomitting religion” – but I never mentioned religion. How do you define religion? I mentioned history and metaphysics, and you’re choosing to ignore them – surely you want to explore and discover what’s true? You might disagree with me, but is simply rejecting ultimate questions really prudent?

The whole, “spend more time trying to find out what happens next” begs a religious interpretation. The focus of the essays is around coming to terms with death and not a walk down a nonexistent garden path.

How do you know that the path is non existent?

If the path is extant, then we’ll find out, and if it’s not, then we we’ll never know the difference. This is what kind of makes it fun, don’t you think?

If we’re trying to follow the path and there turns out to be nothing at the end of it, then we’ll never know the difference, and have lost nothing. If we’re not following the path and it turns out that it was leadiing somewhere, we’ll have thrown away the ultimate offer.

That might depend on your conception of the Almighty. All-knowing? Perhaps your intentions, then, if well-meant, will be recognized as such. You do your best; it would seem more could not be expected.

That’s what most religions have presumed – that we reach heaven through doing good things. But there’s no evidence to support the idea, sensible as seems. If Jesus rose from the dead, He’s actually evidenced victory over death, and we have reason to believe Him; and He said that He is The Way (to eternal life with God; heaven). A person who is genuinely following Jesus will increasingly want to do good – but it’s decision to accept Christ that determines whether we spend forever with God. If we do good, but choose to reject Jesus, God won’t force us to spend eternity with Him.

Your argument is faith based, as you are certainly aware, but as such, “evidence” doesn’t figure into the picture. We contemplate the world and try to make sense; where “evidence” exists, it constitutes proof, independent of that which we may choose to believe. There is no incontrovertable proof pertaining to religious beliefs, for that would obviate the need for hope as well as faith.

How do you define evidence and proof exactly? Indeed my statement that Jesus’ resurrection is evidence of Him offering victory over death is only valid if He actually did rise from the dead. I’ve come to belive that He did through examining the evidence and reasoning, as opposed to just having faith that He did, but I know that some will examine evidence and draw different conclusions. Frustrating though, is that most people presume it to be faith based fiction and don’t examine the evidence at all.

Plea to ban ‘vile’ anti-abortion posters
Why? It’s a reality. Our society is struggling enough already to discern what’s truth, without hiding it because of squeamishness.
The fact is that people realise that abortion is horrific, and they want to ignore their consciences.

“Sneering Leftwing Racists” Are Prejudging Sajid Javid’s Appointment As Home Secretary
I think that race may be a side issue here; that the underlying issue is that if someone’s on the right, the left are immediately certain that they’re evil and must be criticised and mocked severely. Of course, if someone’s on the left, the right are immediately certain that they’re dangerous and must be criticised and mocked severely.

‘Jesus loves me and my guns’: Faith and firearms touted at the NRA’s prayer breakfast
Jesus told us that those who live by the sword will die by the sword; there’s no way He’d be pro gun.

Psychologists Point Out 11 Clothing Colors That Reveal Your Personality
No, clothing colour really, really doesn’t reveal your personality. But congrats to those who’ve managed to profit from selling books about this lunacy.

Bernie Sanders By passing a six-week abortion ban—the strictest abortion law in the country—the Iowa legislature is undermining women’s constitutional right to control their own bodies. We must do everything we can to defend women’s right to health care across the country. The decision to have an abortion is between a woman and her doctor, not extremist politicians.

“Between Her and her doctor” entirely ignores the reality that there’s another human involved, and it’s that human who’s most affected by the decision, but gets no say. Something being a constitutional right doesn’t make it morally right – gun ownership being another example.Not a human. It’s a fetus.Yes IT IS HUMAN – that’s just biology. Call it a foetus, fine, but iit’s a human foetus just as we are human aults (or teenagers). How much biology have those of you saying that it’s not human studied science, and embryology BTW?
SO often people say that it’s “just a clump of cells” – how do you define a “clump”? We’re also composed of cells. think that some people have been genuinely misled about human development in the womb – and I’ve seen utterly false diagrams that show total nonsense about what the foetus looks like at various stages. But it’s not rocket science to use Google – there are scores of pregnancy websites and scientific textbooks online that will tell you about development in the womb. I’m very much in favour of better access to contraception, and though I hate the idea of it, I won’t argue about abortion after several weeks – but the foetus starts to sense touch at around 2 months.Though indeed there are children lacking adequate care – who MUST be helped more by the state – there are many couples who specifically want to adopt newborrns.Only 1% of abortions follow rape (according to Planned Parenthood’s own research) – so those who are pregnant have already made a choice. Corporate forces than have been profitting – magazines and TV/film/music sell by featuring sex, and now everyone’s convinced that it’s healthy to start ASAP and have plenty of different partners. In reality, it’s perfectly possible to enjoy life without sex; and even more possible of course to go without sex until you’re ready to be a parent. The abortion problem is ultimately most of all a result of our being collectively conned into thinking we need sex, and not being able to cope the the natural biological result.So when you begin demanding the end to war which kills humans by the millions, you will gain credibility. Otherwise, the hypocrisy stinks!!!Hypocrisy how exactly? I’m not pro-war. Why on Earth are you assuming that me being anti abortion means I’m republican? Take a GD science class! A clump of cells with no awareness feelings or consciousness is not a human. For fucks sake!Seriously, you can F***’s sake at me all you want, it is human – do you want me to start quoting science journals? I’ve been studying biomedical sciences at university, how about you? When most of the country lives below the poverty line and cannot even afford to feed themselves, making something like abortion illegal is irresponsible. Thats my opinion, and maybe I am a pessimist.No one forced the woman to have sex – other than in cases of rape which, as I’ve said, is no more than 1% of cases – therefore no one has forced her into anything, carrying a baby is the natural biological result of her own choice. I’m in the UK, so I don’t know enough about how your health care system works, but I’m doubtful that it’s necessary to pay $10 000 – doesn’t medicaid help with basic maternal healthcare if the woman has no health insurance? And I FIRMLY believe that far more health care support should be given to those who aren’t wealthy. Our healthcare system is seriously struggling ATM, but I know that we’re extremely lucky (in the UK) to have what we do, and desperately hope that are fairer system is put in pkace in the US ASAP. Also, as I said, though I hate the idea of it, I’m not arguing against morning after pills or abortion within the first month, so I’m really not suggesting that anyone be “forced” to carry a pregnancy.As is her biological choice to end a pregnancy. Don’t believe in it, don’t do it. “Don’t believe in it, don’t do it” – but the same could be said about murder. You could say to someone that if they don’t think murder is morally right, they should just not murder, but they have no right to tell others not to murder. The point is that in murder, an also in abortion, it’s not just the active person who’s affected, then murder victim and the unborn human are at risk of being killed.Just what is the man’s role in this discussion?The man should provide for more than half of the child’s material needs (more than half because the woman is bearing the physical aspect) – and be loving and supportive to the extent that the child wants.Many women die in child birth, even today. So any pregnancy is a risk to the woman’s life. And a lot of abortions are done to end the product of rape, incest or a non viable fetus. Most in fact. So saying a woman got herself into the situation of being pregnant is completely ignorant……no woman wants to get raped or be the victim of incest or carry a non viable fetus. Abortion is not murder, it is terminating a clump of cells, vastly different from ending the life on an intelligent, autonomous individual.“most”? No, as I already said, PP’s own data has found that only 1% of abortions result from rape. I’m aware that women die in pregnancy – but exactly how many, in developed countries, since you’re so certain that it’s a significant number? And surely you’re aware that women still die in the process of abortion? This is about 2 miles from where I live – https://mailchi.mp/…/woman-bled-to-death-after-ealing…You don’t dig up a seed and say that you’ve cut down a tree. Stay out of other people’s medical decisions.So? The biological progression from a fertilised egg to a baby is entirely different from the progression from a seed to a tree, so that argument doesn’t work. And I’m not in other people’s medical decisions, I’m just commenting – but it’s not just the woman’s medical decision, it’s abother human’s life.
So what. Even one forced pregnancy by rape is one too many. Shame on you! Why don’t you get raped and have a baby? Then we’d see how you would feel about it. Oh but wait, you must be a religious right winger with no empathy, until it happens to you.
So you’re just going to assume I’m a “religious right winger” because I disagree with abortion? That’s illogical. Personally, I have my own opinions on each issue, rather than merely following one party and agreeing with everything they say. How about you? And how do you define “religious”? I’d really love to know, questions about God are far more important and interestiing than all of this arguing about abortion. Since you mentioned it, if I were raped, I wouldn’t get pregnant as I’m too malnourished to menstruate. But aside from that, if I were pregnant from rape, I would absolutely keep it (unless there were a couple desperate for a baby who’d be able ton give it a better life than I could)