If evolution gave rise to foreskins and they must therefore offer some advantage then why cut it off?
1 Like
I don’t think that is necessarily hypocrisy, I like hymns, even gospel music sometimes, and love the engineering in cathedrals, and marvel at stain glass windows. I don’t want to extirpate religion from human history, I just don’t believe deities are real, and subject the claims about it to the same objective standards as all other claims. human emotions that manifest in religions are common to us all, the presence of those emotions are also elegantly explained by the theory of evolution.
I don’t your either, you’re just eager to carefully examine claims to see how valid they are, that’s why most of us are here. I don’t describe myself as an atheist just to label myself, I do so because it is an accurate descriptor of how I currently treat god claims, since I was born an atheist, and objective evidence has been demonstrated since to allay my doubts.
2 Likes
I guess you’re implying that philosophy and science should seperate? If so, then discussions of God don’t belong in science classrooms.
Or, let’s suppose that I misunderstood your point.
If so, please consider Aristotle. He argued that men have more teeth than women . . . and his arguments on the matter were utterly brilliant, yet they were wrong. He wouldn’t ask a woman to open her mouth so that he could count her teeth, as that was akin to labor, and only fit for slaves. In his view, the fundamental aspects of the Universe could be derived by thought alone.
Yet he was wrong.
As another example, Aristotle taught that heavier weights fall faster than lighter weights. This is pure common sense, and seems so obvious on the surface that it’s taken as a given fact . . . yet it is wrong. Gallileo even defeated Aristotle on his on turf by asking “What happens if we attach a heavy weight to a light weight by a long, thin cord? Does these two weights fall faster because the combination weighs more than either weight? Or does it fall slower than the heavier weight because of the drag imposed by the lighter weight?”
The only way to get to the truth is to drop two weights, and see for yourself . . . which is science.
So . . . I tend to believe that philosophy is useful and important as a tool for processing the facts provided by science. If–however–we only use philosophy in a vacuum, then we run the risk of falling into wrong conclusions, like Aristotle’s teachings about the number of human teeth, or falling weights.
These wrong conclusions can be dangerous, as I’ve claimed when discussing the Brescia church explosion . . . or when religious theocracies have access to nuclear weapons.
Thank you for seeing my points, and thank you for the validation.
1 Like
You have to give us a clue who you’re replying to, and in what context?
1 Like
There’s nothing wrong with utilizing a day to have a ritual that reminds one to be aware of (and thereby improve going forward) those things we’ve done that may have hurt ourselves or others. It’s the same, imo, as gathering with friends and family on Xmas to share time, laughter, and love. It’s the same as participating in The Day of the Dead festivities in remembrance of those who’ve died.
Theists don’t corner the market on celebrations and ritual. Those things are important to us as humans. And remember, holidays have been appropriated throughout history. It seems to be quite the human hobby 
5 Likes
If you see below, there are peer-reviewed articles on the health benefits of circumcision.
Yet I don’t dismiss your criticism of the practice out of hand. If we discover effective polyvalent vaccines against certain diseases, and educate new parents on the techniques and importance of genital hygiene for baby boys, then circumcision will probably be more of a cultural rather than a medical neccesity.
1 Like
I totally agree, and apologists try this canard all the time, oh you get together ad celebrate xmas with family, why do you do that if you’re an atheist, well because I want a break to spend time with family and friends, and unlike religions I don’t have to time, resources, and influence to appropriate those of others and try and change what they mean to everyone else, nor would I want to, I happy to enjoy the time with family and friends for what it means to me, in an entirely secular way.
2 Likes
Well they already are separate subjects and always have been. Schools should teach philosophy though, as they do in Western Europe.
I’d never advocate for “God” to be much of a topic in a science class, perhaps with the exception of physics when considering metaphysical questions.
Yes, science is predicated on nature’s remarkable capacity for being rationally intelligible, most fortunate.
Be careful, when you use a term like “dangerous”, one man’s meat is another man’s poison.
The world we live in is a continual power struggle, those without power want it and those with power want to keep it, this is all you need to know to understand the state of the human race, our eagerness for war and our willingness to kill, the “self” is everything, the self is mankind’s God and humans have served the self since the dawn of humanity.
But I digress.
1 Like
Yes I know, I’ve read all about this subject for decades, I know what the faithful believe.
I do think it’s dangerous when religious fanatics have access to nuclear weapons. Does anyone disagree with this?
3 Likes
But with non-religious fanatics it’s not dangerous? is this your position?
1 Like
You took what I said out of context.
I would be much, much happier if absolutely no one had nuclear weapons.
And when I claim that religous fanatics shouldn’t have nukes, that doesn’t mean that I’m OK with other people having nukes.
And I do agree that fanaticism can come in many different forms, so I’ll amend my statement that fanatics of any variety (of which religious fanatics are a subset) should not have access to nukes.
The only constructive purpose that I can think of for nuclear weapons are to nudge dangerous asteroids out of a collision course with Earth . . . or, possibly, to repel an alien invasion.
2 Likes
Thank you for the positive validation. I do sometimes feel hypocritical by practicing some aspects of Judaism.
1 Like
Well we do have such weapons and they are destined to be used. The ongoing western provocation of Russia and China with their blind obedience to US disastrous foreign policy all but guarantees too that it will be a European city that gets hit, not a US one.
1 Like
Finally, a place of common ground!!! I didn’t think it possible!!!
I am an American and a patriot, but I am also a human being first and an American second.
We are the wealthiest nation from capitalism . . . but I am convinced that our material wealth comes at the expense of the rest of the world.
It is often claimed that Manhattan was purchased for $26.00 worth of beads and trinkets, and I see a similar dynamic when it comes to our country accumulating wealth from other parts of the world through capitalism.
Our foreign policy reflects this dynamic.
And while I may disagree about our foreign policy causing a European city to get nuked, I do see our greed being reflected in climate change, which has resulted in the horrible storm that killed thousands and thousands of Lybians in the recent floods.
So, I feel like one can reasonably draw a line of causation between American greed and foreign policy to thousands and thousands of people dead in Lybia, and it is reasonable to expect something similar in Europe at some point in the future.
My country has about 5% of the world’s population, yet puts out about 35% of the climate-changing greenhouse gases . . . and this is unconscionable.
1 Like
I agree with everything you wrote, 100% agreement.
I’m British and now live and work in Arizona. been in this country for 22 years now.
I did tended to view the US through rose tinted glasses most of my young life. I watched the moon landings at 11 years old and later studied electronics in Liverpool too, always looking to the US for developments in semiconductors and microprocessors and computing.
That naivety has long faded, my love affair has dampened down somewhat over the past years, taking a particularly downward slope when Trump was elected.
A huge eye opener was the book Hidden Agendas by John Pilger, the true scale of US and Western exploitation finally got driven into me, it was for me a disturbing yet riveting read, the detail and attention to reliable sources made this a scary book, that the real world works as it does is in fact terrifying but you’ll get no glimpse from what we see on TV news.
1 Like
When it comes to medical care, I go by an idea called “evidence-based practice.”
If there are strong numbers and statistics that support the idea that circumcison is detrimental and/or harmful . . . then I will not endorse it.
I believe that current thinking in EBT supports the practice, but I may be wrong.
I pride myself on my intellectual honesty, so I’d like to bring up another subject which shows that I am able to put aside my personal feelings in favor of EBT.
There is a gruesome device called a “cuddle cot” which looks like a bassinet . . . but is actually a refrigerated crib for slowing the decomposition and deterioration of a dead baby.
I am horrified by such a device, as I firmly believe that it cultivates denial of a baby’s death, that it can create confusion in traumatized parents, and that it could precipitate post-partum psychosis in a grieving mother. One of the most horrific things that I’ve witnessed in healthcare (and I was a paramedic for 12 years, and I’ve had peoples’ brain tissue in my hair) was watching a mother try to “nurse” her stillborn baby from the cuddle cot.
I had nightmares and flashbacks for years after that.
Yet here is where I get to my point: The numbers, statistics, and research all seem to indicate a “better” (although I prefer the term “less bad”) outcome for grieving famlies after using the cuddle cot in its proper context . . . so I’m ethically obligated to professionally endorse and/or facilitate its use . . . and I will do so even though it horrifies me, and every part of me believes that this practice is harmful. Please see below:
