A Video and My Commentary: The Innovation of Loneliness

The Innovation of Loneliness:

This post is not about religion but rather about technology.

I guess this blog post is less about the aspect of loneliness, but rather about how we as 21st century humans treat our social lives. If you watch the video I linked up there, the narrator will talk about how being so connected online will affect our feelings of loneliness. He also talked about the decline of verbal conversation and the decline of actually getting to know people.

I've always been a fan of actually having verbal conversation. In the long run I'm better at it. 

The narrator of the video also mentioned a key point about human socializing. When a person makes a relationship online, it's what I'd like to call a faux relationship. He mentioned how online socializing allows a person to create an image of themselves that is only showing their good sides. In doing this, nobody gets to see the full image of a person. People aren't having real relationships. This is why I stress meeting people in real life. I grew up learning how to socialize with real people, and that's why I ended up being better at that. Granted, talking with people online is trivial. Socializing is an actual skill. It's something that every child should learn.

That's why I fear for the children born from the parents of my generation. They will grow up in a society where they can make all their friends online. When they grow up into the real world with job interviews and they won't know how to make a good impression. Then again, by that point, a lot of interviews will be online most likely. 

Well, once again, questions or comments, you know what to do!

Some Ideas I Had at 2:30 in the Morning

In no particular order nor in any grammatical sense:

Religion should be based on a physical relationship with god, doing community service and giving back to the world and to those that he supposedly created.

In the end, the good, just, patient, charitable people should go to heaven; if god truly is benevolent and loving.

God isn't something or someone to be feared or appeased, if he exists then we exist only to live off the planet he created.

A religious person should not always be in prayer, but one's devotion should be shown by doing things that a just, loving and charitable god would do. (I wrote this in opposition to churches and constant prayer that has nothing to do with being a pious person.)

A religion based on Jesus Christ should inherently follow his core beliefs: love, charity, patience, kindness, humility. (Really guys? Do we really have to persecute everyone who you don't like? Westboro Baptist Church: Picketing a lifestyle they know nothing about, including it's relationship with the Bible.)

People shouldn't pay dues to tax-exempt religious institutions, dues should only be paid when said religious institutions are taxed.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Message me, leave a comment, etc.

Bibles in Education

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AgAwh511t6CgEdWwbrYzZVfwDH1G;_ylv=3?qid=20130801183212AAfQ8Xw

I saw this question and thought it would be good to address one of the side points mentioned in this person's question. Religion and the Bible in education. 

Recently in states such as Alabama and the various other states surrounding it, bills have been proposed to force the Bible back into the PUBLIC school system. I'm not talking about parochial schools or even somewhat religious institutions, like my own. I attend an Episcopalian private school where they teach one religion oriented class, World Religions. They do not use the Bible as a means to educate children. Then, on Wednesdays, we attend Chapel, a Christian service where I go to relax. They do not force Christianity on us. In fact, we have a large Jewish population that is very comfortable.

What I would like to believe is the Alabama school system's approach is on forced religion in school:

They believe that the moral system introduced by the Bible will help to educate the children on how to make appropriate choices in their adult lives. Then, after introducing religion in elementary school, they intend to bring religion throughout the middle and high school, Upon completion of the senior year, the students will be sufficiently pious and have the proper morals to live a prosperous life.

What I believe is the actual goal behind forcing religion in school:

The religious education may raise up some very nice people. But, the school system will most likely take the approach of teaching their own version of Christianity that denounces homosexuality, questioning the world, and in the end, is more of a hate driven education than the Bible actually promotes. It'll be just like raising a whole generation of bigoted assholes. 

What would be the proper approach if religion was forced back into schools:
Teach the students what Jesus actually preached about: Love and kindness. Doing things for the poor and needy. Teaching others what it's like to be a good human and a contributing part of society. If they actually taught students what the Bible actually tells us, then perhaps I would be more partial towards letting the Bible be taught in school.

Until the zealots get it, it's probably a good idea to keep religion out of school. Let's promote a loving and caring society, not one that promotes hatred.

Why do Atheists attack the Bible?

Let's kick it off here:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AqqZTHC_4YX4hTYPUY9ryjXwDH1G;_ylv=3?qid=20130731165428AA4ymIL

Question: Why do atheists try to attack the bible?

Extra info: the bible is the cornerstone for western civilization. every part of European culture art literature and science can all be traced back to biblical Christianity. the bible has even served as a platform for the morality of the founding united states. 

First off, atheists can't say that they don't attack the Bible. We do. It's true. We believe it's just a bunch of malarkey. And hell, we're comfortable in that. We don't have to "try" either. Most atheists are rational thinkers that use solid evidence to back up their claims. Most atheists have read the Bible front to cover and have memorized quotes that back up their attacks on the Bible. 

Now, to talk about the main aims of the question. Asking atheists why they attack the bible is like asking people why they like mayonnaise on their burgers, they just do it. It's a fundamental part of atheism. Atheism isn't just the denial of a supreme being, it's also questioning the bits and pieces of religion itself. Why do theists tick the way they do? Why do Christians accept this book written hundreds of years ago? Notably a book that seems to contain many flimsy ideals.

And finally, considering the extra info. There is no doubt that Christianity sits at the epicenter of much of European society. Science does not trace to Christianity. A lot of European advances in science were improvements on ancient Greek and Roman scientific theories. 

So really, Christianity was a basis upon which European art and literature was placed. Perhaps it was also a platform for the moral systems of the U.S., but the United States were founded as a country practicing the separation of church and state.