Hey Joseph, Joplin is doing well with the rebuilding. :) You can still see where it all went down but there are new buildings going up all the time.

Hey Joseph! Sorry for the late reply. Yes, that's a dog toy. One of those you can throw on the ground and it bounces in any direction. Very unpredictable, very fun. :)

Hey. Thanks for the welcome. The people in my town and my own family can be extremely hostile and almost like a pack of wild dogs jumping on a rabbit when it comes to their religion. I've challenged some of the things they have said, but I've never "outted" myself. It's so strange, everyone just assumes that everyone in this town in a christian. Because of this, they say the most outrageous things.

Hi! Thanks for the welcome. Being an ex-Apo is a lot of stinging regret mixed with bitter disappointment with myself. But that's a lot better than actually BEING Pentecostal. Then you're stuck with self-righteousness with a side of God staring over your shoulder waiting to set you on fire for something you're not aware is a sin yet. 

I take it from your comments that my offer to "walk you through" is not appreciated? Do you think you already know everything I would say? Or that I'm so obviously wrong and it would be so easy to dismiss my comments that the effort would bore you?

That's cool - not sure you're going to like me much.

I'm sorry, in the light of what Huxley explained about his philosophy your link is absurd. If you like I will walk you through the various quotes, but not tonight it's late.  If you don't think that Atheism (my comments we not intended to reflect all atheist) doesn't speak in terms of certainties, on subjects like, life after death,  I think we should try a poll and see what others think.

Regarding Einstein, I've been at this for 30+ years, I don't think you have anything I haven't seen - I know of quotes where Einstein says he is Agnostic, where he is NOT Atheist, where he mocks Atheist but I would like to see where he supports Atheist.

Your statement "If someone asks you if you believe in a god, and you can't say, "Yes," then you're an atheist." Is why Einstein said he believed in the God of Spinoza, Again if you want me to walk you through that, I'm willing.  That shit gets deep!

Oh hey! I do that too - I am logged into Steam so that I get my chats - but I am doing something else.

But I respond if a chat comes through - if I can.

So chat me anytime if you's like : )

Steph

Hey! Thanks so much for your email.

It is so cool seeing you on Steam. So how are you doing?

Hope you are doing well.

Talk to you soon!

Steph

Hey, thanks for the link and suggestions.  Much appreciated.  I hadn't thought to search "secular" for some reason.  I kept searching atheist and finding things that say atheists can't recover. Ugh.  Religious people do not get it. It's so crazy how so many people can be so delirious with finding god that rational thought is completely out of reach. I'm really glad I joined Atheist Nexus, now, if for no other reason than having you see my new profile and reach out.  Thanks, man.

Hey, you asked about the IV addiction...heroin and cocaine.  Which I am terribly naive...and everything I'm finding for NA/AA/12 Step stuff is...all god based.  There's a chapter in the big AA book called We the Agnostics and I thought, 'Oh, good.  Sounds promising.'  It's not helpful.  It basically says you have to agree to accept a higher power or you're doomed to never recover.  Tha fuck?  Anyway, if you have some insight...

And I am so sorry for my extremely long delay! This semester has started crazy. 

Yes, the situation is similar, that’s why I told it, a sympathetic reaction from across the World is nice. Of course we have a firm constitution, and we have some articles whose alteration isn’t possible by law, related to secularism and indivisibility of the country. They mentioned the possibilty to change even them, of course it wasn’t well received so they just let it go. We have a prime minister who has the leading role in legislation and a president who isn’t subject to any of the parties and considered impartial and he is the one for the final say in case of any alteration, but he has no say during the process, just the final. However the present president was a member of the religious political party currently dominating the assembly. They still have kind of invisible ties, turning the situation into a more complicated one.

Also, trashing the economy here too is one thing, which they can easily deny as it is going hilarious for large companies (but small and medium scale enterprises are suffering and unemployement  is increasing), they also messed it up with the neighbours so the electric and gas bills have become impossible to pay for most people, I personally prefer to sleep at home in order to not use the gas. Above all they stabbed the judicial system in the heart with an amendment package and now it is biased. The ridicilous thing is that, as an answer to the negative responses, they held a referendum for a whole amendment package, and their partisan voters gave yes just out of love.

I totally get what you’re saying about the Republicans. I just cannot come to terms with the fact that the most genious strategy politicians can come up with is bullying.

I haven’t considered myself a politics nut even once in my life. Turkey is a young country, so I guess we are a little obsessed with what’s going on. This is like breakfast talk here. My Messenger address is fatma.kurt@windowslive.com. But it probably won’t work to chat bc of the time difference, maybe e-mailing.

Glad you wiggled out of all that.  So most atheist groups you've been in have more men than women, basically?  I'm too new to know.

Yeah, pretty recently.  I've always had a questioning nature, but I had shut it down most of my life with faith and piety.  You?

I came out of a variety of bunk that appeals to fanciful sensibilities instead of critical thinking.  

BTW, it doesn't seem my reply is linked to your comment but the email link brought me here to reply to it.  

Turkey is not a Muslim theocracy in fact. The system is secular but, it doesn't work secularly lately. Last government was a hung parliament, however with the rising support (more than 47%) for the conservative party, now we are in the third! four-year term of the parliament with the predominance of the conservatives. And they can play with legislation as they like because of the numbers. The 10% election treshold makes it difficult for other parties to have deputies in the parliament, too.

And now, to prolong its kind of kingdom, the coservative party wants to change the system, they're just trying to figure out what it could be and to get feedback from the opposition, intellectuals and public by speculating things.

Sorry, commented on my own wall as a reply! Thanks for the welcome!

(In fact, Islam is the one religion coming to mind along with Turkey, Joseph. And, there are just two sects of it. Also, believe me or not, the fight and the subjects fighted over are aaalll the same. But interestingly enough, even the dialogue between nontheists in Turkey or Turkish platforms is always a fight. The air is never clean. Discussing is something. Fighting is something else. I get a headache even just reading the conversations.

"Stop fighting people!")

Oh hey Joseph! Getting work done is good - more important than a game. Talk to you later. Have a good day.

Hey Joseph! So nice seeing you on Steam.

Have a wonderful Valentines Day!