A poor man is no less a person than a rich man.
It is OK to be a poor man.
A woman is no less a person than a man.
It is OK to be a woman.
A black man is no less a person than white man.
It is OK to be a black man.
A gay man is no less a person than a straight man.
It is OK to be a gay man.
An atheist man is no less a person than a religious man.
It is OK to be a atheist man.
To be wise you must have compassion. No man lacking compassion can also be wise. The essence of wisdom is the art of making personal choices that are beneficial not only to yourself, but also to those around you and those you interact with. When one chooses wisely, your choice does not alienate or antagonize or create enemies. Creating enemies is not wise. The only way, without luck, to make choices that do not anger others is to consider the consequences of your actions and choices upon others prior to making them. An intelligent person can consider the direct consequences of their actions, but it requires a wise person, a person that cares about others, to consider the emotional reaction of others, and to allow the potential emotional reaction of others sway his course of action. Thus, to choose wisely you must choose an action that does not increase animosity against you. To choose an action that does not increase animosity you must consider the emotions of others and have concern for their emotions.
Today Rick Perry announced that he would discontinue his run to be President of the United States. Yet, just six months ago he told us that God called upon him to run for office: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/07/rick-perry-feels-called-to-run/
If Perry were a good Christian, wouldn’t he attempt to carry out God’s wishes?
As an atheist I admit that a higher percentage of Christians than atheists help other people.
The reason for this has nothing to do with god or love, but has a lot to do with hell.
A caring person is someone that is bothered by the suffering and misfortunes of others and is willing to share some of their time and resources to help others. Caring people come from all walks of life, all races, all religions, all sexual orientations, and all genders. A religious person, especially a Christian, is no more likely to be caring than a Muslim, Buddhist, or atheist. Yet, more Christians act to help others than atheists. This is because many Christians that are not particularly caring of others, are concerned about their own souls and fear going to hell and they act to help others because some Christian teachings have led them to believe they can save themselves from hell by helping others.
So, yes, you will find a higher percentage of Christians doing charitable work, but not because or any moral superiority of the religion, it is because people are selfishly trying to save their own souls. I am not implying that all Christians that help others are selfish, some are, but many Christians that help others are caring people, like myself, that care about others regardless of our religion or lack thereof.
In the U.S., many Christians, especially the Christians that are right-wing Republicans, have become less caring of others. Selfishness and greed are two of the greatest virtues of these political Christians. Many true Christians sold their souls to the Republicans years ago and these Christians no longer help others, but instead deny help to others and enjoy the suffering of others because it helps them to feel better about their own lot in life.
I recently learned that I pay lower prices for water and sewer services in my city than people in all the cities around me. I play lower prices because our city has newer, better water and sewer pipes. These newer pipes and equipment reduce the amount of water that is wasted due to cracks and damage in the system, and the new pipes rupture less frequently and require less maintenance. By spending a little more money up front to improve our infrastructure, we all save money year after year. An ounce of prevention is certainly worth a pound of cure. Would you rather pay no taxes and $1,000 per year for your water and sewer utilities or pay $100 in taxes each year, or pay only $500 for water and sewer utilities.
Neither individuals nor big greedy businesses can provide basic services more efficiently than a socialized, “for the people”, organization like our government.
Andy Rooney quotes:
“I’d be more willing to accept religion, even if I didn’t believe it, if I thought it made people nicer to each other but I don’t think it does.”
“Christians talk as though goodness was their idea but good behavior doesn’t have any religious origin. Our prisons are filled with the devout.”
Just six months ago, Michelle Bachmann told us that God asked her to run to be president of the United States: http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-3460_162-20074482.html and http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/04/politics/bachmann-campaign/index.html. Now she has ended her campaign. If she is a good Christian, how can she ignore doing what God has asked her to do? Perhaps she is not a good Christian. Or perhaps God did not really tell her to run for president of the U.S.; but she just told us that because she knew that would get some gullible people to vote for her.
Pasted from <http://news.yahoo.com/brings-attacks-evolution-schools-135405815.html>
“Jerry Bergevin, a Republican who introduced HB 1148, went further, telling the Concord Monitor that atheism was linked to Nazism and the 1999 Columbine school shooting.
‘I want the full portrait of evolution and the people who came up with the idea to be presented,’ Bergevin said. ‘It’s a worldview and it’s godless.'”
Yes, Evolution is a world view and it is godless. That puts it in the same group as capitalism, democracy, justice, and the good samaritan. Yes, like christianity, atheism is linked to nazism.
Thinking out loud 