Baraka_Guru

GodBlock - Protect your children


I must say I was a bit surprised to find this. I know there are things like Netnanny and Cyberthisandthat for parents and their children. But this is mainly for sex, language, and gore. But GodBlock?

They list their rationale on the site. Pretty interesting. They suggest it's to protect children against the regressive/resistant aspects of fundamental religion with regard to social issues of our time.

Have a read:
What do you think?

Has religion and its presence on the Internet gotten out of hand?

Does this protect children, or does it shelter them from the real world?

Should we classify religious texts, content about religious figures, etc., as propaganda in this context, the Internet browsing experience of children?

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Orchrist

I find this hilarious, in a good way, although unfortunately it's probably just a joke since the download link says it's "not ready yet".

Consequently, at least with the U.S being the puritanical founded country that it is. I'd say the popularity of existing filters for things such as sex are due to the influence of religion so fighting back with their own medicine of blocking content seems almost appropriate!

Baraka_Guru

This is a good point, but it does look rather sleek to be a joke. The logo downloads are real; the T-shirts are real; the PayPal donation button is real....

Too sleek for just a joke.... or is it? It's the Internet, after all.

Update: Okay, I did find this: GodBlock by Jeffrey Crouse — Kickstarter

He says he's not going to actually make the software; he's just raising awareness.

Hm. How odd. Either way, it's an interesting conversation piece.

Should someone develop this app?

Is there a problem with religion on the net?

Should we protect children from it?

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

FuglyStick

I was not aware that there was a movement to convert people through the internet.

I'm guessing it's a joke.

Baraka_Guru

I don't think that's the position. It's not an active convert process; it's more or less just the religious propaganda doing its thing: opposing gay marriage, abortion, evolution, stem-cell research, soldiers are dying in Iraq because of the gays, the earthquake in Haiti was because of premarital sex, or whatever.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Pearl Trade

I wouldn't say there's a problem with religion on the internet. Online problems would be hackers and identity theft, along with all of the havoc they cause. If you don't want the app, don't get it. Has anyone ever read any holy text and came away thinking, "damn, this could really corrupt someone!" If you look at religion as a whole, it's not harmful. If you take one or two sentences and don't read on for the meaning, it can be harmful.

Look at any commercial or advertisement, they're not so often violent, but always psychological and sexual. To me it sounds like this guy is singling out religion as the source of all evils.

__________________

Our revenge will be the laughter of our children.
Give me convenience or give me death!

The_Dunedan

And here all this time I thought Christians were supposed to be the ones who were obsessed with sheltering their children from opposing viewpoints, censoring those with whom they disagree, and gratuitously insulting those of opposing belief systems. I mean, that's what everybody always tells me.

Huh. So Atheists can be assholes too? Who knew?

[/sarcasm]

Baraka_Guru

As far as the app is concerned, real or not, it has a high enough profile to have Penn Jillette tweet about it recently (like an hour ago): Twitter / Penn Jillette: Finally some software to h ...

He seems to think there is a problem with religion on the Internet, but, then again, the guy is a sensationalist. (I think. I'm not sure what his whole dealio is these days.)

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

ring

Yes, Baraka, I saw that link too. Goofy.

Do I hear an incoming noise?

Jetée

It seems this kickstarter website is a perfect vehicle to get your message, project, or self-fulfilling internet goal across and have other like-minded individuals, in a way, join in (by siphoning their contributed funds and hopes).

I wonder when this site started gaining buzz; I have a few queued new threads to start about pending projects on kickstarter, but for those not sure how it works: Starting a project | Kickstarter

I think the above is a real idea, but whether or not it will be realized anytime soon (the cursory glance on the project says, if funded, it will be available for release, at the earliest, sometime in 2012). It's raising awareness for those that might possibly want such a service to be available, and if the message spreads far and fast enough, the idea and "kickstarter" to this, Jeff Crouse, will seek to corral some much needed support (read as: dollars) to make this become anything more tangible and implementable than it currently is right now, which is nothing at all (but a sparking wonder of "what if").

__________________
As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

Halx

In my view, the less religion the better. The application seems like a joke though. More of a statement about the kind of crap you find. I stumble upon too many discussions online where Christians are ranting about how people are going to hell and that they have to follow christ. It is quite offensive.

__________________
You have found this post informative.
-The Administrator
[Don't Feed The Animals]

Ourcrazymodern?

I believe trying to "protect" children from making up their own minds about anything is a major mistake, doomed to failure, as is trying to force them to think as you do. The more information they're allowed to process, the better off we'll all become, in time.

__________________
BE JUST AND FEAR NOT

Idyllic

WOW, I just think they should call it Bullshitblocker, not “God”. I don't see how having a belief in an “omnipresence” and/or the faith of something more as being directly linked to any particular deity, I do, however, see most religious text as linked to humankind's ability to use nonsensical bull shit to captivate an otherwise open mind (especially the less educated and intensely hungry) and control it with fear and ignorance. I would actually be interested in a BullshitBlocker that would stop religious doctrine from just popping up for my kids to read, yeah, even the ones that say there is no God at all. I think faith in an “omnipresence” is between me and my children and my decisions to teach them the way I wish for them to see their world and the way I wish for them to experience their eventual death or the death of those around them, especially their loved ones, imho, starts at home, true.

One other thing, I want to know who the red hand holding the hand holding the lightening bolt is, so the human”ish” white hand holding the lightening bolt is “God” or “religion” and the red hand is the one grabbing it to block it, doesn’t that in a sense create a larger (I AM THE MIGHTY GOD BLOCKER) omnipotent being, I BLOCK ALL THAT IS GOD, I AM "SUPER ANTI-GOD".

I don't mind the idea of preventing religious text from just popping up on my computer (not that this has ever really happened, EVER) but I just can’t get behind the whole “god” block as though they are saying to stop the potential for people to believe in a “god” at all. Why are we all afraid of an omnipresence, of faith. The belief that there is more to life then simply breathing everyday is not the enemy, “god” did not create war, “god” did not destroy the environment, humans who wrote and control religions doctrine and use them as a weapon of tyranny and law did, humans created the problem with god. What happened to humans being grateful for life, being grateful to something grander than what they see, why is it so wrong to believe in a omnipresence? The American Indians were some of the most spiritual peoples and they loved and lived within amazing communities and the land itself based on the concepts of their gods, what is happening to freedom of faith, children with stickers and smug faces proving they don’t have to believe in anything and that somebody will be their “GodBlocker” how frightening. So now we must be protected from “God” when it is humans who pull the trigger, who else can we find to blame our actions on, oh, I know, lets blame God and then just block em’ hey we can unfriend em’ too. Ya’ll go ahead, I rather be blissfully ignorant and loved by my God and grateful for the gift of life than to just breath until I die with the hopes that one day somebody will come along and enlighten me to what the hell they think life was all for, that just makes me vulnerable to mankind, and I have already seen the potential for what mankind can do with to much power, I’ll pass.

If there is it seems more to me to be conversion to atheism than anything else.


p.s. I am pro choice, I believe in stem-cell research, I have no problem with gays and gay marriage, gays in the military, I have no problem with sex period, as free and personal or costly and advertised, I have no problem with freedom of religions and personal faith, I want very much secular law and I BELIEVE IN GOD, I believe in an omnipresence, I believe in a life after death or reincarnation or something that answers for me the unanswerable questions. I believe when I tell my children that Grandma is in heaven watching over them and loving them, I mean it, she really is and I want them to feel that way, I want them to feel the ever presence of her love, the ever presence of love in general and that mankind was created by a “God” who loves them and wants them to be happy and wants them to treat each other well, damn strait I believe, why the hell not? Really, why the hell not? (btw, I don’t believe in a “hell” per say brim fire and damnation and all that crap)

Do any of you know anything better, can you make life less sufferable by telling me that this is it, that we just simply live and die and that is that? I could no more look into my kids eyes and tell them, yeah, grandma died, oh well…. move on kid, so what, it happens. What does that teach them, live for today because tomorrow don’t really exist and their ain’t nothing better anyway, who really cares how you treat people cause nobodies watching and we are all just worm bait anyhow. Gross. By the way, mommy burned the dead cat carcass and oh well, it never really mattered it was just a cat, it was just another animal waiting to die on this godforsaken ball of animal excrement we call overpopulated environmental unstable, human warring earth, which by the way will end in less than 2 years, yeah, believe in that you little miscreant skin stretchers, what does is matter if I care or not, I’m just another non-important human and humans don’t believe in anything but themselves, right? Godblocker, *raspberry* I need a BullshitBlocker to block pseudo sites like that.

Wow, I love this shit. Thanks BG , more, more…..

__________________
you can tell them all you want but it won't matter until they think it does

p.s. I contradict my contradictions, with or without intention, sometimes.

Baraka_Guru

P.S. I don't recommend one extreme as an antidote to another.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Ourcrazymodern?

Idyllic, your passion's commendable. Influencing our childrens' beliefs is inevitable since we're their fucking parents. But please allow that you'd not try to control their thinking.

B_G's non-recommendation is golden.

__________________
BE JUST AND FEAR NOT

CinnamonGirl

I think there's something to be said about being good because you want to be, because you're a compassionate person, rather than being kind because someone else is keeping score. I respect your beliefs and your passion, but it seems like you think not believing in a higher power makes a person completely narcissistic and sleazy. As a friend of mine once said, "I may not believe in God, but I believe in good." I'm not kind to people because I'm expecting some great reward, or a horrible punishment if I'm bad -- I do the things I do because...well, just because. There's enough meanness in the world, and I'm not going to add to it; and if I can counterbalance that, even for one moment, for just one person, that's awesome....and it's enough.

__________________
"...for though she was ordinary, she possessed health, wit, courage, charm, and cheerfulness. But because she was not beautiful, no one ever seemed to notice these other qualities, which is so often the way of the world."


"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

Idyllic

Considering that 80+ percent of the world believes in something I would think lack of belief would be the extreme. I don't preach to my kids about religion, the last time I set foot in a church was 8+ years ago to bid my grandmother farewell and my children have not yet attended a religious service at all (though they have asked recently, I just haven't found one that doesn't include condemnation, I don't do condemnation). I speak to them of God and Allah and Brahman and Siddhartha Gautama, etc… I speak to them of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, etc… and as many of the myriad other faiths, ideologies, beliefs I can expose them too, and I speak to them of atheism also. I absolutely believe in the end it will be their choice to decide whether they wish to have a faith or not and which faith, if any, they feel completes them. I simply find people who deny not only God but the right for people to express their faith as intolerant as those who wear hoods or those who burn crosses or those who cry crusade, jihad, or “we are the chosen one”, because nobody really knows the answers about this. I simply find peace in my thinking and my faith, I do not wish to convert anyone nor am I condemning anyone, only protecting my choice of faith and expressing it in a passionate manner. However, I would not ever stick a sticker that states GodBlock on my kids arm and not expect it to mean block god, it really is that simple. A little mind see this and does not register the realities of negative religious doctrine they simply see block, God Block, what does that say?

OCM where did you tell your children their loved ones went when they died? If you think there is a better way to instill hope for a loving life than by explaining to a child their loved one is in a better place and not just the ground, that the body is there in the people garden, but the person who was that body is not, the person is in heaven, in nirvana, one with the universe, whatever. Please, tell me because I would love to know how you tell a child that death is meaningless without implying that life in some sense is also. I talk to them of reincarnation, they understand death means no longer on earth, but how do you tell a 5 and 6 year old it just ends, it’s just over, and how does that equate to hope of anything after that sinks in? I tell them this is it, you only get one chance in this body and you have to take care of it and do the best you can to be a good person to treat people the way you want to be treated. My sons rescue spiders and beetles and all bugs they are not afraid of them and they respect all life, all life has a purpose because God created life to have a purpose, what is wrong with that? My 6 year old believes he will never die, he will live forever, he never wants to go to the people garden, how do I tell him, nope, you will die and it will just be done and over, nothing else, no God, no afterlife, no cat, no grandma, just dirt and worms kiddo, I would rather give them the choices and try to explain the misuses of faith than to simply deny any. I have only so long to “control” anything about their lives and I can promise you the last thing I want to do is make it any harder to live than life already does for them, I will not help to create anymore intolerant haters, there are plenty of those already I am aware of this, I am not one of them, passionate yes, intolerant, extreme , no, not really.

What part of this is not offensive, what part of this is not extreme and how does it compare to my interpretations of faith, what part of this is not control, just another form of using religion to scare and intimidate people into giving somebody money. Yeah, I am passionate about this, but that doesn’t make me like them, nor does my passion make me an extremist anything, except maybe a person with an extreme dislike of the “Godblock” concept. Like I said if they called it ProselytizingBlock, or IndoctrinationBlock, or ConvertBlock I would probably feel better about it. What would you say if they called it AllahBlock, or BuddhaBlock, or BrahmanBlock would you be offended then, would you be insulted or find the use of their word a bit intolerant, I would, I find it extremely intolerant and just as ignorant and narrow-minded as what they are saying they are attempting to achieve.

CinnamonGirl, I have not ever used the thinking of if you are bad you won't go to heaven or God will be angry, not ever and I do not believe in a hell or a devil. My sons are more worried about Santa watching than God, at the most I have probably said something along the lines of God knows what you are doing and when you are lying but then so do I, I just don’t want them to know how I know yet, how does that equate to not being good for goodness sake. Nor do any of my statements say that not believing in God makes you any more or less than anyone else. Cameras stop a lot of shoplifting, the knowledge of “Big Brother” of traffic cameras work, it’s a fact, the knowledge that you are being watched helps, simple as that. I do not threaten my children with God in any manner. My boys understand that there are those who do not believe in a God, Allah, etc. and that I find peace in the knowledge that God offers me peace in MY life and that our loved ones are still a part of the equation of our reality, it just happens to bring me peace to believe in a omnipresence, that is all I have said. I teach my children to treat others as they would like to be treated; God to them is just a loving presence that is ALL. They don’t have to prove anything to have that love, it is theirs it always has been and it always will be, that is what they know of God.

How is that? How is me believing implying that of those who don’t?

But it appears by my believing in God I am extreme and controlling and feel all those who do not think the way I do are narcissistic and sleazy, how is that?

__________________
you can tell them all you want but it won't matter until they think it does

p.s. I contradict my contradictions, with or without intention, sometimes.

silent_jay

...

Idyllic

Major Religions Ranked by Size

No problem, I will always try to back up my thinking, right or wrong as it may be perceived (or as I may be, I am always learning), I do not intentionally attempt to deceive anyone, ever, and I have quoted before confirming and gotten myself into trouble before. I have also quoted from sites that many view as one-sided but that was never my intent either, sometimes I get over excited to express my opinion (asshole, etc). I think we all search for that which fulfills our own desires, but I really never do mean to insult anyone, and I apologize if I come across as ranting, sometimes my passion overtakes my position.

__________________
you can tell them all you want but it won't matter until they think it does

p.s. I contradict my contradictions, with or without intention, sometimes.

Baraka_Guru

If I ever have kids, I'm not going to tell them that people go places when they die. I would let them know in my own way that that's when they stop going places. I'd explain to them that that's why life is precious and should be respected and lived to the fullest, because it's finite.

I wouldn't want my kids to become fearful that they might experience an eternity of damnation if they act or don't act in a certain way.

We've got one life to live, so make it count. People might remember you when you die, or they might not. They might mourn losing you, or they might rejoice. What you do in life will dictate these things.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Wes Mantooth

Now I think this product sounds just marvelous...but I don't think I've ever had religion foisted on me even once online (wouldn't you kind of have to seek it out?), is it really a problem?

Okay I guess if I think about it I can see having some religious ideas in an article I might click on or something like that...but I think I'd rather my kids (not that I have any) see the world for what it is and bring whatever confusing questions they might have to me rather then just pretend it doesn't exist. I'd be really hesitant to use something like that I think...

...anyway I have no idea what point I'm trying to make, observations I guess.

__________________

Merlocke

Now I just have to code the god blocker blocker, and sell it to the terrorists.

__________________
-=[ Merlocke ]=-

Orchrist

On the subject of death, the personal belief I came to as a non-believer is that death is an end, but one shouldn't focus on that aspect. Instead take the time to reflect and celebrate that person's life, and so that should be your goal for your life one worth celebrating. I think the worth of your life is decided by your actions here rather then putting off all of the decisions on the worth of your life until after your death by God. Someone can easily believe they're doing right by their deity by blowing up a bunch of people, but if you look it up as doing right by those people it's harder to justify.

Halx

On the philosophical side of things, I don't like having anything blocked because I like to know exactly what the reality is like. Bring on the god lovers and the pornography.

__________________
You have found this post informative.
-The Administrator
[Don't Feed The Animals]

Ourcrazymodern?

I told them I didn't know. I think that's fair, because it's true. My children accept this uncertainty gracefully. I HOPE you don't think less of me for encouraging them to form their own relationships with their personal universes.

__________________
BE JUST AND FEAR NOT

Idyllic

Yep, no doubt there, life is precious, and loved, and when a body dies it isn’t going anywhere it isn’t carried, but the soul, the soul is more to me than just the body. When I see somebody comatose in a hospital and their brain is basically dead but their body is still functioning, that which made them, them, has left the premises, they are no longer the “person” we knew, the soul has left the body, makes that plug easier to pull and watch that last breath expel without the intense desire to plug it back in, the breath may come back but the soul is gone. The body may be buried/cremated but the essence of the person is no longer that which we discard, the memories are the soul, the soul is made from the memories of a bodies’ life and those memories go on (for me) and they go on young and healthy and happy as they did in the bodies youth before the body simply began it’s rot, imho. This is a part of the gift of life for me, the gift of faith and the gift of uniting in death, with the universe and the love of my ancestors, especially my family and friends. (and yes, my cat)

I don't believe in a vengeful God, I know man can be vengeful and that man has used God as a way to control people, but God is simply about a oneness with the universe and universal love for all animal-kind and the environment itself, the universe, etc, that really is all God and faith is for me.

Yep, I say these things too, I merely add that when you die you will become one with the universe, one with all mankind and will find peace in that moment, that you will be with your ancestors and the ones you love, how can this hurt. I do not teach death or dying for a cause or that death is a reward for anything. Life is the greatest gift and a gift, as we all know, is to be appreciated and we should be grateful for it, to be thankful for life, to be cherished and that ALL life on earth is a gift also, ALL life has a purpose, one that should be respected in its living and that nobody has the right to take the life of another, to take the gift of life from another living thing. (I am still pro-choice, and non-judgmental regarding choice from the God perspective, and you know I eat meat, contradiction, nah, reality of my experience, Indian ancestors, thankful for thy bounty, etc., also believe in self preservation and defense, physical only, not ideological)

I don’t focus on death, quite the contrary I focus on life, life is the gift, death is simply the completion of life, but in that completion are those who await me, that death is just the beginning of another story, isn’t it? So why can’t that story involve the ones I love and a peaceful rest, what is so wrong with that faith?

I also think the worth of my life is decided by my actions and that by just asking for forgiveness over and over again is like saying your sorry over and over again but continuing the offense, doesn't work, so does most man, repeated offenses against humanity regardless of apology does not work, which is why prisons exist. I celebrate the life of a person who has lived kindly (not the same as religiously) and who lived a life with the knowledge that the gift of life if for everyone (not religiously defined here either) and to take that gift from someone or to intentionally hurt someone is against not only the laws of man, but are contrary to God’s love, God’s love does not appreciate killing other humans. That said I recognize human self defense has its necessity in living, still, killing is against God’s law, imho. I do not believe that death is a reward for anything, ever! Life is the reward, living is the reward. For ME, being a human being on this earth, living in faiths’ light helps to make MY life complete, in a sense, a heaven on earth, there is work in this, a lot of work, but the reward of more that a life of pain is worth it, is part of the human experience for me, is the greatest gift God ever gave me, LIFE! (and my mother of course, maybe even mother earth, Wicca, and yeas, my father and their parents and my life's' teachers and etc. being this over sensitive can be tiresome, I agree).

I don’t understand "death by God," everyone, imho, has a time on this earth, some shorter, some longer, God does not cause man’s death, for me God just smooth’s the transition. Yes, when a child dies, or somebody dies accidentally, I have been know to say it was their time, God has a plan for them, but that can be seen in either mans laws changing to help prevent these “accidents” from occurring again or simply the reality that humans are fragile and sometimes life just does not develop sustainably, again, finding peace in the untimely death of a loved one through God is not anti-living nor death condoning, nor ignorant, faith can and does bring some peace to many who need something to fill the emptiness left behind other than, it’s just life, it’s just death, it’s just natural, most of us know this, I understand biology and I believe in evolution, Darwin and all. If you see death as a reward, than life is valueless to you, imho, unless life is terminally pain filled, in which case, I believe in assisted death as a choice for the terminally ill, in some cases death may be a physical “reward”, mentally anguishing to make that call, but with a loving faith one may be able to pass easier thinking it is a beginning and not just an end, faith rocks, imho, for terminally ill patients who are ready to end their pain (unless of course you are anti-suicide and stuck in that bs doctrine). This is not the same as dying for a cause, however, or even close to killing for a cause, especially a humankind, religious doctrine, crusade/jihad, blah, blah, blah, humankind haters, tyrannizing… yeah I’m ranting. You want to die for your cause, go for it, you want to kill for your cause you are simply a killer, no cause, no excuse, no reward, a human killer. You need to defend yourself from a killer, we can talk about this one, this is where humankind is involved not God, God has just seemed to become mankinds’ excuse to kill and die for, don’t blame God, blame humans. Don’t block my god, block the killers, block the tyrannical self serving greedy humans who use omnipotence as a weapon, this is not god for me; this is fucked up humanity, fucked up by humans not gods. (not “you” specifically, I am saying anybody who wants to behave or live this way, that way, tyrannies way, power hunger at the expense other human beings, etc, I am not being personal here)

I don’t see how someone can consider life a gift if in that gift you are rewarded by not only your death but the death of others, this to me is not faith or love, this is tyranny, and this is man using omnipotence as a weapon against life. It is only when your life is so bad and humans convince you that death is better than life and you believe it because you feel life is void of love, void of value, void of happiness that the reward of death seems more valuable than life, that is man, not God. This is another issue, but this is why freedom and the end of tyranny are so important and that those who use religion as a weapon and use people who view death as a reward or death as an escape because of the tyranny they are subjugated too must stop or the deaths will continue. For some death is more valuable than life, the God I have faith in finds more value in LIFE, than death, period. This is why I am so offended when so-called religious people use an omnipotence to tyrannize others who are in situational pain in life and would choose dying in an escape from living under tyrannical rule, or believe that killing in the name of a “god” is rewarding, you kill in the name of man, not God. (again, this is my opinion of faith, I recognize I sound preachy, how else do I say these things? How else do I express my thoughts and feelings, I am not trying to sway, convince, convert, blah, blah, blah, I am merely trying to explain why and how I view God the way I do and why I am offended when I read things that say to my children “GodBlock” I don’t want them to feel subjugated because they believe in a God, I don’t want them to think any less of children who do not believe in a God, I do not want them to think less of someone who believes in any faith, period. I especially don’t want them to be victim/vulnerable to somebody using their own faith against them, or the lack of a religion, this is why I teach them about other faiths (I view atheism as it’s own form of a faith) and that God for me is only about love and tolerance, kindness and gratitude for the gift of life, all life. Love, respect and gratitude, and the Universe is one, we are all the children of a “god”, we are all siblings of the Universe, we are one. Can’t we live as one, faith will not ever go away, people will always want to know the unanswerable question of what is it all for, people will always be divided on their own perceptions’ of reality, can’t we find a way to accept that in this questioning we are all doing the same thing, trying to understand our existence and stop killing each other for searching the answers.

Kama Sutra Baby. Oh God, Oh God, Oh God…….. wait, Oh Brahman, Oh Brahman, Oh Brahman!

I don’t think less of anyone, (though I question the soundness of the thinking of guy that wanted to inseminate as many women as possible with no real care for the offspring and scary child lover dude really freaked me out and NM, I actually found in need of some serious manhandling by a woman who knew what the hell she was doing while he just relaxed and tried to get over himself, or just admitted he was gay and embraced it, I don’t think less of them, I just wish them a reality where nobody around them is injured, physically or mentally, marcy.... restraining order….),

OCM, I love you and ring, I am honored that your even post with/for/about/etc. re: anything I have to say and appreciate all that you and ring have to teach me, I love learning about life and I have never been one to say I am right, but I like to think I’m not too far off, don’t we all? I am wishing my kids will find their own relationship with or without God but which ever they choose I really simply hope they find one that gives them peace in life (especially when it gets hard and lonely) and peace in death, not only their own, but the death of those they love that really is my pov. I lived a long time not really believing in a God, I lived a long time angry that if there was a god he/she must surely be a sadistic S.O.B. (though the universe can be quite the bitch, eh) but in the end, I have found my peace in a faith that just helps me face the days with the belief that one day, after living my gift of a life and celebrating in the living of it I will be reunited with the universal love of mankind, especially the loved ones of my own experiences in this gift, this blessed gift I call my life, I am just so grateful to be a part of the human experience. I am so grateful for all the lives that have come before mine that made this tiny moment inside a moment inside a moment on the hairs breath of a blink possible for me, I am so grateful for the reality of our universe and it’s creation, whoever, why ever, it simply fills my heart to acknowledge the amazing circumstances that must have occurred for human kind to have evolved to the point that we can really live together, and know each other the way we do because we do, we know each other as human kind has never know before (Hi OCM, Hi ring, Hi B_G, Hi dlish, Hi TFP, etc), and I am in awe of it, it is too overwhelming for me to believe it just happened, life has purpose, imho, what that purpose is, I don’t know, maybe it is just to live it happily and that is what faith gives me, a happiness both in my living and a happiness in the perceived unity of my death and the death of those I love.

p.s. I hope they never decide to make a BeerBlocker or I am really screwed hehehe

you know. I just realized I talk a lot about drinking and I am sorry if I offend anyone who is sober, I am experiencing my own issues in my life and am in no way making light of the realities of addiction, I hope I am not offending anyone with my remarks about drinking, eventually the truths about my experience will “leak” out and I will be exposed to the choice I have to make, now isn’t it. yes, I am blah, blah blahing again. I love life, living can seem "sucky" at times, but God, I LOVE LIFE, right now anyways, and yesterday, I loved life yesterday and I will love tomorrow too, if God will gift me with it, Yeah God, each day, no matter, is a gift, even if it is like a sweater knitted by your mother-in-law, as a birthday present in the middle of summer, that is too small, because you need to shrink into it.

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you can tell them all you want but it won't matter until they think it does

p.s. I contradict my contradictions, with or without intention, sometimes.

Orchrist

I think this is a key factor. On one side I definitely agree with you, in the end everyone believes exactly what they need to believe to live there life and ideally that would be great if we could just let it be. However I don't think it's likely humankind is ever going to agree to disagree on a subject as broad-reaching as this, especially when so many aspects of such belief contradict our progress in other areas. I think the best bet for humanity to move forward in the universe would be under one tenet or belief that drives us as a whole.

And to keep this post SOMEWHAT on topic, I'll end with saying although I found the idea amusing, in the end Godblock would be censorship like any other, and censorship is just annoying. So I wouldn't support the use of such a program.

Baraka_Guru

Although I like the quaintness of the idea of an eternal soul, I have little stock in it. I cannot see how we can transcend the physical world into a kind of non-physical existence this way. How can our physical existence have physical experiences, only to have it infused, somehow, into a non-physical entity?

I don't see a unison in death in terms of capsules of soulmemory somehow communing for an eternity. My view of immortality is what you leave behind as a legacy. The impact of some is more lasting and powerful than others. Shakespeare and Hitler, for example, will have a greater lasting impact than, say, my grandparents. However, the legacies of each of my grandparents will live on in their own forms.

I guess I don't believe in spirits.

It's unfortunate that there aren't more of those who believe in God who think along the same lines as you do.

My idea of "oneness" in the universe has more to do with the practicality of having lived and died and the impact of the sum of those experiences. I don't think the soul of William Shakespeare is floating around somewhere immeasurable by physical means; but....ask any poet writing today: it certainly feels as though his spirit is looking over your shoulder as you try to cobble together lines of your own...and that can be rather daunting.

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Halx

What if I were to tell you that there is no god, that there is no purpose to anything, that we are all just a happy accident, and it is precisely because we can think that we imagine this all to have meaning?

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You have found this post informative.
-The Administrator
[Don't Feed The Animals]

Baraka_Guru

I've always thought that meaning is what you make of it. I've always thought of this question of "What is the meaning of life?" as a kind of joke---at the very least, a rhetorical question. Life is what you make of it. If you want meaning, you have to come up with it yourself. If you want purpose, make one. Make several.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Idyllic

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause.

O.k. I paused, now my symphony begins: We Physicists Are the Only Scientists Who Can Say the Word ?God? and Not Blush | Dr. Kaku's Universe | Big Think

You can find my loved ones' and my life's experienced memories on string number 627-infinite, I will look for you on 42-infinite.

p.s. I am not projecting my faith on you B_G, just being a smart arse, no offense meant to you sir, , it's all in how I justify my reality, scientifically even, (because I LOVE science) nothing more.

---------- Post added at 10:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:38 AM ----------

You would not be the first nor the last, "it is precisely because we can think that we imagine this all to have meaning" exactly, it is just the way I think about life and death and it merely gives my life meaning, and it makes me a happier person to believe in my personal imaginings of God, with a heavy dose of education, a general love of humanity and a great appreciation for science and history, oh and the freedom to believe what I want.

__________________
you can tell them all you want but it won't matter until they think it does

p.s. I contradict my contradictions, with or without intention, sometimes.

Baraka_Guru

God is numbers.

No worries, Idyllic. I take nothing personally. I think we generally understand and respect where the other is coming from. You believe what you believe; I believe what I believe. Who are we to disprove or disparage either?

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Merlocke

That's pretty cool

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-=[ Merlocke ]=-

Baraka_Guru

It's like watching the earth spin on its axis.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

gondath

I find this concept no worse than the standard internet filters out there. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the other ones don't even always make public what they censor and for what reasons. Parents should be no more villified for using a religious censor than a sex, drugs, and violence filter.

I don't support either tactic though. Fighting an online filter war against religion is destined for failure. I'm also not sure how much religious conversion goes on away from face to face contact. Maybe the makers of GodBlock belief religious scripture has the same magical powers of corruption usually attributed to Satantic influences by the Christians.

Willravel

I don't see any harm in it. If people want to use it, that's fine.

powerclown

You've grown so much, willravel. We're all very proud of you.
Godblock: a great name, kudos to whoever came up with it.


*Why shouldn't you make an atheist mad?
*Because he might burn a question mark on your front lawn.

Jetée

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As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world (that is the myth of the Atomic Age) as in being able to remake ourselves.

—Mohandas K. Gandhi

telekinetic

Even if this becomes real, I will not install this for my daughter. She needs to be inoculated to the virus that is religion--I can't shield her from it, so education and gentle exposure seem to be the best options. Anyone who think they can protect their kids from religious influence and other pseudoscience/woo bullshit in America at an age when they are old enough to be using the 'net unsupervised is naive.

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twisted no more

Ourcrazymodern?

Godlike!

On a lighter note, it seems to me "agnostic" would fit better where "atheist" is.

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BE JUST AND FEAR NOT