Posts by Scott Nguyen5

electricdriver33 said:Oh, please. Elvis Presley isn't even debating whether God is real or not. He’s just , and we're basically giving him free promo here... Once you click on one of his videos, you'll see he's actually pretty sharp and articulate... 🙂

That’s exactly why I don't even bother clicking when I see certain people in here acting like his biggest fans. You can only take so much nonsense before you've had enough. 😁

Lisa Jackson7 said:Can someone actually explain why Elvis Presley is such a massive threat to society?

I mean, there are way more dangerous lies floating around the public square anyway.

Honestly, there hasn't been a single lie in human history more dangerous than the claim that God exists and that religious authorities deserve our obedience. Not even close. 😁

mistygull16 said:Look, I don't really agree with his take, but hey, if he actually lives by what he’s preaching and it makes him happy, good for him. It’s like when you see an atheist who genuinely believes there’s nothing after this life but still manages to show up, function, and stay upbeat... it wouldn't be right for me to judge someone who’s found their own little slice of peace, even if it seems weird to me. It's just interesting to watch.
Personally? I'll be the first to admit this world isn't my scene. There's nothing left for me here besides finding a way out of the Matrix. If someone called me a wimp for thinking that, I'd just shrug and say "so what?" Better to be a wimp in paradise than a tough guy in hell. 🤔

That’s the fundamental flaw with religion: it convinces people that life on Earth is just one big disaster. It's why you see so many believers with zero moral backbone. To them, no actual human life matters—it's all about the soul and getting into heaven. 🙄

Man, with insults that heavy, he should probably just call the cops.

neongull93 said:I’d say the biggest paradox you run into—and I feel this one deeply—is that feeling where you know you absolutely *have* to do something, but you just... can't.
It’s like, you realize you need to overhaul your entire lifestyle because your habits are totally trashed, but at the exact same time, you feel completely stuck in your ways and unable to actually make the shift.

That isn't a paradox. It's just laziness.

Daniel Chase13 said:This really comes down to your own laziness—plain and simple. It seems like you'd rather avoid doing any actual legwork, even when it's for your own benefit or to stay informed.
🤦

I don't feel any awkwardness about speaking the truth here. ☕
I actually have that textbook sitting right on my shelf at home, so I know exactly which page we're talking about—as I mentioned before.

It’s honestly because of this haphazard way you communicate that I don't feel like giving you a straight answer. If you actually care about finding the answer, go ahead and look it up yourself. 👋

Not wasting your time hunting for proof to validate someone else's fantasy isn't laziness. It’s just common sense.

Daniel Chase13 said:This really comes down to your own laziness—plain and simple. It seems like you'd rather avoid doing any actual legwork, even when it's for your own benefit or to stay informed.
🤦

I don't feel any awkwardness about speaking the truth here. ☕
I actually have that textbook sitting right on my shelf at home, so I know exactly which page we're talking about—as I mentioned before.

It’s honestly because of this haphazard way you communicate that I don't feel like giving you a straight answer. If you actually care about finding the answer, go ahead and look it up yourself. 👋

Is this just pure laziness on your part? You’re basically demanding that I go scavenge through the entire Library of Congress looking for some random book when I don't even have a title or an author. How is that supposed to work? It feels like you're just too lazy to actually help someone out—assuming, of course, you haven't just made the whole thing up.

Daniel Chase13 said:I’m talking about former atheists who now give lectures and write articles regarding the actual state of atheism and the atheist community.

Honestly, why are you being so lazy about looking up that textbook? At least try asking some students—I'm sure one of them could point you in the right direction if you can't manage to do a bit of independent research yourself. 😁

Which ones?

Daniel Chase13 said:I’m talking about former atheists who now give lectures and write articles regarding the actual state of atheism and the atheist community.

Honestly, why are you being so lazy about looking up that textbook? At least try asking some students—I'm sure one of them could point you in the right direction if you can't manage to do a bit of independent research yourself. 😁

Lazy? Or maybe I'm just smart enough to recognize a fake argument when I see one. Now you're actually trying to convince me to waste my time proving something you completely made up. Hmm.

Don't you feel a little embarrassed?

Chloe Rodriguez5 said:To some people, a father and son engaging in sexual acts is just business as usual. To others, a guy having eight different women is perfectly fine. Some folks even think anal sex is totally normal...

Look, everyone should be free to live their life and believe whatever they want, right?

But as someone who actually believes in God and lives by Christian values, I figured I’d have the right to hold my own opinion on all this...

If you're just quoting church doctrine and Bible verses, you aren't actually using your own opinion. You're just parroting someone else's.

Daniel Chase13 said:People who used to be atheists tend to see things differently—they've actually experienced firsthand what drives someone toward that mindset and, more importantly, why they end up sticking with it.

Which former atheists? Are they all listed in that textbook you supposedly invented the other day? 😁

Chloe Rodriguez5 said:I guess I never realized "The Godfather" was a documentary...

The Church doesn't condemn gay people; you see plenty of them in church here in the US.
The Church and the Bible condemn gay sexual sin as deviant.

What person with half a brain actually cares what the Church or the Bible thinks? One is just an institution built to stroke egos and drain money from regular people, and the other is a 1,700-year-old story.

Daniel Chase13 said:Then there are the others—people who turn into bitter atheists simply because they've been chewed up and spit out by life's disappointments.

That’s how you become a believer, not an atheist. You don't "become" an atheist. We all start out that way.

You know they’d somehow find the time to scrub his signature. 😁

Daniel Chase13 said:It isn't that God imposed the burden; rather, Adam and Eve made a choice for themselves, and we essentially inherited that decision. Through their own free will—prompted by Satan—they separated us from God, handing ourselves and all of us over to the dominion of Satan (though that very same God, embodied in Jesus Christ, works to liberate us through baptism).

God doesn't just work to repair the damage within this world—He is personally preparing us for a perfect existence: a new heaven and a new earth. We will experience bodily resurrection and receive from God a flawless world where physical death, disharmony among creation, pain, infections, and other diseases won't exist. There will be no more dominance, no struggle for survival where the "fittest" prevail at the expense of others, no natural disasters, no imperfections, and so on.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church covers this beautifully in sections 1042 through 1050, and also in 1060.

Sure, that’s a great story, especially if you’re looking at it from the divine perspective.

>be omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, immortal, as old as time, and infinitely wise—basically everything, everywhere, all at once
>decide to create a paradise planet filled with various life forms just because you're bored. Because clearly, an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, immortal, and infinitely wise God has this human need for excitement. It makes total sense that despite being infinite, you still deal with human impulses.
>create only one species with consciousness, but don't give them any actual knowledge about reality or the environment they live in (they're basically toddlers), and just tell them they have to obey you. That's it.
>let some evil wizard manipulate these naive children in adult bodies. And you, the omnipotent and infinitely wise God, allow it because you decided to "punish" him by giving him his own kingdom instead of, say, stripping him of all his power. I mean, logic.
>after this whole mess slips past an omniscient and omnipresent God, it’s perfectly logical to demonstrate infinite wisdom and mercy by dropping an eternal curse on an entire species of inferior intellect that you created yourself—an intellect that was manipulated by an incomparably superior and more intelligent evil wizard whom you also created.
>of course, nothing actually happened when Eve ate the "forbidden fruit," except that she bruised the incredibly fragile human ego of an omnipotent, omniscient, timeless, and infinitely wise God. So, you react with a furious "screw you" by hitting them with physical and emotional pain, plus endless diseases and disorders, just to make existence as difficult as possible because they dared—despite being infantile and incredibly naive—to fall for the manipulation of a much older and smarter evil wizard. Again, pure logic from someone infinitely wise and merciful.
>completely ignore the paradise planet, rename it Earth, and then build a new paradise exclusively for the crowd that will worship you and follow your rules. Because even God, despite being infinite, apparently has a human ego that needs constant stroking.
>curse the animal species, the snake, by taking away its limbs—even though it didn't have hands or feet to begin with. Totally logical. Just because the evil wizard took on their shape, even though snakes aren't responsible for anything. A perfect display of infinite wisdom and mercy.

Robert Ruiz2 said:I’ve been drawn to meditation for over a decade now.
But honestly, I’m just too restless and fidgety to actually stick with it or see any results.

No matter how many times I try, or how many minutes I spend sitting there attempting to "meditate," it never sticks.

I’ve tried focusing my breathing. I’ve tried using background music. I’ve tried heading out into nature or even just doing it in the shower.
Zero luck.

The first few minutes go fine, and then the chaos starts:
- this position is super uncomfortable
- did the kids finish their dinner?
- what am I making for dinner tomorrow?
- is the water getting cold?
- is there something Flying in the room?
- I really should have said no (to that thing that happened 15 years ago)
- how am I ever going to lose weight
- I really need to shave my legs
And just like that, I give up. 🕺

Do you guys Practice meditation?
Any tips on how to finally shut my brain up???? 🙂
Thanks.

I just close my eyes and focus on whatever I (don't) see—basically total darkness. I try to redirect all my senses toward that void so external distractions don't bother me (unless it's traumatic noise, pain, or smells, obviously).

It’s impossible at first, but isn't it like any other skill? You can't expect progress without repetition.

Let me whisper one quick thing before we get into this, totally serious.

Just lean into religion and everything will work itself out.

Carol Johnson83 said:It’s about having the willpower to just say "no" when the opportunity presents itself. It's like quitting smoking. We can all sit here and philosophize about how hard it is to quit, but there isn't some magic trick to make it stop. You just don't inhale. Once you decide not to take that hit, you tell yourself, "Nice job, I'm in control. I don't need this. All this stuff does is provide a fleeting moment of pleasure followed by long-term garbage."

The only way someone actually harms themselves with weed is if they're smoking it from sunrise to sunset.

In moderation, it's arguably less damaging than alcohol, coffee, cigarettes, or most of the junk people call food or drink and consume every single day.

Is that six dots at the end or just three? I’m lost.

There aren't even any posts from 2016. He isn't hiding; he's just inactive.

Živ is definitely alive—he writes for nytimes.com regularly.😁

Man, time really flies.

Thanks. 👋