Atheists in the Okanagan.

[pepsilover]

In animals (and some genetically delayed humans) Maslow's Hierarchy stops at the Second Level .

What a crazy coincidence. Earlier today I was looking up Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs for an entirely different reason. I studied psychology years ago and did very well in it but couldn't recall every single need, so looked it up this morning.

IOW I agree with that statement of yours. ALTHOUGH, dogs definitely go past the second level, don't know about monkeys.

[pepsilover]

*removed*

[Glacier]

Well I hope the trend continues whereby those on the left come to the Lord, that would be awesome. I have not found that right leaning individuals have moved to atheism from faith though.

Yes, some of us from the older generation definitely associate atheism with socialism/far left ideology/communism even. Blame Russia I guess LOL.

There are many branches of leftism. Even among the NDP, which does not include Communists, Greens, and Liberals, there are competing philosophies such as unionists and environmentalists that often find themselves at odds. Communism with a capital "C" and other leftist totalitarian ideologies were influenced by atheism or at least hedonism, but western Progressivism was started by two Catholic priests. The idea was not to dictate from the top as Communism does, but to influence society from the bottom up.

The founders were almost universally influenced by Christianity. The church minister Tommy Douglas were concerned about helping the poor and those who could not afford health care because in his view pure religion was about helping the poor, the widows and the orphans (because it says that in the Bible). Progressivism was very much a Christian ethics movement that brought about prohibition (which didn't work out very well), women's rights, workers rights, and anti-corruption movements within government.

[pepsilover]

There are many branches of leftism. Even among the NDP, which does not include Communists, Greens, and Liberals, there are competing philosophies such as unionists and environmentalists that often find themselves at odds. Communism with a capital "C" and other leftist totalitarian ideologies were influenced by atheism or at lead hedonism, but western Progressivism was started by two Catholic priests. The idea was not to dictate from the top as Communism does, but to influence society from the bottom up.

The founders were almost universally influenced by Christianity. The church minister Tommy Douglas were concerned about helping the poor and those who could not afford health care because in his view pure religion was about helping the poor, the widows and the orphans (because it says that in the Bible). Progressivism was very much a Christian ethics movement that brought about prohibition (which didn't work out very well), women's rights, workers rights, and anti-corruption movements within government.

This is SO weird, another 'crazy coincidence'. So as I was reading your FIRST paragraph I thought ahead to what I would reply to you and it was about Tommy Douglas that I was going to reply. Then I read your second paragraph. Let me just say that I am VERY aware of what you are saying here. I was a very active NDP'er for years and years. I was raised up at the dinner table with my Dad (the atheist, whereas Mom is a believer) telling us about the wonderful Tommy Douglas. And he was wonderful. I voted NDP, campaigned for the NDP and was VERY active in my union (at many levels). As I got older and leaned towards Conservatism, I was surprised to find out that Tommy Douglas not only founded our Canada Health Act but that he was a MINISTER earlier in his life. Somehow I was not surprised though, because his policies really did reflect that humanitarian element.

Did you know there is a dvd out of the life of Tommy Douglas? It was extremely well done. I bought it for my Dad and for myself.

[pepsilover]

Info about Tommy Douglas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Douglas

<SNIP> From pulpit to politics[edit]

Two months after Douglas graduated from Brandon College, he married Irma Dempsey and the two moved to the small town of Weyburn, Saskatchewan, where he became an ordained minister at the Calvary Baptist Church.[25] Irma was 19, while Douglas was 25.[26] With the onset of the Depression, Douglas became a social activist in Weyburn, and joined the new Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) political party. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1935 federal election.[27]

During the September 1939 special House of Commons debate on entering the war, Douglas, who had visited Nazi Germany in 1936 and was disgusted by what he saw, supported going to war against Hitler.[28] He was not a pacifist and stated his reasons:


If you accept the completely absolutist position of the pacifist, then you are saying that you are prepared to allow someone else who has no such scruples to destroy all the values you've built up. This is what I used to argue with Mr. Woodworth ... if you came to a choice between losing freedom of speech, religion, association, thought, and all the things that make life worth living, and resorting to force, you'd used force. What you have internationally is what you have within a nation. You must have law and order, and you must have the necessary military means to enforce that law and order.[29]
<SNIP>

Much more at link, and very interesting. AND if you don't know who Tommy Douglas is you can't call yourself Canadian, sorry.

[Pat-Taporter]

I'm curious to see how this goes over before I decide on attending any local meetings of 'free thinkers'.

I agree with what Alain de Botton puts forth in this video.

Why Religious Beliefs Aren't Just Silly


The School of Life
Published on Nov 11, 2015

Nowadays, many atheists declare not just that god is dead but that anyone who believes in him must be stupid. This seems a little harsh – we prefer to think about where religious beliefs come from: the pained parts of ourselves.

[Donald G]

Unread postby pepsilover » Today, 10:55 am

Info about Tommy Douglas

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Douglas

Yep. Tommy Douglas in Saskatchewan and E.C Manning in Alberta were two of very few politicians who knew what honesty and integrity were all about.

I do not know of any Canadian politician today who measures up to their standards.

PS ... Tommy Douglas did not "give" us our medical system but he did work long and hard to make it very awkward for the Government of the day to reject his idea of a Federal Medicare System. IMO it was his greatest contribution to Canada.

[pepsilover]

He is the man credited with it. Like I said, I was raised from a child hearing about the Great Tommy Douglas and the CCF.

[Healthyskeptic]

A supernatural entity who is eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing and compassionate gave us the 10 Commandments ( actually 613 laws in total ) to Moses. So God, who is all-knowing, made these rules for us to live by.

Some people called Jains made up rules to love by too. Jainism is a religion. It was started by men. They were not all-knowing.

Compare the laws. Please do. Compare the eternal , moralistic laws of an 'All Knowing' God and those created by a few human brains. Which laws actually seem to be wiser, more compassionate and more well thought out?

bullet Ahimsa: "non violence in all parts of a person -- mental, verbal and physical." 3 Committing an act of violence against a human, animal, or even a vegetable generates negative karma which in turn adversely affects one's next life.

bullet Satya: speaking truth; avoiding falsehood, avoid gossip, hear-say

bullet Asteya: to not steal from others

bullet Brahma-charya: (soul conduct); remaining celibate or sexually monogamous to one's spouse only

bullet Aparigraha: detach from people, places and material things. Avoiding the collection of excessive material possessions, abstaining from over-indulgence, restricting one's needs, taking a minimal amount in order that others may have as well...

[Healthyskeptic]

http://www.jewfaq.org/m/613.htm

The 613 personally hand delivered Laws that God wanted us to know about.

Yeah, they totally seem like laws written by an All Knowing God not primitive males of the near Middle East. *sarcasm alert!

[zzontar]

bullet Ahimsa: "non violence in all parts of a person -- mental, verbal and physical." 3 Committing an act of violence against a human, animal, or even a vegetable generates negative karma which in turn adversely affects one's next life.

Wow, cops would be defenceless if someone got violent, you'd have to let people break into your house and steal everything, no more eating meat, yet slicing carrots with a sharp knife is out of the question... you go ahead and live by that one.

[Donald G]

Which of "God's or Man's" laws do we have to abide by in defeating terrorist factions or others who are willing to kill and maim in order to bend us to their will ??

[zzontar]

Which of "God's or Man's" laws do we have to abide by in defeating terrorist factions or others who are willing to kill and maim in order to bend us to their will ??

The law of survival. When enough is enough even Jesus cleared the temple.

[Healthyskeptic]

I like the Christian diversion tactics.

They are so transparently afraid to say that "God 's laws" are so obviously man-made and pathetic!

Humans can come up with better laws and have!

[Healthyskeptic]

Christian God- go ahead, own slaves, rape the captive women you own, beat your children, sacrife animals to Me....blah, blah

Jains- do no harm to others.

Christian response - wow, what a kookie religion!