Comfort

[Astreja]

Well, OK...but he's you're responsibility.  Make sure to take him for walkies and keep his bedding clean.  Remember what happened with the goldfish we let you have.

Boru

Not as bad as the parrot I had.

Who knew Polyfilla wasn't bird food??

So that's what Ex-ed the Norwegian Blue!  *thump thump thump*  "'E's a stiff!"    

As someone who's been a de facto atheist for 53 years and officially adopted that descriptor 8 years ago, I'd like to comment:

The idea of a heaven is not comforting to me.  I can't imagine why anyone would want to be stuck in such a place, no matter how nice it is, for eternity.  Eternity is a fucking long time.  How could such a place satisfy the phenomenon of hedonic adaptation? Things that used to satisfy gradually lose their attraction and must be replaced with something else.

And of course, if the existence of a heaven requires hell to also exist, I am out.  I am *so* out.  I could never enjoy heaven if I knew someone was being tortured in hell.

As for why I argue on the subject of religion, it is obvious to me that many religions promote bad science, bad history, bad morality, and an us-versus-them attitude.  None of these things serve the common good, and in fact they cause grievous harm to society and hijack people's lives.  It is an immensely powerful adversary, but I think that we are gradually chipping away at that power and rendering the religious establishment less credible and less dangerous.  I intend to continue the fight indefinitely.