Originally written by Liliana Boladz-Nekipelov on November 4, 2009 10:16 PM I think believing that somebody knows might be the most dangerous thing, because we really do not know anything.

I think this is the first time I fully agree with you, no matter whether someone believes that there is an all-knowing leader or an all-knowing God.

Originally written by Jacek K. on November 4, 2009 2:33 PM Originally written by Liliana Boladz-Nekipelov on November 4, 2009 8:02 PM Organized atheism is to me something like Stalinism .... organized atheism sounds really bad.   Yup. Ditto for organized religion. Brrrr.....

But I think it is necessary to a certain degree or at a certain stage in life, especially in childhood, when the system of beliefs forms, if one wants to pursue his or her spiritual development later on. Even though many people may go away from organized religion later on in life, there is some grain which remains.      

Originally written by Liliana Boladz-Nekipelov on November 4, 2009 8:34 PM ...not to say how exactly lizzards changed into birds.

That would be preposterous.

 

The Solnhofen Specimen, by some considered as belonging to the genus Wellnhoferia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeopteryx

 

I don't even know how something like this:

could, allegedly, turn into:

 

 

 

Frankly, I don't buy it...

Didn't the first one turn out to be a lemur?

Originally written by Liliana Boladz-Nekipelov on November 4, 2009 8:59 PM Even though many people may go away from organized religion later on in life, there is some grain which remains.

Until faith becomes rejection
And rejection becomes belief
There will be no true believer

--Abu Said

But we are far from there yet.

Originally written by Liliana Boladz-Nekipelov on November 4, 2009 9:11 PM Didn't the first one turn out to be a lemur?

Just that one or all the other specimens too?

Over the years, ten body fossil specimens of Archaeopteryx and a feather that may belong to it have been found. All of the fossils come from the limestone deposits, quarried for centuries, near Solnhofen, Germany. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeopteryx

If I see my neighbor's dog turn into a horse or a wolf at least, I might more believe in it. Right now, I am not saying no, but I do not really know. 

Even if evolution happened, which I do not deny, at this time, it was intentional not random: nothing is random.  

Re: feather- probably a feather from a chicken that he caught for breakfast.       

http://www.utne.com/Spirituality/Spiritual-Guidance-for-Atheists-5788.aspx?utm_content=11.17.09+Spirituality&utm_campaign=Spirituality&utm_source=iPost&utm_medium=email

Where do atheists, agnostics, and non-religious people turn for spiritual guidance? At Tufts University, non-religious students think they should have their own “humanist chaplain,” the same way that schools enlist Jewish, Christian, or Muslim teachers for their students.

“The current chaplaincies just don’t address the needs of [non-religious students],” Xavier Malina, president of the Tufts Freethought Society, told Inside Higher Education. “A lot of students might want spiritual guidance but don’t feel comfortable going to the available chaplains on campus, [who] might not satisfy their spiritual needs.”

Harvard University, Rutgers University, and Adelphi University all currently retain humanist chaplains, according to Inside Higher Education, though some people take issue with the entire idea.

Originally written by Jacek K. on November 17, 2009 12:13 PM Where do atheists, agnostics, and non-religious people turn for spiritual guidance?

They do not need the guidance.

At Tufts University, non-religious students think they should have their own “humanist chaplain,”

They are not non-religious, if they need one.