Reason no guarantee of morality

Franklin Littell, eh? Guess you must have slept through most of his classes, Max.

Not impressed.

Anyway. Faith, reason, belief.

People can't quite seem to agree on terms, a lot of the time, never mind decide if they're essentially in opposition, never mind seemingly use any of them properly.

If 'Faith' means, 'I believe I should use poorly-applied 'reason' to say, 'It'll fix the country to claim religious power and harm teh gayz as an alternative to not-actually-making-the real things worse while hurting people in the name of 'Good....''

...then it means doing none of these three things very well at all, much less governing ourselves well.

Sometimes I think I have more 'faith' in the Christians' God than they do. My attitude's more like, 'In the unlikely event the Universe is really as messed-up as they say, I'm sure that savior-guy is more professional about it than his followers.'

Maybe also less fussed about atheists' ideas about 'oblivion' than they are, too. In spite of ...complications and adversities, it's all in all been an interesting life, and I hope I've done my bit to leave something a little richer behind. If I have no point of view from which to turn around and salute when this body and brain finally fall to pieces like the Bluesmobile, no one can say 'She never stepped on the gas.' :)

So what's this all about, here, indeed.

Truth? Or, really. Power. Experience. Thoughts. Decisions. Dreams.

'Soul,' whatever you think of that.

Attention.

These are things to *do,* and *be,* not 'convert' people over, or use as a talisman or a substitute for living, breathing, dreaming, and doing.

My definitions of 'belief' and 'faith' are a bit different.

Belief is thinking you know something.
Faith is not needing to.

Belief comes from words like 'as lief,' or 'As I'd like it to be,' (this could seem to be either in the sense that it pleases your sense of reality, or just your desires)

'Faith' comes from words to do with trust, promise, fate, etc.

Faith isn't actually 'believing really hard till you don't question belief.'

I suppose it can mean, 'I don't really need to *know* cause I believe so hard,' or it can mean, 'I trust it's OK not to know everything,' or ''I just trust.'

I have my beliefs: I've worked pretty hard on those, actually, ...I also think I certainly 'have faith,' in Gods that have earned that trust. (Since before I would really have counted as a 'believer,' if you asked at the time.) Faith that even if my beliefs are off, that trust'll still be there.

Some beliefs *do* call it "faith" to see observable facts and effects, and believe something contrary to those anyway.

I don't agree with that definition, though: to me, that's just 'believing hard in the unreasonable.' ...Claiming that that represents *authority* in politics or life... or science, is what leads to things *being* unreasonable and unproductive.

I may well *believe* that the Earth's biosphere is a living embodiment of the Goddess, that doesn't mean I walk into political debates saying, 'Gawdess demands everyone abstain from bacon cheeseburgers, which will clean up the environment and avert terrible and arbitrary punishments!'

Even people claiming the same God and the same book more or less can't agree on anything that way. And people shouldn't *have* to.

Regarding the title of the article, I submit that religion, too, is no guarantor of morality. Organized religions along with individual beliefs are extreemly diverse and very personal. I feel the subject of religion does little but further muddy the waters of an already cloudy lake. Being that religion is a divisive force rather than a unifying one, it should be left out of politics.

Hear Ye, Hear Ye: STOP THE VOTES!

Something On "BLOOD TITHES" within our Governments, not only 'Blood Diamonds or 'Blood Mineral's.

Those ReLIGIONics within the White-House and in Congress & the Senate who slip & grease their 'Constituent's? via their Mega-Churches moneys or the Congregation's Tithes aka BLOOD-MONEY via UNCLE-SAM tax EXEMPT Money should be ARRESTED & Tried FOR Corrupting many of Our Government Officials. And The Officials should be "Impeached" Not Censured!

The ELECTION SHOULD BE STOPPED by the CIA & FBI & the NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, or Even the PENTAGON; now!

America Needs a Serious FIX!

Note: Since AMERICANS are beating-up each other this campaign, and since Americans are Mis-trusting Of both their FEDERAL & STATE Politicians & Government; Then It is Time For ISOLATION! WHY?

How can the so-called Beacon-of-Democracy [WE are a REPUBLIC, not a Democracy by the way] be respected when Voters LOST RESPECT FOR GOVERNMENT + THEIR FORE-FATHERS"are fighting each other as the World watches in both Mistrust of America & in Laughter [NO Joke]!??
___

Theory: IF The N.Y.C. BLOOMBERG Admn & His TAMMANY-Hall CRONY's Can Usurp & Wave The N.Y.State Constitution & Bend the Federal (includes Senator Hillary Clinton quiting her senate job, "INSTEAD OF CONSTITUTION"; Who Usurped the U.S. Constitution to become SEC of State??) and then audaciously accepts the MAYORs job for a 3rd-Term? (w/out VOTERS O.K.?)

THEN; IT's Time to STOP THE RACE. And Like The COMMY Scare; Bring Forth The USURPERS & NEPOTIST & ROBBER BARRONS Before OUR (not Their) COURT SYSTEM based on "RULE OF LAW" Like TERRORISTs!!
___

Dear Fellow Americans; HARK!

DO NOT BE DISTRACTED by this Admins "TERRORIST" or PHOBIA Card!

This Government and their CO-Crony's in High Crimes are guilty of "INSTEAD OF CONSTITUTION" & INSTEAD OF TRUTH" & INSTEAD of OPEN GOVERNMENT!

Grasp the Underlying Great Anti-American Conspiracy! EXAMPLE:

FACT: "BIN LADEN IS DEAD" Since Summer of 2007! DO-NOT Believe the Big-Lie!

VOTE: STOP The ELECTION (After a National Investigation of our incumbents & their Constituents & MEDIA NOW! ELSE

DO NOT VOTE! DO NOT SHOW-UP AT THE VOTING STATIONS/BOOTHS! IF Anything

PROTEST For a 1-Year [Mid-Term Election] DELAY//FREEZE now!

AND besides Not Trusting most Politicians, Do NOT TRust The {rigged] NEW 'TOUCH SCREEN COMPUTERS"!

[i]m not talking about "Chads", please see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_(paper)

But [WE] are talking about: DANGER//DANGER, THEFT OF GOVERNMENT, HIJACKING OUR NATION!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_voting

BETTER NOT-TO-VOTE & BE SAFE, by DELAYING THE Midterm Elections, Instead of Being Sorry [again] Later"!

NOTE: CONSTITUTIONALLY AMERICAN's have a right To POSTPONE THIS Mid-Term Election" Under a NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT & other viable Reasons that the Electorate can fathom & ride-out!

And now introducing blasmaic, the reposting internet hound of WAPO.

Get out much?

Stewart doesn't use sanity as a antonym to reason.

He uses it to imply that Beck and his followers are insane, as in mentally deranged. Stewart's humorous attack against Beck gets an extra lift by pandering to the hatred people hold toward the mentally ill.