Why is it that one must "hear the voice of God" to be a believer? Some mad men hear voices claiming there is no God. Again, it's the logic set that's broke here....

I for one believe in ETL. Whether a voice tells me that or not is irrelevant. Some folks need stuffed-shirts in order to win an argument, and never realize that, that's all they're doing -- beating up a stuffed shirt....

I've read a lot on Sagan's beliefs in ET, and they were hopeful to the full extent of what one hopes to find -- he was quite the zealot on the matter ("Contact"?).

"Belief" needs to be understood firstly, and I'm not sure I care to describe it further, other than referring to Descartes, who pretty much simplified the matter to its full extent. That being said, yes, even saying, "I don't know" is a belief. I believe I don't know.

Trust me, I'm married, and had to come home and get busted with lipstick in strange places. I can firmly tell you, that saying, "I don't know" is an avid belief. "Honey, I believe I really don't know." There's no way in hell I was gonna say, "I'm not sure what I believe regarding that lipstick stain...."

Concur. I believe my house will be there when I leave work and go home. It might not be. I could have been acid tripping all day that I had a house. Wtf is reality? I once saw a catholic lady cry because some asshat needed to convince her that it was nuts to pray to Mary. I think praying to Mary is idiocy, but wtf destroy some poor soul who wants to believe otherwise? Hell, there could be. To wit I say, "pray to Mary for me too! And hurry!"

The first problem is a problem of communication: that neither side is open enough to listen to the other. I've often found myself on the fence, but the arrogance and condescension of the butthole representing either theism or atheism serves as nothing but a stumbling block. First, get over yourself (general "yourself" there), then, let's talk. Better yet, let's drink a 12 pack and talk, cuz you're waaay to uptight to take seriously....

"It is arrogant to assume there isn't life outside our planet." --Carl Sagan

A belief is a belief is a belief. Sagan admitted, he no empirical evidence of this, but, only believed. If there is not any other life in the universe other than on earth (and I hope there is), then Carl's belief in ET is as nutty as any other.

I appreciate the believer -- whether it be the agnostic, the atheist or the Muslim. What I do not appreciate are those who reject others for not believing the same thing. And I feel sad for the arrogant, who look down on those who are _not_ in sync with what they claim are the "right" beliefs.

To quote Lewis responding to a letter by a self-avowed atheist: "As a former atheist I have to say you, Sir, are not one. You are a God hater, and a God hater is not necessarily an athiest...."

Cartwright: But why, if that's the case, are you unable to escape from this fortress?
[Evil blows him up]
Evil: That's a good question. Why have I let the Supreme Being keep me here in the Fortress of Ultimate Darkness?
Robert: Because you...
Evil: Shut up, I'm speaking rhetorically.

Supreme Being: Is it all ready? Right. Come on then. Back to creation. We mustn't waste any more time. They'll think I've lost control again and put it all down to evolution.
-Time Bandits

Evil: What sort of Supreme Being created such riffraff? Is this not the workings of a complete incompetent?
Baxi Brazilia III: But He created you, Evil One.
Evil: What did you say?
Baxi Brazilia III: Well He created you, so He can't be entirely...
Evil: [Blows Baxi to bits] Never talk to me like that again! No one created me! I am Evil. Evil existed long before good. I made myself. I cannot be unmade. *I* am all powerful!

Wally: Do you mean you knew what was happening to us all the time? Supreme Being: Well, of course. I am the Supreme Being, I'm not entirely dim... -Time Bandits

The cops are invisible until they show up....

I got arrested traveling through Arkansas once. They got me for contraband. I had a bunch of books. I got off on a technicality: no one could prove they were books....

"The mobile component, which targeted Symbian Series 60 devices or BlackBerrys, intercepted one-time passcodes used to verify transactions."

So that thing can be used for banking too? Huh, I'll tell my wife....

Concur, but not concur, not when it doesn't matter what your password is when you visit digg.com to look at Grand Torino screens, to find later your gmail has been accessed from China, because of a recent .php hack, and finally conclude that digg.com is an infestation due to its very nature of anyone being able to leverage a malicious page to a top site.... A hack where your very strong password was plainly attained on the other side of the globe, but thank god the email account you accessed at the time was your trash one....

When you have an em-effing strong password, and your only error was using Windows, because that's where you play wow, and thank god you're using the authenticator, and you setup separate linux boxes to do sensitive work on, and now you're doubling your spending in computing: one for fun one for work, and you realize your wife's ipad is more secure than anything for fun and leisure, and she beats the hell out of surfing on it and you have no fear, but it sucks and you hate it for yourself with a gd passion....

Yea, used to be users were the weakest link, not anymore....

Basically, wow is now the most secure thing I do bcs of the authenticator. I'm putting my entire family on it. I plan on having them bank there and email there, etc. I can see it now, calling my sister, "mom got killed on the way to the bank...." Sister: WHAT?!?!?!?

Yea, free, and waiting for global thermonuclear war.... "Shall we play a game?..."

Humanity has both never been so free and at the same time, never been so capable of extinguishing itself....