No, but tested for five years does not equal 20 years of exposure. Those crazy unknown unknowns...

I think there must be some context within which our universe exists. Unfortunately, that line of thinking only leads to wondering in what context that universe exists, and so on.

The bible has one truly universal and useful passage: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

If we could all live by that we would be just fine. Compassion cannot exist within an entirely logic-based construct; we must believe that something bigger than ourselves grants to each individual life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The alternative is the law under which the planet existed for untold millenia prior to the social contract, i.e., the state of nature. It is perfect and pure in its cold viciousness - well, other than the fact that it gave rise to humans. If some being actually entered a command into Window Universe to start life on earth, at this moment you can bet they are making a futile attempt to end the program.

It is really difficult to sell newspapers with the headline, "Muslim Walk Into Crowded Cafe and Buys Latte."

So if Einstein turns out to be correct, he is still nothing more than a liar because he lacked the ability to travel near the speed of light? Or does your reasoning only extend to the clergy?

I was raised going to church, so I tend to give them the benefit of the doubt as far as being evil, mislead, or true believers trying to convince the rest of us. That said, I never trusted religion because it is quite simply man's set of rules for how to get to heaven, and its sole purpose is to be needed when in fact it isn't. These days I go by the motto, "When you die you're dead" (hat tip to James Davies) and I can't for the life of me figure out why people line up on either side of the religious debate and waste precious time arguing over that which cannot be proven.

And you've never known non-religious people who do the very same thing? The reality is that reality is subjective, despite what very logical people such as myself wish were true. People - everyone - engage in a form of truth manipulation whereby they accentuate those facts which further their cause and diminish those which either don't, or which further the cause of those whom they oppose. It is human nature, and not confined to religious people.

You just better hope those with moderator power use all their point before they scroll this far or you will be marked as flamebait.

One can no more be resolute in the belief in the absence of a god than the belief in the existence of the same. It is, as you state, simply unknowable. Granted, that which cannot be explained - an there is plenty to go around - does not necessitate a higher being of some type.

Strictly speaking, only mathematicians are correct, and only absurdists are not wrong.

Just to play the fictitious Devil's Advocate: You must therefore understand everything about every currently accepted theory, as you seem to have no need to believe anything.

We all have beliefs; some are just a little (or a lot) less plausible than others.

If the scripture is false, then there is no hell to which they can go. If the scripture is true, then they are telling the truth.

No, no, no! We need this tax. We owe to it our states to bolster their general funds so they can spend more money, and when they grow accustomed to the newly inflated budget can add some more taxes.

Also, I really like the idea of paying in-state tax for out-of-state, on-line purchases. Along those lines, I created a program to add occasional static to my HD Netflix streaming so it is just like watching television back when we used rabbit ears. Old logic ALWAYS applies to new ideas.

While I'm at it...God Bless the RIAA!

I side with the plaintiffs.

Sincerely,
John Wayne Gacy Jones