Birdwing

I am an atheist. Agnostic atheist to be precise, as I am a scientist and am aware that absolute rejection of the hypothesis of a god also demands proof. I was raised a fundamentalist pentecostal Christian, but a literal interpretation of the bible is not in concordance with what I can see in the world with my own eyes, so the first step in my deconversion was to abandon the literalist aspects of christianity. However, abandoning biblical literalism is a pandora's box. If the bible is not literal, but rather, open to personal interpretation, then the bible cannot be the inerrant word of god. And if the bible is not the inerrant word of god, why should I believe any of it? Throughout history, there have been thousands of deities. How one can be certain their god is the one true god when they have never learned about the many, many other gods is beyond me. Contradictions and historical inaccuracies aside, the moral content of the bible is also highly questionable. Genocide, murder, sex slavery. Even if I assume the Christian heaven and hell are real, I would rather burn than worship the christian god (or any of the abrahamic gods for that matter). My beef lies not in people's personal spirituality, but in the imposition of religious belief on government and education. I am happy for those who find genuine peace in religion. But I am unhappy with those who fail to understand that it is also possible to find immense peace and meaning in the rejection of religion, and those who cry persecution at every attempt to encourage objectivity in the spheres of public life.

Might be the fevered dreams of a madman, and idealistic, but I'd like to make the world a better place while I'm here. That's mainly what I stay alive for

Habanero chilli seeds I've been meaning to plant

I wish I were better at small talk. All my life I've hung out with people in similar lines of work to myself, and so I sometimes find it hard to communicate with other people I meet.

To my left, I see chilli flakes & a teapot. I love this thread.

Halo 1 - 4 on Hard. Never going to beat it on legendary though

Pomelo! So juicy. I acquired a serious taste for it when I lived in South-East Asia, but have a hard time finding it here in my homeland, except in botanical gardens where it's a criminal offense to steal the fruit. Boo. Also lychees, mangoes, blueberries, golden kiwifruit & tomatoes.

I love sour stuff. I put vinegar on way too much of my food Also, chips (the crispy kind) dipped in strawberry yoghurt.

A bag of pears I bought at the grocery store today.

I'm agnostic. I was raised in a Pentecostal Christian family, but wound up becoming a scientist, and so I tend to appreciate logic & the physically observable rather than the Bible which was edited, altered and compiled in a subjective and somewhat arbitrary manner. Just as there is little physical proof supporting Christianity, I cannot provide definitive evidence of no God, and so do not identify as atheist. If there is a god, I most certainly believe it is beyond our comprehension. On an emotional level, religion has only ever been a point of alienation and division for me. Both of my parents are pastors, and they spend all their time lecturing and fighting with me, rather than taking a legitimate interest in my wellbeing and life. The fundamentalism they preach is essentially hatred and intolerance under the guise of 'following Christ', and I'd rather have nothing to do with it.