To say that a person uses religion as a crutch is not necessarilly criticism, but in this case you'd probably have to keep it in mind. This person seems to be expressing some very strong opinions that are both offensive and utterly mistaken when she speaks about theists and atheists.
As a sidenote, it is quite possible that this person's health issue (polycystic ovaries) might have in part come about by lifelong unhealthy dietary habits and lifestyle choices - not the other way around (although now it's probably contributing to her weight problem). But that's an altogether different topic.
It's a little bit strange when you put this into perspective: we're talking about people helping other people, being good human beings, how our society errs (i.e. sucks) in so many ways, putting an unhealthy emphasis on external appearances, how many problems we have as a species and how much we need to work hard resolving them if we want to be around on this planet until the end of this century ... and so on and so forth ... there are certainly some very big issues we're facing and while it's not easy, we probably need to work hard on improving our pathetic education system, instilling confidence, bravery, empathy and compassion in our children, emphasising curiosity, knowledge, skepticism (as a positive force, NOT cynicism), hard work and perseverence, understanding ourselves, our bodies, our minds, our emotions, our societies, appreciating our civilisation and our achievement as much as having the fervent desire to fix the problems ...
... so, seriously, how hard would it really be to adopt a diet very low in carbohydrates and hydrogenated fats and rich in nutrients that promote health, remembering to drink enough water throughout the day, or going for a one hour walk every day? Because most people who are currently obese would benefit immensely by these relatively simple changes. This isn't such a hard problem to overcome, compared to the ones we actually do face, collectively, and which we also have to solve together.
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"You must not give the world what it asks for, but what it needs."
-- Dijkstra
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You wanna know what my Biff is ??
I just HATE manure !!
Rob, you make some good points. However I do think Bill was right, have a look here: http://jamisings.wordpress.com/2009/10/22/religion-is-not-a-crutch-not-f...
To say that a person uses religion as a crutch is not necessarilly criticism, but in this case you'd probably have to keep it in mind. This person seems to be expressing some very strong opinions that are both offensive and utterly mistaken when she speaks about theists and atheists.
As a sidenote, it is quite possible that this person's health issue (polycystic ovaries) might have in part come about by lifelong unhealthy dietary habits and lifestyle choices - not the other way around (although now it's probably contributing to her weight problem). But that's an altogether different topic.
It's a little bit strange when you put this into perspective: we're talking about people helping other people, being good human beings, how our society errs (i.e. sucks) in so many ways, putting an unhealthy emphasis on external appearances, how many problems we have as a species and how much we need to work hard resolving them if we want to be around on this planet until the end of this century ... and so on and so forth ... there are certainly some very big issues we're facing and while it's not easy, we probably need to work hard on improving our pathetic education system, instilling confidence, bravery, empathy and compassion in our children, emphasising curiosity, knowledge, skepticism (as a positive force, NOT cynicism), hard work and perseverence, understanding ourselves, our bodies, our minds, our emotions, our societies, appreciating our civilisation and our achievement as much as having the fervent desire to fix the problems ...
... so, seriously, how hard would it really be to adopt a diet very low in carbohydrates and hydrogenated fats and rich in nutrients that promote health, remembering to drink enough water throughout the day, or going for a one hour walk every day? Because most people who are currently obese would benefit immensely by these relatively simple changes. This isn't such a hard problem to overcome, compared to the ones we actually do face, collectively, and which we also have to solve together.
---------------
"You must not give the world what it asks for, but what it needs."
-- Dijkstra
---------------
You wanna know what my Biff is ??
I just HATE manure !!