If atheism is true would you want to know?

[muichimotsu]

It is good that you enjoy socializing cats. I tried helping the cats at our local shelter, but I found it was too draining emotionally. I wanted to take all of them home, but I knew I couldn't do that. It's exhausting enough to keep my one cat happy. I wave the little feather toy around for 5 minutes and consider that an accomplishment. ... So I admire people who volunteer to help those cats on regular basis. It is difficult.

To be brutally honest, I can't say I've actually socialized cats in a professional setting, I've done it more independently and that was mostly with one cat who we had to put down over 5 years ago. He was likely semi feral, but was fairly nice with some time. Just was suffering, losing his hearing and such, but was really fun with the life he had (very vocal).

There was a cat at a cat cafe who was, at the time, still not ready to go into the socializing area with people and I spent the last 15-20 minutes of our visit just trying to coax them out or give them a sense of safety. They've since been adopted, but it was a learning experience of sorts anyway.

I do want to volunteer, it's just tricky to manage time and get reliable transportation.

 

[muichimotsu]

You were asking a question of awitch, but I was curious what you would say a Christian is? A person can say "I am a Christian" but others can later say "that person was not a REAL Christian because X, Y, and Z". It's kind of a tricky question.

No true Scotsman fallacy combined with goalpost shifting fallacy tends to be the go-to "argument" for qualifying a "true" Christian, I've found. It's not even amusing anymore, it's disappointingly lazy

 

[cloudyday2]

To be brutally honest, I can't say I've actually socialized cats in a professional setting, I've done it more independently and that was mostly with one cat who we had to put down over 5 years ago. He was likely semi feral, but was fairly nice with some time. Just was suffering, losing his hearing and such, but was really fun with the life he had (very vocal).

There was a cat at a cat cafe who was, at the time, still not ready to go into the socializing area with people and I spent the last 15-20 minutes of our visit just trying to coax them out or give them a sense of safety. They've since been adopted, but it was a learning experience of sorts anyway.

I do want to volunteer, it's just tricky to manage time and get reliable transportation.

That is pretty good still. My mother has a semi-feral. They are challenging, but it is a sense of accomplishment when they finally learn to trust a little.

 

[muichimotsu]

That is pretty good still. My mother has a semi-feral. They are challenging, but it is a sense of accomplishment when they finally learn to trust a little.

I have had plenty of times when cats aren't that willing to get near me, my mom seems to overemphasize me as a "cat whisperer" when honestly, it's only about 75% efficacy at best, if we're being generous. There was a fluffy black and white tom in the neighborhood, ran pretty quickly when I even tried to get close at their level, similar with an orange and white cat. Might have pictures of both

And I haven't seen either of the younger cats in the neighborhood that were just wandering around (I have pictures of one), hoping they got taken in by someone, it's been months.

 

[cloudyday2]

I have had plenty of times when cats aren't that willing to get near me, my mom seems to overemphasize me as a "cat whisperer" when honestly, it's only about 75% efficacy at best, if we're being generous. There was a fluffy black and white tom in the neighborhood, ran pretty quickly when I even tried to get close at their level, similar with an orange and white cat. Might have pictures of both

And I haven't seen either of the younger cats in the neighborhood that were just wandering around (I have pictures of one), hoping they got taken in by someone, it's been months.

Another thing you might be able to do without transportation is fostering kittens. I have thought about doing that, but I don't know how my cat would feel about it. Also our shelter (and probably all shelters) have problems with upper respiratory infections and ringworm spreading. I caught ringworm when I was volunteering, and then my own cat caught ringworm from me. That was when I decided to quit volunteering LOL, but I didn't have the energy emotionally or physically to be very much help to them anyway. I was just going over every afternoon to pet a few cats (and catch their ringworm so I could bring it home LOL)

Those are some nice looking stray cats.

 

[muichimotsu]

Another thing you might be able to do without transportation is fostering kittens. I have thought about doing that, but I don't know how my cat would feel about it. Also our shelter (and probably all shelters) have problems with upper respiratory infections and ringworm spreading. I caught ringworm when I was volunteering, and then my own cat caught ringworm from me. That was when I decided to quit volunteering LOL, but I didn't have the energy emotionally or physically to be very much help to them anyway. I was just going over every afternoon to pet a few cats (and catch their ringworm so I could bring it home LOL)

Those are some nice looking stray cats.

Yeah, we have 4 cats, to say nothing of a neighborhood cat who begs for food even though he has a home. Even when my brother leaves and takes 3/4 of the cats, I feel like our oldest wouldn't like it. To say nothing of the lack of sleep I've heard in regards to fostering anyway.

Yeah, the use of hand sanitizer is recommended, from what I hear, and that's even just for a cat cafe: don't want the cats to get human germs. Though ironically at my first visit to a cat cafe, a black cat (who I believed is also adopted, it's a successful cat cafe for adoptions) sneezed a few times on my hand. Twas funny, though it was a bit bizarre that it sat on my lap and stayed there, though I feel like being closer to their level might've been a motivation, not sure exactly.

Or black cats like me, there was one in college I never saw again after I coaxed it to sit in my lap in sophomore year of college. And it was near Halloween too.

 

[FireDragon76]

I realized long ago that I was raised to worship God in a specific manner . Whether it was the “ right “ way or not , I knew that atheists were correct about some of the things they complained about. The deliberate manipulation and willful ignorance they complained about was a real problem. It made me more thoughtful about dogmas I accepted.

This is the kind of stuff I want to hear Christians saying. Not about how atheists are such horrible people or lost.

 

[FireDragon76]

Religions serve various purposes. For example, a shared religion gives people shared values. On an individual level religion gives people a sense of purpose.

So as Pilate said "what is truth?". I might decide that Christianity isn't true, but what have I gained? Christianity was serving a purpose in my life when I believed. Now I don't believe it and it no longer benefits me. Christianity's value seems to be disconnected from its truth. So why should a Christian want to lose faith and gain "truth" when knowing the "truth" about Christianity is of no more value than knowing the "truth" about the latest escapades of some Hollywood celebrity. The "truth" about Christianity's flaws that would make a Christian lose faith is not like the truth of science that might help us design better light bulbs. Why would anybody want a "truth" that doesn't help us? Of course when the truth is forced on us then we have no choice.

Some philosophers, like Nietzsche or Jordan Peterson, define truth as "that which serves life".

I think that's close to my own understanding as well.

 

[Kenny'sID]

Some philosophers, like Nietzsche or Jordan Peterson, define truth as "that which serves life".

I think that's close to my own understanding as well.

Honestly, not much of a philosopher if he can't get the definition of truth right.

 

[FireDragon76]

Honestly, not much of a philosopher if he can't get the definition of truth right.

Are we supposed to be intimidated by your assertion that they are wrong?

 

[Kenny'sID]

Christian are often about the cold hard fact that need to be put out there, and some don't want to hear those facts because it's bothersome, and an inconvenience to their lifestyles.

 

[FireDragon76]

Christian are often about the cold hard fact that need to be put out there, and some don't want to hear those facts because it's bothersome, and an inconvenience to their lifestyles.

It goes both ways. Some Christians don't want to hear the cold hard facts because it would inconvenience their lifestyles.

 

[Kenny'sID]

Are we supposed to be intimidated by your assertion that they are wrong?

Don't see why you would think I expect that. He simply has the wrong definition.

 

[FireDragon76]

Don't see why you would think I expect that. He simply has the wrong definition.

What is your argument that Nietzsche was wrong? All I see is an assertion with nothing to back it up

 

[Kenny'sID]

It goes both ways. Some Christians don't want to hear the cold hard facts because it would inconvenience their lifestyles.

What cold hard facts do they not want to hear?

 

[Kenny'sID]

What is your argument that Nietzsche was wrong? All I see is an assertion with nothing to back it up

LOL, you really aren't already aware of the definition of "truth"?

 

[FireDragon76]

What cold hard fact do they not want to hear?

Many Christians are frankly highly selective in their understanding and engagement with science and the modern world.

 

[FireDragon76]

LOL, you really aren't already aware tof the definition of "truth"?

Believe it or not, philosophers haven't always agreed to what constitutes the significance of the term "truth". It's been a lively debate throughout the history of philosophy. Is truth a correspondence to reality, is it based on coherence, or does it have something to do with pragmatic or eudaemonic considerations?

 

[Kenny'sID]

Many Christians are frankly highly selective in their understanding and engagement with science and the modern world.

What facts is what I asked.

 

[FireDragon76]

Philosophical history of the concept of truth:

Truth (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)