burt - 05 December 2011 08:26 AM

MARTIN UK - 05 December 2011 12:13 AM

burt - 04 December 2011 08:23 PM

hannahfriend - 04 December 2011 05:44 PM

saralynn - 04 December 2011 07:41 AM

In honor of the holiday season…

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/02/weird-nativity-scenes-are-christian-writers-cross-to-bear_n_1124042.html

I’m thinking of a more tasty alternative to the typical communion…
“This marshmallow is my body, which is given to you…”

The evil priestly villain in an episode of the 7th season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as he contemplates a glass of red wine: “Drink, this is my blood.  But I always use to wonder, suppose somebody at that supper had preferred a nice white wine, a good chardonnay for example.  What would that have been?  His lymph fluid?”

Well Burt there is another fluid that would be more readily syphoned…

An artist in New York got in trouble around that thought, if I recall.  You are descending into depths I wouldn’t want to plunge.

Was that particular piece called “P**S CH***T” , and did it ask questions, shock or was it a thing of beauty? If it stirred the emotions then it could be still classed as “art”....Vaguely…

We are in the wrong thread to talk about aesthetics and morality.

hannahfriend - 04 December 2011 05:00 PM

Did any of you grow up believing in Santa?  If so, what were your feelings on learning that Santa was not real?

Santa was the easy one.  Then the tooth fairy.  Where I came from as a newborn took me longer to figure out.  When I finally broached the subject with my mother she said I was found inside a cabbage.  Don’t remember asking my father.  Finally I remember figuring it out via bird’s eggs.  I said to my sister who is two years older, “We know that birds lay eggs, and that the eggs came out of them, and that the eggs hatch into little birds - so that’s . . . ”  My sister covered her ears and stomped off.  “No!”

As it is, we’re surrounded by adults who believe we were created in the Garden of Eden.  Parents in the Bible Belt want this included in the school curriculum and science books.  Probably a lot of senators and congressmen from those areas are still in the Santa stage of mental development - that’s how they got elected.  If Romney really is a true Mormon believer , he believes a lot of things that are even more fairytale than Santa.  The next most powerful man in the world?

Here is a picture of me developing in a cabbage.

unsmoked - 05 December 2011 12:45 PM

hannahfriend - 04 December 2011 05:00 PM

Did any of you grow up believing in Santa?  If so, what were your feelings on learning that Santa was not real?

Santa was the easy one.  Then the tooth fairy.  Where I came from as a newborn took me longer to figure out.  When I finally broached the subject with my mother she said I was found inside a cabbage.  Don’t remember asking my father.  Finally I remember figuring it out via bird’s eggs.  I said to my sister who is two years older, “We know that birds lay eggs, and that the eggs came out of them, and that the eggs hatch into little birds - so that’s . . . ”  My sister covered her ears and stomped off.  “No!”

As it is, we’re surrounded by adults who believe we were created in the Garden of Eden.  Parents in the Bible Belt want this included in the school curriculum and science books.  Probably a lot of senators and congressmen from those areas are still in the Santa stage of mental development - that’s how they got elected.  If Romney really is a true Mormon believer , he believes a lot of things that are even more fairytale than Santa.  The next most powerful man in the world?

Here is a picture of me developing in a cabbage.

My mom actually told me the straight scoop when I asked at about 5.  I was so confuzzled that I didn’t quite get the anatomy right until high school health class.

Unsmoked, are you sure you weren’t growing inside a cucumber?

hannahfriend - 05 December 2011 07:15 PM

Unsmoked, are you sure you weren’t growing inside a cucumber?

Are you alleging that unsmoked is pickled?

I like the cabbage idea better - then we can make slaw or sauerkraut out of him.

Ecurb Noselrub - 05 December 2011 07:43 PM

hannahfriend - 05 December 2011 07:15 PM

Unsmoked, are you sure you weren’t growing inside a cucumber?

Are you alleging that unsmoked is pickled?

I like the cabbage idea better - then we can make slaw or sauerkraut out of him.

I like the sauerkraut idea, we could get the worst brat here and have it with bratwurst.

burt - 05 December 2011 08:58 PM

Ecurb Noselrub - 05 December 2011 07:43 PM

hannahfriend - 05 December 2011 07:15 PM

Unsmoked, are you sure you weren’t growing inside a cucumber?

Are you alleging that unsmoked is pickled?

I like the cabbage idea better - then we can make slaw or sauerkraut out of him.

I like the sauerkraut idea, we could get the worst brat here and have it with bratwurst.

Objection!

unsmoked - 06 December 2011 12:30 PM

burt - 05 December 2011 08:58 PM

Ecurb Noselrub - 05 December 2011 07:43 PM

hannahfriend - 05 December 2011 07:15 PM

Unsmoked, are you sure you weren’t growing inside a cucumber?

Are you alleging that unsmoked is pickled?

I like the cabbage idea better - then we can make slaw or sauerkraut out of him.

I like the sauerkraut idea, we could get the worst brat here and have it with bratwurst.

Objection!

Then you lied. Very un-Zen like.

Myself as a young spud.

MARTIN UK - 06 December 2011 01:05 PM

Myself as a young spud.

Real young, the cord is still attached!

And it all dwindles down to mockery and giggling—the true personality of the atheist today.

TheBrotherMario - 07 December 2011 03:49 AM

And it all dwindles down to mockery and giggling—the true personality of the atheist today.

Didn’t you know Mario, only the devil has no sense of humor.  If you can’t laugh at your most cherished beliefs, you’re in deep trouble.

GAD - 07 December 2011 12:47 AM

MARTIN UK - 06 December 2011 01:05 PM

Myself as a young spud.

Real young, the cord is still attached!

Just a chip off the old block…

MARTIN UK - 03 December 2011 06:07 AM

Once again we find ourselves approaching that time of year, where those of us with younger children are expected to play along with the myth that is Christmas, with all its bells and whistles.

My youngest is now 6yrs old, the questions are beginning to be asked…

” Dad, you said the devil and angels were not real, but there are angels in the play about Jesus we are doing…”  Ahh! ermm..

“how will Jesus save me Dad, it’s in the song we are singing…” Oh! well..ermm..

...and so on. Of course Mrs UK is watching me with arms folded waiting to see if I shatter one iota of his innocence or destroy any of the lies, I mean “Magic” of Xmas.

I know the image is funny, but I refuse to lie to him in a bare faced manner, we often have discussions about what is real and what is not….are dinosaurs real…yes but they are extinct…what about dragons…no they are fiction, myth…what about Freddy Crugger…Freddy what!! Who has been talking about him?...the other kids say he will get me…No son he is fiction…

I can see Mrs UK’s point, he is still innocent in many ways and he still believes in Santa to some degree although he is quite smart and gives us that sideways glance when we talk about which gifts we need to buy for whoever.

So what’s the consensus, keep up the deflection, which I’m getting good at now, or lie, not my favourite option, or tell the truth and shatter his perfect illusion forever. Time to use the phrase- Your damned if you do and your damned if you don’t…

I am going through the same thing with a 4 and a half year old. I know all of his grandparents want nothing more than to see him become a good christian.  Heck, all christian’s want him to become a good christian for that matter.  Right now he is at an age when he is wrapping his head around death and not having much luck with it I fear. I sometimes wonder if it is unfair to offer him no eternal solution for his dilemma.  It is a buffer I had as a child and understandably takes much of the sting out of death.  It is hard not to feel I am cheating him from peace in the matter.  Will he become more susceptible to the promise of eternity in the future because of my actions? I just don’t know. I can only hope that is not the case.

  Santa and the tooth fairy all seem harmless enough. For now. Most kids only believe their parents to a point. They need the burn of a stove to prove to themselves it is hot. You can tell them 1000 times there are no monsters but they will check under the bed none the less. I know there are monsters. I know the names of Manson, Hitler and Jeffery Dahmer.  But he need not know.

  In the end, what seems most important right now, is that they know they have parents that love them and put a great deal of thought into their upbringing and care. A fact that is easy for anyone to see. I am sure they see it clearly no matter what you decide.