08:42 pm: Kindness
I've forgotten to put this in my entry three days in a row, so it gets its own. A study showed that religious people were kinder than atheists in only two situations:
...on condition that they believe their acts will enhance their reputations among their peers. The second condition is being freshly reminded, in a subconscious way, of the existence of a morally tinged God or supernatural being, the researchers said.So basically, the only times religious people were kinder than atheists was when they had immediate religious reasons to do so. It wasn't out of the goodness of their hearts.
Years ago when I was on the condo board, I was walking with another board member, an elderly black man who was highly involved in his church, and I pointed out an ant hill. He said "What a wonderful thing for God to make!" and I said "Well, I don't believe in gods, but I think it's a great anthill!" He stood with his mouth open, dumbfounded. We'd known each other for a few years by then and he finally said "But you're so nice, so fair, so kind." I said "You don't have to believe in god to be nice, fair, and kind." We continued our walk while he continued to wonder about how I could not believe in gods and be the person I was. And now we have a study.
Tags: kindness,
religion
LOL -- that's funny. I guess it supports all those rotten drivers with aggressive habits on the Beltway, driving past with "Jesus Loves Me" stickers and whatnot. I kid you not, some of the worst drivers in this area are overtly religious -- it's almost as if they think they have a special dispensation from god to be that rude.
I'm a non-believer myself; I'm Jewish because my mother's family were Eastern European Jews (my father's family were Irish Catholics who lapsed into Episcopalianism and other related Protestant groups). Neither Mom nor Dad are religious, and I gave up on what small amount of belief I had more than 30 years ago.
![[User Picture]](https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/114431249/9169275) | | From: |  mjlayman |
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| Date: | December 22nd, 2008 02:54 am (UTC) |
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Yes, I've noticed some of those cars! At first, I gave them dispensation on the possibility that it was a used car and they hadn't gotten the sticker off yet, but there's too many for that to be the reason.
And speaking of reason, I've seen an LJ icon that says "Axial Tilt Is The Reason For The Season." I might have to get a button of that for next year.
I've just started seeing that icon myself -- it's great. If they make it into a t-shirt, I might have to get one. (My last t-shirt purchase was "Schroedinger's LOLcat".)
I suppose someone out there is marketing "WWCD" (What Would Chthulhu Do?") in contrast to WWJD, although that isn't so popular anymore. I've seen "Your God. Your Rules. You go to Hell.", which is a nice touch.
| | From: | mjlayman |
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| Date: | December 22nd, 2008 03:57 am (UTC) |
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I just saw another with an actual picture of the earth and rotation arrows. I commented that I'd like a button of that, and since they make t-shirts and bumperstickers, maybe they'd at least do those.
The Minicon 40 t-shirt is the only 5X con/saying t-shirt I've been able to wear. I have some others put away in case I lose more weight, but they're not as big as this 5X.
![[User Picture]](https://l-userpic.livejournal.com/20929034/4609524) | | From: | kip_w |
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| Date: | December 22nd, 2008 01:54 pm (UTC) |
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It's getting hard to walk through the public square these days, so many people are praying there at the top of their lungs. They seem to be upset about being marginalized by not having absolute power. But they're nice enough folks, when they know they're being watched. It's all they want, really.
| | From: | mjlayman |
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| Date: | December 22nd, 2008 10:22 pm (UTC) |
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Our little city's closest area to a public square hasn't ever had people talking about anything. Of course, right now, they'd have to do it on ice skates. The Pavilion converts from music/wedding/art shows most of the year to an ice rink in winter.
