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Permalink Reply by Graham E. Lau on March 11, 2010 at 12:52pm

I believe there is something you feel inside yourself; your conscious knowledge of what you do. That's where the idea of karma comes from. But, I do not in any way believe there is any supernatural, or otherwise, force or power that rewards good behavior and punishes bad. Indeed, many good people seem to get crapped on and many bad people seem to get rewards so the whole karma idea breaks down pretty quickly.

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Permalink Reply by Pinko Commie on March 11, 2010 at 7:53pm

I agree about the origins of karma - at least I feel the same 'something' inside me.

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Permalink Reply by Reggie on March 11, 2010 at 4:32pm

That is the danger of waiting for Karma, God, or destiny to change things for you. But your step-daughter sounds like she could use some professional counseling. I hope she gets it and becomes more proactive in making her own fortunes.

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Permalink Reply by Reggie on March 11, 2010 at 6:38pm

My best friend works in a hospital and hears nearly every day comments such as, "Whatever happens is meant to be."

That is a sad outlook, IMO, but one that gels well with the God hypothesis. It's as if since they can't control all aspects of their life, they wish to cede control of it all.

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Permalink Reply by Misty: Baytheist Living! on March 13, 2010 at 10:19pm

I totally feel for the person that said she couldn't self identify as Buddhist. I was already turned off to western religion for it's obvious faults and downfalls before I moved to Thailand. Buddhism seemed like a good alternative.....until I became educated on what it's all about.
Karma is just another answer to the question "Why?"
Whether it's because "God did it" or "Karma dictates" or "insert whatever other excuse here." the real answer is no easier to swallow.
We are a number. We are a statistic in the flow of evolution. We are a beautiful assimilation of tiny parts that make up an organism, which is an entity within an ecosystem. Some of us are born with an evolutionary advantage, due to the construct of their genetic code. Some are born with an evolutionary disadvantage. Some are born on even footing and then, through the course of their existence, they are injured or become ill.
Every human that ever has been and ever will be exist only to propagate the good of the species.
Our higher reasoning abilities (again, nothing more but the product of evolution) has distracted us from this purpose. The species takes second place to the individual. When the individual is put before the species, we have a world with filled with pollution, needless violence and evil. True, we also have a world filled with antibiotics, art and space exploration, but in this world is a gap that comes as a price. We turn away from the reality of our purpose, and then must use religion and superstition to answer the very obvious questions.
It seems so silly for the only creature on the planet with such a developed brain.
Maybe we aren't as smart as we like to think we are.
There is no karma. There is altruistic behavior between members of the species for the greater good of the whole.
There is of course a balance in that too, though.
I might not have done some act of greatness in a past life to make me deserve my awesome bra cup size, but I make damn sure to tip well while at my local pub.

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Permalink Reply by Shine on March 13, 2010 at 10:56pm

I might not have done some act of greatness in a past life to make me deserve my awesome bra cup size, but I make damn sure to tip well while at my local pub.

If atheism had a set of scripture, I would nominate this phrase as a primary tenet.

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Permalink Reply by Shine on March 14, 2010 at 12:29pm

I think that it needs to be on a t-shirt! A really, really tight one.

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Permalink Reply by Reggie on March 14, 2010 at 12:41pm

A t-shirt? Why cover the evidence? I demand empirical evidence for this claim! I live in the "Show Me" state, for crying out loud!

That reminds me. When is Mardi Gras?

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Permalink Reply by Misty: Baytheist Living! on March 14, 2010 at 1:19pm

It's an easy example.
I'm too lazy to make up other tidbits of evidence, and the bra size thing is common knowledge, so I just go with it. It works! Why fix it if it ain't broken?

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Permalink Reply by Shine on March 14, 2010 at 1:48pm

I support tit references! Takes the stigma away, in my opinion.

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Permalink Reply by Reggie on March 14, 2010 at 2:44pm

No stigma that I know of. But us males turn into boyish louts more often than not when tits are discussed. Or presented. Or thought about.

Permalink Reply by Shine on March 14, 2010 at 3:11pm

I guess I am drawing upon my lengthy time in the restaurant industry from ages twelve to twenty-six. Although my uniform was never skimpier than a t-shirt, I still found that being the one to call out men on their obvious attention to my chest gave me the upper hand. Particularly as a bartender, by recognizing my own sexuality it took away any power that certain lecherous patrons thought they could use to get under my skin.

Maybe this is not a stigma; I think that I might be misappropriating the word. I guess what I am trying to say is that I think tit references remove some of the necessary submission of women as sexual objects. Also, if you are curvy, it is infuriating how many people are inclined to discount the validity of anything that you might be saying. Sometimes, it seems like recognizing the physical aspect deflates its importance and allows the intellectual aspect to take center stage.

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