Pascal's Wager

If reason is untrustworthy and discerning God's actual existence appears to be "a coin toss"...

Mmmmm...Bah.

The wager's scope is limited to the God (monotheism) vs. no God dilemma (atheism) and its logic is false.  Try to prove either that God does or doesn't exist and you're just locking horns with the opposing side in circular arguments.  The scope is skewed.  The given scope is a false dilemma.  No, really, that's what they call it -- a false dilemma.

Religious Choices: Either Believe in God or Atheism.

Whenever you are presented with two possibilities, it is crucial to establish whether those possibilities are contradictions, contraries, or choices.   Presenting two options as if they were contradictions or contraries, when in fact they are not, is the common fallacy of false dilemma--so called because the "dilemma," or hard choice between two options, is "false," because other options than the two offered are possible. This fallacy is also known as the "either-or fallacy" because it makes you think that your options are limited to either one or the other.

Scope

While not summarily dismissing or favoring monotheism, there simply are other pertinent choices available.  There are also polytheisms, nontheisms (religious or other), orthopraxy (as compared to orthodoxy) and even very different definitions of "deity," "divine," and "worship" with which to further broaden the scope.  Beyond that, we're not the only species and planet out there so there's even more diversity.  You've got to remember that what we call religion, deity, divine and all that is greatly colored by our neurological wiring and social tendencies as primates and mammals so I'm sure humans haven't covered the whole territory.

Reason vs. Truth

It's another false dilemma to pit orthodoxy (correct beliefs as truth) against reason (frequently interpreted as pitting monotheism against science, more on that in a moment).

Additionally, reason is subject to different world perspectives, different wiring (a spatial-visual person may provide "off the wall" insights and challenges to common verbal arguments) and even very different meanings given to common words (like "deity," "divine," or "worship").  Reason is subject to a lot of things, including interpretations of facts being mistaken for fact/truth.  All that makes communicating reason across different reality tunnels very difficult but doesn't make reason wholly unreliable.

It's better to teach people how to think & process emotionally in a multidisciplined way than to argue or wager over belief/truth.  It's better for people to live their system(s) of arts and disciplines and/or religion(s) that they call theirs and do it well, with courtesy and respect for others who offer like.

Truth vs. faith?

First of all, faith is not a synonym for religion.  It'd only appear to be if the limit of one's scope is defined by orthodoxy (and you'll notice that many atheists still let monotheistic orthodoxy define their scope).

As for the search for truth, what is it?  What is truth and what types of truth are there?  And what is the search for truth, really?  For one thing, not all religions hold truth as their axis of power and reference.  For another, the search for "truth" seems to be not a thing of logic or reason as much as it is a volatile search for certainty and security.  The search and claims of "the" truth are the number one things people kill, war, maim, and MF each other over (see "Ramp of Moral Improvement," here).  Humans are primates that may all too easily follow alpha types/ideas to the point that a search for security/stability becomes a search for power and control, something that often gets abusive (see power wheels and discussion of, here).  The problem is that most don't understand power enough to differentiate and consciously better build different power metaparadigms, their flags, their basic patterns.  Notice in the last link that the meta power paradigm for abuse is called Power and Control.  Deep topic.  Don't confuse it with an anti-authoritarian or anarchist position!

Anyway, reason and religion are not the only arts and disciplines possible with which to approach most anything.  Let's say you want to pit science against religion -- not only is that myopic but it generally results in scientism vs. religionism and very intellectually dull debates.  Too bad those are the debates that linger and gain the most attention. (Not all religions are at odds with science.)

Sorry about the edits.  I often only access the screen for seconds...I'm watching the grandchildren.

My "New" Job

Daycare providers keep on quitting on Caleb after assuring my daughter that, oh yes, they know what autism is and they can take care of an autistic kid.  Why do they lie and leave her in the lurch?  She doesn't get even a week's notice.  Often just a day or few.  How can they do that to her job...her life?  My life?  It affects three households actually.  My 2nd son and I end up scrambling, putting things in our lives on hold and rearranging schedules too. 

So, I'm going to officially babysit him and Laylah, having read much material and having worked with him for years.  I won't back out unless I'm having surgery or am very ill.

I do have to put in a certain number of CNA hours every year.  I'm not sure how we're going to do that.  It makes my scheduling tougher too.  And it totally shoots my chance at getting a job with health insurance.

I tend to be loyal to quality

Yup.  Whether it's people or products, I'm loyal to quality when I find it.

I'll stick to Newport News for pants.  They have pants for curves and I don't have too choose between style and something that fits me!

They also have some longer tops, which is great because I generally have to add a few inches to patterns for anything I wear on top anyway.

My clothes shopping days, other than for socks, cheap shoes, cheap cheap jackets and undergarments...are over at local stores.  No more wasting time.  I'm finally convinced that the shipping costs are worth the time and money.

I've gotten that way with many art supplies too.  Developing a few favorites and sticking with them is fun.  I never thought I'd say that.  I'll get my excitement and variety otherwise or elsewhere.

I had to buy used clothes since I was on my own and it was only in my 40s that things were finally not so tight and I experimented, buying new but cheap items...because I'm a tightwad by nature.  I'm done experimenting and hunting.  I've developed some favorites and a feel for quality along the scope of offerings.  That actually fits my tighwad nature far better it turns out.

Knowing this makes it easier to clean house.

Life in Quotation Marks and the Consumerist Mentality

Whitney and I both opened a fridge door and sighed that what-can-I-graze-on-sigh. I spotted his face down already opened package of individually wrapped cheese slices and asked, "What's that?" "Swiss Cheese," he answered. I asked him, "But where are the holes?" to which he replied that it was processed cheese. I said, yeah "cheese." He said yeah but it wouldn't sell if they called "cheese" (quotation marks in the air..snickering and giggling followed).  We talked about putting some videos about "food" on the Net (can't go too far with the "___" concept since "the economy is 'basically sound'" was already taken).

I ended up having just a cup of coffee.  I want some real food...and preferably locally produced at that!  No processed "_____" products, no "fruit" drink, no "creamer" (I do skim milk actually) full of corn syrup solids and whatnot...

I've been all over Europe and have lived in America and I'd say that many or most Americans have a marked consumerist mentality and nowhere is it more visible than around our waistlines.  I was thinking about that while traveling Wisconsin this weekend.  Experiences like the _____ restaurant we went to for brunch kind of cling to my consciousness because most patrons were not just mildly overweight but most were in the upper 200 pound to 300-something range.  I suffer hypothyroidism (on a fixed dose of artificial thyroid hormones instead of the natural need-response cycles) and I felt positively svelte (I could still stand to loose some even after the 40 lbs. I dropped).

Unfortunately, that kind of human scenery was repeated at the hotel breakfast and anywhere food was served/sold.

Instead of celebrating quality American/locally grown (as much as possible) foods (doesn't mean I don't have the occasional protein shakes though) and frequent periods of hunger...and just really good conversation...we still celebrate bulk and never feeling hunger of any kind for too long.  Our kitchens and pantries are full of "food," meaning processed "cheese," "fruit drinks," and "bread" and our houses are generally full of crap we settle for because the stuff we really want is too expensive.

It's a distinct cultural difference.

I thought about this as we ate at the MREA (Midwest Renewable Energy Association).  All the plates will heaped full.  Those were the standard servings whether we got a plate from the Indian Foods Booth, the Korean Foods booth, or whatever.  I know they don't eat like that in their native cultures, the asians don't.  I also have Danish and French eating attitudes and customs to compare this too.  They just don't have huge portions like that (or at least they didn't when I was there in the 70's and 80's).  People took pride in eating just enough and no more.  It was part of being a person of good character even.  Yes.

I don't think Americans are happier for filling our homes or tummies up with stuff we settle for but that then rules us, coloring our lifestyle choices between our walls, between our ears and from one end of us to the other.

Yes, I'll try to remember that next time I find that leftover bag of gluten free chips in the back seat on the way home from shopping after having forgotten to eat breakfast.  I just have to plan better than that and mindfulness is another deep topic.  I'm generally good at it except when it comes to food...I get so into whatever it is I'm doing...to a fault.  That makes me a great worker and a sometimes aspiring artist...but adds enough regretful shouldn't-have-eaten-that calories to my healthier-than-most-diet and well, I don't have wiggle room like that with my metabolism.

Back from MREA (Midwest Renewable Energy Association)

Unbelievable.  That was the type of community feel (the caliber of people and foci, not the number of people) that I'd like to live, not just visit.  It was full of intelligent informed passionate often intense but somehow still laid back dialogue, a rennaisance of technology, some of it bound to catch on and catch on in a big way, old hippies (I'm serious...perhaps well more than half the people there were 50-something or over), and bumper stickers like "It's a Planet Not an Empire" and that ever common Coexist one.

Unlike most places, there was virtually no litter.  The toilets (alright...porta potties) were all clean (after all that water, I visited about 20 of them).  The dinnerware was composted or otherwise recycled, picked up in leg powered two person vehicles.  Many or most at the fair were carrying around their own metal lined water bottles or canteens instead of buying drinks in traditional plastic bottles or cans.  I had my trusy camping knive-sporks with me.  Some people went a step further and brought their own dinner plates.

The concept of "respect the Earth, respect your neighbor" went incredibly deep to a practical level, political, spiritual and often religious level and there was something for all religions that fit into this scenario from Christianity's "Love thy neighbor" to agnostic and Pagan concepts of Gaia, Mother Nature as Goddess(es), and so on.

It was invigorating.  Le big huge sigh!

(I have never seen so many men with white or graying ponytails congregated in one place in my life!)