It was a piece-by-piece deconstruction that took nearly a decade. I started with, “Maybe it’s the divinity of Jesus that’s my problem,” and it snowballed from there. I did a lot of research and visited a lot of different religious groups during that decade.

Managers and tech billionaires

Hegseth said:

“[Christ’s] mission was to divide truth from lies, the things of the world from the things of God, light from darkness, good from evil."

That tells me that either he hasn’t actually read the Bible or he needs to work on his reading comprehension.

Jesus described his mission in this way:

"For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

…he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.” (Luke 4:43)

“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:32)

“For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)

"All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:37-40)

I’m an atheist, but I was raised by evangelicals who emphasized following Christ’s example as portrayed in the Gospels. I can’t believe that the rabbi who commanded his followers to “turn the other cheek” and “bless those who curse you” could inspire the nationalist bullshit that is quoted from Hegseth in this article.

I’m concerned for the future of Christianity in a country that believes Hegseth and other Republican figureheads instead of their own Bible. And I’m worried about what that will mean for non-Christians in the American military and, eventually, in the rest of the country.

I have a disappointingly large number of LGBTQ+ friends and family members who eat there regularly.

The Satanic Temple has done some good political work in the name of religious freedom, but its leadership has kind of a dodgy past. So maybe look into that a bit before you decide to throw in with them.

I agree that joining affinity groups certainly helps to build community. Knowing that you already have something in common with everyone in the room is a great ice breaker.

They learned it by watching Amazon.

The number of adults I know who ask ChatGPT for recipes is non-zero.

Teenagers use it like it’s a search engine. They don’t understand the difference.

AI is the only “product” that I’ve ever seen where the sales pitch is, “We made it and now you should want it, but you have to figure out why you want it.”

• 40% Iron
• 40% Osmium
• 40% Chromium
• 40% Dolomite
• 40% Platinum
• 40% Titanium
• 40% Zinc
• 0.04% Nickel impurity

It was fine to have my landline listed, because I didn’t have it with me in my pocket all day.

I would not want my cell number to be published. Mostly because I already get enough spam messages.

I just assumed this was the situation as soon as Dementia Don started talking about Greenland. I’d bet dollars to donuts he didn’t know where Greenland was before Putin put the idea into his addled little brain.

Anyone who thinks I’m a bot can bite my shiny metal ass.

As it turns out, there are tens of thousands of WWII veterans who are still alive. World War II has not actually passed out of living memory.

How did we get to a place where “Hitler was bad” is no longer the default in mainstream US politics?

This is not okay. This is not normal.

Has there ever been a year when Louder than Life wasn’t muddy as fuck?

An empty bio and one-word replies sounds like someone who’s not worth talking to. I don’t think that’s your failure.

In my experience with three different UU congregations, they can be pretty varied.

My former city had one that was Protestant-lite, one that was nearly neopagan, and one that was so insular that I felt unwelcome as a visitor.

An unsolicited photo of something random might not be something everyone responds to. I wouldn’t necessarily send a response.

So if she doesn’t respond, it doesn’t definitively mean she doesn’t want to talk to you. Maybe try again with something that actually indicates that you’re looking for a response. Like … ask a question about something you know you have in common.

Did you finish the reading for class? I think the part about ABC could be interpreted to apply to XYZ. What do you think?

You said you like comedians. Have you seen the new Marcello Hernandez special on Netflix?

Make it something that could turn into an actual conversation if she answers you.

Remember that time he wore a tan suit? What about the time he asked for spicy mustard? Fox played those up for days.

Please stop reminding me how old I am.

I think you’re right.

I grew up in the '80s, and I heard more about “homosexuals” in church than anywhere else. (I also knew far more about abortion than anyone else in my kindergarten class. As an adult, I would say my understanding was not age-appropriate.)

The good news is that the final straw for me losing my faith was going to university and actually meeting openly gay people. They were nothing like I had been taught they would be. And the whole evangelical house of cards came crashing down for me.

I hope other kids in these sorts of households have similar revelations.