Well, I'm sure I am gaining the reputation of a barbaric brute because of my stance on the torture issue. But in honesty, I would use any means to protect my family...right, wrong, moral or immoral because I love my family and it is my duty to protect them.
But here's my question:
How would you combat these terrorists who have no morals, abide by no rules of war, and are willing to do what ever it takes to win?
If what we're doing is they wrong way, what is the right way? 

 

 Others here share their "beliefs " in god and others thoughts with you. Now I would like to share mine. This is the best way I know!Please note that as a "humanist" I have found more "peace" than I ever knew as a Christian.
The following paragraphs are form (www.secularhumanism.org) if you would like to know more.

What is Secular Humanism?

Secular Humanism is a term which has come into use in the last thirty years to describe a world view with the following elements and principles:

• A conviction that dogmas, ideologies and traditions, whether religious, political or social, must be weighed and tested by each individual and not simply accepted on faith.
• Commitment to the use of critical reason, factual evidence, and scientific methods of inquiry, rather than faith and mysticism, in seeking solutions to human problems and answers to important human questions.
• A primary concern with fulfillment, growth, and creativity for both the individual and humankind in general.
• A constant search for objective truth, with the understanding that new knowledge and experience constantly alter our imperfect perception of it.
• A concern for this life and a commitment to making it meaningful through better understanding of ourselves, our history, our intellectual and artistic achievements, and the outlooks of those who differ from us.
• A search for viable individual, social and political principles of ethical conduct, judging them on their ability to enhance human well-being and individual responsibility.
• A conviction that with reason, an open marketplace of ideas, good will, and tolerance, progress can be made in building a better world for ourselves and our children.

How Do Secular Humanists View Religious and Supernatural Claims?

Secular humanists accept a world view or philosophy called naturalism, in which the physical laws of the universe are not superseded by non-material or supernatural entities such as demons, gods, or other "spiritual" beings outside the realm of the natural universe. Supernatural events such as miracles (in which physical laws are defied) and psi phenomena, such as ESP, telekinesis, etc., are not dismissed out of hand, but are viewed with a high degree of skepticism.

---

Are Secular Humanists Atheists?

Secular humanists are generally nontheists. They typically describe themselves as nonreligious. They hail from widely divergent philosophical and religious backgrounds.

Thus, secular humanists do not rely upon gods or other supernatural forces to solve their problems or provide guidance for their conduct. They rely instead upon the application of reason, the lessons of history, and personal experience to form an ethical/moral foundation and to create meaning in life. Secular humanists look to the methodology of science as the most reliable source of information about what is factual or true about the universe we all share, acknowledging that new discoveries will always alter and expand our understanding of it and perhaps change our approach to ethical issues as well. In any case their cosmic outlook draws primarily from human experiences and scientific knowledge.

What Is The Origin of Secular Humanism?

Secular humanism as an organized philosophical system is relatively new, but its foundations can be found in the ideas of classical Greek philosophers such as the Stoics and Epicureans as well as in Chinese Confucianism. These philosophical views looked to human beings rather than gods to solve human problems.

During the Dark Ages of Western Europe, humanist philosophies were suppressed by the political power of the church. Those who dared to express views in opposition to the prevailing religious dogmas were banished, tortured or executed. Not until the Renaissance of the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries, with the flourishing of art, music, literature, philosophy and exploration, would consideration of the humanist alternative to a god-centered existence be permitted. During the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century, with the development of science, philosophers finally began to openly criticize the authority of the church and engage in what became known as "free thought."

I just became very sad because I found out that you're allowed to say the F word on TV now. I'm losing this battle that I'm fighting by myself against curse words.   by myself.

I don't know why I am so opposed to curse words, but I feel like I need to have somebody that feels the same way as me. I guess Zach or David might? I don't know them to curse.

I'll maintain that I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with curse words, and the reason I decided not to use them is singularly this: people associate curse words as being hypocritical for Christians to use, and I don't want anybody to associate something hypocritical with me concerning Christianity. I feel like cursing lowers your ability to share Christianity with people, and I feel like that's probably the most important thing in the world.

Since I don't think that cursing is inherently bad though, why does it bother me so much? I haven't cursed in almost 7 years now, and I don't ever hear curse words when I'm at home, so every time I hear a curse word I notice it and think about it.

Another thing that really bothers me is when people know that I hate curse words and so then they don't use them around me. Don't take that the wrong way. I am very appreciative of this and I probably like them much better for this. I by no means wish them to continue cursing in front of me because of this feeling. But I just don't want to know somebody as something that they aren't. If somebody curses all the time except when they are around me, but then I notice them cursing away from me, it kind of destroys part of my concept of them. This presents a paradox for me though, because I don't want to selfishly wish for the people who are close to me to never curse, but I am naturally/uncontrollably/highly bothered by cursing.

Maybe I should make an analogy to better understand this situation? Suppose a person morally opposes stickers, but then lives in a culture where it is acceptable, and generally commonplace, to have stickers. His friends accept his opposition and so they do not discuss or exhibit their own stickers while they are around him. Although he knows that they have stickers, he doesn't think about this when his friends are with him since they don't bring it up. This causes him to often forget that they have stickers at all. So whenever he remembers their stickers, he becomes saddened.

Why is this? He knows there is nothing wrong with the stickers. Is it because he realizes how alone he is in his opposition? (yes) Is it because he feels like he's right and he doesn't understand why other people can't see things the way he does? (i don't think so) Is it because he wants to but still hasn't found somebody that agrees with him, or at least accepts him and abandons stickers with him? (probably) Is it because stickers were always considered bad during his childhood? (probably) Is it because he notices that people who use stickers also do other things he considers bad? (maybe)

I think it's primarily just the lonely part, and that is a very big self-revelation for me.

Sometimes when I hear that people resort to violence due to another group of people disagreeing with them, I just shake my head sadly. Debate is actually something I'm passionate about, because I love seeing the thoughts and inputs of other classmates who come from different backgrounds, states of mind, and experience. I have never been bothered by debate unless it degrades to mudslinging, or if the opposite side refuses to submit substantial reasons, which is usually not the case.

I love constantly questioning my morals and perceptions. Socrates has always been one of my favorite philosophers due to his belief in critical thought. I believe that a person who can truly debate is one who is open to allowing their beliefs to completely change from one minute to the next if given substantial evidence that they trust and resonate with. I have always allowed my beliefs to be swayed if I felt the person arguing had a valid point.

During my high school career, there were times when I was chastised for being so open-minded. There are those that tend to believe that just because I can change my mind easily I am simply living in the moment, and that I have no hard roots in my morals. The truth is I think that's rubbish. We are all constantly-changing organisms, down to our very body chemistry. To assault someone verbally or physically because they do not share your opinion seems odd to me.

Our base morals are given to us at a very early age, such as "Do not steal", "killing is wrong", and "drugs are bad". People in different situations have variations of these morals, but the basis usually remains intact. Now, these are the morals that most people, from the beginning of civilization, were instilled with. As modern day came about, we went from opinions on slavery, women's rights, medical insurance, etc etc etc.

Such beliefs are for the most part based on the time a person happened to be brought up in. Tolerance is something that has always been idealized, but ultimately difficult to attain. I cannot and will never be angry with someone for not believing that something like, say, gay marriage should not be allowed. My opinion may be that it should be, but those are my reasons fed by morals that I was raised on in California, where everyone is a little bit of everything, AND during the millennium. It is always a person's choice, and I will never be able to see what life is like through their eyes.

Philosophy revolves around the fact that there is an infinite amount of truths, and I wish that instead of everyone believing we have the only one, we would strive to understand the reason for those trillions of other truths. We all have methods to our madness, and we should take less time patronizing the side we don't understand and take more time to try to see WHY they believe what they do.

I went to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show today in the UC at midnight. That was possibly the most immoral thing I have ever been to. People yell out obscenities the whole time, and the whole thing is ridiculously sexual. I haven t ever really been anywhere that I felt awkward because of immoral things going on around me, but I felt really uncomfortable there.

It wasn t just the movie. It was mostly all of the crowd participation. People were yelling out obscenities the whole time, and the whole thing was ridiculously sexual. I think I could handle a movie no matter how bad it is, but being in a crowded room full of people all doing things I morally disagree with is completely different.

I m glad I didn t enjoy it. That helps me be more confident in my strength of morals. The Holy Spirit is supposed to make you feel bad when you sin, but it is also supposed to make you hate sin. I don t think I was sinning because I didn t take part in any of the obscenity yelling or downplaying of sexual immorality, but there was definitely a lot of sin going on. I was hating all of it completely. That strengthens my confidence in my salvation, and the reality of the Holy Spirit.

I hope I wake up in time to go to church tomorrow. I ve been missing sometimes lately. I pray, but I need to pray more. I need to read my bible more, but I don t know how to approach that really. I think praying is more useful, but I realize it s important to do both.

I wish more of my friends were more into God.