Thinking Out Loud

I was watching some calisthenics videos on youtube when a video ad for  silicone rings  appeared. The ad was for  Groove Rings and was super clever. It showed burly men lifting heavy weights, waterskiing, operating machinery, etc. And guess what? All these "real men" were wearing groove silicone rings. Fast forward to the next scene which featured a bunch of old men sitting around smoking cigars in suits. Of course, they looked quite outdated and wussy. They were captioned as "dad" and "granddad." Quite naturally, they were all wearing "precious metal" rings.  The gist of the ad was this: replace your dangerous, daddy rings of 'ole with the functional, comfortable rings that allow real men to get things done. Basically, Out with the old; in with the new! It made me think about the book I started reading today:  The End of Faith   by Sam Harris.  I first discovered Sam when I was watching The God Delusion  ( a fantastic docum...

I think one of the most important discoveries for me this year has been the discovery of Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris. They are both insanely intelligent atheists committed to educating the masses about the dangers of organized religion. According to Harris and Dawkins, societies should rely on science, not dogma, for their governing principles. Additionally, it has been so refreshing for me to hear intelligent people give voice to some of the very same perplexing questions I have had over the years concerning the Bible, God, and organized religions. What's ironic though is that there was a time--not all that long ago--where, because of what I was taught, I thought I would be hell-bound for listening to these heathens. Entertaining, let alone agreeing, with individuals offering arguments of their nature is programmed into believers as blaspheme. But now that I have expanded my beliefs, I find it fascinating to study and learn from the argument of others. I want to discover ev...