Hey would anybody be up to sharing their ideas on atheism/religion/Jesus in a zoom meeting with 30-40 skeptics, agnostics, atheists, Christians, etc. Tonight?
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Fun!
Fun! Send me a pm.
Awesome will do. It's going to fun! Total free space, no judgment. Sending now.
What is Zoom?
I'm not very internet savvy.
Post slowly and use small words. All I know about Zoom is that it's the second favorite way to do church, after Facebook, without spreading nasty diseases.
I use Chrome on an LG 7 Rebel android.
I'm looking for things to do.
Tom
Zoom is a video conferencing app. Download the app on your phone or computer.
I believe you offer a unique perspective because of your Christian background. Would really love for you to join. It starts at 7:30 EST and it's a total free space no judgment. Let me know and ill send you the zoom ID.
Zoom meeting?... What the hell is a zoom meeting?... (Sorry, but I am very internet-illiterate sometimes.)
Zoom is a video conferencing app. Download the app on your phone or computer. It's a huge video conference room with a lot of people.
Would really love for you to join. It starts at 7:30 EST and it's a total free space no judgment. Let me know and ill send you the zoom ID.
@ Tin man
"Zoom meeting?... What the hell is a zoom meeting?... (Sorry, but I am very internet-illiterate sometimes.)"
If anyone had asked me that this time last week,I would have said it's a high powered meeting of football neanderthals and their keeper.
As luck would have it, I installed Zoom last week so I can talk to my doctor by video link. It's a free app, and you can use it for conference calls, with many people. Your screen will be divided so you can see everyone to whom you are speaking
Haven't used it yet. I use another free app called 'Discord' to speak with friends ,one at a time. OK, only one so far.
On first glance Zoom looks like one of the nastier social networking tools. E G: I had Facebook for about 2 weeks several years ago. Kept getting all these requests for friends from people I didn't know. Some got really snarky whenI refused.
Removed Facebook after I remembered that when you find a fantastic free app, you are not the customer, you are the product. It occurred to me then that Facebook is a sophisticated data mining system. Time proved me right.
I have no interest in talking with a bunch of anonymous strangers by video link. I have no agenda and couldn't care less about what they think of my beliefs . Nor do I care about their beliefs. Such caring can occur after I have spent a bit of time getting to know a person at least a bit., as I do here . It is always after coming to respect lucidity of thought and expression. A well developed sense of the ridiculous is always a plus.
(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((9)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
OT; Why aren't people who use Twitter called Twits? Certainly seems appropriate to me.
@Cranky Re: FaceBook
Amen to that, brother! I detest FB. Have never had any interest in opening an account on it. Damn near everybody else I know, though, is practically addicted to it. If I want to keep in touch with people I know badly enough, I have a phone. I can call or text them, and they can do the same to reach me.
I never heard of that Zoom thing until today. Guess maybe I am getting a touch of cabin fever, because having an actually group conversation with a few folks talking "face-to-face" actually sounds like a treat... *chuckle*... I even miss my two JW buddies coming over for a chat now and then. Although, like you said, this whole Zoom thing could end up being just some type of clusterfuck. I'm trying to wrap my head around how so many people on a video chat at one time could possibly have any type of reasonable discussion. Then again, like I said, for all practical purposes I am basically an internet Neanderthal. The power went out the other day because of a storm, causing my computer to shut down. Took me damn near twenty minutes just to figure out how to turn it back on. (My brother-in-law got it for us as a Christmas present and did all the setup on it, so I have not had to do anything to it since then...*chuckle*...)
Hey it's an awesome free space. To build friendship and to be listened to. It was an awesome an interesting meeting on Yesterday. Great conversation.
That's 3 hours from now for those of you in foreign countries/ I won't make it. I've got classes to teach.
Thanks for letting me know. Hope to catch you next time.
@James Hart
"Thanks for letting me know. Hope to catch you next time"
I won't be holding my breath.
@James
Hmmm... Actually sounds interesting. I rather enjoy a good discussion. Afraid I can't make it tonight, though. Short notice. Maybe a day or two heads-up next time? How often are these done?
Hey, it's every Thursday at 7:30 EST for the next 6 weeks. There were awesome conversations yesterday. Very interesting. I will remind on Tuesday and Wednesday. More and more skeptics are coming.
@Cognostic
Who was that stranger? He came, pushed his own agenda and left .,
@James Hart
Umm, who are you?
"Why Atheism? Would anybody but up to sharing their ideas on religion?
Hey would anybody be up to sharing their ideas on atheism/religion/Jesus in a zoom meeting with 30-40 skeptics, agnostics, atheists, Christians, etc. Tonight?"
NO
I don't know you, or your agenda..Perhaps try a candid introduction, including a brief idea of your own position.
Without that my impression is not favourable. On the face of it, I suspect a disingenuous christian apologist engaged in self promotion, which is in breach of forum rules.
Mea culpa if I'm mistaken
.
No it's not that. It was really an awesome space for skeptics to have an open space without fear of judgment. You would have a great time.
Newbie here!
I'd be interested as well.
James Hart seems to think everyone online lives in America...without any details this Zoom event might just be an un-moderated pop-up event to discuss or thrash out religion. Would it be different from Facebook? or will it be an online all-in last man typing theological Armageddon...Cog would have loved that. I wonder if the organisers have already banned the use of capital letters for 'emphasis'....it also occurs to me it might be a 'covid 19 cabin fever relief' idea...like in old movies where Micky Rooney says "Hey, I know, lets put on a show!" I'm not holding my breath that the outcome will change the world.
Anyway, the next theist with incontrovertible proof of god will be along here on AR any time now...any time....
It's a room full of all types of people on ZOOM 7:30 EST on Thursday. We listen and build relationships. It's a free space without hatred. If you are interested I can let you know the details.
Grinseed: In the mean time, we have Mouskerwitz, high on crack, creating the universe by bashing giant rocks together. That's fairly entertaining.
It would be more entertaining if we had some of his gunja.
@Grinseed.
"James Hart seems to think everyone online lives in America.."
I wonder if he can find Australia on a map? --When I was in New York a bloke complimented me on my english. I bit my tongue.
I was given a hard time in the US ONCE, by some official at the airport in New York. He seemed utterly convinced that every foreigner is just breaking his neck to live in the US. It was about that time that I came to realise vast numbers of Americans have never left the US and don't intend to. That explains a great deal.
@Cranky Re: "...I came to realise vast numbers of Americans have never left the US and don't intend to. That explains a great deal."
How true it is, sadly. I have been fortunate enough over the years to do a great deal of travelling, both in and out of the U.S. (Granted, most of the OCONUS trips were courtesy of the military, but.... *shrugging shoulders*...) As a result, I was exposed to many other cultures and lifestyles that allowed me a greater perspective of life in general. Because of that, I have to shake my head and give an inward sardonic chuckle whenever I hear folks I know trash talking other nations (or the people therein) based solely on what they hear on their favorite news channel. Even though they have rarely ever crossed their own state line, much less visited another country.... *chuckle*...
A bit of trivia here: Had I not met my wife when I did, I would very likely be in Australia right now. When she and I met back in 2011, I had less than a year to go before I retired. My plan was to sell my house and all my major valuable assets, pack a suitcase and a travel bag, and buy a one-way ticket to The Land Down Under. Ideally, I wanted to find work on a large ranch somewhere in the Outback. (I was still young enough and in good enough physical shape at that time.) I had served my time on the streets, and I had served my country with three combat deployments. In my mind, I deserved a "change of scenery." As it turns out, I ended up trading that dream for an even better dream I thought I could never have. My life with her now has more purpose and meaning than I have had during any other period of time over the years, and I am happy and at peace with that.
As much as I hate to admit it, America simply ain't as great as it once was during my childhood and teen years. I would be deluding myself and lying if I tried to say otherwise. And I am truly and deeply saddened with the direction it seems to be taking as of late. Nevertheless, it is my home, and I would still stand and help defend those who are unable to defend themselves, despite however dysfunctional the system may be.
@TinMan,
I guarantee you got the better deal with your wife and I'd be further willing to bet your idea, no offence, of the great Orztralian Outback was probably more romance than reality.
But to be fair I don't think Yanks are any more ignorant about the world than any other nationality. I once had notions of living in South America and breeding sloths (their slowness makes them easy to manage.)
I too have watched in bemusement as Australian TV journalists asked New Yorkers in their home town to identify Australia on an unmarked map of the world, snorting while they selected places like India, Malaysia, New Zealand etc but I am certain that most Ozzies wouldn't know where to find the states of Utah or Montana, the African nation of Liberia or even know why its relevant to the US, point straight to Kazakhstan or where to locate the port of Odessa.
And surprisingly for a self proclaimed "multi racial community" Australia still has lots of folks who think Islam is a country and Africa is a nation, and several of these are Ministers in our current government. And what Russian from Moscow could point out Ayers Rock?
The standing joke is that war is how Americans learn geography; I think that holds true for nearly everyone.
I share your sadness about affairs in your country. They mirror the same sad and tawdry proceedings in mine. The certain hope of living in a fair and noble country has been dissipated through cynical politics, greedy business and a general rejection of education and knowledge not directed to the profit margin. It burns me when members of that same crappy Australian Government refer to the "science industry".
Ed Murrow might not have been at all surprised, but surely disappointed, to learn the latest US President was a one-time celebrity host from a "reality" television show. Trump's ascendancy fits his warning almost perfectly.
Edward R. Murrow
His speech to the RTNDA Convention (Radio-Television News Directors Association and Foundation) in Chicago on October 15, 1958
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/education/lesson39_organizer1.html
From the movie Good Night, and Good Luck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cfwsfGqgPM
Apologies for being such a downer, but as the great man said, Good Night and Good Luck.
RE: "War is how Americans learn Geography!" As one of those frigging Americans, I would take offense to that....... if it wasn't so damn true! America is a fairly isolated country and unlike the Europeans we can not hop on a train and be in a new country in a few hours. I think that lack of ability just thwarts our interest as we mature. Until there is a war .... most Americans just don't care.
@Cog
To the credit of most Americans, the quote in question has been in constant circulation since the days of Mark Twain and Ambrose Bierce. No-one knows for sure who coined it. It pops up pretty regularly in various US newspapers during the last century and was most recently used afaik by Jon Stewart when he hosted the Daily Show.
Until there is a war...most people just don't care. When I had my book shop I came across a huge pile of maps of the Middle East at an auction. I could not shift these maps at even less than a dollar each for two years. Then Saddam invaded Kuwait. I sold my maps for a happy markup which makes me a war profiteer, *shrugs*, and due to continuing demand M.E. maps suffered the same fate as recently happened to toilet paper. The publishers ran out of supply.
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