Goddess

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/sleep-paralysis#1

Altai, I think people have been very indulgent with you because of your stated age. We have all entertained your ideas and thoughts on things. I think it is you who is being very disrespectful to adults.

OK.

I'd like you to know, Altai, that I DO think it's wonderful that as a young person, you are so interested in the world and have such a desire to make it a better place. That is a commendable and quite daunting task. When I was raising my children, they would sometimes say things like you: "When I grow up, I'm going to start my own country! It will have this...., that..... or the other thing!" And I would smile and pat them on the head and say, "Great! Draw me a picture of what your country would look like." But as they got older, they needed more direction. Someone to show them the pitfalls of some of their plans. If you are old enough to post on a political forum, then you should be old enough to receive some criticisms of your ideas. You should be able to recognize the value of critisms. Surely you are beyond the "pat on the head and draw me a picture" phase of childhood. I say this fondly so you know my true feelings.

Well, a big ol' Thank You for allowing me to continue to live. Which parts of this are not true? You thought wrong..... I wonder if you realize that every time you tell us that "if Muslims were ruling the world we would all be dead" you are confirming what many already believe and fear.

............or maybe we just have similar interests ?? You originally said that you welcomed feedback, but I see now that you actually do not. If you only want people to say how wonderful your plan is, then perhaps you should stipulate that. In the meantime, I will continue to post on and read whatever topics interest me. See how "rights" work?

There are a lot of "I"s in your statement. A lot of assertions about your "rights". I hope your system would take into account other people's rights as well. The other thing that bothers me is that you would not be able to live in ALL areas of the world at the same time. There might be a place that you prefer to live. Why on earth would you think you have the "right" to come into some other person's area of the world as a VISITOR and demand your "rights" from the people who actually live there? The people who actually live in certain areas know the climate, know the area. You would not. Your system seems to be made for YOU only. Also, I like having a place of my own. I imagine a lot of people feel that way - it's human nature. I wouldn't want to live under your system where Altai's "rights" and "wants" override everyone else's. I wouldn't want to live under your system with Altai being the one who makes all my decisions (besides the color of shoes I want to wear, apparently I can choose that for myself.)

Fixed it for you.

Any religion can be used to justify any views. They're all BS.

I am strengthening its walls. I'm showing you where they are weak.

Few children know what they want to do for the rest of their lives. And many adults who genuinely enjoyed their jobs, get to a point in life where they want to try a new career. I did. Your system seems to be VERY freedom-limiting.

Who are you threatening here? And why?

I lived for 8 years in a predominently Muslim area. I rarely saw the women outside. In the heat of summer, the little boys would be running around outside all day playing in t-shirts and shorts and flip flops. The little girls, (5-8 years old) would be dressed in tightly wrapped headscarves, blue jeans, running shoes and long sleeve shirts. I noticed that they would only be outside playing for short bursts at a time, because it was too hot to be dressed like that. I'm of the same mindset as you - let the children be children! And I have an issue with any religion that basically "slut-shames" 5 and 6 year old girls simply for being girls. In the same area, I had a freind who told me about a Muslim man who recently joined his warehouse crew. As they introduced him around, he was fine. But when they introduced him to his female boss, he refused to shake her hand, look at her or talk to her. My friend's concern (and his female boss's concern) was that if there was an emergency in the warehouse, would this Muslim man be of any help to his female co-workers? Likely not. Huge safety issue. I don't know how you can educate these men to accept women/girls as actual human beings, but I agree with your statement above.

I suppose there could be gods that don't require that people love them.....maybe I should check those ones out. Suggestions?

All of them. I'm kind of like Homer Simpson: "But Marge, what if we pick the wrong religion? Then every time we go to church we're just making him madder and madder."

I was always taught that God is "Our Heavenly Father", a parent. It made me think about what I want for my children. When they were small, I told them what to eat, what to wear, when to do things, I managed every aspect of their lives. As they grew, I managed less and less of what they did. It made me proud that my children grew up to be strong, empathetic, independent people who did what was right and did good to other people because they were taught well, not because of a fear of punishment (literal or an imaginary hellfire or whatever). When they were small, they asked for my direction on even tiny matters, but if they were still doing that now, I would be very disappointed. It would mean they were not developing psychologically. I don't want them to consider ME first in everything they do in their lives. I'm happy when they do (becasue they are good kids who consider my feelings), but I would be disappointed if they felt that every decision in their lives had to be what " I " wanted. I imagine it's the same with God (if there was one). Religion is like the baby food of life. Pablum. If there is a God, I believe he expects us to eventually "grow up". I think he/she would be very disappointed in a person who still needs to be told what to eat, what to wear, what to do every second of the day. Seeing no progress in your children would be disappointing to me as a parent. Religion/Faith can be a good thing - provide a social structure for elderly people, comfort when someone dies, etc. But do we really need to have our life micromanaged by a deity? Is he really such a control freak? Is he such a small person that he needs every human praying/worshipping/adoring him every second of their lives? Just my 2 cents.

This is false. Check any website for breastfeeding and there are instructions/tips for breastfeeding without having given birth.

This is the problem: What constitutes "self-defense"? They are offered to convert or pay the tax. If they refuse those options, then killing them is viewed as "self-defense" by Muslims.

Dialamah, you make some good points, but I agree, they are still a bit naive and wishful thinking. Even the Muslim girl on here who claims to only interpret the Koran in loving ways agrees with everything it says about hating and killing Jews. I'm surprised you don't see the massive disconnect between her 2 statements.

I don't understand why people always use the Old Testament to justify what the Koran says. Jesus took all of that away, there is a New Testament, no more stonings, no more warring with their neighbors, obey the Golden Rule, "those who live by the sword will die by the sword".....etc. There is no New Testament equivalent in the Koran. This is the problem. Christians can easily show this difference/change in thinking. Muslims cannot.

If you are allowed, I recommend the book "The Magic of Reality" by Richard Dawkins. It's made for children, but is a good read for adults too. It answers and explains scientific things in simple layman's language.

You may want to check out the "mathematical" possibilities, if you are allowed to. It makes me sad to hear you say so emphatically that this is "impossible". So young for such a closed mind and no desire to find out the answers, content with getting your science and biology information from a religious book written over a thousand years ago. You remind me of a 40 year old man who recently told me that the proof that we were created by God is the "fact" that men have one less rib than women. I'm not even kidding.

Many things, (in the past and before modern advances in science) that people didn't understand the "why" about were attributed to supernatural causes. As science discovers new things, those supernatural explanations have all been replaced with concrete scientific explanations. Do you think that perhaps the things we still don't understand about the universe and life, might one day also be explained scientifically? I will give you an example of what I mean: My grandmother was very religious and sometimes experienced what she concluded were "demon attacks" at night. Her religion had taught her that she possibly had bought a used item that had a demon attached to it. So she would immediately get rid of anything she had recently bought. When I became an adult, I also experienced these same "demon attacks". Fortunately, I had a friend who suffered from SLEEP PARALYSIS (You can look that up if you wish, it is quite scary) so the first time it happened to me, I understood right away that there was nothing supernatural happening to me. As man evolves and gains more understanding, we will eventually drop all these childish explanations. But it seems to me that Islam is generations behind the rest of the world in this regard.

This is changing rapidly. I have a friend who is a gnostic bishop and she works closely with the Catholic Church and is accepted by them very nicely.

Thank you. I was just checking to see if I had missed something major in History class.....