FrogCat

I think they're probably not talking to ghosts/aliens/etc, but I can't rule it out 100%. Just like I don't believe in God, although I can't be 100% certain that God doesn't exist. So I'm an agnostic atheist I guess - I don't believe in God but I'm not 100% certain of his non-existence. Maybe God will reveal himself in the future, although I doubt it.

what made you give up your religion?

I've never been religious. My parents aren't religious, so religion was something our family was never into.

Apparently he has citizenship of the USA and Canada as well as South Africa:

According to Isaacson’s biography and an Esquire magazine profile of Musk, he became a US citizen in 2002

I'm trying out Piefed. Lemmy looks like relatively good software, but I don't like the political views of the developers behind Lemmy. Their whole shtick seems to be "non-western countries good, western countries bad".

Of course, western countries have done many bad things. But I think plenty of non-western countries have also done bad things. I just don't buy into a narrative which always tries to paint western countries as "the bad guys" and non-western countries as "the good guys".

They could be talking to those entities. I haven't come across any convincing evidence to support the existence of angels, but maybe angels could exist. I think there's a lot about the universe we don't know.

I suppose if I were talking to a polite and friendly person who claimed to be in contact with angels, maybe I'd try to find things I might have in common with them, rather than focus on whether they're correct or not about angels existing.

I don't really know who is right and who is wrong though. I don't believe in God, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there is a God and the religious people are correct. I just think that there are some religious people I've met, and surely others who I haven't met, who are relatively good people, and I'd like to get on well with them, even if I don't fully agree with their views. I can see why you find certain views frustrating though.

Maybe we just have different ways of looking at it.

In terms of how Muslims view LGBT people: I mentioned that the mayor of London is a Muslim, and he has been to LGBT pride parades, so I think he's more supportive of LGBT people than a lot of non-Muslims are. So I guess it depends on the particular person. Some religious people might be anti-LGBT but other religious people are more welcoming of LGBT people.

But yes maybe we just have different ways of looking at it, which is fine I think.

I definitely prefer rational, evidence-based thinking to thinking which isn't supported by evidence.

If I were to say "all religions are bad" though then I think I'd alienate some religious people who are decent. I might not agree with their religious views but if I think they're decent then I don't want to alienate them.

For example, apparently Zohran Mamdani and Sadiq Khan (the mayors of NYC and London respectively) are both Muslims. I don't agree with those views; I'm not a Muslim myself. But I still think both of those people are relatively decent, more so than some other politicians. I guess I'm more interested in whether a person is decent, than whether a person is religious.

Maybe I'd prefer a world where nobody is religious. Maybe I'd also prefer a world where everyone shares my taste in music, and my political views, and so on. But people do have differences.

I definitely understand the frustration with some religious people, particularly if they use religion to try to justify hateful views. Then again, there are non-religious people who hold hateful views. I think I'd rather spend time with a non-hateful religious person than a non-religious hateful person. To each their own though.

I'm saying there have been cultures in history where atheists faced discrimination. I think atheists in western countries used to face discrimination and ostracisation. And in some Muslim countries even today, if a Muslim leaves their religion, they can face harsh penalties.

some kind of lame-ass desperation to appease those with opposing views, in the hope they won’t ask you awkward questions that challenge your cozy conceits

I'm not desperate to appease people with opposing views. I just know that I have met some religious people in my life who I got on well with. I didn't agree with their views, but I could still get on with them. If I come across someone and I think they're a decent person who I can get on well with, then I won't mind what their religious views are, as long as they are respectful of my lack of religious belief.

A man with an extraordinary amount of privilege, inherited by him simply by accident of birth, who is completely out of touch with the struggles of ordinary Brits?

Yeah it would be pretty fitting for him to represent Britain, given that people like him control modern Britain.

Non-exhaustive list of terrible things inflicted upon us by the Americans:

• Donald Trump
• Grey squirrels
• Scientology

I've not been convinced of religious thinking which is why I'm non-religious, but I think it's fair for me to respect people believing in religion, so that they will also respect me not believing in religion. In some cultures in history, people have been persecuted for being atheists. I'm more in favour of people being able to believe what they want without facing discrimination due to their beliefs.