Some may find the claim at left compelling.

But consider Japan, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland that are almost completely atheist.  The other nations in Western Europe have also steadily moved away from religion.

Have they “lost their countries,” or is this a present-day scare tactic directed by fear-mongers, just as it has been since the Dark Ages?

Losing My Religion

Not at all.

English has an uncountable thousands of words it doesn’t need.  If you don’t believe me, check out “A Word a Day,” and learn the meanings of words that are completely useless.  The last two days brought us:

• April 14: Flocculent (adjective: having a fluffy, woolly texture).
• April 13: Impetrate (verb: to obtain by request or entreaty).

Maybe this impressed people a century ago, but if I wrote that a sheep was flocculent, I think you’d be rolling your eyes.

While some English speakers 400 years ago were discovering gravity, developing calculus, using newly minted telescopes to explore our solar system, and refining our understanding of logic as originally put forth by Aristotle, others were inventing words for groups of animals.

Sure, it’s useful to have words like “pack” (for dogs), “herd” (for cows and horses), “flock” (for birds), and perhaps a few others.  But what about a group of owls (a parliament), flamingos (a flamboyance), or ferrets (a business)?  And that’s just the beginning.

By contrast, Spanish has too few words, IMO.  For those interested, here are the 15+ possible meanings in English of the verb “llevar.” As someone who made an honest attempt to learn the language, I’d go into panic mode when someone would say something with any conjugation of that verb.  S***! Is he talking about wearing something, Giving someone a ride? Bringing something? Getting along well with someone?  Stealing something?

Is It Odd that Many Words in English are Supernumerary? Or Is that Superfluous? Extraneous? Unnecessary?

If you believe that a loving God has a plan for you, and is steadily guiding you towards happiness, then you disagree with the assertion here.

The rest of us are forced to admit that the universe is cooly indifferent to us and the outcome of our lives here on Earth.

This doesn’t mean, btw, that our lives are meaningless, but it does compel us to create our own meaning as we make our choices as we go along.

Another point to be made here is that there is no “galactic cavalry” that is going to come charging in, guns ablazing, to save us from the criminal insanity of the Trump administration.

The Universe Doesn’t Care About Us