I don't know if there is a god or not. I don't believe in god. Those statements don't contradict eAchother, they are not mutually exclusive.
...Bill Gates is of the devil (no joke)! [video=youtube;bR-Q1b1hc3w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR-Q1b1hc3w[/video]
WHen someone claims that he doesn't know if there is a God or not; that makes him an agnostic. You can believe Atheism is defined some other way; but I will 100% disagree with that. On this board; I see only Maris as a true atheist and the rest being more agnostic than atheist.
He isn't saying bringing down the population by 10-15%. He is saying that the children's illness will drop by 10-15%.
If a person's answer to the question "Do you believe in God?" is "no", they are an atheist. That, by itself, has nothing to do with agnosticism. If I had made my response "No, but I'm not sure", the first part shows I'm an atheist, the second shows I'm agnostic.
We have been over this many times. Only Denny seems to agree with you and also not believe in god. Every other person that posts here hand says they are an atheist explains they don't believe, but that does not mean they know god does not exist. You keep this bullshit definition up and it's quite rude. You do not only consider Jews to be Jews based on your definition of a Jew, you ask them and accept their definition. I, for example, am Jewish. I am also Atheist. Just like agnostic and atheist are not mutually exclusive, so are being Jewish and atheist. My mother is Jewish, so no matter what I believe, I will always be Jewish.
That's a pretty big leap...with the foundation, they get to identify the areas they would like the money to be spent (global health, education, etc.) and hire the people they want to carry out their vision. Obviously, you'd have to ask them to know the truth, but I'd be pretty surprised if estate tax avoidance is the primary reason Gates and Buffett put their money into the foundation.
If they thought government would do good with their money, they'd let the government have it, any way the government could take it. They obviously feel they can do a better job of helping people than the government does.
That's pretty hypocritical. Being Jewish "believing in the God of Abraham" but atheist "lack of belief in God" doesn't make any sense at all. Then again; I guess if you think being a Jew is just some ethic labeling; then so be it. That wouldn't be the difference between an atheist or agnostic. Unless you want to label a communist as one being born into atheism.
It's weird that he would say reduce children fatality by 50% and help reduce population by 15%. Doesn't seem like they would work together
Ask a rabbi, I have. You do not need to believe to be Jewish. You don't even need to believe to be considered a "good Jew", you simply need to follow mitzvots, meaning the 613 rules or laws. Judaism is built on action and not belief. In fact, the Talmud, often considered the second Torah, is a book designed to get readers to ask questions and try and solve tough issues through logic. Judaism is not a religion of faith, even though a good portion have faith. The "believing" in god of Abraham is not the same for us as for you. A Jew should know, should think about, should consider the implications, but belief is neither here nor there.
The bigger part of their estate would go to their heirs (isn't 40% the max death tax?), so maybe they think they'll do better with the money than their kids.
Actually, merriam-webster and many other dictionary sources also agree. That's unfortunate that you think that is "rude". They probably think it is "rude" that you decided to try to redefine an already defined word.
LOL at the original poster for needing to know if Bill Gates if R or D before he can decide if he should respect the man.
If Bill Gates wrote in his Will that he wanted his money to go to the government, it would go to the government. If he's in a hurry to see his money spent on "good stuff!" then he could just write the government a check today.
I totally get that you're against big government, but I think you're pushing the envelope on this one. Edit: keep in mind that Bill Gates pushed for the state of Washington to implement income tax and has also pushed for the rich to get taxed at a higher rate.
Bill Gates' biggest salary was $1M/year and that was late in his career at Microsoft. I'm sure he really didn't mind having that $1M taxed at a higher rate. I'm not the one spending my $billions in a competing way to the government. He is. He will make sure his $60B (or whatever he's amassed) won't be spent by the government. It is what it is.
