Collecting samples is VERY different from mining for resources. The tech may be related but it’s like digging a hole with a garden spade vs a mechanical backhoe. A lot of money/development needs to go into that and our governments choose to use that money elsewhere instead. That’s not to say it won’t ever happen. We’re closer than ever. But I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon.

Yea but we need resources in order to create the tech that gets us to moons and asteroids and the tech to mine those moons and asteroids. And our resources here are limited.

I mean yes. But also no. Resources for everything are limited. And greed is a thing. So when individuals/corporations/governments hoard our limited resources it’s hard to progress things like major space exploration past a certain point.

It’s all about how you interpret your religious texts. One person may interpret a text literally while one interprets it figuratively. If a verse says to not eat pork, some will take that literally and not eat pork. Others will use different verses to justify their eating of pork. Not every Muslim is intolerant. There are many who are though.

Any religion that can skew it’s teachings in a way to control and harm others has issues. Islam is unfortunately one of the largest in the world that has this issue. I’m not saying every Muslim agrees with this or uses their religion in that way. But the fact that the teachings can even be skewed in that direction is problematic. Christianity is right up there with it, worse even in my part of the world.

I agree with this. I can see issues with every religion. But as an outsider, I do not feel like it’s my place to speak on someone else’s religious beliefs. Of course that all goes out the window when those religious beliefs cause harm to others. But for those who want to peacefully worship whatever god figure they want to worship, I have no personal issue. It’s very different with christianity though. Because I was a part of it for so long, it’s hard to look at any of it with a “you do you” kind of viewpoint. Especially with the continued rise of Christian nationalism in the USA.

I grew up in the evangelical/baptist/non-denominational Christian world.

In an unexpected turn of events, this is what led to me becoming an atheist.