Atheism

[morgentaler]

I clearly stated that God, NOT religion, is not a debate.

Right. God is not a debate. Debate is reasoned argument.

God is a myth. A myth is a story created to explain naturalistic phenomenon.

You finally got something right! And didn't even have to refer to your collection of insightful and humorous email.

 

[OregonMeds]

She must have seen and talked to god personally...

 

[morgentaler]

... and vegetables in the supermarket.
... trees.
... and long, meaningful conversations with the television set.

 

[CrackerJax]

look at all the lonely people
watching their lives pass them by

 

[morgentaler]

If we wanted a spokesperson we could do worse than Brother Sam

[youtube]1NE0KVEj96s[/youtube]


An Atheist Weeps for Jesus:
If you only have time for one, make it this one:
[youtube]6ZDIbw9qyCo[/youtube]


It's Halloween - Do you know where your demons are?
[youtube]-eZlw3gmnUY[/youtube]

 

[CrackerJax]

at last..... looks like the "mythers" have retreated back into the shadow world of make believe. whew!!

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping..... I feel smarter already this morning!!

 

[Woodstock.Hippie]

Does anyone else?

It helps me to visualize my concept of a Higher Power.

 

[CrackerJax]

Uhhhh, no.

 

[shnkrmn]

Uhhhh, no.

Well, so much for feeling smarter

 

[CrackerJax]

New age thinking doesn't make you smarter.... it makes you "feel" smarter..... an illusion once you meet a normal fellow.

 

[Woodstock.Hippie]

That you may have just offended a very large segment of the world's population.

How many Dollars are you willing to bet that "New Age Thinkers" are merely an illusion?

Are you calling them ghosts?

Are you able to record for all to see a list of the drugs you imbibe besides a good herb, my friend?

 

[shnkrmn]

Can you not read? CJ said that new age thinkers 'feel' smarter. It's the sensation that's illusory not the new age thinker experiencing it.

That you may have just offended a very large segment of the world's population.

How many Dollars are you willing to bet that "New Age Thinkers" are merely an illusion?

Are you calling them ghosts?

Are you able to record for all to see a list of the drugs you imbibe besides a good herb, my friend?

 

[CrackerJax]

Reading comprehension is another matter all together...

No issue is too simple that it cannot be misunderstood by others.

 

[georgi345]

'haven't read through the entire thread [yet] (60 pages? yikes!), but the original post is spot-on in my opinion and i strongly support the notion of living free from the pithy prejudices of the supernatural!

life is hard and there's much that we don't (can't?) know, but to apply a salve of bogus fables (with a very limited anthropolgic literary value being about the only thing they have going for 'em) in an ultimately vain attempt to provide solace and explain away the vastness of our unknowing seems childish at best, especially in our post-enlightenment age when the possibility of extending our perceptions (radio astronomy, atomic microscopy, physics, etc) and knowledge through the project of 'science' has become an established and fruitful reality thanks to the herculean labors of some of humanities greatest minds. there will always be mystery to the world, ourselves, and our being in the world, but why trivialize and reduce that great profundity with the psychobabble of a period already thousands of years in our collective past? sure it might be fun (if that sort of self-delusion floats your boat), but what really does it do for you (believers) other than to obfuscate the pursuit of "truth" and prolong the ultimate realization that you are, in fact, mortal?

cheers
-g

 

[CrackerJax]

Yes.... some ppl believe thinking with a level head is somehow not desirable. They need the fantasy.

 

[morgentaler]

Remember just the other day when Babs and GC were going on about morality and mass murderers being a result of no prayer in schools? They may even have been making those posts while George Sodini was on his shooting spree.

An atheist, working his murderous immorality on the world. But wait, there's a note.

"Maybe soon, I will see God and Jesus. At least that is what I was told. Eternal life does NOT depend on works. If it did, we will all be in hell. Christ paid for EVERY sin, so how can I or you be judged BY GOD for a sin when the penalty was ALREADY paid. People judge but that does not matter. I was reading the Bible and The Integrity of God beginning yesterday, because soon I will see them."

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/full_text_of_gym_killer_blog_9hd681zrqxoYTPxXiALPON/7


As you can see George left a touching blog post, seething with Christian reasoning. Personal redemption by proxy is a wonderful system. You can do ANY horrible thing and Jesus already died for it. This may be why child rape is so often ignored in religious institutions. If God didn't want priest molesting kids he wouldn't have designed children to be so trusting, right? And they're going to be forgiven anyway, so why bother stopping them.

No wonder some people cling so heavily to the bible. When rape, murder, and torture are just part of the God process AND you come with a get-out-of-jail-free card in Jesus, what's not to love? It's a religion specifically designed for assholes.

Or course, belief in Jesus doesn't make everyone a killer. It just gave him validation.

Kind of like when certain individuals get angry at the atheists for speaking out against Christianity, while using the defense "No one is forcing it on you", only to post in other messages that we need to put prayer back in the school system (thereby.... wait for it... forcing it on children.) But don't worry, Jesus also died* so you can be a hypocrite.



* Existence of Jesus not guaranteed. Results may vary. Offer not valid in some areas of conflicting faith. For entertainment and self-congratulatory ego-masturbation purposes only.

 

[Woodstock.Hippie]

that "Atheism can be either the rejection of theism,or the position that deities do not exist. In the broadest sense, it is the absence of belief in the existence of deities."

I believe my knowledge of physics and neurochemistry allow me to envision that every thought actually manifests itself in our universe. My mind=One of my Universes.

Therefore I when I define what does not exist, it is already too late to deny it's existence.

Hippie Tip: This makes sense if you believe in the concept of a multiverse. More is revealed in a film you can get from the wiki gods.

 

[CrackerJax]

It helps if ur a narcissist as well...

 

[morgentaler]

That you may have just offended a very large segment of the world's population.

And this is relevant to what, exactly?
A very large segment of the world's population used to think that keeping black people as slaves, or women as chattel was perfectly natural.
Having numbers does not validate a belief. It just means more people to pat each other on the back and say "Our belief is right." It's a lot easier than stopping to look for supporting evidence.

 

[shnkrmn]

You are in over your head. "my mind=one of my universes"=solipsism. Why should we care about your personal universe; either it's mythical or we don't exist in it, or we are elements of YOUR universe, a possibility I do not care for. Hello in there, anyway.

You use the construct 'I believe' waaaaay too much.

that "Atheism can be either the rejection of theism,or the position that deities do not exist. In the broadest sense, it is the absence of belief in the existence of deities."

I believe my knowledge of physics and neurochemistry allow me to envision that every thought actually manifests itself in our universe. My mind=One of my Universes.

Therefore I when I define what does not exist, it is already too late to deny it's existence.

Hippie Tip: This makes sense if you believe in the concept of a multiverse. More is revealed in a film you can get from the wiki gods.