Pad, I don't think oly is the best person to seek answers from. He's stumbled upon religion without understanding what it is, so there is a poor chance you will gain any understanding from him. He has proven this with all his responses, which aren't likely to change. He doesn't even understand what we mean when we say ignorant, he sees it as an insult. How can you communicate with that level of under education? It's like trying to explain to a child that the big bright ball of light in the sky is actually a giant nuclear furnace that builds hydrogen into helium. The child doesn't know what words like hydrogen and nuclear mean, so there is no way he can possibly go on to make a connection. He is not capable of seeing it as anything other than a ball of light, nor is he capable of explaining to you why he doesn't see it your way. Oly is not a child, so it is unlikely his basic comprehension skills will improve. Whether someone takes this position with god or the sun, is it really a religious position? Oly is both willfully and incidentally ignorant, and happy about it. Your words will never mean anything other than atheist superiority to him, and you will gather no valid insight from engaging him. The good news is that people such as him don't amount to much in life, and he probably doesn't vote or try to influence political policy. When someone demonstrates they are a lost cause (incapable of comprehensive discussion) it is best to leave them be and let them circle the drain. It is your thread, but I don't see the value in your exchanges. Even religious people that might be reading this thread know better than him. I think it's important to send the message that, if you can't defend your beliefs (or even express them clearly in olys case) you DO NOT get to bring them to the table and participate in discussion with the adults. Unless of course you simply enjoy poking a retard with a stick.
People with his outlook and conduct make me angry too, but I realized a few years ago that those sort of people are not likely to be part of your circle of acquaintances. I used to leave the house with an angry sour attitude aimed at religious people, but in actuality most of them don't mind questioning their beliefs and assigning reason, as invalid as it may be. Most of them would give you the shirt off their back. This in no way excuses them for their erroneous conclusions and their tendency to push and judge; I am just saying that neither do they deserve such level of hostility. When you do encounter a worthless position such as olys, it does no good to attack it as it does not represent the typical catalyst responsible for religion. The best thing you can do is to promote awareness and education and encourage critical thought, which of course I see you do a lot. It's a long slow process but one that is likely to, eventually, be productive. These are the things I would have told my younger, angrier self, and I say them to you not out of concern for oly, but because I think you might benefit from a different perspective. I still tend to be inflammatory and offensive at times, but I do so while promoting doubt, and not just to point fingers and insult. If you turn on the God channel in my house, within 10 minutes I will be so angry at their manipulative promotion of self serving illogic I might break the TV, but again, I find those are not the same people I see going to church, and not all religious people are affiliated.
In short, I am suggesting you should save your contempt for those who deserve it (sheep mentality vs child mentality) and shape it into a more piercing and impressionable tool.
Here's a quote that in no way pertains to anything I've just expressed,
I have no room in my heart for compassion
If you piss me off I will quickly start smashin'
Your pleas for reason are simply pathetic
Why waste my words when my fists are poetic
- Beefcake the Mighty
[video=youtube;y-rxFGqseIs]http://youtu.be/eMUoN61HE3M[/video]
I HATE you, I HIT you. I HATE you, I HIT you. I HATE you, I HIT you. I HATE you, I HIT you. I HATE you, I HIT you. I HATE you, I HIT you. I HATE you, I HIT you. I BEAT YOU TO DEATH.
