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Pre-Friday Fun Link
A funny story about a heathen's adventures at God camp.
Mad Max|8.6.09 @ 10:44PM|#
'A funny story'
Yes, I'm sure Chris Rock is trembling in his boots for fear of the
competition.
And I would like to thank Timmy Reed for reminding us how
insufferable atheists can be. I should know, since I used to be one
myself. (used to be an atheist, I mean - I'm still insufferable,
but in comparison to how insufferable I was as an atheist, my
current persona is downright Mister Rogers - esque).
squarooticus|8.7.09 @ 1:10AM|#
I guess I'm "sufferable" in the sense that religion almost never comes up as a topic: I don't preemptively scoff at religious nuts, but I tend to avoid situations in which my atheism would be an issue.
Mike Laursen|8.7.09 @ 1:22AM|#
I should know, since I used to be one myself.
What turned you? Were you like a
I'm-an-atheist-because-religion-is-irrational atheist, or an
I'm-an-atheist-because-I'm-mad-at-God atheist? If the former, I'm
going to guess it was a dame, because that's the only thing that
makes a rational man turn all irrational. If the latter, you
weren't really ever an atheist.
|8.7.09 @ 1:58AM|#
That's not right Mike. *All* guys are atheists, but some pretend not to be for girls, and when that works for them, it's not irrational.
EoT|8.7.09 @ 2:44AM|#
I really didn't think that guy was so bad. He admitted his
actions were youthful misbehavior, and none of his jokes were
vicious or even that mean.
Honestly, people are way too sensitive about religion.
Which makes them so deliciously easy to troll....
|8.7.09 @ 6:33AM|#
I'm an Agnostic, which means there's a slight chance that I'm not insufferable, but in all likelihood I am.
Elliott|8.7.09 @ 7:28AM|#
If theists are irrational, are not atheists? Unless one's
atheism is coupled with agnosticism - that is, agnostic atheism -
but I'd assume most atheists AND theists are also agnostic. (Few
people are arrogant enough to claim they 'know.')
At any rate, libertarians are usually rational. But I guess a
person can be rational in one respect and irrational in another...
to a point.
Art-P.O.G.|8.7.09 @ 7:31AM|#
But I guess a person can be rational in one respect and irrational in another... to a point.
Not really a guess, more of an axiom. Some people are more rational than others, but I've seen little evidence of a completely rational person. I don't even know if being completely rational would be a good thing.
|8.7.09 @ 7:41AM|#
That's not right Mike. *All* guys are atheists, but some
pretend not to be for girls
I've often thought that religion is a priviledge of comfort for the
weaker sex.
ktc2|8.7.09 @ 7:42AM|#
Elliott,
So, is it arrogant to claim "to know" there is no Zeus or Odin as
well?
ktc2|8.7.09 @ 7:45AM|#
Domoarrigato,
And yet oddly, few things in this world are more anti-woman than
the major monotheistic religions.
Kind of reminds me of this quote:
"It's interesting to speculate how it developed that in two of the
most anti-feminist institutions, the church and the law court, the
men are wearing the dresses." - Flo Kennedy -
|8.7.09 @ 7:45AM|#
Mad Max | August 6, 2009, 10:44pm | #
... I mean - I'm still insufferable
Repeated for posterity
|8.7.09 @ 7:47AM|#
And yet oddly, few things in this world are more anti-woman
than the major monotheistic religions.
odd that a force that deeply captures the imagination of women is
used by non-believeing a-hole men to subjugate them? not
really.
Elliott|8.7.09 @ 8:07AM|#
So, is it arrogant to claim "to know" there is no Zeus or
Odin as well?
No, that's rational. But I don't understand the comparison of God
to the Flying Spaghetti Monster (and things of that nature). The
concept of God (and really anything beyond cognition) is too
expansive and abstract for that comparison to work.
And sure, that's why I don't want religions having holds on
government, but I'm not fond of government in any incarnation.
Elliott|8.7.09 @ 8:20AM|#
Shucks, I forgot to put a winking smiley after "No, that's rational." If you would pretend it's there, I'd appreciate that.
Elliott|8.7.09 @ 8:26AM|#
I forgot the winking smiley again. I've noticed the absence of the winking smiley often causes others to misunderstand my messages - which is to say, I'm a bad writer.
<strike>strike through</strike|8.7.09 @ 8:41AM|#
We're all born atheists. Then the brainwashing begins.
ktc2|8.7.09 @ 8:42AM|#
If the evidence for the existance of the xtian god, the Norse god and the Greek god are all roughly equivalent (i.e. there is no scientific evidence for any of them), than why is it rational to completely reject the existance later two but not the first?
ktc2|8.7.09 @ 8:43AM|#
"Later" and "first" as in order of occurrence in my sentence, not in history obviously.
Doctor Duck|8.7.09 @ 9:04AM|#
The only 'rational' atheism is apatheism
If you just ignore all that shit, how can you be insufferable?
|8.7.09 @ 9:16AM|#
ktc2,
The one problem with that is that we lack knowledge and, probably,
the capacity to assess whether there's any sort of deity. That line
of reasoning is more effective if you're attacking one religion
(because the lack of proof supporting each works against all of
them) but not against theism in general.
Elliott|8.7.09 @ 10:10AM|#
If the evidence for the existance of the xtian god, the
Norse god and the Greek god are all roughly equivalent (i.e. there
is no scientific evidence for any of them), than why is it rational
to completely reject the existance later two but not the
first?
That doesn't make them equal, even roughly. It just groups them
together.
That's beside the point. Theism does not equal any of them. If
theism equals Christianity as well as, say, Islam, then
Christianity would equal Islam.
My point is, the antiquated stories of God killing firstborns and
talking to humans is absurd, sure, but why reject ideas entirely? I
said it's rational not to believe in the existence of Zeus or Odin,
and you extended that statement to mean that I think it's rational
to believe in the Christian god.
|8.7.09 @ 11:44AM|#
It's anecdotal, but it seems most of the theists I know claim to
know that God exists with more certainty than I'm willing to claim
that I know Obama exists. Many of them even claim to know that,
deep-down, I believe that God exists too, but I'm just denying it
for some reason. But most atheists I know are "soft" atheists who
lack belief in God but don't deny God in absolute terms. Even
Dawkins believes that there "almost certainly is no God."
In most dictionaries, atheism can be defined as a lack of a belief
in God, but not necessarily an active disbelief, so, in some sense
of the word, all agnostics, who neither believe, nor disbelieve,
are atheists because they lack a positive belief in a god. But
theism is defined more-or-less strictly as a belief in a God. So I
don't really see how a theist can also be an agnostic except
through inconsistency. Maybe part of a person believes, but another
part doubts?
And how is another god more expansive and abstract than the
Spaghetti Monster?
Mike Laursen|8.7.09 @ 12:12PM|#
If theists are irrational, are not atheists?
As far as I'm concerned, people who don't believe in any of the
traditional god-based religions and call themselves agnostics are
just being wishy-washy. That includes those who have vague new age
beliefs that there may be like some kind of universal energy thing,
that's like, you know, the traditional concept of god. If a Baptist
or a Catholic secretly snickers at your vaguely-defined,
non-committal religious beliefs, you're are, for all practical
purposes, an atheist.
Mike Laursen|8.7.09 @ 12:13PM|#
The only 'rational' atheism is apatheism
Never heard that word before. Thanks for introducing it to me.
Mike Laursen|8.7.09 @ 12:21PM|#
And how is another god more expansive and abstract than the
Spaghetti Monster?
To be honest, I find your Flying Spaghetti Monster beliefs to be
absurd.
twv|8.7.09 @ 1:55PM|#
One Friday every month I shed a tear for all the dead gods. They
used to romp and cavort and plot and scheme and go about their
celestial roles, keeping the universe together, allowing humanity
to find some relief from finitude.
But then came monotheism. It started out as a "public option," but,
well, you know.
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