markosis Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 and not all beliefs are created equal. Well, belief is something that lies within an individual. It doesn't need to be validated by an external source. Someone with a fear of spiders might believe that in any dark closet in their home there's a black widow waiting to bite them, which might be true, or it might just be something they truly believe through their own experience. And that's what we're talking about here: personal experience. Personal experience is what shapes a person's beliefs. We all have drastically different experiences so we will all have drastically different beliefs, and not a one is better or more valid than another. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Well, belief is something that lies within an individual. It doesn't need to be validated by an external source. Someone with a fear of spiders might believe that in any dark closet in their home there's a black widow waiting to bite them, which might be true, or it might just be something they truly believe through their own experience. And that's what we're talking about here: personal experience. Personal experience is what shapes a person's beliefs. We all have drastically different experiences so we will all have drastically different beliefs, and not a one is better or more valid than another. So if I believe there Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kwall Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 what does science tell us about why we are here? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
markosis Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 To suggest that all beliefs are somehow equal is simply false. Some beliefs, regardless of whether they are or are not based on personal experience, are simply wrong. You know, I've said before that I respect your opinions. However, that kind of thinking is what breeds the kind of religious fanatics you are so opposed to. I'm sure Hitler felt the same way, and I'll bet Bin Laden feels the same thing. I know Pat Robertson would totally agree with you on that sentiment. What makes your stance any better than theirs? The fact that you base your beliefs on science? Sorry, whether based on science, myth, or personal experience, religious (or anti-religious) superiority is a disease that plagues our world. What you said there only throws fuel on the fire. As I said before, our beliefs are based on our experiences and perceptions, and those, as you said yourself, are subjective. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 what does science tell us about why we are here? It doesn Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 You know, I've said before that I respect your opinions. However, that kind of thinking is what breeds the kind of religious fanatics you are so opposed to. I'm sure Hitler felt the same way, and I'll bet Bin Laden feels the same thing. I know Pat Robertson would totally agree with you on that sentiment. What makes your stance any better than theirs? The fact that you base your beliefs on science? Sorry, whether based on science, myth, or personal experience, religious (or anti-religious) superiority is a disease that plagues our world. What you said there only throws fuel on the fire. As I said before, our beliefs are based on our experiences and perceptions, and those, as you said yourself, are subjective. So then, Hitler Quote Link to post Share on other sites
markosis Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 People are allowed to believe whatever they want. We don't have to agree or follow, but anyone can think anything they want to. Don't forget that I also said religious/theological superiority is a disease. Therefore, no, I don't think anyone is justified in hurting others based on their beliefs. But they can believe anything they want to. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 People are allowed to believe whatever they want. We don't have to agree or follow, but anyone can think anything they want to. Don't forget that I also said religious/theological superiority is a disease. Therefore, no, I don't think anyone is justified in hurting others based on their beliefs. But they can believe anything they want to. So then you agree that some beliefs, and any actions resulting from those beliefs are justified, while others are not? Of course we are entitled to think whatever we choose to think, and by extension, believe whatever we choose to believe, I would never suggest otherwise, but as I said at the beginning of this line of discussion, thinking or believing something within the confines of your own mind does not make it so. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ikol Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 but that does not then justify creating an entire belief system out of thin air. What sort of scientific investigation led you to that conclusion? Or did you just make it up out of thin air? By all measure, religion is an entirely contrived, man made belief system - our Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fineartoflife Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 I ain't here to convert atheists into believersI'm just trying to say the way school need teachersThe way Kathie Lee needed Regis that's the way I need Jesus Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kwall Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 It doesn Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 so, that's as deeply as you ever ponder this question? No, I think about it quite a bit, as should be evident based on my post history. And, I would be willing to bet I Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kwall Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 No, I think about it quite a bit, as should be evident based on my post history.well, i don't read all your posts (and i'm not about to start poring over all of them now), but of the ones i've read, i don't remember any thoughts about why we are here other than the most recent, "to procreate", which, by the way, would qualify as a belief, would it not? do you have any proof? And, I would be willing to bet I Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 well, i don't read all your posts (and i'm not about to start poring over all of them now), but of the ones i've read, i don't remember any thoughts about why we are here other than the most recent, "to procreate", which, by the way, would qualify as a belief, would it not? do you have any proof? yes, of course, nobody has ever thought about anything as much as you have. and yet, you still have no answers. Given your behavior in this and other threads, and that you show little interest in serious debate outside of taking points out of context and then using them to craft snarky, sarcastic replies of little to no substance or value, I won Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 What sort of scientific investigation led you to that conclusion? Or did you just make it up out of thin air? I made it up out of thin air, but I'm not going to ask that you worship me or create an entire fabricated religion because of it. Maybe not, but it reads a hell of a lot better with one. In life, as in literature, I Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 From CNN: Did God Want You to Get That Mortgage? http://www.time.com/time/business/article/...00.html?cnn=yes Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Prosperity gospel. What a bunch of shit. Jesus cast the moneychangers from the temple, y'know. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bleedorange Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 From CNN: Did God Want You to Get That Mortgage? http://www.time.com/time/business/article/...00.html?cnn=yes Just one more example of the dangers of Oprah and The Secret Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sureshot Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 God is in the heroin, the opiates... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
markosis Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Are you homos still at it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ikol Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I made it up out of thin air, but I'm not going to ask that you worship me or create an entire fabricated religion because of it. Your loss. I was totally prepared to do so. In life, as in literature, I Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Your loss. I was totally prepared to do so. Did you do a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to determine that it was tacky? Indeed I did, and the results are, as we speak, being peer reviewed. Pending approval, which, duh - they will, I assure you, be published, post haste, in the very next available journal of the AAAS. Thanks for asking. And, I appreciate your willingness to consider me as a possible candidate for the role of the next all knowing deity. If, at some point in the future, I have a change of heart, and decide to seek such a post, please rest assured that I will be a most kind and benevolent leader. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Indeed I did, and the results are, as we speak, being peer reviewed. Pending approval, which, duh - they will, I assure you, be published, post haste, in the very next available journal of the AAAS. Thanks for asking. And, I appreciate your willingness to consider me as a possible candidate for the role of the next all knowing deity. If, at some point in the future, I have a change of heart, and decide to seek such a post, please rest assured that I will be a most kind and benevolent leader.Do you have a PayPal set up yet so we can send you our tithes? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Do you have a PayPal set up yet so we can send you our tithes? You betcha I do! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Are you homos still at it? Do people still say that? Wow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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