Who wants to argue about pink and purple unicorns?

[mikkel_the_dane]

Yes, if believers in pink unicorns would affect my life, for instance by lobbying for religiously motivated legislation (e.g. abortion, gay marriage, euthanasia, etc), then I would try to knock down the pink unicorn, too.

Ciao

- viole

But that has nothing to do with religion per se. That is politics and there are many versions of what rights, duties, good and so on are. As one living in a secular society, religion has be exchanged with different ideologies, but the effect is same.
So no, it might in some sense be better in a secular society, but it is not over.

 

[oldbadger]

Yes, you are.

Correct......
Few people are bothered about what others believe in.......until those believers and their beliefs begin to interfere with other folks in any way.

Then there's going to be argument....

 

[Brian2]

For real I don't think anyone would want to argue about something they don't believe in..
Believers argue about what they believe in which is their god. So why do many like arguing about a god they don't believe in/lack the belief in?

Hey I'm with you in lacking the belief but I can't figure out why so much time is wasted arguing about what's not believed in.

Am I missing something?

Are they falsifiable?

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

Correct......
Few people are bothered about what others believe in.......until those believers and their beliefs begin to interfere with other folks in any way.

Then there's going to be argument....

Yeah, but I have yet to see any evidence that this is unique to religion or that claims of objective authority only apply within religion.

 

[RestlessSoul]

I found a unicorn in the Bible;

Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

-Psalm 22, vs 20,21

Once again, The Bible delivers.

 

[oldbadger]

Yeah, but I have yet to see any evidence that this is unique to religion or that claims of objective authority only apply within religion.

I did not mention religions..... I mentioned beliefs.

 

[Brian2]

Based on the feel of their body shape and horn, here is an artist's rendering of how an invisible unicorn would appear.

Did you feel it all over? Maybe you just felt part of it and your impression is wrong.
If it was invisible how do you know it was pink and purple?
Did it say anything to you?
Do you think it OK for you to make an image of it?

 

[Mock Turtle]

Atheists can't help it, for them it's like slowing down to look at the train wreck.

Train wrecks more like - and often these spill onto our carriageway.

 

[SalixIncendium]

For real I don't think anyone would want to argue about something they don't believe in..
Believers argue about what they believe in which is their god. So why do many like arguing about a god they don't believe in/lack the belief in?

Hey I'm with you in lacking the belief but I can't figure out why so much time is wasted arguing about what's not believed in.

Am I missing something?

I don't know, but I am. I came into this thread with ammunition ready to argue about pink and purple unicorns.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

For real I don't think anyone would want to argue about something they don't believe in..
Believers argue about what they believe in which is their god. So why do many like arguing about a god they don't believe in/lack the belief in?

Hey I'm with you in lacking the belief but I can't figure out why so much time is wasted arguing about what's not believed in.

Am I missing something?

Imagine that unicorn believers made up 80% of the world's population and that these believers would try and legislate their religious unicorn rules and values and thereby impose them on the remaining 20%, which would include you.

Now you will be arguing about it.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

Can I prove or disprove unicorns exist or not No i can not.
So could they have existed or is it 100% clear they dont have existed. Yes they could have existed but I can not give scientific or religious proof of it.
So I will answer "I do not know" but "they may or may not exist without my knowledge about them"
It could be as simple as "My vision isn't clear enough to see them"

Let's forget about the 100%

What if the question is what is more likely: that they exist or that they don't exist?

What's your answer then?

 

[RestlessSoul]

Imagine that unicorn believers made up 80% of the world's population and that these believers would try and legislate their religious unicorn rules and values and thereby impose them on the remaining 20%, which would include you.

Now you will be arguing about it.

You think the 20% should legislate for the 80?

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

You think the 20% should legislate for the 80?

No.

I think 100% should respect individual freedoms and realize that an individual's freedom ends where the freedom of another individual begins.

This means that you don't impose your personal beliefs on others.
That goes for you and your personal beliefs as well as me and my personal beliefs.

 

[Samael_Khan]

For real I don't think anyone would want to argue about something they don't believe in..
Believers argue about what they believe in which is their god. So why do many like arguing about a god they don't believe in/lack the belief in?

Hey I'm with you in lacking the belief but I can't figure out why so much time is wasted arguing about what's not believed in.

Am I missing something?

I am the type of person who argues over whether Star Wars is better than Star Trek. I don't believe either. Its just a fan boy thing. It is the same with me and religions. I have a passion for their existence and I embrace it.

 

[Brian2]

Imagine that unicorn believers made up 80% of the world's population and that these believers would try and legislate their religious unicorn rules and values and thereby impose them on the remaining 20%, which would include you.

Now you will be arguing about it.

Sounds like democracy.

 

[HonestJoe]

Hey I'm with you in lacking the belief but I can't figure out why so much time is wasted arguing about what's not believed in.

I can't speak for anyone else but it's a question of intended or expected consequences. Beliefs generally aren't held in isolation, they tend to lead to different personal behaviour (which can impact other people) and expectations or even demands of different behaviour by other people.

I'm not going to make any issue of it if you believe in unicorns (especially since, by default, I wouldn't know). If you start saying I should behave differently to keep the unicorns happy, that you should receive special exemptions from laws and regulations because you believe in unicorns or that the government should spend money building vast unicorn pastures I will raise legitimate questions (though essentially the same questions I'd ask if you proposed those things on any other basis).

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

Sounds like democracy.

Try theocracy.


PS: democracy doesn't exist to give a majority what they want while ignoring minorities. In a very real sense, the purpose of democracy is actually to protect minorities against majorities.

I notice people oftenly are unaware of this. Yet, these are foundational principles of modern democracy

Majority Rule/Minority Rights: Essential Principles | Democracy Web

 

[RestlessSoul]

No.

I think 100% should respect individual freedoms and realize that an individual's freedom ends where the freedom of another individual begins.

This means that you don't impose your personal beliefs on others.
That goes for you and your personal beliefs as well as me and my personal beliefs.

Fair enough. However, living in a democracy entails accepting that there will be times I have to accept the views and values of the majority becoming enshrined in law, even if I don’t agree with them. Whether those views and values are driven by religious belief or some other premise, is irrelevant really.

 

[We Never Know]

No.

I think 100% should respect individual freedoms and realize that an individual's freedom ends where the freedom of another individual begins.

This means that you don't impose your personal beliefs on others.
That goes for you and your personal beliefs as well as me and my personal beliefs.

 

[TagliatelliMonster]

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