Why anti-theism is a joke.

[Shadow Wolf]

See, IMO, this sums up the problem: there are a lot of people just like you who don't have whatever it takes to tell these people to leave you alone in real life, so you come into a forum like this one and take it out on a bunch of people who aren't doing any of those things to you in what I'm guessing is a vain effort to re-establish your self respect.

That reminds me of something I recently noticed concerning taboo subjects. People online will post some very harsh things about whatever the taboo is, even though they are the ones who made the effort to indulge in their natural curiosities. And somehow to redeem themselves they post whatever happens to be the meanest and most derogative thing they can think of at the time. I wonder if our two ideas may somehow be related, that people who are mean (at least concerning online interactions) are indulging themselves in something they see as below them and they must somehow redeem themselves by insisting they are firmly against said subject.

 

[Quagmire]

That reminds me of something I recently noticed concerning taboo subjects. People online will post some very harsh things about whatever the taboo is, even though they are the ones who made the effort to indulge in their natural curiosities. And somehow to redeem themselves they post whatever happens to be the meanest and most derogative thing they can think of at the time. I wonder if our two ideas may somehow be related, that people who are mean (at least concerning online interactions) are indulging themselves in something they see as below them and they must somehow redeem themselves by insisting they are firmly against said subject.

That may be part of it, although I would guess that the people it would apply to best would be the one's least likely to understand what you're talking about.

To me, coming into a place that was created for this...:

Mission Statement As a community of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, our aim is to provide a civil environment, informative, respectful and welcoming where people of diverse beliefs can discuss, compare and debate religion while engaging in fellowship with one another.

...solely for the purposes of talking about how much you hate religion and how much religious people annoy you is sort of like walking into a Chinese restaurant just so you can sit down and tell everybody there how much you dislike rice.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

...solely for the purposes of talking about how much you hate religion and how much religious people annoy you is sort of like walking into a Chinese restaurant just so you can sit down and tell everybody there how much you dislike rice.

Pretty much. Wish I could find the thread here, it was awhile ago. Someone here just said they had faith, and even said they didn't come to preach yet people were attacking this person. I think you said something about it's good that at least people are getting their aerobics jumping people like that.

 

[Sententia]

If what you see here in RF looks like "Supernatural lectures" to you, what are you doing here?

And if you're not talking about what you see here, why are you bugging us about it?

I'm not bugging you Quag and why do you see it that way? I am a human creature and recently had a friend die and was a bit emotional and was unrelated to this thread but within context expressing my own personal frustration which seems to have no outlet. How should I argue blatant religious sympathy I disagree with and think is anything but comforting with people I consider dear friends who take comfort in that. It doesn't help me but hopefully it helps them. That's my motivation and it has little to do with you except to contextualize how I was feeling when I was posting.

I would ask you what you're talking about, but I have a feeling it wouldn't help.

I think I have cleared that up but I will clarify. Between facebook, twitter, email, funerals and wakes combined with personal sessions where my emotions to my loss are forced to take a back seat in order for me to rationally comfort the majority of my friends who are also religious and experiencing the same loss and who are grieving and unaware of how their response and words might affect me leaves me in an odd position to instead innocuously vent on the forums. Whether it helps you or not is irrelevant to the question of the point of the post was did it help me? I think it probably did as I feel better today then I did yesterday. Is this pointless response leading up to something?

You really have no idea at all what this threads about, do you.

Did you read the OP? Do you understand where I took issue? By your reply I am guessing no. Do I have to emoticon my reply in order for you to get it? Did I quote something in my response as some context for you to attack my ability to understand what this thread is about? I added a response with context and if you have an issue with me then take it up with me but fallacious arguments that serve only as a personal attack on me and as an ad hominem considering its you responding is below you.

See, IMO, this sums up the problem: there are a lot of people just like you who don't have whatever it takes to tell these people to leave you alone in real life, so you come into a forum like this one and take it out on a bunch of people who aren't doing any of those things to you in what I'm guessing is a vain effort to re-establish your self respect.

How's that working for you?

So it comes down to what? Your fantastical understanding and condescending reply to my post which you have taken little time to understand? This is another attack on me and not my argument. I went door to door and I was those people. I don't have an issue with them or with me. You don't get it or are you inclined to completely and unrelated to what we are discussing suddenly feel the need to insult me?

Come to a forum like this one... I have been here for years. (You personally first Fruballed me in 2008) Your response is pointless, adds nothing and caused me to spend most of my time pointing that out rather than contributing to this thread which you argue I have no idea about.

 

[Sententia]

I never said religion shouldn't be question. Indeed some should be questioned and challenged. However not all religions are bad. My point is why focus on the symptoms instead of the illness.

So are you implying we should attack people and not religion?

So instead of criticizing religion, which is a very broad term and no mater how much you wish it could cannot be disproven entirely, why not focus on the real problem which is people?

Wait you are saying that.

And that is why people should be held responsible instead of religion.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

So are you implying we should attack people and not religion?

Yes. Well maybe not attack, but it seems pointless to place blame on a symbol when it's the people that must give a symbol power. People are what's wrong with anything in this world that is wrong. For every wrong that has ever been, no matter the excuses and reasons, there has been a person behind it. And people who allow themselves to be misguided into following a path of a corrupt and power hungry person who knows religion is a very convenient excuse.
But also where there is good, there is a person. And again no matter the reason or excuse, it is the person that does good for whatever reason. And in some cases people are lead by good people to work towards a positive and constructive goal.
Like it or not, religion does serve many useful purposes to society. It also warps some people. But in the end at worst religion is just another one of the myriad of excuses that people have.

 

[Quagmire]

I'm not bugging you Quag and why do you see it that way? I am a human creature and recently had a friend die and was a bit emotional and was unrelated to this thread but within context expressing my own personal frustration which seems to have no outlet. How should I argue blatant religious sympathy I disagree with and think is anything but comforting with people I consider dear friends who take comfort in that. It doesn't help me but hopefully it helps them. That's my motivation and it has little to do with you except to contextualize how I was feeling when I was posting.



I think I have cleared that up but I will clarify. Between facebook, twitter, email, funerals and wakes combined with personal sessions where my emotions to my loss are forced to take a back seat in order for me to rationally comfort the majority of my friends who are also religious and experiencing the same loss and who are grieving and unaware of how their response and words might affect me leaves me in an odd position to instead innocuously vent on the forums.

Sorry . Vent away.

Whether it helps you or not is irrelevant to the question of the point of the post was did it help me? I think it probably did as I feel better today then I did yesterday. Is this pointless response leading up to something?



Did you read the OP?

Tbh, not really. I tried 4 times but between the lack of paragraph breaks and the color of the font, it lost me every time.

Still. like most thread, this one's taken on a life of it's own so most of what I'm saying in it is a reaction to the other reactions.

Do you understand where I took issue? By your reply I am guessing no. Do I have to emoticon my reply in order for you to get it? Did I quote something in my response as some context for you to attack my ability to understand what this thread is about? I added a response with context and if you have an issue with me then take it up with me but fallacious arguments that serve only as a personal attack on me and as an ad hominem considering its you responding is below you.

Thing is, to me at this point, this thread looks like a few theists asking "why are a lot of people who don't like the whole idea of religion and don't want anything to do with it coming into a place that's supposed to be about this:

Mission Statement As a community of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, our aim is to provide a civil environment, informative, respectful and welcoming where people of diverse beliefs can discuss, compare and debate religion while engaging in fellowship with one another.

I think it's a valid question.

And the other thing I see going on in this thread is basically the other side saying "Religion sucks so it's not only OK for us to be misusing this place, it's our right, maybe even our duty".

that's what this thread seems to be about to me at this point.

So it comes down to what? Your fantastical understanding and condescending reply to my post which you have taken little time to understand? This is another attack on me and not my argument. I went door to door and I was those people. I don't have an issue with them or with me. You don't get it or are you inclined to completely and unrelated to what we are discussing suddenly feel the need to insult me?

If I'm insulting or attacking anything anything it's the situation I just pointed to above. In your opening paragraph you said this

Enough that I have to deal with the loss but now I have to politely deal with your supernatural lectures for months?

Notice the personal pronoun there. This doesn't look like an accusation aimed at religious people in general to you?

Now, I'm not a religious person. I don't belong to any religion, and I'm not personally offended by anybodies views about religion. Personally, it's none of my business. My problem, if you want to call it that, is that IMO, this place is not being used for what it was intended to be used for.

Or put it this way, my personal stake in all this is this: over the last 4 years I've devoted a massive chunk of my life to trying to get and keep this place in line with the mission statement above.

Through most of that time I've had it in my head that a place like this has a lot of potential to do some good in the world. Most of the problems I see in the world---personal to global---seem to me to be the result of a lack of understanding, or a lack of willingness to understand, between people in general.

Anyplace that has a chance of minimizing any small bit of that misunderstanding sounds like something worth devoting some time to.

Unfortunately, for a long time now, I look around this place and have to ask myself, "Did I just waste 4 years of my life providing a playground for a lot of angry little kids with an axe to grind?" that doesn't sound worthwhile to me.

Come to a forum like this one... I have been here for years. (You personally first Fruballed me in 2008) Your response is pointless, adds nothing and caused me to spend most of my time pointing that out rather than contributing to this thread which you argue I have no idea about.

Maybe we see it as about 2 different things.

 

[Sententia]

Yes. People are what's wrong with anything in this world that is wrong. For every wrong that has ever been, no matter the excuses and reasons, there has been a person behind it. And people who allow themselves to be misguided into following a path of a corrupt and power hungry person who knows religion is a very convenient excuse.
But also where there is good, there is a person. And again no matter the reason or excuse, it is the person that does good for whatever reason. And in some cases people are lead by good people to work towards a positive and constructive goal.
Like it or not, religion does serve many useful purposes to society. It also warps some people. But in the end at worst religion is just another one of the myriad of excuses that people have.

Religion is a set of beliefs. You can bring people up to believe anything and into a good world. The beliefs you raise people with will have an effect on them and if those beliefs are bad then why are we blaming the people and not the set of beliefs.

Its not the people its what their taught. Again from Dawkin's the god delusion, chapter 8 which you claimed to have read but have failed to argue with any point he made in any useful manner... by the way the chapter is called "What's wrong with religion?"....

Teaching children that unquestioned faith is a virtue primes them - given certain other ingredients that are not hard to come by - to grow up into potentially lethal weapons for future jihads or crusades. Immunized against fear by the promise of a martyr's paradise, the authentic faith-head deserves a high place in the history of armaments, alongside the longbow, the warhorse, the tank and the cluster bomb.

As I said. Dawkins is very specific in his anti-theist position. A term you and others have used but apparently have given very little thought too. Yes dawkins is an anti-theist in terms that he doesn't think people need or should believe in god... he is not against religion... a fact he states in said book. He doesn't even think you shouldn't believe in a god... he in fact believes in a god of sorts...

Personally your idea that like it or not religion is here to stay is something that in my opinion I whole heartily disagree with. But it is just my opinion. I think many religious people are good and may have mentioned a few times that most of my friends and family are religious and that I still attend church a few times a year despite being an atheist.

Religion can be good. (I donate to many different churches with both my cash and my time) Dawkins agrees, I agree, you agree.... Dawkins is still an anti-theist and I can't really fault him for that based on his argument. As an ex-theist I can say my religion was overall harmful to many of the people in the congregation and to their families.... the Kingdom hall I grew up in is gone now... so are many others... Their beliefs cost people lives and cost families their families... Not me, My mom is still a witness but it almost cost me my life. People can be and often are victims of beliefs they had no control over but you want to go after the people and not the beliefs that caused the actions of those people. Why?

 

[blackout]

I'm not bugging you Quag and why do you see it that way? I am a human creature and recently had a friend die and was a bit emotional and was unrelated to this thread but within context expressing my own personal frustration which seems to have no outlet. How should I argue blatant religious sympathy I disagree with and think is anything but comforting with people I consider dear friends who take comfort in that. It doesn't help me but hopefully it helps them. That's my motivation and it has little to do with you except to contextualize how I was feeling when I was posting.



I think I have cleared that up but I will clarify. Between facebook, twitter, email, funerals and wakes combined with personal sessions where my emotions to my loss are forced to take a back seat in order for me to rationally comfort the majority of my friends who are also religious and experiencing the same loss and who are grieving and unaware of how their response and words might affect me leaves me in an odd position to instead innocuously vent on the forums. Whether it helps you or not is irrelevant to the question of the point of the post was did it help me? I think it probably did as I feel better today then I did yesterday. Is this pointless response leading up to something?

You know Sententia, and just to say,
you are not obligated to keep silent
for the sake of other's lack of awareness.

If their attempts at comforting you
are becoming an undue burden on you,
which they obviously are,
I personally see no reason why you shouldn't explain it to them.

If their faith is strong, they have their god's comfort
and really don't need yours.
You don't need to "protect" them from themselves.
You know?
They are doing you a diservice on account of their lack of understanding.
I'm guessing they're tougher than maybe you think.
If "love thy neighbor" REALLY means love thy neighbor to them
they should respond thoughtfully and respectfully to what you have to say.

and, probably best say it AFTER doing something like venting on a forum first,
so that you are yourself as calm and lovingly matter of factual yourself
when broaching the subject with them.

Sorry for your loss. :hug:

 

[Sententia]

Sorry . Vent away.

No worries... I don't ignore anyone or hate anyone... Ok maybe Kathryn... Just kidding. :angel2: Seriously I have emotional reactions... There are things happening in my life and I don't expect you to get it or understand so no need to apologize.

Tbh, not really. I tried 4 times but between the lack of paragraph breaks and the color of the font, it lost me every time.

Still. like most thread, this one's taken on a life of it's own so most of what I'm saying in it is a reaction to the other reactions.

Did you really admit you didn't read the OP and then yell at me for not getting what this threads about?

You really have no idea at all what this threads about, do you.

No you did really do that....



Meh... I probably did that before. :angel2:

Thing is, to me at this point, this thread looks like a few theists asking "why are a lot of people who don't like the whole idea of religion and don't want anything to do with it coming into a place that's supposed to be about this:

Mission Statement As a community of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, our aim is to provide a civil environment, informative, respectful and welcoming where people of diverse beliefs can discuss, compare and debate religion while engaging in fellowship with one another.

I can proc that statement. I have a pretty diverse religious background but still rarely post outside of the debate forums based on the debate forum special rules...

I think it's a valid question.

And the other thing I see going on in this thread is basically the other side saying "Religion sucks so it's not only OK for us to be misusing this place, it's our right, maybe even our duty".

that's what this thread seems to be about to me at this point.

If I'm insulting or attacking anything anything it's the situation I just pointed to above. In your opening paragraph you said this

Notice the personal pronoun there. This doesn't look like an accusation aimed at religious people in general to you?

No it is... My atheistic friends generally don't try comfort me by telling me I am going to see my friend again in heaven. My emotional response was that I go to church with my family when I choose too... I don't debate your priest or you in church and participate in your service and have made good friends... when my friend dies my theist friends almost universally ignore what I believe and launch into full-preaching mode and it bothers me that they don't understand how I must feel or disregard it in favor of their religious beliefs. I feel loss too and I don't expect to see them in heaven again or have to argue with their teary eyed special pleading arguments. I feel I should comfort them.

Now, I'm not a religious person. I don't belong to any religion, and I'm not personally offended by anybodies views about religion. Personally, it's none of my business. My problem, if you want to call it that, is that IMO, this place is not being used for what it was intended to be used for.

So tell me what you think this place should be used for. One of the few forums I have stuck around with over the years but if I have done some wrong tell me. I promise not to bother anyone with my arguments again. If I am breaking the rules or abusing this forum or not posting within the guidelines of why this forum was set up then let me know.

Or put it this way, my personal stake in all this is this: over the last 4 years I've devoted a massive chunk of my life to trying to get and keep this place in line with the mission statement above.

An effort not lost on me. By any means.

Through most of that time I've had it in my head that a place like this has a lot of potential to do some good in the world. Most of the problems I see in the world---personal to global---seem to me to be the result of a lack of understanding, or a lack of willingness to understand, between people in general.

Anyplace that has a chance of minimizing any small bit of that misunderstanding sounds like something worth devoting some time to.

Unfortunately, for a long time now, I look around this place and have to ask myself, "Did I just waste 4 years of my life providing a playground for a lot of angry little kids with an axe to grind?" that doesn't sound worthwhile to me.

I have 2 kids now so am far from being a kid. Am I angry? Probably... But probably not about what you would expect me to be angry about. Is this forum a play ground for angry little kids? I doubt it... do you see it that way? Do you not think your time here has been well spent? (I can't answer other than to say I have often appreciated you being here which you probably already know)

 

[atanu]

So are you implying we should attack people and not religion?

Wait you are saying that.

Well. I think she never said attack either religion or people. She said:

----never said religion shouldn't be question. Indeed some should be questioned and challenged. However not all religions are bad. My point is why focus on the symptoms instead of the illness.

So instead of criticizing religion, which is a very broad term and no mater how much you wish it could cannot be disproven entirely, why not focus on the real problem which is people?

........................

I think this is wrong. 'Focus' or 'criticize' vs. 'attack' ?

 

[Sententia]

Well. I think she never said attack either religion or people. She said:

[/I]
........................

I think this is wrong. 'Focus' or 'criticize' vs. 'attack' ?

I asked and was answered with yes. (Well a qualified yes)

Yes. Well maybe not attack, but it seems pointless to place blame on a symbol when it's the people that must give a symbol power. People are what's wrong with anything in this world that is wrong. For every wrong that has ever been, no matter the excuses and reasons, there has been a person behind it. And people who allow themselves to be misguided into following a path of a corrupt and power hungry person who knows religion is a very convenient excuse.
But also where there is good, there is a person. And again no matter the reason or excuse, it is the person that does good for whatever reason. And in some cases people are lead by good people to work towards a positive and constructive goal.
Like it or not, religion does serve many useful purposes to society. It also warps some people. But in the end at worst religion is just another one of the myriad of excuses that people have.

My response is noted.

 

[Quagmire]

No worries... I don't ignore anyone or hate anyone... Ok maybe Kathryn... Just kidding. :angel2: Seriously I have emotional reactions... There are things happening in my life and I don't expect you to get it or understand so no need to apologize.



Did you really admit you didn't read the OP and then yell at me for not getting what this threads about?



No you did really do that....

Well, I got this far

I remember a time when I learned a great deal about many religions from this site. Some religions I liked less the more I learned about them, and some I thought were fascinating.
But it seems as if for now a new crowd has the spotlight now, and this crowd seems to eager to criticize religion as a whole.

That's really all I needed to see. I remember those days too. I'm sort of feeling like someone who's spent the last few years watching his favorite coffee shop slowly turn into a hang out for the local stoners and gutter kids.

Meh... I probably did that before. :angel2:





I can proc that statement. I have a pretty diverse religious background but still rarely post outside of the debate forums based on the debate forum special rules...



No it is... My atheistic friends generally don't try comfort me by telling me I am going to see my friend again in heaven. My emotional response was that I go to church with my family when I choose too... I don't debate your priest or you in church and participate in your service and have made good friends... when my friend dies my theist friends almost universally ignore what I believe and launch into full-preaching mode and it bothers me that they don't understand how I must feel or disregard it in favor of their religious beliefs. I feel loss too and I don't expect to see them in heaven again or have to argue with their teary eyed special pleading arguments. I feel I should comfort them.

Which is nice but doesn't really have anything to do with what I'm talking about.

Look, I live in the same world that you do. Nobody has to tell me that there are annoying habits and practices specific to religious people, just like any other group of people.

And since I don't live on Mars, I know for a fact when I hear people come into the forums complaining about street evangelists and JW's knocking on their door, and trying to use all that as an excuse to basically troll this place, that they're purposely blowing it all out of proportion---you would think that some of them were living out a religious zombie movie where every time they walk out of their front door they're suddenly set upon by hundreds and hundreds of screaming Bible thumpers determined to rip their souls out of their bodies and eat them in the name of Jesus (Night of the Living Saved?).

I don't exactly live a sheltered life and I can tell you in all honesty I might run into someone on the street trying to preach to me maybe 3 or 4 times a year. And you know what I do when they ask me "Can I tell you about the Gospel?"?

I say "no thanks". That usually takes care of it.

Even that once in a blue moon where I get an aggressive one---the kind who responds to my "no thanks" with a "Jesus died for you sir..." with that "...you ungrateful *******!" look on their face, I just turn and say "Well, tell him I said thanks, but I think he over-reacted".

That's always the end of it.

And as far as the JWs go, I don't have a problem with them either. I know that if I say "No thanks" they'll smile and leave.

I usually invite them in. Mostly because, for some reason, at least one of them is always cute (wonder if they plan it that way).

 

[Sententia]

Which is nice but doesn't really have anything to do with what I'm talking about.

I think it does.

Notice the personal pronoun there. This doesn't look like an accusation aimed at religious people in general to you?

I answered yes and qualified it.

Look, I live in the same world that you do. Nobody has to tell me that there are annoying habits and practices specific to religious people, just like any other group of people.

And since I don't live on Mars, I know for a fact when I hear people come into the forums complaining about street evangelists and JW's knocking on their door, and trying to use all that as an excuse to basically troll this place, that they're purposely blowing it all out of proportion---you would think that some of them were living out a religious zombie movie where every time they walk out of their front door they're suddenly set upon by hundreds and hundreds of screaming Bible thumpers determined to rip their souls out of their bodies and eat them in the name of Jesus (Night of the Living Saved?).

Cause the 5 or 6 people knocking on my door this year who were neighbor to neighbor, jehovah witnesses or mormon is equivalent to the family members and friends I have preaching to me at funerals, facebook, twitter, wakes and on one on one long walks around the block... Stop pretending to listen to me because me saying "no thanks" doesn't have anything to do with what I am talking about nor would I tell a door to door witness or mormon no thanks any more than I would tell my family or friends. (Unless they plan on knocking at my door at 5 in the morning or 100 times a year)

 

[Quagmire]

So tell me what you think this place should be used for.

again:

Mission Statement As a community of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, our aim is to provide a civil environment, informative, respectful and welcoming where people of diverse beliefs can discuss, compare and debate religion while engaging in fellowship with one another.

One of the few forums I have stuck around with over the years but if I have done some wrong tell me. I promise not to bother anyone with my arguments again. If I am breaking the rules or abusing this forum or not posting within the guidelines of why this forum was set up then let me know.

If you were. we already would have.

What you're doing in this thread that I'm objecting to is this: this thread was intended to talk about anti-theism, specifically the way it manifests itself here. There are literally thousands of threads in this place that bash religion and/or theism to one degree or another, but for some reason it seems like at least half of the people posting in this one want to change it into yet another one of those.

In other words, pretty obviously in a lot of people's eyes, this place is supposed to be about bashing and bagging on religion now. Period. I'm sure a lot of the people in here have their own private mission statement to that effect (in fact I know they do). Criticizing anything contrary to that is, it seems, the new taboo.

See what my objection is now? This thread ( as far as I could gather from the OP and the resulting dialogue) was supposed to be a critique of anti-theism. And yet, like I said, at least half the people in here, and I'm sorry but including you, are using it to bash religion/theism.

An effort not lost on me. By any means.



I have 2 kids now so am far from being a kid. Am I angry? Probably... But probably not about what you would expect me to be angry about. Is this forum a play ground for angry little kids? I doubt it... do you see it that way?

To a much greater extent than I would like to, yes.

Do you not think your time here has been well spent?

If this is as good as this place ever gets? No.

(I can't answer other than to say I have often appreciated you being here which you probably already know)

Well thanks, Sententia. And I'm sorry if I came off as hostile with you, but this thread in general is summing up a lot of things for me and showing me outright that a lot of the suspicians I've been having about what's wrong with this place for some time now, and why, were justified.

Among those:

---we've let a lot of people with personal agendas that run directly counter to the mission statement establish themselves here.

---very few of the religious people or theists here are willing to stick up for themselves in any sort of constructive way.

Just between those two things, I'm guessing this probably is as good as it's going to get.

 

[Breathe]

And since I don't live on Mars, I know for a fact when I hear people come into the forums complaining about street evangelists and JW's knocking on their door, and trying to use all that as an excuse to basically troll this place, that they're purposely blowing it all out of proportion---you would think that some of them were living out a religious zombie movie where every time they walk out of their front door they're suddenly set upon by hundreds and hundreds of screaming Bible thumpers determined to rip their souls out of their bodies and eat them in the name of Jesus (Night of the Living Saved?).

:spit:
Oh man. I so owe you frubals for that. I want to make it into my sig.

I've often thought the exact same thing. The way some members have posted about how they get preached to all the time makes it sound like they're being hunted missionaries as soon as they leave the house.

As you said, saying "No thanks" works wonders. I've encountered quite a few preachers, and I get missionaries from time to time. I've even had a couple of Islamic missionaries. "No thank you, I'm not interested. Have a nice day." has worked wonders for me.




As far as I've seen, anti-theism is just an emotional lashing out at one's past, going by stereotypes, or plain and simply people being ignorant and offensive because one thinks others are ignorant. I don't really think anti-theism is a good philosophy to have on a religious education forum.

 

[atanu]

I asked and was answered with yes. (Well a qualified yes)

My response is noted.

You may be justified in equating "Yes. Well maybe not attack, ---" that she said with "---was answered with yes. (Well a qualified yes)".

I do not agree however. And I do not agree that 'Focus' or 'criticize', the words she used originally ever could mean 'attack'.

OK. Let us decide to disagree and leave it.

 

[MataM]

Religion in its entirety can be disproved as with lack of information the imagination makes up for the short fall, hence the totality of information to formulate an answer is always the same. Just the imagination makes religion seem plausible as it is not founded upon reality.

One sentence..

Have a nice day.......

[Edit] and to clarify I am not in any way trying to annoy anyone just personify what I believe to be true. As any believe system which is founded upon logic will welcome a differing perspective as it will be a chance to reinforce the belief for the logical well thought out perspective it is. [Edit]

 

[Quagmire]

Religion in its entirety can be disproved as with lack of information the imagination makes up for the short fall, hence the totality of information to formulate an answer is always the same. Just the imagination makes religion seem plausible as it is not founded upon reality.

One sentence..

Have a nice day.......

[Edit] and to clarify I am not in any way trying to annoy anyone just personify what I believe to be true. As any believe system which is founded upon logic will welcome a differing perspective as it will be a chance to reinforce the belief for the logical well thought out perspective it is. [Edit]

See what I'm saying guys? Posts like this one are exactly what I'm talking about. :yes:

This poster comes into a thread that's supposed to be a critique of anti-thiesm, goes "LALALALALA--I don't care what this threads supposed to be about but here's a ridiculously shallow and uninformed generalization about religion...."

Oh, but I'm not trying to annoy you, MataM.

Have a nice day...

 

[Quagmire]

I think it does.



I answered yes and qualified it.



Cause the 5 or 6 people knocking on my door this year who were neighbor to neighbor, jehovah witnesses or mormon is equivalent to the family members and friends I have preaching to me at funerals, facebook, twitter, wakes and on one on one long walks around the block... Stop pretending to listen to me because me saying "no thanks" doesn't have anything to do with what I am talking about nor would I tell a door to door witness or mormon no thanks any more than I would tell my family or friends. (Unless they plan on knocking at my door at 5 in the morning or 100 times a year)

If you want to make a thread about all this, feel free.