Religion

  On 4/30/2012 at 3:40 AM, EleminoP said:

 

it's fun to make up your own religions.

.. and profitable.

the problem i have with the concept of an after life is it reminds me too much of the need for humans to have closure in a story, but if you observe life and the universe it is cruel and nothing about it is fair. Life does not owe you an explanation and the only thing that has made life somewhat comfortable on earth is human hard work.

  On 4/30/2012 at 3:42 AM, YO303 said:

  On 4/30/2012 at 3:40 AM, EleminoP said:

it's fun to make up your own religions.

 

.. and profitable.

+1 insightful

Doesn't it ever seem odd to Christians, Jews, and Muslims that the most important things to ever occur as well as the only supernatural events took place within the span of a couple thousand years in a very small region of the world?

  On 4/30/2012 at 5:24 AM, Candiru said:

Doesn't it ever seem odd to Christians, Jews, and Muslims that the most important things to ever occur as well as the only supernatural events took place within the span of a couple thousand years in a very small region of the world?

Yeah but to each ones own's religion, they are "special".

  On 4/30/2012 at 4:05 AM, marf said:

the problem i have with the concept of an after life is it reminds me too much of the need for humans to have closure in a story, but if you observe life and the universe it is cruel and nothing about it is fair. Life does not owe you an explanation and the only thing that has made life somewhat comfortable on earth is human hard work.

I second that

  On 4/30/2012 at 3:42 AM, YO303 said:

  On 4/30/2012 at 3:40 AM, EleminoP said:

it's fun to make up your own religions.

 

.. and profitable.

especially a coupla centuries ago when you needed armies to invade other lands...

Quite an emotional story on NPR about a Methodist minister who lost faith and recently admitted it publicly.

  On 5/1/2012 at 10:46 PM, joshuatx said:

Quite an emotional story on NPR about a Methodist minister who lost faith and recently admitted it publicly.

Is it an iPhone ad or something?

Religion is a crime against humanity.

Religion is a crime against another's beliefs.

[youtubehd]yBo7Z_abiLE[/youtubehd]

i usually think this guy is a cunt, but this video is fucking hilarious....his response to the first statement is fucking ZOLE. plus now I finally understand that one skrillex meme Ive seen in someone's avatar.

RIP venomfangx

I hate that atheist guy, i don't like when atheist become activist. I thought atheism was about freedom from religion, these atheists activist are thinking about religion all fucking day long.

  On 5/5/2012 at 4:14 AM, YO303 said:

RIP venomfangx

 

I hate that atheist guy, i don't like when atheist become activist. I thought atheist was about freedom from religion, these atheists activist are thinking about religion all fucking day long.

why dont you like it? why shouldn't atheists become activists?

i think this board is convincing me more and more that in-your-face atheism is more good than evil.

Because why would you care?? once you became an atheist you should live your life free of religion and religious stuff, why keep going on about it? When i became an atheist i loved the idea of being free from all organized bullshit.

  On 5/5/2012 at 4:22 AM, YO303 said:

Because why would you care?? once you became an atheist you should live your life free of religion and religious stuff, why keep going on about it? When i became an atheist i loved the idea of being free from all organized bullshit.

seriously?

hey, are you a Democrat? If so, why do you care about Republican ideology? Its not like it affects you anymore, man. Duuuuude.

  On 5/5/2012 at 4:14 AM, YO303 said:

RIP venomfangx

 

I hate that atheist guy, i don't like when atheist become activist. I thought atheism was about freedom from religion, these atheists activist are thinking about religion all fucking day long.

I thought that atheism was about a lack of belief in God. Atheism is a pretty big catch-all as it contains nihilists, secular humanists, some Buddhists, etc.

  On 5/5/2012 at 4:25 AM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

  On 5/5/2012 at 4:22 AM, YO303 said:

Because why would you care?? once you became an atheist you should live your life free of religion and religious stuff, why keep going on about it? When i became an atheist i loved the idea of being free from all organized bullshit.

 

seriously?

 

hey, are you a Democrat? If so, why do you care about Republican ideology? Its not like it affects you anymore, man. Duuuuude.

I don't follow/care about politics but i would say a conservative politician has more power to affect my life than some random christian. Me caring about what someone else's believes in a waste of time, me caring about what laws a politician might or might not pass is reasonable because it could affect me directly.

you are right on the lack of belief part.

  On 5/5/2012 at 4:32 AM, YO303 said:

  On 5/5/2012 at 4:25 AM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

  On 5/5/2012 at 4:22 AM, YO303 said:

Because why would you care?? once you became an atheist you should live your life free of religion and religious stuff, why keep going on about it? When i became an atheist i loved the idea of being free from all organized bullshit.

 

seriously?

 

hey, are you a Democrat? If so, why do you care about Republican ideology? Its not like it affects you anymore, man. Duuuuude.

 

 

I don't follow/care about politics but i would say a conservative politician has more power to affect my life than some random christian. Me caring about what someone else's believes in a waste of time, me caring about what laws a politician might or might not pass is reasonable because it could affect me directly.

in the UK maybe. In the US I can destroy your entire point of view with two words (or rather, names):

Ronald. Reagan. Check the 1980 election stats.

I just don't understand why atheist worry/care about some fucking idiot's poem about jesus, yeah its great to make fun of it but that Amazing Atheist guy is taking it way too seriously and getting angry, that poem is not something you should get angry about.

  On 5/5/2012 at 4:38 AM, YO303 said:

I just don't understand why atheist worry/care about some fucking idiot's poem about jesus, yeah its great to make fun of it but that Amazing Atheist guy is taking it way too seriously and getting angry, that poem is not something you should get angry about.

because the guy is lying. and millions of people take it as truth just because he drops Jesus in there every few bars.

When I see people being swindled by evangelists that claim to heal the sick and that feed upon the desperation of the masses for sole personal gain, I want to say something. Call it empathy, I dunno. I guess Im just arrogant for believing that these people should not be respected, and they should be criticized.

  On 5/5/2012 at 4:22 AM, YO303 said:

Because why would you care?? once you became an atheist you should live your life free of religion and religious stuff, why keep going on about it? When i became an atheist i loved the idea of being free from all organized bullshit.

I think that's really true, I have a couple of friends who were raised in religious households, and even though they had theoretically lost their faith, they continued to wrestle with the ideas of faith, guilt, and organized religion into their late 20s and 30s. It always made me depressed how much "mental bandwidth" these ideas still consumed for them. It really is true that if they "get you young" and religion is able to embed itself in your mental tissue, it can be very hard to shake. I compare it to being sexually abused as a child, you can never really be free of it, even if you come to understand how wrong it was.

That's why even though I think they are childish, I do have some sympathy for Dawkins and others like him, who seem to devote their lives to attacking organized religion. I'm assuming they were brought up in strict religious households and therefore still remember the sting and bite of faith-based mental shackles.

But then, perhaps that sort of angry reaction is unique to ex-Christians, it wouldn't surprise me if a religion that toys with so many negative emotions - guilt, eternal punishment - leads to more angry and resentful ex-members.

I'm just glad these sorts of thoughts rarely intrude into my mind, it's a blessing to have been raised in a non-religious household, I guess. On the other hand, I did more drugs as a teen than I probably would have done if I had a tighter sense of community. So perhaps it all evens out.

right, so many openly aggressive atheists tended to suffer past abuses from an acknowledged system of organization prevalent throughout human civilization. how dare they be angry. why be angry about anything?

  On 5/5/2012 at 4:49 AM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

right, so many openly aggressive atheists tended to suffer past abuses from an acknowledged system of organization prevalent throughout human civilization. how dare they be angry. why be angry about anything?

woah hold on there cowboy, thats a huge leap of faith you took there.

I can see lumpenprol's point, i come from a mildly religious household, they never really forced me to believe, go to church etc, if i came from an strict religious household i would probably be singing a different tune right now.

  On 5/5/2012 at 4:42 AM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

  On 5/5/2012 at 4:38 AM, YO303 said:

I just don't understand why atheist worry/care about some fucking idiot's poem about jesus, yeah its great to make fun of it but that Amazing Atheist guy is taking it way too seriously and getting angry, that poem is not something you should get angry about.

 

because the guy is lying. and millions of people take it as truth just because he drops Jesus in there every few bars.

 

When I see people being swindled by evangelists that claim to heal the sick and that feed upon the desperation of the masses for sole personal gain, I want to say something. Call it empathy, I dunno. I guess Im just arrogant for believing that these people should not be respected, and they should be criticized.

ahhh empathy, that's where we differ, you have more than me.

all im doing is going on the same supposition others have stated over and over in this thread (daddy issues, oppressive upbringing, etc.). its a ridiculous premise to try to disavow atheists speaking their mind as arrogance and aggression...whereas everyone that declares objective truth based on old scripture should be given time, respect, and understanding.