Jesus christ

[xfire]

I do not judge any people, but I see atheism as a matter which is based on egotism.

Say one thing, do another. That's typical of a Christian.

Christianity despite its shortcomings include some sort of social message.

So, what? LaVeyan Satanism offers a social message, and The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster does, as well. Lots of paths offer a social message, you're just too fucking ignorant to search them out, let alone understand any of them.

 

[assari]

So, what? LaVeyan Satanism offers a social message, and The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster does, as well. Lots of paths offer a social message, you're just too fucking ignorant to search them out, let alone understand any of them.

^

Childish nonsense.

 

[xfire]

^ Childish nonsense.

You were so much worthier of Asshat of the Year than Sam.

 

[JasonCook78]

You were so much worthier of Asshat of the Year than Sam.

That's what I've been trying to tell everyone during nomination.

 

[assari]

You were so much worthier of Asshat of the Year than Sam.

Mr. Texas means that me and him are good candidates.

 

[xfire]

Mr. Texas means that me and him are good candidates.

Jesus can hear you, AssHatAri.

 

[eponymous]

I do not judge any people, but I see atheism as a matter which is based on egotism.

I would LOVE to read this explanation. Please, by all means, define egotism and how it relates to atheism. I double-dog dare you to weave some sort of compelling narrative that relates these two concepts.

Christianity despite its shortcomings include some sort of social message.

"There's a thing that's called 'Christianity', and while it isn't perfect - it has some drawbacks, here and there, only occasionally, depending on how you look at it, I suppose - it does have some "stuff" that might be, I dunno, considered "messages" by some people (those who happen to think a lot like I do, not that I'm judging anyone who doesn't think like me, cuz I'm not - or at least, not really) to be of a kinda, sorta, not really but mostly somewhat "social" in nature, which is important for, you know, some people, sometimes, or at least on Tuesdays."

Is this an accurate restatement of your professed belief in the "virtue" of Christianity?

 

[eponymous]

I went to college.

"Backslid Pentecostal" means you went to college? Is this frowned upon in your church?

I've only heard the term 'backslid' used to describe people who revert to their original faith, e.g., someone who is raised Presbyterian but converts to Catholicism, then goes back to being a practicing Presbyterian (not that there are too many of those, but still).

I ask out of genuine interest, not from any "assari-an" motives.

 

[xfire]

"Backslid Pentecostal" means you went to college? Is this frowned upon in your church?

I've only heard the term 'backslid' used to describe people who revert to their original faith, e.g., someone who is raised Presbyterian but converts to Catholicism, then goes back to being a practicing Presbyterian (not that there are too many of those, but still).

I ask out of genuine interest, not from any "assari-an" motives.

My parents professed a belief in God, but didn't attend church. I became interested in religions around the time of puberty. I attended a pentecostal church for a period of a few years, was saved, immersed in water, spoke in tongues, and became ordained. Not unusual for a teenager in rural East Texas. Backsliding, in any religion, is to turn away from your salvation. In the church I attended, if you backslide you can lose your salvation and go to hell.

What I meant by, "I went to college", is that I experienced a whole lot of pursuit of the flesh while I was there, enjoyed it, realized that even if there is a god, he would probably be as concerned about me fucking some hot co-ed as I would be about the ants in the anthill by the tree by the steps in my front yard getting a little freaky. Life isn't solely about having fun, but it's too short to live in fear of being damned in the afterlife, particularly if there's no guarantee of an afterlife. Religion is merely a man-made institution constructed to control the lives, but more importantly, the purse strings of the dirty masses. Now, if someone takes comfort in the belief of a higher power, that's great and that harms no one. If someone uses other people's belief in a higher power to manipulate and control them, that's not great and that does harm others. Going to college exposed to me perspectives and worldviews that I had never encountered and taught me to be open minded, but to think critically and logically. That's something I would have never experienced in church.

 

[assari]

I would LOVE to read this explanation. Please, by all means, define egotism and how it relates to atheism.

We can divide people into three groups;

-Barbarians

-Christians

-Other religions


The barbarians are materialistic people, Christians have some sort of social message and other religions are foreign to me.

That's why I think that Christians have the best theses.

But this is a matter of opinion and someone else sees it quite differently.

Amen

 

[Jagger69]

A couple comments/suggestions:



I think Agnosticism is stronger than this, or at least, stronger than the first part of your statement.

It isn't so much that an Agnostic "doesn't know," it's that all the evidence both for and against all forms of theism - and all the evidence that could ever be brought in the future - simply isn't persuasive. Consequently, an agnostic doesn't think the issue is decideable, not now, not ever. Simply saying one "doesn't know" implies that one hasn't yet made up their mind or has temporarily suspended judgment.

This may not be a large distinction to most people, but I think it makes a difference.

Atheists, on the other hand, believe there is in fact sufficient evidence to conclude that there is no God. Where Atheists and Agnostics agree, I think, is on the last part of your statement, i.e., that regardless of what one believes, the issue is really moot as it does not affect our lives in the least.





I view Buddhism as Christian Asceticism without a divine being. There is a spiritual side of Buddhism in the overall understanding of the nature of the Cosmos, but it isn't the central focus of the religion, and Buddha isn't divine the way Jesus is believed to be (indeed, for Buddhists, there is no "ultimate reality"). But most of Buddha's central teachings are identical to those of Jesus once you remove the notion of eternal salvation or damnation. You can find in Buddha's Four-Fold Path every major moral and ethical teaching from the Sermon on the Mount, for example.

For this reason, I've always preferred to call Buddhism a Worldview, not a religion. To me, a religion is a kind of Worldview, as are various philosophies. Buddhism is sort of in-between.

I do truly appreciate the insights and I think you make some excellent observations but I think you're arguing semantics for the most part. "Not knowing" and remaining "unpersuaded" are pretty indistinguishable from my perspective. Both express doubt/uncertainty and I think that's at the center of agnosticism (mixed with a healthy dose of apathy as well). Likewise, my definition of religion has more to do with a spiritual doctrine whose principles a given individual might choose to live his life based upon his concern for whatever might happen to him after death. I don't believe that it requires some sort of deity or divine being to qualify as a religion but, again, it's a matter of personal interpretation. Call it a worldview if you wish. To me, it's a religion. My own personal truth is that my search for spirituality continues regardless of my fondness for the teachings of Buddha. I just haven't found anything that comes closer as of yet so....:dunno:

I do concur with your assessment of Buddhism when compared to the central teachings of Jesus. Part (a huge part in fact) of my problem with Christianity has to do with it's existence as an institution rather than a religion. From that standpoint, I pretty much detest what it stands for and I think Jesus would be right there with me just like he lost his temper with the money changers. Quoting from Ray Wylie Hubbard's Conversation with the Devil....

"....I said hotshot tell me this
Which religion is the truest?
He said they're all about the same
Buddha was not a Christian but Jesus woulda made a good Buddhist"

 

[eponymous]

I do truly appreciate the insights and I think you make some excellent observations but I think you're arguing semantics for the most part. "Not knowing" and remaining "unpersuaded" are pretty indistinguishable from my perspective. Both express doubt/uncertainty and I think that's at the center of agnosticism (mixed with a healthy dose of apathy as well). Likewise, my definition of religion has more to do with a spiritual doctrine whose principles a given individual might choose to live his life based upon his concern for whatever might happen to him after death. I don't believe that it requires some sort of deity or divine being to qualify as a religion but, again, it's a matter of personal interpretation. Call it a worldview if you wish. To me, it's a religion. My own personal truth is that my search for spirituality continues regardless of my fondness for the teachings of Buddha. I just haven't found anything that comes closer as of yet so....:dunno:

Yeah, these are just my own thoughts, and I'm not trying to force them on anyone. I realize a lot of people would consider such differences merely semantic, but to me, being "uncertain" implies that one could eventually decide something one way or the other, whereas I see the agnostic position as being certain that the "God" question is fundamentally "undecideable", both now and in the future. I think that's enough of a difference to matter for classification purposes.

And I wholly agree that religion does not necessarily require a concept of the divine, which is why I find Buddhism fascinating. I know of no other "revealed" (i.e., prophetic) religion with no clear concept of a divine. It truly is a religion without God. I think of all religions as worldviews, and many philosophical systems as well.


Hey, Assari! By any chance, do you know what the literal meaning of 'religion' is?

 

[eponymous]

We can divide people into three groups;

-Barbarians

-Christians

-Other religions


The barbarians are materialistic people, Christians have some sort of social message and other religions are foreign to me.

That's why I think that Christians have the best theses.

But this is a matter of opinion and someone else sees it quite differently.

Amen

No, it ISN'T a matter of opinion, because you STILL haven't said anything! Perhaps if you articulated a position that used definitions other people could recognize, then you'd have an actual thought worth defending. And let's please not forget that you were asked to justify your view that atheists are egotists, but instead you chose to make a completely different unsubstantiated and meaningless claim, viz., that Barbarians are materialistic.

'Barbarian' is a catch-all term that is used the same way racial epithets and ethnic slurs are used. It is meant to suggest that somebody is "not like us" or "a heathen." The term originated with the ancient Greeks, who imitated the unfamiliar languages of the people they conquered by repeating the same syllable: "bar bar bar," which is roughly equivalent to deliberately slurring your speech when talking to someone with Down Syndrome.

The point is: just because somebody is different from you culturally, linguistically, religiously, ethnically, racially, etc. DOESN'T mean they're inferior to you, only different. They may simply be less technologically advanced, or they may actually be despicable people, but you can't make that determination based on shallow observation, to say nothing of the wildly ignorant and offensive generalizing you've been engaging in.

If anyone really took your category distinctions seriously, they'd really be forced to lump Barbarians and people of other religions together, which would make 2 groups, not 3.

And you're still saying deliberately vague things like "some sort of social message" when you know it doesn't mean anything.

Really, you're completely hopeless. I don't know why I'm just now coming around to that self-evident truth. I guess I just couldn't resist the temptation to point out total idiocy and expose your true troll motives.

So I hope you enjoyed it, because I'm officially through with you now.

 

[eponymous]

My parents professed a belief in God, but didn't attend church. I became interested in religions around the time of puberty. I attended a pentecostal church for a period of a few years, was saved, immersed in water, spoke in tongues, and became ordained. Not unusual for a teenager in rural East Texas. Backsliding, in any religion, is to turn away from your salvation. In the church I attended, if you backslide you can lose your salvation and go to hell.

What I meant by, "I went to college", is that I experienced a whole lot of pursuit of the flesh while I was there, enjoyed it, realized that even if there is a god, he would probably be as concerned about me fucking some hot co-ed as I would be about the ants in the anthill by the tree by the steps in my front yard getting a little freaky. Life isn't solely about having fun, but it's too short to live in fear of being damned in the afterlife, particularly if there's no guarantee of an afterlife. Religion is merely a man-made institution constructed to control the lives, but more importantly, the purse strings of the dirty masses. Now, if someone takes comfort in the belief of a higher power, that's great and that harms no one. If someone uses other people's belief in a higher power to manipulate and control them, that's not great and that does harm others. Going to college exposed to me perspectives and worldviews that I had never encountered and taught me to be open minded, but to think critically and logically. That's something I would have never experienced in church.

Oh, okay. So pretty much just like a lapse Catholic. Raised or indoctrinated in a faith, but no longer practicing. The college reference just threw me a little.

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[JasonCook78]

Jesus owes Rufus $12.

 

[assari]

Hey, Assari! By any chance, do you know what the literal meaning of 'religion' is?

Enlighten me.

And let's please not forget that you were asked to justify your view that atheists are egotists, but instead you chose to make a completely different unsubstantiated and meaningless claim, viz., that Barbarians are materialistic.

Barbarian; A person who does not have a spiritual view/A person who believes that he is the center of all

 

[JasonCook78]

Enlighten me.

Barbarian; A person who does not have a spiritual view/A person who believes that he is the center of all

Wrong so wrong!! Do you know what a barbarian even is?

Barbarian:
1. A member of a people considered by those of another nation or group to have a primitive civilization.
2. A fierce, brutal, or cruel person.
3. An insensitive, uncultured person; a boor.

 

[assari]

Wrong so wrong!! Do you know what a barbarian even is?

Oh my God...


Barbarian-word can mean many different things;

-Atheist

-Cave man

-Satanist

-Uncultured man

-Aborgine

-Psychopath

-Fool

-A cruel person

-Sociopath

-Church burner

-A violet person

-A dirty person

-A brutish person

-Poorly dressing person

-Bearded person

-Uncouth person

-An ugly person

Etc. etc.

 

[xfire]

Oh my God... Barbarian-word can mean many different things; -Atheist -Cave man -Satanist -Uncultured man -Aborgine -Psychopath -Fool -A cruel person -Sociopath -Church burner -A violet person -A dirty person -A brutish person -Poorly dressing person -Bearded person -Uncouth person -An ugly person Etc. etc.

Barbarians cover a lot of ground, so it would seem. Yet you say there are three groups of people. Are you saying that there are no Christians that live in caves, are uncultured, psycho-pathological, foolish, cruel, sociopaths, violet (sic), dirty, brutish, poorly dressed, bearded (lmao), uncouth, ugly, etc etc? Draw me a Venn Diagram.

You enjoy trolling this shit, don't you? Do you think you're going to burn in hell?

 

[assari]

Barbarians cover a lot of ground, so it would seem. Yet you say there are three groups of people. Are you saying that there are no Christians that live in caves, are uncultured, psycho-pathological, foolish, cruel, sociopaths, violet (sic), dirty, brutish, poorly dressed, bearded (lmao), uncouth, ugly, etc etc? Draw me a Venn Diagram.

You enjoy trolling this shit, don't you?


Do you think you're going to burn in hell?

-Christian can live in a cave or be ugly, but it does not make him or her a barbarian.

-If you are a Nazi or you do not have any other life than internet then my thoughts bother you.

Normal people understand that there are a variety of opinions and they do not let them distract themselves.

-If I make the murder then I have chosen the path that leads to destruction.