Any atheists around?

Yeah Gouldy I'm very "on the line". Sometimes I find myself a tad on the Christian side, sometimes on the "non-religious" side (I guess I hate using the word atheist since for some reason I never feel that the term fits even though it's basically what it is). Usually on the Christian side I find (or in the past, I found) that my views are basically what dj-dj said. I do feel like atheists (and some hardcore Christians) take The Bible way to literal in what it says...I feel that it's more of a metaphor or allusion to the guidelines to being that person. I can't think of any specific examples, but I think some of the text is in words that people of the time can understand so they can fathom it better. At least that's what I deducted from the sometimes incredibly unrealistic tales in The Bible. They didn't happen exactly like that...it's more metaphorical (not a good i.e, but: Noah's Ark may not have been specifically a "boat"), but I can't think of any good examples.

Either way, like I said, at this point I'm just like "meh". I'll see if something sweet happens when you die later. I have no facts to base what happens, so I'm not going to draw conclusions. Drawing conclusions no matter the situation is just a bad way to go. Now, I do feel that some people of religious faith DO think that they feel something higher than them, and I respect that. I can tell that whether it's something inane like hallucinations, the spur of the moment, or something that really is out there, it is affecting people. Not because they are "scared that they will go to hell" or something of the like, but because they genuinely feel what they believe is true based off of things that have happened in their life. I haven't, so that's why I don't feel religious. Either way, I'm not going to mess with/convince people otherwise...that's not my business nor do I even want them to be atheist (sometimes I feel that it's better that way).

Just live life, see what happens later. The end.

[gouldy]

Originally posted by AJClarke0912

Noah's Ark may not have been specifically a "boat"

It may not specifically have been a "boat", BUT; a supposedly loving god destroyed everyone and everything on the planet with a flood (Impossible. And which fossil records show obviously never happened) simply because he felt not enough of them were giving him enough compliments?? Whether you look at these stories metaphorically, or literally, it doesn't matter, because either way they almost all teach HORRENDOUS morals.

Morality is entirely secular, it's when people do draw their morals from religious scriptures that problems begin to occur. This is bound to be the case when you think about it, given that they were written so long ago, before our secular morality had moved on to where it currently is. The same as anything written now, most likely being considered fairly immoral in 2000 years times. If someone reads the bible now, whether they read it literally or metaphorically, they can draw from it that; Killing children is fine, slavery is fine, paedophilia is fine, inscest is fine. This isn't a good message to have out there. On top of all that, it turns the people involved in it, into brainwashed morons who often care very little about the world, even though they very much claim the opposite. "I pray for these vicitms of X atrocity", then feel some sense of accomplishment and moral superiority over people, even though they have done absolutely nothing to help, other than talk to their own conscience.

I don't think I could prossibly live by the same ethos as some of you. When you say just live your life and see what happens, you're implying that religious laws/rules don't affect the way that people can live their lives. Just look to the middle east, where their secular morality hasn't yet been able to show through, because they're still so heavily indoctrinated in their religious scripture. All of the things I mentioned above, about the bible (Killing children is fine, slavery is fine, paedophilia is fine, inscest is fine) are true of the Islamic texts also, and since they haven't seen through this and begun to culture their secular morality, all of those things still go on, as if they are fine. I dare you to say "just live your life and see what happens" to a female child in Iraq, or Israel, or Palestine or basically any of the counteies in that area.

[Coasterkidmwm]

Originally posted by AJClarke0912
I feel that it's more of a metaphor or allusion to the guidelines to being that person. I can't think of any specific examples, but I think some of the text is in words that people of the time can understand so they can fathom it better.

Anyone been keeping track of how many genocides the "guidelines" in the Bible have been a strong motivator for since the year 2000? I'm curious if there are more than just Rwanda.

Even without major religion, there will always be minor religion. The radicals, the crazies. Your average Muslim doesn't even think remotely like that. Your average Christian doesn't even think remotely like that. To throw everyone under the bus like that is a terrible way to think. Many Muslims get poop for being "omg dem muslims gonna bom us or somethin" when they walk past someone that doesn't actually look at the details.

It's like saying that everyone under Saddam Hussein's power believed everything he did was good (if they saw his real actions...I'm not accounting mere blindness).

Either way, even if major religions were to die, you'll always have the crazy people that think they are something special and/or think radically. Even then, when I was saying I was going to "live my life and see what happens later", I was talking about myself and what happens in the end. As in, I'm going to live my life, and when I die, I'll see what happens. Until then, I will not know nor will I draw conclusions. I wasn't talking about how I'm just going to ignore how religion affects people, although in a sense that is true too because I don't get up in people's poop. Like I said, I'm not going to throw people under the bus. In fact, a lot of those people ARE non-judgmental, and if they are, they usually aren't going to get in your way. It's just the select few (Westboro, etc) that do, and obviously they need to be stopped in some way.

[gouldy]

Originally posted by AJClarke0912

Even without major religion, there will always be minor religion. The radicals, the crazies. Your average Muslim doesn't even think remotely like that. Your average Christian doesn't even think remotely like that. To throw everyone under the bus like that is a terrible way to think. Many Muslims get poop for being "omg dem muslims gonna bom us or somethin" when they walk past someone that doesn't actually look at the details.

Religious moderates are, in large part, responsible for the religious conflict in our world, because their beliefs provide the context in which scriptural literalism and religious violence can never be adequately opposed

Look up Sam Harris on Youtube, he is the clearest thinking person I have ever heard speak.

[Coasterkidmwm]

Originally posted by AJClarke0912

Your average Muslim doesn't even think remotely like that. Your average Christian doesn't even think remotely like that.

And yet you all do absolutely nothing about it and continue to apathetically derp around like nothing is seriously wrong.

Yeah...something wrong?

Sorry I don't always like being a complete asshole and be poop to people like you always do lol. I'm actually somewhat nice.

Originally posted by AJClarke0912

Yeah...something wrong?

Sorry I don't always like being a complete asshole and be poop to people like you always do lol. I'm actually somewhat nice.

That's not what CK was saying, AJ... He meant that "normal" Christians and Muslims just allow the radical extremists to do all these terrible things rather than standing up to them. If you were such a nice person, I'm sure you would gladly come to someone's defense should he be bullied for being gay... or you'll probably just ignore and be glad it's not your problem...

Well, fine I'll be the dick and not travel the world to tell Christians to stop allowing radicals to be mean sorry.

[gouldy]

Can I just point out that we've made it to page 6 of a discussion about religion and the thread hasn't yet descended into farce and been locked. I realise CKMWM's comment was a bit sarcastic but... has CC.com grown up?

Anyway, good job, chaps. It's been pretty interesting for the most part, I've actually quite enjoyed a lot of this thread.

Actually, rather than growing up, I think we've just hit a middle period where enough of our members are reasonably mature, and the ones who aren't mature know they're not mature and stay out of this discussion. Give it another year or two, and I'm sure it'll be all back to normal

[Coasterkidmwm]

Originally posted by AJClarke0912

Yeah...something wrong?

Sorry I don't always like being a complete asshole and be poop to people like you always do lol. I'm actually somewhat nice.

Only to stupid people.

And back on topic I'd have to say I'd consider republicans in the south praising Uganda for having family values and eating dinner with their president/prime minister/guy who paid the most/dictator/whatever asshole in charge while he tries to legalize genocide as a problem but whatever.

So yes I'd consider that "something wrong" but whatever you can keep clapping your hands together each week and talking to an invisible man in the sky while it ruins everything it touches.

Also nobody has taken up the challenge I proposed earlier where I said it's really hard to find something as statistically unsuccessful as christian programs such as pray away the gay or abstinence only. I'd really like to know if it's possible to find widespan programs that are more unsuccessful. The only thing that could even be close in caliber is "D.A.R.E. (USA drug program that didn't work because it was built on lies) but I'm pretty sure even D.A.R.E. has fared better.

Originally posted by Coasterkidmwm

Originally posted by AJClarke0912

Yeah...something wrong?

Sorry I don't always like being a complete asshole and be poop to people like you always do lol. I'm actually somewhat nice.

Only to stupid people.

So yes I'd consider that "something wrong" but whatever you can keep clapping your hands together each week and talking to an invisible man in the sky while it ruins everything it touches.

Well, I guess it's your lucky day. I'm going to be mean to a stupid person (i.e: you). Because you're too prejudiced and lazy to see that earlier in the thread I said I wasn't Christian.

lawl u dum

*awaits CK's reaction*

[gouldy]

Watched that video before. Scary, very scary. No where else in the world would that guy be able to get a job as a science teacher. He is one of the stupidest men I have ever heard speak and yet, somehow, the kids who are in his class are even more stupid. Like, a new level of stupid that I find quite difficult to comprehend, given their age. They're in a "science" class and the "teacher" doesn't point out why what they're saying about Evolution is stupid beyond comprehension.

I don't often advocate genocide (unlike the god of the Bible), but it is quite clear that the Southern states of the US are a lost cause, and it's time to start from scratch

[Coasterkidmwm]

They'll all die of chewing tobacco and their cultural diet of fried and sugared up everything early.

I love the last part:

I don't un-derstand... like... how can a h-white person... evolve... from a black person? They're like... diff'rint skee-in...

[SauronHimself]

Aren't topics on religion prohibited here?

Apparently not. Way to necro-bump, too, bro.

0:59 "Basically... it's not been proven."

F*ck you, yes it has.

Originally posted by NightwindElf

Apparently not. Way to necro-bump, too, bro.

only idiots who know nothing about the internet say that

^Wow, lets let him write what he wants.

Originally posted by RideWarriorNation

Originally posted by NightwindElf

Apparently not. Way to necro-bump, too, bro.

only idiots who know nothing about the internet say that

Cool story, bro

[hyyyper]

Originally posted by SauronHimself

Aren't topics on religion prohibited here?

Depends on how civilized it being discussed. Keep it clean and we'll keep the topic open. If you guys cannot control yourself, we lock it.

Well how about you just **** ****** **** ******* **** *** *******