miketually – Member

Admitting you believe in religion is just admitting you are thick, with no mind of your own and that, well, basically you're a bit shit.

Is it just admitting to being religious that makes you a bit thick? What if you keep quiet about it?

The vicar of our local CofE church gained a chemistry degree before he did his doctor of theology. One of the church wardens has a biology degree and the music group leader is a physics doctorate. The thick, brainless shits.

One of my Physics teachers at High School was a minister. One of the muslims that tried to blow up Glasgow airport was a Doctor.
Most of us have the intellectual capability to get a university degree if we put our minds to it.
I'm guessing your beliefs are C of E because that's what your parents were. That's why it's unlikely you would follow Islam or Judaism.
It's hard to break the habit of a lifetime.
Some of us believe everything we're told, others question it.

No that's understanding "God" not understanding religion.

doesn't that depend which books you read ?

As an aside, I find these threads useful. I moved from Catholicism to regular atheism 40 years ago, but then during a previous discussion I realised that was too dogmatic and changed to pantheistic indifference, accepting any finite integer non negative number of gods, but today I've realised that finite is too restrictive and if there are any gods, there may necessarily be an infinite number, though from our narrowed perspective they might as well be just the one, if we average out their individual beliefs ?

Not the best position to take the high horse is it?

I high horsed my bike off a massive step down last weekend. Not a good place to high horse at all!

Holy **** went through my mind as I flew through the air, thank god for the well placed thorn bush that I landed in.

Walked away wih a ring of thorn marks around one of my legs and stigmata like marks on my palms… hallelujah brothers and sisters.

One of my Physics teachers at High School was a minister. One of the muslims that tried to blow up Glasgow airport was a Doctor.

And were they thick? Or a bit shit?

I'm guessing your beliefs are C of E because that's what your parents were.

You're guessing incorrectly, in more than one way.

Some of us believe everything we're told, others question it.

Some of those who believe everything they're told are not religious. Some of those who question what they have been told are religious.

[quote]Some of us believe everything we're told, others question it.[/quote]

There is no rational basis or explanation for religion apart from it seems to meet some need in the human psyche.

Therefore it is useless to attempt a rational discourse on religion with believers as their belief is not rational

TandemJeremy – Member

There is no rational basis or explanation for religion apart from it seems to meet some need in the human psyche.

Therefore it is useless to attempt a rational discourse on religion with believers as their belief is not rational

+1

There is no rational basis or explanation for religion apart from it seems to meet some need in the human psyche.

This is a momentous day. I agree with TJ (a little bit)!

So if being religious makes someone's life feel a little bit less meaningless, why not just let them get on with it?

I'm pretty sure KT1973 is trollin', but if not, wow!

No that's understanding "God" not understanding religion.

doesn't that depend which books you read ?

I'm not so sure. You can be religious but not follow or even believe in God/s (even though the dictionary definition of religion has a God/s). You can also belive in God/s and not follow a religion.

My original point to the op was you can't understand a subject by reading one author and insulting others who live a life based on that subject.

Personally the existence of God/s (past present and future) is pretty irrelevant to the main focus of life and I and everyone else don't know.

It does remind me of a story from a zen (priest) friend who told me a story about a #student who asked the head monk, "what happens when we die", and the Monk said " I don't know I'm not dead".

#badly paraphrased

Right my Grandad was a Vicar, my Dad… an atheist.

My belief is that religion has no place in my life, I don't need to believe in all that nonsense to make me happy. But if you do and you don't want to force your beliefs on me then what business is it of mine.

Now, was my Grandad intelligent……yeah he was. One of very few men to make Officer in the Navy from a working class background. Now for a man who lived his life by the good book why did he suffer the indignity of dieing a long drawn out death with Parkinsons diesease?

My Gran, his wife actually renounced her beliefs as she watched him suffer and died happier herself for taking back that control.

But as I say… each to their own…

why not just let them get on with it?

like they do in Israel and Palestine

and insulting others who live a life based on that subject.

but there's the rub – can one rationally claim to follow Jesus in a militant fashion ? Or perhaps Jesus was too wimpy and you just pick the violent bits out of the Bible ? It all seems a bit complicated 🙁

In general, the more you try to beat people into accepting that there is no god (or on the other hand, an infinite amount of gods) the more entrenched in their beliefs they become.

You can take all the material things away from people, take their freedom, their vote. You can completely disenfranchise them, but you can't really take away their beliefs. If they hate you and you believe something different to them, then it's kind of natural for them to want to also believe differently from you. People with a siege mentality will often be the last to convert.

Rather than browbeating them with rationale and logic and science and other clever stuff, just let them come to their own conclusions. It doesn't really matter that much.

It doesn't really matter that much.

amen to that brother 🙂

"A newspaper used to have a bloke who went around, and if you recognised him and said "You are blah-blah and I claim my £5" he would give it to you You had to have a current copy of the paper to qualify."
That would have been 'chalky white' Simon. As to the rest of the opinions on this thread, I don't really want to get involved, especially after thr shoeing I got last time – as someone else on here has already stated, critisising other's 'faith' is like shooting fish in a barrel, and the 'enlightened atheists' making the comments appear far more evangelistic than the people whose beliefs they are critisising. If it makes you happy…

and the 'enlightened atheists' making the comments appear far more evangelistic than the people whose beliefs they are critisising.

but I'm encouraging people to make up their own religions. I've had 3 today so far. I suppose that could be construed as evangelising speculation?

Can we have just one day without beating our collective heads against this most unforgiving of walls..?

Certainly not!

Simon – I didnt mean you, I was directing it at the Dawkins fan boys.
You are SFB and I claim my five pounds!

but I'm encouraging people to make up their own religions. I've had 3 today so far..

lol, I did something very similar in my performance art days, though mine included backward Julie Andrews singing out from my arm pits and mars bars, oh those days 😳 🙄

Ok, so who else didn't notice spiderman for a bit longer than was comfortable…. 😳

He does whatever an hassidic jew can…

Sorry I'm late, all sorts of things kept cropping up at the last moment.

I'm just pulling up a chair on this one, as I've nothing new to add. A relief to many, I'm sure.

Anyway, I'M Woppit and I claim MY OWN £5. Er, hang on a minute… 8) 😉

I agree with both TJ's posts
As an atheist what is the point having this debate every week/day so we can poke, prod, offend and insult those of faith? Plenty of bright and stupid folk on both sides of the debate – don’t forget a double noble prize winner was the main proponent of homeopathy and Newton believed in Alchemy
Will it actually change their view of anyone?
The only view of mine that has changed as a result of these is to realise there are a number of highly intolerant atheists on here.

Anyway, I'M Woppit and I claim MY OWN £5.

Are you sure or is that just what you've been led to believe?

But how is the £5 to be raised? Voluntary donations? Government funded?

I think we should be told…

Ok, so who else didn't notice spiderman for a bit longer than was comfortable

+1

You are SFB and I claim my five pounds!

uh, you have to actually meet me, and you have to be carrying a current copy of Singletrack* 🙂

Ok, so who else didn't notice spiderman for a bit longer than was comfortable

he is the least weird

* and you may be sure the publication demanded may vary…

Will it actually change their view of anyone?

well, my views have changed as a result, but one might say that what a person believes only matters to them, it what they do that matters to everyone else. Though I would be interested to hear what those who believe in an objective god think of the beliefs of that god. I've been trying to work out if it's a kind of meta-belief where you believe in a god that believes in such-and-such or if you accord that god its own reciprocal freedom of thought ?

Game over, apparently…

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1209858/Jesus-Siberia-Ex-traffic-policeman-says-son-God-leads-thousands-followers-Russia.html

"uh, you have to actually meet me, and you have to be carrying a current copy of Singletrack*"
How about a copy of last month's 'butt pie' ?

How are you today, barnsley? Better, I hope? What on earth is "butt pie"?

How about a copy of last month's 'butt pie' ?

I'm not clear on your denomination but I believe sodomy to be deprecated ?

"How are you today, barnsley? Better, I hope? What on earth is "butt pie"?"
Fine and dandy, thank you. Butt pie is (alledgedly) a gentlemans relaxation magazine specialising in photo – pictorials of young ladies back bottoms. Edited and part owned by one certain SFB, if I'm not mistaken (I may be wrong on this one).

Edited and part owned by one certain SFB, if I'm not mistaken (I may be wrong on this one).

http://www.buttpie.com

Ladies bottoms?

Proof, surely, that there is indeed a God…

More evidence, just in case it were needed…

Junkyard
[/quote]don’t forget a double noble prize winner was the main proponent of homeopathy

Of course how could we….er…

barnsleymitch – Member

"How are you today, barnsley? Better, I hope? What on earth is "butt pie"?"
Fine and dandy, thank you. Butt pie is (alledgedly) a gentlemans relaxation magazine specialising in photo – pictorials of young ladies back bottoms. Edited and part owned by one certain SFB, if I'm not mistaken (I may be wrong on this one).

Oh. Butt Pie.

Young ladies bottoms. Hm.

Is there a different terminology for the sort of rear favoured by the officers of your own (part time) denomination?

You cant switch off can you woppit?

Just getting thread back on track, barnsley…

Sorry, I thought it was about 'religious end of days nuts', I forgot that all threads mentioning religion had to revolve around paedophilia in the catholic church. Silly me!

That's O.K.