Comments on: Insanity vs. Christianity

By: cooperati

cooperati — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 06:35:32 +0000

damn, i'm so torn. i have teeth implants(well, one), AND i have a clean haircut... what's a mutant from dimension x supposed to do?

-=T=-

By: cooperati

cooperati — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:35:32 +0000

damn, i'm so torn. i have teeth implants(well, one), AND i have a clean haircut... what's a mutant from dimension x supposed to do?

-=T=-

By: CarlM

CarlM — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:02:47 +0000

Michael, I didn't say that religions didn't have a Hell. I said that they didn't have the hell that was implied in the cartoon. (I'm usually pretty careful about how I phrase things.) I think that your description of how religions often view "hell" is accurate.

For the record, I DO consider myself agnostic. My arguments here have been intended to show flaws in the reasoning of the arguments being used. I believe that science is the appropriate way of looking at the structure of the physical world and the universe and that religion and/or religious ideas should not be a part of science education.

I do NOT believe that religion is the threat to civilization that Daniel believes it to be and I have been trying merely to argue that point. Like most things in this world, religion is not purely good or purely evil. Many people believe in religion as a story and don't believe in their literal truth. As you say, there are many who choose to believe that some parts are story and other parts are truth. I am not one of those people, but I don't see them as a threat to civilization. THIS was my argument. Daniel perceives religion as a threat to civilization. I find this absurd and I find his arguments lacking. That's all I've been saying.

In THIS thread, I was simply pointing out that the cartoon was a straw man argument.

By: Michael S Black

Michael S Black — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:38:45 +0000

OK, I've avoided this for a bit, but seriously Carl, you are applying an inordinate amount of logic to defend religion, when the average lay person of almost ANY region has practically NO knowledge or understanding of the "higher mysteries" other than vague ideas. Use Kaballah in Judaism, or Sufiism in Islam as examples.

You CAN NOT argue faith with logic...while not mutually exclusive, they do not follow the same strictures of thought.

I know of many devout people who will agree the world is NOT 6-7 thousand years old, that GOD did not create everything as a fixed setting, etc.. YET will still say Jesus died, was buried and rose from the DEAD.

to rebut the example of Hell though, ALMOST all religions have a hell, it's just many of them do not refer to it as hell though. MOST of the time, it is the dissolution of the spirit or removal of the deity's blessing that could be considered hell, not a specific plane/place/state...

Oh and for the record, I do not consider myself atheist or agnostic. I am a devout worshipper of my religion, it just took me 24 years and traveling to over 40 countries to find it. I have danced with Sufi's...It is an experience I would greatly recommend, even if the entire judeo-Christian mythology is ludicrously complex and just wrong.

By: CarlM

CarlM — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:36:27 +0000

That's MUCH better than the other arguments you have been making, but I would point out that the guy held as an example of a religious person here is making comments SIMILAR but not identical to those who follow their faith religiously.

Here is where your claim that I may be shielded from the vast throngs of religious humanity with their misunderstandings of what their faiths teach may be right. My views may be colored by my experiences with religious people.

You realize I'm sure that many religions (including Judaism) do not have the concept of Hell that is implied in his comments. Indeed, there is no uniform Christian vision of Hell. See for example: http://www.publicbookshelf.com/mystery/journey-...

In NO vision of Hell does God cast people that THIS guy doesn't like into hell. (Any Christian who claims to know that some particular person is going to hell has not read the Bible .. and is easy to demolish in a debate.) Finally, nobody with either of these opinions would refer to empirical evidence (I assume that this is what they are referring to) as "actual" evidence. And, the majority of religious people believe in empirical evidence. Those who (for example) are fighting to get creationism taught in schools should be fought. We cannot allow non-Science to be taught in Science classes. (Most mainstream religions believe this too.) It's easy to create a cartoon representation of something and then slay that cartoon. Religion isn't so simple as a cartoon.

By: xys

xys — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:16:06 +0000

lol you were replying about the FAITH IN YOUR love last time i commented LOL

what is love ?? its nothing physical (thats just physical attraction).... your faith in your LOVe for your girlfriend it doesnt exist, its just attraction until one of you two find another object of desire

By: Paul Spoerry

Paul Spoerry — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 04:04:01 +0000

That about sums it up doesn't it.