spindrift Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 Hmmm so I find your cut and pasted piece of text to be a lame, schholyard attempt at satire and you break out the personal abuse? How very resonable, rational and tolerent of you... As you seem to have missed the point entirely I'll explain. We are talking about looking at theists and atheists hence discussing behaviour not beliefs. Now we have: A) A subset of atheists are shrill, agressive, promote their beliefs and world view as The Truth and denegrate and attack those who hold different beliefs. B) A subset of theists are shrill, agressive, promote their beliefs and world view as The Truth and denegrate and attack those who hold different beliefs. Get it now? I would strongly suggest you read this on how to be an atheist without being an aggressive, abusive monomaniac... Unfortunately plekhanov is unable to discuss religion with posting the kind of vile filth that got the pope thread shut down. It's a great shame, I have no idea why he behaves like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milquetoast1 Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 I think you are generalising, though fair enough you are right for the vast majority. But belief in a god does not necessarily mean that you believe you should impose your (believing it is God's) will on other people, and disbelieving god does not necessarily mean you don't. I have little doubt that there are plenty of atheist homophobes for example. Atheism is a lack of belief in god, and that's it, so it certainly does not prevent an atheist holding homophobic views. However, putting homophobic views into action to actually discriminate against homosexuals takes motivation. Conviction that homosexuality is sinful is such motivation. I am willing to wager that every high profile example of attempts to actually enforce policies that are discriminatory towards homosexuals has religion at the source of the motivation. There was a thread recently where a surprising number of people admitted to holding racist views. I guess most of us, if we are honest, deep within us hold prejudiced opinions about certain sections of society, and yet society carries on regardless because the motivations for actually acting on these prejudices simply isn't there. Theism or atheism alone cannot provide motivation to discriminate, but religion can. Hence the truth in the satirical OP, which is as equally applicable to deists as it is to atheists. In a healthy society, where many differences exist, "raising our eyebrows and shrugging our shoulders" is always the best response to legal opinions or actions that we don't agree with. As I type, I notice this story in today's news: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/841556-going-to-hell-teacher-removed-from-roman-catholic-school A supply teacher was removed from a Roman Catholic school after he told pupils that two of their classmates who had committed suicide were ‘going to hell’. What motivated this teacher to make those horrible words was not his belief in god, but specifically Catholic doctrine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sccsux Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 belittle people and abuse their beliefs because they are different from yours. Which is what you do to anyone who is not a supporter of your chosen cult. you and your fellow atheists shouldn't be allowed to gang up on people. If you hadn't posted such antagonistic drivel (on a thread about a topic you have no knowledge of) and took the topic "off topic", no one would be saying anything to you. Get a grip man:rolleyes:. Has the fact that this is a satirical article totally gone over your head? Most things do that with Grahame:D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spindrift Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 What motivated this teacher to make those horrible words was not his belief in god, but specifically Catholic doctrine. If it was Catholic doctrine she would have remained in her post. Using one idiot teacher to attack the entire church is daft: Last year the Catholic Church in England and Wales appeared to soften its stance on suicide, claiming it should be greeted with “compassion” rather than blame. The proper actions were promptly taken, no-one could have predicted that a teacher of any faith would be callous enough to say something like that to a classroom full of pupils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milquetoast1 Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 If it was Catholic doctrine she would have remained in her post. Using one idiot teacher to attack the entire church is daft: Last year the Catholic Church in England and Wales appeared to soften its stance on suicide, claiming it should be greeted with “compassion” rather than blame. The proper actions were promptly taken, no-one could have predicted that a teacher of any faith would be callous enough to say something like that to a classroom full of pupils. The fact remains that Catholic doctrine was the motivation for him to say those words. BTW I did find your post #81 very funny. Confirming every satirical element of the OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spindrift Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 The fact remains that Catholic doctrine was the motivation for him to say those words. And the motivation to remove him from his post. Weak point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairyloon Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 Atheism is a lack of belief in god... I think Atheism is a belief in the non-existence of god. Simply not believing would be more agnostic. Though I would like to draw a distinction to the Born Again Agnostics, who firmly believe that there may, or may not be a God, rather than wishy washy uncertainty. As I type, I notice this story in today's news: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/841556-going-to-hell-teacher-removed-from-roman-catholic-school A supply teacher was removed from a Roman Catholic school after he told pupils that two of their classmates who had committed suicide were ‘going to hell’. What motivated this teacher to make those horrible words was not his belief in god, but specifically Catholic doctrine. Two suicides in one class? Makes you wonder if there is a connection with the doctrine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spindrift Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 I think Atheism is a belief in the non-existence of god. Simply not believing would be more agnostic. Though I would like to draw a distinction to the Born Again Agnostics, who firmly believe that there may, or may not be a God, rather than wishy washy uncertainty. Two suicides in one class? Makes you wonder if there is a connection with the doctrine. Other way, it seems atheists are more likely to take theor own lives: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/Swiss_losing_their_religion_are_more_suicidal.html?cid=28341526 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alien Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 I think Atheism is a belief in the non-existence of god. Simply not believing would be more agnostic. Though I would like to draw a distinction to the Born Again Agnostics, who firmly believe that there may, or may not be a God, rather than wishy washy uncertainty. Two suicides in one class? Makes you wonder if there is a connection with the doctrine. Even the moonies would have a time competing with those numbers.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairyloon Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 Other way, it seems atheists are more likely to take theor own lives: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/Swiss_losing_their_religion_are_more_suicidal.html?cid=28341526 That is a bit misleading of you. Assisted suicide for the terminally ill is not comparable to teenage suicide by the terminally depressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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