janie48 Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 Completely. The freedom to ignore it, joke about it, satirise it, and tell it to p*ss off is essential too.That's probably the reason why some with a faith prefer to keep quiet about it should the subject crop up. If only to avoid being pressured into silence by those who mock them or tell them to "p*ss off". Who could blame any one for denying a belief when faced with that kind of reaction. Ah of course. Pascal's wager. Gods reward worship even if it is not genuine. Most gods historically were so inclined, but the way Yahweh is generally depicted it seems unlikely he'd fall for it. I find myself incapable of believing something unless I think its true. I struggle with the idea of choosing to believe something based on the idea that it would make me happy. I have to be convinced of the truth of the matter. Well its very fashionable not to believe in God, so stick with the populist majority opinion if that suits you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buck Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 Unless you're believing in the wrong one, and the real one is grumpy about that and sends your for eternal punishment of some kind... ---------- Post added 07-09-2013 at 18:00 ---------- Not true as far as I've seen. And you know obviously that Islam is a religion and not a race... There's always that of course, but as they say, what the hell. ---------- Post added 07-09-2013 at 16:03 ---------- That's probably the reason why some with a faith prefer to keep quiet about it should the subject crop up. If only to avoid being pressured into silence by those who mock them or tell them to "p*ss off". Who could blame any one for denying a belief when faced with that kind of reaction. Well its very fashionable not to believe in God, so stick with the populist majority opinion if that suits you. Know what Janie, atheism runs deep in Sheffield life. There's some kind of strange pride in saying as lodly as possible "I don't believe in God". That's fine, just leave it at that. But then they say they hate evangelists, and become evangelists of a different kind, bullying, call believers names, spouting on about sky pixies and the like. They go on about the different religions. Certainly there has been much bloodshed created between the different sects in many countries, but the basis remains belief in a single diety. America has been blamed for being too religious, but almost every religion in the world is practised there, and there is very little friction between any of them. If America's atheists and faithful can get along with each other, why can't Sheffield? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Sleeps Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 America has been blamed for being too religious, but almost every religion in the world is practised there, and there is very little friction between any of them. I'll dispute that*, but offer one sincere marker. You have a secular state that would defend your right to go to church and my right not to. It's a worthy thing too. *Westboro Baptist Church, Mormon wars, Kennedy's catholicism, etc etc etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maz3 Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 If someone told you they believed a women got pregnant on her own with no help whatsoever and was having the son of god most would treat them with ridicule. I'm going off on a tangent here, but there was a tribe of people somewhere (don't ask me to remember the name) who never made the link between having sex and having children. Just, people were people, and some women miraculously sprogged every now and then. Put a whole new slant on things! Marriage, possessiveness over people didn't exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janie48 Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 Know what Janie, atheism runs deep in Sheffield life. There's some kind of strange pride in saying as lodly as possible "I don't believe in God". That's fine, just leave it at that. But then they say they hate evangelists, and become evangelists of a different kind, bullying, call believers names, spouting on about sky pixies and the like. They go on about the different religions. Certainly there has been much bloodshed created between the different sects in many countries, but the basis remains belief in a single diety. America has been blamed for being too religious, but almost every religion in the world is practised there, and there is very little friction between any of them.If America's atheists and faithful can get along with each other, why can't Sheffield? They do in Sheffield for the most part Buck, at least that's been my experience, but this is SF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootsBooster Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 He states that believers will be disappointed if there is no god after death. They won't be disappointed, they'll just be dead. If we believe in God and there is a life after death we'll be fine, if not too bad. Only if you believed in the right god But having believed was better than having no hope to start with. How so? And hope for what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryedo40 Posted September 7, 2013 Share Posted September 7, 2013 But then they say they hate evangelists, and become evangelists of a different kind, bullying, call believers names, spouting on about sky pixies and the like. I don't hate evangelists. But I find them extremely annoying when pushing Jesus, God, creationism and other sloppy ideas. If America's atheists and faithful can get along with each other, why can't Sheffield? Atheists do get along with theists in Sheffield. But when Christians are evangelising or attempting to infiltrate schools with anti-scientific BS or seeking privilege like free parking and transport while others are denied those same privileges, you can't expect atheists to sit back and say nothing. Not all theists do get along with atheists in the US: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/ (plenty of examples here) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zamo Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 Not true as far as I've seen. And you know obviously that Islam is a religion and not a race... Of course but the race of the majority following the religion means it comes in for less critical critique. The 'left' who would normally band about accusations of sexism, homophobia etc in response to beliefs and practices instead look the other way. Why? Because they fear even the possibility of a racism accusation... The worst of all crimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootsBooster Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 I often find myself in debate being told that one person's opinion on a particular matter is not subject to criticism because it comes from their faith. My own opinion on the matter is that the right to religious/theistic beliefs should be respected, but not necessarily the beliefs themselves. I fully respect that people are entitled to believe what they want but if the beliefs themselves are irrational and without reason, then opinions formed from these beliefs (used in arguments and debates, as stated in the OP) are subject to criticism and scrutiny, same as anyone else's argument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buck Posted September 8, 2013 Share Posted September 8, 2013 Only if you believed in the right god How so? And hope for what? Talk sense for a change:rant: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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