Quote:
Originally posted by stuartj
I think the rest of your post has been dealt with turbo, by others, but im interested in this part.
I am not trying to demean you, but i think your beliefs are irrational, and frankly, ridiculous. That doesnt mean i think you are those things- there is hope for you yet.
For me, and I think more and more atheists, Im not prepared to give religion a free kick any longer. Why do we exempt religous beliefs from the scrutiny we apply to anything else? Why is "because this is what I believe" good enough, even often for courts of law? Why is my belief in faeries in my garden less valid than your beleif in god when the evidence for both is the same?
Its time we started asking -why do we unquestioningly beleive/accept these things? Its absolutely correct to ask people who beleive what you do to substantiate those beliefs- or take them out of the courts, achools, the public realm.
Finally you say religion offers us a feeling of well being, of belonging, and its mean spirited to attack it. So on two points on the this
1. Religion consoles us. And it does. You will never be disappointed about not getting eternal life in heaven, but your belief that this will occur can surely affect the way you live here and now.
2. Religion offers a feeling of belonging. Yep sure does. Every suicide bomber, every jihadist knows the feeling.
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You call my belief ridiculous when in fact you have no idea what my beliefs are, now that's ridiculous.
You changed the topic from belief in a creator to religion. This rather feeble attempt to change the subject suggests a lack of a good argument.
I never mentioned any religion, nor would a rational person believe this conversation is about religion.
Next you lie to make a point. Isn't that the sign of a truly desperate combatant? You don't believe in fairies and you claim you do to make a point. I don't challenge your belief just your integrity.
To remove God from the public realm is an attack on the very fabric of our culture. Our very freedom is granted to us not by man or government or even a piece of paper. If our very freedom was granted to us by any of these entities then it could be revoked by that entity. Our constitution clearly state that "we are endowed by our creator" and if in the public realm you eliminate the creator the next thing to go is our freedom.
Next you quote me inaccurately in an attempt to make your point. Have you any integrity at all. I never said anything about reline and yet you say " Finally you say religion offers us a feeling of well being, of belonging, and its mean spirited to attack it".
1. Religion consoles us. And it does. You will never be disappointed about not getting eternal life in heaven, but your belief that this will occur can surely affect the way you live here and now. I never said I have any belief in an after life. Once again you're just making ***** up.
2. Religion offers a feeling of belonging. Yep sure does. Every suicide bomber, every jihadist knows the feeling.
Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Lincoln, 90% of the charitable organizations world wide, 90% of the solders fighting for our freedom, a vast majority of the founding fathers, a vast majority of the health care workers that strive to provide the us with longer, healthier lives. In short of the 6 billion people on earth I might agree that .0001% might distort their view of God to an evil goal. Basically a meaningless noise.
Stuart
One last question. If you eliminate religion, what do you propose to replace it with?