# Ask the atheist, 15 year old, male Hoosier. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 20, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436 "2005-03-20T16:52:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Atheist\_Princess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@Atheist\_Princess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atheist_Princess)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/101 "2005-03-28T12:00:12Z")
Who cares about my spelling? Or where my bashing is done? This is a forum regarding religion or lack there of so its quite logical for me to be putting my two or three cents… So in future jsc1953, keep your inane comments to yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/102 "2005-03-28T12:06:54Z")
> [@Athiest Princess](#): > > Who cares… where my bashing is done? The moderators and administrators of this board do. And so do most of the members. The “BBQ Pit” forum has been created for that purpose (“If you gotta flame, do it here”). Please open a new thread there if you want to pursue this. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Atheist\_Princess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@Atheist\_Princess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atheist_Princess)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/103 "2005-03-28T13:23:28Z")
Now thats not really fair…this is an open discussion. I’m not exactly bashing either, I simply put forward my opinion on the subject. I’m not out to offend anyone, just to say how I feel. Its not that I dont appreciate religion and belief, I just dont agree. And others are allowed to ‘bible bash’ so what would be so bad about me making comments? ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/104 "2005-03-28T14:09:13Z")
> [@Athiest Princess](#): > > Hello Strinka, > > I’ll firstly point out that in Australia, most people couldn’t give a flying crap about religion. > > Why wasn’t he put in a looney bin? I mean face it, his mother was a whore, he was a disillusioned bastard (in every sense of the word). > > I really dont mean to be insulting to those who beleive in “God”, but for “gods” sake, keep it to yourself. 😃 I think these are the things being referred to in previous posts. I too am an atheist (though far from a Princess) but I have to agree that **Strinka** was offering a calm and civil discussion to allow those who _are_ interested in various viewpoints to ask questions. This isn’t a “keep it to yourself” type disscussion. But it should be a civil one. And the irony of a statement like this coming from **Nicodemus2004** isn’t lost on me. ---
**Author:** ![Atheist\_Princess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@Atheist\_Princess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atheist_Princess)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/105 "2005-03-28T14:48:41Z")
Ok, I was kinda harsh, but if this isn’t “keep it to yourself” type dicussion, then I shouldnt have to keep it to myself. Either way, I’ll aim to be more polite and show some tolerance and sensitivety to those who do have different beliefs to myself. Please, let me know if that will to anyone’s detriment. ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/106 "2005-03-28T22:01:05Z")
I have not read _The Demon-Haunted World_ (You’re supposed to italicize book titles or underline if you’re writing by hand since handwriting is hard to italicize). I’m going to the library on Wednesday, I’ll look for it then. Oh, and **Large Marge** , you never answered my question. Why did you want me to respond to you individually and not lumped in with others? ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/107 "2005-03-29T00:34:21Z")
> [@Strinka](#): > > I have not read _The Demon-Haunted World_ (You’re supposed to italicize book titles or underline if you’re writing by hand since handwriting is hard to italicize). I’m going to the library on Wednesday, I’ll look for it then. Sorry, I thought I did italicize it. Looking back, I see I hit Bold instead. If you get it, let me know what you think after you have covered a couple of chapters. I love the whole book but I think Chapter 10 " The Dragon in My Garage" is the one I quote the most. **Skeptic Magazine** provides a" **Baloney Detection Kit**" to colleges to use in teaching critical thinking based on a section of this book of the same name. Enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/108 "2005-03-29T04:07:22Z")
> [@Strinka](#): > > I have not read _The Demon-Haunted World_ (You’re supposed to italicize book titles or underline if you’re writing by hand since handwriting is hard to italicize). I’m going to the library on Wednesday, I’ll look for it then. > > Oh, and **Large Marge** , you never answered my question. Why did you want me to respond to you individually and not lumped in with others? Because it’s easier for me to follow and to reply. When you have four other responses in there when I hit the reply button, it makes it a bit more difficult to formulate (and code) a response. I also had hoped that if you responded to us one at a time, instead of lumping us all into groups, that the answers may become a bit more in depth. ---
**Author:** ![Othersider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/cab0a1/32.png) [@Othersider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Othersider)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/109 "2005-03-29T07:47:22Z")
> [@Athiest Princess](#): > > I’ll firstly point out that in Australia, most people couldn’t give a flying crap about religion. Sure, we have churches, Catholics, Christians, Jehovah’s and what have you…but most of celebrate Easter for the chocolate and Christmas for the presents. Who cares about God? Or whatever he/she is being called in various different countries… :wally > > And for that matter, what about Greeks and Ancient Romans? Apparently, we were created by this almighty being yet none of it seems to matter until after this guys “son” gets crusified. Why wasn’t he put in a looney bin? I mean face it, his mother was a whore, he was a disillusioned bastard (in every sense of the word). But, what happened to these other countries hey? One day they just landed there? They have been there for thousands of years, both cultures have their own set of different gods. Venus, Aphrodite, Neptune and such were beleived to have controlled different sections of like. Yeah. Whatever. So does that mean that Zues and God are like brothers? And Satan is thrown in there somewhere? Perhaps as a scorned, illegitimate brother? > > And Astrology, some people are calling this a religion so while i’m on a role…its all about planets, moons and stuff that really dont make much sense. There are billions of people in the world…divide that by 12 for each of the zodiac signs. Right, so we’ve cut it down to groups of millions. So out of those millions, we’ll say about 50% read their horoscope in a daily newspaper. There are thousands of daily newspapers around the world. But do they have the same predictions? No. And does that mean that I, as a gemini, can look forward to the same fate that all other gemini’s are set for that day…provided they’re reading the same newspaper that is… :smack: :dubious: This post reeks of ignorance. I’m not one for proselytizing (especially since I don’t espouse any dogma completely…that I’m aware of anyway), but you seem to be quite unlearned in theology. I’m not saying that you can’t be apathetic towards it (which it seems you most definitely are), I’m saying you shouldn’t criticize what you don’t understand. > [@Athiest Princess](#): > > Who cares about my spelling? It’s my humble opinion that anyone who takes any pride (however modestly) in being an intelligent human being should endeavor to express his or herself as clearly and correctly as possible. Of course, your first post shows you don’t share the same penchant, not that there’s anything wrong with that. > [@Athiest Princess](#): > > [Who cares] where my bashing is done? This is a forum regarding religion or lack there of so its quite logical for me to be putting my two or three cents… So in future jsc1953, keep your inane comments to yourself. This thread is in a forum called “Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share”. Bashing is normally relegated to “The BBQ Pit”, and theological discussion to “Great Debates”. Of course, you don’t have to start a new thread there just to respond to a post, but if you’re going to start a _new_ topic, obviously it goes in the other forums. Welcome to the board. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/110 "2005-03-29T11:03:41Z")
> [@Othersider](#): > > you shouldn’t criticize what you don’t understand. Accept it, **Othersider** … our sons and our daughters are beyond our command. ---
**Author:** ![Atheist\_Princess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@Atheist\_Princess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atheist_Princess)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/111 "2005-03-29T12:16:33Z")
I take a lot of pride in everything I say. What would be the point of me speaking, writing etc. if I was ashamed of my opinions? Andyou’re being terribly hypocritical. You’re doing exactly what I did, voiced an opinion. So I should hardly be chastised for voicing my opinion even if it is somewhat controversial. I may have made a few stereotpical comments but really, no need for the lectures. I already said that I would make an effort to keep my opinions at a tolerable level so ease up a little aye? Thanks for the welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/112 "2005-03-29T12:36:13Z")
The reason a lot of people criticize others for a perceived lack of learning in theology is that they forget that it takes no theological training to be a religious person, for the act of simply listening politely to society and to ones parents is enough to make a lil’ tyke into a religious person. Atheism on the other hand, actually requires one to read over holy books, see if apologetics are sufficient, and weigh philosophies in one’s mind. At least for the most part, that is. I decided that the whole thing was a waste of a perfectly good Saturday morning, _and then_ found the many inconsistencies and barbaric philosophies in the torah. ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/113 "2005-03-29T21:14:56Z")
> [@Large Marge](#): > > I also had hoped that if you responded to us one at a time, instead of lumping us all into groups, that the answers may become a bit more in depth. Nope. I respond as in depth as I feel necessary whether replying to everyone at once or one at a time. > [@Othersider](#): > > I’m saying you shouldn’t criticize what you don’t understand. I couldn’t agree more. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/114 "2005-03-30T00:35:48Z")
[QUOTE=Scott\_plaid] The reason a lot of people criticize others for a perceived lack of learning in theology is that they forget that it takes no theological training to be a religious person, for the act of simply listening politely to society and to ones parents is enough to make a lil’ tyke into a religious person. Atheism on the other hand, actually requires one to read over holy books, see if apologetics are sufficient, and weigh philosophies in one’s mind. At least for the most part, that is. [QUOTE] I’m not sure I agree with that. I think there are many atheists whose rigorous intellectual examination of the issue consisted of: 1. I don’t see any god anywhere. 2. My dog died. How can there be a god? 3. The whole thing sounds dumb. You don’t have to look too far to see this. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/115 "2005-03-30T02:37:58Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > 1. I don’t see any god anywhere. > 2. My dog died. How can there be a god? > 3. The whole thing sounds dumb. Mmmm…okay. Sounds good to me. ---
**Author:** ![Othersider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/cab0a1/32.png) [@Othersider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Othersider)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/116 "2005-03-30T07:29:56Z")
> [@Sample\_the\_Dog](#): > > Accept it, **Othersider** … our sons and our daughters are beyond our command. She said she’s 17. I’m 24. There’s something wrong with this picture. :smack: 😃 (Yes, I got your point…I was just trying to make a joke…heh) ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/117 "2005-03-30T11:29:17Z")
> [@Othersider](#): > > I got your point…I was just trying to make a joke Yes, but my point was also just a joke. 😉 Did you get that, too? If not, I’m gonna feel really old! There are some songs I thought were eternal. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2005, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/118 "2005-03-30T18:30:46Z")
> [@Sample\_the\_Dog](#): > > Yes, but my point was also just a joke. 😉 Did you get that, too? If not, I’m gonna feel really old! > > There are some songs I thought were eternal. Which one is this? I can’t quite get it. Reminds me of _And these children that you spit on As the try to change their world Are immune to you consultations They’re quite aware what their going through Chachacha Changes_ Bowie ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/119 "2005-03-31T02:17:03Z")
OK, I got _The Demon-Haunted World_. It’s in my hand right now. I’m going to put it down now, because it’s hard to type like this. Ahh…much better. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2005, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436/120 "2005-03-31T03:37:19Z")
> [@Nicodemus2004](#): > > Which one is this? _Come mothers and fathers Throughout the land. And don’t criticize What you can’t understand. Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command. Your old road is Rapidly agin’. Please get out of the new one If you can’t lend your hand, For the times they are a-changin’._ Bob Dylan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-atheist-15-year-old-male-hoosier/295436.md?page=7)