Der Trihs: the stomach ulcer of atheism

The BBQ Pit
121

[QUOTE=gonzomax]
\ We have christian organizations like Robertson and Falwell getting tax dollars. That is new .They claim somehow that funelling money through them is for charity and social betterment. They ignore the church /state separation.
[/QUOTE]
Where is this supposed to have occurred?

Bush’s “Faith Based Initiatives” were all sound and fury signifying nothing. The limited legislation he was able to get passed made no substantial changes to the situation that had been in effect for years (whereby a religious organization providing social services may bid to become a state or county provider–provided they scrupulously separate their religious proselytizing from their good deeds).

Robertson’s Christian Coalition waged a decade-long fight for tax exempt status that the IRS denied on the grounds that it was, effectively, a political action committee.

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[QUOTE=Liberal]
Incidentally, Mr Dibble, I’m surprised to learn that Der Trihs shuns his Pit threads. It is remarkable that he can call people delusional idiots everywhere on the board except for where it’s supposed to be done.
[/QUOTE]

Perhaps he shuns the pit threads because he has been pitted so many times it’s hardly worth his while popping in to defend himself.

FWIW I rather like the guy, he has the courage of his convictions and is not afraid to voice them no matter the controversy that will inevitably ensue

123

You are aware, aren’t you, that it’s not just atheists who are fighting Creationism and ID in schools. Do you have any info on the background of the people who actually brought the suit? (I saw the TV program, but can’t remember myself.)

Like Seige, I am a strong supporter of separation of church and state.

124

[QUOTE=George Kaplin]
Yeah, but let’s be fair to Der Trihs here. Most people’s religious beliefs are stupid. And I mean really fucking stupid. Stupid as in having absolutely no connection whatsoever to observable reality. Stupid as in being little more than an arcane agglomeration of goatherding folk tales, diluted iron age philosophy, outright ignorance and, occasionally, a healthy dose of pre-modern barbarism. Stupid as in “Like a fairy tale which would be cute and endearing if believed by a four year old, but which is frightening and dangerous when believed by an adult”.

I am so sick and fucking tired of the deference with which religious beliefs are treated in public discourse. I am sick of the anaphylactic reaction of so many believers to even the mildest criticism (not that Der Trihs and I are especially mild). I’m fed up to the back fucking teeth of couching statements critical of religion in weasel words and unctuous, sycophantic fluff to ensure I don’t set off the hair trigger tempers of those all too eager to take offence for God.

You people need a reality check and an attitude adjustment.

If only one person believed what the average Christian, Muslim, or Jew believed, he would be regarded as mentally ill. Some might hypothesise that his illness was catalysed by an infection of some sort, viral encephalitis perhaps. If he tried teaching his unique metaphysical beliefs to children, he would be regarded as subversive. That he would be both obsessive and delusional goes without saying. My point, in a nutshell, is that what is thought sacred today is only held in such esteem because it was thought sacred yesterday. Religious beliefs have been consecrated by time and tradition and not a damn thing more. For fuck’s sake, what possible reason do we have to treat these mindbogglingly ludicrous beliefs as anything more substantial than fantasies? And why should those speaking plainly about their idiocy and obvious incongruity with observable reality be met with censure and ostracism?

I’m sorry to rant, but there’s only so much of this crap I can take.
[/QUOTE]

Word!

125

Well, Liberal, if you want him gone, make him an offer.

:smiley:

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[QUOTE=Linty Fresh]
Maybe he is and maybe he isn’t, but as far as I’m concerned, sifting through Trihs’s posts to find the good ones is too much like looking for a sandwich in a landfill. It doesn’t matter how good the sandwich is. I don’t care if it’s got extra thick turkey slices and that yellow deli mustard, it’s not worth sifting through garbage to find it, especially since I can get a sandwich anywhere.

Likewise, this board is full of reasonable posters who make a worthwhile contribution and don’t feel the need to tell us how they hope our troops get slaughtered in Iraq or how theists are retarded. Trihs isn’t a jewel in a pile of shit. He’s a lump of dog shit in a jewelry store.
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I was thinking the same thing, only you said it better, LF. If this message board didn’t exist DT would be (and heck, probably does) spamming usenet boards with all kinds of kooky hateful crap.

127

[QUOTE=Sapo]
Plus, he makes many very good posts on many other subjects. If we had a filter where one could specify block all posts from DT that contain the words Bush, Iraq, God or Religion, that would be great. Blocking him altogether you would be missing out many good posts.
[/QUOTE]

You just have to develop that filter. Mine works 95% of time. He occasionally still gets me to see red on the “Death to the American Soldier rants”, but in most threads where these occur, I can anticipate his post when I see his name and largely ignore it.

Jim

128

One question unaddressed in this thread: If Der Trihs is the “stomach ulcer of atheism”, that means atheism is a stomach.

So what organ is religion?

In Liberal’s case, it seems to be a spleen. :slight_smile:

129

Liberal,from your post count,it’s obvious you’ve turned all four cheeks and exceeded 70x7 as regards Der Trihs.
From our own exchanges I’m thinking maybe you should switch to boxers or stop sleeping on peas.
That big a deal huh?

130

[QUOTE=NDP]
Here’s a relevant web article to chew on: “10 Things Christians and Atheists Can (and Must) Agree On.”
[/QUOTE]
A very good read. An eye-opener. Thanks.

131

Lib, let me ask again: If there is some philosophy / belief which you think is really harmful and deluded, and you are discussing it here on the SMB, would you speak nicely about it, or would you state openly that you do in fact think that it is harmful and deluded?

(Im not saying that religion is either of those things.)

For instance, what do you think of the Red Khmer and Stalinism?

(Im not saying they are like religion, Im just asking what you think of them.)

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[QUOTE=chowder]
Perhaps he shuns the pit threads because he has been pitted so many times it’s hardly worth his while popping in to defend himself.

FWIW I rather like the guy, he has the courage of his convictions and is not afraid to voice them no matter the controversy that will inevitably ensue
[/QUOTE]

From a previous thread, I believe he stated that he was “picked on” as a kid, and pittings of himself bring back those memories, so he avoids them.

I can’t imagine someone picking on him. The mind boggles!

As for Der Trihs being the kind of person who keeps the US from being a theocratic state? No fucking way.

At the heart of things, Der Trihs is, and probably will always be, a coward. He has a big impact on a message board, where he can spout his bile at anyone who dares to question him, but I imagine in his limited dealings with the Real World he is quiet as a churchmouse. So to speak.

I think what is most infuriating about him is that, part of me really wants to like the guy. He posts decent stuff in CS when Sci-Fi comes up, his writing is clear and concise.

And I avoid religous threads, so I don’t usually see that side of him.

But his threadshitting in GD in regards to ANYTHING to do with Iraq, his handwaving of opposing viewpoints and his refusal to accept any citation that supports any stance but his own is trolling, pure and simple.

If a new person came here, and acted that way right from the start, they would be out so fast their sig line would just be a vapor trail. But, like others, because he waited to reveal his evil side, he slid under the radar and now it would take an act of god (so to speak) to get him out of here.

In fact, I feel that he is a detriment to the GD forum. If I see a thread about Mid-East policy or something that I would like to read, as soon as I come across his inevitable shit filled postings, I stop reading. Someone could provide the ironclad solution, but as soon as Der Trihs jumps in the thread to say “All US soldiers are murders, Bush is gonna overthrow the government, when we are all dead on the streets of Baghdad it will be like Sesame Street there! I refuse to reply to anything you say because all of your cites are lies and controlled by the gov’t!” I stop reading. His trolling ruins GD for me sometimes.

I bet I’m not the only one

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[QUOTE=What Exit?]
You just have to develop that filter. Mine works 95% of time. He occasionally still gets me to see red on the “Death to the American Soldier rants”, but in most threads where these occur, I can anticipate his post when I see his name and largely ignore it.

Jim
[/QUOTE]

Seconded. That particular subject is a touchy one personally for me, but in order to learn anything about the subjects that I truly care about I have to seperate intellectual me from passion me or otherwise I can’t really get any work done with my knee jerking up all the damned time and bumping my desk. That being said I do admire DT for never ever wavering on his message. The man believes what he believes so very ferverently and there’s a part of me that admires that kind of dedication. If religious thought was a stack of bricks, Der Trihs could punch through it like a Kung Fu master with that kind of focus. I don’t know that I could ever focus that hard, so that part I admire. I do think that he could do more good if he felt that way about, oh, road construction in the greater Chicagoland area however.

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[QUOTE=mr. jp]
Lib, let me ask again: If there is some philosophy / belief which you think is really harmful and deluded, and you are discussing it here on the SMB, would you speak nicely about it, or would you state openly that you do in fact think that it is harmful and deluded?
[/QUOTE]
Sure. Wealth redistribution, for example. It is utterly barbaric in its conception.

135

[QUOTE=Tristan]
In fact, I feel that he is a detriment to the GD forum. If I see a thread about Mid-East policy or something that I would like to read, as soon as I come across his inevitable shit filled postings, I stop reading. Someone could provide the ironclad solution, but as soon as Der Trihs jumps in the thread to say “All US soldiers are murders, Bush is gonna overthrow the government, when we are all dead on the streets of Baghdad it will be like Sesame Street there! I refuse to reply to anything you say because all of your cites are lies and controlled by the gov’t!” I stop reading. His trolling ruins GD for me sometimes.

I bet I’m not the only one
[/QUOTE]

Although he is far from achieving that singlehandedly, I do agree that GD is dead because of him (and his equivalents). A pity because GD was the reason I joined here, and why I am doubting if it makes any sense for me to renew.

136

Der Trihs consistently says unpopular things in a very blunt fashion. He is reliable and consistent. He doesn’t waver in the face of near universal condemnation, despite often being mentioned as if he were the board whipping boy. He doesn’t have emotional meltdowns all over the board. He, to my knowledge, has never tried to solicit comfort or feedback from others. In particular, he has never proclaimed his imminent demise.

I may not always agree with the content or manner of expression of his posts, but I have a great deal of respect for him because of the qualities I’ve outlined above.

And I would like to stop seeing posts asking him to refrain from agreeing on a position because the poster thinks that gives that position a “bad name.” Nut up and have your beliefs regardless of how others express theirs, be they the same or contrary.

137

[QUOTE=Hentor the Barbarian]
He doesn’t have emotional meltdowns all over the board.
[/QUOTE]
Every one of his posts is an emotional meltdown.

138

[QUOTE=Liberal]
Every one of his posts is an emotional meltdown.
[/QUOTE]
Really? That sounds like an over-the-top exaggeration. Why would you need to do that, if you had a point?

139

[QUOTE=Hentor the Barbarian]
And I would like to stop seeing posts asking him to refrain from agreeing on a position because the poster thinks that gives that position a “bad name.” Nut up and have your beliefs regardless of how others express theirs, be they the same or contrary.
[/QUOTE]
That’s what bugs me more than anything. Believe me, people of all philosophical stripe have to put up with people who express similar views in an extreme or unpopular fashion. If you are really so afraid that people will equate you with those folks, then figure out a way to express your opinion that will differentiate it. If I felt I had to convince everyone not to associate me with every religious wacko who comes along, I would go crazy. I certainly hope that people around here are smart enough to figure out that beliefs are not one-size-fits-all.

140

Here’s an observation:

Liberal and Der Trihs feed off each other. If one simply ignores the other they each lose their preaching pulpit.