Yes, it is. All that matters is how long it’s been.
Plus, facts are just facts. There’s no such thing as one that is depressing. YOU DECIDE to be depressed by it.
But, honestly, I don’t care so much that you hate. It’s your life to ruin, not mine. What I do care about is when you let it spill out in otherwise arguments. All it does is make you look foolish, and invalidates your argument before you even say it.
Your comments make people defensive. And once you become defensive, you believe yourself all the more.
In other words, your hatred for religion causes people to cling more tightly to it. You are what you hate.
Yeah, sure. :rolleyes: What doesn’t make them cling to religion? And what makes you think that faking respect towards it will somehow make them less religious?
When has acting all respectful towards a belief, especially an irrational belief EVER made people less likely to believe it? Racism and sexism weren’t fought against successfully by people who pretended that their opponents were reasonable. I keep hearing this theory that I and other atheists need to act all respectful towards religion; when has that ever done anything but reinforce it, or similar false beliefs?
It wasn’t intentional. I’ve always known his username was a backwards reference to the guys who always get killed first in Star Trek, but I always seem to drop the “h”. I think phonetically, and the “h” isn’t pronounced when it’s spelled backwards so I seem to drop it. It wasn’t meant to be an insult, it’s just a monkey not paying enough attention to detail. I noticed I’ve been doing it in the whole thread, but I’ll pay better attention now.
It doesn’t. but what the attacks and disrespect does do is make them vote. Seriously, I’m a Christian, but I cant stand the religious right, and the last thing we need is to make them mobilze. Make ignorant people feel attacked and they band togeather and pass ignorant laws. You want a constitutional amendment requireing creationism be taught in schools? Keep it up…There are enough wackos and enough apathetic reasonable people that they could do that if you make them afraid enough. (I’m exagerating here…but only barely).
Agreed completely, here in the UK we tiptoe around so as not to offend anyone of faith.
Parts of the Middle East are referred to as “The Holy Land”, well they are not holy to me (actually nothing is).
Mohammed is always referred to on the BBC as “The Prophet Mohammed”, once again, not my prophet.
We bend over backwards to accomodate people of faith and this is causing great problems. If I were speaking to someone who accepted the existence of unicorns or fairies I could, quite rightly, think they were mad, but if I dare criticise the Judeo/Christian/Muslim image of the psychotic superbeing I can be ignored, accused of many “isms” and even sued.
I too get depressed when I see the continued tollerance for outdated mysticism and the way it is granted equal footing with scientific evidence.
Sadly, I don’t see the situation improving any time soon and actually expect things to get worse, I try not to give in to hate, but sometimes it can be difficult, particularly when there is so much anti science propaganda out there.
I don’t have any words of wisdom to make things better, but you are not the only one to feel the way you do.
And the unicorn crowd aren’t demanding their baseless superstitions are written into our laws.
They aren’t arbitrating on who can do what to whom in the privacy of their own homes or undermining the education system. Or indeed, blowing themselves up in public places or telling women what they can or cannot do with their bodies.
Etc. etc.
Count me in with the ‘why does this dangerously nonsensical delusion get a free pass?’ crowd.
Exactly. It’s not just chance that religion, specifically, is the irrational belief system that I get so worked up about. The Bigfoot believers and Lochness Monster chasers and people who wear lucky rabbit’s feet aren’t trying to shove their beliefs down everyone’s throat. They aren’t doing damage on a worldwide scale because they insist on acting like a delusion is true; they seldom hurt more than themselves, if that.
c’mon, both of you. Y’all aren’t really saying that Western governments are theocracies, are you?
ETA: you should also address how your “oppression”, can’t be corrected with civil disobedience. Drop the hatred. You don’t have to adopt a religion, just don’t hate those who do.
You are smart enough to know about excluded middles. I’ve never bowed, scraped or tiptoed. I don’t even show any real respect. But I don’t cop the push back that you do because I don’t exude the same degree of vitriol.
There are plenty of people who sit on the fence about religion. They know in the logical part of their brain that the whole god thing is dumbass, but they come from a religious culture and are comfortable with it. They can be lured, but I doubt you are very alluring.
Der Tris…I have often wondered why, with a lot of humans, it is easier to say I hate than I Love! I hope that some day we can be more tolerant of others thinking, beliefs etc.; for some reason hate seems to be a stronger emotion than love. I do not know if it is the selfish gene, or what, but if one is put on the defensive the reaction is usually negative. It seems to penetrate through all the world’s difficulties. Some Christians are afraid of having their faith taken away(as if that could happen to one who truly believes as they state) Some seem to need every one to agree with them. Some fight over a piece of ground, making the land more important to them then peoples lives. I wish I had the answers but I do not.
We lived in a bad neighborhood for awhile, I taught my children not to reply, just smile and hurry on home. Strange but something bad happened to all the ones who tormented my children. There was a lot of Vandalism etc. We kept up our yard and had a nice home that we built ourselves, so for some reason they would throw trash in our yard(or anyone’s who kept up their property) etc…
It has been my experience that when some one tries to force a belief or idea on someone it gets a negative response. People tend to shut there thinking down about such things, wither it is politics,religion, or ideas.
Its not the religion that bugs me, its the religious.
People can do whatever the hell they want as long as they don’t try to influence me.
I recently learnt that that you cant buy booze on Sundays in the US.
WTF.
If the religious dont want to buy liquor on Sunday who is stopping them? Why should something so arbitrary, apply to everyone?
Just imagine the bible thumpers reactions if ham and pork were to be banned on Friday!
I say, yay to Der Trihs.
We shouldn’t have to respect delusions and ramblings.
In your own home and head, I don’t give a shit what you believe in if it causes no harm to others, but most religious folk are not happy with that.
They have to build monuments to their gullibility in the shape of churches and temples of worship, and adorn their god’s representatives with fancy trappings and positions of great influence in which they do nothing, but plead for more followers.
Well, in the US it’s almost impossible to get elected if you are an atheist (so I have been informed by the Dope and other sources).
In the UK, it seems many of our politicians are following the US lead and are becoming more overtly religious e.g. Blair, Brown.
Also, our head of state, the Queen, is also head of the Church of England and26 Bishops get a vote in the House of Lords. Not too much representation of unicorn believers or vampires there though. The major political parties have also made a point of appointing Lords from minority groups, mainly it seems on a religious ticket as a vote winner, for example Lord Ahmed. Don’t see Dawkins or Hawking getting a chair there do you? So while we are not a theocracy we are a theocratic parliamentary democracy.