Nothing to do with The Matrix.
All this talk of how to explain religion to your kids is interesting and all, but I think we need to get back to the OP. So what do we do about these terrible Christian lawbreakers who are hanging banners on overpasses with reckless abandon?
Again, I am scientist. The words most sacred to me are “I don’t know” I will certainly tell them “I don’t know” when a chain of explanation breaks down.
When telling her about the facts of life (I know she is five but she did ask!) that chain extends for some distance. We eventually stopped at the reason for cellular division and what DNA is. I’ll take that on at a later date.
How do planes fly? we make aerofoils and blow across them and discuss pressures and angles and whatnot.
Religion? well it all starts from assuming a god. The chain breaks at the first link. We are in Santa Claus, Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy territory straight away. But outside of Terry Pratchett those characters are not a cause for violence and repression.
Incidentally, for anyone wanting to get a good grasp of the humanist worldview I would highly recommend Terry’s work. Seriously. He understands more of the human condition than most authors currently writing.
Uh, whatever is the civic penalty for that. What are you suggesting I’m suggesting?
I have no problem with them. I think various sections of the public should be able to use public spaces and structures occasionally. If we must have permits, those permits should be easy to get.
Someone bit the ears off his chocolate bunny and pissed in his jellybeans.
Well, once Passover was finished that year, his family could use leavening again.
“Jesus, a cut above the God-delusion the new generation deserves.”
I’m suggesting that you unbunch your panties and let slide that which does not matter. Besides, the more you bitch about unimportant stuff like this, the less likely people are to listen to you when it’s something that really does matter.
You keep that level of game up, you’ll wake up Pope one day.
Crucify them. But make sure it’s on private property.
They’ll just rise again in 3 days. Better throw them into Mt Doom.
How do you explain Santa Claus?
Is it just me, or are some of the resident atheists becoming pissier lately? For fuck’s sake, get over yourselves.
The crucifix – tell your kids that the cross is important to some people because they believe in a man named Jesus who died along time ago. That’s it. You don’t even have to tell them necessarily that they believed that he was god, just that they believe he was a “nice man who taught a lot of important lessons, and he was killed by mean people for doing it”. And some people want to honor him for it. That’s all.
And yes, this time, I AM saying you should shut up. Or rather, get over yourselves and quit whining. Oh my god, it’s an EASTER BANNER!!! (You guys are really starting to remind me of fundies who bitch about seeing Janet Jackson’s boob)
Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere!
Crucify them!
…or maybe, on second thought, just go to the Pit and grumble about it.
Then it seems that the failure is with you. You are not willing to tell them that very basic “I don’t know”.
"Honey, I don’t know. People believe all sorts of different things about the world, about life and death, about what happens to us after we die, about how the universe was created. Some of it makes sense to me, some of it doesn’t. Those people believe that God created the world and gave us a set of rules to live by. Some of those rules, like “don’t steal” make a lot of sense. Some of them don’t make sense to me.
But anyway, like I said, people believe all sorts of things. As you get older, you’re going to be exposed to a lot of different ideas and ways of thinking. All I ask of you is that you always think really hard about what you chose to believe and what you get involved with… and always be true to yourself first of all. Despite what people will tell you, you don’t have to believe what they believe in order to be a good person. When they tell you that, what they’re really saying is “If you don’t believe what I believe, I won’t like you”, and that would be wrong."
IOW, give them the God of the Gaps argument.
Wow. You can’t even fathom WHY someone might believe in God or practice a religion? Well, can’t say I blame you. You can’t find Empathy in a test tube and there’s no element on the periodic table called Imagination. Hopefully your child will be able to learn those things and have them nurtured with her time in school or adults other than yourself. But, by golly, you’ll learn her some simple machines and quadratic equations. Oh boy did she hit the lottery!
Speaking of reading words not on the page, I never said I practiced a religion. I don’t. I said I was a theist. I believe there is a Creator God. Period.
[Moderating]
This is a violation of the Pit’s language rules, as detailed here. In the future, please avoid such language.
No warning issued.
[/Moderating]
Duly noted. Sorry.
I’d just like to add, as someone who neither believes in God, nor spends much time around children:
“Well, Jenny, lots of people wonder where the world came from. Some people, like your dad, believe it just happened. Other people think somebody must have made it happen. They call this guy ‘God.’ These people think that God is pretty neat for making this whole world for us, and they spend a lot of time telling him “thank you.” Monks are people who like God so much, that they spend all day thanking him.”
Honestly, the theistic viewpoint is not remotely difficult to understand. There’s a few first principles that you have to take… well, on faith, but after that, everything flows pretty logically.
So, what, this goddess menstruated all of us?
Pope Cheshire I. Hmmm… No, I think I’ll pass. The celibacy part doesn’t sound worth it.