Ahhhh… music to my ears… let me hear some more. I’ve been away for too long… 
Isn’t Old Scratch another name for the Devil?
**
Well that’s good. Any improvement is indeed an improvement. See my sig.
No, I’m not that old. You can check out my picture on http://www.geocities.com/sdpeoplepages
I am older than I look in the picture however.
The name came about as a strange accident. At a previous job, the System Admin was a big Heavy Metal fan, randian. He liked to give everyone amusing (to him) passwords. Mine was oldscratch. My phone login was 0666. Since I lack the time, or the inclination, to come up with creative internet logins, I’ve just kept it.
Plus it has the whole devil’s advocate, evil, blah blah blah stuff going for it.
So people would know that I am an athiest (or a non-Christian, at least) without my having to mention it in the body of every post.
I’m sure there are a lot of things you don’t get, Bill. Of course, there are a lot of things I don’t get:
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Why otherwise rational and intelligent people would accept as Gospel
a collection of inconsistently-told stories written by some shepards who thought the Earth was flat. (And, yes, the Bible DOES say the Earth is flat, in more than one verse.) -
Why people get so ticked off over words.
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Why people who call themselves Christians will not do many of the things Christ told them to do (Help the unfortunate; turn the other cheek; don’t judge others by a standard you would not wish to be judged by; etc, etc, etc!) If you’ve done all those things, Bill my compliments to you. If you have not, I think you are just a bit hypocritical.
Click here.
My other choice was “Mary was raped by God.” (Re-read Luke 1:26-38. Gabriel told Mary she would be made pregnant by God and was not really given any choice in the matter. In verse 38, it seems to me, Mary is resigned to her fate; she knows this will be done to her whether she wants it or not. Making a woman pregnant against her will is rape, IMHO. I don’t care who the rapist is or why the rape is done; rape is always wrong.)
There is also the point that some women, unfairly, are called sluts even when they have sex out of wedlock just ONE time. Some rape victims have been called sluts SOLELY because they were raped. (What do you think people mean when they tell them “Oh, you were probably asking for it”?) Well, if those poor women can be called sluts, then so can Mary. If she cannot be called a slut, then neither can they. Be consistent. (**Bill, if you have never done that, if you have never called a woman a slut, then I’m not talking about YOU, am I?)
One of the things I enjoy doing, one of the reasons I post here, is to get people to think about things they have never thought of before, to re-consider long-held beliefs and see if they are still worth believing. Sometimes, the only way to do that is to be shocking, controversial, even offensive.
The sig line stays.
i wasn’t trying to insult anything, especially, your belief in God. i happen to be a Christian myself, even though i don’t always seem like it. But the point i was trying to make was that even if someone does not believe something exists (unicorns, God, martians, whatever) they still have the right to say it. And yes, i know, saying Jesus f’ing Christ is offensive to some people-- myself included, but to a lesser extent i guess–, but in America you have the right to say stuff that offends people, just as you have the right to say that something offends YOU. i’m sorry, but the first ammendmant is a very big deal to me, and i don’t think anyone should go around trying to make people think that saying a particular thing is bad. Even if it is your right to do so.
I’m not really sure why this offends, but it does to no end. Maybe it’s the smug superiority of the way it is written. I have heard others say that this Bill means well, but I can hear him saying in this same tone, “We are burning you at the stake for your own good”. Kind of a stretch? So, how about this? “Out of respect of myself and my religion do not discuss evolution, or physics, or geology, or history, or other religions (as all others are false), or (insert any other subject that requires thought here)”.
Where is the dividing line between what is acceptable and what is not? If it is left up to the offended individual to decide then I think that human progress will cease and we will all start to fall back into the darkness that the likes of W.Bill like to preach about. But, maybe that is what they are hoping for.
Uzi, I do find W.Bill’s comment a little pushy, but I’m not truly offended by it. I’ve dealt with Bill in the past and he is actually a pretty good guy. Believe me, go surfing in GD and you can find plenty of evangelists to get pissed at.
There were two reasons why I said I felt he was mocking me:
1 - Since I have talked with Bill before, he knows my views, throwing that up again was just beating a dead horse. I know he knew it, but he was just being himself. And I know he was just goofing around with me.
2 - I was so freakin’ hung-over on hard pear cider I could barely think straight. I just wasn’t myself. But if I can help just one person with this - trust me steer clear of that shit.
I’m sure he is a nice guy now, but then he has no power whatsoever to enforce his beliefs on you. Give him that power and like any other blind fundie he’d have you on your knees in front of some tribunal explaining yourself. Just be glad it is unlikely to happen.
Sounds paranoid, I guess. I just have a problem dealing with someone who is so sure that they are right over something that is unprovable and downright delusional. Especially when they want you to change your conduct to accomodate their delusions.
Bob Cos wrote:
No.
But it is apparently OK to use the word “nigger” in mixed company so long as only African-Americans are present.
I’ll be the first one through the door at the “why do Christians think they are right” party, but at the very least I like to deal with people on a one-to-one basis. The conversations I’ve had with Bill have been pleasantly conversational (if that isn’t too redundant). He’s never been indigniant with me over my beliefs. He has been completely baffled by my lack of “faith” just as I have been by his “allegence”. As I’m not worried about offending a God I don’t believe exists, I’m equally as unconcerned about some fictional religious tribunal hauling my ass up hill for a good old fashion crucifixion.
No, I don’t paricularly like it if someone demands that I change my behavior because of something they don’t like, but I read this OP as more of a bitch about general behavior. And turn about is fair play - look at all the threads saying Why do Christians do this, Why do Christians do that.
I’ll listen to Bill bitch - he hasn’t tried to force a Bible down my throat yet.
Wow. I think I gotta cut down on the Newcastle Ale - I could have sworn I was in Great Debates.
Not all of us Christians think we are right all the time. To me, it’s all aboot perception. i believe there is a God and he’s watching out for me. That’s what i believe to be right. Nobody should have to agree with me, and i’m not interested in convincing anyone otherwise. A good percentage of my friends are of different religous beliefs (at least one is Budhist, there are some Athiests, even a Satanist and a Pagan) and, as a Christian, i sometimes wish they could believe what i believe, but it in NO way makes me think any less of them. Our diversity is what makes us such an interesting group of people.
i don’t think there has ever been a second where i have tried to force my beliefs down someone’s throat. But at the same time, i’m not aboot to deny that i am a Christian. i’m very proud of that. But i’m even more proud that i’m a Christian with an open mind. i don’t feel the need to convert anyone or preach of the horrors of sin and such. And while some of us-- oh, hell, there are quite a few-- who believe otherwise, i don’t think we should all be classified as ignorant Bible thumpers. All that basicly is is a stereotype. So, please, if you’re annoyed at someone for getting a little aggressive with their preachings, just remember that there are some of us who respect your opinions and beliefs and would rather have a discussion than just straight shove it in your face.