tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post2995216337040642116..comments2023-09-24T07:53:50.826-05:00Comments on The Atheist Experience™: More on ol' Dan: When hubris becomes delusionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-75080420745979876832007-03-25T10:42:00.000-05:002007-03-25T10:42:00.000-05:00Yes--I didn't mean to imply I was asking, literall...Yes--I didn't mean to imply I was asking, literally, who authorized the Bible. The question was put forward as rhetorical. _People_ long after the writers were dead and gone, decided to do this on their own initiative (and, I believe, in good part in response to a character named Marcion).<BR/><BR/>The only real point I wanted to make was the one Stephen followed up with: God didn't ask, tell, or hint that such a thing was necessary or even a good idea. And I further put forward that I believe Paul was in total ignorance that his letters would be used like this--because he offers no indication of foreknowledge; and seems to disdain the idea of a written authority--based on his criticism of The Law in the text I quoted. He seemed certain that the ideas he was advocating and preaching had nothing to do with any written commands or authorizations.<BR/><BR/>But the church apparently thought it knew better than God, Jesus, or the apostles, and did this anyway. And ultimately, this means Dan's faith is in people--not the authors, not Jesus, not God, but the church leaders who opted to build a written authorization to help them cement their personal views regarding the doctrines they wanted to promote as authoritative.<BR/><BR/>And doctrine has been the main issue of debate within Xianity--even with Bible to use; so one can only imagine how many competing doctrines must have been flying during the time before anyone had nailed down a "manual" for the parishoners. The Bible was an attempt by the most powerful to promote their views, and to trample competing doctrines into the ground as unathoritative "apocrypha."<BR/><BR/>Xians who say the Bible is god's word generally have very little idea (or no idea at all) how their Bible was even put together--from what I've been exposed to.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-90949784522775090872007-03-18T12:17:00.000-05:002007-03-18T12:17:00.000-05:00Same thing.Same thing.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03130354533571499310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-79327674024152842282007-03-17T23:41:00.000-05:002007-03-17T23:41:00.000-05:00Or just ignorance.Or just ignorance.Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17933545393470431585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-1013314091218096672007-03-17T22:42:00.000-05:002007-03-17T22:42:00.000-05:00Checkitontheinside,Emperor Constantine organized t...Checkitontheinside,<BR/>Emperor Constantine organized the First Council of Nicea in 325 CE, but as it turns out, the New Testament Canon was not one of the topics of discussion there. Many NT canons were proposed over the next several centuries and during numerous other Councils and Synods. The 27-book canon in use today was neither the first nor the last of these proposed canons. There's nothing particularly special or unique about it, except that it happens to be the one in common use today.<BR/><BR/>The issue Dan needs to consider and address is, since this particular list of books was not attributed to God in the only book he permits himself to consult for divine authority--the 1611 King James Version of the Protestant Bible--how can he justify leaping to the assumption that <I>God</I> wanted the Bible to be organized into that particular form?<BR/><BR/>There is simply no basis whatsoever for that assumption, within the Bible or elsewhere. When Dan says he trusts the Bible, what he is unwittingly saying is that he believes he has entrusted his eternal soul to the uninformed, completely arbitrary decisions of a group of Medieval Roman Catholic clerics, about whom he knows <I>absolutely nothing!</I><BR/><BR/>Now <I>that</I> takes faith!Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03130354533571499310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-39231746940707694792007-03-17T12:19:00.000-05:002007-03-17T12:19:00.000-05:00Checkitontheinside:>...something else Paul said th...Checkitontheinside:<BR/><BR/>>...something else Paul said that .... The bible as a whole is shaped very much by paul<BR/><BR/>This is what makes Paul's statement about "ink" so interesting. He's contrasting the "Word" of Christ with the Old Testament--by saying clearly that the Word of Jesus isn't a written word--but that it resides within the Xian--not externally in written form. Oddly, rather than leave it as "tables of stone"--he adds "ink"--making it clear that it's not a _written_ word in any form.<BR/><BR/>As you point out, Paul _wrote_ most of what's in the Bible. So, it seems clear that the person who authored most of the NT had no idea a Bible was going to be created using his letters--his "ink."<BR/><BR/>Paul preached and never quoted the NT--because there was no NT; and Paul didn't seem to indicate or foresee any need for one either then or in the future.<BR/><BR/>So, who, then, decided to turn Paul's letters into some eternal Word of Jesus--when Paul himself seems totally ignorant of any such plan? Somebody had to dream up the idea to produce a Bible. And if the apostles didn't know about it--who took on the authority? (As Stephen keeps, rightfully, asking.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-78893367743940190342007-03-17T06:42:00.000-05:002007-03-17T06:42:00.000-05:00And also because of the following verse about givi...And also because of the following verse about giving him the keys to the kingdom and such.AmberKatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18288659650941053065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-34223090583283626692007-03-17T06:39:00.000-05:002007-03-17T06:39:00.000-05:00That was Peter. Legend has it that he begged to b...That was Peter. Legend has it that he begged to be crucified upside-down, because he felt he didn't didn't deserve to die the same way Jesus did. And Peter is held to be the first Pope, by Catholics, anyway, because of Matthew 16:18 <I>"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church"</I> )Peter means rock.) <BR/><BR/>Paul, as a Roman citizen, was merely beheaded.AmberKatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18288659650941053065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-1006330356205602232007-03-16T14:30:00.000-05:002007-03-16T14:30:00.000-05:00But as I pointed out, Dan is a one-way loudspeaker...<B>But as I pointed out, Dan is a one-way loudspeaker. Messages go out (garbled, always, but they go out), but none are received.</B><BR/><BR/>I think it's more that he's a polarized lens. The only things that are getting through to him are the ones that are already aligned with his point of view and prejudices. He sees "atheist" and "satanist" in the same sentence and thinks it proves his equivocation; he doesn't see that everything around it goes totally against what he's saying.Tom Fosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13796424725228769265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-83741689588619583382007-03-16T14:14:00.000-05:002007-03-16T14:14:00.000-05:00Stephen: A believer is admonished to attribute leg...Stephen: <I>A believer is admonished to attribute legitimate, real-world accomplishments to God: it wasn't the well-trained surgeon who restored a patient's health, it was God; it wasn't the athletic strength and skill of the football player who scored the touchdown, it was God; it wasn't the generosity of good people who supported a charity, it was God, working through those people. For the believer, all positive outcomes are attributed to God. In this manner, the believer is systemmatically robbed of legitimate forms of pride, and thereby bereft of incentives to pursue meaninful goals or make meaningful contributions to the world.</I><BR/><BR/>Dude, if you were any more brilliant, I'd have to have a jeweller cut you into tiny bits that I could smuggle onto the black market.<BR/><BR/>Christianity has a <I>vested interest</I> in human misery. You see it time and again, when believers give their tearful testimonials about how their life used to suck until They Found God. Here's a story I've told a million times: at age 18, I humored a friend by attending a non-denominational service, and listened to some chump up on stage giving the usual "I used to drink and do drugs and beat my wife until I gave my heart to Jesus" routine. All I could think to myself was, "Not only do I not need religion to tell me it's a bad thing to be a drunk, drug-addled wife-beater, but I don't particularly think I want to hang out with <I>the kinds of people who need religion to tell them</I> it's a bad thing to be a drunk, drug-addled wife-beater."<BR/><BR/>Religion needs people to feel hopeless and bereft of self-esteem, because what it is selling is a "hope" dependent entirely upon following the religion and its rules. Christians bestow 100% of their sense of self-worth on their belief system; without it, they have none, which is why religion is so horrible and insidious. It teaches believers self-worth and accomplishment is actually <I>bad</I>.<BR/><BR/>The question that is prompted, of course, is: What does Christianity have to offer a happy, well-adjusted individual? The answer is nothing. Simply nothing.Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17933545393470431585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-51105857237848094672007-03-16T14:08:00.000-05:002007-03-16T14:08:00.000-05:00So stop already. End you little TV show and stop c...<I>So stop already. End you little TV show and stop convincing people they will not meet God’s anger when they die. If you cared about people you would not lead them to destruction. You stop then I will. If you are here to do the devils work then I am here to do Gods work.</I><BR/><BR/>Let the public record show: Dan has issued a threat against the production of the Atheist Experience. Do we have a religious terrorist on our hands?<BR/><BR/>We are not, of course, "here to do the devils work". We're just here to elucidate <I>verifiable truth</I>, something about which Dan cares very little, if at all. As we have previously explained, threats of violence are not an effective method for discovering or explaining truth.<BR/><BR/>So Dan, please take your empty threats of violence at God's imaginary hands, and credible threats of violence at your own hands, elsewhere. You don't scare us at all with the former, and you should be scaring only yourself with your utterance of the latter.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03130354533571499310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-24883512193814946572007-03-16T14:02:00.000-05:002007-03-16T14:02:00.000-05:00Tom Foss: I wasn't worth enough for him to manifes...Tom Foss: <I>I wasn't worth enough for him to manifest himself when I first began to doubt his existence. But suddenly now, after a couple of years of being comfortable with him not being there, I'll suddenly be worth his time? Bullshit.</I><BR/><BR/>Dan has been inordinately mule-headed about ignoring all of my bullet points posted several days ago, and here he's just doing it again, ignoring #1: remember most atheists used to be Christian. Stephen told him as well: we've been where Dan is. But as I pointed out, Dan is a one-way loudspeaker. Messages go out (garbled, always, but they go out), but none are received. Let him live out his delusion of being Christianity's next great sainted martyr here in our comments. It's all he has.Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17933545393470431585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-7970823449956489492007-03-16T13:06:00.000-05:002007-03-16T13:06:00.000-05:00who has to believe pride is bad in the first place...<I>who has to believe pride is bad in the first place?</I><BR/><BR/>This is a good point. I'd like to expand upon it by pointing out that, just as fat and carbs come in good and bad forms, pride also comes in good and bad forms.<BR/><BR/>Pride of achievement is legitimate. It's a hardwired reward mechanism that encourages us to pursue future goals with greater vigor.<BR/><BR/>Pride in children is also legitimate. It's a hardwired reward mechanism that encourages us to continue raising healthy, happy, productive members of society.<BR/><BR/>Pride of being, also known as narcissism or arrogance, is an illigitimate form of pride. It is an insidious notion that one <I>deserves</I> good things, or that the world <I>owes</I> someone good things, just because of <I>who they are</I>.<BR/><BR/>One of the greater pathologies of theism, in my estimation, is the systemmatic replacement of good forms of pride with bad forms.<BR/><BR/>A believer is admonished to attribute legitimate, real-world accomplishments to God: it wasn't the well-trained surgeon who restored a patient's health, it was God; it wasn't the athletic strength and skill of the football player who scored the touchdown, it was God; it wasn't the generosity of good people who supported a charity, it was God, <I>working through</I> those people. For the believer, all positive outcomes are attributed to God. In this manner, the believer is systemmatically robbed of legitimate forms of pride, and thereby bereft of incentives to pursue meaninful goals or make meaningful contributions to the world.<BR/><BR/>At the same time, of course, all negative outcomes are still expected to be assumed by the believer. The believer is regularly berated and diminished as a sinner, inherently evil, and all of these kinds of insults Dan has hurled at us and occasionally applied to himself. It's a systemmatic mechanism for beating the good form of self-esteem out of the believer and render him or her an empty vessel that can be used by the belief system as, say, a chamberpot.<BR/><BR/>That vessel is then filled with an illegitimate, undeserved form of pride: You get to join the elite group of people going to Heaven, not because of anything you have done, but because of <I>who you are</I>--a believer. For those who, like Dan, accept the doctrine of predestination, one's capacity to <I>become</I> a believer is not even subject to one's own desire to avoid Hell. Only those whom God has, for mysterious reasons, <I>chosen</I> and <I>predestined</I> to believe in him will be so fortunate. Everyone else will burn merely <I>because God wants them to burn</I>.<BR/><BR/>And so, good forms of pride that naturally drive people toward meaninful accomplishments in life, and foster meaninful contributions to society, are methotically subverted. These are then replaced with the bad, misdirected form of pride that Dan has been exhibiting: self-centered, narcissistic, arrogant, hypocritical, Pharisaical pride. It drives him and other believers to achieve not their own meaningful and worthwhile goals, but the imposed agenda of spreading their viral religion.<BR/><BR/>Dan has been so overrun and debilitated by this mental disease that what is left of his mind has become incontinent. No longer able to control his communcation reflexes, he rhetorically urinates and defecates upon nonbelievers and believers alike, including himself. Then, too covered by his own filth to see what is actually going on, he blames <I>us</I> for how dirty he feels. The incontinence continues and his filth accumulates, ever deeper and stinkier.<BR/><BR/>In the real world, the supply of filth would be subject to certain physical constraints. In Dan's imaginary world, however, the supply is inexhaustible. He's so full of it that the more he puts out, the more he can manufacture. At this piont, Dan has become a veritable pooping machine.<BR/><BR/>And he's proud of it--not because he's any good at pooping, but simply because of <I>who</I> he is--<I>God's</I> appointed pooper. <I>God's chamberpot</I>, full to overflowing.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03130354533571499310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-5859375439082380282007-03-16T12:42:00.000-05:002007-03-16T12:42:00.000-05:00Martin,I'm with you there, Saurian. And they are g...Martin,<BR/><BR/><B>I'm with you there, Saurian. And they are good comments...thanks for them. </B><BR/><BR/>You're quite welcome.<BR/><BR/>And thank you very much for all the hard work you put into this blog. It's wonderful.<BR/><BR/>I'd say you should be proud of all you've done, but apparently that would make you a wicked and evil person. Who knew?Saurian200https://www.blogger.com/profile/00670029633130988783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-39662037229833524022007-03-16T11:09:00.000-05:002007-03-16T11:09:00.000-05:00Dan said:"Is your friend a Christian? Is her Fathe...Dan said:<BR/><I>"Is your friend a Christian? Is her Father preventing a relationship of being unequally yoked. 2 Corinthians 6:14"</I><BR/><BR/>Dan, you are wrong to point this verse out in this situation, but you did manage to find another biblical contradiction which I assume you will conveniently ignore after I point it out.<BR/><BR/>Is it OK to marry (or stay married to) unbelievers? Is it OK to touch them or be friends with them?*<BR/><BR/>1 Corinthians 7:12-14 says <B>YES</B><BR/><I>If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.</I>*<BR/><BR/>2 Corinthians 6:14-17 says <B>NO</B> <BR/><I>Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? ... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.</I>*<BR/><BR/>[* from SAB]<BR/><BR/>As for this rant of Dan's:<BR/><I>"So you are doing charity to make yourself feel good. You sure sound proud of the one called self. Don't you see this Martin? You are self absorbed and yes wicked because the Bible says so."</I><BR/><BR/>Dan, Martin has a desire (like many people) to do good works. And fulfilling this desire is usually satisfying. Is it wrong to be proud of yourself for helping, Dan? Is it wrong to hold your friend's hand when she is scared? Are you not proud of your children, Dan? Is it wrong to be proud of them?<BR/><BR/>Also Dan, since atheists do not subscribe to a uniform moral/ethical system, it is ignorant of you to point out "bad things" like pride. Because who has to believe pride is bad in the first place? …Certainly not an atheist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-66893971820969392702007-03-16T01:31:00.000-05:002007-03-16T01:31:00.000-05:00Turn away from wickedness now and he will manifest...<B>Turn away from wickedness now and he will manifest himself to you.</B><BR/><BR/>Well, where the heck was he in the 20-odd years before I "turned to wickedness"? I wasn't worth enough for him to manifest himself to me at my baptism, or my confirmation, or any of the thousands of nights that I prayed to him, earnestly believing that he would protect me from the equally invisible things that lurked in the dark shadows. I wasn't worth enough for him to manifest himself when I first began to doubt his existence. But suddenly now, after a couple of years of being comfortable with him not being there, I'll suddenly be worth his time? Bullshit. I've seen the parables; the shepherd goes out and actively retrieves the lost sheep, carrying it back on his shoulders. He doesn't hide from his flock, only to reveal himself once the lost sheep has blundered back to the fold. This is the kind of reasoning you see in abusive relationships--"this time, he's really changed. He's sobered up. If I go back to him this time, he'll really love me and he won't hit me in front of the kids." It's bull, no matter whose daddy it's referencing. <BR/><BR/>The more I read, the more it seems to me that God's "unconditional love" only exists when you don't need it anymore.Tom Fosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13796424725228769265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-63036265221863475152007-03-16T01:15:00.000-05:002007-03-16T01:15:00.000-05:00So you are doing charity to make yourself feel goo...<I>So you are doing charity to make yourself feel good.</I><BR/><BR/>No, he's "doing charity" because it makes <I>other</I> people feel good. And helps other beings who are suffering and need help. Because <B>it's the right thing to do.</B> <BR/><BR/>Which is more selfless and giving -- helping someone because they need help, or helping someone because you think you'll get rewarded for it later on?<BR/><BR/>As for Luke 16:15 -- "<I>... for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.</I>" You mean like all the kudos you've been giving yourself (and perhaps others in your circle are giving you) for being so "persecuted" by all the Eeebul Atheists?AmberKatthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18288659650941053065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-58222366633985211582007-03-15T23:51:00.000-05:002007-03-15T23:51:00.000-05:00I'm with you there, Saurian. And they are good com...I'm with you there, Saurian. And they <I>are</I> good comments...thanks for them.Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17933545393470431585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-52491302656682627812007-03-15T23:38:00.000-05:002007-03-15T23:38:00.000-05:00Martin,Saurian, there's no point in trying to talk...Martin,<BR/><BR/><B>Saurian, there's no point in trying to talk to Dan intelligently. He's mentally ill and self-righteous, and won't understand you. While the rest of us are out there doing meaningful things with our lives, he gains his feelings of superiority by attacking people while claiming he "cares" about them. Of course, like most religious deviants, he has no idea what it really means to care for anyone. I hope it's working for him.</B><BR/><BR/>You're probably right. Still, I don't like to just leave it unchallanged when people make these stupid, arrogant, disgusting , hate filled statements like dan's.<BR/><BR/>As I said in another post to him, my posts are more for anyone who may be reading this blog and thinking about foloowing in his footsteps. I want them to understand why he's failing so miserably at reaching us poor lost souls.<BR/><BR/>Bullshit deserves to be challenged even if the person spewing it isn't paying attention.<BR/><BR/>Also, it just makes me feel better. Even if it isn't accomplishing anything.Saurian200https://www.blogger.com/profile/00670029633130988783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-62560652168165343572007-03-15T22:28:00.000-05:002007-03-15T22:28:00.000-05:00So you are doing charity to make yourself feel goo...<B>So you are doing charity to make yourself feel good. You sure sound proud of the one called self.</B><BR/><BR/>Dan, to quote Stephen from a previous thread:<BR/><BR/>"PLANK!"<BR/><BR/><B>Because I care about you enough to let you know this, that is my motives.</B><BR/><BR/>You care so much about someone you don't know that you'll try to tell him how to live his life? Aww, how sweet.Donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06661441668625677468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-17040934729481700262007-03-15T21:40:00.000-05:002007-03-15T21:40:00.000-05:00Dan. No, asstard, I don't do charity work to make ...Dan. No, asstard, I don't do charity work to make myself feel good. I do it because it's a good thing to do. You wouldn't understand this, because like most Christians, you don't think any good deed is worth doing unless it scores you brownie points with your imaginary friend. A good deed being its own reward is a concept alien to your experience.<BR/><BR/>I really don't care what your book of fairy tales has to say about what I do. And no, my friend is not a Christian, which I'm sure in your sick, diseased little mind means she deserves everything she gets. For her part, she's much too decent a human being to be Christian. I guess that's just her cross to bear. <BR/><BR/>Saurian, there's no point in trying to talk to Dan intelligently. He's mentally ill and self-righteous, and won't understand you. While the rest of us are out there doing meaningful things with our lives, he gains his feelings of superiority by attacking people while claiming he "cares" about them. Of course, like most religious deviants, he has no idea what it really means to care for anyone. I hope it's working for him.Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17933545393470431585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-73257388512467339722007-03-15T20:49:00.000-05:002007-03-15T20:49:00.000-05:00Dan,So you are doing charity to make yourself feel...Dan,<BR/><BR/><B>So you are doing charity to make yourself feel good. You sure sound proud of the one called self. Don't you see this Martin? </B><BR/><BR/>And, you know this how?<BR/><BR/>Are you claiming to be psychic now? Are you practicing whitchcraft and thus can look into others heads? How could you possibly claim to know the motives of another person after only talking to them online for a little while.<BR/><BR/>This is the height of arrogance. You don't know every thought that goes through others heads. Stop pretending that you do.<BR/><BR/>Stop mistaking assumptions for knowledge. Despite what you seem to think you are not God. You don't know everything.<BR/><BR/>You keep accusing atheists of worshiping themselves. The only person I see doing that is you.Saurian200https://www.blogger.com/profile/00670029633130988783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-47669032803930836702007-03-15T20:19:00.000-05:002007-03-15T20:19:00.000-05:00Martin,So you are doing charity to make yourself f...Martin,<BR/><BR/>So you are doing charity to make yourself feel good. You sure sound proud of the one called self. Don't you see this Martin? You are self absorbed and yes wicked because the Bible says so. Lets ask the bible about your charity to the kittys <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=49&chapter=16&verse=15&version=9&context=verse " REL="nofollow"> Luke 16:15 </A> Because I care about you enough to let you know this, that is my motives. <BR/><BR/>Is your friend a Christian? Is her Father preventing a relationship of being unequally yoked. <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%206:14;&version=9;" REL="nofollow">2 Corinthians 6:14</A><BR/><BR/>For Him,<BR/>DanD. A. N. https://www.blogger.com/profile/11745259115723860852noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-7786665135436474752007-03-15T18:26:00.000-05:002007-03-15T18:26:00.000-05:00In the past few months, I have donated over $500 t...In the past few months, I have donated over $500 to my best friend's local cat shelter, in addition to adopting a kitten with only one eye that no one else wanted. Said friend is also epileptic, and I have been by her side during numerous seizures and hospital visits (just yesterday for 5 hours, while she underwent ultrasound for a potential blood clot -- it was clear), while her own fundamentalist Christian father refuses to acknowledge her existence. Also, I have a burgeoning career, working on a documentary film among other exciting projects, and have been involved in numerous community activities.<BR/><BR/>So thanks for reminding me I'm "wicked," Dan, you useless, disgraceful sack of shit.<BR/><BR/>(Gee whiz, and he calls me "bitter." Why would that be?)Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17933545393470431585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-62739848066115273132007-03-15T18:24:00.000-05:002007-03-15T18:24:00.000-05:00Dan,What about the “self proclaimed intellectuals”...Dan,<BR/><BR/><B>What about the “self proclaimed intellectuals” the bible talks about? "They are corrupt, they have done abominable works" IT can't be any plainer then that.<BR/><BR/>You are all wicked, please change soon you may get hit by a truck tomorrow. Remember you are not the one in charge no matter what you say.</B><BR/><BR/>I want you to look at what you said above and think about something for a little while. I find myself saying this a lot lately, but, I'll say it again.<BR/><BR/>If the only way that you can defend your position is through name calling or making threats then your position is worthless.<BR/><BR/>A position that has any worth at all can be defended rationally and calmly.<BR/><BR/>If you want my advice, (I'm sure you don't, but I'll offer it anyway.) here it is:<BR/><BR/>1. Drop the persecution complex. It might make you feel better but it just makes you look like you're whining to everybody else. Think about this, if you were trying to do absolutely anything else and you found yourself not accomplishing anything, would you still think you were doing a good job. If not, then why do you feel that way here?<BR/><BR/>2. Think about why you hold this position. I doubt you hold these beleifs because you were insulted into it. Think about the reasons you believe these things instead of other things. You'll be better able to argue in favor of your beliefs if you have a good grasp of why they are your beliefs in the first place. <BR/><BR/>And, I don't mean something like, "I believe it because it's true?" Why do you think it's true? Why do you think other positions are not true? "It just is true" is not an explanation, it's a cop out for people who are unwilling to think things through.<BR/><BR/>3. This has been said before but I'll say it again; don't quote the bible. Most of the people here don't believe that the bible is any more reliable or important than any other ancient text.<BR/><BR/>If you want people to follow what the bible says you first have to prove that it is true and then you can quote it. The reason you haven't met with any success by quoting the bible is that you skipped to stage two which won't work untill you have finished stage one. Stage one is hard, I myself don't believe the bible so I will admit I doubt that you will be successfull. Still if you don't even try no one is going to take you seriously.<BR/><BR/>4. This is my last bit of advice, and I want you to take this one to heart. NO ONE IS GOING TO JUST BELIEVE SOMETHING JUST BECAUSE YOU SAY IT. A claim without support is just a claim, nothing more. Supporting your claims is hard, it actually requires work, but if you don't take your claims seriously enough to put in the work required to support them, no one else will take your claims seriously either. <BR/><BR/>Also, saying that the evidence is out there, everyone just has to go look, isn't good enough. Don't expect people to do your work for you. If you can't provide the evidence yourself people arn't going to tak you seriously enough to go look for themselves. It is your job to convince others, it is not thier job to convince themselves that you are right.<BR/><BR/>That is my advice. Given that you ignored other's advice to you, I expect you will ignore this advice as well. But, maybe it will help anyone else who is reading this blog and thinking about trying to convert us "poor fools". Still, I'm giving you some room to prove me wrong.<BR/><BR/>Remember, it is your job to convince us. Doing that WILL be hard. You shouldn't expect it not to be hard. If oyu aren't willing to put in the work that is required to convince others then think long and hard about why you are here in the first place. <BR/><BR/>I'm not asking for your justification for being here I just want you to think about it. If you are just here to put in a little effort, provoke others and bask in your perceived persecutution, then what you are doing is little more than spiritual masturbation. It's selfish, pointless, and only serves to make your religion look bad.<BR/><BR/>That's what I have to say. If I'm wrong then show me I'm wrong. As I said to someone else recently, put up or shut up.Saurian200https://www.blogger.com/profile/00670029633130988783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-81200510603666445592007-03-15T18:11:00.000-05:002007-03-15T18:11:00.000-05:00When Dan talks now, I don't usually feel like resp...When Dan talks now, I don't usually feel like responding. It is more like Jackie Chan yelling, <B>Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?</B><BR/><BR/>But after he said this:<BR/><I>What about the “self proclaimed intellectuals” the bible talks about? "They are corrupt, they have done abominable works" IT can't be any plainer then that.</I><BR/>I just had to respond.<BR/><BR/>Dan, we know the Bible says this, and it is obviously UNTRUE. Here is a small selection of some of the people who have done "abominable" works:<BR/><BR/>Authors: Douglas Adams, Isaac Asimov, Sir Arthur C Clarke, Ayn Rand, Salman Rushdie, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, H.G. Wells to name a few.<BR/><BR/>Business: Sir Branson, Warren Buffet, Andrew Carnegie, Bill Gates. Two of those people are responsible for the largest donations to charity in the history of the planet (close to $80,000,000,000).<BR/><BR/>Science: Francis Crick and James Watson (the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA, a discovery that changed everything from criminology to pharmacology), Marie Curie, Sigmund Freud, Nikolai Tesla (pioneered AC electricity which allowed for electricity in homes and the radio), Thomas Edison (who invented the light shining over your desk among countless other things).<BR/><BR/>This is only an abbreviated list, but according to the bible, <B>none</B> of these people can do good things. Someone is wrong here. Either the light bulb is evil and donating money to charity is evil or the Bible is wrong.<BR/><BR/>The answer is obvious. But my ability <I>to reason</I> tells me you will disagree.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com