tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post5338516739813658491..comments2023-09-24T07:53:50.826-05:00Comments on The Atheist Experience™: I get email...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-30811590400946614492008-10-14T13:20:00.000-05:002008-10-14T13:20:00.000-05:00I wonder what MRIs of their brains would show.Actu...<I>I wonder what MRIs of their brains would show.</I><BR/><BR/>Actually, there's been some work done in that area. I've posted this here before, but it bears repeating:<BR/><BR/>http://www.nhne.org/news/NewsArticlesArchive/tabid/400/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3527/Neuroscience--Fundamentalism.aspxJeff Eygeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11967707883565162538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-19536211049666284672008-10-12T18:49:00.000-05:002008-10-12T18:49:00.000-05:00Don't they have spelling tests in American schools...Don't they have spelling tests in American schools? Or is this a case of homeschooling?Adminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08435379042731604819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-57907592636056730322008-10-12T18:40:00.000-05:002008-10-12T18:40:00.000-05:00How long will it take society and religious nutter...How long will it take society and religious nutters to get over this entire "let's persecute the homo's" attitude?<BR/>I'm so sick and tired of putting up with these types of people - I'm 28 and have had to live with these attitudes my entire life. I live in Sydney (home to the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras) and yet I can't walk up the street without having somebody call me a 'faggot' or 'poofter'. It rarely upsets me anymore, but it makes me wonder - why must they point out that I'm gay? Because it makes them uncomfortable? And why is it that they almost *always* say it quietly as I and my partner (of 8 years) walk past, instead of proclaiming their biggoted attitudes -loudly- to the entire street?<BR/>Cowards and hypocrites.<BR/>As for this 14 year old, reading this post broke my heart. I really feel sorry for him more than anything, he's had some serious brain washing performed on him.<BR/><BR/>/rant :pJason Jarredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17146062153193588900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-45680850850461378542008-10-11T22:42:00.000-05:002008-10-11T22:42:00.000-05:00Seriously--does this person have friends, family, ...<I>Seriously--does this person have friends, family, coworkers? Does he address them in this fashion on points where they disagree?</I><BR/><BR/>My guess would be that he doesn't express himself this way publicly. It's possible that he's one of the fundies living in that weird bubble some of them are drowning in (only Christian books, schools, radio, TV, movies, friends etc....Christian meaning: as per the church attended/pastor's approval.) Or that he comes from a fundie background so extreme that he's just about an outcast at school.<BR/><BR/>But the most likely possibility is that he's yet another example of Penny Arcade's sublime Internet Dickwad Theory.<BR/><BR/>As for the promise of hell our stunning example of Internet Dickwad promised? I like to tell Christians that I'd rather burn in hell than spend one minute with the type of people who think they have the best shot at heaven, and never mind the eternity praising a megalomaniacal sadist. If I wanted to do that, I'd still be married to my ex. Also, eternal life would be horrifying. I don't want to go on forever. Things would get just too bloody boring, real fast!Aquariahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07578444793424041263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-38796733520688956642008-10-11T21:22:00.000-05:002008-10-11T21:22:00.000-05:00"But i realize that we were put here to help each ..."But i realize that we were put here to help each other. PAIN AND TORTURE."<BR/><BR/>He doesn't have adolescent leanings toward a closeted homosexuality, he's a closet sub!rogerdrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13872517878457201488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-10328634609882983962008-10-11T19:12:00.000-05:002008-10-11T19:12:00.000-05:00His continued use of "your" instead of "you're" sh...His continued use of "your" instead of "you're" shows he has a problem not only with homosexuals, but with homophones as well.Sacrilegiumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07289496337504091976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-18812759019899904072008-10-11T14:09:00.000-05:002008-10-11T14:09:00.000-05:00*plugs Max Payne**plugs Max Payne*-Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07423776253697799481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-41932100313974392402008-10-11T00:53:00.000-05:002008-10-11T00:53:00.000-05:00"I think "PAIN AND TORTURE" would be a great band ..."I think "PAIN AND TORTURE" would be a great band name, and may belong up there with "pygmies+dwarves"!" -badger3k<BR/><BR/>I thought it sounded more like a pair of nineties anti-heroes.<BR/><BR/>"Male Nineties Anti Heroes are ridiculously muscled, and often wear lots of pouches or bandoliers....Usually they'll have one word, gritty names that used to be reserved for villains."<BR/> http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NinetiesAntiHerodethanoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15471822262622826845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-39706365239011210742008-10-11T00:05:00.000-05:002008-10-11T00:05:00.000-05:00I think "PAIN AND TORTURE" would be a great band n...I think "PAIN AND TORTURE" would be a great band name, and may belong up there with "pygmies+dwarves"!Badger3khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04008838430274720250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-4379483685749715502008-10-10T23:45:00.000-05:002008-10-10T23:45:00.000-05:00My position on homosexuality is as liberal as libe...My position on homosexuality is as liberal as liberal gets. The only way it could be more liberal is if I were actually gay. :P<BR/><BR/>But I have experienced the same discomfort the_world_in_my_eyes talked about much earlier in my life, simply because I didn't understand it. I felt much the same way about BDSM and other such sexual fetishes, cause I didn't really understand it at first.<BR/><BR/>I do however feel grateful because I got age-appropriate sex education at a very early age (the book was called Where Do I Come From?, explained what happens when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much with frank illustrations (although not explicit by many standards) and described orgasm as 'having a really big sneeze, that feels very good'. So that got a lot of things out of the way for me really early.<BR/><BR/>I have a very good gay friend who I knew since about the age of 12. He didn't realize he was gay until about age 20, and when he came out to me my response was 'about damn time.' So that experience helped me understand that gay people are just people like all other people just with one switch pointing in the opposite direction.<BR/><BR/>Regarding the young man who sent the emails: I think he's just confused. Everyone's sort of angsty/overly emotional/confused/mad in their teenage years. We haven't got our stuff straightened out, and we've yet to think for ourselves. I wouldn't point at this guy and go 'THIS IS WHY RELIGION IS EVIL!!!!!' so much as see it as a disease we can treat through applications of reasoning, critical evaluation, and logic.<BR/><BR/>p.s. when we fall into the mindset of religion being a treatable condition, are we being arrogant or condescending? I kind of get this vibe that we as atheists are 'enlightened' now and thus somewhat above the 'endarkened' religion people. I honestly don't know how I feel about that.-Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07423776253697799481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-7235741449833017302008-10-10T21:31:00.000-05:002008-10-10T21:31:00.000-05:00I have to add though that even though I am a perso...<B>I have to add though that even though I am a person that does not believe in religion, I still find homosexuality disturbing. I would not have much trouble in saying that its alright for gay people to get married but the whole concept is a bit abnormal.</B><BR/><BR/>I'm a little curious what your definition of "normal" is that "people behaving/being allowed to behave according to their natural urges and inclinations" falls outside of it. Attraction and arousal are physiological responses to various stimuli; they are largely (if not entirely) inborn and tend not to be subject to the will. <BR/><BR/>I wonder, though, if you're in a position similar to the one I was in a few years ago. For me, renouncing my terrible homophobia was one of the major steps that led me away from religion. For years after, even though I'd become an outspoken supporter of gay rights, I found myself struggling to reconcile my moral and political convictions with the simple disgust I felt about homosexuality. When I went to a GSA meeting in college where they showed a sex-heavy episode of "Queer as Folk," I got really uncomfortable and felt guilty afterward because of it. <BR/><BR/>I came to realize two things which helped immensely: first, that it wasn't gay sex which disgusted me, it was <I>anal</I> sex--homosexual <I>or</I> heterosexual. Following that, I realized that just because I found a particular sex act to be a turn-off didn't mean that there was necessarily anything wrong with the act or wanting to engage in it. Much like attraction and arousal, such tastes are largely inborn or develop early on, and one person's turn-off is another person's night on the town. <BR/><BR/>In other words, I realized that my sexual tastes were the product largely of chance, and are not morally significant--much like anyone else's. That realization helped me reconcile various contradictions I felt were present in my position, and I'm now a lot more comfortable on the whole. <BR/><BR/>Pun moderately intended.Tom Fosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13796424725228769265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-87683181376295894812008-10-10T20:13:00.000-05:002008-10-10T20:13:00.000-05:00Declaring his age doesn't change the fact that he ...Declaring his age doesn't change the fact that he sounds like a sexually confused wanker.Muhamad Lodhihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01304158906117991481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-35323225491565527512008-10-10T18:13:00.000-05:002008-10-10T18:13:00.000-05:00Well, that was a pretty hilarious email.Yet anothe...Well, that was a pretty hilarious email.Yet another religious individual attempting to impose his faith on people with no faith. Its like they think we woke up one day and decided that we werent gonna have a religion! <BR/><BR/> I have to add though that even though I am a person that does not believe in religion, I still find homosexuality disturbing. I would not have much trouble in saying that its alright for gay people to get married but the whole concept is a bit abnormal.<BR/><BR/> I do feel sorry for the guy though more than anything....the Bible has brainwashed him into believing concepts like Hell, Creation, God that he can never see the world through a different set of thinking.the_world_in_my_eyeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10420191017401446737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-55763110357571366782008-10-10T17:31:00.000-05:002008-10-10T17:31:00.000-05:00I have been where this kid is now. I saw this a lo...I have been where this kid is now. I saw this a lot in certain churches. The repetition of the phrase PAIN AND TORTURE is such a clear sign of self hypnosis. I can almost see him rocking in his chair with his eyes closed and repeating that phrase over and over again. <BR/><BR/>My guess is either Assembly of God or some Non denominational church or 'Bible Study' has him in their clutches. The good news is that no matter how far they go there is hope. I have seen people flip like this before and it is pretty scary. <BR/><BR/>To the kid, if he finds this, stop fasting. Get a good dinner and take a deep breath. Then stop and take a look at what you are actually doing. Not whether it is just or not but the actual actions and words.<BR/><BR/>Later on, when you suddenly realize that your ideology doesn't match your reality, don't be too hard on yourself. Falling prey to deception can happen to us all. Its why critical thinking and reason are so important.Phoesunehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06517108481380168905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-4102800437357520002008-10-10T16:50:00.000-05:002008-10-10T16:50:00.000-05:00"In what microcosm of reality is this guy accepted..."In what microcosm of reality is this guy accepted as "normal"?"<BR/><BR/>Williamson County. Hehe, sorry, had to say it.<BR/><BR/>(For those not familiar with Austin, WilCo is north of Austin and very conservative.)dethanoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15471822262622826845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-49663844066698695252008-10-10T14:26:00.000-05:002008-10-10T14:26:00.000-05:00OK--just saw the "only 14" note. So, he's still yo...OK--just saw the "only 14" note. So, he's still young. Just fyi, my head was on backward until my sophmore year of college--so there's hope for this kid, yet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-52674272233885846702008-10-10T14:25:00.000-05:002008-10-10T14:25:00.000-05:00We got another note today from someone in another ...We got another note today from someone in another country who said that he sometimes feels like he's living in an insane asylum (as a sane person).<BR/><BR/>When I see letters like this--and I see a lot of letters like ths--I can't help but think: "What is this person like in 'real life'?"<BR/><BR/>Seriously--does this person have friends, family, coworkers? Does he address them in this fashion on points where they disagree?<BR/><BR/>The content of the e-mail highlighted is just Nutter City. And would people "out there" be more concerned about their friends and neighbors if they knew people were thinking and expressing themselves this way? In what microcosm of reality is this guy accepted as "normal"? Even to most Christians I know, he'd be a Nutter. But presumably he exists somewhere?<BR/><BR/>Could he, and others like him, be jerking us around? I'd say yes, except that I know the level of correspondence they will provide if you encourage them. I've seen these guys pour hours and hours into correspondence. I mean, I spend a lot of time corresponding--but would I if it was just a joke? Uh--no, because I have a little thing called a "life."<BR/><BR/>Who screwed this guy up and how? And who is supporting him now (in his social circle)? Is he a lonely, isolated, sad man? I _worry_ about these people. I _worry_ for these people. I wish there was something that could be done to help them, because I know more than likely an adult is responsible for screwing this guy up as a young person. And unraveling religion out of your brain is no easy task--even if it's not too deeply rooted to start with. I _thought_ I knew what ultra conservative was, but I've heard stories and seen news items since becoming aware of my atheism that have really let me recognize the lengths people will got to to mess up their own children in the name of "their best interest."<BR/><BR/>Now society is left with this person who clearly has issues. And he seems to be an adult (grown enough to correspond on a computer anyway, at length). And whatever was in his past can't be changed.<BR/><BR/>But maybe if we try hard we can stop someone else from being moulded into an anti-social freak?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-27998213746011994772008-10-10T14:08:00.000-05:002008-10-10T14:08:00.000-05:00It's so sad to see that from a fourteen-year-old. ...It's so sad to see that from a fourteen-year-old. I remember being his age and saying the same type of things about homosexuals. <BR/><BR/>Nothing planted a seed of doubt in my mind greater than getting raked over the coals in a rational debate about the dangers of homosexuality. Hopefully he has an in-person meeting with a gay or atheist (I guess those are redundant terms).DisComforting Ignorancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04279112381253209661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-73207484186302949752008-10-10T13:56:00.000-05:002008-10-10T13:56:00.000-05:00Oh looks like he found the Blasphemy challenge on ...Oh looks like he found the Blasphemy challenge on youtube, that must of boggled his mind. (I love that challenge. :D)<BR/><BR/>It is said though that someone so young is full of so much hate and yet believe their god is love.Jackiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13463861417673849001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-71536214194985015112008-10-10T13:54:00.000-05:002008-10-10T13:54:00.000-05:00I was going to comment, but all I can say now is:S...I was going to comment, but all I can say now is:<BR/><BR/>Sparrowhawk wins.gamer-geekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17152803979318120588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-44602687320298373222008-10-10T13:05:00.000-05:002008-10-10T13:05:00.000-05:00ya...he's rite u no. ur just mad at gawd cuz ur t...ya...he's rite u no. ur just mad at gawd cuz ur teh gay. i red it on teh intarnets. your just delewzhunal cuz u don bleev in gawd!!!Sparrowhawkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16520765821903563677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-28405286997922426242008-10-10T12:23:00.000-05:002008-10-10T12:23:00.000-05:00Who says religious fanaticism doesn't cause neuros...Who says religious fanaticism doesn't cause neurosis?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33241741.post-90427948669408925522008-10-10T12:02:00.000-05:002008-10-10T12:02:00.000-05:00Yeesh. Sounds like my cousins.I wonder what MRIs o...Yeesh. Sounds like my cousins.<BR/><BR/>I wonder what MRIs of their brains would show. With the kind of brainwashing that that individual has more than likely received, I wonder if some areas have restricted or a surplus of blood flow.<BR/><BR/>Makes ya wonder.Reneehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16617225641216826558noreply@blogger.com