The Antithesis of Organized Religion

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Tenzil Kem

Post by Tenzil Kem »

Scott, look what you have wrought!
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Post by Doc MacDougal »

zerofoks wrote:Ever tried a cup of contemplative solipsism? :D :)
I'll stick with my fair trade Mexican beans, thanks. They make a fine cup of coffee.
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Post by Jerome Boulbes »

BuckBeaver wrote:
William G wrote:Religion is like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus... something good for teaching kids how to behave that you should then stop believing in once you get old enough to think for yourself.
I don't personally subscribe to the simplistic "fairy tale" approach to religion that many religious folk do, but still I think that casually lumping Judism, Islam, Christianity, etc. in with Santa Claus in the Easter Bunny is awfully insulting to a lot of people William.
And why not the opposite ? :wink: Couldn't it be insulting to people who believe in Santa Claus, Skellington Jack and Easter Bunny that their genuine belief is compared to a religion ?
I mean, millions of human beings (most of them don't know yet how to read, of course, but still, they're human beings) believe in Santa Claus.

Well, they know Santa Claus exist.

(I was wanting to make a joke, but now I realize it's only half a joke... :roll: after all if believing in Santa is a superstition, isn't believing that Santa doesn't exist also a superstition ? What proof is there that he doesn't exist ? My parents bought the presents ? ... after all I wasn't always such a nice kid, may be Santa just skipped me...he should have)

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Post by William G »

Jerome Boulbes wrote: ... after all I wasn't always such a nice kid, may be Santa just skipped me...he should have
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Post by Greg Stephens »

Jerome Boulbes wrote:What proof is there that [Santa Claus] doesn't exist ?
But he does exist. He may not be a person that you can ever meet, but we know what he looks like, we know what he does and we know what his function within our society is (giving adults a socially acceptable way to lie to kids in the hope that one day they'll break down and cry when they realize they've been lied to- ha!). Santa, as a concept, is very real. He's just not a real, tangible person.

(I am tempted to draw a parallel to the "how do we know love exists" argument, but then the temptation is to say that "Santa is love" and this is a serious, philosophical discussion where such treacle has no place. Even though I just mentioned it.)
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Post by Kris Lachowski »

William G wrote:
BuckBeaver wrote:
William G wrote:Religion is like the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus... something good for teaching kids how to behave that you should then stop believing in once you get old enough to think for yourself.
I don't personally subscribe to the simplistic "fairy tale" approach to religion that many religious folk do, but still I think that casually lumping Judism, Islam, Christianity, etc. in with Santa Claus in the Easter Bunny is awfully insulting to a lot of people William.
Well, I was going to call it a form of mental disease...

Okay Freud :wink: . Forget psychoanalysis, the oedipus complex, and all that Id, Ego, and Super Ego crap The Future of an Illusion is the only thing of Freud's that truely has merit.
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Post by Connor Moran »

Doc MacDougal wrote:
Connor Moran wrote:Like Taft?
When I'm facing a really tricky ethical dilemma, I like to ask myself WWWHTD?
I tried that for a while, but the only answer I could ever come up with is "Get stuck in a bathtub."

Not terribly useful.
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Systems of one belief

Post by spinclad »

To go back a bit...

The claim that a single belief maketh not a system strikes me a bit like the parallel notion (formerly more widely held, but usually these days sadly squashed in primary school) that one is not a number. To properly instantiate matters: one thing is not a number of things; in particular, they differ in that one is singular, the other plural.

Current custom however includes, not just one, but none as well at the beginning of the natural numbers; practice has changed since Greek times. Likewise among sets we have not onlly a whole universe of singletons (one singleton for every possible element), but a single empty set, which can both simplify definitions and arguments and confuse the unwary.

How many numbers do I know?

Well gee, I don't know, I don't think I know any.

None! That's no numbers I know!

Well, that's a number... hey, I do know a number now!

One number! I know one number now! HAHAHAHAHA!

...

How many Gods do I know?
How many worlds do I see?
How many beliefs do I have?

These are tricky matters, not fit to be left in the hands of experts.
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Post by zerofoks »

Hooary for set theory finally arriving herein! :D
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Post by Bachnagairn »

Now maths is definitely a religion. Well, maybe a cabbalistic cult.

The original quote way back got me confused as I wasn't sure if the antithesising was aimed at organised religion or organised religion. If the former I see the paganist point, if the latter I suppose atheism is the answer.

As for Santa, I'm not sure that there isn't a distinction between him and the various deities in working out a proof for existence in that Santa is bound by rules (some unwritten and just assumed) whereas deities generally make their own rules. If a kid behaves abominably all year (murder, pillage, misusing apostrophes etc) then wakes up 25th December a.m. to find the mince pie eaten, the sherry swigged, sooty footprints on the carpet and a brand new car clearly labelled as being from Santa then something's wrong. Whereas a deity can Job-you-up something rotten and doesn't need to give you any explanations, footnotes or apologies. In this sense I guess that things like Santa are visible (meta)physical phenomena that can be observed, studied, catalogued and analysed. Deities are ineffable.
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Post by Amerigo »

2+2=5 can be a beautiful thing, but I can't believe this thread is still alive and well(that is one dead horse).

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. 8)
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Post by Rip Tanion »

I know God exists, because he's saved my sorry ass more times than I can count.
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Post by RRH »

I know God doesn't exist because this comic told me so.
kerri

santa doesn't exist

Post by kerri »

santa :) :oops: :wink: :roll: :evil: :cry:
is :) :x 8)
ugly!! :roll: :P :x 8) [/u][/b]
natetheman

atheism

Post by natetheman »

atheism is an escape route for the people in this world who dont want to believe that there are consequences for their actions, and that there is a certain end to their life and it is over from there(which is not true). life does go on after the "grave", just take a look at the Bible because it can actually help anyone who does not believe or wants to believe in something.
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Post by Tim Mallos »

Bully!

And how about: trolling the internet for references to 'atheism' and then making a post to a thread that's been buried since July is an escape route for the people in this world who want to believe that their actions are of any consequence.
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Re: atheism

Post by William G »

natetheman wrote:atheism is an escape route for the people in this world who dont want to believe that there are consequences for their actions,
Simplistic bullshit from an unthinking demagogue.

Go away, you waste my time.
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Post by Eric F Myers »

I would say that Religion is an escape route for the people in this world who dont want to believe that there are consequences for their actions. No matter what they do in this life they can just ask their God for forgiveness and they are let off. Atheist know that they have consequences for their actions in this life and that those consequences are worse for them. No heaven, no hell, no second chance, no sort of afterlife at all. You have to do it right the first time because there is no magic reset switch.
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Post by Amerigo »

Confucius say: Religion, politics, and polite conversation don't mix.
"One should not wish for the removal of mountains of adversity, but for the courage to climb them."
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