Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The usual thought-free response, completely ignoring two pages of exposition going before. But at least your faith is unthreatened by reality.
Either you misunderstood me or I am misunderstanding you. And my only faith is in Nature which is the only reality out there. No middle-Eastern deities involved.
Either you misunderstood me or I am misunderstanding you. And my only faith is in Nature which is the only reality out there. No middle-Eastern deities involved.
Perhaps I misunderstood, but it is, shall we say, understandable that I misunderstood.
It's only when we get to know new posters (welcome, by the way) that we can get a sense of when they are being facetious or ironic, as I was able to divine was the case with the post just before yours. Even then, on the Internet, without body language and vocal inflection, sarcasm and irony are risky maneuvers.
Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
10,202 posts, read 7,922,771 times
Reputation: 4561
Quote:
Originally Posted by mordant
Perhaps I misunderstood, but it is, shall we say, understandable that I misunderstood.
It's only when we get to know new posters (welcome, by the way) that we can get a sense of when they are being facetious or ironic, as I was able to divine was the case with the post just before yours. Even then, on the Internet, without body language and vocal inflection, sarcasm and irony are risky maneuvers.
If you read some of Siegendeslicht's posts, I suspect you will agree he is a welcome addition
A phenomena I have observed is that a number of friends and aquintances who were decidedly not religious, as they aged, have not only become religious, but some in a deep way.
Examples:
Ex- girlfriend of mine, never a mention of anything religious over a 3 year relationship and a friend for 6 years thereafter, even went to her wedding, now so religious she de-friended me on Facebook due to secular links I posted.
Another female friend, who I've known for almost 20 years, never said a word about religion, every second post now is some meme about getting saved.
Third female friend, someone who couldn't stand sanctimonious religious claptrap, now a Fundie. We can at least agree to disagree.
Now my ex brother in law is getting baptized as a Catholic this weekend. His wife is Catholic, and although their kids were raised Catholic, they want nothing to do with it. I can't believe he's going that route, even though I only see him a couple times a year.
Now, I can see people perhaps getting more religious when they get older, but these surprise me. Some had no religious background, and some rejected what they had grew up with.
And here I thought enlightenment would become more universal. Guess we have still some work to do.
that last line is why I struggle so with militant athiesm. "fact fighting" and "emotional needs" are different. Don't state "emotional needs" as factual. It just is not right the right thing to do.
You aint anymore enlightened anybody else. In fact, Buddha was enlightened because he knew what he didn't know. he dealt with what he didn't know with an honest evaluation of what he knew.
besides, factually speaking "no nothing" does not match observation. It matches your personal emotional need. Now what do we do? make bull sit-up or put it to the cross?
The usual thought-free response, completely ignoring two pages of exposition going before. But at least your faith is unthreatened by reality.
I think you may have jumped the gun on our new pal. In fact Qualiasoup did a very good you -tube of the fear of death as a motivator in religion.
While we unbelievers pride ourselves on a rational non -fear of death, i can imagine that for many it becomes very real, and rationality aside, may very well take the religion they are used to as the only one really to take seriously.
It might be just the need for some Meaning in life, but pure fear of death cannot be discounted.
Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
10,202 posts, read 7,922,771 times
Reputation: 4561
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arach Angle
that last line is why I struggle so with militant athiesm. "fact fighting" and "emotional needs" are different. Don't state "emotional needs" as factual. It just is not right the right thing to do.
You aint anymore enlightened anybody else. In fact, Buddha was enlightened because he knew what he didn't know. he dealt with what he didn't know with an honest evaluation of what he knew.
I was using the term not in a religious context, but as Google defines it:
en·light·ened
inˈlītnd,enˈlītnd/
adjective
adjective: enlightened
having or showing a rational, modern, and well-informed outlook.
"the more enlightened employers offer better terms"
I didn't post the you tube as it is rather long - 2 parts. But i checked up part 2 and post it here as the section on atheists in foxholes should be required watching for theists and atheists alike.
Also Arach's remark about Emotional needs and facts. Increasingly we need to understand the facts about our emotional needs, otherwise we are going to continue to be led around by the nose by our instincts.
As the yoy -tube says, with an ecosystem already creaking at the seams, that is what we can no longer afford to do, let alone be lulled into a false sense of security by Teaparty global warming -deniers on the grounds that God will sort it all out.
Thanks for the welcomes! I've been lurking around for a while in the Religion section, and I've enjoyed the posts of Mordant, Cupper3 and Arequipa a lot.
And yes, that is what I was talking about. When people get older and face their own mortality, a lot of them begin to wonder if there is indeed "something else out there" and think they should at least prepare for this possibility somehow.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In fact Qualiasoup did a very good you -tube of the fear of death as a motivator in religion. 
