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Old 11-01-2021, 04:37 PM
 
Location: Sun City West, Arizona
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter600 View Post
Why not? Whether God exists or not (or whether reality is God or not), religion can still have pros and cons. For example, people can discuss whether the ten Christian commandments are valid principles to follow if God does exist. And people can discuss whether the ten Christian commandments are valid principles to follow if God does not exist.

Just because someone is an atheist doesn't make religion (as in the human construct) and it's influences in the world disappear. The poster you replied to has tried many times to have discussions about the utility of religion, which can be had even if the truthfulness is in dispute.

Take this thread - the etymology of religion can be discussed regardless of whether a person believes God exists or not.
Christians -- at least those on this forum -- don't seem to want to have discussions about principles.
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Old 11-01-2021, 04:43 PM
 
63,565 posts, read 39,855,129 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD View Post
But questioning the existence of God or asking for evidence of the existence of God is an off-topic derail in most threads, like this one, yet it is not treated as such.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phetaroi View Post
Perhaps I should bow to an expert in that category
Snark aside, how could questioning the existence of God possibly be on-topic in a thread about the origins of religion which presupposes the existence of God?????
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Old 11-01-2021, 05:00 PM
 
884 posts, read 354,589 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD View Post
Snark aside, how could questioning the existence of God possibly be on-topic in a thread about the origins of religion which presupposes the existence of God?????
But exploring the origin of religion does not presuppose the existence of God.

If God exists, what is the etymology of religion? If God doesn't exist, what is the etymology of religion? Either way religion has an origin - it might be true or false but it has an origin.

The question of the etymology of religion does not presuppose that God exists.
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Old 11-01-2021, 05:10 PM
 
63,565 posts, read 39,855,129 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter600 View Post
But exploring the origin of religion does not presuppose the existence of God.

If God exists, what is the etymology of religion? If God doesn't exist, what is the etymology of religion? Either way religion has an origin - it might be true or false but it has an origin.

The question of the etymology of religion does not presuppose that God exists.
Stop pretending ignorance. Religion itself DOES presuppose the existence of God and that controls the context of the thread.
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Old 11-01-2021, 05:15 PM
 
884 posts, read 354,589 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD View Post
Stop pretending ignorance. Religion itself DOES presuppose the existence of God and that controls the context of the thread.
So if God doesn't exist, religion doesn't have an origin? If I were to explore the origin of the Bigfoot belief movement, does that presuppose bigfoot exists? If I were to explore the etymology of Santa Claus, does that require Santa Claus to exist? How ridiculous.

Here is an example of the etymology of Santa Claus from a quick google search, there is no requirement for Santa Claus to exist or not:

Quote:
The name Santa Claus evolved from Nick's Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). In 1804, John Pintard, a member of the New York Historical Society, distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society's annual meeting.
Similarly from the OP, here is the etymology of religion, there is no requirement for God to exist or not in order for religion to have an etymology:

Quote:
and directly from Latin religionem (nominative religio) "respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods; conscientiousness, sense of right, moral obligation; fear of the gods; divine service, religious observance; a religion, a faith, a mode of worship, cult; sanctity, holiness,"

Last edited by Peter600; 11-01-2021 at 05:25 PM..
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Old 11-01-2021, 05:32 PM
 
63,565 posts, read 39,855,129 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter600 View Post
So if God doesn't exist, religion doesn't have an origin? If I were to explore the origin of the Bigfoot belief movement, does that presuppose bigfoot exists? If I were to explore the etymology of Santa Claus, does that require Santa Claus to exist? How ridiculous.

Here is an example of the etymology of Santa Claus from a quick google search, there is no requirement for Santa Claus to exist or not:

Similarly from the OP, here is the etymology of religion, there is no requirement for God to exist or not in order for religion to have an etymology:
Why do you keep prattling on about the obvious and disregard the actual issue. The actual issue is the OFF-topic nature of EVER raising the question of God's existence, PERIOD!
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Old 11-01-2021, 05:42 PM
 
884 posts, read 354,589 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD View Post
Why do you keep prattling on about the obvious and disregard the actual issue. The actual issue is the OFF-topic nature of EVER raising the question of God's existence, PERIOD!
A discussion about the etymology of religion could be had without assuming that God exists, or that God doesn't exists. However it is theists who started to argue that God exists in this thread, which then raises questions about whether that is correct.

It is not required to argue that God exists, or that God doesn't exist, in order to explore the etymology of religion.
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Old 11-01-2021, 06:00 PM
 
63,565 posts, read 39,855,129 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter600 View Post
A discussion about the etymology of religion could be had without assuming that God exists, or that God doesn't exists. However it is theists who started to argue that God exists in this thread, which then raises questions about whether that is correct.

It is not required to argue that God exists, or that God doesn't exist, in order to explore the etymology of religion.
The point being the question is OFF-TOPIC and a derail.
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Old 11-01-2021, 06:16 PM
 
884 posts, read 354,589 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD View Post
The point being the question is OFF-TOPIC and a derail.
This discussion about what derails threads, is itself derailing the thread, so I'll leave it.
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Old 11-01-2021, 06:18 PM
 
Location: Sun City West, Arizona
50,450 posts, read 24,044,107 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD View Post
Snark aside, how could questioning the existence of God possibly be on-topic in a thread about the origins of religion which presupposes the existence of God?????
I don't agree that this forum presupposes that.
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