On the Nature of Things | Forum

Took this separately so it doesn't get lost in the block of text above, but it is the key to showing just how confused Ib's argument really is. When I claim that the the world is locked in a struggle between totalitarians (who know what's best for other people) and libertarians of sorts (who think e...

Prominent atheist figures like Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens have made numerous violent comments, and YouTube videos of them or related to them will receive many violent or racist comments from atheists who are inspired by or support their views. But my original point about comments was their...

Meet the new boss same as the old boss... New Iranian prez breaks his ‘healing’ promises ‘Let us work, and judge us after the first 100 days,” Iran’s new president told Tehran reporters in August. Well, Sunday marks Hassan Rouhani’s 100th day — and it’s been disappointing even by standards he set fo...

So? Rabid atheists on Youtube comments sections haven't murdered anyone, which is more than can be said about rabid Wahhabis or crazy anti-abortion bombers. Atheists don't commit murders? Not what I said. I said that posting vitriolic comments about religion on Youtube is not illegal, and does not ...

I'm happy to answer the question if you cannot. I believe it violates an absolute morality built into the cosmos by God. It is wrong, as an absolute, to kill innocent people. All that is merely your subjective belief. But atheists don't believe in God or, as far as I know, transcendent absolutes. S...

First, what do you mean by continuous? Do you mean 'perpetual'? Well, eventually stars go out and human life becomes impossible. Nothing is forever in this world. Because if so then I utterly disagree. The idea that humans will continue to gain more and more control over material environment foreve...

Why don't you start by explaining how you know, rationally, that there is no God. Are we talking about the timeless, boundless entity that wanted to kill all the Jews and start again with Moses until Moses makes it change its mind? The entity that can create worlds with a word but needs to kill eve...

... chirp ... chirp ...

How did that one go, about mice and cotton?

There is clearly a greater supply of college-educated candidates for jobs than there are jobs that require a college education. Excluding technical professions, of which there is always a shortage. But to talk about high school or university instead of IQ is to move the same problem to a different ...

Would you agree or disagree that there is plenty of smugness and self-righteousness among atheists? A vocal minority in any case. So? Rabid atheists on Youtube comments sections haven't murdered anyone, which is more than can be said about rabid Wahhabis or crazy anti-abortion bombers. Atheism is a...

Most organized religions have a hierarchy that can be (and is often) captured by power-hungry folks. Most religions are totalitarian, in the sense that they desire to control the totality of a person's existence (what they do in bed, what they think, what they teach their kids, etc). Atheism implie...

I never understood why pointing out that Communists were atheists was not germaine while pointing out that a minority of Christians throughout history have been murderous bastards is. Most Christians throughout history never killed anyone and never plotted to kill anyone. No I can't prove it, but b...

Rationalist philosophers have, in every age, tried and miserably failed to come up with convincing and meaningful rational substitutes for the passionate, irrational, and functional myths they destroy. It goes like clockwork. A religion emerges out of a dark age and darker impulses to structure a m...

I never understood why pointing out that Communists were atheists was not germaine while pointing out that a minority of Christians throughout history have been murderous bastards is. Most Christians throughout history never killed anyone and never plotted to kill anyone. No I can't prove it, but b...

This still doesn't define exactly what is being measured by these tests. It always seems to come around to career success, which I have often cited as the only measure of human worth that late-stage capitalist society takes seriously. Even just a few generations ago there seemed to be more of an al...

Needless to say, I would be just as scared of totalitarian atheists as I am by totalitarian muslims or jews or hindus. The only (and quite slim) advantage of atheists is that they lack an official central totalitarianism-endorsing dogma , whereas most other religions explicitly tell their adherents...

Atheists have proven themselves just as self-righteous and murderous, so that leaves us at a bit of a stalemate. The obvious answer is to avoid creating the social structures that concentrate power into the hands of one individual or are easily captured by a small cohesive group, and working toward...

Mr. Perfect wrote:Left wing atheists.

Yup. Totalitarian atheists, to be exact. Totalitarianism is to be feared and fought no matter what guise it hides itself. Atheism alone, uncoupled with a love of liberty, is not enough of an antidote.

Atheists have proven themselves just as self-righteous and murderous, so that leaves us at a bit of a stalemate. The obvious answer is to avoid creating the social structures that concentrate power into the hands of one individual or are easily captured by a small cohesive group, and working toward...

Juggernaut Nihilism wrote:

Taboo wrote:...but godless rituals and priests and tithes and chants, no thanks.

*pops Prozac*

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No, you are getting off track. Torchwood's example is the worldly trappings of religion completely removed from theism. What is the stimulus/response value of the situation? This is an opportunity to separate the social value of religion from the theological. Well, the worldly trappings of religion...

But these interests apply to religious people as well. The hunt has to be specifically for something that is similar to, and replaces, conventional religious worship. That was kinda my point. Most atheists I know are not very self-conscious about being atheists, unless prodded by some religious fan...

1) IQ is not grit. Grit is more important than IQ for most tasks. 2) IQ is not networking. Going through a job-hunt myself at the moment, I've come to appreciate how utterly vital networking is compared to just about anything else. 3) The US already use IQ tests on a widespread scale. They are calle...

I've often wondered why atheists don't create community centers and institute some group ritual. Pottery clubs, book clubs, dance clubs, sci-fi clubs, comicons of various sorts. I find it hard to understand why religious people can't get it that atheists' lives are not defined by being an atheist, ...

Exactly. ZackMorrisDawkins has produced little if anything to deal with person A. Try telling a gay person they aren't gay. The whole point of living in a free society is that there can be no coercion of this kind. However, it is a matter of record that many of the advanced industrial democracies a...