Are you an atheist, but not an arsehole to religious people?

lol people with imaginary friends are dumb lol[/this is what atheists actually believe]

I heartily recommend The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins to you all, whether you're religious or not. I'm listening to the Audio Book at the moment. Very entertaining and full of examples of why religion is actually damaging to the world, and how we'd be better off without it.

Yoshimi wrote:I heartily recommend The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins to you all, whether you're religious or not. I'm listening to the Audio Book at the moment. Very entertaining and full of examples of why religion is actually damaging to the world, and how we'd be better off without it.

Its a good read but not a book I'd recommend for people just getting in to the God debate because its so biased and because it glosses over the traditional arguments in such an offhand manner. I'd recommend reading one of Peter Vardys introductory books so you get a good overview first.

Mr Plough wrote:

Yoshimi wrote:I heartily recommend The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins to you all, whether you're religious or not. I'm listening to the Audio Book at the moment. Very entertaining and full of examples of why religion is actually damaging to the world, and how we'd be better off without it.

Its a good read but not a book I'd recommend for people just getting in to the God debate because its so biased and because it glosses over the traditional arguments in such an offhand manner. I'd recommend reading one of Peter Vardys introductory books so you get a good overview first.

Justify please.

I'm a secular humanist, so I don't exactly lack any kind of belief. All the qualities put on the divine (love, kindness, forgiveness) are actually human qualities that have been transposed. Religion only alienates and puts in an artificial divide between ourselves and those human qualities when in fact we already have them and have had them all along, we just need to realise they are within ourselves. So we should stop using god as a proxy for our devotion and instead direct that devotion directly to others and ourselves. Okay, so the latter may sound sort of egotistical, but I think self-worth is important and a lot of religions have a habit of promoting humbleness and shame rather than pride.

I think religions themselves have actually gotten close to this truth themselves from time to time, namely through pantheism.

Phatman wrote:

Mr Plough wrote:

Yoshimi wrote:I heartily recommend The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins to you all, whether you're religious or not. I'm listening to the Audio Book at the moment. Very entertaining and full of examples of why religion is actually damaging to the world, and how we'd be better off without it.

Its a good read but not a book I'd recommend for people just getting in to the God debate because its so biased and because it glosses over the traditional arguments in such an offhand manner. I'd recommend reading one of Peter Vardys introductory books so you get a good overview first.

Justify please.

Put it this way if your interested in Philosophy of religion before reading this




read this or any other balanced overview of the subject



Then also consider reading a book by Kieth Ward for the Theists side of the argument so you have a nice balanced overview. I would also recommend Richard Swinburne but he's a twat.

Also for the ultimate discussion on the whole God debate I'd recommend reading the transcript to the famous Bertrand Russell and Fredrick Copleston BBC radio debate. I'll find a link in a bit but I do warn you its quite long but worth the read. Amazing that the God debate hasn't actually moved along at all for hundreds of years. Dawkins arguments are exactly the same as Russell's etc. Just altered slightly into a more modern context.

EDIT: And I know I post this every time but no-one ever listens to me anyway.
EDIT 2: The link http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/p20.htm

Lucien wrote:I want people to do whatever they want and enjoy it, I said that before. You can make of life what you will. What do I think life should be about? Enjoying my life and trying to ensure I do the best things I can. It just figures to me that the best way to be is to be happy and kind, but not bring life in the way many do who think 'I want something else to enjoy this'. Not only can people not ensure their offspring will have a good life, they are also ensuring wars will continue, murder, rape, famine etc. I see the darker side only because I don't think balanced with the good side, life continuation is worth it. Had I been alive in Roman times I'd have said the same, and the result, our life since then is what'd I'd have expected. Billions of heartbreaking stories through war, disease and human greed. Traded for your good moments to me... not worth it.

But that's my opinion, no more or less than an average Christian, Agnostic, Atheistic viewpoint, and I'm always open to learning and finding out more.

If you notice in my earlier posts, I did say that the point of life is to enjoy it and experience things; you then asked what the point is in atheists breeding and that's when I replied saying it's desirable to raise children and bring others into the world.

There are always going to be bad times in anyone's life and there's a fair chance that a lot of people will be unhappy for the majority of the time. That's what makes the good parts so special.

Extralife wrote:I'm a secular humanist, so I don't exactly lack any kind of belief. All the qualities put on the divine (love, kindness, forgiveness) are actually human qualities that have been transposed. Religion only alienates and puts in an artificial divide between ourselves and those human qualities when in fact we already have them and have had them all along, we just need to realise they are within ourselves. So we should stop using god as a proxy for our devotion and instead direct that devotion directly to others and ourselves. Okay, so the latter may sound sort of egotistical, but I think self-worth is important and a lot of religions have a habit of promoting humbleness and shame rather than pride.

I think religions themselves have actually gotten close to this truth themselves from time to time, namely through pantheism.

I wouldn't call kindness and forgiveness human qualities: they're more like human weaknesses which certain people are able to exploit in to making any lack of forgiveness appear worse than the crime to be forgiven in the first place. This is what's wrong with a lot of religion and it even shows on most non-religious people as well.

I used to be a bit religious but over the last year or so as I've broadened my reading I've realised that most of what I originally believed in could be bettered with a more logical argument. I don't go crusading against religious people but if anyone's religious based actions were to interfere with what I wanted to do I wouldn't hesitate to tell them why they were wrong.

I really dont care what religion anyone is just as long as they dont try and force it on other people or try and prove how their way of life is so much better and that mine sucks because i dont believe in their religion. Religion is fine if it brings something good just dont go forcing it on people especially like those christian speakers in the high street who get in your face. Thats not the way to do it .

I see those No God adverts have started appearing on buses in London now, angering Christian groups as they go.

Stephen Green, national director of Christian Voice wrote:"There is plenty of evidence for God, from people's personal experience, to the complexity, interdependence, beauty and design of the natural world.

"But there is scant evidence on the other side, so I think the advertisers are really going to struggle to show their claim is not an exaggeration or inaccurate, as the ASA code puts it."

Bold bit = Really?

As far as I know, peoples' personal experience doesn't count as evidence.

CosmoKramer wrote:I see those No God adverts have started appearing on buses in London now, angering Christian groups as they go.

Stephen Green, national director of Christian Voice wrote:"There is plenty of evidence for God, from people's personal experience, to the complexity, interdependence, beauty and design of the natural world.

"But there is scant evidence on the other side, so I think the advertisers are really going to struggle to show their claim is not an exaggeration or inaccurate, as the ASA code puts it."

Bold bit = Really?

As far as I know, peoples' personal experience doesn't count as evidence.

Christian Voice could be written by Chris Morris for Brass Eye if it wasn't already written by a bunch of absolute nut-jobs.

CosmoKramer wrote:I see those No God adverts have started appearing on buses in London now, angering Christian groups as they go.

That's brilliant . I hadn't heard of these.

She added: "Christianity is for people who aren't afraid to think about life and meaning."

*faints*

Knoyleo wrote:lol people with imaginary friends are dumb lol[/this is what atheists actually believe]

What an ambiguous post.

CosmoKramer wrote:I see those No God adverts have started appearing on buses in London now, angering Christian groups as they go.

Stephen Green, national director of Christian Voice wrote:"There is plenty of evidence for God, from people's personal experience, to the complexity, interdependence, beauty and design of the natural world.

"But there is scant evidence on the other side, so I think the advertisers are really going to struggle to show their claim is not an exaggeration or inaccurate, as the ASA code puts it."

Bold bit = Really?

As far as I know, peoples' personal experience doesn't count as evidence.

I was just about to make a thread on this.

Hanne Stinson, chief executive of the British Humanist Association, said: "I've sought advice from some of our key people here, but I'm afraid all I've got out of them so far is peals of laughter.

"I am sure that Stephen Green really does think there is a great deal of evidence for a God (though presumably only the one that he believes in), but I pity the ASA if they are going to be expected to rule on the probability of God's existence."

I think I love Hanne

I'm not an asshole to religious people (not that I often meet them) but I think it's all a load of tosh. Without religion think of the amount of wars we would never have had. Religion starts them, it doesn't finish them.

Dangerblade wrote:I'm not an asshole to religious people (not that I often meet them) but I think it's all a load of tosh. Without religion think of the amount of wars we would never have had. Religion starts them, it doesn't finish them.

I'm of the opinion that people will always find something to fight about. Religion is just so often a convenient excuse.

Of course, but the very existance of religion causes them. Without it, war wouldn't become extinct, but it certainly wouldn't be as common.

I'm not an arsehole to religious people, but I question why they believe such a strawberry floating idiotic thing.

Dangerblade wrote:Of course, but the very existance of religion causes them. Without it, war wouldn't become extinct, but it certainly wouldn't be as common.

I'm not saying it would be exactly as common as it is now, but I think that if the world had grown up without religion, there would still have been around 90% of all the wars/terrorist acts that have occurred. The major beef, mayne, that I have with religion is the way it held us back scientifically for about one-thousand years, oppresses women and kills gays (I would say 'oppressed/killed', but it still goes on in the east).