Why 43% of you are stupid

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Maybe I have doubts about the Christian heaven and hell. I am not a Christian. But I do have my beliefs in an afterlife. I believe as Einstein did that energy once created, can not be uncreated. Humans are energy. So are all living things.

If I want to believe that I will somehow see my loved ones, pets included, again. I will. I surely don't give a fuck what anyone else says.

I believe in what gives me comfort. For you to try and take that away from me, makes me think about your motive. You wish me harm? That ain't a good idea.

Why would you want to question anyones belief in what gives them comfort?

Death is a huge scary monster. I have seen the monster. It is real. Religion in any form is a way for humans to stave off that monster.

What kind of a fucking monster are you?

Are you kidding me?

I'm not calling faith stupid, I'm calling genie-wishing stupid. And fervent belief that your goldfish's soul will be transported to heaven, is a genie-wish. You think a goldfish wants to go on living in your tiny bowl? Pets in heaven is wish fullfillment for humans, not for animals. It's silly in the extreme, and you can't tell me it isn't, and now matter how you cut and paste it, I'm NOT calling belief in God stupid.

 

[sunstruck]

Decaf latte for schoolteacher.

 

[RawHumor]

You're all doody-heads. And that's the bottom line.

 

[brokenbrainwave]

I'll take a water bong if orders are placed here...

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

I don't drink coffee. Can I have a Snapple instead?

 

[sunstruck]

I have peach iced tea Snapple! Sound good?

 

[Purple Haze]

It's not my thread, but I'll sum up anyway:

Lots of people believe in God, and it's not much of a stretch for them to think their beloved family pet goes to a better place when they die.

Lots of other people may believe in God, but their dog, cat or goat is just a beast. Not worthy of after-life.

And there's Dixon who won't believe anything until a scientist tells him it's okay. Kind of narrow, I think. If you don't see things his way, then you are wrong, stupid and open game to ridicule.

Did I miss anything?

 

[Problem Child]

Sunstruck is taking up a lot of space babbling about beverages, but other than that you pretty well covered it.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

I do have my beliefs in an afterlife. I believe as Einstein did that energy once created, can not be uncreated. Humans are energy.

Not that it matters, but, since I have the energy...

1) Einstein was talking about energy and matter, and didn't mention anything about them being "created", he simply referred to their existance.

2) Humans are not energy, they're matter.

3) What this has to do with an afterlife, I don't know. Einstein's idea does not say that humans "never go away", which is your inference here. our bodies are perfectly free to change matter state (i.e. decompose).

4) Can you imagine a paradise full of yorkshire terriers? No wonder Satan moved out.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

And there's Dixon who won't believe anything until a scientist tells him it's okay. Kind of narrow, I think. If you don't see things his way, then you are wrong, stupid and open game to ridicule.

Did I miss anything?

Almost everything in reference to me, but it's okay, one day I shall sit in judgement upon the world, and all dogs under six inches high will be smoted.

 

[sunstruck]

Sunstruck is taking up a lot of space babbling about beverages, but other than that you pretty well covered it.

No Snapple for you.

I have a better summation. Another joke taken too bloody far. How's that?

 

[Problem Child]

No Snapple for you.

I have a better summation. Another joke taken too bloody far. How's that?

Ok, but please pipe down about caffienated beverages.

 

[glorfindale39]

1) Atheism is not faith-based

Main Entry: 1faith
Pronunciation: 'fAth
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural faiths /'fAths, sometimes 'fA[th]z/
Etymology: Middle English feith, from Old French feid, foi, from Latin fides; akin to Latin fidere to trust -- more at BIDE
Date: 13th century
1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : LOYALTY b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs

Unless you, DCL, can do what countless philosiphers and scientists have been unable to do, and that is prove the non-existance of god, by definition atheism is faith based.

Also, a disscussion that invloves calling others stupid for a belief that requires some belief in a god concept, by default becomes a discussion of the existance of god.

G.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

If pets go, can I bring my Playstation II?

It would be bring me a great deal of comfort to believe that.

Don't call me stupid.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Glorf, you're transposing the meaning of the word "Faith" into the definition's use of the word "belief". They're not the same thing. I also believe the moon is visible from China. I can believe that without it being "faith-based".

Atheism is the letter "a" placed in front of "theism". It is the opposite of "theism", which is belief in the existence of a god or gods, especially belief in a personal God as creator and ruler of the world. That is belief in a system that relies upon faith. Atheism is the opposite of that -- the opposite of belief in a faith based philosophy.

Atheism is not a faith. The definition of "atheism" is in the construction of the word itself.

 

[glorfindale39]

Glorf, you're transposing the meaning of the word "Faith" into the definition's use of the word "belief". They're not the same thing. I also believe the moon is visible from China. I can believe that without it being "faith-based".

Atheism is the letter "a" placed in front of "theism". It is the opposite of "theism", which is belief in the existence of a god or gods, especially belief in a personal God as creator and ruler of the world. That is belief in a system that relies upon faith. Atheism is the opposite of that -- the opposite of belief in a faith based philosophy.

Atheism is not a faith. The definition of "atheism" is in the construction of the word itself.

An interesting idea DCL, though I don’t believe that I am transposing the meaning. In fact, the word belief is a synonym of the word faith. I looked up the definition of the word belief just to make sure.

Main Entry: be·lief
Pronunciation: b&-'lEf
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English beleave, probably alteration of Old English gelEafa, from ge-, associative prefix + lEafa; akin to Old English lyfan
Date: 12th century
1 : a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing
2 : something believed; especially : a tenet or body of tenets held by a group
3 : conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence
synonyms BELIEF, FAITH, CREDENCE, CREDIT mean assent to the truth of something offered for acceptance. BELIEF may or may not imply certitude in the believer <my belief that I had caught all the errors>. FAITH almost always implies certitude even where there is no evidence or proof <an unshakable faith in God>. CREDENCE suggests intellectual assent without implying anything about grounds for assent <a theory now given credence by scientists>. CREDIT may imply assent on grounds other than direct proof <gave full credit to the statement of a reputable witness>. synonym see in addition OPINION

Note the difference of the definitions of belief to faith. Atheism by definition is one who denies the existence of god. If we want to get really picky, the definition of denies is:
“ DENY implies a firm refusal to accept as true, to grant or concede, or to acknowledge the existence or claims of” Thus, to be an atheist requires faith not belief. If you have belief that there is no god, then that implies a lack of certainty. Atheism allows no room for doubt. Agnosticism does, it relies on belief. An agnostic believes there is no god, but they are not certain.

Also, regardless of the construction of the word, its use defines its meaning. If we tried to define the meanings of half the English language from there roots, there common usage would be incorrect. The accepted definition of atheism is defined in my previous post and comes from Webster’s.

G.

 

[zipman]

Oh

I thought that was the percentage of people who haven't put Hanns on ignore yet.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

A-theism. Opposite of theism. You can't get past it. I do not have "faith" that God doesn't exist. You can't apply "faith" and "belief" that way, or the words lose meaning. You would have to say that every conviction in the world is based on "faith", and therefore blur the difference between what is deduced, inferred, and felt.

 

[70/30]

I win cuz my aunt has a monkey for a pet and some people have dolphins and elephants. They are way smarter than big ole dinosaurs used to be when they ruled the world. Just cuz mean people like Dixon got way smart all the sudden doesn't make today's animals way stupid when compared to lving things from other times. Plus I don't think Chinese people are really that smart cuz they forgot to invent forks until 1983.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Like a crap after Chinese, that was forced.

 

[70/30]

No, I mixed the whippits with the glue this afternoon. I'm better now. People are smart in their way but many animals are also smart in their way. I don't believe in the cloudly gates of heaven but I believe in something, the concept of Borges' "Library of Babel" is the closest thing so far. I would be heartily surprised if there weren't any animals allowed.

 

[sch00lteacher]

Death is a huge scary monster. I have seen the monster. It is real. Religion in any form is a way for humans to stave off that monster.

What kind of a fucking monster are you?

DCL I want to offer a humble apology for these comments. They are out of character and uncalled for. I wasn't in the best of moods and I took out my anger on you.

Of course I do not think you are a monster, why the hell I even said that, I don't know.

I couldn't rest until I came in here and said I was sorry. I hope you can accept that and we can move on. I enjoy reading your well thought out posts. Certainly they are uncommon here on the General Board.

I hate it when I do shit like this. Seems like I am doing it a lot more often these days. Something for me to work on.

School Teacher.

 

[glorfindale39]

A-theism. Opposite of theism. You can't get past it. I do not have "faith" that God doesn't exist. You can't apply "faith" and "belief" that way, or the words lose meaning. You would have to say that every conviction in the world is based on "faith", and therefore blur the difference between what is deduced, inferred, and felt.

It is incorect to assume the meaning of a word is based on it's root. It is based on it's socital usage. This usage is defined in a little document called a dictionary. If you like I can list a few dozen words who's roots have nothing to do with there meanings, or very little based on there accepted societal usage. You can try to twist the meanings of the words to fit your argument, that does not change there definition.

As to the use of faith and belief, they are used 100% correctly as fits there definitions. They only loose meaning if you try to apply them againsst there difinition. It is really very simple:

faith: firm belief in something for which there is no proof

belief: may or may not imply certitude in the believer

One is an absolute, one is not. I can have a belief about anything for which I am willing to accept the possibilty of being wrong. That is the nature of belief. I have faith in something if I am not willing to accept that I may be wrong. As an atheist you believe there is no god with no possibility of being wrong. That is faith. If you accept that you may be wrong you are agnostic.

G.

 

[Coolville]

I just read a statistic that 43% of Americans think their pets go to heaven.

No statistics on how stupid Europeans, Africans, Asians or Australians are.

85% of Icelanders believe in elves and there are a dozen or so consultant companies in the country that will tell you if that pile of rocks is home to a colony of elves or not. Roads will then be diverted around the rocks, houses will be built elsewhere. All in a country with 100% literacy and one of the most advanced nations on earth.
go figure.

 

[Saytur]

Thanks Cool, that is interesting ... where'd you get it?