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Author Topic: Respect my ass  (Read 41920 times)
Simon K
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Re: Respect my ass
« Reply #120 on: August 09, 2007, 11:59:14 am »

I still dislike "Xtheist", though, for semantic reasons. I prefer "antireligious". I really prefer no label at all, because there's nothing special about us. We're natural thinkers.
Indeed.

The term "naturalist" is also a good way to describe my own stance about the nature of the universe, since I not only do not believe in gods, I also do not believe in magic crystal healing, ghosts and other new age junk that technically doesn't involve gods. It's just that in my native language, "naturalist" is practically never used, and is very close to the (much more frequently used) term for people who practice public nudity. :-P

I tend to use the terms atheist or antitheist when I'm specifically discussing religion.
About agnosticism, it does make perfect sense to me to say religious matters are unknowable. Even if miracles start happening tomorrow, maybe it's some amazingly advanced alien race? Maybe it's the operator of the Matrix? It's just a reasonable trail of thought. I think that saying "I believe that God does not exist" is more of a stance.

It does make perfect sense, and strictly speaking, religious matters are unknowable. It's just that there is an infinite number of unknowables (like the existence of tooth fairies, Voboblax the Happy Balrog, hyperintelligent cows conducting clandestine experiments on farmers, Russell's Teapot, etc.), most of which are so profoundly silly that any sane person implicitly assumes they do not exist, unless evidence implies otherwise.

For me, these *silly unknowables* include Odin, Thor, Ra, Anubis, Zeus, Athena and all the others. Yahweh too.
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Death 999
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Re: Respect my ass
« Reply #121 on: August 15, 2007, 04:29:28 pm »

Very interesting, but  I have nothing to add to the main thread.

A few pages back, someone said there are dozens of versions of string theory.

I'm sorry, but that's off by over a hundred orders of magnitude.

String theory is a theory. It is a framework for understanding phenomena. It contains definitions and laws. It is not a terribly specific theory. However, it implies a set of far more specific theories, each of which assumes a 'compactification'. Each of the alternate compactifications has additional laws which renders it far mroe specific.
Over 99.99% of these compactifications have been ruled out as inconsistent with our world. We have a lot further to go before we can rule out all, or all but one.

~~~~

Science does not have a term for what it considers to be true, because nothing deserves this layer of semantic protection.
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Re: Respect my ass
« Reply #122 on: August 19, 2007, 08:43:26 pm »

Alternatively, we could discuss our favorite colours of lampshades.

Just sayin'. It would probably involve less arbitrary stances than this.
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Re: Respect my ass
« Reply #123 on: August 21, 2007, 05:03:48 pm »

Orange!
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Re: Respect my ass
« Reply #124 on: August 21, 2007, 05:29:12 pm »

*notices a part of this thread he actually understands*

Blue.
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Re: Respect my ass
« Reply #125 on: August 22, 2007, 06:49:59 pm »

Question:

Why does every forum seem to have a space permanently reserved for what is believed to be theological dispute? It's dull, it's trite, and it gets nowhere. After following this ridiculous discourse for several pages, I can only come to the conclusion that nobody is really being open-minded, here. At all. I think it has something to do with having a religious epiphany on a Star Control forum that triggers one's brain to shut off entirely to very many new ideas.

It was something very simple that the original poster wanted to declare. If you'll pardon the presumption, I think he was just a little tired of what cannot be described any differently to be anything but "religious freaks", scraping our throats and promptly following this with increasingly more heavy doses of traditionalist hogwash and derisive rhetoric. All the while threatening your eternal soul to damnation.

I hope not to offend anyone in saying this, and I certainly hope not to presume to be speaking for the original poster, but it's what I believe to be what was on his mind.

That having been said, "Red".
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meep-eep
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Re: Respect my ass
« Reply #126 on: August 22, 2007, 09:10:56 pm »

My annoyance (at least the one I was posting about) was not so much with the spouting of religious ravings, but rather with the idea that holding something as true because it feels right is somehow supposed to be equally respectable as rational reasoning.

As for why religious discussions are everywhere, I suspect that's because it's a topic where everyone can join in. Everyone seems to have an opinion, and if you deem that believing is a good substitute for knowing, everyone is qualified to participate.
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Re: Respect my ass
« Reply #127 on: October 13, 2007, 02:18:10 pm »



green.
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Death 999
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Re: Respect my ass
« Reply #128 on: October 15, 2007, 08:45:46 pm »

Okay, it made sense in the 'pussy' thread, but what's this for?
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Valaggar
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Re: Respect my ass
« Reply #129 on: October 15, 2007, 08:56:42 pm »

Since I don't want to infest this forum with threads, I guess I'll take this opportunity to announce that I've recently (i.e. last week) become an antireligious atheist.
« Last Edit: October 15, 2007, 09:00:55 pm by Valaggar the Wackrazy One » Logged
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Re: Respect my ass
« Reply #130 on: October 16, 2007, 12:20:19 am »

That's great, another intolerent bastard that gives regular atheists a bad name.
Couldn't you just be atheist without being anti-religious?

i mean, I'm pretty much as non-God, non-great pumpkin as they come, but I'll
still invite missionaries in for tea water and cookies if they knock on my door.
Having an opposing view (whether pro or con religion) does not entitle you to
be a dick.
« Last Edit: October 16, 2007, 12:22:26 am by Zeep-Eeep » Logged

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Re: Respect my ass
« Reply #131 on: October 16, 2007, 05:21:44 am »

He might've meant "anti" in a passive way, i.e. "areligious". But I can't see how aspiring to rid the world of superstition is being a dick. Tongue

Also, I have to say it again: I really don't think people should give themselves titles just because they don't have certain superstitions. At least not nouns like "an atheist". It feels as if they're on some camp, equivalent to yet another religion. It's nothing like that, we simply accept the world as it is. We were born this way. It's like giving a title to people who aren't , say, cashiers.

"Hi, I'm an acashier. I don't handle purchases in a store. What are you?"
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Re: Respect my ass
« Reply #132 on: October 16, 2007, 02:20:24 pm »

Quote
That's great, another intolerent bastard that gives regular atheists a bad name.
Couldn't you just be atheist without being anti-religious?
There is a difference between considering religion dangerous and considering religious people unworthy/dangerous/stupid/whatever. Just like hating leprosy doesn't equate to hating leprous people.

Ah, and, by the way, hating the blunt way Dutchmen use to criticize people doesn't mean hating Dutchmen. (I remember you were a Dutchman?)

Quote
Also, I have to say it again: I really don't think people should give themselves titles just because they don't have certain superstitions. At least not nouns like "an atheist". It feels as if they're on some camp, equivalent to yet another religion. It's nothing like that, we simply accept the world as it is. We were born this way. It's like giving a title to people who aren't , say, cashiers.
There is a difference. The term "non-cashier" does not have (too much of) a practical application. It is necessary more often to refer to being skeptical about the existence of deities than to refer to not being a cashier. And what better way to refer to this sort of people than by using the term "atheist"? Of course, this term does have some limitations, such as not expanding the breadth of this skepticism to supernatural in general, but we have other terms for that as well.
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meep-eep
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Re: Respect my ass
« Reply #133 on: October 16, 2007, 02:44:28 pm »

Ah, and, by the way, hating the blunt way Dutchmen use to criticize people doesn't mean hating Dutchmen. (I remember you were a Dutchman?)

Ok, that's obviously a snipe at me. Let me point out a few things for you:
1)  I am more subtle towards other people. I would even say that I am subtle by default.
2)  I was more subtle towards you originally.
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Re: Respect my ass
« Reply #134 on: October 16, 2007, 02:49:50 pm »

If you say so... What's your rationale for disliking me? My verbosity? My love for finding unlikely links between completely unrelated things? Both of them? None of them? I see no reason for perpetuating this grudge.

EDIT: Ah, and I take it you understand that my "snipe" wasn't by any means intended to annoy you? It's just that I've read that old post of yours.
« Last Edit: October 17, 2007, 03:20:07 pm by Valaggar the Wackrazy One » Logged
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