(December 21, 2017 at 7:43 am)Starhunter Wrote:

(December 20, 2017 at 2:26 pm)KevinM1 Wrote: What are you, 12?

"Even if we're really stupid, you might be kind of stupid, so neener neener!"

I never said you or anyone was stupid, I said that some people think that claiming to be better than a vegetable, gives them credit.

So what's the point of calling anyone mad or insane, and then making yourself the criterion?

And again, you made a second error - what does being 12 years old have to do with the level of someone's intelligence? 

I don't want you to try and explain that to me either, just work it out for yourself.

While age doesn't have much to do with intelligence, it does heavily impact experience. And most of the kids I've ever been around lacked the experience to come up with a witty retort.

Also, you're in no position to refrain me from responding. This is the second time you've tried to play at being a moderator in this thread (the first being repeated claims that the people responding to you were sock puppets). It seems your best rhetorical move is merely attempting to silence your opposition, which is a bad look for both yourself and your beliefs.

As for the rest, I stand by it. Hint: note the word 'might'.

(December 21, 2017 at 8:22 am)vulcanlogician Wrote: "Surprised how many people agree" sounds like a generalization. Maybe it's not, but it isn't usually a phrase one uses to describe an insignificant minority. My apologies if I misconstrued your statements.

If you feel that God is being misrepresented, say so. Don't expect people to automatically nod in agreement... expect pushback. Very few here misrepresent God IMO. They simply don't think he exists. The entity referred to in the Bible, "God" does permit and endorse genocide and things like that, but I don't know specifically what you're referring to.

Give an example of a misrepresentation of God from these forums and I'll discuss it with you right here right now.

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When you post in these forums, you have to follow the rules. If we were to meet elsewhere, the mods couldn't penalize you for how you behave toward me.

Yes, "surprised how many people" infers "more than expected" but you cannot then say that the statement concludes that the majority of atheists on the forum are the same.

As far as misrepresenting God is concerned, my posts have been quite clear about that since recently joining the forum.

I don't have a problem with the forum rules, and I think that I have attempted to be fairly reasonable in my communicating, not to attack someone personally. 
But obviously there are people who will buy insults where there are none and then blame it on the nearest thing. But I appreciate your good manners.

We don't expect people to nod in agreement at all, we love upfront conversation, without sarcasm and personal attacks. 
Anyway, it's another tangent to the topic.

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(December 21, 2017 at 8:31 am)Whateverist Wrote: ... maybe it is time you come down off your moral high horse, Starhunter.

A short example would have helped. Because I don't want you to read what isn't in there.
It is difficult to judge the tone of what someone writes, unlike a live conversation. And I am not saying I don't misread others either.

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(December 21, 2017 at 10:18 am)Cyberman Wrote: I think that supernatural belief is irrational and people who insist that it represents reality are delusional. They only become stupid when they invent Heath Robinson machines of rationalisations to justify their beliefs, all to avoid the far simpler and less convenient truths.

That's a reasonable stance. But for example, 
the Australian Aboriginal people were used as trackers, to hunt down wanted men. They could see, percieve and hear things that no white fellow could.
People can see, percieve and hear things that others simply cannot, and of course as the Bible puts it, they, and I include myself here, are willingly ignorant, they don't want to know, so they cannot know.
There are things God would have me realise that I don't, because I am limited, blind and lazy.

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(December 21, 2017 at 11:16 am)KevinM1 Wrote: While age doesn't have much to do with intelligence, it does heavily impact experience.  And most of the kids I've ever been around lacked the experience to come up with a witty retort.  

Also, you're in no position to refrain me from responding.  This is the second time you've tried to play at being a moderator in this thread (the first being repeated claims that the people responding to you were sock puppets).  It seems your best rhetorical move is merely attempting to silence your opposition, which is a bad look for both yourself and your beliefs.

As for the rest, I stand by it.  Hint: note the word 'might'.

Someone wrote - "Neener neener" 

what age does that 'witty retort' belong to?

(December 21, 2017 at 5:31 pm)Starhunter Wrote: Yes, "surprised how many people" infers "more than expected" but you cannot then say that the statement concludes that the majority of atheists on the forum are the same.

True, I did misconstrue your statements. "Surprised how many people" does not constitute a generalization. I apologize for accusing you of generalizing. Although it is no excuse, I was getting ticked at some of the unfounded accusations you made beforehand (sock). (I think it's the Hindus who have a rule against bearing false witness, but I don't see why a Christian can't follow that rule for the sake of good manners ) And, if you genuinely believe that a majority of atheists here do not think theists are less intelligent, then what's your problem? Why aren't you speaking to us as if we agree with you?

Quote:As far as misrepresenting God is concerned, my posts have been quite clear about that since recently joining the forum.

Hopefully likening him to an empty space isn't misrepresenting him because as far as things that exist, he most resembles that. Others compare him to leprechauns or unicorns, because they see him as that. If you are that upset about it, I might suggest another forum because your God will be straight up insulted here. His name will be taken in vain on occasion. We're polite to theists all fucking day long. This is a place where we can relax and speak our minds. You can't deny anyone here that privelage.

Quote:...without sarcasm and personal attacks. 

I'll never personally attack you, StarHunter, but I'm sarcastic as fuck. Hopefully you can deal.

(December 21, 2017 at 6:20 pm)vulcanlogician Wrote: I'll never personally attack you, StarHunter, but I'm sarcastic as fuck. Hopefully you can deal...

I think you are fairly straightforward, which of course gives you the ability to be very sarcastic, and I am no different.

I haven't felt personally attacked on this forum
...yet !

(December 21, 2017 at 5:31 pm)Starhunter Wrote:

(December 21, 2017 at 10:18 am)Cyberman Wrote: I think that supernatural belief is irrational and people who insist that it represents reality are delusional. They only become stupid when they invent Heath Robinson machines of rationalisations to justify their beliefs, all to avoid the far simpler and less convenient truths.

That's a reasonable stance. But for example, 
the Australian Aboriginal people were used as trackers, to hunt down wanted men. They could see, percieve and hear things that no white fellow could.
People can see, percieve and hear things that others simply cannot, and of course as the Bible puts it, they, and I include myself here, are willingly ignorant, they don't want to know, so they cannot know.
There are things God would have me realise that I don't, because I am limited, blind and lazy.

I doubt that those aboriginal trackers had access to anything beyond natural affinity with their environment, and if they did that would need to be demonstrated. Everything else you wrote is sleight of hand, I'm afraid; palming the supernatural card on the strength of a more reasonable example.

(December 21, 2017 at 11:53 pm)Cyberman Wrote:

(December 21, 2017 at 5:31 pm)Starhunter Wrote: That's a reasonable stance. But for example, 
the Australian Aboriginal people were used as trackers, to hunt down wanted men. They could see, percieve and hear things that no white fellow could.
People can see, percieve and hear things that others simply cannot, and of course as the Bible puts it, they, and I include myself here, are willingly ignorant, they don't want to know, so they cannot know.
There are things God would have me realise that I don't, because I am limited, blind and lazy.

I doubt that those aboriginal trackers had access to anything beyond natural affinity with their environment, and if they did that would need to be demonstrated. Everything else you wrote is sleight of hand, I'm afraid; palming the supernatural card on the strength of a more reasonable example.

This person's willful ignorance is pathetic. Keep on keeping on, bud.

A religious person's willful ignorance is a core canon and part of being a Christian.

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me”

Fuck off! I'll shop around all I want God! You do want me to make sure I'm worshipping the one true God, don't you?
How can I know which is the one true God unless I check 'em out? Derrrrrr!!! For a God, you're pretty dumb ...

Or is there a reason why you don't want me to check out the competition?

(December 21, 2017 at 7:56 am)Starhunter Wrote:

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(December 20, 2017 at 9:38 pm)Bow Before Zeus Wrote: So how do you account for all the insults that xtians have hurled at me with not a single retaliation from myself? Does that make them stupid?

I don't know anything about that, but when you take the name of God in vain, you are giving one of the highest possible insults to anyone loyal to God.
So can you really say that you haven't retaliated?
But if you haven't retaliated - then you are the better one of any party.

I don't believe I have taken the name of god in vain. I have called out your particular creator-god being for all the horrific killings and other actions that are attributed to him in the biblical texts. I don't think I have actually used his name to swear.

(December 21, 2017 at 11:53 pm)Cyberman Wrote: I doubt that those aboriginal trackers had access to anything beyond natural affinity with their environment, and if they did that would need to be demonstrated. Everything else you wrote is sleight of hand, I'm afraid; palming the supernatural card on the strength of a more reasonable example.

I'll give you another example to make the point, which wasn't about whether Aboriginal trackers had access to supernatural powers,
but to show that just because something cannot be percieved does not mean it doesn't exist.

According to scientific records, the Higgs boson did not exist until it was named, yet it was always there. Now that it is acknowledged, it can be proven to exist, even without seeing the tests that demonstarted it, because of the physical principles.

Once again, this isn't an invitation to discuss the Higgs boson, which I will not discuss on this thread.

The whole point is that people are not stupid, because they happen to know something others cannot percieve...
And in the case of religion, the truth is hidden under a pile of lies, and those lies are used as an excuse not to find the truth as it is written in the Bible.

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(December 22, 2017 at 1:51 am)ignoramus Wrote: A religious person's willful ignorance is a core canon and part of being a Christian.

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me”

Fuck off! I'll shop around all I want God! You do want me to make sure I'm worshipping the one true God, don't you?
How can I know which is the one true God unless I check 'em out? Derrrrrr!!!  For a God, you're pretty dumb ...

Or is there a reason why you don't want me to check out the competition?

Yep, shop around, that's what you are meant to do. But how does that relate to the subject?

100% of religious people can't won't don't shop around due to willful ignorance ingrained from a well executed indoctrination.