(December 5, 2012 at 8:57 am)John V Wrote:

(December 4, 2012 at 7:53 pm)Shell B Wrote: Ah, I should have said that I rarely leave my comfort zone, as I leave my house every single day without fail. At no point did I say I was afraid to leave the house.

"Afraid to leave the house" is a very reasonable paraphrase for "I have severe anxiety. This year, it is so much so that I rarely leave my house." Retracting and restating is fine, but don't pretend you didn't say it.

I didn't say it. I'm not pretending. I never said I was afraid to leave my house, nor am I afraid to leave my house. Saying you have severe anxiety and that you rarely leave your house (which I misstated, but doesn't matter) is not the same as saying you are afraid to leave your house. In fact, people with anxiety are rarely afraid of leaving their house. Of course, I'm relatively sure you're trolling, so it hardly matters.

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Oh, and Vinny the Theist, I'm not an antitheist, so theist quotes can and do make it on my website. That being said, I doubt any writer has been famous for their theism, except the fictional writers of the bible.

(December 5, 2012 at 10:19 am)Vincenzo "Vinny" G. Wrote: I don't care if you quote it now.

But after your racist diatribe against Italians in your discussion with me there's no way you're sitting on that high horse of yours without being called out on it.

And you call yourself the "light of reason"? Instead of pointing it out to TGAC, using reasoned thought, you decided to go batshit, if that's your definition of reason, then I dunno what reason is anymore.

Alas, your ego is uncapable of such, and truth be told, the laughing material that your arrogance provides, really diverts from a fruitfull discussion on EU political matters, so you are really playing the village clown part to a tee.

Anyway, carry on, You really are a nice substitute to anti-depressants, at least for me, you make me feel smart just from reading most of your posts.

Carry On

(December 5, 2012 at 11:07 am)Shell B Wrote: Oh, and Vinny the Theist, I'm not an antitheist, so theist quotes can and do make it on my website. That being said, I doubt any writer has been famous for their theism, except the fictional writers of the bible.

(Minor nitpick - CS Lewis sorta is, at the very least. Yet he and Tolkein got along splendidly.)

I would say Lewis is famous for his novels. Tolkien was also a theist.

Nowhere near as much. The reason I mention Lewis is because of his novels, which are clearly Christian in nature (whereas Tolkein's were influenced as much by paganism) and all of his extra work which Christians like to throw around as "proof" of God.

Tolkien is the one who converted Lewis. Yes, I would say that there are far more Christian themes in Lewis' work. Nonetheless, it is the quality of his work that made him famous, not his theism. He may be known for being a theist author, but if he were not an author, he would not be known for being a theist. Know what I mean?

Ahhh, I see what you're getting at now.

Funny how civil discourse brings people from two separate perspectives to the same plane.

Do you mean we couldn't have had this chat if I spoke ill of your boobies and pretended I was an atheist?

(December 5, 2012 at 7:41 am)Vincenzo "Vinny" G. Wrote: It's just silly. We must admit that for the most part, atheists are as a group in the 21st century, very hateful. Towards religion, but in many ways towards many things. It's just fact. I'm not going to deny it and neither should you. Hate is a big part of our community. It's the fuel for our existence.

I have no problem with this except that what you describe as hatred, to me, is first and foremost about anger. It is unfortunate and unpleasant. It is the reason why I didn't stay long the first time I came upon this forum. But if you think we all just embrace and revel in it you are mistaken.

When I considered returning I happened upon the open letter SummerQueen had written http://atheistforums.org/post-172428.html#pid172428 I shared some of my own complaints with her in PM's prior to returning:

Quote:To me one of the most boring things about conversing with most theists is their unshakable certainty about everything. They live in black and white. Many of the atheists here have the same quality. They seem equally unwilling to consider any idea or a person's reason for putting it out there. Instead it just sets off predictable responses which show no reflection at all.

I have come to see things pretty much the way she described them in that letter. There is and probably will always be strong anti-theism expressed on an atheist forums, and oft times in offensive ways. But that shouldn't be too surprising. The feelings invoked when one feels they have been taken in by those responsible for their upbringing can be strong. With any luck everyone will get over it in time and lose the chip. I don't advocate a zero tolerance for such behavior for this very reason. But neither will I seek to stir it up or revel in it, and there are plenty more here who have told me they feel the same way.

From the outside, it can look like former Christians just exchange the smugness of one truth for the smugness of another. I wonder what it is you feel smug about on your secret forums with your league of extraordinary men, Vinny?

(December 5, 2012 at 11:19 am)LastPoet Wrote:

(December 5, 2012 at 10:19 am)Vincenzo "Vinny" G. Wrote: I don't care if you quote it now.

But after your racist diatribe against Italians in your discussion with me there's no way you're sitting on that high horse of yours without being called out on it.

And you call yourself the "light of reason"? Instead of pointing it out to TGAC, using reasoned thought, you decided to go batshit, if that's your definition of reason, then I dunno what reason is anymore.

It's a good thing we do not measure reason by people who take the humanist philosophy that good preceded god and then say god is essential to it...like dear ol' Vinny McCan'tGetHisShitStraight here.