(June 18, 2010 at 3:58 pm)Minimalist Wrote:

Quote:I don't collect stamps. Does that qualify as a hobby?

Beautiful, Thor!

Thank you! Thank you! I'll be here all week!

It's a classic.

EvF

(June 18, 2010 at 1:49 pm)Purple Rabbit Wrote:

(June 18, 2010 at 10:48 am)Caecilian Wrote:

(June 17, 2010 at 2:20 pm)AngelThMan Wrote:

(June 17, 2010 at 7:19 am)Caecilian Wrote: So, god is in our collective consciousness is he? [What] is that supposed to mean?

It's self explanatory, isn't it? Maybe you're not as smart as you think.

No it isn't self-explanatory. What exactly do you mean by a 'collective consciousness'? Sounds like gibberish to me.

Collective consciousness as the concept Durkheim invented, more than anything is the body of shared beliefs, sentiments and representations, IOW it is a construct of human feelings and imagination. So, if you are free loading on this concept to define your god, it means your god is a fabulated one and even atheists might agree.

Hmmm.. I'd very much doubt if AngelThMan has read any Durkheim. Tbh I'd be surprised if he's even heard of Durkheim.

Another interpretation might be the Jungian collective unconscious, but I doubt if he knows anything about Jung either.

Iirc 'collective consciousness' is also a term used by transcendental meditation weirdos and other similar fruitbats. I strongly suspect that its the very wooly 'new age' meaning of the term that is being employed here. Thus my comment about it sounding like gibberish.

AngelThMan Wrote:Anyway, I do feel atheism is a religion...

Thor Wrote:I don't collect stamps. Does that qualify as a hobby?

People who don't collect stamps don't have websites and forums where they spend half their time arguing with stamp collectors. There are also no books about non-stamp collecting, or any other material. You never heard someone say, "Hey buddy, I've got this hot idea for a club for non-stamp collectors!"

Atheists have all kinds of books, pamphlets, T-shirts, websites, forums, societies, newsletters, TV shows, and the list goes on and on. Even this website instructs you to go on Amazon and purchase "atheist related stuff."

Here are some atheist tenets, to name a few...

--Just because you believe something doesn't mean it's true.

--Just because science can't explain it doesn't mean 'goddidit.'

--Theists are believers out of fear.

--There are many gods in the world, therefore God is not real.

--Believing in God is like believing in Santa Claus.

And last but not least...
--The lack of belief is not a religion (it actually qualifies as a tenet).

Commonly used atheist terms:
Begging the Question
Intellectually Dishonest
Ad Hominem
Logical Fallacy
Etc.

Atheist bible: Anything Richard Dawkins wrote.

Atheist god: Richard Dawkins, of course. (He's at least Moses.)

Here's my tenet...
--Just because atheists say that atheism is not a religion doesn't mean it's true.

------------------------------------

Prediction: People will call me names and point out my lack of intelligence rather than argue the points.

If you want to convince us that you don't know what the fuck you're talking about, Angel, you can stop now. You've succeeded.

See what I mean?

(June 18, 2010 at 3:19 pm)Thor Wrote: I don't collect stamps. Does that qualify as a hobby?

Sure it does. Since you are not collecting stamps, you're engaging, or even indulging, in an activity regarding the collection of stamps. Therefore stamps exist and your activity is proof of that!

@ angelthman

Since you don't know the definition of the word religion, I've gone to the trouble of providing it.

http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source...cJyqafNzpQ

Pay particlur attention to the opening sentence,

"Religion (from Latin religio, "reverence for the gods", "piety", possibly related to religare, "to bind"[1]) is the belief in and worship of a god or gods"

Gee, guess atheism is not a religion afterall.

And in future please be good enough to understand the true meaning of words like "religion" before you make the error of using them in the incorrect context.

Zen that really confused me man, so please help me out here. Religion is a hobby involving reverence for the collection of gods on stamps, right?

(June 19, 2010 at 4:24 am)Purple Rabbit Wrote: Zen that really confused me man, so please help me out here. Religion is a hobby involving reverence for the collection of gods on stamps, right?

Well , if you mean the collection and reverence of meaningless bits of paper that are of no value
except to the deluded fools who collect them, then, yes.

I think