Atheism is unstoppable.

[Belacqua]

This is of course based on your belief that the only reasons to be religious are "bullshit" reasons. 

Incorrect.

From the onset, Genesis, it is obvious how fantastical and improbable that the book is historically accurate.  God can create man, but has to use man's rib to create woman?  Talking snake?  

Bullshit is bullshit, and quite recognizable.  The bible is pure bullshit.  It doesn't take a genius to realize it.

Yes, a literal reading of Genesis is untenable. 

It would be bullshit to use that fact as a reason to declare that all other reasons for being religious are bullshit.

[Silver]

Yes, a literal reading of Genesis is untenable. 

A non-literal reading doesn't make it reliable, does it? Makes it more credible to be fiction by usage of metaphorical convolution.

[Belacqua]

Yes, a literal reading of Genesis is untenable. 

A non-literal reading doesn't make it reliable, does it?  Makes it more credible to be fiction by usage of metaphorical convolution.

Do you think it needs to be "reliable" in a non-mythic, non-problematical way? Some stories are meant to be challenges, not science texts.

[Silver]

Do you think it needs to be "reliable" in a non-mythic, non-problematical way?

Yes, absolutely.

Some stories are meant to be challenges, not science texts.

Incorrect, stories are meant to tell a tale, and nothing more. Someone wanting a tale to have a basis on reality is pure ill logic.

[Belacqua]

stories are meant to tell a tale, and nothing more.  

Please demonstrate that this is true.

Someone wanting a tale to have a basis on reality is pure ill logic.

Do you mean it's illogical for someone to want a tale to have a basis in reality? By "basis on reality" do you mean that it's "based on a true story"? Or that it is fiction but nonetheless tells us something useful about reality? 



[/quote]

[Silver]

Please demonstrate that this is true.

It's why we have fiction and non-fiction labels, to designate a fictional story full of tales from a non-fictional memoire or history.

Do you mean it's illogical for someone to want a tale to have a basis in reality?

Indeed.

[Belacqua]

Please demonstrate that this is true.

It's why we have fiction and non-fiction labels, to designate a fictional story full of tales from a non-fictional memoire or history.

Do you mean it's illogical for someone to want a tale to have a basis in reality?

Indeed.

The Tale of Genji is fiction. It tells us in wonderful and inexhaustible detail about how real people in Heian Kyo thought about themselves, other people, and the natural world. It gives the attentive reader a matchless experience of familiarity in the midst of a wildly unfamiliar society. It is a wonderfully worthwhile way to see how different human lives can be from our own narrow experiences. And this novel is just one example.

So I reject tout court what you say about tales. 

Religious tales may have this purpose, or different ones.

[Silver]

The Tale of Genji

While regarded as a masterpiece, its precise classification and influence in both the Western and Eastern canons has been a matter of debate.

You were saying?

[Belacqua]

The Tale of Genji

While regarded as a masterpiece, its precise classification and influence in both the Western and Eastern canons has been a matter of debate.

You were saying?

Its precise classification and influence in both the Western and Eastern canons has been a matter of debate, and everything I have said about it is true. 

Tales have various uses, and can tell us important things about reality.

[Silver]

Yeah, you keep lying to yourself.