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Thing I've learned at the age of reason
July 7, 2012 at 1:42 am
(This post was last modified: July 7, 2012 at 1:55 am by Staccato.)
As I become more and more convinced that there is no God and that science is the only, and I mean ONLY "belief" that actually contributes to the good of mankind, I have learned that:
- Atheists are not people without moral who steal and kill because "there is no God, sho who gives a f**k", as many theists believe
- I no longer fear Hell and the wrath of God
- I don't feel like an idiot during a conversation with an atheist
- I have the tools necessary to convert theists using valid, existent proof and evidence without resorting to "well if you read Mark 3:12..."
- people like George Carlin, Bill Maher, Brian from Family Guy, Richard Dawkins and Charles Darwin deserve my full respect
- Kent Hovind is the best unaware comedian of all time
- I can live a life without stealing, killing, cheating on my spouse, being a d*ck or a rich, selfish person without an invisible man telling me that with the help of a story book
- There are reasonable, tolerant and intelligent theists, but they are outnumbered by the other category 
And the most important lesson of all: an atheist can be a better person than a religious man, but in the eyes of many he is and will be a heathen, a puppet of Satan or something like that. Which is quite disturbing.
No, bullsh*t. The main lesson is: I can't and shouldn't ignore my problems and trust that the Good Lord will help me with a Expecto Patronum spell. I have to work hard myself in order to overcome these problems.
I love this age - I'm finally starting to understand things and not blindly believe in something. It feels good.
Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot...
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RE: Thing I've learned at the age of reason
July 7, 2012 at 2:41 am
Science is not a "belief."
If science does not have evidence to back its assertions it would be no better than the horseshit spouted by our resident jesus and allah freaks.
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RE: Thing I've learned at the age of reason
July 7, 2012 at 6:10 pm
Ah but it is Min, if you shoehorn purpose into it.
What we have here is someone that is a product of their environment trotting out what's expected of them.
Maybe with some thought they will open their minds to less popular points of view that aren't such a car crash.
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RE: Thing I've learned at the age of reason
July 7, 2012 at 6:57 pm
(July 7, 2012 at 1:42 am)Staccato Wrote: - I have the tools necessary to convert theists using valid, existent proof and evidence without resorting to "well if you read Mark 3:12..."
You have way too much optimism on this. Refuting every theist argument is easy, deconverting them is another story.
They have all these 'pillars' (flawed as they are) that support their belief. You will be able to destroy one of them, but they will just shift to another. While you are refuting their next pillar, their mind will be rebuilding the one you just destroyed as if nothing happened.
Remember this, you can't reason someone out of a belief they didn't reason themselves into.
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.
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RE: Thing I've learned at the age of reason
July 8, 2012 at 1:34 am
Then I guess I just have to take down the pillars one by one, until the theist in question is out of arguments. Of course, the debate will not end, since he or she will come up with something clever, like " you don't understand this the way I do" or " God works in mysterious ways, you wouldn't unserstand". You know what? Even if he goes home, claiming victory and preparing to tell all his friends and relatives about this historic moment (oops, Pride is a deadly sin...), at least I will feel happy, might get an erection - who knows?
It is impossible to convert or deconvert someone in one go. But! It is possible to plant a seed. Make them ponder, reflect, possibly ask questions.
Remember remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder, treason
Should ever be forgot...
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RE: Thing I've learned at the age of reason
July 8, 2012 at 1:52 am
(July 7, 2012 at 6:10 pm)fr0d0 Wrote: Ah but it is Min, if you shoehorn purpose into it.
What we have here is someone that is a product of their environment trotting out what's expected of them.
Maybe with some thought they will open their minds to less popular points of view that aren't such a car crash.
Meaningless bromides.
Why would I state this? Fuck, I couldn't wait for you to ask.
"shoehorn purpose into it", yet you fail to describe what 'it' is; therefore, meaningless bromide.
'Someone' is a product of his/her environment, yet you miserabely fail in describing who 'someone' is or what the causal environment is; therefore, meaningless bromide.
'They' will open their eyes to avoid a car crash. You didn't define 'they' so the car crash metaphor is left hanging without meaning. Again, meaningless bromide.
Did you actually have a point?
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Re: Thing I've learned at the age of reason
July 8, 2012 at 2:07 am
Hey cato 
You may have noticed that my reply was to Min. Look there for clues as to what I was talking about.
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RE: Thing I've learned at the age of reason
July 8, 2012 at 2:39 am
(July 8, 2012 at 2:07 am)fr0d0 Wrote: Hey cato
You may have noticed that my reply was to Min. Look there for clues as to what I was talking about.
No fucking shit! Are you assuming that I am the type of idiot that would mistake your 'Ah but it is Min' introduction as anything else?
My 'meaningless bromide' themed reply still stands until you refute what I said. Cowering behind the object of your affection doesn't alter the validity of my reply.
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RE: Thing I've learned at the age of reason
July 8, 2012 at 3:04 am
Quote:Ah but it is Min, if you shoehorn purpose into it.
But I don't agree with you, either. "Purpose?" That's the kind of shit that believers trot out all the time.
They have this overwhelming need to anthropomorphize everything.
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RE: Thing I've learned at the age of reason
July 8, 2012 at 3:38 am
(This post was last modified: July 8, 2012 at 3:39 am by CliveStaples.)
Quote:- people like George Carlin, Bill Maher, Brian from Family Guy, Richard Dawkins and Charles Darwin deserve my full respect
Darwin, sure. He was a great scientist.
Carlin, meh. Good free speech / free thinking advocate, I suppose, but not really much substance there--or at least, not in the material I've seen.
...Bill Maher? He's a "clapter" commentator, he just says things and the people who agree clap and laugh. I don't know of any substantive contribution he's made, with the possible exception of "Religulous" (which I haven't seen, and therefore won't criticize).
Brian from Family Guy? Total pandering. Family Guy's whole schtick is "Haha, these people I disagree with are dumb" or "Hey, we're reasonable!" And that's it. Zero depth, zero substance, just surface-level assertions about how correct and intelligent Their People are, and how wrong and strange Other People are.
And Dawkins? His stuff about genetics is good, and he seems like a smart guy, but his criticisms don't seem particularly sophisticated or philosophical. Mostly just quasi-"GOD IS AN INVISIBLE MAGICIAN ROFL" stuff. Which I guess explains why people here might like him.
(July 7, 2012 at 6:57 pm)Simon Moon Wrote: You have way too much optimism on this. Refuting every theist argument is easy, deconverting them is another story.
They have all these 'pillars' (flawed as they are) that support their belief. You will be able to destroy one of them, but they will just shift to another. While you are refuting their next pillar, their mind will be rebuilding the one you just destroyed as if nothing happened.
Remember this, you can't reason someone out of a belief they didn't reason themselves into.
Which is also a reason why it's hard to convert (strong) atheists.
“The truth of our faith becomes a matter of ridicule among the infidels if any Catholic, not gifted with the necessary scientific learning, presents as dogma what scientific scrutiny shows to be false.”
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