A Small Census

[Rhizomorph13]

Information, yum! Tasty, tasty, information.

I can see that your sprunger is engorged.

[Whateverist]

Information, yum! Tasty, tasty, information.

I can see that your sprunger is engorged.

That may be no sprunger. Could be she is just happy to see you.

[Rhizomorph13]

I dunno, but she sent me a pm claiming that the Prince of Tunisia needs to move his fortune to America and if I am willing to pay a small fee I could obtain 25% of his fortune! Also, dick pills.

[Shell B]

Also, atheism is not a movement. There are some atheist movements, but they are representative of those movements, not the simple lack of belief in god.

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But you don't believe society should run a theocratic state.

How do you know what I believe? To make it clear, I believe that every state (meaning country) should be run with the good of its people in mind. If a theocracy can run in such a way that its people are prosperous and its foreign relations peaceful whenever possible, I see nothing wrong with it. Who the fuck am I to tell them they can't be happy, healthy and productive?

The basis of it's laws is not believed by you. For example, if I lived in Iran, I would not believe Quran and Sunnah (hadiths) should be the basis of government (in one sense). I would (in another sense) however support the people upholding the government they believe in (theocratic).

That does not matter. I do not have to believe in your god to think it is okay for you to live in a theocratic nation or for there to be a theocratic nation. Furthermore, I might agree that the laws are good. My political views have fuck all to do with religion or lack thereof. Most of my political views have to do with human rights and equality. I base my worldviews on those things, though I certainly sprinkle in a fair deal of environmentalism.

I can't however support that the world is to be ruled by a theocracy ( in one sense). Therefore I am making a political statement.

When I say I am atheist, that is all I am saying. I am not saying what I support and don't support. That is the bottom line. I can tell you that I do not support when theists run around telling me what I am and am not. You see, we are able to see what you believe and don't believe because it is in a book. All I have is a sentence. I do not believe in God. You can infer nothing else from this.

[Mystic]

Ok fair enough Shell B. What I'm trying to say, is that you cannot believe in the legitimacy of it's justification. You can believe the religion is good for the people, it brings about good to rule by it, etc...but you cannot believe the legitimacy of it's justification.

For example, if you lived during Ummayads times and they read hadiths to you (supposedly quoting the Prophet) that you must obey rulers even if they oppress you and whip you and take away your possessions, you would not be able to believe in these hadiths and it's legitimacy because you don't even believe in God(s) let alone a Prophet let alone the hadiths propagated by them attributing it to the Prophet.

Like wise, if Quran and hadiths said you must rule by revelation....that would not be a legitimacy for you.

You don't accept the divine command perception that theocratic societies live by.

That it is a political stance.

[My imaginary friend is GOD]

A little questionnaire is in order, I think. All of the following questions come from strawmen jstrodel built in this thread.

1. What is your age?

22

2. Are you married? Kids?

No and no.

3. Are you angry or disappointed at "God"?

God does not exist, but if he did, I would be.

4. Do you subscribe to hedonism?

No, though I do think that a moderate degree of pleasure-seeking is healthy and makes one's life whole.

5. Are you an atheist because you want to be, without eternal consequences, sexually promiscuous? A drug addict? An alcoholic?

Those are not my reasons. However, I am extremely sex positive and do not have problems with all drugs or alcohol.

6. Do you like "psychedelic" music?

No.

7. Was atheism "transmitted" to you from a "Marxist"?

No.

8. Are you selfish?

No.

9. Is your "community" centered around pornography?

No.

10. Is your atheism a political statement?

Yes. Most of my identity is.

11. Were you recruited into atheism by the promises of sex and drugs?

No. I was never "recruited."

[Shell B]

Ok fair enough Shell B. What I'm trying to say, is that you cannot believe in the legitimacy of it's justification.

Agreed. I think religion is foolish for the most part, but I am fair enough to know that is my opinion. At least, I try to be.

For example, if you lived during Ummayads times and they read hadiths to you (supposedly quoting the Prophet) that you must obey rulers even if they oppress you and whip you and take away your possessions, you would not be able to believe in these hadiths and it's legitimacy because you don't even believe in God(s) let alone a Prophet let alone the hadiths propagated by them attributing it to the Prophet.

Well, yes, but my political stance would not be based on religion. It would be based on the lunacy of whipping people and stealing their things.

You don't accept the divine command perception that theocratic societies live by.

Yes, but that is not a political stance. That is a religious stance.

That it is a political stance.

It is not. I would not base my political views on my lack of religion. I would determine whether it was a healthy government before I would accept or deny the principles of that government. Of course, I would not live in a theocratic society on basis of belief in god, not because of the politics involved.

[Mystic]

Well the thing is some religions are political as much as they are religious. So going against any political theory (ie. must rule by revelation), would be a political stance.

If there was no politics, secularism and Islam would not be clashing right now.

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The command to rule by revelation is a political command as much as it's a religious one.

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BTW - how have you been?

[Shell B]

I've been well. Happy to see you back. How was your hiatus?

[Mystic]

Thanks. I don't get "hiatus"? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiatus :S

I've been good if that's what your asking