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A Religion for the Non Religious
July 13, 2015 at 2:35 pm
(This post was last modified: July 13, 2015 at 2:44 pm by Catholic_Lady.)
Hey guys. : 
Just thought I'd share something with you that I think you'll appreciate.
First, if you have never heard of the blog called Wait but Why, you need to check it out beyond just the article I'm posting here. Some GREAT stuff on there.
So, this particular article is one that I think you all will enjoy if you have the time and patience to get through the whole thing. It's pretty dang long, but worth the read.
Pretty much everything he says here is stuff I had already thought of, and you probably have too... (and ironically very relevant to my faith, so perhaps we're not so different after all!) ...but the way he illustrates it and lays it all out is pretty awesome!
Take a look when you have some time, you won't be disappointed, I promise!
http://waitbutwhy.com/2014/10/religion-f...gious.html
Any thoughts?
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
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RE: A Religion for the Non Religious
July 13, 2015 at 2:47 pm
Hmm, all the claims of an apologist. I think he needs to stop insulting the reader.
Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere. - Carl Sagan
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RE: A Religion for the Non Religious
July 13, 2015 at 2:51 pm
(This post was last modified: July 13, 2015 at 2:51 pm by Whateverist.)
A quick skim says I like it. Now to do the dishes and finish the bathroom remodel so my poor wife won't have to work so hard at nagging me.
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RE: A Religion for the Non Religious
July 13, 2015 at 2:51 pm
(July 13, 2015 at 2:47 pm)Dragonetti Wrote: Hmm, all the claims of an apologist. I think he needs to stop insulting the reader.
Lol, did you read it? He's an atheist.
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
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RE: A Religion for the Non Religious
July 13, 2015 at 2:57 pm
Yes, I have skimmed it. I am jealous of the animals in step 1, which makes me short sighted and stupid. Step 2 is to thin out this magical fog to help being this magical higher being in our heads (WTF). Step 3 is talking about what we do and do not know (similar to the apologist). Yes, this seems to be written by an apologist.
Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere. - Carl Sagan
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RE: A Religion for the Non Religious
July 13, 2015 at 2:59 pm
Ugh...
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RE: A Religion for the Non Religious
July 13, 2015 at 3:01 pm
(This post was last modified: July 13, 2015 at 3:05 pm by Catholic_Lady.)
(July 13, 2015 at 2:57 pm)Dragonetti Wrote: Yes, I have skimmed it. I am jealous of the animals in step 1, which makes me short sighted and stupid. Step 2 is to thin out this magical fog to help being this magical higher being in our heads (WTF). Step 3 is talking about what we do and do not know (similar to the apologist). Yes, this seems to be written by an apologist.
The author, Tim Urban, is an atheist. You can check out the blog and look at other of his posts where he talks about it. He was using those illustrations to make a point and help explain what he's saying.
You really should read the whole thing. Skimming through it doesn't give it justice. It's good stuff! 
(July 13, 2015 at 2:59 pm)Napoléon Wrote: Ugh...
Hm.. disappointed at the responses. I really thought you guys would like it.
Perhaps you haven't given it a fair chance? It's super long and in depth. I'm doubtful you read the whole thing in such a short amount of time...
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
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RE: A Religion for the Non Religious
July 13, 2015 at 3:08 pm
(July 13, 2015 at 3:01 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote:
Hm.. disappointed at the responses. I really thought you guys would like it.
Perhaps you haven't given it a fair chance? It's super long and in depth. I'm doubtful you read the whole thing in such a short amount of time...
I'll be honest, I didn't read the whole thing. But I'd say I read enough bollocks to know when to stop.
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RE: A Religion for the Non Religious
July 13, 2015 at 4:02 pm
(July 13, 2015 at 2:51 pm)whateverist Wrote: A quick skim says I like it. Now to do the dishes and finish the bathroom remodel so my poor wife won't have to work so hard at nagging me.
Fair enough, I'm glad you're putting your wife first. Now that's a man! 
If you ever find yourself with a particularly bad case of diarrhea which puts you in the bathroom for 1 hour or so, consider this article for some toilet bowl reading. I say this because I really do think you will enjoy it, my friend!
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
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RE: A Religion for the Non Religious
July 13, 2015 at 4:05 pm
It reminded me of something that Dilbert creator, Scott Adams, wrote in 1996 in The Dilbert Principle.
Quote:Thousands of people have told me workplace stories (mostly through e-mail) that are even more absurd than the examples above. When I first
started hearing these stories I was puzzled, but after careful analysis I have developed a sophisticated theory to explain the existence of this bizarre
workplace behavior: People are idiots.
Including me. Everyone is an idiot, not just the people with low SAT scores. The only differences among us is that we're idiots about different things at different times. No matter how smart you are, you spend much of your day being an idiot. That's the central premise of this scholarly work.
I proudly include myself in the idiot category. Idiocy in the modern age isn't an all-encompassing, twenty-four-hour situation for most people. It's a condition that everybody slips into many times a day. Life is just too complicated to be smart all the time.
The other day I brought my pager to the repair center because it wouldn't work after I changed the battery. The repairman took the pager out of my hand, flipped open the battery door, turned the battery around, and handed the now functional pager back to me in one well-practiced motion. This took much of the joy out of my righteous indignation over the quality of their product. But the repairman seemed quite amused. And so did every other customer in the lobby. On that day, in that situation, I was a complete idiot. Yet somehow I managed to operate a motor vehicle to the repair shop and back. It is a wondrous human characteristic to be able to slip into and out of idiocy many times a day without noticing the change or accidentally killing innocent bystanders in the process.
Life is complicated. So the moment he speaks of "truth" he loses me. In a time not so long ago we could all agree on "facts" (a truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true) even if we could still disagree on what those facts meant. These days "facts" seem to be currency for the ignorant to trumpet whenever it suits them ( witness Randy the Dope and his buddy Habermas).
What is truth? Climate change? ( Not to the oil industry.) Bigfoot? Ancient Aliens?? God??? ( Only to the lunatic fringe.) How about 9-11 Truthers? They have the word 'truth' in their name but facts still seem to elude them.
That article strikes me as word salad by someone with a little too much time on his hands. He should probably check the battery in his pager. It might be in backwards. Oh, right. Pagers are now obsolete. See how quickly that happened.
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