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(January 16, 2017 at 12:26 am)robvalue Wrote: If you are doing something because your religion says so, then that's not morality. That's being a mindless drone. You're not concerned with whether or not it's actually a good thing to do. It could just as easily be a bad thing, and you wouldn't know the difference.
If you are concerned with doing good things, this means you have to use this filter to decide which of your religious commandments are good commandments, and ignore the rest. This means you have a system of morality independent from your religion, and the religious commandments are redundant. You're only doing them if you'd do them anyway. Even if it turns out all the religious commandments are good, and you're assessing them, they would still be redundant if you'd follow them anyway.
Indeed blind obedience mixed with blind trust with a dash of cowardice or hedonism does not morality make
Seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy -- myself.
(January 15, 2017 at 7:14 pm)Neo-Scholastic Wrote: "Why is there something rather than nothing?" There just is.
"Why does the world have a rational order?" It just does.
"Why do causes produce regular effects?" They just do.
Yeah, those are reasonable answers...not.
Woah, sweet 90's catchphrase, dude.
Let's try this again...
"Why is there something rather than nothing?" I don't know. Let's investigate. Is this even a sensible question?
"Why does the world have a rational order?" I don't know. Let's investigate, even though I'm not sure how it could have an irrational order.
"Why do causes produce regular effects?" I don't know, but is it even possible that causes could produce irregular effects?
As opposed to...
An invisible, powerful wizard poofed the universe into existence, so I could have a place to live my inherently naughty life to try to pass a test of which this wizard already knows the outcome. Then, in order for me to pass this test, the wizard came down as his own son by magically impregnating a virgin and purposefully got himself nailed to a cross in order to perform a blood sacrifice for my inherent naughtiness. Then he rose from the dead and talked to a few people before ascending to his cloud city paradise. The wizard, who is also the ultimate source of morality, cares nothing about whether I live a moral life, especially since he created me inherently naughty. Instead, all I have to do is believe in the blood sacrifice and I will get to spend eternity in his cloud city paradise instead of burning in a fiery pit for eternity because of the inherent naughtiness the wizard doesn't feel like fixing with his magical powers, which would have prevented atrocities like the mass murder of his chosen people.
Oh, and the reason for all this naughtiness is humanity's free will, even though I'm going to spend eternity in cloud city paradise where there is no naughtiness and I still have free will.
Yeah, that's reasonable alright. Much more so than just admitting you don't know something.
This is one of my favorite posts on AF ever.
Excellently phrased description of just how utterly ridiculous and childish Christianity is.
(January 16, 2017 at 7:23 am)Alasdair Ham Wrote: This is one of my favorite posts on AF ever.
Excellently phrased description of just how utterly ridiculous and childish Christianity is.
Flattery will get you kudos.
And to think I had to leave out a metric ton of absurd details for brevity's sake.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
(January 12, 2017 at 11:19 am)Catholic_Lady Wrote: As I said on a different thread, one of the double standards I see among some people here (not all) is that they are quick to attribute a person's bad actions to their religious beliefs. But when a person does something good after being inspired/influenced by their religious beliefs to do so, all of the sudden religion has nothing to do with that person's actions.
That's atheism 101
(March 1, 2016 at 6:15 am)Huggy74 Wrote: But you find vaccines to be miraculous, when it's ones own immune system (given to you by God) that does the actual work.
(March 1, 2016 at 7:16 pm)Cecelia Wrote: Yes, I find vaccines to be more impressive because they've actually accomplished things. And no, you don't get to give God or Jesus credit for our immune system, because he told us absolutely nothing about them, instead leaving us to believe disease came from Demons.
(March 2, 2016 at 1:30 pm)Huggy74 Wrote: But since you tried to pin the genocide of the Indians on Christianity, will you also give credit to Christianity for inventing the vaccine, that saved all those lives, seeing how the man that invented the smallpox vaccine was a "Jesus freak"?
Quote:Neither fanatic nor lax, Jenner was a Christian who in his personal correspondence showed himself quite spiritual; he treasured the Bible. Some days before his death, he stated to a friend: "I am not surprised that men are not grateful to me; but I wonder that they are not grateful to God for the good which he has made me the instrument of conveying to my fellow creatures."
Therefore what you consider to be the greatest human achievement; was accomplished by a christian...
(March 2, 2016 at 9:54 pm)Cecelia Wrote: And no, Christianity doesn't get credit for something just because a Christian did it. Not unless Christianity led them to do it, and Vaccines surely weren't caused by Christianity.
(March 2, 2016 at 10:32 pm)Huggy74 Wrote: Also what's interesting is that you were willing to pin the extermination of the Native Americans on Christianity with zero evidence that Christianity condones said extermination, yet you're able to make that distinction when it comes to a Christian doing good.
Quote:Neither fanatic nor lax, Jenner was a Christian who in his personal correspondence showed himself quite spiritual; he treasured the Bible. Some days before his death, he stated to a friend: "I am not surprised that men are not grateful to me; but I wonder that they are not grateful to God for the good which he has made me the instrument of conveying to my fellow creatures."
*emphasis mine* (also changed the relevant part to "blind as bat red")
Since Jenner himself gave credit to God for his work, and since he was a christian are you now willing to credit Christianity for inventing the vaccine?
It's only fair right?
(March 3, 2016 at 5:16 pm)Cecelia Wrote: Christianity gets no credit, because it doesn't come from the bible. It came from observation and science.
Imagine if Jesus had told us all about Penicillin, vaccinations, and told us about germ theory, instead of lying to us saying that demons cause sickness. God shouldn't lie.
(March 3, 2016 at 7:54 pm)Huggy74 Wrote:
You were quick to blame Christianity for the spread of smallpox to native Americans, but not for the invention of the vaccine? Isn't that a bit of a double standard?
*edited down to relevant points see op for full context*
January 16, 2017 at 12:13 pm (This post was last modified: January 16, 2017 at 12:14 pm by Cyberman.)
Apply liberally to the affected area twice daily. If symptoms persist, talk to someone who gives a shit.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
Probably the only one who insists on exhuming long-dead arguments in the hope that, shorn of context, they're going to work this time.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
(January 16, 2017 at 12:28 pm)Stimbo Wrote: Probably the only one who insists on exhuming long-dead arguments in the hope that, shorn of context, they're going to work this time.
Nah, that's just providing evidence along with the claim bud, which you guys insist on...
Right, so now that evidence is up for examination. Great.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'