When believing false things is comforting

[Succubus]

Blake was a Christian. He was deeply knowledgable about the traditional theology which doesn't hold that God is a mean sky-daddy who lives on a cloud. Studying his work gives us access to other religious thinkers, like Buber, Weil, etc., who disagree with the dumb sola scriptura literalists.

You throw more curved balls than Sandy Koufax.

His four-seam fastball gave batters the impression of rising as it approached them, due to underspin. It not only appeared to move very late but also might move two or three distinct times. His overhand curveball, spun with the middle finger, dropped vertically 12 to 24 inches due to his arm action. Rob Neyer called it the best curve of all time. He also occasionally threw a changeup and a forkball.

Linky.

[Anomalocaris]

From the little I have read of him just now, in terms of belief, he's closer to the typical atheist than he is to the typical Christian. He identifies as a Christian but it's a very nonconventional type of Christian. Reminds me of "Christian atheists" actually.

He spent a lot of time criticizing mainstream Christians of his time, often in the same terms that we use on this forum. Of course he thought they had completely forgotten Christ's real message. 

How "nonconventional" he was is an interesting topic. There was a long-lasting stream of British antinomianism in which he fits very nicely. Ranters, Diggers, Muggletonians. These people were always a bit underground, both because they didn't want trouble from authorities and because by definition antinomians eschew any kind of formal organization. 

Maybe it's best to say he was the last great exemplar of an ancient but non-mainstream Christianity that runs through Eriugena, some aspects of Cusanus, and certainly into the work of Lutheran mystic Jacob Boehme. 

In other words, every time some Christian-hater on this forum says "Christians believe X," it's almost certain that great Christians like Blake didn't believe X.

If he were posting on this forum, the regular posters would savage him, because of his views about the limitations of science, among other things.

Really?  Great christian?  Great in what way?


If some “great” Christians believed in showing mercy to serve their “god”, but majority of Christians would have gladly burned, looted and killed in their seld-proclaimed haste to serve their very same god, then their victims ought be grateful that they would have such unbelievable blessing in their lives as to lose it to killers of a religion a few of whose co-religionists might not actually have chosen to have them killed, and would be very satisfied with having them forcibly converted instead?

[Belacqua]

majority of Christians burned, looted and killed in their seld-proclaimed haste to serve their god

citation needed

[Succubus]

majority of Christians burned, looted and killed in their seld-proclaimed haste to serve their god

citation needed

The siege is notable for the mass slaughter of Muslims and Jews perpetrated by the Christian crusaders, which contemporaneous sources suggest was savage and widespread.

Citation.

[Belacqua]

citation needed

The siege is notable for the mass slaughter of Muslims and Jews perpetrated by the Christian crusaders, which contemporaneous sources suggest was savage and widespread.

Citation.

A terrible thing from 1099. 

But our colleague here said that a majority of Christians burned, looted, and killed, in their self-proclaimed haste to serve God. 

So you'll need a few more Wikipedia pages to show that a majority of Christians in history have done that, have been willing to do that, are still doing that. 

Otherwise, "majority" is false.

[Succubus]

Citation.

A terrible thing from 1099. 

You mean that terrible thing from 1095–1291?

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Citation.

A terrible thing from 1099. 

But our colleague here said that a majority of Christians burned, looted, and killed, in their self-proclaimed haste to serve God. 

Name that colleague.

[Anomalocaris]

Citation.

A terrible thing from 1099. 

But our colleague here said that a majority of Christians burned, looted, and killed, in their self-proclaimed haste to serve God. 

So you'll need a few more Wikipedia pages to show that a majority of Christians in history have done that, have been willing to do that, are still doing that. 

Otherwise, "majority" is false.

You moronically nitpicking twit.   Do you truly dispute the fact that for several hundred years when Christian rein in the west was least unchallenged, majority of the Christians in the west would have felt it righteous to condemn any who they ran across and refuse to kowtow to their faith, and would have burned, looked and killed if only they weren’t personally cowardly or were stuck living in rude hovels in illiterate helmets from where all those who dared to professed to not be of the faith has already been driven out or killed?

And if you in your delusion or disingenuousness disputes it, does opening that to question really invalidate the core contention that your cherry picking a few Christians whose statements and views might seem to you to be passable as less objectionable, and trumpet them to high heaven as “great”, hardly allows them to overshadow the lamentable acts and deeds of so many who committed enormities and perpetrated atrocities while professing to be animated by the same “Holy Spirit?”, especially when few of these “great” transcended the same malevolent devotion and had the perspicuity and courage to combat it?

[Abaddon_ire]

Please detail the ideology of atheism.

Atheists, like theists, may subscribe to a wide variety of ideologies. 

Any human being who says "I think the world should be this instead of that way" has an ideology, including atheists.

I didn't ask you about any other ideologies. I asked YOU to descirbe the ideology of ATHEISM.

You refused to do so. Try again.

[Belacqua]

Name that colleague.

Anomalocaris

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I asked YOU to descirbe the ideology of ATHEISM.

You refused to do so. Try again.

As I said before, atheists may subscribe to many different ideologies. There is no single ideology intrinsic to atheism.

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lamentable acts and deeds

Many people have done terrible things, Christians in no way excepted. 

Blake was aware of this, and thought we should honor those who don't do terrible things, but good things. He wrote:

“The worship of God is, Honouring his gifts in other men each according to his genius, and loving the greatest men best; those who envy or calumniate great men hate God, for there is no other God.”

I apologize for the sexist language; it was the 18th century. Today I'm sure he would say "great people."

[Deesse23]

I asked YOU to descirbe the ideology of ATHEISM.

You refused to do so. Try again.

As I said before, atheists may subscribe to many different ideologies. There is no single ideology intrinsic to atheism.

"There is no single ideology intrinsic to atheism." Is your code for "i was wrong"?