Register | Sign In


Understanding through Discussion


EvC Forum active members: 65 (9162 total)
4 online now:
Newest Member: popoi
Post Volume: Total: 915,806 Year: 3,063/9,624 Month: 908/1,588 Week: 91/223 Day: 2/17 Hour: 0/0


Thread  Details

Email This Thread
Newer Topic | Older Topic
  
Author Topic:   How Dawkins made me a better person
Den
Member (Idle past 5100 days)
Posts: 36
From: Australia
Joined: 03-21-2010


Message 1 of 71 (551140)
03-21-2010 1:16 PM


Dear Mr Dawkins
My name is Jack Smart, I was a devout Catholic up to the time of reading the God Delusion and the Greatest show on Earth. Thanks to your books I am now an enlightened Bright (or Atheist as others now call me) who has accepted that there is no doubt that evolution is fact.
I am so grateful to you for making me come to realize the ridiculousness of my prior life, I was in fact living 2 lives, one life as nature intended and the other deluded part which I dedicated to a faith in Religion and I am now thanks to you able to lead a more natural and factual existence rather than following a silly faith, for example;
Now that I understand from your books that we humans evolved together with our emotions simply for the purpose of survival of the fittest you have made me finally realize the purpose of human life as per Darwin’s survival of the fittest, which is becoming the strongest person I can be physically and mentally and ensuring I successfully pass on and spread my genes as far as possible.
Previously during my silly Religious period I was limited to only having 2 children because of our financial situation. Thanks to your guidance I have worked out a way to be an even more successful person, simply hand your children over to an orphanage, then you are immediately relieved of the financial burden and bingo! You can then have more children!
I immediately took my 2 kids to the orphanage as soon as I finished reading the greatest show on Earth, my wife could not stop crying, which was a nuisance as I could not copulate with her for more than a week after we dumped our offspring at the orphanage. I explained to her that the sadness she felt dumping the children is just a primitive human chemical emotion which evolved to make us care for our children in tougher primitive times - to ensure our genes survived on, now that we have institutions that can care for our kids we don’t need to worry about them any more, dump and pump I say!
The best parts now of becoming an Atheist and evolution follower are the improvements in my work and social life, since from an evolutionary perspective adultery is not a flaw, it’s an attribute of success! For years I have been lusting over my secretary and now there’s no problem, we now have regular sex even though I’m married.
I really love weekends catching up with other married couples, our friends, though it’s getting a little frustrating, the other men’s wives are all frigid no matter how drunk I get them, but lately I’ve been looking at their single daughters too! I’m sure my best friends daughter Eve is ovulating by now, we were just at her sweet 16 birthday party and I’m so keen to get her pregnant it’s not funny, she’s so ripe. I can’t believe that lusting for someone at such a young age did not even occur to me during my Religious years, it’s just natural, you don’t see other animals getting judged by age, as soon as the female is sexually fertile ready she is copulated by the strongest most suitable male around. Age discrimination is just a silly unfair human rule when it comes copulation, its not fair to the children, especially those who sexually mature at a young age, they should have every chance of passing on their genes immediately and becoming a successful part of the greatest show on Earth!
Since I only have 2 children I’m worried that I’m not being successful enough, making more offspring is not happening as fast as I’d like, so I am now considering whether it’s wrong for a man to force himself onto a women? Its common in the animal world, why should it be wrong in the human world? We are animals too aren’t we?, why cant we follow the same rules as other animals?, it doesn’t seem fair, I want to be successful in the eyes of evolution too but all these stupid human rules Laws are in the way.
I wish you could make the laws Richard because I’m sure stupid laws like those that prohibit rape would be abolished under your wisdom, since they prevent the strongest men from passing on their genes as much as they could. Laws against rape are absolutely a crime against humanity; not allowing the strongest men to dominate the breeding is ruining the human gene pool, these laws are plainly immoral.
Anyhow thanks for your guidance and wisdom, I’m now undoubtedly both a brighter and better person thanks to you, I just wish all the Religious fools would wake up from their deluded, morally inferior world.
PS Great news, I just found out this morning my secretary is pregnant! I guess it’s a new definition for being successful at work! I can’t wait to tell my wife about my latest success!
Yours Sincerely
Jack Smart
Edited by Den, : No reason given.

Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by Admin, posted 03-21-2010 3:30 PM Den has not replied
 Message 4 by Taz, posted 03-21-2010 3:33 PM Den has not replied
 Message 5 by nwr, posted 03-21-2010 3:56 PM Den has not replied
 Message 8 by Dr Adequate, posted 03-21-2010 7:49 PM Den has not replied
 Message 19 by Modulous, posted 03-22-2010 7:54 AM Den has not replied
 Message 58 by Pauline, posted 03-22-2010 11:12 PM Den has not replied

  
Admin
Director
Posts: 12995
From: EvC Forum
Joined: 06-14-2002
Member Rating: 2.3


Message 2 of 71 (551155)
03-21-2010 3:30 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Den
03-21-2010 1:16 PM


Hi Den,
This reads like an open letter rather than a debate thread proposal, so I'll put it in Coffee House.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Den, posted 03-21-2010 1:16 PM Den has not replied

  
Admin
Director
Posts: 12995
From: EvC Forum
Joined: 06-14-2002
Member Rating: 2.3


Message 3 of 71 (551157)
03-21-2010 3:30 PM


Thread Copied from Proposed New Topics Forum
Thread copied here from the How Dawkins made me a better person thread in the Proposed New Topics forum.

  
Taz
Member (Idle past 3291 days)
Posts: 5069
From: Zerus
Joined: 07-18-2006


Message 4 of 71 (551158)
03-21-2010 3:33 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Den
03-21-2010 1:16 PM


How my Marriage was Destroyed by the Homosexual Agenda
- a really very truly honest testimonial
by Eve Angelico
Once, I was a happy woman.
I was a mother. I had two wonderful children who knew how to behave themselves: Constance and Aaron.
I was a wife. My husband, Christian, was a good solid man I could count on.
That was just a few months ago. How could we have known, back then, that our blissful family would soon be torn apart forever by the forces of Satan?
Oh, as I look back on it now, I can see that there were signs, like when Mr. Penderglass down the street started wearing teal, or when attendance at the Boy Scouts pack meeting started going down, or when Father Hanlon, who holds mass down at the All Souls Grace Blessing Rosary of Our Lady of the Aching Lower Back Cathedral started a midnight solo boy's glee club, with rehearsals in room 204 at the Motel Six. At the time, of course, I just thought it was God working in mysterious ways.
If I had to choose one moment when my denial finally started to crumble, it would be the time when I found a smudge of bright red lipstick on the front pocket of Christian's best short-sleeved white wrinkle-free Sunday dress shirt. You see, every night when Christian comes home from work, I greet him at the door with a nice kiss on the cheek. The thing is, I only wear purple shades of lipstick, ranging from a light violet to a medium mauve. A few years ago, the Mary Kay representative on my block let me know, confidentially, that anything outside of this color range would be considered indiscreet, given my complexion. I don't even own any red lipstick. Too much red can give men the wrong idea.
Well, I was pretty upset seeing that red lipstick on my husband's collar. I confronted Christian that very evening, right after I kissed him at the door and brought him his evening glass of beer.
He didn't deny anything. He told me that had spent the afternoon in an alley, french kissing a woman named Tanya he had met in a tavern, after getting drunk on Schlitz malt liquor using money he had withdrawn from our children's college fund.
When I demanded an explanation, he looked at me with a confused expression on his face and asked me, "Haven't you heard that the Supreme Court in Massachusetts has said that it's legal for gay couples to get married?"
Suddenly, everything became clear.
I ran across the living room and fell into the Lazy Boy where Christian was sitting, and threw my arms around him. "Oh, you poor baby," I cried. "You must feel awful! Why didn't you just call me to let me know?"
Christian gazed deeply into my teary eyes. "What's the point of being honest with each other anymore, honey, now that gays can get married in Massachusetts?"
"Do you mean to say..."
"Darling, let's admit it. Our marriage is over."
To hear these words from my husband was a difficult thing. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that I just didn't care about him anymore, now that gay people were going to be getting married. The love was gone, thanks to that damn homosexual agenda.
I was about to ask Christian if he would like to experiment with some non-traditional lifestyle choices when I heard the front door opening. It was the kids coming home from school! How would we break it to them?
Aaron set down his backpack to kiss me on the cheek. He was wearing a navy blue blazer with a matching tie, ornamented only with an American flag lapel pin. "Gosh mom," he said as he passed us by on the way to change into his Eagle Scout uniform, "what a long day at school! Still, I know that the Lord wants us to study hard so that we can read the Bible."
As Constance walked into the kitchen, her ankle-length grey flannel skirt brushed up against Christian's wrist, and I saw his cheeks grow red. "Hey, honey," he leaned over to whisper, "Now that we're going to get a divorce, do you mind if I ask Constance to go out with me to the drive-in tonight? I promise I won't go past third base until she's ready."
What the hell, I thought. Sure, she's our daughter, but now that gays are going to be allowed to get marriage licenses in downtown Boston, all concepts of morality are destroyed, and it doesn't really make a difference anymore. I wondered to myself which of my neighbors' houses would be the easiest to break into - I needed a cup of sugar.
Constance turned on the radio in the kitchen to the Christian AM station we always listen to, and that's when our family's fate was finally sealed. The Lord's news update was saying that gay people in San Francisco were being allowed to get married right then and there!
Constance turned around suddenly, with a strange look on her face that I had never seen before. All of a sudden, she started running towards the front door, ripping off her clothes. The last I saw of her, she was skipping down the street, wearing nothing but a flower in her hair, screaming, "I'm sexually promiscuous now! Does anyone want to have some casual sex so that I can get a sexually transmitted disease and then have an abortion?"
Aaron came downstairs with a hurt and confused look on his face. "Golly," he whispered to Christian, "do you think that Constance has been influenced by the 1960s culture of permissiveness?"
Christian frowned and said, "Son, all that you need to know that gay people are getting married in San Francisco."
Immediately, Aaron ripped the merit badges from his uniform and threw them on the floor. "Fucking shit, Mom," he said to me. "I guess I'd better drop out of school and join a gang of juvenile delinquents."
"Okay," I said, feeling all my parental authority melting away, "But try to be home before midnight. We'll be getting Cinemax now, and I'll bet there will be a really sexy and violent movie on after prime time. Maybe we can even illegally record it on our VCR."
Aaron told me to shut up, then burped and walked out the door.
Christian and I sighed. It was hard to say goodbye to him, but I knew the time had come. The homosexual agenda had succeeded in destroying our family, even though we had been happy, secure, and God-fearing just a few hours before.
Who knows what will happen next? I suppose that as the news of gay marriages in San Francisco spreads, everybody in town will be getting divorced.
I'm not sure where I'll end up, of course, but I'm taking my first steps in this new world shaped by homosexuality. I suppose I'll have to become a lesbian now. I've put in a call to the local Lions Club asking if they know about where I can get in touch with a baby-killing satanic cult in our area, and I've cancelled the check I wrote last week to the Christian Coalition.
To think that it all could have been different, if gay people had just left well enough alone and not wanted to get married.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Den, posted 03-21-2010 1:16 PM Den has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 6 by Larni, posted 03-21-2010 4:01 PM Taz has not replied

  
nwr
Member
Posts: 6408
From: Geneva, Illinois
Joined: 08-08-2005
Member Rating: 5.1


Message 5 of 71 (551166)
03-21-2010 3:56 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Den
03-21-2010 1:16 PM


Your attempt at satire does not work very well. That is, of course, unless the intention was for you to reveal how ignorant you are of the topic you address.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Den, posted 03-21-2010 1:16 PM Den has not replied

  
Larni
Member (Idle past 163 days)
Posts: 4000
From: Liverpool
Joined: 09-16-2005


Message 6 of 71 (551167)
03-21-2010 4:01 PM
Reply to: Message 4 by Taz
03-21-2010 3:33 PM


Please tell me that's not a real testimony!
If it is true it means some people are too dumb to live.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 4 by Taz, posted 03-21-2010 3:33 PM Taz has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 7 by nwr, posted 03-21-2010 4:25 PM Larni has not replied

  
nwr
Member
Posts: 6408
From: Geneva, Illinois
Joined: 08-08-2005
Member Rating: 5.1


Message 7 of 71 (551175)
03-21-2010 4:25 PM
Reply to: Message 6 by Larni
03-21-2010 4:01 PM


Larni writes:
Please tell me that's not a real testimony!
A google search found the Taz post at Slot88 > Situs Agen Judi Slot Online Terbaik dan Terpercaya and at a bunch of other sites (some as audios).
As for the OP, a search for "My name is Jack Smart" showed a link to "Christian Forums", but the link was to a comment. There is probably a private forum in "Christian Forums" that requires membership for access, and from which the OP was copied (just guessing).

This message is a reply to:
 Message 6 by Larni, posted 03-21-2010 4:01 PM Larni has not replied

  
Dr Adequate
Member (Idle past 284 days)
Posts: 16113
Joined: 07-20-2006


Message 8 of 71 (551210)
03-21-2010 7:49 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Den
03-21-2010 1:16 PM


Dear Mr Den,
It is of course obvious that what you have written is not true. And you might pause to wonder why it is that the most hateful and vitriolic thing you can think to say against atheism is something that you've made up in your head.
And I wonder at your reason for expending so much time and trouble on composing such an obvious falsehood. Various possibilities occur to me.
(1) That you actually hope to deceive someone into believing that this story is true. In that case, you would be a liar and a fool.
(2) That you do not hope or expect to deceive anyone; but that this is merely a crude attempt at satire.
I believe or at least hope the latter case to be more likely.
In that case, we have various further sub-cases to consider.
For the meaning of your clumsy satire would be the foulest of fundamentalist lies --- that atheists are incapable of that most basic and universal of human emotions, love of one's neighbor.
So either:
(2a) You know that this is false, and are therefore a liar.
(2b) You do not know that this is false, but believe it because you have been driven insane with hatred for those of your neighbors who do not share your doctrines.
(2c) You do not know that this is false, but are so young, so gullible, and so pitifully ignorant of the world you live in that you have been deceived by some authority figure into believing that it is true.
For your sake, I hope the latter is the case.
In any case, whether you are a liar, a fool, insane, or merely vastly ignorant, I hope that you will one day improve in morality, in wisdom, in sanity, or in knowledge (depending on your particular deficit).
I will add one thing. Surely an evangelical Christian such as yourself must have as the dearest wish of your heart to convert even one non-believer to your religion, thus saving a soul from Hell. Is not an evangelist one who wishes to bring the gospel, were if possible, to all humankind in particular and in general? Yet of course ravings such as yours must necessarily give atheists the lowest and most contemptuous picture of Christianity. If you really intend to send this letter to Professor Dawkins, it is not beyond conjecture that he will quote from it at length in one of his future books, as demonstrating the utter degradation to which religion can reduce a man.
Your brother in being human,
Dr Adequate.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Den, posted 03-21-2010 1:16 PM Den has not replied

  
Den
Member (Idle past 5100 days)
Posts: 36
From: Australia
Joined: 03-21-2010


Message 9 of 71 (551221)
03-21-2010 11:41 PM


I didnt really think I would have to explain that this is a satire!
"Your attempt at satire does not work very well. That is, of course, unless the intention was for you to reveal how ignorant you are of the topic you address."
@nwr If you intend to make comments that accuse people of ignorance, you should probably create a case by providing examples or at least something which explains and backs your statement, otherwise you yourself a merely making an ignorant comment.
@ Dr Inadequate I believe my satire points out the obvious flaws in adopting the emptiness of Atheism and accepting Evolution as fact.
Edited by Den, : No reason given.
Edited by Den, : No reason given.
Edited by Den, : No reason given.
Edited by Den, : No reason given.
Edited by Den, : No reason given.

Replies to this message:
 Message 10 by subbie, posted 03-22-2010 12:05 AM Den has not replied
 Message 11 by Granny Magda, posted 03-22-2010 12:17 AM Den has not replied
 Message 12 by RAZD, posted 03-22-2010 12:22 AM Den has not replied
 Message 20 by Dr Adequate, posted 03-22-2010 8:50 AM Den has not replied

  
subbie
Member (Idle past 1254 days)
Posts: 3509
Joined: 02-26-2006


Message 10 of 71 (551222)
03-22-2010 12:05 AM
Reply to: Message 9 by Den
03-21-2010 11:41 PM


Den writes:
I believe my satire points out the obvious flaws in adopting the emptiness of Atheism and accepting Evolution as fact.
Just curious. Can you find one person who understands evolution who actually believes that the flaws you see in it are genuine? If so, please identify that person and provide evidence supporting your identification.

Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. -- Thomas Jefferson
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. -- Barack Obama
We see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat

This message is a reply to:
 Message 9 by Den, posted 03-21-2010 11:41 PM Den has not replied

  
Granny Magda
Member
Posts: 2462
From: UK
Joined: 11-12-2007
Member Rating: 4.0


Message 11 of 71 (551225)
03-22-2010 12:17 AM
Reply to: Message 9 by Den
03-21-2010 11:41 PM


Satire Falls Flat
Hi Den,
I didnt really think I would have to explain that this is a satire!
Sadly, there are people dishonest enough to tell lies in the furtherance of their religious beliefs. You wouldn't want to be mistaken for one of them.
I believe my satire points out the obvious flaws in adopting the emptiness of Atheism and accepting Evolution as fact.
Really? In what way?
All I see are a bunch of absurd misconceptions and misrepresentations. You seem to have no idea what atheists actually believe and no concept of just how wide of the mark your attempt at satire is. I tend to doubt that you have read any of Dawkins' books, because if you had, you might realise that he supports none of the views you portrayed in your satire.
The Theory of Evolution is descriptive, not proscriptive. It is not a moral code, a school of moral philosophy or a guidebook on how to run one's life. It is simply a description of certain biological realities. It says nothing about how we should behave. Just because nature can be cruel does not mean that we should be too.
Atheism offers no proscriptions either. All that unites atheists is a lack of any belief in deities. That's it. There is no atheist morality, no atheist dogma. You will find that we differ in opinion in pretty much all respects, other than a lack of belief in deities. I do think though, that you'll find it hard to track down an atheist who actually espouses any of the opinions put forth in your satire.
Of course, if you actually want to find out what atheists really think, you could try asking us. It might be more instructive than your current method of creating silly straw-men.
Mutate and Survive

"A curious aspect of the theory of evolution is that everybody thinks he understands it." - Jacques Monod

This message is a reply to:
 Message 9 by Den, posted 03-21-2010 11:41 PM Den has not replied

  
RAZD
Member (Idle past 1404 days)
Posts: 20714
From: the other end of the sidewalk
Joined: 03-14-2004


Message 12 of 71 (551226)
03-22-2010 12:22 AM
Reply to: Message 9 by Den
03-21-2010 11:41 PM


Welcome to the fray, Den,
@nwr If you intend to make comments that accuse people of ignorance, you should probably create a case by providing examples or at least something which explains and backs your statement, otherwise you yourself a merely making an ignorant comment.
@ Dr Inadequate I believe my satire points out the obvious flaws in adopting the emptiness of Atheism and accepting Evolution as fact.
There are some cute tricks in coding that you can use on this site:
type [qs]quotes are easy[/qs] and it becomes:
quotes are easy
or type [quote]quotes are easy[/quote] and it becomes:
quote:
quotes are easy
You can also do
type [qs=den]quotes are easy[/qs] and it becomes:
den writes:
quotes are easy
Another neat feature is that when you reply to specific posts that they are linked.
Use the message reply buttons to do this (there's one at the bottom right of each message):
Now to the post ...
...I believe my satire points out the obvious flaws in adopting the emptiness of Atheism and accepting Evolution as fact.
Not really, as there are several problems with your logic, and all you have betrayed is an ignorance of how the human brain works and an ignorance of the principles of evolution.
First off, morals and ethics are derived from culture, from getting along with other people, and the moral principles we see throughout the world are not based on any one religion, but repeat in multitudinous forms in all religions, and can indeed be derived without one.
Treat others as you would like to be treated is a basic social contract, and this crosses all cultural bounds down to primates. Yes primates have been shown to live by the "golden rule" -- and curiously, I somehow doubt that you will consider them religious.
Second, evolution is the change in frequency of hereditary traits in breeding populations from generation to generation in response to ecological changes, and it does not involve survival of the strongest so much as survival of the able to survive. Strength can be disadvantageous. Evolution does not tell you how to behave.
Third, there are many people that fully accept evolution as the best explanation we have for how life developed on earth, and the vast majority of those people are religious. Obviously, your assumed dichotomy between religion and evolution AND your conflation of evolution with atheism are false.
If you intend to make comments that accuse people of ignorance, you should probably create a case by providing examples or at least something which explains and backs your statement, otherwise you yourself a merely making an ignorant comment.
If you really want chapter and verse, stick around. Who knows, you might learn something.
Enjoy.
... as you are new here, some posting tips:
check out (help) links on any formatting questions when in the reply window.
For other formatting tips see Posting Tips

we are limited in our ability to understand
by our ability to understand
Rebel American Zen Deist
... to learn ... to think ... to live ... to laugh ...
to share.


• • • Join the effort to solve medical problems, AIDS/HIV, Cancer and more with Team EvC! (click) • • •

This message is a reply to:
 Message 9 by Den, posted 03-21-2010 11:41 PM Den has not replied

  
Den
Member (Idle past 5100 days)
Posts: 36
From: Australia
Joined: 03-21-2010


Message 13 of 71 (551230)
03-22-2010 1:18 AM


Hi its Jack again
Last night I was phyically attacked by a couple of religious fanatics, simply because of my scientific beliefs!
We were having dinner with friends, and my friend Bob and Jane who just got married announced that they planned to have a baby. Well since I know Bob has Athsma and diabetes I explained to Jane that it is possible that Bob would pass his faulty genes onto their planned baby.
I told them as a friend that I would be happy to donate my healthy sperm as not only am I superiorly fitter than Bob, I am as an Athiest and Evolution believer also more intelligent, and that Bob should not be a selfish husband and allow his wife the opportunity to have the healthiest and most successful offsrping possible by using my sperm.
I did explain to them that there would be conditions, as I would not want to copulate with Jane as I did not find her attractive enough "shes fat" and that I would donate my sperm via test tube.
Imagine my shock when Bob lunged at me with his fists and Jane threw her glass of wine in my face! they physically attacked me for no reason! I had known that there were Religious, however I have the suspicion that they have become Muslims, I mean what else would explain such senseless violence?
I cant believe how ungreatful they are, I was trying to help them, I think this story just highlights how immoral Religion makes people and the moral superiority of science over Religion.
Edited by Den, : spelling
Edited by Den, : No reason given.

Replies to this message:
 Message 14 by slevesque, posted 03-22-2010 1:41 AM Den has not replied
 Message 15 by dwise1, posted 03-22-2010 2:00 AM Den has not replied
 Message 24 by lyx2no, posted 03-22-2010 9:26 AM Den has not replied

  
slevesque
Member (Idle past 4640 days)
Posts: 1456
Joined: 05-14-2009


(1)
Message 14 of 71 (551234)
03-22-2010 1:41 AM
Reply to: Message 13 by Den
03-22-2010 1:18 AM


Ok man. Seriously. You gotta stop this, there is nothing constructive in this ...
I say that as a fellow christian+creationist.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 13 by Den, posted 03-22-2010 1:18 AM Den has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 16 by ZenMonkey, posted 03-22-2010 2:20 AM slevesque has not replied
 Message 29 by Dr Adequate, posted 03-22-2010 10:19 AM slevesque has not replied

  
dwise1
Member
Posts: 5930
Joined: 05-02-2006
Member Rating: 5.8


Message 15 of 71 (551235)
03-22-2010 2:00 AM
Reply to: Message 13 by Den
03-22-2010 1:18 AM


Here's a classic for ye, laddie.
quote:
I will tell you a pleasant tale which has in it a touch of pathos. A man got religion, and asked the priest what he must do to be worthy of his new estate. The priest said, "Imitate our Father in Heaven, learn to be like him." The man studied his Bible diligently and thoroughly and understandingly, and then with prayers for heavenly guidance instituted his imitations. He tricked his wife into falling downstairs, and she broke her back and became a paralytic for life; he betrayed his brother into the hands of a sharper, who robbed him of his all and landed him in the almshouse; he inoculated one son with hookworms, another with the sleeping sickness, another with gonorrhea; he furnished one daughter with scarlet fever and ushered her into her teens deaf, dumb, and blind for life; and after helping a rascal seduce the remaining one, he closed his doors against her and she died in a brothel cursing him. Then he reported to the priest, who said that that was no way to imitate his Father in Heaven. The convert asked wherein he had failed, but the priest changed the subject and inquired what kind of weather he was having, up his way.
Now, unlike your own pathetic scribblings, this one has merit. For instead of having been penned in complete and utter ignorance, this one was well-thought-out.
Instead of trying to imagine what values atheists have, why not try to discover them? It's been discussed here quite a bit. For example, Buzsaw asked to know what unique atheist values there may be (all the while abjectly ignoring the responses he got), so I offered this:
quote:
This might help compare Christian values with non-Christian values. While the non-Christian values are not exclusively atheists' values (ie, non-atheist non-Christians also share them), they are quite different from Christian values.
A couple years ago, I had stumbled across this documentary film's site: No webpage found at provided URL: http://www.divorcinggod.org. The film examined the conflicts between evangelicals' Biblical beliefs and the harsh realities of divorce; this is a particularly important subject since evangelicals have a divorce rate much higher than the general public. The site used to also have personal stories by people who had themselves gone through that experience, but they're no longer there. I did save a poem while it was still up, which I'm reposting here since it contrasts several Christian and non-Christian values:
quote:
Defining Friendship
When I left my husband, my Christian friends gossiped and judged.
My non-Christian friends loved and accepted.
My Christian friends said things like, We have the right to know why you’re doing this.
You are taking advantage of God’s grace.
I love you but I don’t agree with you.
You will loose everything you ever worked for.
I’m sorry that you gave up your place in eternity for this.
My non-Christian friends said I’m here for you no matter what.
My Christian friends forwarded emails about my personal business.
My non-Christian friends asked me about my personal business.
My Christian friends said This is not OK.
My non-Christian friends said Are you OK?
My Christian friends left me out of their weddings and parties.
My non-Christian friends let me into their homes and lives.
My Christian friends need to surround themselves with other people just like them to justify their own insecurities.
My non-Christian friends value people different than them because they have room in their mind to learn from others.
My Christian friends think they know all the answers.
My non-Christian friends know we don’t have the answers.
My Christian friends called me ‘selfish.’
My non-Christian friends called me ‘honest.’
My Christian friends want everyone to like them.
My non-Christian friends want to like themselves.
My Christian friends are scared it could happen in their own marriage.
My non-Christian friends are secure with their spouses because they did not choose them based on spiritual delusion.
My Christian friends were unhappy for themselves.
My non-Christian friends were happy for me.
My Christian friends haven’t called me once since the divorce.
My non-Christian friends won’t leave me alone.
God forgive me if I’ve ever been a Christian friend.

I should also mention that I have myself, as an atheist, been subjected to vicious discrimination by a nationally respected organization that vociferously professes to be "absolutely non-sectarian" while very specifically violates its own rules in order to discriminate against anyone whose religious views are not the same as the professional leadership's. I have also been threatened with physical violance by Christians because I referred to their god by a name that they did not understand (the true name of YODH-HAY-VAV-HAY).
So do you have any actual point to make? Or do you just want to defame real people, acutal Menschen (sorry if you're too myopically Christian to understand some very basic Yiddish), solely on the basis of your own narrowly sectarian prejudice.
Do you really believe that you know what atheists think and believe? Do you have actual Bible verses that tell you that? If so, then do please present those verses, chapter and verse!

This message is a reply to:
 Message 13 by Den, posted 03-22-2010 1:18 AM Den has not replied

  
Newer Topic | Older Topic
Jump to:


Copyright 2001-2023 by EvC Forum, All Rights Reserved

™ Version 4.2
Innovative software from Qwixotic © 2024