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Post by Soidanae on Oct 1, 2004 20:22:47 GMT -5
The definition of a Great Truth is any truth whose opposite is also a truth.
Love is great, love sucks. Both true. Therefore, both are great truths.
Now, religion is a truth, in some ways. Atheism is a truth, someways.
Belief in (a or many) God(s) != Atheism. So assuming Religion to be a Great Truth, so must also be Atheism.
Atheism, being the complete opposite of religion, must deny all the major parts of religion, and an atheist must have faith in the non-existence of god.
Both religion and atheism are based on faith.
Agnoticism is the complete and utter lack of faith. hey believe that there can't be any proof either way. Therefore, Agnoticism is a closer opposite ot both religion and Atheism than either is to each other.
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Post by Dante on Oct 2, 2004 7:58:59 GMT -5
I myself would have said that claiming that we cannot know if God or a god exists is closer to saying that he/she/it exists than somebody who says that he/she/it does not exist. If that makes sense, because it was rather muddled.
They're right, of course, in that we can't prove anything. My opinion: You can't prove the existance of something that doesn't exist, although proving the nonexistance of something that doesn't exist is even harder. That is to say, I'm an atheist. I'd expand on my views on religion, but I'd probably offend somebody. And by "somebody", I mean "anyone who's religious".
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Post by MelonB1088 on Oct 2, 2004 8:37:30 GMT -5
I myself would have said that claiming that we cannot know if God or a god exists is closer to saying that he/she/it exists than somebody who says that he/she/it does not exist. If that makes sense, because it was rather muddled. They're right, of course, in that we can't prove anything. My opinion: You can't prove the existance of something that doesn't exist, although proving the nonexistance of something that doesn't exist is even harder. That is to say, I'm an atheist. I'd expand on my views on religion, but I'd probably offend somebody. And by "somebody", I mean "anyone who's religious". M: I'd wuv 'oo too expand. Endy: You're a sick stalker, M. I know that atheism isn't the polar opposite of other religions, but that it is actually closer to standing next to them. I admit that I have faith in the nonexistance of god. I admit that I'm a hypocrate sometimes. The thing is...that I don't care about that, I really, really believe that there is no god, that we're not here for a real reason, and will actually argue that we're not here at all.
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Post by Dante on Oct 2, 2004 8:44:27 GMT -5
I don't really have faith in my un-belief in a deity. It doesn't matter to me that much. If people want to believe something, then that's fine by me, so long as it doesn't harm me or my family. It can harm my enemies, though.
And, since M. requested *prepares flame-proof suit*:
I think that religion is nothing but a psychological prop for people who are either too weak or too arrogant to accept that there is no purpose to their life, no reward for doing good, no punishment for doing evil, no secret importance, and no powerful benign person watching over them. Religion was invented to explain things that we don't understand (example: lightning). Now we have science. We can explain the things which we couldn't long ago. We don't need religion anymore.
And I apologise to anyone offended by my post, but M. did ask. And I'm not trying to change anyone's mind about religion, just as I'd expect you not to try to change mine. I'm simply stating what I think. Agree or disagree, it matters not at all to me.
I'm a poet, and I didn't know it.
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Post by MelonB1088 on Oct 2, 2004 9:42:31 GMT -5
I don't really have faith in my un-belief in a deity. It doesn't matter to me that much. If people want to believe something, then that's fine by me, so long as it doesn't harm me or my family. It can harm my enemies, though. And, since M. requested *prepares flame-proof suit*: I think that religion is nothing but a psychological prop for people who are either too weak or too arrogant to accept that there is no purpose to their life, no reward for doing good, no punishment for doing evil, no secret importance, and no powerful benign person watching over them. Religion was invented to explain things that we don't understand (example: lightning). Now we have science. We can explain the things which we couldn't long ago. We don't need religion anymore. And I apologise to anyone offended by my post, but M. did ask. And I'm not trying to change anyone's mind about religion, just as I'd expect you not to try to change mine. I'm simply stating what I think. Agree or disagree, it matters not at all to me. I'm a poet, and I didn't know it.M: SQUEE! *Permanently attaches herself to you* Endy: See what you've done? Anyway, that pretty much sums up everything. Science is what we live for, M and I. Science and theorizing about why nothing really exists.
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marisa
Bewildered Beginner
Posts: 0
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Post by marisa on Oct 3, 2004 9:41:03 GMT -5
GOD IS SO REAL!
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Luigi
Bewildered Beginner
Posts: 0
Likes: 2
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Post by Luigi on Oct 3, 2004 10:10:04 GMT -5
GOD IS SO REAL! oh, no, you're here, too? goddamn it. goddamn you. you suck. go away.
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Post by Dante on Oct 3, 2004 10:10:14 GMT -5
GOD IS SO REAL! You are free to believe what you want. As I said, that is only my opinion.
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Post by Soidanae on Oct 3, 2004 11:23:12 GMT -5
God is real to you, perhaps. I'd rather believe you're fooling yourself. See, you I hate. You're an idiot. At least some devout christians can debate, but you just blindly follow the tenetns of your faith simply because that's what you're taught. Bastard.
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Post by Phoenix 4242424242424242424242 on Oct 4, 2004 1:00:55 GMT -5
God is real to you, perhaps. I'd rather believe you're fooling yourself. See, you I hate. You're an idiot. At least some devout christians can debate, but you just blindly follow the tenetns of your faith simply because that's what you're taught. Bastard. It seriously pisses me off when people come into your house and try to convert you to their religion. I mean stop attempting to impinge your religion on me, when I obviously don't want you in my house!! Grrr!! It infuriates me! Yes, the Bible is a well written children's story book, so please grow up. My ideal Bible is my ASOUE books.
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no-one
Reptile Researcher
Posts: 28
Likes: 1
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Post by no-one on Oct 4, 2004 19:24:38 GMT -5
Yes, the Bible is a well written children's story book, so please grow up. My ideal Bible is my ASOUE books. espoecially the sodom and gommorah bit
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Post by Charles Vane on Oct 4, 2004 22:37:12 GMT -5
I'm.. something. I completley gave up on organized religion a few weeks ago, but I still believe in things. And my parents have decided that they don't have to care about me until I go back to church.
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Post by redwine with valium on Oct 5, 2004 20:32:44 GMT -5
I think that religion is nothing but a psychological prop for people who are either too weak or too arrogant to accept that there is no purpose to their life, no reward for doing good, no punishment for doing evil, no secret importance, and no powerful benign person watching over them. Religion was invented to explain things that we don't understand (example: lightning). Now we have science. We can explain the things which we couldn't long ago. We don't need religion anymore. I don't mind intelligent opposition. But a quick note before I begin my rebuttal: [rant] All of you who are on here simply stating your belief, one way or the other, with no intelligent argument, please GET OUT OF THE RELIGIOUS POSTS. I mean, the atheist ones like that offend me a tad, but the Christian ones annoy me just as much, if not more. People like that give Christians like me a bad name. [/rant] So you think science can replace God? That's not an uncommon belief, but I still think it's an incorrect one. For one thing: A belief is science is not neccesarily opposed to belief in God. For example: I'm open to the idea of evolution, since it's entirely possible that God used evolution as a means to create life. God is not simple. He wouldn't make His world simple either. And he made us naturally curious, and gave us the drive and intelligence to explore our surroundings. So science is, in a way, simply another aspect of religion: It explains the same things in a different way, but with the same basic understanding beneath it all. Make sense?
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Post by Charles Vane on Oct 5, 2004 21:31:41 GMT -5
I don't mind intelligent opposition. But a quick note before I begin my rebuttal: [rant] All of you who are on here simply stating your belief, one way or the other, with no intelligent argument, please GET OUT OF THE RELIGIOUS POSTS. I mean, the atheist ones like that offend me a tad, but the Christian ones annoy me just as much, if not more. People like that give Christians like me a bad name. [/rant] Sometimes that can be annoying, but everyone has the right to make their belief known. Just skip over the posts as most people do anyway. Theres always different circumstances too. I never contribute anything because a few people have already said exactly what I wanted to before I get in here and I normally don't have enough time to make a long enough post while I'm trying to do other things. The only unique thing I have left to contribute is my own short personal belief. I could have said more in this thread but I was sick and emotionally drained so I just said something small and pointless because I wanted to say something anyway. If people do share personal things, it can be easier to understand them when they have a different opinion than you because you get to see where they're coming from. And you know in my case, I completely forget what the thread is about. I know it has something to do with religion.
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Post by Dante on Oct 6, 2004 13:49:45 GMT -5
So you think science can replace God? That's not an uncommon belief, but I still think it's an incorrect one. For one thing: A belief is science is not neccesarily opposed to belief in God. For example: I'm open to the idea of evolution, since it's entirely possible that God used evolution as a means to create life. God is not simple. He wouldn't make His world simple either. And he made us naturally curious, and gave us the drive and intelligence to explore our surroundings. So science is, in a way, simply another aspect of religion: It explains the same things in a different way, but with the same basic understanding beneath it all. Make sense? Makes perfect sense. But God to me seems like such a Deus Ex Machina; you don't know why something happened? God did it, etc. That's how it was before science and mathematics became as advanced as they are now. I simply see no reason to continue the illusion. Bear in mind that proving that God doesn't exist is far harder than proving that God does exist. Explain all the mysteries of the universe using science and logic and you could still say that God made it that way. Deus Ex Machina, like I said. Science doesn't have that option. But of course, it doesn't really matter because neither of us is going to convince the other, are we? Anyway, let's jump-start this discussion with an idea for people to talk over. Idea: God himself is bound by the laws of physics, and must operate through coincidence, chance, and obscure physics. Discuss.
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