Acutally, most religious types seem to think atheists are evil incarnate.Shazzy wrote:Fair enough. Many religious people feel the same way about atheists, though. They're not trying to nuke the Gentiles, but they think an atheistic viewpoint is less than true.
Guess I had to throw my hat back in before breakfast. I'll answer quotes with quotes if I can think of them.Albert Einstein wrote:I do not think that it is necessarily the case that science and religion are natural opposites. In fact, I think that there is a very close connection between the two. Further, I think that science without religion is lame and, conversely, that religion without science is blind. Both are important and should work hand-in-hand.
Surely you aren't advocating Nietzsche's own arguement AGAINST religion as an arguement FOR religion? "Religion is the opiate of the masses" is exactly why so much trouble happens with these Rwars. And I think we are arguing dangerously in another direction. The topic for this is "Science and Religion" and we are also arguing science vs. faith in God or some higher power. Faith and religion go hand in hand but there are many faithful people who lack a clear religion (it's also argueable that there are many religious people with a distinct lack of faith).Requiett wrote:So if faith offers a little haven for the miserable masses to continue with their daily lives, why not let them have it?
It's also not particularly tolerant of unbelievers, yet I haven't picked up any stones. Unfortunately, I am pretty sure I've sinned a bit in my day, so I don't get to cast them. Yet there are female role models in the Torah/Bible/maybe even the Qu'ran(haven't read it to know, but I know they hold the tenets of the Bible and the Torah). Esther? Ruth? Deborah? Racheal? Lydia? Sarah? Dinah? I could go on but I'd actually go have to get my Bible.Kalium wrote:Read your Bible recently? It's not exactly nice to the fairer sex, to say the least.
Lovely. You haven't really read Nietzsche, have you?requiett wrote:Alright, this topic is a little too Nietzsche for me. Clearly "God is dead" just automatically has to be applied where reason is concerned around here. It's ironically the most unreasonable assumption I've ever dealt with.
Don't mess with me on Nietzsche, dude.Friedrich Nietzsche wrote:God is dead, for it is we [i.e. the humanity] who killed him
Religion is not about opiate for the masses. Religion is about opiate for everyone who existed and exists and will exist. No matter how fortunate someone is, they are partially unhappy/without purpose/confused/lost/lacking meaning. (If you want to argue that you are an exception to this, fine, we'll exclude you.) God makes up the difference in that gaping hole in "reality." I can't speak for requiett, but I'd argue religion isn't about making someone content with their measly lot. It's about having an eternal perspective on your entire life regardless of status. If you say, "this is my life, I've got to make it count," it's easy to also say, "screw as many people as I want, I've only got a hundred years to live and no one to hold me accountable for it if I don't get caught." Eternal accountability is the best antithesis of selfishness and cruelty.Kalium wrote: Yes, actually, I do. I know that it's possible for them to improve their means, because it's been done. There is no reason to and every reason not to try to make them content with their measly lot.
Quarter-life crisis: a sense that everyone is, somehow, doing better than you.
Good thing nobody takes that bible thing literally then, hm? Especially the bits where it says one thing but means the opposite, or when it disagrees with other bits. Oh, wait a tick...badmartialarts wrote:It's also not particularly tolerant of unbelievers, yet I haven't picked up any stones. Unfortunately, I am pretty sure I've sinned a bit in my day, so I don't get to cast them. Yet there are female role models in the Torah/Bible/maybe even the Qu'ran(haven't read it to know, but I know they hold the tenets of the Bible and the Torah). Esther? Ruth? Deborah? Racheal? Lydia? Sarah? Dinah? I could go on but I'd actually go have to get my Bible.Kalium wrote:Read your Bible recently? It's not exactly nice to the fairer sex, to say the least.
A secular justice system does pretty well, you know. Life in jail packs a much larger punch without the whole afterlife thing when you die.Shazzy wrote:If you say, "this is my life, I've got to make it count," it's easy to also say, "screw as many people as I want, I've only got a hundred years to live and no one to hold me accountable for it if I don't get caught." Eternal accountability is the best antithesis of selfishness and cruelty.
