chagen
Junior Member
Not Banned
Posts: 71
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Post by chagen on May 4, 2011 23:30:19 GMT -5
In any case, the statement "I think the world would be better off without religion" seems disturbing to me on principle. Very Utopian. It verges dangerously close to "get rid of religion at all costs". Every christian would probably think that the world would be better off if everyone was a christian. I don't. I prefer a multicultural world. |
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Post by Cygnus on May 4, 2011 23:30:54 GMT -5
I respect the fact that you apologized Chagen, but I still take issue with this:
You did acknowledge it as a fallacy, I'll give you that, but how in the world are those two statements anything alike? The former is merely stating that overall, the harm that religion can potentially cause outweighs its potential benefits. This DOES NOT in any way mean that the person saying it wants to control what anyone believes. I, for example, simply think that our society would progress faster without religion holding it back. Does that mean that I would want anyone to be forced into giving up their religious beliefs? No, of course not. I'm merely saying that I think it would be great if no one needed religion. I do, however, acknowledge that some people do seem to need it and that's fine. As much as I may disagree with it, I would gladly fight for people to have the right to practice any religion they want, so long as it doesn't cause harm to anyone or infringe upon their rights. There is a vast difference between saying "I think religion would not exist in an ideal world" and saying "we must eradicate religion by any means necessary."
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Post by Thejebusfire on May 4, 2011 23:31:59 GMT -5
Just keep in mind that the people here on the fourms are often different than the one's on the mainpage. In fact, some members don't even use the mainpage anymore.
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Post by mechtaur on May 4, 2011 23:50:55 GMT -5
Chagen, good on you for coming back and apologizing. You have shown yourself to be bigger of man than you first did.
A bit of personal advice, work on looking at different cultures and think about them. It might help you get over the whole stereotyping idea.
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Post by Mlle Antéchrist on May 5, 2011 3:58:29 GMT -5
Thank you for being big enough to apologize. Hopefully we can all put this stuff behind us, and be civil with one another.  In any case, the statement "I think the world would be better off without religion" seems disturbing to me on principle. Very Utopian. It verges dangerously close to "get rid of religion at all costs". Generally speaking, when one says they think the world would be better off without religion, they're referring to most or all of humanity -- as a society and as individuals -- voluntarily leaving religion behind. The majority of us agree that attempting to force people to give up religion "at all costs" would make things worse, not better -- and believe me, making the world a worse place to live for anyone, regardless of their beliefs, is the polar opposite of what we want. I'd rather live in a world with religion than in some kind of totalitarian, atheist dictatorship. And for what it's worth, we're as disgusted with fundie atheists and anti-theists are you are. They're no better than religious extremists. |
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Post by sugarfreejazz on May 5, 2011 4:20:20 GMT -5
Not to mention we've actually quoted fundie atheists on the main page before as well.
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Post by tolpuddlemartyr on May 5, 2011 4:53:20 GMT -5
I think anyone who can say "I was wrong", apologize and mean it deserves praise! Good on ya chagen.
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Post by Vene on May 5, 2011 10:31:40 GMT -5
Every christian would probably think that the world would be better off if everyone was a christian. I don't. I prefer a multicultural world. Do you believe in Hell? |
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chagen
Junior Member
Not Banned
Posts: 71
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Post by chagen on May 5, 2011 16:47:00 GMT -5
I don't. I prefer a multicultural world. Do you believe in Hell? Yes. I believe in the idea of the Virtuous Pagan, though. So I don't think people will go to hell just for having a different culture/religion. |
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Post by devilschaplain2 on May 5, 2011 16:50:03 GMT -5
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chagen
Junior Member
Not Banned
Posts: 71
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Post by chagen on May 5, 2011 16:54:25 GMT -5
Notice how nearly every single one of the comments are subtly agreeing with him. Hell, some of them are explicitly agreeing with him.
And you guys wonder why anti-theism gives me a sour taste.
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Post by Vene on May 5, 2011 16:56:13 GMT -5
Yes. I believe in the idea of the Virtuous Pagan, though. So I don't think people will go to hell just for having a different culture/religion. What if their culture/religion tells them things opposed to in the Bible are virtuous? |
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Post by Miles, The Slightly Off on May 5, 2011 16:57:31 GMT -5
Unless I'm incorrect on this one, you do have to remember that a large amount of the comments are trolls...
And, as someone said earlier, the people on the main page can be a lot different than they are here...
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Post by Vene on May 5, 2011 16:58:18 GMT -5
Notice how nearly every single one of the comments are subtly agreeing with him. Hell, some of them are explicitly agreeing with him. And you guys wonder why anti-theism gives me a sour taste. Find a respected atheist who defends genocide and infanticide. I can find a respected theologian who does. See for yourself. |
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Post by Bluefinger on May 5, 2011 17:01:05 GMT -5
Notice how nearly every single one of the comments are subtly agreeing with him. Hell, some of them are explicitly agreeing with him. And you guys wonder why anti-theism gives me a sour taste. No, a lot of the comments weren't subtly agreeing. Quite a few were pointing out that it was no better than the religious fundies. Just because some would like to see the end of religion doesn't mean they agree with the quote's proposal. Even subtly/implicitly. Because they do recognise it just isn't right to force people's choices. Some of my views would count as being anti-theistic, because the issue I have is with dogma. But that does not mean I agree with that person's position. At all. |
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