Comic Discussion > QUESTIONABLE CONTENT
Atheist Penelope
Delirium:
--- Quote from: Alex C on 27 Aug 2009, 12:16 ---I'd rather be a militaristic atheist than the sort of Pollyannish person who dodges the issue entirely and asks instead that religious people merely "keep it to themselves" and cannot even fathom having a strong stance on the subject one way or the other. Religions routinely make profound claims about the nature of the universe. It's important to debate and discuss these ideas because whether they're true or not has ethical and moral implications that spill over to day to day life whether people acknowledge it or not. To essentially tell an evangelist "Well, yes, I realize you believe there's an absolute moral authority to the universe. But to be honest, I'd rather be watching TV right now" is a bit condescending in its own right when you consider the enormity of their claims. I disagree with them quite strongly but I don't really discount what they have to say out of hand either.
--- End quote ---
I'd be perfectly happy to leave everyone to their own beliefs as long as they keep them to themselves, but to be honest, most don't. As long as they're doing shit like legislating against abortion/proper sex-ed/LGBT rights/etc, brainwashing their children, or attempting to institute sharia law, I see it as my human obligation to attempt to disillusion them of their beliefs by any means necessary.
KeepACoolin:
You do realize that "keeping it to yourself" does not really mesh with beliefs like those of Christianity, right? If I genuinely believe (as I do) that everything is at stake depending on a person's relationship with God, and I "keep it to myself," am I not quite literally telling you "go to hell?" That's a lot like suggesting that doctors and their newfangled "medicine" keep it to themselves.
Obviously, I know you think that Christianity is pointless (or, possibly, if you are a Hitchens disciple, positively harmful), but remember that from my perspective it is vitally important that you believe in certain things and act in certain ways.
Delirium:
I have no problem with you telling me of your beliefs and why I should believe in them, as long as you do not persist when I ask you to stop. After that, it is harassment by any definition.
KeepACoolin:
--- Quote from: Jeans on 27 Aug 2009, 16:30 ---
--- Quote from: Delirium on 27 Aug 2009, 14:54 ---brainwashing their children,
--- End quote ---
In that case, shouldn't you be railing against any religion that survives for longer than one generation? Paraphrasing Doug Stanhope, and probably lots of other people as well - if you hadn't been indoctrinated by your parents from the times when you still believed Santa was real, and just so happened upon the bible in a used bookstore, you're not going to convert to Christianity.
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I know tons of adult converts, or late-teen converts from non-Christian homes. It happens all the time. It happened to Europe, essentially. Undoubtedly more people who are Christian had at least some exposure to it in their homes, but not by any means all of them.
cerement:
As a friend once reminded me, even if Heaven exists, all the really interesting people are going to be in Hell. Mark Twain certainly isn't getting into Heaven. No way is anyone allowing Sir Richard Burton into Heaven. And the Christian Bible makes it pretty clear that even if you are good, you're not getting in unless you believe. So no long discussions on traveling with Ibn Battuta, no sitting and meditating with Buddha, no sharing a joke or erotic poem with Rumi ...
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