Muhammed the Teddy Bear

[DoesntMatter]

I love studying philosophy. I love reading about guys like Aquinas and Descartes. They were absolutely brilliant men. But when it came to religion for some oddball reason they each wrote a load of outlandish nonsense that any Phil101 student can tear apart with ease.

Religion clouds the mind. It obscures. So yes, there are religious intellectuals out there. And they may be masters in their particular subjects. But they're still a bunch of bumbling, irrational sods when it comes to god.

At least humble yourself enough to say A god might exist.

BTW, my roommate (who is an engineering physics major at the best undergraduate physics engineering school in the country) has to read Descartes for his English class and told me philosophy was the greatest heap of shit he's even seen in his life.

[DoesntMatter]

The old testament and the new testament shouldn't even be in the same book. The old testament is a book of primitive laws and metaphorical stories that were designed to apply to the people of the time; nomadic desert dwellers. The new testament is the part that actually applies to the modern religion of Christianity. Most of the hatred from "bible-thumpers" comes from misinterpreting the old testament, or taking it too literally.

Thank you for stating the obvious that many people want to overlook

[vashti]

Don't kid yourselves, boys. You make it seem as though the Hebrew bible is dead. It isn't. Many Jews and Christians consider it to be the eternal word of God. Without it, the Christian bible ceases to have meaning, and Christianity wouldn't exist.

And BTW - you make it sound as though the New Testament is somehow superior. Allow me to remind you that although God is portrayed as loving and kind in the New Testament, he punishes you eternally and harshly for a lack of belief (not a bad behavior, but a wrong belief!). The God of the Hebrew bible punishes you immediately and harshly, but in the end forgives everything.

I think philosophy rocks!

[DoesntMatter]

I just want to say that I really love you all and hopefully we can all still be friends when this thread is through



BTW, it gave me the idea... Imagine getting into an intense argument with your girlfriend, I wonder what the sex would be like after

[EmoBlackBelt]

Don't kid yourselves, boys. You make it seem as though the Hebrew bible is dead. It isn't. Many Jews and Christians consider it to be the eternal word of God. Without it, the Christian bible ceases to have meaning, and Christianity wouldn't exist.

I just don't like the way "Christians" pick and choose the parts of the old testament that they want to follow. "Well, I'm not gay, so it's ok to hate gays. But I sure do love porkchops, so let's ignore the part about eating pigs."

I believe there is a lot of truth in all parts of the Bible, and probably much of the Quran, although I'll admit I've never read it. It just needs to be viewed logically and with an open mind. Completely literal interpretation of anything leads to intolerance and misunderstanding.

[DoesntMatter]

I think philosophy rocks!

I think you rock vashti

[EmoBlackBelt]

BTW, it gave me the idea... Imagine getting into an intense argument with your girlfriend, I wonder what the sex would be like after

Good idea! Who has a webcam?

[IndiReloaded]

Haha! Haven't you ever met a (genuinely) religious person who didn't want something from you?

Vash, if I answer that honesty & add replace the word 'want' with 'expect', I'd honestly have to answer with a solid NO.

Hope & inspiration can be offered without the trappings of organized religion. As I've said before, its the institution I object to, not the belief structure itself, tho a lot (but not all) of that is offensive also, IMO.

And we have clergy in our family, FYI (as well as a truckload of scientists, yes), so I'm not speaking from a position of ignorance.

he punishes you eternally and harshly for a lack of belief (not a bad behavior, but a wrong belief!)

Guess I'm in for some bad times then. If suffering is the price of finding out whether there is a God or not, I say 'Bring it on!'

But I think I'll be waiting a long while for the answer...

[Gribble]

I'm not trying to justify Islam. I'm trying to point out that religion, by any label, is shit.

And although I may argue vehemently, and although I may completely trash your religion, I still respect the person... somewhere deep down. So don't worry, DM. I'm not going to hound you like a frothing asshole outside of this debate. Nor do I think any less of you. As I said, some of the men I admire most believed very strongly in their god.

[vashti]

Vash, if I answer that honesty & add replace the word 'want' with 'expect', I'd honestly have to answer with a solid NO.

Hope & inspiration can be offered without the trappings of organized religion. As I've said before, its the institution I object to, not the belief structure itself, tho a lot (but not all) of that is offensive also, IMO.

Hmm... I actually have met a number of religious people who expect nothing more of me than I be a decent person...

I agree, though, that religion can (and often IS) used for the wrong thing. I believe you know I am an agnostic, and so I won't defend the use of religious belief/hope for bad behavior.

[Illusional]

call me heartless, but this doesn't actually bother me. not one bit at all.

raverboy

[EmoBlackBelt]

I think it's interesting that the ad at the bottom of the page is something about teddy bears.

[IndiReloaded]

Hmm... I actually have met a number of religious people who expect nothing more of me than I be a decent person...

Sure, me too if you count casual acquaintances. But as soon as its either a social or work relationship of even minimal depth I've found they start to want to somehow justify their faith to me. Awkward to tell an employee you don't really give a crap why they can't come in & work on Sunday if they are scheduled for it.

Perhaps its a response to my openly non-religious lifestyle, and their desire to 'rescue' an otherwise reasonable person, lol. For me, religion is like sex: do what you want so long as its in the privacy of your own home. And then leave it there when its time to interact w/society (I had a guy who wouldn't shake my hand b/c it was against his religion--and me clearly his 'superior' in social status, as far as the interaction went). As for family, I'm not even touching the hoops I've had to jump on that one. Rings of fire doesn't even begin to describe those, ha.

[Illusional]

nope, the ad again changed to "rainbow christians" which looks lie two gay guys who are in love.. .sick.

raverboy

[Gribble]

At least humble yourself enough to say A god might exist.

BTW, my roommate (who is an engineering physics major at the best undergraduate physics engineering school in the country) has to read Descartes for his English class and told me philosophy was the greatest heap of shit he's even seen in his life.

I admit that there might be an entity that fits the definition of god. I even admit that your god might exist. However, I think that's about as likely as me finding Smurfs living in a patch of mushrooms. Therefore, like any rational human being, I assume that your god does not exist.

Your friend has a shallow mind. It's a shame. Philosophy, mathematics and physics are tightly linked. But asking a kid to read Descartes in an English course is absurd. You can't hope to understand Descartes merely by reading about him and writing a brief essay.