General Discussion

Warren DeMontague

(80,708 posts)

9. Again, it's important to define terms, something many THEISTS seem practically allergic to doing.

Wed Feb 29, 2012, 05:46 PM

Feb 2012

People also like to dodge the question by going, "oh, I'm an agnostic". Yeah, I'm agnostic on a LOT of things for which there's no objective evidence; leprechauns, unicorns, the tooth fairy. As far as I'm concerned, the jury's still out, in a sense. Evidence could come along at some point to tell me that, yes, there is an invisible 500 foot tall orangutan living on my roof.

Even the question, "Do you believe in God", frames a duality pertaining to a singular, objective, mutually agreed upon and at least generally defined entity where none such general consensus exists. Or to put it another way, which "God"? How about you define the friggin' thing before you expect people to say whether they "believe" in it or not?

Is it "very stupid" to say you don't believe in the Greek Gods? The Roman Gods? Quetzlcoatl? Pan? Eris? Ra? Osiris?

I'd like to see the actual Sagan quote, along with context, please.

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Carl Sagan on Life... and the "After-Life": [View all] MiddleFingerMom Feb 2012 OP

Love this! n/t zappaman Feb 2012 #1

K&R Gold Metal Flake Feb 2012 #2

"An atheist has to know a lot more than I know." - Carl Sagan onehandle Feb 2012 #3

Again, it's important to define terms, something many THEISTS seem practically allergic to doing. Warren DeMontague Feb 2012 #9

It's from Wikipedia. onehandle Feb 2012 #13

Edit: I DONT THINK HE SAID IT. My point is, Atheism simply means a lack of belief in a God or Gods. Warren DeMontague Feb 2012 #18

Hmm. Some yahoo in the comments of 'skeptic.com,' vs. the Washington Post and my wife... onehandle Feb 2012 #22

The yahoo is whoever edited the wikipedia page with improper sourcing. Warren DeMontague Mar 2012 #26

And nothing in that section conflicts with the other section. onehandle Mar 2012 #29

Apparently in your zeal- for whatever reason- to slam Atheists-as-a-class, you missed the part about Warren DeMontague Mar 2012 #32

Uh, ok... Wasn't 'slamming' anyone, but if you have a problem with that Sagan quote... onehandle Mar 2012 #35

Okay. You took a totally out of context quote of dubious origin which runs COMPLETELY against the Warren DeMontague Mar 2012 #36

thanks for doing that searching iverglas Mar 2012 #40

As has been noted elsewhere, most if not all theists are also atheists or unbelievers on the subject Warren DeMontague Mar 2012 #41

You claim to have been personally close to Sagan, and you think it's okay to slam Atheists? Warren DeMontague Mar 2012 #27

"you think it's okay to slam Atheists?" MiddleFingerMom Mar 2012 #39

To try to pretend that Carl Sagan- whose life was dedicated to promoting science & rational thought- Warren DeMontague Mar 2012 #42

uh-huh - same... SAME... as them (but but but) MiddleFingerMom Mar 2012 #44

Not following. Warren DeMontague Mar 2012 #45

Richard Dawkins put it so well hifiguy Mar 2012 #31

Stop bigoted bashing bashing bigotry bash bash bigot bigot anti religion bigot Warren DeMontague Mar 2012 #33

LOL! hifiguy Mar 2012 #34

Using that definition, even Richard Dawkins isn't an atheist pokerfan Feb 2012 #16

I think, especially if you're a fan of Sagan, you should delete this post. Warren DeMontague Feb 2012 #21

No. See #22. nt onehandle Feb 2012 #23

no attribution, fail got root Mar 2012 #30

K&R, with a little tear. Brickbat Feb 2012 #4

What are his current thoughts on the after-life? nt Snake Alchemist Feb 2012 #5

I doubt that he has any current thoughts. He is dead. n/t RebelOne Feb 2012 #7

Exactly, his thoughts and comment on the after-life would be MUCH more relevant. nt Snake Alchemist Feb 2012 #8

Yes, because everyone who is dead is, by definition, wrong about everything they ever said. Warren DeMontague Feb 2012 #10

Who says he's wrong? Snake Alchemist Feb 2012 #11

experience, by some definitions, requires existence. Warren DeMontague Feb 2012 #12

And thus Plucketeer Feb 2012 #6

I saw several interviews with Sagan, incl. one where he discussed God. Honeycombe8 Feb 2012 #14

The Buddhist view, as I understand it, is NOT that life on earth is wonderful. Honeycombe8 Feb 2012 #15

Thanks for the post. Sagan is a great role model. Better Believe It Feb 2012 #17

We were blessed with a big brain so we could tell ouselves fairytales and that we're important. Tierra_y_Libertad Feb 2012 #19

I myself believe in a general afterlife but this didn't stop me from reccing this awesome 'toon. nt AverageJoe90 Feb 2012 #20

It is a good toon. Sagan was excellent in handling all concepts fairly. nt onehandle Mar 2012 #24

I can only tell you what I know myself, what I experienced and felt and touched. roguevalley Mar 2012 #25

Simply awesome. No other way to put it. =) AverageJoe90 Mar 2012 #28

me too. My dad had two and he came through them changed profoundly. it is the most roguevalley Mar 2012 #38

Carl Sagan did NOT claim to believe in "God" or "Afterlife". He also was a pot smoker. Warren DeMontague Mar 2012 #37

.. mdmc Mar 2012 #43

.. mdmc Mar 2012 #46