On Religion

[Danascot]

[TexasObserver]

1. IBTL!!

Why can't you let snake handlers serve their God?!

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. Made my day! thanks

[patrice]

3. A God by any other name is still a God. Anyone who claims that Reason is Absolute

doesn't know what Reason is.

[The_Commonist]

5. Huh?

M'kay...

[patrice]

14. Clue?

Many of us are in the habit of over-estimating the powers of Language.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. Can I nominate your answer for the greatest page?

I know I can't, but would if I could.

[patrice]

9. Thanks anyway and Good Morning! ayeshahaqqiqa!

:hi:

[rurallib]

10. Inreasonable!

[patrice]

11. I think (ha!) of it as areasonable.

:hi:

[Vickers]

4. I like pancakes!

:spank:

[Fearless]

7. Teacher says my nose won't bleed so much if I just kept my finger outta there.

[demwing]

8. On Atheism

[Mumble]

12. So, according to Einstein...

...we should all be agnostics to avoid being labeled a bigot or funny.

[Bluerthanblue]

13. maybe what Albert was saying was lets quit with the labeling?

and playing "king of the mountain"?

If any of us are secure in our belief, why do we need to try and convert others?

[Bluenorthwest]

16. I think what Albert meant was that no one

thus far is able to understand that which we do not yet understand, and to claim that one does is nothing but hubris. And it is also a lie.
Those who think they hold all mysteries and all unknowns in a neat box they can hold and wave at others are actually too small minded to even comprehend the nature of mystery. It takes intelligence and wisdom to feel free to look at things one does not understand and say 'I don't know'. To claim all knowlege takes only ego.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

17. I think you are right

That was my take on the quote.

[YOY]

15. Love this and the House quote.

Warms my agnostic little heart.

Thanks.

[PassingFair]

19. So much in that "nearly", no?

:rofl:

"nearly".

[demwing]

21. Wow. That was funny. Here's another quote to laugh on...

"Then there are the fanatical atheists whose intolerance is of the same kind as the intolerance of the religious fanatics and comes from the same source."
— Einstein to an unidentified adressee, Aug.7, 1941. Einstein Archive, reel 54-927, quoted in Jammer, p. 97

and even more fun -

"In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human understanding, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me for the support of such views."
— Prince Hubertus zu Löwenstein, Towards the Further Shore (Victor Gollancz, London, 1968), p. 156; quoted in Jammer, p. 97

[Occam Bandage]

28. Sure, so long as you recognize what he meant by "God."

Einstein wasn't much on the God of any religion. He believed in a majestic and incomprehensibly grand universe, and disliked "atheism" as the denial of any degree of such majesty. He was appreciative of a universe that could not be yet fully understood, and of the surprising order seen throughout it. He was also downright derisive of people who believed in an afterlife, or in the personal God of the Abrahamic religions. His 'religion' was perhaps principled agnosticism as regards deism, and atheism as regards theism proper.

[ironbark]

20. The 'eye's' have it.

House- Manic whites of eye's stare to run from.

Albert- Wouldn't hurt a fly, thoughtful and compasionate.


Perhaps local atheists now wish to invite us to pay heed to the thoughts/philosophy of a fictional character?

;-)

[demwing]

22. Ding Ding, we have a winner. I've benn waiting for someone to point this out!

House is a made up, fictional character. He does not exist.

Einstein is one of the great, rational thinkers of human history. A real (formerly), living and breathing soul.

The irony is rich.

Albert Einstein may not have held much respect for religious fanatics, but he didn't seem to invest much respect in atheists, either.

[Meshuga]

26. Sometimes fictional characters can teach us a lot of good truths

While I don't agree with the OP, it is my opinion that truth is truth even when it comes from fictional characters.

So, I missed the irony.

I can't see why Einstein would be used as a figure of authority here. I mean, I am sure atheists that I have met here realize that bigotry could come from an atheist as well. I have seen atheists in R/T (those who are accused of being mean) calling other atheists out for bigoted posts.

Or are you suggesting Einstein was a real life believer that counters a fictional House? Well, Einstein has been quoted saying the bible is fiction and that the belief in a personal God is childish. So he was an atheist to those who believe in a personal God and in the biblical stories. And mean spirited according to many believers who get upset with atheists who hold a similar position and post their opinion in R/T. In any case, Einstein was a Jew then perhaps his "theism" (if he ever consider himself a theist or agnostic) was based on a Kaplanian God which can be considered to be non-theistic and sometimes slightly agnostic in a Christian context.

[demwing]

27. You support the House reference

because "truth is truth even when it comes from fictional characters."

Yet you question whether Einstein is a figure of authority? I thought truth is truth even when it comes from fictional characters? Shouldn't the same be said for truth spoken by actual, historic persons?

And to answer your question, Einstein is ABSOLUTELY a figure of authority. Will you allow that Einstein understood a little bit about the mathematics of the universe? Surely a man of reason and rationality, agreed? Yet you seem to want to diminish his authority by having me cast him in the role of believer, or support staff to the the believer. Are the only authorities those whom agree with the atheists?

Here's a great quote from Einstein that I think draws an excellent picture of his beliefs, after clearing away imposed labels:

"I'm not an atheist. I don't think I can call myself a pantheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws.

[Meshuga]

30. If you partially quote me...

...Instead of adding the entire quote you could say that I support the House reference. But you will see that I don't support the House reference if you read that post carefully.

I am merely saying that fictional character can tell truths and sometimes even more than real people. That doesn't negate the opposite is also true. So I don't understand the irony in using a fictional character to make a point. You see the irony so I would like to know why. And going further by comparing House to Einstein as if Einstein's opinion has more authority in how someone should view belief and lack of belief. In that regard he is an authority to himself in how he chooses to believe or not believe but that is about it. And he is definitely an authority in theoretical physics. But who is saying anything different?

Einstein was a man of reason and rationality IMO but I will diminish the authority of a physicist in regards to belief. And I only say this because I am confused as to why he is being compared to House. You see, I understand the point made in the image you posted with his quote "The bigotry of the nonbeliever is for me nearly as funny as the bigotry of the believer" but the title "On Atheism" changes the context in a very misleading way.

[Why Syzygy]

23. According to a Chinese

healing manual I read a couple of decades ago, that white showing under the iris is the mark of someone who is very fatigued, and possibly to the degree of being ill. He should eat some brown rice.

[ironbark]

24. If you encounter someone with that much white under the iris

please don't pause to offer them some brown rice.


Drop some change as you run away and let them get their own.

Lest you be the meal they are seeking ;-)

[Random_Australian]

25. Wait, you make a judgement based on a fictional characters looks,

and then jibe at the 'local atheists' for paying attention to a fictional character?

Let's just recap:


In your accusations:

You: Have not used fictional characters
The Evul Local Atheist Gang: Have used fictional characters

In reality:
You: Have used fictional characters
Atheists! Atheists! They're everywhere, I know it!: Have not used fictional characters.

Are you for real? <----- a pun worthy of a groan.

[ironbark]

29. Ahhhh….So many ‘evils’.

To ‘sin’ is to ‘miss the mark’.
An ‘evil’ is the point at which the arrow lands having missed the mark.
Your post contains (at least) eight evils.

1/ My ‘judgement’ (manic eyes) was not based on “a fictional characters looks”.
It was based on the actors eyes as he portrays a fictional character.

2/ I made no “jibe at the 'local atheists' for paying attention to a fictional character”…I asked a
question. A ‘jibe’ would be to suggest that local atheists don’t like pertinent questions
because they rarely ever answer any ;-)

3/ My “accusations”?... I made none. You sin again, miss the mark and leave an evil.

4/ The “Evul Local Atheist Gang”…. is your observation/accusation not mine. Go and sin no more.

5/ I “Have used fictional characters”? A claim to vague for verification or comprehension.

6/ “Atheists! Atheists! They're everywhere, I know it!”………..???.......Even more obscure/
incomprehensible than the previous. An evil far from the mark of comprehension.

7/ “Are you for real? <----- a pun worthy of a groan.”
If there is a pun therein it missed entirely……I did however appreciate the little arrow.

8/ a;You entirely miss the irony of a fictional character/quote being put forward as a pin up boy
for athiesm b; You confuse the ironic question with an objection or accusation....and missed the
bemused laughter entirely.

You will find a six pack of XXXX takes the edge off taking such things too seriously ;-)

[Random_Australian]

31. Heh, me taking things too seriously, or seriously at all. That'll be the day.

Incoming tl; dr.

First, I will admit that I love the little arrow things. They are very neat and aesthetic.

To 'moovumber' is to 'miss the david'
An 'PantaLOONS!' is where the "ARGH CUCUMBERS CHURCH OF ENGLAND IS FIRE ARGH!" lands having missed the david.

You post contains a purely real number of PantaLOONS!

1/ Your judgement was "House- Manic whites of eye's stare to run from". Unless I am mistaken, mania is part of the act/positioning and makeup the the photo/careful acting et cetera. ie, fictional.

2) Yes, you asked a question. It is, however, still a jibe. For instance, "you smell, don't you?" is a question and a jibe. When will these things stop with their simultaneous 'question and jibe at the same time' stuff? It's freakin' me out, man.

3; You accusations? Yes, you asked a question. See the discussion on something being a question and being something else at the same time (dun dun dunnnnnnnnn), above.

4% The “Evul Local Atheist Gang” is indeed my observation. Ok, being serious for a rare second, I can see how you'd think I was implying you thought that. I wasn't. That's just how I speak about atheists and atheism.

5~~~ You have used fictional characters. "House- Manic whites of eye's stare to run from." Go and make some more pantaloons, but this time do the stitching right.

6 ASCII CODE SYMBOL HERE ARGH: “Atheists! Atheists! They're everywhere, I know it!” Yeah, sorry, this is like #4 - just how I talk about the dreaded atheist conspiracy.

(I am quite fair, though. If this was about catholics, for example, I'd call them 'The Death Cookie Frisbee Crew' or something. Have to be a bit careful with other people's religions, though. I'd just like to point out that my odd ways of talking are more about not taking this thing seriously, and less about trying to cast a particular light on a particular group)

7> “Are you for real? <----- a pun worthy of a groan.” Hmmm, maybe the pun was fictional <-----. But since you liked the arrow so much, I've pointed out this next joke with a similar arrow.

tl; dr
8/ "a;You entirely miss the irony of a fictional character/quote being put forward as a pin up boy
for athiesm"

No, no I don't. I think it's great. I love to use fictional characters in all sorts of arguments and gedanken.

Do you know what I think is better than the 'house' image? This one: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=214&topic_id=204740&mesg_id=204754

And I probably did miss the bemused laughter. It's a lot quieter than my loud ranting, babbling laughter at all things shiny.

Oh man, shiny things.

But as for the six-pack, I'm afraid I must turn you down: I never drink or smoke or nothing. Not even coffee. :(

[TexasObserver]

18. Should have said IBTL and the transfer to the religious dungeon.