***SSNL LIFE THREAD NOV***

[Wolfram]

Goddammit I can't believe I got sucked into debating religion...

Disclaimer: I'm not religous. I don't know what the correct definition is, and I don't much care, but I'm probably somewhere between an agnostic and an atheist. I do however have a healthy respect for other peoples religious beliefs.

re: the bible
I'm pretty sure Jay was just referring to the New Testament, which is what most Christians think of as the bible. The old testament is obv filled with tons of heinous stuff.

re: religion being +EV
This is just plainly silly. You could make the same argument for blindly believing in every superstition out there. If stepping on a crack might break my back should I go through life avoiding every crack in every single road I walk on?

re: atheistic morality
I get absolutely furious when religious people imply that since I don't believe in a higher moral authority I therefore can not be a moral person. Morality comes from inside us, not some big daddy in the sky that makes us behave. Are you implying if you suddenly lost your faith in god, you'd just run around killing, looting and raping?

It seems obvious to me that most religion is created as a giant pacifier for humans because we are conscious of our own mortality. It is also used as a means of teaching moral values (good), giving hope in dire times (goodish, can be deluded), controlling people (bad), and tons of other stuff.

Mostly I think that if there was a divine creator, he would be so beyond our understanding that blindly guessing what he is like or how he feels about us and what his "laws" are is optimistic at best. It's like saying a computer would be able to realize what a human is. I very much doubt he would be the petty, jealous, narcissistic control freak described in the bible.

[4_2_it]

Wolf,

I think either running into her at the supermarket or getting her number from your friend is fine. Both show her you are interested.

[orange]

lol i hate debating religion. there isn't ever a right or wrong answer and you're never going to change the other person's mind. right?

[4_2_it]

[ QUOTE ]
lol i hate debating religion. there isn't ever a right or wrong answer and you're never going to change the other person's mind. right?

[/ QUOTE ]

Orange, there is a right answer. It's just no one knows exactly what it is.

[Unknown Soldier]

i do, turns out mormons have it right.

[Worm75]

wow, I go away for a few days and this thread has gone far into left field.....

I wonder how many of us consider themselves religious people.

I'm far closer to Wolfram with my belief system than I am to any formal religion, the belief that their is some divine force that sees all knows all has a hard time fitting with my brain which generally needs actual evidence before I accept it.

But I also accept the possibility that it may exist, some times things really make me think there has to be something out there

[Worm75]

[ QUOTE ]
i do, turns out mormons have it right.

[/ QUOTE ]

Speaking of Mormons, has anyone here seen the episode about Mormons on South Park. So hilarious, and according to some friends of mine most of the episode is very true to what Mormons actually believe

[Unknown Soldier]

i was taking of sp actually. everyone goes to hell except the mormons in one episode.


yeah i love that episode

dum dum dum dum dum

[Wolfram]

[ QUOTE ]
lol i hate debating religion. there isn't ever a right or wrong answer and you're never going to change the other person's mind. right?

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, pretty much.

[Jay Riall]

[ QUOTE ]
re: the bible
I'm pretty sure Jay was just referring to the New Testament, which is what most Christians think of as the bible. The old testament is obv filled with tons of heinous stuff.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. A lot of the Old Testament I think is just as dumb as a lot of you do. In general people on this board seem think Christian views = right wing bible belt hick views which is completely misguided.