insulting religions

[IneedAgoldenNickname]

Hi, I've never posted on this topic before, I tend to hang out in aibu, but don't want to start a bun fight!

So, I am a liberal Christian. I firmly believe that everyone had to right to believe (or not) whatever they want, provided that belief doesn't hurt anyone else.

Earlier today I posted a lighthearted status on Facebook, which had led to me being called mindless, stupid, stuck up, thinking I'm better than everyone else. I've been told God is a c**t (sorry I hate that word so much I won't type it) and that the Bible is only God for loo roll!

I'm just really angry that people think its ok to insult me/my religion like that, when I haven't once preached or insulted others.

Obviously the easy solution would be to delete them off of Facebook, but they are people I get on with other wise.

Don't really know the point of my post, just hoping id feel better writing it down.

Hi Feeling and Wallison.

JJKM I think we addressed the impotence of cold statistics further up thread.

sorry xpost jjkm

^ I'd like to see a breakdown of life expectancy among all religions.

Non-believers: 65
Believers: forever

Do believing aliens also live forever, I wonder, or is it just one set of beings on one little planet out of the whole gigantic universe that was created just for us in order to worship whatever deity is out there? Only it seems like a bit of a bloody old faff to go to in order to be worshipped by one set of creatures who didn't even exist for most of the world's history when that world comprises a tiny tiny fraction of what is out there.

Wallison

Oh see I can't even pick a tech I ally accurate example. I meant to put one that just illustrates the British society was originally based on Christian values.

As for life expectancy, I would have thought that's much more to do with genetic heritage, environmental and lifestyle factors.

Maybe the believing Zorgians will meet up with the believing Earthlings in Heaven. Sounds like fun - slightly less boring than Heaven generally sounds anyway (wink)

I mean Pffff..........

Ellie, I know what an analogy is. I also know what an after dinner witticism is. To draw an analogy between an after dinner witticism and evidence is ridiculous.

Tell me more, jjkm? What makes you think that - this was DadOnIce's question earlier so I'm sure he will be interested.

welcome feelinggood :)

Dione A thread with 800+ comments on, and all you can manage is to steam in over an analogy that you've misunderstood?

To draw an analogy between an after dinner witticism and evidence is ridiculous

This proves 100% that you don't, in fact, have the faintest idea what an analogy is. And I wasn't offering "evidence" of anything.

Not interested in trying to educate yet another person in something that's fairly basic. Sorry.

Is it any wonder that you believe fairytales?

Part of the frustration with these conversations is that they always seem to reset to zero. For every Christian who genuinely understands what atheism is, there's another who wilfully ignores it or just doesn't get it. You have to expend a lot of your argument energy "doing the 101", and trying not to sigh and say "Didn't we do all this last month?"

I remember Richard Dawkins saying that what frustrates him most is that, in trying to do his job, there are people who will question the very validity of his discipline - that it's like trying to teach Latin but having to spend 50% of each lesson addressing the myths that Romans didn't exist, that Latin is a made-up language, that Roman history is a Victorian idea and that Roman relics in museums are all fabricated.

Thanks for hellos.

I feel really stupid for asking this but I want to know how believers of any deity can and do have faith in the intangible and unprovable (IMO)

I often wonder if the authors of scriptures / bibles loved in today's times would they write the same things re about how gods do this and that?

sunflowersfollowthesun 12.00 today

Your post has been bothering me.
When I restarted this afternoon, I somewhat started at the most recent post, and had intended to work my way back. But other questions then came in.

I have to be very careful here.
You say you were "educated in the faith and then rejected it"
Did you become a Christian, or were you taught about it, and didnt become one?
You dont have to answer that if you dont want to, or I am happy to pm with you if you wanted to.

DadOnIce. If I were you I would have a set piece ready.
I think it would have saved you some angst, on this thread for example, to write out a standard set piece.

Welcome to all the new posters.

Dad, yes I can see that is frustrating, and actually, it can be exactly the same from a believer POV. The threads go round and round in circles, you've explained the same thing a hundred times (for example, counteracted the Mithras-is-like-Jesus myth or the 'Bible has been copied so many times it's lost all it's original meaning' myth, even before contending with the 'all Christians are misogynisitc/homophobic/generally thick' comments.

It's all part and parcel though, so I guess if we keep deciding to join these threads we must live with the same old stuff. It can be refreshing to get some different takes on it all :)

MadHairDay, I only come on these sorts of threads about once every 3 months, partly because I would bore myself to repeat much of what I say!

Ellie, read your post. You started off by saying that there is some evidence showing that people of religion/faith show higher degrees of happiness. You then drew an analogy between this evidence and a quip you attributed to GBS regarding being drunk or sober.

To me these two things (drunkeness and faith and evidence and witticisms) are in no way comparable therefore I think that your analogy is ridiculous.

FACT: There IS some evidence that believers are happier than non-believers.

STOP

MY OPINION: In a debate about whether or not God exists this FACT is meaningless. GBS explained this to intelligent people who would understand with an analogy.

The analogy is not evidence that the fact is or is not true . It demonstrates why I personally think it proves nothing in a debate about the existence of God.

But, Dione since you're asking - I thinking hiding from reality in a bottle of vodka is not totally unlike hiding from it behind the bronze age myths of a Palestinian desert tribe.

Happy now :)

Hi million,
Can't imagine why my post has been bothering you, it doesn't bother me in the least.
I meant, I was born into a catholic family, and received all the sacramental milestones that entails. Baptism, confession, holy communion, confirmation. I was taught by nuns all my academic life, attending a catholic primary school and convent grammar secondary schools. Then I grew up and started thinking for myself. I was probably around 14 when I started asking awkward questions. I read extensively,finding myself particularly interested in our indigenous pre christian cunning folk (who tended to be pagan) and while I don't "believe" in their gods any more than the christian god now, I do have great respect for their sense of balance (male/female) and their affinity with the natural world as they understood it.
Don't know why you feel you have to tiptoe round your question?

This was a good debate. It's dissolved into idiocy for me.

Thank you, Mad & Amillion for a really stimulating discussion. I expect we'll cross paths again sooner or later :)