tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071813.post3953565494452878875..comments2024-03-25T02:16:16.247-07:00Comments on Christ the Tao: Gnu civil warUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071813.post-63844788913897721712014-07-29T19:10:02.129-07:002014-07-29T19:10:02.129-07:00Unwanted circumstances blind us so much that the c...Unwanted circumstances blind us so much that the corollary of such question escapes from our notice. It begins to rise when we start to focus again on ourselves, the "me" in the question, and forget the significant Other Who is behind the wonder of it all, the "why" in the question.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ilchileesedona.com/" rel="nofollow">Ilchi Lee Books</a>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16670555733276277896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071813.post-38376978378337119382012-08-01T01:01:04.806-07:002012-08-01T01:01:04.806-07:00Not much to add, except:
LOLOLOLOLOL at "Gnu...Not much to add, except:<br /><br />LOLOLOLOLOL at "Gnuistan!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071813.post-12241331047135142032012-07-05T05:44:31.927-07:002012-07-05T05:44:31.927-07:00“As an atheist, I am saddened at the foibles of my...“As an atheist, I am saddened at the foibles of my fellows.” I slightly disagree with the way this has been phrased – just because someone is an atheist does not mean I have any more fellowship with them than I do with anyone else. It would be better to say, "As a human being, I am saddened by the foibles of my fellow human beings". <br /><br />And in this case even that doesn’t quite do the trick, since “Elevator-gate” is merely farcical and comical, and there is nothing in this storm in a tea-cup that merits being sad about.Brian Barringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11025043345722806768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071813.post-74092734266858909332012-07-05T05:13:56.696-07:002012-07-05T05:13:56.696-07:00Doc Johnny, I agree and I’m also an atheist. The i...Doc Johnny, I agree and I’m also an atheist. The idea that you can have an “atheist movement” with “atheist conventions” and “atheist organisations” with “atheist leaders” is fairly ridiculous to me. Atheists just don’t form any kind of coherent group. In a way, it’s a hopeless attempt to try and mimic the structures of organised religion. My sense is what you tend to get in atheist organisations etc. are people who have some personal reason to be bitter against religion – which would make these organisations more like meeting groups for battered spouses or recovering alcoholics or something like that.<br />I also agree that it is not at all clear that if there was no religion the world would be a better place – if many or most people are naturally religious then it seems to me that ridding the world of religion would be tyrannical and wrong.<br />And the use of the word “Atheist” as a primary self-label or self-definition makes little sense – people who do that are defining themselves in relation to what they do not believe in – so they are still kind of being defined by the thing they do not believe in, albeit negatively, which is kind of odd when you think about it. If I had to describe myself in one word I would say “Humanist”<br />Having said that, overall I think Dawkins and company have achieved some useful things –they have made it easier for people to be openly atheist and may have helped some people discover that they aren’t really religious at all. Also, in every library or bookshop now there will be at least a few books explicitly for atheists – previously that was not the case. So these are good achievements – Dawkins deserves credit for that.Brian Barringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11025043345722806768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071813.post-26870961148025875062012-07-04T22:45:45.217-07:002012-07-04T22:45:45.217-07:00I don't care for much of the "atheist mov...I don't care for much of the "atheist movement" nowadays. I think atheist is a description of a minor part of who I am, but nothing that merits a movement.<br /><br />Atheism is a consequence, not a philosophy. Rationalism, empiricism, those are worthy things upon which to build a movement. Atheism is nothing, much like a-unicorn-ism.<br /><br />Also, so many atheists are so bitter about religion. Undoubtedly religion has caused and still causes great suffering. But let's look at it rationally. Is religion itself the root cause? Can we prove that? Is there proof that the world would be better off without any religion? I think it would be disingenuous to say there is proof.<br /><br />I think irrationality, lack of empathy, and self-righteousness all cause suffering. And I don't think religion has a monopoly on these things.Doc Johnnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06000248472155769816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071813.post-70921816641836820182012-07-04T13:20:58.119-07:002012-07-04T13:20:58.119-07:00I appreciate your honesty.
Of course, while adm...I appreciate your honesty. <br /><br />Of course, while admitting that "cults of personality" do often grow up in the Christian church, I would argue that the Gospels present us something more like the anti-cult, a cure for cults of personality. (Following psychologically insightful observers like Rene Girard and M. Scott Peck.)<br /><br />But that probably merits a separate post.David B Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04029133398946303654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071813.post-90335410519768711062012-07-04T13:06:13.708-07:002012-07-04T13:06:13.708-07:00Oy vey.
I can't deny that some of the people ...Oy vey.<br /><br />I can't deny that some of the people involved behave in a very cultish fashion. Cults of personality are not good things, whether the object be a carpenter or a biologist. The ideas should be what matter.<br /><br />Freethoughtblogs seems an incredibly hostile place unless you subscribe to a particular ideology, which unfortunately is apparently not subject to debate or discussion.<br /><br />I think at some point people started having contempt for civility.Doc Johnnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06000248472155769816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071813.post-6040377033788566082012-07-04T10:05:24.412-07:002012-07-04T10:05:24.412-07:00It doesn't help that the loudest and most veno...It doesn't help that the loudest and most venomous happened to be some of the Cult of Gnu's de facto leadership.Crudehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04178390947423928444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071813.post-26555210814679024392012-07-04T08:42:21.673-07:002012-07-04T08:42:21.673-07:00True enough. I actually thought Paula Kirby's...True enough. I actually thought Paula Kirby's analysis was pretty level-headed, though she was excoriated for it at Pharyngula.David B Marshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04029133398946303654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5071813.post-72018169863339754662012-07-04T08:26:41.906-07:002012-07-04T08:26:41.906-07:00As an atheist, I am saddened at the foibles of my ...As an atheist, I am saddened at the foibles of my fellows. I agree with much of your article. Although I think the cure is for people to act reasonably and rationally. An in depth look at the matter will reveal that a number of atheists have remained calm and acknowledged that all sides have a point and have engaged in talking past one another. But as is the case with most things, the loudest and the most venomous attract the most attention.Doc Johnnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06000248472155769816noreply@blogger.com