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Post by Arlon10 on Jun 4, 2018 0:00:53 GMT
Some people worship money. They base almost every decision on getting and holding onto the most money.
Some people worship physical attractiveness. They base almost every decision on what the beautiful people do. If the beautiful people eat polenta, they'll eat polenta.
Some people "worship" military prowess. Right is whatever the people with the most might say it is. They believe that if you had any sense you would use the threat of violence to establish not only property, but truth. Truth is whatever the people with the most might say it is.
Some people worship science. At least they think something like that. Quite often such people are more fond of science than capable of it though. Things that are not science at all successfully parade as science because of the people who are not capable of science but believe in what they think is science. Another problem with worshiping science is that most issues in society become issues because no one agrees what the problem is. If no one agrees what the problem is, then science cannot solve it.
Those are the four main "false" gods. What about television though? Do you base your important life decisions on what the television says? Or television and that part of the internet backed by television? Do you believe what the television says without question? How many hours per day do you spend watching television? If you depend on television, why? Is it because you assume the work has all been done and there is no more scrutiny required? What work? By whom?
The amazing thing about the people who claim "there is no god" is that there are very obviously several. I just named five of them. There are more like those. One poster here recently said that you can see how people "created" the gods step by step in the Mahabharata. So what? Why shouldn't austerity or serenity be god? Is it not true that Hindus in general place a higher value on austerity and or serenity? How do you know austerity and or serenity didn't create anything special before history? That process by the way happens to be very scientific. It is however a very introspective science. Western science is not introspective. Some of you, not the best or most scientific, forbid science to be introspective. What good is a "science" that has no idea who we are inside?
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Post by goz on Jun 4, 2018 1:53:05 GMT
Some people worship money. They base almost every decision on getting and holding onto the most money. Some people worship physical attractiveness. They base almost every decision on what the beautiful people do. If the beautiful people eat polenta, they'll eat polenta. Some people "worship" military prowess. Right is whatever the people with the most might say it is. They believe that if you had any sense you would use the threat of violence to establish not only property, but truth. Truth is whatever the people with the most might say it is. Some people worship science. At least they think something like that. Quite often such people are more fond of science than capable of it though. Things that are not science at all successfully parade as science because of the people who are not capable of science but believe in what they think is science. Another problem with worshiping science is that most issues in society become issues because no one agrees what the problem is. If no one agrees what the problem is, then science cannot solve it. Those are the four main "false" gods. What about television though? Do you base your important life decisions on what the television says? Or television and that part of the internet backed by television? Do you believe what the television says without question? How many hours per day do you spend watching television? If you depend on television, why? Is it because you assume the work has all been done and there is no more scrutiny required? What work? By whom? The amazing thing about the people who claim "there is no god" is that there are very obviously several. I just named five of them. There are more like those. One poster here recently said that you can see how people "created" the gods step by step in the Mahabharata. So what? Why shouldn't austerity or serenity be god? Is it not true that Hindus in general place a higher value on austerity and or serenity? How do you know austerity and or serenity didn't create anything special before history? That process by the way happens to be very scientific. It is however a very introspective science. Western science is not introspective. Some of you, not the best or most scientific, forbid science to be introspective. What good is a "science" that has no idea who we are inside? As an agnostic atheist, I have no need nor belief in any God or gods, let alone any of the ones that you mention as 'gods'. Why would I?
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Post by them1ghtyhumph on Jun 4, 2018 2:27:37 GMT
The Earth is as close as I have to a god, as it created me, provided for my existance, and after my death, will recycle me.
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Post by Arlon10 on Jun 4, 2018 2:32:42 GMT
Some people worship money. They base almost every decision on getting and holding onto the most money. Some people worship physical attractiveness. They base almost every decision on what the beautiful people do. If the beautiful people eat polenta, they'll eat polenta. Some people "worship" military prowess. Right is whatever the people with the most might say it is. They believe that if you had any sense you would use the threat of violence to establish not only property, but truth. Truth is whatever the people with the most might say it is. Some people worship science. At least they think something like that. Quite often such people are more fond of science than capable of it though. Things that are not science at all successfully parade as science because of the people who are not capable of science but believe in what they think is science. Another problem with worshiping science is that most issues in society become issues because no one agrees what the problem is. If no one agrees what the problem is, then science cannot solve it. Those are the four main "false" gods. What about television though? Do you base your important life decisions on what the television says? Or television and that part of the internet backed by television? Do you believe what the television says without question? How many hours per day do you spend watching television? If you depend on television, why? Is it because you assume the work has all been done and there is no more scrutiny required? What work? By whom? The amazing thing about the people who claim "there is no god" is that there are very obviously several. I just named five of them. There are more like those. One poster here recently said that you can see how people "created" the gods step by step in the Mahabharata. So what? Why shouldn't austerity or serenity be god? Is it not true that Hindus in general place a higher value on austerity and or serenity? How do you know austerity and or serenity didn't create anything special before history? That process by the way happens to be very scientific. It is however a very introspective science. Western science is not introspective. Some of you, not the best or most scientific, forbid science to be introspective. What good is a "science" that has no idea who we are inside? As an agnostic atheist, I have no need nor belief in any God or gods, let alone any of the ones that you mention as 'gods'. Why would I? Ever the sparkling conversationalist, aren't you? You're seeming more like a nihilist now than an "agnostic atheist," whatever that's supposed to be. What is it by the way? You don't know that you think you don't believe? Are you saying no one has gods like the ones I listed? You don't see much of the world from Australia? Seriously, isn't it funny how everyone's god created the world? People who believe in science believe science created it through the big bang. Maybe they should put that in the dictionary, "the supreme thing in your life that by the way also created the universe." The greater question is why wouldn't you believe in something? I suspect everyone, including you, does.
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Post by Arlon10 on Jun 4, 2018 2:36:29 GMT
The Earth is as close as I have to a god, as it created me, provided for my existance, and after my death, will recycle me. One of the complaints people often level against the god of the Bible is that he often slaughters large numbers of people in ways that can seem capricious. Has your god ever done anything along those lines? Or was that Poseidon?
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Post by them1ghtyhumph on Jun 4, 2018 3:12:01 GMT
The Earth is as close as I have to a god, as it created me, provided for my existance, and after my death, will recycle me. One of the complaints people often level against the god of the Bible is that he often slaughters large numbers of people in ways that can seem capricious. Has your god ever done anything along those lines? Or was that Poseidon? Earthquakes, floods. Don't believe Earth knows capricious.
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Post by Terrapin Station on Jun 4, 2018 3:25:02 GMT
Stravinsky is my God. Frank Zappa my Messiah. Todd Rundgren the Holy Spirit.
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Post by Arlon10 on Jun 4, 2018 3:25:14 GMT
One of the complaints people often level against the god of the Bible is that he often slaughters large numbers of people in ways that can seem capricious. Has your god ever done anything along those lines? Or was that Poseidon? Earthquakes, floods. Don't believe Earth knows capricious. Are you expecting many converts, or is your path not for everyone?
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Post by Arlon10 on Jun 4, 2018 3:33:24 GMT
Stravinsky is my God. Frank Zappa my Messiah. Todd Rundgren the Holy Spirit. When I was a young man I thought Frank Zappa was very cool. I never thought much of the other two. At some point I outgrew Frank Zappa.
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Post by lowtacks86 on Jun 4, 2018 3:36:04 GMT
Don't watch TV
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Post by Terrapin Station on Jun 4, 2018 3:38:16 GMT
Stravinsky is my God. Frank Zappa my Messiah. Todd Rundgren the Holy Spirit. When I was a young man I thought Frank Zappa was very cool. I never thought much of the other two. At some point I outgrew Frank Zappa. I never "outgrow" stuff I used to like.
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Post by lowtacks86 on Jun 4, 2018 3:41:43 GMT
Stravinsky is my God. Frank Zappa my Messiah. Todd Rundgren the Holy Spirit. Dunno much about Rundgren, but I do like this song:
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Post by Arlon10 on Jun 4, 2018 3:47:49 GMT
When I was a young man I thought Frank Zappa was very cool. I never thought much of the other two. At some point I outgrew Frank Zappa. <video Frank Zappa, Steve Allen> I never "outgrow" stuff I used to like. Sounds economical and maybe just a bit bizarre. For me further investigation can sometimes come up short.
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Post by goz on Jun 4, 2018 3:48:46 GMT
As an agnostic atheist, I have no need nor belief in any God or gods, let alone any of the ones that you mention as 'gods'. Why would I? Ever the sparkling conversationalist, aren't you? You're seeming more like a nihilist now than an "agnostic atheist," whatever that's supposed to be. What is it by the way? You don't know that you think you don't believe? Are you saying no one has gods like the ones I listed? You don't see much of the world from Australia? Seriously, isn't it funny how everyone's god created the world? People who believe in science believe science created it through the big bang. Maybe they should put that in the dictionary, "the supreme thing in your life that by the way also created the universe." The greater question is why wouldn't you believe in something? I suspect everyone, including you, does. Sorry for the delay, I was just booking some tickets to Europe for my 10th trip out of Australia. Going to England Scotland and Italy this time. 'Agnostic atheism is a philosophical position that encompasses both atheism and agnosticism. Agnostic atheists are atheistic because they do not hold, a belief in the existence of any deity and agnostic because they claim that the existence of a deity is either unknowable in principle or currently unknown in fact.' That pretty much sums me up. I do not hold a belief in any gods or deities. I also consider myself a humanist, liberal, progressive, spiritual and socialist butt none of those things define me. My interests and views are diverse and I love learning and knowledge of all kinds, especially if mixed with experience as you find in travel. I also think that most people may have too much focus in their lives on any of those 'false gods' you mentioned, butt again it would be rare indeed for it to define them. I believe in lots of things. They are pretty esoteric like love empathy hope natural beauty, animals and wildlife, music and art, caring reaching out to others and sticking up for what you DO believe in, whilst being mindful of the needs of others. Remind you of anyone?.
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Post by The Herald Erjen on Jun 4, 2018 3:50:08 GMT
Stravinsky is my God. Frank Zappa my Messiah. Todd Rundgren the Holy Spirit. Dunno much about Rundgren, but I do like this song:
In his heyday he was into experimental music as I recall.
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Post by Arlon10 on Jun 4, 2018 3:50:51 GMT
Live theater, movies, radio music, radio talk, newspapers, newspapers on the internet?
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Post by lowtacks86 on Jun 4, 2018 3:56:57 GMT
Live theater, movies, radio music, radio talk, newspapers, newspapers on the internet? Live theater: nope
movies: rarely go to theaters
radio music: no idea what the kids are listening to, usually just pop CDs in my care radio
radio talk: nope, not too interested in Rush Limbaugh or Alex Jones
newspapers: who actually reads them anymore besides octegenarians?
newspapers on the internet: I guess you mean "Internet News Sites". Sure, but I don't get all my news from just one site or anything.
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Post by them1ghtyhumph on Jun 4, 2018 4:33:22 GMT
Earthquakes, floods. Don't believe Earth knows capricious. Are you expecting many converts, or is your path not for everyone? My path is one I choose to walk down due to my observations of life on Earth. I am not looking for converts, because genuinely, it doesn't matter.
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Post by Arlon10 on Jun 4, 2018 4:57:47 GMT
Ever the sparkling conversationalist, aren't you? You're seeming more like a nihilist now than an "agnostic atheist," whatever that's supposed to be. What is it by the way? You don't know that you think you don't believe? Are you saying no one has gods like the ones I listed? You don't see much of the world from Australia? Seriously, isn't it funny how everyone's god created the world? People who believe in science believe science created it through the big bang. Maybe they should put that in the dictionary, "the supreme thing in your life that by the way also created the universe." The greater question is why wouldn't you believe in something? I suspect everyone, including you, does. Sorry for the delay, I was just booking some tickets to Europe for my 10th trip out of Australia. Going to England Scotland and Italy this time. 'Agnostic atheism is a philosophical position that encompasses both atheism and agnosticism. Agnostic atheists are atheistic because they do not hold, a belief in the existence of any deity and agnostic because they claim that the existence of a deity is either unknowable in principle or currently unknown in fact.' That pretty much sums me up. I do not hold a belief in any gods or deities. I also consider myself a humanist, liberal, progressive, spiritual and socialist butt none of those things define me. My interests and views are diverse and I love learning and knowledge of all kinds, especially if mixed with experience as you find in travel. I also think that most people may have too much focus in their lives on any of those 'false gods' you mentioned, butt again it would be rare indeed for it to define them. I believe in lots of things. They are pretty esoteric like love empathy hope natural beauty, animals and wildlife, music and art, caring reaching out to others and sticking up for what you DO believe in, whilst being mindful of the needs of others. Remind you of anyone?. Aha, you're trying that old trick that you "do not hold" any belief. I'm still not buying. Your recent comments on the benefits of prayer compared to the benefits of OTC pain relievers show that you do hold a strong bias (belief) against anything you deem religious to the point that you fail to interpret evidence correctly or evenly. That of course is in addition to relativity which you also hold a bias for because you "believe" in science. The concept of "god" entered the realm of the abstract about three thousand years ago. "Knowledge" of such abstract concepts is necessarily problematic. Most intelligent and educated people today are "agnostic" at least in that sense of the word. There are today therefore no "gnostics" recognized outside rather small communities. Gods are no longer bricks of concrete to be "known" like bricks of concrete can be. Suppose however that "Alfred" does meet a god and discusses with that god over baklava the economy of Afghanistan. To you, to me, to anyone who does not also meet with that god, Alfred only believes he met god. Your use of the term to describe any "knowledge" present or not is without any application. More importantly, and highlighting the bias I mentioned earlier, you have no term for people who believe there is no god as though such a thing cannot exist. Yet you rather obviously are one and trying to disguise the fact. Not everyone is aware that they worship various "gods." Most of the people who worship science are not aware of their failing. You obviously fail much science yet remain unaware that you do.
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Post by Arlon10 on Jun 4, 2018 5:04:17 GMT
Are you expecting many converts, or is your path not for everyone? My path is one I choose to walk down due to my observations of life on Earth. I am not looking for converts, because genuinely, it doesn't matter. I hope the Earth continues to be as good to you in the future as it has been in the past. I can't say I'm surprised about the converts though.
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