Posts by Twitch

you would need to be living in a cave to not be aware of the turmoil happening in the world with groups like isis murdering cartoonists over their depiction of their prophet and sides being taken to either attack religion or to defend the right to practise it.. the battle lines appear to be drawn between those who believe in freedom and those who would see it curtailed to be replaced with their own version of what is and isnt acceptable.

most people want freedom and free speech but when choosing it are perhaps unconsciously judging it to only apply to things that they themselves believe in.. we need to be crystal clear what freedom and free speech were really talking about.

freedom itself is usually easier to define as there are some fundamental principles: you should be allowed to do what you want as long as you are not harming others.

Twitch

Good OP and thread

59

Asshole Atheism – Not for me, now or ever.

by donny in

to start off with let me clarify that by asshole atheism i am not referring to strong atheism or any other type of upfront atheism.

what i am referring to is the belligerent, hateful atheism that smacks of trolls and other types who want to derail conversation or comments at any cost..

i enjoy hearing comments from both sides of the subjects of theism, nationalism or politics, especially from those who have intense opinions.

Twitch

Some ideals I heard about and rather fancy;

Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18

Ironic in a sense, considering the source and common history here, yes?

As with most ideals though, reality falls far short of course. Still, a rather tolerant and fair ideal IMO and one that rings true to me. I'm not alone in thinking such ideals are good it seems.

Humanity will always be diverse. For the most part, I'm ok with that. But I have to remind myself, it ain't all about me. And that gets me through the day.

21

How old were you ??

by Clambake in

when you had to start dumping your worldy friends ??.

just curious that's all.

not being a witness ( ubm here ) i think everyone has known a jw kid and at a certain age " my mommy won't let me play with you ".

Twitch

Now that's a nice twist. It's funny how things work out sometimes.

21

How old were you ??

by Clambake in

when you had to start dumping your worldy friends ??.

just curious that's all.

not being a witness ( ubm here ) i think everyone has known a jw kid and at a certain age " my mommy won't let me play with you ".

Twitch

Yea I just didn't listen as a JW kid

I made worldly friends though most were in secret, which engendered a double life of sorts from an early age. Of course I was constantly "admonished" and was eventually counselled by 3 elders for worldly associations and smoking at 17. I left home and the org not long after that kangaroo court

I did have JW friends of course but they were either assholes, whacked or boring. Kinda left them behind. A different world I wanted no more part of

59

Asshole Atheism – Not for me, now or ever.

by donny in

to start off with let me clarify that by asshole atheism i am not referring to strong atheism or any other type of upfront atheism.

what i am referring to is the belligerent, hateful atheism that smacks of trolls and other types who want to derail conversation or comments at any cost..

i enjoy hearing comments from both sides of the subjects of theism, nationalism or politics, especially from those who have intense opinions.

Twitch

Have a good night, Viviane

59

Asshole Atheism – Not for me, now or ever.

by donny in

to start off with let me clarify that by asshole atheism i am not referring to strong atheism or any other type of upfront atheism.

what i am referring to is the belligerent, hateful atheism that smacks of trolls and other types who want to derail conversation or comments at any cost..

i enjoy hearing comments from both sides of the subjects of theism, nationalism or politics, especially from those who have intense opinions.

Twitch

Interestingly, people of faith can say things like "I hope you enjoy the heat" or "You'll wish you had believed when you're in hell" and totally get away with it 100%, simply because someone doesn't believe in God. They can literally tell someone they will be tortured in fire for eternity and it's considered a kindness.

Get away with it? I guess that depends on how insulted you feel about stuff you don't believe in by people that don't care about you. Sticks and stones IMO.

I don't mind others believing differently, as most seem to seek the good in things. Those that don't aren't worth my time. Some beliefs are kinda cool actually and I've enjoyed sampling the interesting bits from a select variety over the years. But I generally try to avoid judgmental and spiteful people no matter what the cause of their damage is, religion or otherwise.

However, that say person being told "I think religion and belief in invisible creatures is stupid" is somehow persecution and the person telling them is an asshole.

Well, I'd say that same person had it coming IMO. That fundamentalist is a knob. But I don't think that person is indicative of all believers. And even though they believe in something I don't, as long as no harm is done and we all go about our lives, who cares? My own garden needs tending, never mind theirs.

Some people might actually respect others regardless of differing beliefs. And thus are deserving of respect in kind. Or so one might muse.

Yeah, not how it works.

For you. For others, perhaps it's different.

59

Asshole Atheism – Not for me, now or ever.

by donny in

to start off with let me clarify that by asshole atheism i am not referring to strong atheism or any other type of upfront atheism.

what i am referring to is the belligerent, hateful atheism that smacks of trolls and other types who want to derail conversation or comments at any cost..

i enjoy hearing comments from both sides of the subjects of theism, nationalism or politics, especially from those who have intense opinions.

Twitch

Yea it's all in the delivery

It's not that faith can't be challenged; it can and should be, especially in a public forum about religious beliefs. This is obvious.

Of course one can have whatever opinion they choose and take whatever approach they like but if it's to denigrate and insult, it just seems wrong and little if any good will come of it. This assumes any good is intended of course.

As has been said, whatever gets you through the day