Posts by trevor

328

A few Dawkins quotes to think about.

by AK - Jeff in

jw
friends

"faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence.

faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.".

"my last vestige of "hands off religion" respect disappeared in the smoke and choking dust of september 11th 2001, followed by the "national day of prayer," when prelates and pastors did their tremulous martin luther king impersonations and urged people of mutually incompatible faiths to hold hands, united in homage to the very force that caused the problem in the first place.".

trevor

If there is nothing special or unique about us and we are no more than mere flukes of evolution, why do we have issues with suffering? fairness? why do we differenciate between is and ought? why do we seek WHY when HOW is more than good enough? why do we imagine? why do we KNOW we exist other than just existing?

Because our brains have got too big and developed an ego. Our destruction of the planet and its resources continues unabated. As humans we are no where near as wonderful as we think we are. I have a lot of respect for horses, as it happens. And of course my close relatives, the apes.

46

God: the central question

by ixthis in

of all the issues affecting every person's picture of reality, nothing is more fundamental than questions about god.. is there one god, creator and sovereign of all?could there be more than one god?

or no god at all?if there is a god (or gods), then what is that god (or gods) like?nothing determines your worldview-and the course of your life-more than how you answer those questions.

yet some atheists like to make light of the god question.

trevor

I had no need for my god, so I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.

328

A few Dawkins quotes to think about.

by AK - Jeff in

jw
friends

"faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence.

faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.".

"my last vestige of "hands off religion" respect disappeared in the smoke and choking dust of september 11th 2001, followed by the "national day of prayer," when prelates and pastors did their tremulous martin luther king impersonations and urged people of mutually incompatible faiths to hold hands, united in homage to the very force that caused the problem in the first place.".

trevor

On the matter of love, I see it as an emotion that we attach to what we value. The more couscious we are, the greater our capacity to love. Love can turn to hate if what we value is threatened. So our capacity to hate also increases.

328

A few Dawkins quotes to think about.

by AK - Jeff in

jw
friends

"faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence.

faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.".

"my last vestige of "hands off religion" respect disappeared in the smoke and choking dust of september 11th 2001, followed by the "national day of prayer," when prelates and pastors did their tremulous martin luther king impersonations and urged people of mutually incompatible faiths to hold hands, united in homage to the very force that caused the problem in the first place.".

trevor

I can't tell if you're being sarcastical, dear Trev (peace to you!)

I'm not sure myself!

You see many Christians believe in evolution. Also that they have souls that go to heaven and animals don't. Logically there must have been a moment when the soul was added. I do realize that you have a different view of soul and spirit but I am speaking generally

328

A few Dawkins quotes to think about.

by AK - Jeff in

jw
friends

"faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence.

faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.".

"my last vestige of "hands off religion" respect disappeared in the smoke and choking dust of september 11th 2001, followed by the "national day of prayer," when prelates and pastors did their tremulous martin luther king impersonations and urged people of mutually incompatible faiths to hold hands, united in homage to the very force that caused the problem in the first place.".

trevor

"I am not sure how this applies to why suffering bothers us...

At what point in human evolution did we evolove into these "beliefs"?"

It must have been when god decided to seperate ape families and placed a soul in a chosen few.

82

What If The Bible Had Never Existed???

by ziddina in

jw
friends

i'm thinking way outside the box here.... i looked up my thread title before starting this thread and guess what??.

no one appears to have ever considered this question before.... i've seen far, far, far too many people of european/british isles/african/american extraction defending this regional middle-eastern 'god', without realizing that their ancestors would never have willingly consented to give up their own deities to worship this interloper thrust upon them, usually at the point of a roman sword... or occasionally for trading advantages, as in the case of many of the heathen viking - norsemen.... so.

what if the bible had never existed?.

trevor

What If The Bible Had Never Existed? (Only 1 question mark is required)

Well Ziddina - if the Bible had never existed You would find another heavy book to bash people on the head with. This could have been an interesting thread but your manner of debating has put me off.

328

A few Dawkins quotes to think about.

by AK - Jeff in

jw
friends

"faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence.

faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.".

"my last vestige of "hands off religion" respect disappeared in the smoke and choking dust of september 11th 2001, followed by the "national day of prayer," when prelates and pastors did their tremulous martin luther king impersonations and urged people of mutually incompatible faiths to hold hands, united in homage to the very force that caused the problem in the first place.".

trevor

Jeff - Thanks for reminding us of that excellent quote from Dawkins.

I never cease to be amazed at the way god fearing people try twist a lack of belief in a god into a form of faith. For the record, you can’t have faith in a negative. Equally bizarre are the assertions that animals do not suffer or feel pain; and that people who study the universe and its origins and find no god present, are automatically saints for atheists.

I should not be surprised, because a mind that can conclude the world is the product of a god with a nasty temper is capable of unfathomable mental gymnastics.

To conclude that all phenomena are the result of invisible spirits living their lives through humans, takes us back to the dark ages and beyond.

25

Does anyone think Jehovah would make a good friend?

by Joliette in

jw
friends

i remember reading the my book of bible stories when i was younger and it constantly referenced to abraham being jehovah's friend.

if jehovah made himself into a real being for a day, but he still had his almighty powers, what kinda friend do you think he would be?

i honestly think that he would suck as a friend, especially when he didnt get things his way..

trevor

Jehovah is so awfully big that he would not fit into any of the chairs at my local pub. And what size beer would I have to buy him?

Then there is his nasty temper and the ego thing. Nah, I'll stick with fallen men and women for friends.

63

Can you answer: What is "The Truth"?

by serenitynow! in

i mean can someone, preferably an active jw, explain in 5 sentences or less what that really means?.

i ask because of the long post that "20571..." made on another thread about how "the truth" is better than this, that and the other thing.. what does it really mean?.

trevor

The truth is that life is a sandwich. One side is birth, the other death. There has never been an exception.

We try to choose a filling that makes it more palatable to us, but at the end of the day, sometimes sooner, we cease to be.

That is the unpalatable truth of life.

103

How the WTBTS creates atheists

by Nickolas in

i am an atheist.

i arrived at this juncture in my life despite not wanting to.

when i first met the witnesses at 22 i was a seeker looking for answers to the question of life - in other words, prime cult target material.

trevor

Thanks for taking the time to reply Tammy. You seem to be very aware of where your emotions come from and what motivates you.

What can I say except - take care.