donkey

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Posts by donkey

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  189

  Donkey's never-ending atheism thread

  by donkey in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  wih the permission of simon, i would like to start a thread to act as a collection of thought, quotes and miscellany on atheism and agnosticism.

  there are so many other threads on this subject but no one place which one can go to on here.

  i have much to share - enjoy and contribute with me please.give me the storm and stress of thought and action rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith.

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  donkey

  The fact that a believer is happier than a sceptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality. -- George Bernard Shaw
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  17

  Donkey

  by donkey in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  simon, .

  i emailed you last night with regard to what i am about to post over here.

  i refer you to this thread

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  donkey

  Simon,

  I emailed you last night with regard to what I am about to post over here.

  I refer you to this thread MY GOD! KENPODRAGON IS HEAPING UP THE BULL AT JWD!!!!!!!!! at JWO (sorry about the crosspost). Some posters here and on the other side of the fence continue to insist that I am Kennopdragon - even after I have denied it repeatedly.

  Simon and everyone else,

  I used to post here as Gravedancer - and was then deleted for disagreeing with Simon and the moderators. If you choose to shut down my Donkey account I understand (I don't want to cause trouble for you or have others give you a hard time because of me, Simon). I came here as Donkey, not making any trouble - I don't believe that I did either as I focused primarliy on atheistic issues.

  Thanks
  Gravedancer (I prefer being Donkey though but I have found out that even donkies get no peace).

  Edited by - donkey on 1 December 2002 19:42:30
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  11

  "Meaning" (for donkey's never-ending ...

  by Blueblades in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  donkey,"meaning" is the most stirring of all spiritual impulses.

  (helmut thielicke.

  )what is "meaning"?why do we want it?.how do we get it?is it an actual quality in reality to be discerned or something we project upon that realty from within,or only a never-to-be-fulfilled longing of the human heart?whatever it is, it offers one of the most powerful reasons for continuing the human experiment.its possibility is, simply,a reason to live---its absence,a reason to give up living.our appetite for meaning is insatiable, our anxiety over its elusiveness never ending.

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  donkey

  Blueblades,

  Thanks for the thread - much appreciated.

  So we are discussing "meaning"? What does this mean? Ok - thats a joke.... or is it? If I were to reconstruct the sentence to say "What does THIS mean?" then you could logicall ask what do I mean when I use the word THIS?

  The context is required to add meaning to the sentence. Also, there are some base assumptions ie, that one would understand the context and the implications of the context? The study of meaning has been a fascinating subject for both philosphers, linguists and scientists. Each of the respective fields has there own slant on "meaning" as well as their proponents and theories. For example: Richards coined "The Meaning of Meaning" theory. He basically postulates that meanings don't reside in words (although each word has a dictionary definition to explain it's meaning) but rather that meanings reside IN people. Richards happened to be focusing on the study of Communication when he put together his theory. He focused on understanding rather than persuasion. Rather like focusing on a listener and how a listener listens vs focusing on a speaker and what the speaker is saying.

  So for now let's go with the defintion Richards used as it is a good one IMHO.

  One of the ideas behind the Meaning of Meaning Theory is "The Proper Meaning Superstition." This is the false belief that every word has an exact, "correct" meaning. Richards says that the Proper Meaning Superstition is false because words mean different things to different people in different situations.

  This misunderstanding can cause problems when two people think that they are talking about the same thing, but really they are not. A clear example of this is the Abortion issue. Proponets on each side of the issue are generally talking about two different things and therefore they can never reach UNDERSTANDING or consensus (by the way don't ask me how to fix that situation either - Donkey's aren't that smart).

  So meaning depends on understanding and I would add that understanding together with context enable each of us to construct meaning in our lives. We interperet (understand) events based upon what we know (context) for ourselves. For instance as a Golfer I might see storm clouds and be truly upset that I cannot finish my round. But a farmer seeing the same storm clouds might be overjoyed because his crops will receive much needed water.

  Having established this (rather long winded I know) I can finally get around to my original question: what do you mean? Are you attempting to point out that atheists lack meaning in their lives? Or are you attempting to question how living things can interperet meaning if they evolved from a primordial soup?

  I enjoyed this ASSignment so far....thanks

  Edited by - donkey on 1 December 2002 12:45:59
• 
  189

  Donkey's never-ending atheism thread

  by donkey in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  wih the permission of simon, i would like to start a thread to act as a collection of thought, quotes and miscellany on atheism and agnosticism.

  there are so many other threads on this subject but no one place which one can go to on here.

  i have much to share - enjoy and contribute with me please.give me the storm and stress of thought and action rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  donkey

  A theologian is like a blind person in a dark room searching for a black cat which isn't there -- and finding it!
  -- unknown
• 
  189

  Donkey's never-ending atheism thread

  by donkey in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  wih the permission of simon, i would like to start a thread to act as a collection of thought, quotes and miscellany on atheism and agnosticism.

  there are so many other threads on this subject but no one place which one can go to on here.

  i have much to share - enjoy and contribute with me please.give me the storm and stress of thought and action rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  donkey

  Danny,

  Can an athiest believe there is NO God, without the concept or belief IN God

  IN, OF, ABOUT....all the same - it proves nothing

  Remember there's a big difference between kneeling down and bending over.
  -- Frank Zappa
• 
  189

  Donkey's never-ending atheism thread

  by donkey in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  wih the permission of simon, i would like to start a thread to act as a collection of thought, quotes and miscellany on atheism and agnosticism.

  there are so many other threads on this subject but no one place which one can go to on here.

  i have much to share - enjoy and contribute with me please.give me the storm and stress of thought and action rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  donkey

  Clairvoyant, n. A person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that which is invisible to her patron -- namely, that he is a blockhead. -- Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
• 
  189

  Donkey's never-ending atheism thread

  by donkey in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  wih the permission of simon, i would like to start a thread to act as a collection of thought, quotes and miscellany on atheism and agnosticism.

  there are so many other threads on this subject but no one place which one can go to on here.

  i have much to share - enjoy and contribute with me please.give me the storm and stress of thought and action rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  donkey

  Zechariah,

  You choose to believe that you are some distant cousin of an ape rather than you are a uniquely created son of God with a divine nature in his image. No wonder you get depressed. You need to find yourself by finding God. To see God you must only open your spiritual eyes (faith). Stop being blind. There is none so blind as he that will not see. Stop being a Donkey :).

  If I am a son of God then I hope I am soon to be an orphan from such a pathetic father.

  You also refer to Sylvia Brown as having credibility. You cannot be serious!! (ps - I do send the royalties for this saying to Johnnie Mac). James Randi has shown repeatedly that not only is Sylvia Brown a fake but she is also a coward. Need proof or will you believe me in all faith?
• 
  189

  Donkey's never-ending atheism thread

  by donkey in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  wih the permission of simon, i would like to start a thread to act as a collection of thought, quotes and miscellany on atheism and agnosticism.

  there are so many other threads on this subject but no one place which one can go to on here.

  i have much to share - enjoy and contribute with me please.give me the storm and stress of thought and action rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  donkey

  A casual stroll through a lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything. - Friedrieh Wilhelm Nietzsche
• 
  189

  Donkey's never-ending atheism thread

  by donkey in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  wih the permission of simon, i would like to start a thread to act as a collection of thought, quotes and miscellany on atheism and agnosticism.

  there are so many other threads on this subject but no one place which one can go to on here.

  i have much to share - enjoy and contribute with me please.give me the storm and stress of thought and action rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  donkey

  I have not seen any ridiculing here. If having someone question things you believe is akin to ridiculing you then you should possibly re-examine the situation.
• 
  189

  Donkey's never-ending atheism thread

  by donkey in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  wih the permission of simon, i would like to start a thread to act as a collection of thought, quotes and miscellany on atheism and agnosticism.

  there are so many other threads on this subject but no one place which one can go to on here.

  i have much to share - enjoy and contribute with me please.give me the storm and stress of thought and action rather than the dead calm of ignorance and faith.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  donkey

  I refer you to:

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.aspx?id=41038&site=3

  What it means to me is that we will be able to create humans within a relativley short time frame. The question is what about the step following that one: Will we be able to create a completely new life form that is superior to humans?

  I personally am strongly in favor of cloning, genetic engineering and other life sciences. It is just the next step in evolution - the accelerated mutation and genesis of the future.