Terry Pratchett on Religion
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qqnTmBTwOo&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f]
Terry Pratchett on Religion
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qqnTmBTwOo&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f]
Comments
6 responses to “I’d rather be a rising ape than a fallen angel.”
Wow… youre an anti-religious bigot, arent you?
No, youre not an atheist. Youre not even remotely open minded, are you?
Atheist is a religious faith, a belief that hasnt been proven or substantiated.
You spent your entire life, your entire blog, your entire online identity… is devoted to spouting and preaching your anti-religious propaganda. And for what?
Where is your tolerance and acceptance of the religious? If you claim to be so much more enlightened and peaceful, why cant you let it be? Why do you strive so hard to force your atheism down the throats of the religious?
Its disgusting, really. Youre disgusting. And hypocritical.
By the way, Im not even religious. But you know what else Im not? A proactive bigot who thinks he knows something about the universe that he cant possibly know.
Get off your high horse, read up on logic and the rules of empirical reason. And instead of arbitrarily deciding where to place your faith, consider being unbiased and pursuing truth – whatever it may be… instead of striving to rationalize a preexisting ideology.
Who reads this besides atheists? Seriously? Who are you teaching? No one. You think that the more validation you get from the atheist, the more right you are. Your thinking is grossly flawed.
Look! Everyone! It’s someone witnessing ‘God’s love’
Hey Cogito,
Understand what the terms “theist” and “atheist” mean. The theist believes in a god or gods; the atheist does not have such a belief. This does not mean that the theist defends a deity or deities, or the atheist attacks deities. The atheist simply does not share the theist’s belief.
You state,
“Atheist is a religious faith, a belief that hasnt been proven or substantiated.”
Proof of a negative? If you’re so well versed in logic and reason then you will recognize the gaping hole in your statement. Anyone who has taken even an introductory course in philosophy will tell you that the burden of proof always rests with the side making the claim. The theist claims that there is some sort of god; the atheist does not accept this claim. The burden of proof belongs to the theist.
The bottom line is that atheists need not entertain requests for proof of atheism from believers. It is they who have the burden of proof, and if not proof, then sufficient evidence to justify their claims. That they they have been unable to come close to meeting such a burden is all the “proof” atheism needs.
Being atheist is a far cry from “anti-religious”. Never have I read where Monicks levied a verbal attack on anyone such as you have here. What are you, anti-atheist? Ironically, you seem to very embody the intolerance and closed-mindedness to which you are so critical.
(Hugs) for your anger
Who’ll read it beyond atheists? Theists on the run, for one…
@Cogito: If something offends you, just don’t read it.
Following up on what Rick says; any mildly well educated person who happens to be an atheist probably is going to say that the existence of a god is not a theory completely without merit. Perhaps a god did set in motion the events that led to the Big Bang, perhaps it was a super massive black hole that collapsed in on itself from a universe that no longer exists. Can’t tell. It would be those questions that we can’t answer. However I would sharply contend that all the special little earmarks that religious people place on their gods make their theories all the more unsubstantiated.
Lets assume then that a god did start the universe off, saying that he also made the earth in a specific order, or that he also came down to earth and performed a specific set of miracles, or that he did any number of the very specific things religious people claim (I suppose I’m targeting christians here) makes their theory all the more difficult to verify! It’s much simpler to say (and prove!) a god started the universe than to say a god who is also this, this, and that, and has done this, this, and that started the universe. For that reason it’s much, much easier to brush aside a religion’s claim towards how the universe and everything exists than to accept it.
As for tolerance, there’s plenty to be proudly intolerant of! I’m openly intolerant of racism and sexism. Homophobia and speciesism also make my list! I’m entirely intolerant of willed ignorance, and slavery is certainly something to be intolerant of (religion being a form of slavery of the mind).