What Kind Of Thinking It Takes To Be A Christian Is Terrifiying.

[Solitary]

I will never ever accept the religious viewpoint!  :fU: Solitary



https://youtu.be/FTXN5nOstRs

[Munch]

Poor Richard.

People accuse him of being brash and crude, but he just gets frustrated at the overwhelming idiocy and contradictions of every religious debate he joins, I think he's a man who wants to believe people can be smarter then this, but is so often faced with these rambling fools and not just their stories they believe to be true, but outright denial of scientific and imperial facts.

[Solitary]

SmOff You just can't see it from a religious viewpoint because you are irrational.  Solitary

[aitm]

I, and my boss, the VP had to give a presentation to a university last Wednesday for a small million dollar project, so I had to go to corporate and he and I went over various scenarios. Anyhoo..during a break the conversation naturally went to Jesus as he is a whacko and thinks I may not be. The convo turned to Last temptation of Christ and how he was pictured as a european and he said that naturally jesus would be a jew would would look very much like a terrorist to us, to which i agreed "we" have a poor idea of what jesus would really look like, and he said, "we we're watching the movie and my wife said something very obvious, she said, if god wanted us to know what jesus looked like he would have had cameras available at the time"…

the stupidity of that made me want to just laugh in his face shake my head, but like a good little worker I agreed that yes, that would seem like something god COULD have done if he wanted to.
The stunning outright stupidity of the zealots is just fucking saddening.

by the by, we did get the job.

[Munch]

That really is shit aitm, the fact your boss in preaching his bullshit at others without anyone to counter him in a debate incase he were to fire them.

That strikes me as a level of abuse, throwing around religious shit like that in work but unable to call them on it. It reminds me of when I worked for a large retail company, and the group I worked with normally gathered around the same table in the lunch room, and one of the older women who worked though, after I mentioned in a conversation I had a boyfriend, coming out to my workmates, she was the only one, who responded with "Pah, I think its disgusting". I wanted to call her a homophobic bitch then and their, but I knew my job would be on the line, so I did what you did and stopped talking about it.

These days, ten years older and wiser, I wouldn't sit and take that anymore from people, though we live in more progressive times then we did ten years ago now.

[aitm]

That really is shit aitm, the fact your boss in preaching his bullshit at others without anyone to counter him in a debate incase he were to fire them.

That strikes me as a level of abuse, throwing around religious shit like that in work but unable to call them on it. It reminds me of when I worked for a large retail company, and the group I worked with normally gathered around the same table in the lunch room, and one of the older women who worked though, after I mentioned in a conversation I had a boyfriend, coming out to my workmates, she was the only one, who responded with "Pah, I think its disgusting". I wanted to call her a homophobic bitch then and their, but I knew my job would be on the line, so I did what you did and stopped talking about it.

These days, ten years older and wiser, I wouldn't sit and take that anymore from people, though we live in more progressive times then we did ten years ago now.

Frankly, its is their company, I knew they were whacks when I joined it so I don't feel I have the right to object to their whack-a-doodleness, and as I have mentioned prior, they pay me very well, so shit like this is bitchable and winnable, but never to the point where I am giving up this kind of moolah.

[Munch]

Fair enough, we've all been in such positions. I just have this issue with preachers in the work place. I mean like what I said, I didn't come up with a big long speech about me and my boyfriend, I just casually mentioned it, and the old bitch I worked with came at that one tiny thing like your typical religious anti gay freak would. I honestly feel in the workplace, things like preaching gospel or going into lengthy political debates around others without knowing their stance of it is just obnoxious.

Saying they are religous and engaging with someone else on their beliefs in work is fine, if they figure out its best to leave such things at home and talk about other more mundane things. But.. fuck, its like my aunt, who does just that with people in her workplace talking her mouth off about her beliefs to people she doesn't even know there own. 

[PickelledEggs]

He really went in over his head... Not a very good job at all by Dawkins IMO. He broke and lost his cool and all of a sudden he started to look like the moron.

[Munch]

He really went in over his head... Not a very good job at all by Dawkins IMO. He broke and lost his cool and all of a sudden he started to look like the moron.

To be fair, Dawkins was surrounded by all those religious nuts, I'd not keep my cool either, since it would feel like everything I'd say was bouncing off them like hailstones from a car roof.

[Deidre32]

I don't care for Dawkins' approach, but his opinions are pretty spot on.

[Mike Cl]

I appreciate Dawkins approach.  It is, historically speaking, fairly new.  Only lately have atheists been allowed to confront the religious--at least, and live.  I don't see how he can keep any  kind of cool for any length of time.  He has to face such willful ignorance and refusal to see or acknowledge simple facts.  I'd be frothing at the mouth if I were in his position.

[PickelledEggs]

To be fair, Dawkins was surrounded by all those religious nuts, I'd not keep my cool either, since it would feel like everything I'd say was bouncing off them like hailstones a car roof.

Yeah. That was partially the problem. It wasn't balanced and it was conducted very poorly. It's interesting though how the argument shifted in favor of the priest and rabbi and it sounded like they knew the subject more, just because they seemed more relaxed.

[PickelledEggs]

I like Dawkins' apporoach, but it definitely isn't for everyone. And that's the thing. Not any approach to anti-theism is going to ring well with everyone. Some will ring very well, some not at all. A more passive and gentle approach may work on some people, but may not work on others. And for the people that the gengle approach, a more aggressive approach like Dawkins' will work.

[stromboli]

Been there. If you buy into the scenario you have to defend it or rationalize it. My problem came when I couldn't defend it. I've always had an analytical approach to everything, and when I encounter something contrary to what I am told or taught I have to prove it or disprove it to myself. And here I am on an atheist forum.

[GSOgymrat]

Yeah. That was partially the problem. It wasn't balanced and it was conducted very poorly. It's interesting though how the argument shifted in favor of the priest and rabbi and it sounded like they knew the subject more, just because they seemed more relaxed.

Dawkins came off as condescending and defensive. He genuinely doesn't seem to understand how any rational person could come to conclusions other than his own. He also doesn't seem to appreciate that when discussing beliefs to which people have strong emotional attachments offering respect and speaking in a context of emotion rather than intellect is often more effective. He didn't do himself any favors by criticizing the Bible and the people who wrote it one moment and then saying he respects the Bible as literature-- no one bought that.

If Dawkins wants to say "the Bible is crap and you're all a bunch of morons for believing this stuff" that's fine, and there are many who will love him for it, but if he wants to persuade people to accept his point of view there are better ways of going about it.