America doesn’t need more God. It needs more atheists.

[SaltyTiger 7,859]

10 hours ago, homersapien said:

I am speaking for myself, thank you.  Always do, for that matter.

(You need to evict ICHY from your head. It's not healthy to let someone else dwell there.)

Good for you. Exactly what post are “not Christian in nature”? 
What agnostic/atheist post reflect “true Christian values”? 
 
You are just blabbering.

[SaltyTiger 7,859]

8 hours ago, icanthearyou said:

When we look to the love of Jesus in our hearts for guidance,,, we will usually do what is right.

When we look to worldly power/authority,,, we will further the problems of this world.

No sir.  However, I will not diminish the message of Jesus with religion.

I agree

[homersapien 11,446]

On 11/13/2023 at 7:59 PM, SaltyTiger said:

Good for you.

1) Exactly what post are “not Christian in nature”? 

2)What agnostic/atheist post reflect “true Christian values”? 
 
You are just blabbering.

1. Ones that are judgmental and/or condemning in nature or possibly ones that are prideful. (Assuming of course that "Christian" essentially means one who aspires to be "Christ-like")

2. Ones that reflect compassion and/or empathy for others.

Do you think that is just "blabbering"?  If not, what exactly were you referring to? 

Edited December 11, 2023 by homersapien

[auburnatl1 5,031]

For the record. I think the title of this thread is silly provocative and needlessly offensive. Regardless of peoples religious beliefs, I hope most would agree.

[SaltyTiger 7,859]

9 hours ago, homersapien said:

Do you think that is just "blabbering"?  If not, what exactly were you referring to? 

Been a while but guessing I was referring to ICHY’s standard and repeated drill.

[CoffeeTiger 5,179]

12 hours ago, auburnatl1 said:

For the record. I think the title of this thread is silly provocative and needlessly offensive. Regardless of peoples religious beliefs, I hope most would agree.

I didn't create the title, its a copy of the Title of the article this topic is based around. 

 

It's an article discussion about the value that Atheistic ideas can add to society and family units, and the title is a counter to the billions of 'America needs more God/Religion/Jesus/spiritualism/etc' articles written every year. The article...and thus the title..is saying 'no, I don't think we do need more religion...and here's why'. 

 

It's an attention grabbing headline to be sure, but I really don't think it's being insulting or needlessly provocative in any way.

 

 

Edited December 11, 2023 by CoffeeTiger

[SaltyTiger 7,859]

48 minutes ago, CoffeeTiger said:

It's an attention grabbing headline to be sure, but I really don't think it's being insulting or needlessly provocative in any way.

Attention grabbing? It’s insulting and you know it. Don’t play little innocent/harmless Coffee. And please don’t start the “ sorry to offend “ ICHY nonsense.

[homersapien 11,446]

3 hours ago, SaltyTiger said:

Been a while but guessing I was referring to ICHY’s standard and repeated drill.

So, do you have a problem with his "standard" or just his consistancy?

[SaltyTiger 7,859]

4 minutes ago, homersapien said:

So, do you have a problem with his "standard" or just his consistancy?

I don’t know if ICHY is a him or her and really would not classify the post as something I have a “problem” with. 

Edited December 11, 2023 by SaltyTiger

[homersapien 11,446]

13 hours ago, auburnatl1 said:

For the record. I think the title of this thread is silly provocative and needlessly offensive. Regardless of peoples religious beliefs, I hope most would agree.

The fact you think it's "provocative and needlessly offensive" illustrates one of the key points the article makes. 

 

11 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

Attention grabbing? It’s insulting and you know it. Don’t play little innocent/harmless Coffee. And please don’t start the “ sorry to offend “ ICHY nonsense.

Why is it "insulting"?

1) Do you assume atheism to be inherently bad? 

2) As an atheist, should I feel insulted by Christian proselytizing? (BTW, the answer is "no" - even though I've been told I am destined for hell. )

3) Did you even read the article? 

You are also affirming one of the salient themes of the piece.

 

[SaltyTiger 7,859]

6 minutes ago, homersapien said:

Why is it "insulting"?

Read the title again Brother Homer. It is meant to insult. The article itself nothing more than opinion.

[auburnatl1 5,031]

10 minutes ago, homersapien said:

The fact you think it's "provocative and needlessly offensive" illustrates one of the key points the article makes. 

 

Why is it "insulting"?

1) Do you assume atheism to be inherently bad? 

2) As an atheist, should I feel insulted by Christian proselytizing? (BTW, the answer is "no" - even though I've been told I am destined for hell. )

3) Did you even read the article? 

You are also affirming one of the salient themes of the piece.

 

You have every right to your beliefs.  As others do. I simply found the title insulting for insultings sake - would have felt the same way if it attacked atheists or other religions.

Btw I  personally find the who’s going to hell thing destructive . What about Jews (regardless of what many had said here regarding the “chosen one” clause, many famous theologians (ie cs Lewis) disagree), Mormons, baby’s that haven’t been baptized, Hindus, atheists, ect who’ve lead good lives? I promise - if you ask 8 denominations or Catholics, you’ll get 8 answers on who doesn’t make the pearly gates. Good news for you - it isn’t their call😎 

Faith imo is healthy but when I  get grumpy is when someone is sure they’re right and others are completely wrong. Even your big bang theory is now being reassessed.

Which is why I questioned the title - tolerance and words matter.

[homersapien 11,446]

20 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

Read the title again Brother Homer. It is meant to insult. The article itself nothing more than opinion.

So, when Christians proselytize they're doing God's work and it's good for the country.  When atheists proselytize they are "insulting" and it's bad for the country. 

Got it.

Again, you justify the title, or at least explain it's raison d'etre

[homersapien 11,446]

40 minutes ago, auburnatl1 said:

You have every right to your beliefs.  As others do. I simply found the title insulting for insultings sake - would have felt the same way if it attacked atheists or other religions.

Btw I  personally find the who’s going to hell thing destructive . What about Jews (regardless of what many had said here regarding the “chosen one” clause, many famous theologians (ie cs Lewis) disagree), Mormons, baby’s that haven’t been baptized, Hindus, atheists, ect who’ve lead good lives? I promise - if you ask 8 denominations or Catholics, you’ll get 8 answers on who doesn’t make the pearly gates. Good news for you - it isn’t their call😎 

Faith imo is healthy but when I  get grumpy is when someone is sure they’re right and others are completely wrong. Even your big bang theory is now being reassessed.o

Which is why I questioned the title - tolerance and words matter.

"My" big bang theory?

FWIW, I have never proposed science is naturally antagonistic or even antithetical to religious faith.  In fact, I used to call myself agnostic, until I realized the literal meaning of "atheist" includes agnostics.

 

Edited December 11, 2023 by homersapien

[auburnatl1 5,031]

10 minutes ago, homersapien said:

So, when Christians proselytize they're doing God's work and it's good for the country.  When atheists proselytize they are "insulting" and it's bad for the country. 

Got it.

Again, you justify the title, or at least explain it's raison d'etre

Teasing. You went on about big bang once. Which btw I fully support science (my undergrad was in engineering) and believe both religion and science can easily coexist. Depends on each persons mindset.

[homersapien 11,446]

Oh, and as far as the insulting part, one of the points of the article was to point out how "atheist" is typically used by persons of faith as a derogatory term.  So, from my perspective, a little turnabout is not totally out of bounds.

 

Edited December 11, 2023 by homersapien

[SaltyTiger 7,859]

28 minutes ago, homersapien said:

So, when Christians proselytize they're doing God's work and it's good for the country.  When atheists proselytize they are "insulting" and it's bad for the country. 

Got it.

Again, you justify the title, or at least explain it's raison d'etre

You are right. I could write an opinion piece and title it with the intention being to insult atheists. 

[homersapien 11,446]

20 hours ago, SaltyTiger said:

You are right. I could write an opinion piece and title it with the intention being to insult atheists. 

Of course you could.  And we'd be use to it.

About the only support - much less defense -  one can find for atheism is from intellectuals - including a few comics - on Youtube. 

And - as you would probably say, "bless their hearts".

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by homersapien

[SaltyTiger 7,859]

1 minute ago, homersapien said:

Of course you could.  And we'd be used to it.

About the only support - much less defense -  one can find for atheism is from intellectuals - including a few comics - on Youtube. 

And as you would probably say, "bless their hearts".

 

“Bless ……….. heart” allows unlimited and unfiltered gossip among Baptist women. 

Not complaining about the insult. Just pointing that Coffee knows the title is insulting. 

[icanthearyou 4,463]

1 hour ago, SaltyTiger said:

“Bless ……….. heart” allows unlimited and unfiltered gossip among Baptist women. 

Not complaining about the insult. Just pointing that Coffee knows the title is insulting. 

Perhaps it is more about provoking thought than, anger?

[auburnatl1 5,031]

1 hour ago, homersapien said:

Of course you could.  And we'd be used to it.

About the only support - much less defense -  one can find for atheism is from intellectuals - including a few comics - on Youtube. 

And as you would probably say, "bless their hearts".

 

I’m not sure there’s a correlation between “intellectuals” and atheism. Obviously faith doesn’t mesh well with personalities that are scientific method-based or prove to me types. But I know many absolutely brilliant people that are religious. Simple people will see God in one way, complex people another. Black and white vs abstract minds process differently. Ultimately doesn’t really matter.

Again my concern is more about my way is the only one that’s right. And I’ll push it on others.

[icanthearyou 4,463]

30 minutes ago, auburnatl1 said:

I’m not sure there’s a correlation between “intellectuals” and atheism. Obviously faith doesn’t mesh well with personalities that are scientific method-based or prove to me types. But I know many absolutely brilliant people that are religious. Simple people will see God in one way, complex people another. Black and white vs abstract minds process differently. Ultimately doesn’t really matter.

Again my concern is more about my way is the only one that’s right. And I’ll push it on others.

I would think the message of Jesus would appeal to those who are truly intelligent(the meaning of intelligent is of course debatable).  The message of religion,,, not as much.

I think "accepting Jesus" is more about accepting/living His message than, the ceremonial/performance aspects of Christianity. 

Part of the message of Jesus is about how religion takes on a worldly manifestation of it's own,,, in opposition to God.  The only people He walked away from were the leaders of the very religion He was born into.  The leaders of that religion were the ones who demanded His death.

Jesus is real.  Religion (for the sake of the religion, or politics, or money, or power) is a fraud.

 

[auburnatl1 5,031]

7 minutes ago, icanthearyou said:

Jesus is real.  Religion (for the sake of the religion, or politics, or money, or power) is a fraud.

 

I know this theme is a passion of yours. When you say religion do you mean organized religion? Crusades, Jonestown, some religious political lobbies, ect. The dark side stuff. Or even any church? How far do you go down this delineation?

[icanthearyou 4,463]

11 minutes ago, auburnatl1 said:

I know this theme is a passion of yours. When you say religion do you mean organized religion? Crusades, Jonestown, some religious political lobbies, ect. The dark side stuff. Or even any church? How far do you go down this delineation?

Religions exist in the world so, they are all subject to seeking worldly goals.  Politics exist in every church I have attended.

I believe that I qualified the statement:

14 minutes ago, auburnatl1 said:

(for the sake of the religion, or politics, or money, or power)

I can't give you a binary answer.  There isn't one.

My point is, following Jesus is what is important.  Following some religion or, denomination will ultimately lead you to opposing Jesus.  The message of Jesus Himself stands in opposition to much of religion.

[auburnatl1 5,031]

10 minutes ago, icanthearyou said:

Religions exist in the world so, they are all subject to seeking worldly goals.  Politics exist in every church I have attended.

I believe that I qualified the statement:

I can't give you a binary answer.  There isn't one.

My point is, following Jesus is what is important.  Following some religion or, denomination will ultimately lead you to opposing Jesus.  The message of Jesus Himself stands in opposition to much of religion.

Got it. Theres an earlier post on a thread that states there is no concept in the constitution of separation of church and state (which means they don’t know the bill of rights).  Thats how caliphates start.