Secular Café Archive

[quote=""Koyaanisqatsi""]The problem is that you’re dealing with cult inculcation, not intelligence. Some of the smartest people in history have nevertheless been theists and that’s because they have been brainwashed (for lack of a better term) since birth, so it’s a different an...

[quote=""sohy""]Why do you think it's helpful to tell anyone that they are stupid? Smart people sometimes believe things that we may think are stupid, but I promise you there is no nice way to tell someone that they are stupid, or almost stupid. If you must engage believers in de...

[quote=""Politesse""]Did you post this on the right forum? [/quote]

I think so.

Where should I talk of religious lies if not in the religion part of this forum?

Regards
DL

[quote=""Loren Pechtel""]Plenty of Republicans are creationists.[/quote]

Indeed.

Are you saying that being deluded is a good thing?

Remember that Bush went to war because God told him to.

Regards
DL

Republicans. Do you really want a leader who is a creationist? http://bigthink.com/videos/kurt-andersen-how-religion-turned-american-politics-against-science?utm_source=Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=6406f0be0c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_01_18&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_45b26faecc-6406f0be0c-43...

Religious lies. Why do we knowingly accept them? People, I hope, are not foolish or gullible enough to really believe in the talking serpent and donkey of the bible nor the 72 virgins ot the Qur’an. I also hope their gullibility is not broad enough to have them swallow all the other supernatural ide...

How do you compassionately tell a supernatural believing person that they are borderline stupid? As you can see by my title, I do not know how. Scriptures say that to correct is a sign of love. Proverbs 3:12 For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. Most...

In a sense, that misguided Bishop is correct, but he ignores that wives are not to be subservient to men and should disobey commands/requests they do not agree with.

Marriage is a partnership and not a slave and master relationship that demand obedience from the slaved wife.

Regards
DL

The existence of a God matters because of the damage that belief in God is doing. Believers who do as their God bids have created homophobic and misogynous religions that have done and continue to do a lot of damage to society. That damage is why I fight the belief in Gods that are less than moral a...

On the idiocy of free will God style. Christians are always trying to absolve God of moral culpability in the fall by whipping out their favorite "free will!", or “ it’s all man’s fault”. That is "God gave us free will and it was our free willed choices that caused our fall. Hence God...

[quote=""Michel""]This morning, as I went in kitchen to make some coffee, I heard a voice saying: “ Good morning! ” It was the banana I bought yesterday, that was greeting me. I answered: “Good morning!” - “What are you doing?” - “As you can see, I go in the kitchen to make coffe...

[quote=""Jobar""]Don't you recognize that? It's from Ralph Waldo Emerson's Brahma . Quite a famous poem. They reckon ill who leave me out; When me they fly, I am the wings; I am the doubter and the doubt; And I the hymn the Brahmin sings. [/quote] No. Most of my education was in ...

[quote=""Jobar""]I know of no good answer to that question even from the wisest of Abrahamic theologians. Hindus, though, will answer that creation *is* perfect, and exactly as Brahma means it to be. Evil and suffering are explained by saying both the agents and the victims of ev...

[quote=""Jobar""]For many years I've asked believers, "How can perfection create imperfection?" Never gotten an answer better than 'it's a mystery...'[/quote]

Typical Christian evasion that we all get when speaking to the dimmer and duller minds.

Regards
DL

[quote=""Koyaanisqatsi""]I’m not sure “agreement” is the proper question considering most of us are atheists. :D There are a few nits I’d pick with your list, however. None of the things you list “produced” the various points you make; the god character did. As for “original sin”...

[quote=""MattShizzle""] Also, why Sodom and Gemorrah were smited. It wasn't anything to do with people being gay... What was it all about? Regards DL Basically being rich and not helping the poor.[/QUOTE] That is a small part of it, yes. Jews and Rabbi Wolpy tell me it was all ab...

[quote=""lpetrich""] Then it goes on to say that Jesus Christ's execution was satisfactory substitute punishment -- if one believes in him and goes to a "full gospel" church and stuff like that. [/quote] What do you think of Christians who believe in that doctrine? Mora...

[quote=""MattShizzle""]Also, why Sodom and Gemorrah were smited. It wasn't anything to do with people being gay...[/quote]

What was it all about?

Regards
DL

Is God competent or incompetent? We are told in scriptures that evil begets evil and good begets good. God, as our creator, according to scriptures, creates us all as sinners, which many see as evil. God can thus be seen and judged as being the original sinner since the fruits of his labor (us) went...

[quote=""Politesse""] I a not sure what you mean by that, but yes, I think the world to be a big place. Regards DL So yourself you allow to be a "work in progress" with imperfections that hinder but do not damn you, but others you see in terms of strict black and white?...

[quote=""plebian""] As you should be. The well of Republican thinking is full of immorality. Regards DL I meant that your inspiration seems to be what I would call Neitzche's abyss. Or, another way to put that is that I feel an uncomfortable and disturbing quality in quite a bit ...

[quote=""Politesse""] Don't parfaits have layers? Sigh. You used to be better. But yes A Parfait has layers of wisdom and enlightenment. I am a Parfait WIP. You seem a bit more monolithic in your approach to the world. I a not sure what you mean by that, but yes, I think the worl...

[quote=""plebian""] I feel like I would be disturbed if I gazed upon the well from which you draw your ideas. As you should be. The well of Republican thinking is full of immorality. Regards DL I meant that your inspiration seems to be what I would call Neitzche's abyss. Or, anot...

[quote=""Politesse""] Don't parfaits have layers? Sigh. You used to be better. But yes A Parfait has layers of wisdom and enlightenment. I am a Parfait WIP. You seem a bit more monolithic in your approach to the world. [/quote] I a not sure what you mean by that, but yes, I think...

[quote=""plebian""] I feel like I would be disturbed if I gazed upon the well from which you draw your ideas. I flubbed that effort. I should have said if I gazed into that well, I feel like the well would gaze back into me and I would be disturbed.[/QUOTE] I should have read thi...