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8 Jul 2003, 02:07
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#1
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fascinated by bridges!
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Norwegiensis
Posts: 919
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A religious experience
I'm here to bring you a religious experience. It's not hard to follow along my step by step instructions, and you do not need any previous religious experiences to participate.
Step one: Think about death. Think about someone you've loved or cared about a lot who died. Think about what you felt when they left you to embrace death.
Step two: Think about yourself dying. About never seeing your family again, about how totally unimportant you are, and how your death means nothing to the world.
Step three: Think about that you will be forgotten by future generations, think about all the people who have lived and how little you care about their lives and deaths.
Step four: Now think about closing your eyes for the last time, dying, only to open them again a second later to face eternity without pain and other mortal labours. Think about meeting again all those who you loved who passed away from you.
Basically that's it. The idea of an eternal life is and will always (at least until we actually figure out a way to do it) be a bestseller.
If were just now tempted by eternal life and happiness, well, congratulations! You've felt one of the many things that contribute to a continued common belief in that there is more to our existence than these simple few years we toil away and suffer on the face of planet earth.
How does it make you feel?
Matrim
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Holy smoke.
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8 Jul 2003, 02:16
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#2
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Ball
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 4,410
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I care for no-one. Can I get a refund?
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8 Jul 2003, 10:18
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#3
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I'm great!
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Leeds
Posts: 388
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Are you suggesting that religion is only there because people are too scared to face up to reality?............I agree?
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If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe, I'da been married a long time ago. Where did you come from? Where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe?!
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8 Jul 2003, 10:24
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#4
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The Milky Bar Kid
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Aberystwyth
Posts: 197
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made me feel a bit angry tbh, but thats probably not important as nearly everything i see posted makes me feel angry
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8 Jul 2003, 10:34
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#5
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Rawr rawr
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Upside down
Posts: 5,300
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Quote:
Originally posted by HAL-9000
Are you suggesting that religion is only there because people are too scared to face up to reality?............I agree?
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That's one point of religion... the other is explaining things that cannot be explained scientifically.
I find that thinking of death and what will happen when you die depressing. It makes you realise how unimportant you are.
On the other hand, it also challenges you to actually try to put your mark on society and history.
The wish for eternal life is based on fear of dying... fear of all those steps that you put down in the initial post. That fear will stay, even when people find a way to live forever, as whatever lives, can also die.
Every disturbed teenager on this forum will feel depressed now because of your post... realising how unimportant they are.
What they don't realise is that they CAN make a difference, if only they actually try.
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8 Jul 2003, 10:39
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#6
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The Twilight of the Gods
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 23,481
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Quote:
Originally posted by Structural Integrity
That's one point of religion... the other is explaining things that cannot be explained scientifically.
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Such as?
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8 Jul 2003, 10:41
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#7
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I'm great!
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Leeds
Posts: 388
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Quote:
Originally posted by MrL_JaKiri
Such as?
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First cause?
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If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe, I'da been married a long time ago. Where did you come from? Where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe?!
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8 Jul 2003, 10:45
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#8
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The Twilight of the Gods
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 23,481
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Quote:
Originally posted by HAL-9000
First cause?
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So aside from telling us highly specifically how the universe was created and evolved, you've got to find out why?
That smells like bad philosophy to me
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8 Jul 2003, 10:47
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#9
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I'm great!
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Leeds
Posts: 388
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Me? No. I'm an atheist. But theists.....yes. They need to know why. Well they don't need to, but they use it as an excuse. God as First Cause, etc.
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If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe, I'da been married a long time ago. Where did you come from? Where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe?!
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8 Jul 2003, 10:49
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#10
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The Twilight of the Gods
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 23,481
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Quote:
Originally posted by HAL-9000
Me? No. I'm an atheist. But theists.....yes. They need to know why. Well they don't need to, but they use it as an excuse. God as First Cause, etc.
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Fine, say god did it, whatever. But that's no reason to meddle in everything else.
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8 Jul 2003, 10:59
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#11
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Rawr rawr
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Upside down
Posts: 5,300
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Quote:
Originally posted by MrL_JaKiri
Fine, say god did it, whatever. But that's no reason to meddle in everything else.
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How do you mean? "Meddle in everything else"?
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8 Jul 2003, 11:02
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#12
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The Twilight of the Gods
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 23,481
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Quote:
Originally posted by Structural Integrity
How do you mean? "Meddle in everything else"?
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Mainly in america, but the whole 'blocking areas of research' and 'harassing people who teach evolutionary theory' are two good ones.
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8 Jul 2003, 11:12
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#13
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Rawr rawr
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Upside down
Posts: 5,300
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Quote:
Originally posted by MrL_JaKiri
Mainly in america, but the whole 'blocking areas of research' and 'harassing people who teach evolutionary theory' are two good ones.
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Oh... like that...
yeah, I find that absurd too (being a non-believer and all), but you have to understand that these norms and values have been around for much longer than our information/technology society, so people hang on to those believes since they are more familiar with them.
Affraid of change
And America is one of those countries where religion still is rooted deep (or whatever the phrase is).
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8 Jul 2003, 11:19
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#14
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The Twilight of the Gods
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 23,481
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Some semblance of the scientific method is older than christianity
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8 Jul 2003, 12:18
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#15
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: South Pacific
Posts: 4,911
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Quote:
Originally posted by HAL-9000
First cause?
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pointless replacement of something you don't know about yet with an eternal sentient omnipotent omniscient being
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I think it's time we blow this scene, get everybody and the stuff together..........
ok 3..... 2..... 1.. let's jam
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8 Jul 2003, 13:46
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#16
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Angry Young Man
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Mister Cacciatore's down on Sullivan Street
Posts: 7,518
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Quote:
Originally posted by Hostile
made me feel a bit angry tbh, but thats probably not important as nearly everything i see posted makes me feel angry
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And he likes to be known as the angry young maaaaaaaan
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Believe in me, cause i don't believe in anything
And i wanna be someone, to believe, to believe in
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8 Jul 2003, 13:50
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#17
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Ball
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 4,410
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Quote:
Originally posted by HAL-9000
First cause?
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Which religion gives even the slightest bit of help on that? So who created God?
Religion teaches values like any other kind of tradition.
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8 Jul 2003, 14:14
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#18
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I'm great!
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Leeds
Posts: 388
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Wow ffs people don't think that I believe in first cause blimey. That is just what christians say. Ofc God made god, etc (omnipotent therefore beyond your understanding). Just because I know their arguments doesn't mean i do not ridicule them. You ppl need to calm down, from one atheist to another!
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If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe, I'da been married a long time ago. Where did you come from? Where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe?!
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8 Jul 2003, 14:20
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#19
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Ball
Join Date: Oct 2001
Posts: 4,410
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Quote:
Originally posted by HAL-9000
Wow ffs people don't think that I believe in first cause blimey. That is just what christians say. Ofc God made god, etc (omnipotent therefore beyond your understanding). Just because I know their arguments doesn't mean i do not ridicule them. You ppl need to calm down, from one atheist to another!
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I'm not attacking you. It's fairly important you understand what religion does and doesn't provide. Answering life's questions is just the vector; the "answers" aren't answers per se but mental dead-ends that help us cope with inconsistent and incorrect knowledge; the important aspect of religion is not meta-physical but practical. IMO.
PS. Marvin Minsky is better at this than me.
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8 Jul 2003, 14:21
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#20
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Old Man O Deh *****s
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: In spelelpee land
Posts: 3,516
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Re: A religious experience
Quote:
Originally posted by Matrim
<snip>
How does it make you feel?
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Makes me think if you posted that on a few teenage forums, you'll rid the world of a few more angsty depressed teens who would just go around chopping themselves up for attention and instead will actually go the whole nine yards and throw a seven.
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Dead_Meat
You dont need to keep beating a dog to get it to stop shitting on the carpet
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8 Jul 2003, 14:45
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#21
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The Twilight of the Gods
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 23,481
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Re: Re: A religious experience
Quote:
Originally posted by Dead_Meat
Makes me think if you posted that on a few teenage forums, you'll rid the world of a few more angsty depressed teens who would just go around chopping themselves up for attention and instead will actually go the whole nine yards and throw a seven.
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After reading that, I thought of the rather comedy image of DM talking street.
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8 Jul 2003, 14:51
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#22
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I'm great!
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Leeds
Posts: 388
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Re: Re: A religious experience
Quote:
Originally posted by Dead_Meat
...depressed teens who ... go around chopping themselves up for attention ...
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Most idiotic, uninformed piece of ****e i have ever read. Think, or woe betide do some research, before you go posting rediculous comments onto these boards.
__________________
If it hadn't been for Cotton-Eye Joe, I'da been married a long time ago. Where did you come from? Where did you go? Where did you come from, Cotton-Eye Joe?!
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8 Jul 2003, 15:11
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#23
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Old Man O Deh *****s
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: In spelelpee land
Posts: 3,516
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Re: Re: Re: A religious experience
Quote:
Originally posted by HAL-9000
Most idiotic, uninformed piece of ****e i have ever read. Think, or woe betide do some research, before you go posting rediculous comments onto these boards.
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How about
"No, go **** yourself"
I'm not here to come up with informed and intelligent discussion, I'm here, like everyone else, to amuse themselves in any way I see fit.
Ta.
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Dead_Meat
You dont need to keep beating a dog to get it to stop shitting on the carpet
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8 Jul 2003, 15:58
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#24
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Commander etc
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Amsterdam
Posts: 436
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There are two groups of religious people.
The first is the usually uneducated, usually not overly intelligent group who take a religion at face value. Unfortunately many leaders of said religions also belong to this group.
Then there are the ones that take the tenets of a faith, examine them and find them in accordance with their own set of personal values. To them the religion is more like a 'club' of likeminded individuals, with certain rituals to tie the group closer together and provide anchorage and regularity etc etc
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Daevyll
Ostraka: It's a Social Club with guns (and K-Y)
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