Comments by Philip1978

Comment #75896 by Philip1978 on October 4, 2007 at 2:10 am

Dog Boots,
That was rather brilliant, I like that a lot, it explains why some religites get all huffy when they hear people are atheists. That in itself is rather odd, "what, you dont receive instructions from an invisible being? Are you mad? How do you know how to be moral? We who hear voices in our heads are perfectly moral...yup....just got confirmation, thank you oh Lord!

Tis a mad world my masters!

Philip

1102. A New Debate

Comment #75888 by Philip1978 on October 4, 2007 at 12:56 am

hungarianelephant

"Quite why Philip knows so much about the County is a perplexing question ..."

Well, having been the High Priest for the God Quetz I too have learned to move in mysterious ways :)

(Either that or I went to the Stockport County Website... shit, let the cat out the bag, Odin, come back here!)

I must confess to being more of a London Wasps fan, my folks have season tickets and sometimes I am able to go see games, splendid stuff!

I dont know if I am looking forward to the England match against Australia, we are either to win by a narrow margin or get completely dumped upon!

Tally ho, more Tea!
Philip

1103. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #75647 by Philip1978 on October 3, 2007 at 7:54 am

Revcourt, CHeard, Brother John,

I promise you this is a serious question, I am really interested to know what is going on in Ezekiel 1. That passage confuses me somewhat and would like to know what it is about and to what it is referring to or would you admit it is somewhat odd? Is it Ezekiel having a vision?
kind regards

Philip

1104. A New Debate

Comment #75630 by Philip1978 on October 3, 2007 at 6:58 am

hungarianelephant

I thank you for your kind words and offer of Stockport County Tickets, I am glad their defeat to Morecambe did not deter the lads from thrashing Brentford the other day! (Please be nice to Wycombe, that's where I was born!)

I totally agree with you, if the politicians behaved as well as some of the scientists on here, flippin heck it would be a better place!

Cheers,
Philip

1105. The Problem with Atheism

Comment #75617 by Philip1978 on October 3, 2007 at 6:27 am

Richard

Interesting question Monsieur! Gosh, I guess it all boils down to how I come across as an atheist as to what opinion the religious hold about me. Like you said, there could be one school of thought that says I am being aggressive and the word atheist could carry it. Or as I said it could be seen as a sign of weakness from backing away from the word that I hold. I do like your question as to how long I am to keep this going, I suppose I am always open to change given the right prod and should something more persuasive pitch up I would be happy to look at it.

At this moment I think it is important to be making a stand against stupidity, esp against the Celestial Pervert Dictator. There is too much going on that requires people to stand up and do something. I promise not to protesteth too much, but I think its important to keep this word going as a sign that I aint giving up on rational and logical thought. I guess the image of the "atheists" has a lot to do with whether or not I will continue to associate myself with it. I like your points though, has got me thinking!

Hows that?

Philip

1106. A New Debate

Comment #75602 by Philip1978 on October 3, 2007 at 5:57 am

hungarianelephant

Imagine if you will, a complete thicky when it comes to science arrives on this website where he encounters a wealth of scientific knowledge by which after asking a few questions here and there slowly begins to learn more. It gets to the point where some of it gets through and he feels less of a thicky and better off because of it. If you hadnt guessed it already, this character is me!

There is hope in my opinion that if the silly sods in power understood even a modicum of science it would aid their decision making slightly.

Then again they are a bunch of manipulative, power hungry slimy bastards... bad idea! I think I prefer your "I'm not going to listen to you" explanation at least you know where they stand on it! Tickets to Stockport in the post! hehehehe

Philip

1107. The Problem with Atheism

Comment #75581 by Philip1978 on October 3, 2007 at 4:11 am

V
you only have to read Ezekiel 1 to really see the drugs or Egyptian beer take its toll!

Hmm, what to say about this? I do call myself an atheist but I agree in part with what Sam says. There is a label that attaches itself to atheism, I liked his reference to the "Greatest Crimes of the 20th Century" arguments. Despite repeating it over and over again that they did not do those things in the name of their atheism etc the religious will keep on bleating on about it.

But then I am proud to call myself an atheist, I am not bothered by the word that describes my refusal to believe in gods, if that be the word, then sod it, I will take it. Plus I agree with Jack, withdrawal from the word would simply make the religious think they have won something or that I am not confident enough in my convictions.

Balls to it, I am an atheist and proud of it, sod it if that causes trouble!

Philip

1108. A New Debate

Comment #75533 by Philip1978 on October 3, 2007 at 12:24 am

"An American president who does not understand science - or worse, disdains it - is no longer just a fool, but potentially lethal."

What an amazing comment, if anybody has proven this to be sure its dear old George, his continued ignorance of stem cell research alone has caused such untold trouble.

Inferno, right with you there, I love QI, I even went to see it being filmed earlier this year and I thought it was excellent. Stephen Fry is a man who I have a lot of respect for, very funny, intelligent and swears like a trooper! I wont say who was on the show unless I am suitably bribed!!

Cheers all,
Philip

1109. Dawkins - what can't he be blamed for?

Comment #75229 by Philip1978 on October 2, 2007 at 4:49 am

I still maintain there should be an award given for "The most gratuitous use of the word Dawkins in a serious work of non-fiction or radio commentary". I will keep a tally till December and we can all vote on it, how about that?

Logicel, I am so sorry to hear about your friend, I hope you are ok

Philip

1110. Dawkins - what can't he be blamed for?

Comment #75166 by Philip1978 on October 2, 2007 at 12:51 am

"Kill them all, the Lord will recognise His own!"

Bloody Cathars! Or was it Dawkins or Epeeist since he knows his Latin!! Heretic, I thought you were an Atheist but I see you speak Cathar!!hehehehe

Philip

1111. AAI Convention webcam

Comment #75165 by Philip1978 on October 2, 2007 at 12:46 am

V
"Posters come across as they are, not age-delimited as it were:-)."

Tell me about it, but then again how is a 29 year old lunatic supposed to act?

Robert,
Interesting points there young man! (Sorry if that sounds condescending, I promise its not!) I guess I am with Yorker on this one, I like the RRS for the hard work they put into doing what they do, they are definitely working on a particular audience. I can see your point about it being just Theism but I think, especially in the US, it is the religion that is most pressing upon young people there. Having the RRS on their side makes me feel a lot better knowing that teenagers are getting informed in a way that appeals to them, much like this site appeals to me for the wealth of amazing intelligence the posters have and that includes your good self.

Right, time to act my age and go Tea hunting, tally ho!
Philip

1112. Teacher: I was fired, said Bible isn't literal

Comment #74885 by Philip1978 on October 1, 2007 at 1:54 am

David,

Sorry to have disappointed you. I apologise for any offence and unnecessary hurt I have caused you.

Apology accepted, thank you

The mighty Quetz posted something that made me think a lot and also I have a lot to thank him for.

One of the most easy-going and friendly posters is Philip1978, and you've even got him angry, which is quite a feat!

(Yikes, I have a reputation to uphold now!)

I guess I will never understand you, I get an apology and then you type this

"Please feel free to post your pseudo psychology, sense of hurt, ludicrous biblical interpretations and pop philosophy to one another."

Has absolutely NOTHING J has said to you made any impact at all? Bloody hell, you even made me rant at you and I see now it was for absolutely nothing because you still insist on trading insults. Do you really think I make up "ludicrous biblical interpretations"? I only read what it says in the Bible and it confuses the living monkey out of me, I am with J on this one, Shakespeare is so much better and easier to understand.

Take this from the dear Bible

Deuteronomy 14:8
The pig is also unclean; although it has a split hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses.

Take this from William, Hamlet Act 1 Scene 3 (I think, J correct me if I am wrong!)

Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven;
Whiles, like a puffed and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads,
And recks not his own rede.

Ok I am being a little unfair by using the pig quote but I still can't see how not eating ham is going to help me in life, but I can see a lot of good reasons for reading the magnificent works of Shakespeare and getting more out of it.

Right, my rant here is ended, I will leave you with another quote from that tremendous play which about sums up my own debating skills

"Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't."

I hope you take some advice that people are offering here, if not, please by all means carry on insulting people, your choice, like the good lord Quetz said, the ball is in your court

Philip

1113. Teacher: I was fired, said Bible isn't literal

Comment #74523 by Philip1978 on September 29, 2007 at 9:15 am

David,
I too am deeply disappointed in you, you only have yourself to blame for it. I have seen the amazing kindness with which J has treated you with and you just threw it back at him. J comes across to me as a really intelligent, creative, funny and well mannered damn good bloke and does not deserve your rudeness.

Did he come on your site causing havoc, no he bloody well didn't, have I caused any trouble yet, no I bloody well haven't!

I too have done all I can to make kind, intelligent and thought provoking posts which you dont seem in the least bit interested in talking about.

You come across as an arrogant bully whose wont is to create as much discomfort amongst those that just happen to disagree with you. You remind me of some Christian idiot I knew at Uni, this guy's dad was a minister or something and so he thought since he had the backing of the Almighty he could behave in the most despicable manner. He would constantly tell me off for blasphemy, goad me all the time to get angry because I was an unbeliever. I did all I could to be nice to him and yet he threw it back in my face all the time until I humiliated him by bringing him to task in front of his friends and he left me alone. You goad people too, you treat them with disrespect and disdain and you come on this site to stir trouble.

I am not usually like this but for you I will take an exception, get lost until you have a decent apology for all the people you so regularly insult and lie about. I know I have traded a few insults with you on this site and at least I had the balls to apologise for it when I did. I really am not surprised you have been trolled so many times, I think I will do it you dare insult anybody once more, now leave us be until you find some fucking manners!
Philip

1114. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #74519 by Philip1978 on September 29, 2007 at 8:17 am

Excellent, I see my chauvinist comment went unnoticed!

Brother Jon, I thought I would answer your question as to what my atheism means to me

I think the best way of explaining it is this, can I make the bold assumption that you make decisions sometimes on the basis of whether God thinks its a good idea? Because it seems to me the best way to describe atheism is simply the removal of that habit or way of life. I know this is not about the simple mundane things like making Tea or Coffee but I am guessing that you, Revcourt and CHeard do from time to time think about asking God before doing something big. That simply isnt the case with how I carry my lack of belief around with me, I rather think about the consequences of my actions as much as I can. I dont in any way consider myself elite or in the possession of a better knowledge than religious people, I just am Philip Priestley, does that make sense at all?

Oh yes, I just read your last post and all I can say is you will have to excuse my spelling and syntax from time to time, it doth fail me rotten!

I think the big thing with the bible for me now that I have read it more and learned a bit more about the history surrounding the times when it was written is that I do see glaring contradictions and inaccuracies. I was having a chat with another chap on a different thread and he encouraged me to read the bible objectively and not just look for trouble when it might not be there. I think my big problem is that I have grown up without an ounce of religion in me that I can't face the bible and start asking questions about it. As far as I am convinced Jesus never existed and I have yet to find, for example, historical evidence for the existence of Nazareth during his life time. As far as some of the best and worst archaeologists have discovered it all points to being used as a graveyard for the nearby town of Japha up until the Roman Emperor Trajan sacked the place in AD67. All accounts so far that mention Nazareth have either been doctored, mistranslated or just so highly ambiguous that they do not warrant further study. I dont suppose for one moment you have heard of any hard evidence to show it was there from around 4BC up to past 37AD, this is a subject I am studying a little here and there and I am always open to new suggestions or help.

Facts like these keep arriving in the bible and I think that is why I am skeptical of it. I think the fact that it has be lost, found, mistranslated, doctored, lost again, arrived in jars, hidden etc means to me the level of human involvement outweighs any evidence for a God nudging humans to do it. The amount of similarities with such a wide variety of previous religions again suggests to me it was not real, if you read the Egyptian Book of the Dead or any Greek myths you will find so many similar stories that were written before the bible was. then I find some of the stories as ridiculous as this one from the Greek version of how the world was created

"In the beginning there was only the infinite space known as Chaos. Inside this void was a single creature, Nyx, the bird with black wings. She laid a golden egg and for ages sat upon it. When it finally hatched, out came Eros, the god of love. One half of the shell rose up to become the sky, and the other half became the Earth. He named the Earth Gaia and the sky Uranus. Eros then made them fall in love."

To me that is just as weird as sending a load of pigs on a 20 mile yomp to go leap of a cliff because Jesus had sent Demons into them in Luke 8:26/Mark 5/Matthew 8:28 (New International Version). None of it makes sense to me, it just seems to be another ancient story and not the truth.

Oh well, rant over, I hope you slept well, if you didnt, read all that again and I am sure you will drop off! hehehe

kind regards,

Philip

1115. Scientists Feel Miscast in Film on Life's Origin

Comment #74338 by Philip1978 on September 28, 2007 at 7:27 am

frikkenkids
See Francis Collins for the ultimate in "man who knows so much but lets himself down believing in the invisible!"

I can't stand all this chicanery that the religious get up to in issues like this, if they had been honest they could have provided both sides of the opinions and been objective about it all but no, obfuscation is the way forward! Not doing much good for their cause is it?

Philip

1116. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #74326 by Philip1978 on September 28, 2007 at 6:30 am

"Adam and Eve spake a tongue that no man could comprehend"

Were they speaking Female?

*sprints quickly away from the feminists*

(Philip promises this was a joke and hoped it was taken in the right way!)

"Beep" squeeked Philip

1117. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #74318 by Philip1978 on September 28, 2007 at 5:39 am

With your permission Quetz I may add something to that fantastic idea, "Beep" Said Philip is a fine and intellectual sign off but I was thinking of using different ways of communicating that special "Beep". So for now it may be "Beep" said Philip and depending on my mood at the time might change to "Beep" yawped Philip or something similar, good idea?

As to what I am cooking, hmm, I am a rubbish cook, though I could be stirring up trouble by asking Revcourt and co not to prey, I mean pray :)

"Beep" said Philip

1118. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #74298 by Philip1978 on September 28, 2007 at 4:27 am

Dr B,
You are right, Philip went down that slippery slope a long time ago, the problem now is Philip enjoys it too much now to ever come back, he blames it on the mixture of Elgar, Jimi Hendrix, Heavy Metal, Blues, Jazz, Indie and Rap. That and all the daft books he has read and is reading.
Beep
Said Philip

1119. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #74296 by Philip1978 on September 28, 2007 at 4:23 am

Goatsbane J, loving the new look, suits you!

Whatever you do don't go accidentally putting Marilyn Manson's Rock is Dead on there, he claims that God in not where Mr Cave claims but in the TV, as you can see, like with Quetz and his hot drinks issue, there are always schisms when it comes to the Gods hehehe
I quite liked Joanna too, just had a quick listen, very talented lady, even the drummer is not too bad once you get over his not wearing any shoes to play the drums!

Cheers, Philip (AKA boy with appalling musicial tastes!)

1120. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #74283 by Philip1978 on September 28, 2007 at 3:28 am

Ok, this is doing to be one of the weirdest posts I may have written in a long time but I wanted to see if this worked at all.

There is a song called Passive by a band called A Perfect Circle, it was used in the film Constantine, the hero being dear old Keanu. I can probably hear most of you groaning in agony or at least feeling more pity for me now than Revcourt for my appalling taste in films and music but this is going somewhere, trust me! (It does have Tilda Swinton in it and she is a great actress, am I redeemed yet :) ? )

The film's "plot" is centered around Constantine finding out he is going to die of lung cancer but also knowing he will be going to hell because of his committing suicide earlier on life but him doing all his selfish best to get back into heaven for all the exorcisms and good he does for God. (Very Shakespearean I know!)

The song fits in nicely with this film and I think the chorus hopefully sums up what I am wiffling on about here

"Wake up and face me!"
"Dont play dead cos maybe, someday I will walk away and say "You disappoint me, maybe we are better of this way!"

Very profound Philip, now please get to the point!

This to me is exactly what it is like when people talk to God. I think this song is either about Constantine or the Devil yelling at God for goodness sake DO SOMETHING YOU LAZY BASTARD! I am tempted to think that it is the Devil yelling at God saying for goodness sake this evil stuff is just too easy, look at what I am doing, I am eeeevill incarnate and what are you doing? Nothing!

So what is Philip wiffling on about here, surely he has clearly lost it, or seemingly never had it.

I am saying that this whole praying business is a waste of time Revcourt, I can promise you that. Actually, this applies to Brother John and CHeard too, I dont know your level of praying involvement but the whole ideal of it doesnt seem to me to be fair and I was wondering if you could explain a few things. I was 8 when I stopped praying and even the I was too young to understand what was going on, I only did it cos this weird guy with a white circular collar said so. But one day I just sat up and wondered what would happen to me and I did it again for the next day...no change.

Plus what is the point when the answer is so ambiguous "YES, NAY, MAYBE IF GOD CAN BE ARSED"
Its just so unfair, there you are in your time of crisis, pleading with the invisible to help you out in your time of crisis and nothing is happening. I call that mental torture because if God does not answer it the questions start pouring out as I see Revcourt doing eg I must have sinned or blasphemed, oh shit I am in trouble now and so on (Ok maybe not the swearing!)

I was moved by GoneGolfing's story of the humiliation of walking over to the altar to see if God can possibly help this crisis and it failing miserably. Look at Mother Theresa, exactly the same, she was torturing herself mentally over something that was absolutely no fault of her own and to what end? Some idiot men telling her God has a plan for everybody etc HOW CRUEL IS THAT?

What was Revcourt's sin? He voiced an opinion a bit too much on a website forum...whats wrong with that? Sure some took offense maybe but its not the end of the world, we are adults after all, am sure we can get over it! If that equates to sinning so much and feeling as worthless as Revcourt describes then I am sorry but thats plain bloody evil and I advise caution next time you think God is pissed off with you. You shouldn't have to feel like that every day of your life, its not healthy!

I would appreciate your thoughts on this guys as it interests me to know what you think praying accomplishes when God does not answer. It is written in the bible that if you say it in God and Jesus's name, it will be be answered and god will help, that is a disgusting lie in my opinion and I can't abide by it.

Sorry for the rant and my appalling taste in film and music!

Kind Regards

Philip

1121. Why Christians should take Richard Dawkins seriously

Comment #74117 by Philip1978 on September 27, 2007 at 9:26 am

Dear goodness, I am getting paranoid, I am either for the roasting pot in hell for being a naughty atheist, the small men in my tv may go on strike, David Robertson's Elephant might have a sudden change of fridge at any moment and now this giant invisible pterodactyl to add to my problems!!

I think I will go further than J on the belief part and say I am convinced there is no God/there are no Gods until I am given proper evidence to say otherwise. Surely that covers everything?
Yikes I hear flapping wings......
Philip

1122. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #74059 by Philip1978 on September 27, 2007 at 6:12 am

To all, I have noticed that people's messages are being trolled for no good reason, can someone please own up to be being naughty or Josh, we seem to be having problems here! J is stuck in Yellow limbo, this is not good!

1123. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #74036 by Philip1978 on September 27, 2007 at 5:31 am

Revcourt,

Don't worry about it really, people have their passions, I bet I can get a bit over bearing when I hurl opinions at people. I think it best for you to remember you are only human!!

Plus dont punish yourself because of God like that, this is what I was talking about a few pages earlier, about how you can really beat yourself up mentally over what it is that He wants of you. I think this is the forefront of my non belief is that you shouldnt have to beat yourself up over something that you quite honestly have no control over. I am only speaking from experience of what I have seen happen to others who believed so hard and with such conviction it became such a horrible and unnecessary burden for them to bear.

Take care and keep posting, I for one like to hear your views, if I can't learn nuffink I shouldnt be here!!
All the best,

Philip

1124. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #74025 by Philip1978 on September 27, 2007 at 5:02 am

Robert, I also would like to add my apologies if I have irritated you, I also value your views and opinions very highly.

Brother John,
Thanks for your interesting comments, I guess my only comments so far, though I will add more when I have time, is what is the use of your God in that situation? If you remove God from all that the world still works, scientists make their discoveries, people still have their morals etc. Adding God is somewhat of an unnecessary thing because his involvement is enormously complex and difficult to provide evidence for. I think Billy is right in saying that evolution can explain away a lot of what you describe.

Cheers,

Philip

1125. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #73991 by Philip1978 on September 27, 2007 at 3:16 am

Hobbit,
Quetz is not just a Tea god, he is god to all hot drinks, there was nearly a schism over this in a previous thread, you must understand He is creator of all things and more,not just Tea!

Philip, High Priest of Quetz

Edit: See, in all His amazingness he got there before me to tell you this!

1126. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #73981 by Philip1978 on September 27, 2007 at 1:54 am

Steve,
I saw that, I read it and thought hang on, what is wrong with that? Come forth silent rogue and reveal thyself, who did it?

Good grief, there has been a lot of work here, I am enjoying this

Rev, what more can we say to you? I think we have all said that given simple and easy evidence for the existence of your God then his existence would be acknowledged. Though I feel you would be highly unwilling to give Atheism a quick stroll as J suggested, is there anything that could make you lose that Faith of yours because I for one seriously doubt it.

There is a truly hilarious book by Terry Pratchett called The Last Hero and I will leave you with a few Quotes from it that made me giggle and I think are relevant to this thread

"I shall smite you with lightning!" squeaked Nuggan, raising his hands to protect himself.

"You can't! Not here! You can only do that stuff back in the world! All you can do here is bluff and illusion! And bullying! That's what prayers are ... it's frightened people trying to make friends with the bully!"

(Very apt I feel for the God of the Old Testament!)

This one has to be my favorite:

"But you are a gods-fearing man?"

"What I've seen of them certainly frightens the life out of me, sir."

Last but not least, I think brilliant as it not only shows free will at work at its best but the Gods having to claim responsibility for their actions

"I feel," said Blind Io, "that if we had wanted people to fly, we would have given them wings... Why did you do it?" he said.

"You gave me wings when you showed me birds," said Leonard of Quirm. "I just made what I saw."

Quetz, thank you for giving Billy his first Prophesy, Praise be to you oh Mighty one, creator of all things and more! time for Tea methinks, Cheeeeeeeeeeers all!

Philip

1127. Why are we Muslims so self-destructive?

Comment #73539 by Philip1978 on September 25, 2007 at 8:04 am

My name is actually Geoff, the person you see in this avatar is actually the person whose identity I have hijacked for illegal reasons, I may have said too much already but I wanted to disclose it!

1128. Religion advances despite science (and thanks to Dawkins)

Comment #73500 by Philip1978 on September 25, 2007 at 5:51 am

I fear not the wrath of Biz and his Liberty mates, like you said I have protection!

That Brick stuff, I cannot stop laughing at the Male Genitalia one, that Bobbit scene has me giggling loads! Plus the laws stuck to the family's heads, classic!
Cheers,
Philip

1129. Religion advances despite science (and thanks to Dawkins)

Comment #73488 by Philip1978 on September 25, 2007 at 5:00 am

Billy, I think Biz is getting his mates together to come and stone me to death, I urged him to follow Quetz on that thread ( the one about leprechology)

Rev was at least polite to me in the sense he gave answers to my questions but I think he went too far, he even threatened the moderate on there, CHeard, with hell for not being a proper Christian, poor boy!

Philip

1130. Keeping the faith at school

Comment #73487 by Philip1978 on September 25, 2007 at 4:53 am

Am with Crazymalc on that one, I love it when kids provide such amazing observations, pity the poor little bugger is being told such lies, I blame the sodding parents!

Thank goodness for my upbringing that included Pink Floyd
"HEY, TEACHER, LEAVE THEM KIDS ALONE!"

Philip

1131. Religion advances despite science (and thanks to Dawkins)

Comment #73406 by Philip1978 on September 25, 2007 at 1:16 am

V

Quetz does everything! I got carried away with the Tea business due to my slight addiction to the stuff but rest assured the God makes a fine red wine as he does make the sun shine upon us!

Praise be to Quetz!

Philip

1132. Religion advances despite science (and thanks to Dawkins)

Comment #73401 by Philip1978 on September 25, 2007 at 12:55 am

V,
I forgot to add all the clever stuff, I like yours better hehehehhe!

Mighty Quetz, I secretly want to get David to follow other Gods, he must learn the True Path! *ducks as David hurls the first stone*!!!

Seriously, I want David to understand why he walks away so angry each time and then returns hurling unfounded accusations at people.

Philip

1133. Religion advances despite science (and thanks to Dawkins)

Comment #73394 by Philip1978 on September 25, 2007 at 12:30 am

David,

I am going to have to ask you exactly what you mean by fundamentalist because I am guessing that mine differs from yours. I got this one from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/fundamentalist

1. A usually religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism.

2.
a. often Fundamentalism An organized, militant Evangelical movement originating in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century in opposition to Protestant Liberalism and secularism, insisting on the inerrancy of Scripture.
b. Adherence to the theology of this movement.

Now, I will have to re-iterate this, nobody on here is a fundamentalist and I want you to understand that. The other posters and I who do not believe in any gods whatsoever are not in the slightest bit religious, I promise you this is not a cult or anything like that, its simply a collection of people with amazingly different opinions about a wide variety of subjects, we just so happen to share some of the same views and opinions as to the evidence showing God does not exist. I can honestly say, with the proper evidence everybody would change their minds about God, I personally would be more than happy for God to poke his head around the door and say hello, but I need more than just the bible to accept his existence.

I also think you are wrong about religious moderates, the basic principles from which the moderates base their religion are enough of a justification for them to carry it all a bit further. I am with Sam Harris with this one, the fundies look at the moderates as if you will forgive the Austin Powers phrase, the diet coke of the religious, just one calorie, not enough! They are people who take what the moderates believe in and take it massively further. If there were not moderates there would be no fundies, it sounds harsh but unless the moderates did no extol even the most basic tenets of Faith and adherence to the religion the fundies would not take it a step further. There has to be a god for a fundie to follow and its moderates who back that up by claiming there is one. I would advocate more moderation to the point where every religious person was only a moderate, the world would be a quieter place. I may not agree with the religious beliefs but if thats all I had to worry about, not all a bad thing is it? But as long as the fundies have a platform to stand on, the mayhem will continue.

So, please stop calling people fundamentalists, I think its wrong. Its not doing you any good because the moment you start calling people on here stuff like that you are going to get some serious verbal handbags thrown your way and then walk away with the impression that you have now. I would like to convince you otherwise, I think people on here are interesting, they may disagree or agree with me, even throw the odd bit of abuse, I dont mind it. Someone tells me to eff off, so be it, its just eff off and nobody gets hurt. But if you will continue with that approach please expect what gets hurled at you. I would much rather talk about religion with you and discuss it, you have a unique perspective on things and I think its interesting, I dont want to continue being told I am a fundamentalist or on a fundamentalist site.

Take care

Philip

1134. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #72460 by Philip1978 on September 21, 2007 at 7:01 am

Sorry Rev, I hate to be pedantic but what do you mean by disciple? Is it the Luke 14:26

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple."

I dont particularly like that description, could you elaborate on what you meant, not having a go, just want to clarify it

Cheers,

Philip

1135. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #72408 by Philip1978 on September 21, 2007 at 2:22 am

Rev, sorry about the Rez, didn't mean to cause offence about your name!

Here's an interesting one from the bible

"But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. (From the NIV Bible, Matthew 5:28-30)"

I dont see how you could interpret this any other way, do you really think that is sensible? Cutting off your limbs because you feel you have offended God by "sinning" is in my opinion highly stupid and very painful!

If you are supposed to follow the bible at its every word, because it is the word of your God, written by people inspired by your God then its time to stop looking at other women or if you have had lusty thoughts when looking at women, tis time to poke the old eyes out!

Here is my big problem with the Bible and Religion, Billy Sands came up with a great way to describe Faith its called Mental Slavery. I am firmly convinced that religion is wrong because of the mental torture inflicted upon people because of the stupid and ridiculous rules imposed upon the believer.

I have seen it happen too many times, people going through highly emotional and stressful times only to worsen it by thinking they have in some way let God down and that he is punishing them. I find it despicable that people have to be put through all this over an invisible, highly improbable IT that is supposed to have some magic hold over the world that defies the natural laws already in place.This supposed IT then will send you to a fiery place of torture should you offend IT in one of the myriad of ways set down in some ad libbed ancient book of lies and plagiarism.

I am sorry you have devoted your life to this non-existant IT Rev, I really am. I'm sorry you think its your mission to get everyone else involved in this rubbish as well, I mean what is all this about?

"First of all, they are being disobedient to the very words of Christ, who told us to go and make disciples of all nations"

If you think that for one second 6 billion plus people are all suddenly going to turn around and say, yiipppiiie, I'll go with that God, you are in for a very big surprise.

I do hope you realise, I am only attacking your religion and not you, I simply dont understand why you want to do this to yourself.

Kind Regards

Philip

1136. Against the grain: There are questions that science cannot answer

Comment #72024 by Philip1978 on September 20, 2007 at 7:03 am

Mr Stanyard
Thank you for that information, from what I have read about the BCSE you have been doing a fine job, please for goodness sake keep it going!

Forgive me for posting this but I see you have been suffering the same sort of rubbish Professor Dawkins has!
http://bcse-revealed.blogspot.com/2007/06/roger-stanyard-update.html

When will the stupidity ever stop!!!

kind regards,

Philip Priestley

1137. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #71983 by Philip1978 on September 20, 2007 at 4:31 am

Phillip78 seems quite smitten (in a disciple kind of way.) He likes his followers to drink tea or some such. Anyway, maybe he'll let us in on his plan....

Hehehe I think Philip1978 just has a small addiction to Tea!

As for the earlier stuff, I was doing an experiment, I wanted to see if Biz or Rez would consider stoning me to death as per Bible instructions because I asked them to go worship other gods (Deuteronomy 13:6). Am still awaiting reply on that one...Biz/Rez am I in trouble yet or are you being rubbish Christians?

Philip

1138. Larry King Interviews Kathy Griffin

Comment #71962 by Philip1978 on September 20, 2007 at 2:28 am

Really, this is getting out of hand! No this is not the same scale as Theo Van Gogh, its as I said, a D list celebrity proving how easy it is to both offend, cause panic and irritate the religious just simply by joking about Jesus. It was brave of her because there are some religious nutters in America who would quite happily lynch her for her statements. If somebody is able to kill an abortion clinic doctor in the name of the Lord, then I can safely say that its not out the question for someone to have a go at Kathy

Erm I think you had better retract your statement about "Noone gets killed off for denigrating Christianity". I take it you forgot about the fight between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland?

I really think you have missed the point of all this, after all its only a joke! I am impressed with what Kathy Griffin has done, it makes me giggle. I doubt very much if anything more will become of this, if it has an effect along with the other multitude of naughty things the famous have said at award shows then good luck to it. I for one am sick of hearing about celebrities wiffling about how God has enhanced their career, how and why would he if God exists? I know full well from Quetz that He would not do such a thing!

I think this is important, not, as you say, on the scale of something so important as speaking out against Islam, that is for the very brave Ayaan Hirsi Ali's of this world who come from that background and I think will make more of a difference than a D list celebrity whom they could deride for being thick and not knowing a thing about Islam. She does know a lot about the media by the looks of things and she knows how to stir up the stupidity of people like Bill O Donahue, why not stick to what she is good at? What I think this is good for is prodding Americans who are as Yorker described "Joe Six Pack", they couldn't give a toss about Islam or who speaks out against it and I doubt they have ever heard of Ayaan Hirsi Ali before. But they might follow the media antics of this event more closely, perhaps it might prod some of them into thinking about how daft religion can get.

I hope that explains things more

Kind regards
Philip

1139. Against the grain: There are questions that science cannot answer

Comment #71943 by Philip1978 on September 20, 2007 at 1:20 am

Professor Dawkins,

I have just read that article/drivel from Reverend Hall and I had to pick out this one bit that astonished me

"He is entitled to his views about religion, but his refusal to engage with his intellectual equals looks narrow-minded and cowardly"

I was about to say you are right to feel somewhat picked on but then I thought long and hard about this. How on Earth can you have an intellectual equivalent in Theology? More to the point, I think it shows that if all people, like dear Mary above, have to print about you are lies well, that's one battle over!

Rattled you say, hmm, I think the rattle was thrown out the pram a long time ago and the other toys are beginning to get a bit sparse!

Philip

1140. Larry King Interviews Kathy Griffin

Comment #71609 by Philip1978 on September 19, 2007 at 5:35 am

Fanusi Khiyal

Cheap shot? Easy target? How exactly is that considered a cheap shot when Christianity is as fervent as Islam in some parts of America? I dont understand how she is gutless for attacking Jesus, I think it was a rather brave thing to do!

I dont think you got the joke, it was a joke about how people always praise God for winning awards, scoring goals etc when its perfectly obvious that no divine intervention has taken place. Then suddenly the religious nutbars like O Reilly and co all start flapping about madly as if its the end of the world and willingly spend vast amounts of money censoring her when the word has already got out. I think its hilarious myself, I am sorry you cant see the funny side of it

Chin up

Philip

1141. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #71597 by Philip1978 on September 19, 2007 at 5:11 am

Oops, didnt clarify that one well enough did I, apologies, just wanted to give an example of miracles in your name!
*bows humbly and says sorry a heck of a lot*

Philip

1142. God Talk on 'The View'

Comment #71544 by Philip1978 on September 19, 2007 at 2:26 am

This is brilliant, I have not laughed so much in a while!

I loved that bit about dinosaurs, that lady next to Whoopie saying look they are there, get over it and that wonderful non- answer "But the Bible says..."!
Priceless and I didnt vomit!!

Philip

1143. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #71539 by Philip1978 on September 19, 2007 at 1:55 am

Biz and Revcort,

I was wondering if you would consider Quetz as a better God, I say this because look at this form of communication- I Praised Him and He wrote back to me, now, compare that to your Gods and well, sorry chaps but Yahweh doesnt even begin to cut the mustard. Jesus? where is he, cant find him in history anywhere, none of his miracles recorded or even his birth. My Prophet, Billy, to Whom Quetz gave his one and only Lab Coat, has a birth certificate and passport which confirms his existence. He also performs many miracles everyday in his Lab for the good of humanity and in Quetz's honour. Good efficient records are kept of this so no lies can be made up or quibbles about their authenticity. Brilliant stuff!

Now, I hear you cry, but what has Quetz done, how can you prove his miracles upon this earth, gentlemen, when you next have a cup of Tea you will Know what I am talking about! For further proof, my, sadly, ex-girlfriend once was suffering from a bad headache, she had a cup of Tea and lo, Quetz had blessed that Tea in order that she suffered no longer that day. Truly great stuff, a truly great God, I urge you to consider the benefits!

Praise be to Quetz!

Philip

1144. Catholic school board in Halton may ban HPV vaccination

Comment #71533 by Philip1978 on September 19, 2007 at 1:31 am

I am almost tempted to drop the C bomb in a minute, these people are utterly without doubt some of the worst human beings in history.

I am with EastCoastAtheist here these people are nothing but sick in the head. What human being could ever want to not eradicate Cancer in any form at all? This is what really winds me up about religious attitudes towards sex, they like to turn it into the most depraved act in the world rather than admit that their efforts to combat it are KILLING PEOPLE!

I have changed my mind, I will not use the C word to describe these people because its an insult to the C word itself

I am disgusted

Philip

1145. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #71523 by Philip1978 on September 19, 2007 at 1:05 am

Biz I thought I would correct your statement to make it more real!

"Quetzalcoatl is no different. If you desire to argue successfully against an idea, you have to know what it is that you are arguing against. It's a rather simple concept. Intellectual laziness is no excuse for not believing in Quetzalcoatl. One of your own arguments against God's existence is the typical "well who created Quetzalcoatl?" argument. If you knew but a small fraction of basic theology then you would understand that part of what defines "Quetzalcoatl" as "a God" is his self-existent nature. He is not a contingent being. The question is therefore absurd as it is really asking "who created a being who by definition requires no creator?". This is but one example of your rather meager knowledge of one of the most basic defining characteristics of Quetzalcoatl. To dismiss a concept that you happen to be afraid of exploring on the mere basis of a sense of a priori incredulity is just unscientific."

PRAISE BE TO QUETZ!!

Philip

1146. Larry King Interviews Kathy Griffin

Comment #71503 by Philip1978 on September 19, 2007 at 12:17 am

Hear Hear Yorker,

Oi you lot, stop being so negative! Do you really think young Kathy there is unintelligent? More to the point does it matter? Just because she has a weird smile and an odd voice, doesn't scratch the surface. I saw the video before I read all the comments and I really think she has got her head screwed on.

There she is saying "Look, I am a D list celebrity, I have just made a load of Christians spend vast amounts of money just because I said the word Jesus out of context"! She has got the religious up in arms over HUMOUR! Wasn't it Sam Harris who mentioned something about how the Klu Klux Klan was brought down by humour?

I am totally behind Yorker in his statement, the fact that some of us are smarter than others is bollocks to the core in most people's eyes. I am highly impressed by the level of knowledge on this site, one of the reasons I come here is because I want to learn a few things and hear different opinions (and slowly bend your will to mine mwwhahahahahahahha etc!) But I also want people to be aware of the damage that religion is doing to this world and explaining the Anthropic Principle to "Joe Sixpack" is not going to wash is it?

So why not have a media savvy D list celebrity show how easy it is to offend the religious, let the world see the hysterical rantings of the Bill O Reilly's and the Donahues of this world for what they are- meaningless rantings! She got an award for some dumb arse reality show, which I think even she admits in this video, she then goes up on stage and makes some funny comments about Jesus and how people seem to think their careers are built because of God! She is going to be making jokes in Madison Square Garden soon, what is the betting she will make fun of this event? Just think about who will be attending that show.

Bravo Kathy, go for it girl!

Philip

1147. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #71284 by Philip1978 on September 18, 2007 at 9:29 am

Revcort,

This is getting weirder by the second, I have to admit now I am very confused as to how you can arrive at such conclusions with the weight of evidence against it.

Ok, here goes, I think Professor Dawkins used a similar story but I will see if I can show you why this is confusing me.

A policeman turns up at the scene of a murder crime and begins to study the clues of what happened to the murder victim. He will work with a team to discover various clues including DNA testing, fingerprints, blood analysis, dirt on the carpet from the murderers boots, the whole lot. This evidence is taken away and tested to the extreme using modern methods which have gone through the most rigorous peer review in order to establish if they work or not. These scientific methods are there for a reason, they have to work or the wrong person would be caught every single time. In order for somebody to found guilty the policeman has to find evidence, its that simple and its logical. It also means he does not actually have to be there at the time of the murder, have all sorts of recording equipments and witnesses including the judge who will be presiding over the case! The policeman has to make do with the evidence in front of him, that has been proven to work many times before and catch the right murderer if he can. Are you with me so far, that is an example of modern evidence gathering.

What you are suggesting is completely the opposite, it would be like the policeman walking up to the nearest person on the street, taking him down the station and charging him on the sole evidence that God had told him. How do you think that would stand up in todays society if some poor sod off the street was nicked solely on the basis that God apparently revealed to him that this the murderer he was looking for? Would you be happy if that was you who was picked up? How would you argue with it? You could have proof you were no where near the murder scene, have absolutely nothing to connect you with the victim, totally innocent but on the word of this policeman who says he was told by God!

I have more evidence from the scene of the crime that tells me that the Earth was not created in 6 Days and that it is not 6000 years old. This is based on better facts than told out of one book that was supposed to inspired by a deity whose own incredibly complex existence is just too improbable to confirm. You really need to study history a bit more to find out than humans create their gods, not the other way around. I can mention many different gods and their direct similarity with the actions in the stories of your God and Jesus. Ask anyone on this site for more information about various things and I am sure they will be glad to help. But I think you really have to start asking yourself some questions before you start making statements from which you cannot back up with anything solid.

Right, there is my rant over, I will leave you to it,

kind regards, Philip

1148. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #71254 by Philip1978 on September 18, 2007 at 8:04 am

Revcort,

What do you mean by "Hey Philip, it looks like they have gotten to you my friend"?

Who is this THEY? I came to the conclusion that praying was a waste of time when I was 8 years old under no duress from anyone!

Plus you have to convince me that Jesus actually existed, I am a history and English graduate and I have studied a lot recently about that time period and I cannot find any record of Jesus outside the bible, doesn't that seem odd? You know the site Nazareth was a graveyard up until 67 AD? I am talking religious archaeologist's findings here also the findings of some of the best in the business whose work has been thoroughly picked apart and their findings are pretty much conclusive. I will talk more about this if you like, I have to be brief now cos I have to get home from work!

I think you really should take GG's advice and think about a lot of things

Cheers,
Philip

1149. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #71252 by Philip1978 on September 18, 2007 at 7:55 am

Revcort,

Whilst I am at it, I will give you something more simple, if the Earth is 6000 years old, there would not be such a thing as 5th Millenium BC yes?

Here is what was happening around that time, I know its Wikipedia but its all I have time for

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_millennium_BC

How can we know this and yet the Bible have it otherwise?

Cheers,
Philip

1150. Do you have to read up on leprechology before disbelieving in them?

Comment #71249 by Philip1978 on September 18, 2007 at 7:27 am

Revcort,

One thing I do on this site is ask questions, like for example about Carbon Dating because I know nothing about it. I would suggest you look at this, its written by a Christian and is very informative about how dating is done

http://www.asa3.org/aSA/resources/Wiens.html

Once you have done that look at this, it will explain to you that had God created the Earth in six days, Adam and Eve would have been fried because the Earth had not had time to cool down for them to exist on it.

http://gondwanaresearch.com/hp/adam.htm

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did,

kind regards,
Philip