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do the buckwheat comments count?
Comment #101061 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 7:11 pm
Rule #1 of being devoutly religious: Whenever your beliefs are threatened, start the ad hominem attacks.
Isn't there a rule against that here or something?
Comment #101051 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 7:03 pm
wrong. agnosticism is a lack of belief. Atheism is the total belief that there is no God or gods.
Comment #101044 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Actually, atheism is simply the LACK of belief in a God or Gods. It isn't a belief system. It's the exact opposite of a belief system.
Comment #101041 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 6:57 pm
i can easily make short work of you all in your atheist beliefs. but i don't think this is what the argument is about
Comment #101035 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 6:54 pm
so you have to restart your evidence in disproving that Qur'anic verses are not the words of AllahHow about you start by PROVING that Qur'anic verses ARE the words of Allah? It's the responsibility of the person making the claim to provide evidence supporting their claim. It's not the responsibility of the people the claim is being presented to to disprove it.
Comment #101027 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Funny how the subject changes so quickly.
Comment #101020 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 6:37 pm
numerical miracles in the Qur'anI just spoke with Allah, and He pointed me to this website. You were right about the numerical miracles. You have converted me.
Comment #101015 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Oh yes, those evil ZIONISTS. They're out to get everyone XD
Comment #101006 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 6:24 pm
I didn't ask for a definition of what "Muslims believe", I asked for evidence that what you believe is actually true. Just because a lot of people believe something doesn't make it true.
Comment #101002 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 6:20 pm
The Qur'an are the words of Allah given to Mohammad
Comment #100999 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 6:17 pm
also a point is that if Hitler was epileptic there would be traces of it in Mein Kampf. there are no traces of epilepsy in Mein Kampf. it's actually considered by many Nazis to be the most beautiful autobiography ever written
Comment #100968 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 5:56 pm
I have to admit, it is pretty refreshing to have someone on here spouting muslim fundamentalist nonsense rather than christian fundamentalist nonsense. Maybe we'll get some new arguments. :)
Comment #100964 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Alexander the great was a tyrant and killed innocent civilians. he wasn't just at all. he was also bisexual a megalomaniac a dictator a petty thug and he killed and conquered half of he world to make himself look greatYou pretty much just described Mohammad perfectly. If you replace "bisexual" with "pedophile", of course.
Comment #100963 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 5:51 pm
to say that the prophet's companions (who are also among the greatest generals that's ever existed) would lie about the prophet is the same as saying the apostles would lie about jesus. it's absurd. it's also very insulting.
Comment #100959 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 5:48 pm
To burst your bubble Mohammad is considered to be the greatest leader that's ever graced the surface of the earth.Considered by...whom exactly? And what type of "leader"? Military, political, religious, moral? All of the above? I know Mohammad flew up to heaven on the back of a magical winged horse and everything, but I'm pretty sure Alexander the Great's military and political accomplishments are widely considered by most scholars (including Muslims) to be the "greatest ever". Not to burst your bubble or anything.
267. Religious Freedom in Military Questioned
Comment #100944 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Don't forget that Ron Paul is quite Christian himself...he is certainly a "constitutionalist", but he has let his Christian views influence certain things like his views on abortion and the overturning of Roe v. Wade...
268. This Week's Flea
Comment #100931 by Don_Quix on December 19, 2007 at 4:53 pm
It seems to me that nonsense phrases like "scientific fundamentalism" are actually more of a complement than an insult, although they are clearly intended as backhanded insults. As if it is somehow a negative thing to have confidence in the clearly superior process of science and to base your decisions in life on evidence rather than blind faith and metaphysical mumbo-jumbo.
I like to think of myself as a "rational extremist" ;)
269. The Four Horsemen: on Christmas
Comment #99929 by Don_Quix on December 17, 2007 at 10:13 pm
I'd rather forego the HD and instead have 3 other similar discussions in each of their respective houses with the host being required to drink as much as Hitchens did. That would be fair, enlightening, and profitable. :)
270. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!
Comment #98922 by Don_Quix on December 14, 2007 at 10:47 pm
It's really kind of creepy that many ideas that run through my head on a daily basis have already been brought up and answered in this video...and I am only about 2/3 of the way through the first one.
Not that I think any of the four of them are my "saviors" or anything, but I find it funny that I sit around and talk about these same things with my friends in the same sort of setting. And the "four horsemen" are talking about the same things we talk about, but doing it in a much more eloquent way :)
271. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!
Comment #98917 by Don_Quix on December 14, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Does Dawkins have a martini in front of him? He always struck me as a gin & tonic sort of guy. Harris looks like he's drinking scotch or whisky.
EDIT: I'm not trying to belittle the video. This is actually one of the most interesting and compelling videos I have seen of any of the "four horsemen" by themselves :) This is a great venue for the four of them to express and discuss their ideas. I like the roundtable discussion format a lot. It's like an atheist version of the American TV show "The View". Except this is several billion orders of magnitude more intelligent and substantial. heheh.
272. THE FOUR HORSEMEN - Available Now on DVD!
Comment #98912 by Don_Quix on December 14, 2007 at 10:10 pm
USA_Limey wrote:
Hour three was the drinking competition but it wasn't filmed.
273. Where Is Atheism When Bad Things Happen?
Comment #98906 by Don_Quix on December 14, 2007 at 9:46 pm
It's impossible to have a rational discussion or debate when people keep posting 1,000+ word posts of non sequiturs which bring up dozens of new points of discussion in each post and which don't address, or only vaguely touch on, anything brought up in any of the previous posts. This is truly tiresome. I might as well be trying to argue with fortune cookies.
I would like to have a discussion with you folks, but if you can't stick to one subject at a time, and you insist on bringing up every possible loosely-defined idea that pops into your head in every post you make, it's kind of pointless.
I can only surmise that you are deliberately trying to type a huge amount of words in such a disorganized fashion that hopefully no one bothers to read it. Obscurantism indeed.
I think we need a new term for it...maybe "obfuscationism"? I kind of like that one :)
274. Where Is Atheism When Bad Things Happen?
Comment #98851 by Don_Quix on December 14, 2007 at 5:16 pm
I have a data sheet my local (city-owned) water company sent me that makes empirical claims about the quality of my tap water. Should I not believe them? Do I have to get my own testing kit?
275. Voyager 2 probe reaches solar system boundary
Comment #97961 by Don_Quix on December 12, 2007 at 10:08 pm
Seriously, this is really cool. I like how the Bow Shock looks like it is some fiery nuclear death blast in the graphic for the article. heheh.
I imagine when Voyager gets there in the next few hundred years or so (actually I don't know how long it will take for it to get there) it won't be nearly as dramatic. And like Russell's Teapot said we will have hopefully caught up to it by then :)
We truly live in enlightened times, despite the ancient metaphysical bullshit we deal with daily. Jesus never sent shit to the edge of the solar system :D
276. Voyager 2 probe reaches solar system boundary
Comment #97957 by Don_Quix on December 12, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Sweet! Termination Shock! That's going to be the name of my new metal band ;)
Go Voyager Go! Or should I say, V'GER. heheh.
277. U.S. Congress Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith
Comment #97948 by Don_Quix on December 12, 2007 at 9:39 pm
I'm confused too. But we're really in deep shit if this resolution has already been voted on and upheld. This has to be some kind of joke.
278. U.S. Congress Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith
Comment #97941 by Don_Quix on December 12, 2007 at 9:27 pm
WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED?
I demand a recount.
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison are rolling in their graves.
This doesn't sound like MY secular representative republic ;)
279. Where Is Atheism When Bad Things Happen?
Comment #97934 by Don_Quix on December 12, 2007 at 9:03 pm
If I see this mortal wound become supernaturally healed, like it says in Revelation 13, I will believe in my head that the healing occurred as per the scientific method.What are you talking about? Are you injured? If so, revelations will not help you.
What I will not do is believe and follow, in the sense of becoming a believer in that person or putting my trust in them, or bragging about what they've done, or treating them with awe in humble reverence and submission.Yet again, this makes no sense. What are you talking about? If you're being metaphorical, please provide some kind of example. Don't be vague, because it makes it impossible to respond in an intelligent way. Be specific.
280. Where Is Atheism When Bad Things Happen?
Comment #97928 by Don_Quix on December 12, 2007 at 8:53 pm
No, the idea is not to be gullible and believe everything you hear. You should want the proof before you believe it.I 100% agree with you on this.
I am not talking about hearing a story and asking for proof. I am talking about the challenge that when you see proof you will believe and follow.This doesn't really make any sense. Please elaborate.
When you ask for empirical evidence saying, "Show me the proof and I will believe", you are setting yourself up to become a believer once you have the proof.It logically follows that once one is shown empirical evidence of something, one provisionally accepts that evidence until contradictory evidence is presented. That is called the scientific method...which is what spawned every single thing in the modern world which you now benefit from.
Just because you see a great supernatural miracle doesn't mean you should bow down and worship at the altar of that miracle or miracle-worker.I 100% agree with you on this.
281. Where Is Atheism When Bad Things Happen?
Comment #97920 by Don_Quix on December 12, 2007 at 8:41 pm
Are you laughing about the impossibility of producing empirical evidence for a past historical event?No I was laughing at your complete misunderstanding of what empirical evidence is, and that you chose the worst possible example of things for which "there is no evidence" (ie - the holocaust). You basically just made yourself sound like a holocaust denier.
282. Where Is Atheism When Bad Things Happen?
Comment #97908 by Don_Quix on December 12, 2007 at 8:22 pm
hahahah. I just don't know what else to say after that. I'll let my cousins from across the pond take this one on ;)
283. Where Is Atheism When Bad Things Happen?
Comment #97895 by Don_Quix on December 12, 2007 at 8:01 pm
I follow modern theology very closely, and I don't see how any more proof that Jesus existed would turn it on its head.
What would be a complete turn around is if Jesus' body were discovered on earth. That would turn all of history on its head.
For the people I know who know without a doubt that God exists
it isn't because other people persuaded them.
It is because God made Himself known to them.
The people who only know that God exists because someone else or because a book persuaded them are just operating with their heads and their hearts, but the people who know God personally are knowing Him with their spirits.
He takes up residence within those who put their trust in Him, and makes a brand new person on the inside. That doesn't happen just from knowing that God exists or from believing that He exists.
I have no desire to be president of the world
nor to convince a whole lot of people that God exists.
If God doesn't do the convicting Himself, everything I do is in vain foolish pride.
I'll check out that nobeliefs.com, but it won't be the first time that I've read something like that
I've been around the block.
284. Why Science Will Triumph Only When Theory Becomes Law
Comment #97875 by Don_Quix on December 12, 2007 at 6:48 pm
Fuck off.
285. Why Science Will Triumph Only When Theory Becomes Law
Comment #97867 by Don_Quix on December 12, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Trying to have a rational conversation about the bible with someone like this is just like trying to convince a schizophrenic psychopath that the voices in their head are lying to them when the voices insist that it is perfectly reasonable to assassinate the president in order to win over the love of Jodie Foster. ;)
I suspect that you actually are arguing with a schizophrenic regarding the voices in his head. There's really no point.
286. Where Is Atheism When Bad Things Happen?
Comment #97332 by Don_Quix on December 11, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Shrommer -
Please provide empirical evidence that Jesus existed. If you can do this, you will turn modern theology on its head, and you will be hailed as the greatest historian and archaeologist who has ever lived. You will win the Nobel Prize, and you will probably get elected president of the world for life. You may also convince a whole lot of people that God actually exists.
You clearly have no comprehension of what empirical evidence is (hint: it's not anything you read in the bible, or anything that your pastor tells you). Seriously, read a book.
You may want to start with a website or two. Here's one to get you going:
http://www.nobeliefs.com/exist.htm
287. Where Is Atheism When Bad Things Happen?
Comment #97325 by Don_Quix on December 11, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Oh wait, I spoke too soon.
What we should do is base our philosophy of life on our experience with the material world.
We've seen Jesus come and work amazing things in people's lives,
and then come back from the dead in a special kind of body.
This is the hinge on which human history turns.
He wasn't a spook in the sky, but a flesh and blood person like ourselves. We got to see, hear, and touch him.
288. Where Is Atheism When Bad Things Happen?
Comment #97312 by Don_Quix on December 11, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Shrommer -
I'm sorry if my reasons for existence don't satisfy you. I don't have any more answers than this. Ultimately you have to choose your own reasons for existence. I can't choose them for you. I have simply tried to express the reasons for which I justify my own existence to myself. It's not my responsibility to find your reasons for existence for you. Good luck, and I wish you all the best in your quest.
289. Where Is Atheism When Bad Things Happen?
Comment #97288 by Don_Quix on December 11, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Shrommer -
I don't think you are quite getting what is being said here. There is no soul. There is no magic life force. There is no God or judgment. There is just biological life doing what biological life does. Fighting, fleeing, feeding, and fucking long enough that they can (hopefully) create the next generation which will do the same thing, and perhaps evolve a little bit in the process.
Ask a seal or a water buffalo if it feels like there is no meaning to life. It's doing exactly what it is supposed to be doing. So are we.
Seriously, I know you're doing your best to be deep and meaningful here, but there really is no need to look beyond the obvious. We are here to reproduce. Anything beyond that which we can come up with to make our existence or the existence of those after us more pleasant is just icing on the cake.
Again, if you don't feel that simply being alive, being happy and making others happy is a good enough reason to exist, then I don't know what to tell you. I guess I'd hate to be you :D
There are of course many many more rational and valid reasons that a human being could come up with to justify their existence, but the main three I've mentioned (reproduction, personal happiness, and spreading happiness to others) are pretty much the basics. There is no need for any other external reason for existence.
We are here because we are here, and we are what we are. Make the best of it for yourself, and try to make the world a better place for future generations, or die. That's all there is to it. But I usually prefer being alive to being dead, myself :)
290. The Pagan Christ
Comment #97265 by Don_Quix on December 11, 2007 at 8:28 pm
albondigas:
Are you saying that any person who believes in God can't be a productive member of society? Sounds like it when you use a phrase like 'waste your entire life'.
291. Functional Neuroimaging of Belief, Disbelief, and Uncertainty
Comment #97243 by Don_Quix on December 11, 2007 at 7:50 pm
It's an emoticon for "heart" or "love". If you turn your head sideways to the right, it looks vaguely like a heart. You must not have been on the internet long or never used any sort of text messaging program ;) <- that means wink wink
292. Functional Neuroimaging of Belief, Disbelief, and Uncertainty
Comment #97226 by Don_Quix on December 11, 2007 at 7:20 pm
oh my Don_Quix- I love seeing Carl Sagan...<3I miss him too :~)
293. Atheists don't believe in anything
Comment #97218 by Don_Quix on December 11, 2007 at 6:47 pm
Destroyer wrote:
If one does not believe in God then the tendency is to BELIEVE that ONLY matter exists.
If one believes that matter is all that there is then this is a metaphysical supposition which equates to faith without evidence, as consciousness has to be discounted.
294. Functional Neuroimaging of Belief, Disbelief, and Uncertainty
Comment #97204 by Don_Quix on December 11, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Yes very, very cool.
Better yet, let's round up all the presidential candidates and run them through this test to see if they really believe the shit they're trying to sell us...and also how many of them are actually atheists XD
295. The Pagan Christ
Comment #97158 by Don_Quix on December 11, 2007 at 2:16 pm
but as it is, I believe both that God exists and the claims of Jesus.
296. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins
Comment #97101 by Don_Quix on December 11, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Well, well ... what do you know.
http://voxday.blogspot.com/2007/12/atheist-killers.html
297. The empty myths peddled by evangelists of unbelief
Comment #97060 by Don_Quix on December 11, 2007 at 10:55 am
As a sceptic(spoken in Church Lady voice)
While theologians have interrogated their beliefs for millennia, secular humanists have yet to question their simple creed. Evangelical atheism is the mirror image of the faith it attacks - without that faith's redeeming doubts.Again, always equating atheism with secular humanism. I guess going by his logic that makes Stalin a secular humanist.
298. 'Boycott Worked': Compass Flops - Opening Weekend $26 Million; Narnia $63 Million
Comment #96791 by Don_Quix on December 10, 2007 at 11:00 pm
No, it doesn't say Church, nor does it yet say Sin. But aside from that, what more could you want.Is there a burning bush? If there isn't a burning bush then forget about it!
299. An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins
Comment #96781 by Don_Quix on December 10, 2007 at 10:35 pm
Guess I withstood my hazing.Get OUT.
Am I in the frat now, fellas?
300. Laugh at Sudan
Comment #96779 by Don_Quix on December 10, 2007 at 10:34 pm
Paging Pat Condell to the "An Open Letter to Richard Dawkins" thread. The pope and a certain catholic priest require a lashing from your scathing wit :D