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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
 Posted - 01/10/2002 : 23:17:05
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Talk about arrogance.
http://www.believers.org/atheist.htm
quote:
Please allow me to apologize to you for myself and all other Christians. Forgive us for not showing you the real love of Jesus Christ. Forgive us for arguing and fighting with you. Forgive us for all the terrible things we have done to you. I am sorry.
I don't know about most of you, but it took me a couple years to look around and finally accept the conclusion that god is an irrelevant concept in my daily life and worrying about pleasing something that may or may not exist is really not worth my time and may actually be detrimental.
Does he seriously think his attempt at making the atheist feel guilty will convince anyone of his position?
There is no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. It underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've known. Sagan
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Tim
SFN Regular
USA
775 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2002 : 05:17:45 [Permalink]
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quote:
Does he seriously think his attempt at making the atheist feel guilty will convince anyone of his position?
Probably not. But, he does probably think that his miserable little web page is going to raise his status as Christian intellectual.
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Marc_a_b
Skeptic Friend
USA
142 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2002 : 06:53:21 [Permalink]
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I wouldn't accept an appology that included insults either.
quote:
Jesus was, and is, the friend of sinners
So he is saying "I'm sorry I haven't treated you heathen sinners better"?
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2002 : 07:22:51 [Permalink]
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quote:
Talk about arrogance.
http://www.believers.org/atheist.htm
quote:
Please allow me to apologize to you for myself and all other Christians. Forgive us for not showing you the real love of Jesus Christ. Forgive us for arguing and fighting with you. Forgive us for all the terrible things we have done to you. I am sorry.
I don't know about most of you, but it took me a couple years to look around and finally accept the conclusion that god is an irrelevant concept in my daily life and worrying about pleasing something that may or may not exist is really not worth my time and may actually be detrimental.
Does he seriously think his attempt at making the atheist feel guilty will convince anyone of his position?
There is no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. It underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've known. Sagan
Apollogy my ass. I found this at the bottom of the web page.
quote:
Definition of an Atheist
I say, "An atheist is a person who wants to drive on the wrong side of the road."
I am convinced, that most of the time (some are just deceived), "being an atheist" is not really about what a person believes, but about what they want to do, or not do. They just don't want to answer to God -- as they perceive Him. They don't want to follow the rules God would give. They want to be free to do whatever they choose, which is tragic. (Of course, you cannot expect most of them to admit this openly -- even to themselves.)
Faith in God is not supposed to be a leap in the dark. There is more than sufficient evidence to convince any sincere seeker of God's existence -- if they would seek it out. However, many choose to selectively ignore certain facts.
If they really knew God and realized that He loves them even more than they love themselves -- and that He knows more than they do -- they would make a different decision.
Do we think the parent who tells their child not to play in the street is trying to keep their child from having fun? Certainly not! We know the parent has knowledge the child has not yet gained, and is looking out for their welfare.
Many wealthy people have investment advisors who tell them what to do with their money. Do you think that unduly restricts the wealthy person's life? No, it frees them to enjoy life instead of being burdened down with the details of researching and managing their investments.
So it is with God -- all the "rules" He gave us are for our own good -- and will actually free us to be able to enjoy life to its fullest. We can drive down the wrong side of the road if we choose -- but it is foolish and will eventually get us killed. God loves us so much that He gave us instructions to keep us from hurting ourselves -- not to keep us from enjoying life.
Of course, many who claim to be followers of God have a lot of rules they will tell you that God requires you to keep. They may, or may not, be right. Why not read the Bible for yourself, and ask Jesus to teach you the truth? Remember, He loves you and wants the best for you!
Does this sound apollogetic?
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@tomic
Administrator
USA
4607 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2002 : 09:21:22 [Permalink]
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That guy is a real idiot. If he fills with any more self-rightiousness he may pop like a baloon.
@tomic
Gravity, not just a good idea...it's the law! |
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James
SFN Regular
USA
754 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2002 : 10:42:52 [Permalink]
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quote:
If you knew Him, you would love Him.
Right. And if I knew Hitler I would claim he was misunderstood.
Apology my ass.
"Necessity may be the mother of invention, but laziness is usually the father." -Bailey's First Law |
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Slater
SFN Regular
USA
1668 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2002 : 11:18:30 [Permalink]
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quote:
They want to be free to do whatever they choose, which is tragic.
There it is, right there-the whole point of his argument.
There's an ancient fable, Aesop I believe, that has a dog and a wolf in conversation. The dog tells the wolf how wonderful his doggy life is, a warm dry place to live, someone to brush his coat, and good food every day. He advises the wolf to join him and the wolf agrees.
But as they are walking to the dog's house the wolf notices that around the dog's neck is a silver chain. The wolf asks what that beautiful decoration is and the dog says that that is what his master uses to tie him up at night. The wolf turns his back on the warm home and good food. He returns to the woods.
Since this isn't a Christian story it is the wolf that is the hero. Were it a NT parable the dog would have been in the right.
It's a funny thing about religion (let me amend that to Christianity, the Eastern Religions have something of a sense of humor about themselves) and the idea of respect. Religionists absolutely demand it. In fact about ten years ago they tried to get laws passed to mandate it. Yet they have no qualms about showing disrespect to people whose beliefs differ from theirs.
Last Monday I was giving a little talk at the U. of H., Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Laboratory. When I was done boring those good people a group of us had a conversation about how the lab was not moving to Maui as planned. Although the govt. on Maui wanted them to come the Kewaloians were afraid that the animal rights people on Maui would actually kill the dolphins. At a town meeting in Lahaina some guy had stood up and delivered a threatening message from Jesus-Christ-the-Lord-Our-God about not keeping dolphins in tanks.
A woman in our conversation group laughed and said, "well, all the photos of Jesus show him walking on water with his hands out from his sides and dolphins do the same thing. He must think that the dolphins are imitating old JC." She then imitated a Flipper/Christ and one of the female dolphins, seeing her through a window in the tank, imitated her. Everyone laughed-but suddenly stopped and looked one to the other. It took a few seconds to realize that none of us was a believer, and we all started laughing again- this time at ourselves.
I doubt that when Atheism comes up in any conversation amongst believers that they find themselves looking over their shoulders. Even though (according to a recent poll by CCNY) Atheists make up a considerable minority in the general population there seems to be no need to be "PC" about it.
So my question is, why don't we rate even the lip service of respect from believers?
And a second question, why do religionists rate more respect than, let's say, a crop circle believer? Should the Cardinal of the Arch-Dioceses of New York be given more deference than a "Big Foot/ Loch Ness Monster" hunter?
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The brain that was stolen from my laboratory was a criminal brain. Only evil will come from it. |
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Donnie B.
Skeptic Friend
417 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2002 : 11:27:47 [Permalink]
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quote:
So my question is, why don't we rate even the lip service of respect from believers?
And a second question, why do religionists rate more respect than, let's say, a crop circle believer? Should the Cardinal of the Arch-Dioceses of New York be given more deference than a "Big Foot/ Loch Ness Monster" hunter?
Only for being a snappier dresser.
-- Donnie B.
Brian: "No, no! You have to think for yourselves!" Crowd: "Yes! We have to think for ourselves!" |
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gezzam
SFN Regular
Australia
751 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2002 : 15:03:18 [Permalink]
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quote:
I say, "An atheist is a person who wants to drive on the wrong side of the road."
Thats waht the wanker wrote somewhere on his misguided webpage.
I say that sometimes driving on the other side of the road makes life a little more entertaining and exciting....
"Damn you people. Go back to your shanties." --- Shooter McGavin |
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2002 : 15:15:00 [Permalink]
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quote:
quote:
I say, "An atheist is a person who wants to drive on the wrong side of the road."
Thats waht the wanker wrote somewhere on his misguided webpage.
I say that sometimes driving on the other side of the road makes life a little more entertaining and exciting....
"Damn you people. Go back to your shanties." --- Shooter McGavin
Well, you Australians do drive on the wrong side of the road. But you are consistent, so there's no problem. If I went down there and drove on the proper side of the road, I'd be eating a land rover bumper.  
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Xev
Skeptic Friend
USA
329 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2002 : 16:35:27 [Permalink]
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I'll accept his apology if he brings me Bill Gate's head on a silver-
Computer crashed right in middle of coding project - must vent.
Okay, now that that's over with:
quote:
Jesus was, and is, the friend of sinners
Sure, invite him to my next party in case we run out of beer (if He can change water into wine, why not beer? :D )
I don't see what he has to apologize for. I mean, who is he to say 'sorry the Catholic Church murdered Bruno'? I didn't become an athiest because John Q. Christian pulled my braids in elementery school. Disingenuos apology.
(Pretend this is a witty Latin phrase, okay?) |
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gezzam
SFN Regular
Australia
751 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2002 : 17:02:02 [Permalink]
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quote:
Well, you Australians do drive on the wrong side of the road. But you are consistent, so there's no problem. If I went down there and drove on the proper side of the road, I'd be eating a land rover bumper.
Ha Ha Valient Dancer....
Actually my fiance and I are coming to your country for our honeymoon in October....
We are flying to New York, buying a good cheap good ole "American Muscle Car "(hopefully a late 60's Mustang) and doing a road trip to L.A. I can't wait to do it, there is so much of your country that I want to see.
I've driven around Australia once (took me 1 1/2 years, ahhhhh the freedom of youth), now it's time to see another country....on the wrong side of the road too.....
"Damn you people. Go back to your shanties." --- Shooter McGavin |
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Slater
SFN Regular
USA
1668 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2002 : 18:23:55 [Permalink]
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quote:
We are flying to New York, buying a good cheap good ole "American Muscle Car "(hopefully a late 60's Mustang) and doing a road trip to L.A.
Did that myself three years back--only with a new Japanese muscle car. My wife and I had a grand time.
One word of advice. Join the Triple A (American Automobile Assoc.) they will not only send you all the maps you want --with suggested routes marked, but they also have tow trucks across the U.S. that can pick you up when your 30 plus year old car explodes in the middle of the South West desert. Don't forget to buy a cell phone (they won't work in the middle of Texas-but if the car breaks down there you'll want to kill yourself anyway rather than deal with it)
Second suggestion--get married when you reach LA. Because if you still want to after being locked in the same ancient car together for a couple of weeks then you'll live happily ever after. And if you don't --LA is chock -a -block with beautiful women.
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The brain that was stolen from my laboratory was a criminal brain. Only evil will come from it. |
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gezzam
SFN Regular
Australia
751 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2002 : 18:45:13 [Permalink]
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I drove aroung Australia in a 1973 Holden Kingswood Stationwagon, not the most modern of cars, but easy to fix when something went wrong.....
Thats the problem with these newfangled cars, my fiance has a BMW thats lovely to drive, but oh so expensive to fix.....
I still have the same '73 Holden with which I can fix most problems with a 1/2" or 9/16" spanner. She has done 475,000 kilometers and the old V8 keeps on ticking. Yup that's how old she is, still in imperial measurements.....We went metric in the late 60's
"Damn you people. Go back to your shanties." --- Shooter McGavin |
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Donnie B.
Skeptic Friend
417 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2002 : 19:53:32 [Permalink]
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New York would not be the best place for you to buy that car... taxes are high and car prices would reflect the overall high cost of living there.
A better bet would be to pick a city in the East, but not that far east... like Cleveland or Pittsburgh. Then you can drive to the East Coast without having to backtrack too much, but still take advantage of better deals in the Midwest.
-- Donnie B.
Brian: "No, no! You have to think for yourselves!" Crowd: "Yes! We have to think for ourselves!" |
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gezzam
SFN Regular
Australia
751 Posts |
Posted - 01/11/2002 : 20:14:21 [Permalink]
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Sorry guys, I seem to have inadvertantly turned this thread into a "Lets all talk about my holiday" thread......
Thanks for the advice though.....
"Damn you people. Go back to your shanties." --- Shooter McGavin |
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