Damn... it seems I missed a good atheism versus ancient-mystical-mumbo-jumbo-crap argument. Shame - I would have gotten like 1,000,000 points for the Atheists.
I think we must face the fact that true Atheism is just as much of a fairy tale as Theism/Deism. The notion that the universe was spontaneously created out of nothing by nothing seems like magic to me. (The quantum vacuum doesn't count as nothing.) If you would like to have a nice discussion about this, feel free to send me a PM. I apologize for snapping at you earlier. I just want all of us to be respectful to one another. Best,AJ
Here we go again.As a forum member who once fanned the flames of religious debate only to leave it aside once it became boring I have grown tired of seeing it constantly crop up.Seriously guys, nobody is changing anybody's mind. Religious positions aren't theoretical statements one either agrees with or does not. They are ways of life. You think anyone will ever change that based on a forum "debate"? Maybe ya'll find it fun but if you're arguing seriously I'm here to tell you that it's probably a waste of effort.More importantly I'd rather just get on with all of you as well as I can and forego most serious debates in favour of more interesting, trivial and appropriate conversations about MUSIC.
Hi, JamesThank you for your kind response. Let me clear up a few things here. I think that you're making a mistake in your logical deduction of metaphysics and reality. By saying that " If God is a reality, then it is not longer metaphysical " seems to me a misunderstanding of what a spiritual dimension really is. A physical reality and a metaphysical reality are two separate things. If the concepts of spirituality and physicality were one reality, you would be correct in your logic. But the very definition of " spiritual " implies that it is a completely different reality altogether. I believe you can have it both ways.
that's democracy for ya.
Her faith stresses beautiful ideas such as humility and helping others.
You don't need religion to be a nice person.
My biggest annoyance about that is that this isn't just attributed to Catholicism... You don't need to be religious to be humble and helpful. Being good and decent to other human beings should be because we are all equal and each person should be treated as such... and not to please a non-existent deity who apparently keeps a pro's and con's list about everything we do in life. You don't need religion to be a nice person.
My thoughts: My good friend is a devout Catholic. I am an atheist. The last thing that I would want to do is interfere with her faith. Her faith stresses beautiful ideas such as humility and helping others. She is always trying to convert me to being a Catholic. I tell her that she can try for a thousand years and this will not affect my being an atheist. But I also tell her that I greatly admire Pope Francis and many aspects of her faith. My friend is also a firm believer in science and like Pope Francis, she believes that global warming exists and is caused largely by man. A discussion on global warming though will also unlikely change minds. However, discussions are great if you enjoy them and you treat others with respect.
Historically they have also affected the world in a good way, there's no question about that. Nothing's black and white.
Hi Outin, With all due respect, be very careful when telling somebody that they misunderstand or do not understand a concept and/or word. A true atheist is somebody who does not believe in a god/gods. Period. The new atheists are trying to redefine the term to mean a " Lack of belief in god/gods " but that is flirting with Agnosticism (Not believing but not denying the possibility.) Why is it that we are constantly distorting the semantics of the English language to make words conveniently fit into our own system of thought? Why can't Christianity be Christianity (people distort what Christianity is as well. I don't deny that), Atheism be Atheism, and Agnosticism be Agnosticism? With all of this redefining and cautious but convenient word-play, we will eventually become a very confused society because a clear foundation of semantics will turn extremely foggy. Believe what you want to believe regarding words and their meaning. But tread carefully.
Second time this has happened. I go for jog. I have a set path I usually go on. I time it just to keep an eye on that, not to push the time. Point being I don't want to stop running though.Partway through a girl turns onto "my" path from a side street. She ends up being about a half block in front of me. It ends up looking like I'm chasing after possibly. But then I've also got this straight ahead of me...Awkward enough. "Hey cars driving by. I'm not chasing her. And my eyes are on the horizon. She just happens to be straight in my line of sight." The first time it happened, she was farther ahead and turned... only to appear back again right by me when her path turned back to mine a few blocks later.I don't want to stop and walk because the point is to run. Crossing to the other side of the street isn't always an option.
I cannot stand with ya on this one, Outin. It's impossible to truly KNOW that there are no gods,
Actually it may be impossible to PROVE, but it's not impossible to KNOW. Trust me
It can be proven in math with 100% certainty that there are the SAME number of points on the number line going from 0 to 1 as there are going from 0 to 2 or as going from 0 to 3. I fact there are the SAME number of points on the number line going from 0 to 1 as there are points going from negative infinity to positive infinity. The proof is rather simple and I can see it clearly, but it goes against my intuition.
100% certainty mentioned above means 99.9999%+ certainty.
The only things you can know with a 100% certainty are things that are wrong
I may "know" that xx for reasons X, Y, and Z, but that doesn't objectively prove xx
All Beethoven sonatas.Ready, go!
that's not a challenge..thats fun...
Like the "What are you listening to right now" thread...What's the most pressing concern on your mind at the moment?Things you are working on now, things you "must remember to do today or this week," etc. not necessarily piano.
dude i freaking love eggs manyo you should try either scrambled eggs or omellete with chorizo (portuguese sausage...no sex jokes plz) and cheddar. stuff is da bomb.either cheddar or mozzarella.
When you cook morning scrambled eggs, toss a little cracked black pepper, throw in a little jack or chedar cheese near the end ( i dont like my chees completely melted; i like it a bit stiff in some parts , the texture it adds is good) and then after you serve it up pour a litte Pico Pica on top of it. Maybe a few slices of fresh avocado on the side.