WasatchMan Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 We can benefit plenty if philosophical or scientific arguments are made without relying on religion. Do we toss out Galileo's telescope because he was a Christian? Let's judge statements on the merits, and not the unsaid. This whole topic is about religion, and being proud of it. That is the context. This isn't a scientific theory presented by someone that happens to be religious. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirgall Posted January 18, 2015 Share Posted January 18, 2015 This whole topic is about religion, and being proud of it. That is the context. This isn't a scientific theory presented by someone that happens to be religious. Fair enough. I think he was being more proud of the bravery of saying it where he would expect to be challenged than necessarily pride in being religious. If someone comes to us and said, "I accept reason, and evidence, and empirical knowledge, but I am still unconvinced in this one area, and this is why" that is a lot different than some troll that says, "The Bible is Truth and if you don't start there you are idiots." For example, OtherOtie says this: On one hand I believe that there is a God and I want to impart the truth as I understand it to my children. On the other hand I do not want to impose my own conclusions on my children where they are sufficiently controversial and have huge world view implications. There is a lot to work with here! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WasatchMan Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Fair enough. I think he was being more proud of the bravery of saying it where he would expect to be challenged than necessarily pride in being religious. If someone comes to us and said, "I accept reason, and evidence, and empirical knowledge, but I am still unconvinced in this one area, and this is why" that is a lot different than some troll that says, "The Bible is Truth and if you don't start there you are idiots." For example, OtherOtie says this: There is a lot to work with here! "You cannot reason someone out of something they were not reasoned into" - Stefan Molyneux 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Libertus Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 "You cannot reason someone out of something they were not reasoned into" - Stefan Molyneux Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotDarkYet Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I was mentally tortured and bullied by Christians during my whole childhood. I will never forget it. Nor will I forgive them. So, allow me to make an admission: I feel hatred and revulsion toward Christians. To say I feel otherwise would be a lie. In my childhood, when I tried to get answers to my rational questions, I was dismissed. It was the ultimate in Kafka-esque frustration. No more. If somebody wants to declare in a public forum that they believe in the reality of Santa, talking snakes, or zombie jews, then they should be prepared to elaborate rationally. Don't be a jerk about it. But if somebody is skirting around the questions, then you should call them out on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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