Phyreblade (1414) 118 SFW Posts | 4,858 Space Comments | Favorites | RSS Feed I just ain't right... Registered 2007-10-19 10:18:23 Comment Karma: 45 Featured Comments: 0 Member of :

Recent Comments from Phyreblade

Comment on HDR Reflections (2010-06-09 16:15:01)
Oooh Purdy...
Comment on Ricky Gervais on being an atheist (2010-06-09 16:00:01)
Yes, indeed. The early Christians were no more coherent about the nature of the spirit, God, souls, etc than Christians are today. And before the "Christians" there were a gazillion similar religions that carried a similar dogma. Today, there are a gazillion different branches of Christianity, the vast majority of them carrying differences in the various sets of beliefs the others have. Heck, I find it amazing that the Roman Catholic church is still a single entity...
Comment on john adams - the united states government is not in any way founded on the christian religion (2010-06-09 15:38:30)
Yes, you are correct, I understand that part, however beliefs generally do not exist in a vacuum. They are usually supported by some paradigm, some system, or school of thought, something that provides a way of explaining the rationale of those beliefs. This is why I do not subscribe to the idea of belief as a purely binary position on something, as you have described it. There is always more to it than that. There is always a framework within which a person believes what they believe. And that framework is what I am referring to as a belief system. I love your post about Richard Dawkins. I really like that way of looking at things. He states what he believes to be true, based on the evidence provided, but also recognizes that we cannot know anything with 100% certainty, and is willing to accept any evidence that stands scrutiny. Now THAT is what I call rational, objective science. THAT is how science is supposed to operate. It is indeed the most objective, intellectually honest stance available, and I wish all scientists could be that clear and honest. Obviously we can't say the same of religion, since religion is a belief system that is not based on objective science, empirical proof or corroborating evidence. But then again, religion was never meant to be scientific, so it would be an unreasonable expectation. But I also think that both ways of thinking fall within the framework of what I consider a belief system. IE, I believe "X" because of "Y" and "Z". "Y" and "Z" do not necessarily have to make sense in all belief systems, only the one to which "X" belongs. And in that sense, both science and religion are belief systems. Diametrically opposed belief systems, yes, but belief systems just the same.
Comment on john adams - the united states government is not in any way founded on the christian religion (2010-06-09 11:31:16)
Ok, I agree that Atheism is not intrinsically a religion. However this analogy makes no sense. It is unnecessarily narrow. It would be more appropriate to think of having no hair as a hair style not a hair color. This means that being an atheist does not preclude you from being a member of another belief system, though it may not necessarily be a religious one.
Comment on Ricky Gervais on being an atheist (2010-06-09 11:08:59)
Correction: You cannot blame religion *as a whole* for that...
Comment on Ricky Gervais on being an atheist (2010-06-09 11:02:54)
Actually, this is really dependent on how you interpret your religious text of choice. Two people can read the same text, and based on thier individual interpretation, one will go out and kill people, and the other will go out and engage in great acts of charity. So it is really a double edged sword. However I agree with you about threatening people with eternal damnation if they aren't good. There are many reasons to be good without that. But the other side of the coin is that religious texts generally also have very good advice. There are many things said that make sense whether you are religious or not. I really wish more religious folk would apply them in the spirit in which they were written...
Comment on Ricky Gervais on being an atheist (2010-06-09 10:53:27)
Again, that is not religion violating the childs rights, that is the parent choosing not to allow their child to make their own decision. You cannot blame religion as a for that. That is simply poor judgment on the parents part.
Comment on library slope (2010-06-09 10:43:51)
I'll tempered piranha? With lasers attached to their heads?
Comment on hummer douchebag (2010-06-09 10:41:23)
But wait... What if he's actually... Disabled?
Comment on john adams - the united states government is not in any way founded on the christian religion (2010-06-09 00:06:22)
It's funny how people pull only the quotes that work for them for any given purpose...
Comment on john adams - the united states government is not in any way founded on the christian religion (2010-06-09 00:04:33)
Thank you, that makes a whole lot more sense.
Comment on john adams - the united states government is not in any way founded on the christian religion (2010-06-09 00:02:09)
I agree on Atheism not being a religion. At least by 50% of the definitions out there. But a "binary position on belief in gods" sounds like a fancy way of saying you either believe or do not believe there is a god, either way you believe one or the other. Everything you have said so far makes sense, except for what i'll refer to non-religious belief systems. I think our definitions of a "belief system" do not jibe. When I talk about belief systems, I am talking just as much about what one believes, as much as how they go about verifying that belief, and how they use that system to interpret and understand the world around them. I don't think it makes any sense to separate the two. Science seems, to me at least, to fall under that description. How do you define a "belief system"?
Comment on john adams - the united states government is not in any way founded on the christian religion (2010-06-08 23:50:03)
OK, you lost me. How does accepting scientific principles allow you to "know" that there is no such thing as "god"? I guess the first question is, how did you define "god"? And then, how did you determine whether or not such a thing exists?
Comment on I am an atheist - the burden of proof lies on religion (2010-06-08 23:43:46)
Good points. So what reasons can you think of that allowed these traits to survive?
Comment on Advertising (2010-06-08 23:36:24)
Anti-Advertising?