[Ninjavandal]

Originally Posted by philovan ↗

Well stated. I understand the position; indeed it is close to my own in the past. I wonder how old you are, and I wonder if you will be quite as sure of yourself at, say 75 or 80. I'm not implying that you will or won't be; just wondering. I think often of Antony Flew, who was a renowned atheist philosopher as I am (a philosopher, not renowned!). If you don't know who he was you could look him up, but only if you are interested in pursuing the topic. As sure of yourself as you seem to be, perhaps you won't consider that to be worth the time and effort. I completely understand.

You do of course realize, philovan, that there are many atheists who regard Flew as having been a fraud, right?
That said, I am but 36-years-old. Nonetheless, I will remain a militant atheist until my final breath simply bacause I know that death is not something to be fearful of. For death is akin to dreamless sleep; just a lot of nothingness, sort of the way in which things "were" prior to one's birth. In other words, once you're dead, you won't even know yourself to be dead. Any and all thoughts having to do with an "afterlife" are nothing more than wishful thinking - wishful thinking that, in some ways, are the "thoughts" of crazy people.

http://richardcarrier.blogspot.com/2...ogus-book.html

[Ninjavandal]

Originally Posted by HolographicSexOffender ↗

So-

What you're saying is that you're gay...

Except you're doing so in a spiteful, bitter, trite, & long-winded manner.

Nice work

Yes, that's it, I stand in solidarity with gay people, and that automatically makes me gay, too. I guess the fact that I also stand in solidarity with people of color automatically makes me a person of color just as, say, my standing in solidarity with the undocumented automatically makes me undocumented. Nice work.
Finally, I'm wondering just how simpleminded one must be in order to consider a 150-word post "long-winded."
Never mind, I already know the answer to my question.

[Razorhead]

Pretty girls. Very sad.

[philovan]

Originally Posted by Ninjavandal ↗

You do of course realize, philovan, that there are many atheists who regard Flew as having been a fraud, right?
That said, I am but 36-years-old. Nonetheless, I will remain a militant atheist until my final breath simply bacause I know that death is not something to be fearful of. For death is akin to dreamless sleep; just a lot of nothingness, sort of the way in which things "were" prior to one's birth. In other words, once you're dead, you won't even know yourself to be dead. Any and all thoughts having to do with an "afterlife" are nothing more than wishful thinking - wishful thinking that, in some ways, are the "thoughts" of crazy people.

http://richardcarrier.blogspot.com/2...ogus-book.html

I fully respect your position. I will say that, among professional philosophers (his peer group), you would be very hard pressed to find anyone who would characterize Flew as a "fraud". He was a very sharp analytical philosopher, with voluminous publications and highly respected in the profession for many years. Perhaps he got soft in his old age, but that is speculation.

[Ninjavandal]

philovan: "I fully respect your position.”

As I fully respect yours, philovan.

philovan: "I will say that, among professional philosophers (his peer group), you would be very hard pressed to find anyone who would characterize Flew as a ‘fraud.' He was a very sharp analytical philosopher, with voluminous publications and highly respected in the profession for many years.”

Yes, as it related to his being a philosopher, most especially as it had to do his following in the footsteps of David Hume, Flew was by no means a fraud, and I apologize if I suggested otherwise. The farudulent side of Flew's work did not shine through until his later years when he came to accept the “existence” of the “god” delusion. It was a delusion that came complete with his illogical adoption of the laughable “intelligent design biology” and with the equally laughable assertion that Charles Darwin changed his mind whilst lying on his deathbed.

philova: "Perhaps he got soft in his old age, but that is speculation.”

Or perhaps he allowed the guilt trip that his father - a Methodist preacher - laid on him in his early years to influence his thinking in his final years, which is also speculation.

All of this, however, is far removed from my original point that, “god” or no “god,” it is the expressions and actions of homophobes that cause thousands of LGBTQ people to take their own lives each and every year. Yes, homophobia does indeed kill!

Again, I refer you to Richard Carrier: http://richardcarrier.blogspot.com/2...ogus-book.html

[philovan]

All of this, however, is far removed from my original point that, “god” or no “god,” it is the expressions and actions of homophobes that cause thousands of LGBTQ people to take their own lives. Yes, homophobia does indeed kill!

It does, indeed.

[Ninjavandal]

Thank you for your measured responses, philovan.

[Stevieaitch]

Originally Posted by philovan ↗

I understand and sympathize with your comments. Yet in spite of all my philosophical training and years of university teaching, as I get closer to the end (and I am up there in years) I can't avoid the thought: "What if the theists are right after all?" and what that would bode for one's "exit" from this life. Can even the most militant of atheists quite avoid entertaining these kinds of thoughts at some time or another? The bottom line is that nobody can achieve absolute certainty on this ultimate question no matter how militant their beliefs at some stages of life.

Sup g. Yep i have swung back and forth and have settled on personal proof which shows me there is an afterlife. What form it takes i dont know but your personality lives on. As to god or gods? I dont care. I understand this body we are in is a vehicle to carry the mind while in this form. Then the body dies and the energy moves into something else. One can speculate the details forever but i have certainty of continuation of a next stage of existence after this one. You have to find your own proof of course.
As to justice i hope there is some because the amount of pain caused by some cannot go unchecked.

[nstonerider76]

Originally Posted by Ninjavandal ↗

"Can even the most militant of atheists quite avoid entertaining these kinds of thoughts at some time or another?"

Well, never has this militant atheist entertained such thoughts. And I seriously doubt that any of the many atheists that I know, militant or otherwise, have ever entertained such idiocy, either.
Too, one needn't be an atheist to know that the condemnation of gay people for their being gay is utterly unjustifed.
But let us suppose for a moment that there is indeed a "god," and that that "god" really does have a problem with gay people. In which case I say - fuck "god" in its ear holes! For there is no logical reason whatsoever that homosexuality should ever be regarded as something of an antisocial nature.
In a world filled with hatred, much of it of a religious nature, love and kindness must always be welcomed irresepctive of sexuality.

Yeah, piss all over "god" - all of the many of them!

Well lets propose a theory: what if everybody was gay? And you can’t get a woman to “ carry a baby” for either a man and man couple nor a female and female couple. Beacause we know for a FACT than two men can’t make a baby, nor can two women, and no matter how many surgeries, a man will NEVER be a woman and carry, and a woman will never impregnate another female. So, that right there proves beyond a reasonable doubt, that obviously it’s not fuckin normal. And as far as your GOD bashing, no matter how hard man tries, he’ll never be able to replicate a perfect union of man and woman outta two men or two women! That right there proves beyond a reasonable doubt, that God aint that stupid! So I guess you believe you evolved from a fucking gorilla huh? Well with beliefs like that you just might have, who knows. Or better yet, the big fucking bang theory huh? Yeah, only thing that ever comes from “ explosions” or “implosions “ is complete disaster, yet this Big Bang created everything so precisely accurate, the sun rises and doesn’t fall out of the atmosphere and burn us all to hell, the ocean only goes so far and doesn’t engulf the dry land, and all the species of animals,plants, fungus, microbes, DNA, that’s all a fucking accident huh? Have you ever really studied DNA? I feel so sad for your empty mind set, but a lot of atheists have gone off to prove God doesn’t exist, and oh my God, HE’S REAL! I don’t fear gay, homosexual,and whatever names they are going by these days, nor do I judge them, they are just confused, I mean, in every gay relationship there is a “man” in the guy and guy, and in the girl and girl. It like, you want to be with the same sex, but yet one of you plays the roll, if that’s not confused, I don’t know what is!

[Marvel]

You're living on thin ice when you profane God's name.