Christmas for Atheists

[rstrong]

and Mike's thanking rstrong, an atheist, for posting the ridicule.

What ridicule?

"The Piper" posted an insulting message, suggesting that people believing his mythology were somehow morally superior to those who don't. I merely reminded him of just a few recent notable mass-exceptions.

That's not ridicule. That's Matthew 7:1-5.

Edit: Oh right, the previous post. Yes, that would be ridicule. One could argue that symbolic cannibalism should be above ridicule.

[neoplacebo]

Indeed, Billy, there is little (if any) in this world that people might construe as "new and profound" which does not have its roots in what is old.

Thanks!

BTW, love the new avatar(s)!

Go, Irish!

I gotta agree with you, Mike, about Billy's new avatar....Go Vols. I think the only red things I have are a lawnmower and one sweater.....

[k9nanny]

Edit: Oh right, the previous post. Yes, that would be ridicule. One could argue that symbolic cannibalism should be above ridicule.

For a true Catholic, it is not symbolic; it's the real thing. If the wine is spilt, it must be cleaned off the floor with a special cloth, which is then deposited in a designated place near the altar.
As for DooHickey, she finds no problem with ridiculing homosexuals, who are born into their persuasion, not converted or brainwashed.

[mike]

I find it rather interesting that Piper and DooHickey have taken it upon themselves to judge my quality of faith.

Anyone that knows me, PM'ed with me, emailed with me, etc ... are quite aware of my faith.

I don't rub it in. I can laugh at, what appears to those not within my faith, the traditions that make no sense.

My ability to recognize the humor does not, in any way, diminish my beliefs.

Have at it, Piper and DooHickey. Your attempts to marginalize the depth of my beliefs are falling on deaf ears.

[DooHickey]

As for DooHickey, she finds no problem with ridiculing homosexuals, who are born into their persuasion,
not converted or brainwashed.

WTF? Who said anything about queers? What has queers got to do with communion?

"The Piper" posted an insulting message, suggesting that people believing his mythology were somehow morally superior to those who don't.

I saw nothing insulting about Piper's "message" to Mike. Obviously Mike and Piper believe in the same God, and each attempts to serve what you deem a mythical creature, in their own way. It looks as though Piper reminded Mike what Mr.B has been spouting over the years about living what you say you are.

I find it rather interesting that Piper and DooHickey have taken it upon themselves to judge my quality of faith.
Have at it, Piper and DooHickey. Your attempts to marginalize the depth of my beliefs are falling on deaf ears.

Now don't go getting your holy drawers in a wad there Mike. I only stated that Piper sent you a reminder.
Quote: "What I saw in Piper's comment was chastisement of Mike, who proclaims to be a Christian, thinking ridicule of a holy ritual was amusing, and Mike's thanking rstrong, an atheist, for posting the ridicule. I have to agree with Piper; and I don't think Piper was "judging" Mike."

If you were insulted, maybe you have a reason to be insulted. If anyone insulted you, it would be rstrong with his description of your God and the workings of your beliefs.

Heck, Communion may not even be one of The Piper's rituals.

You're right; I only know what I've read and seen in the Godfather movies.

[mike]

Now don't go getting your holy drawers in a wad there Mike. I only stated that Piper sent you a reminder.
Quote: "What I saw in Piper's comment was chastisement of Mike, who proclaims to be a Christian, thinking ridicule of a holy ritual was amusing, and Mike's thanking rstrong, an atheist, for posting the ridicule. I have to agree with Piper; and I don't think Piper was "judging" Mike."

If you were insulted, maybe you have a reason to be insulted. If anyone insulted you, it would be rstrong with his description of your God and the workings of your beliefs.

As I mentioned, DooHickey, I take little offense to what people have to say about my beliefs. I have "Mr. Deity" as one of my subscriptions on YouTube.

I do take offense, however, when the depth and breadth of my beliefs and the sincerity thereof is questioned.

It is only then when I find it necessary to speak out.

[DooHickey]

I do take offense, however, when the depth and breadth of my beliefs and the sincerity thereof is questioned.
It is only then when I find it necessary to speak out.

Whatever you say. That's for you and The Piper to piss about. Seems I do recall this though:

Matthew 7

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

I take this to mean "what you see, is what you get"; and I don't think any of us here are blind.
(p.s.---I didn't find this on YouTube)

[mike]

I do take offense, however, when the depth and breadth of my beliefs and the sincerity thereof is questioned.
It is only then when I find it necessary to speak out.

Whatever you say. That's for you and The Piper to piss about. Seems I do recall this though:

Matthew 7

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

I take this to mean "what you see, is what you get"; and I don't think any of us here are blind.
(p.s.---I didn't find this on YouTube)

LOL!
You are attempting to toss out scripture to me?

To funny, DooHickey.

You know nothing of my "fruits."

I have nothing of which I need to substantiate to you.
You can sit back and judge, admonish, attempt to feel superior ... have fun!

What are your beliefs, DooHickey? (I have yet to see you get up the courage to present them)
I'm quite open with mine and, yet, even my friends who believe differently are, well, still my friends.

[Banni]

+1 Respect to Mike
-1 Respect to Doohickey.

... and that's a rare respect assigned to a Christian :-) Of course, I think the good ones are rare anyway.


How's Fred Phelps Doohickey, and which one are you? :>

[The Piper]

I find it rather interesting that Piper and DooHickey have taken it upon themselves to judge my quality of faith.

I may be wrong but it looked to me like The Piper was posting as one believer to another. He's just not the calling out type unless one posts something pretty offensive.

Thank you Vrede, you are correct. mike did not post anything offensive to religion; rather I was attempting to stand beside him.

Mike, if I offended you, I apologize; that was not the intent, nor did I choose DooHickey to stand in as my spokesperson. My intent was not to question your faith, rather to remind you that as a child of God, all evil should be shunned. I felt that by your thanks that you would encourage more postings of this type from those who can post some of the ugliest, hateful tripe concerning the God you and I worship. I was appalled that, even though you can laugh off ridicule of your beliefs; (as I can too) you found humor and even thanked the poster for the cartoon that ridiculed aspects of religious beliefs.

The following, as well as some of the garbage posted by Bannination, billy.pilgrim and Bungalow Bill do not deserve thanks, nor even any recognition for that matter.

Yes, that would be ridicule. One could argue that symbolic cannibalism should be above ridicule.

That they choose to be non-believers is their business; yours and my beliefs are our business. We don't make light of their non-belief and I feel they should not ridicule us, but if they thought they were impressing someone else with what they feel is humorous remarks, they are only showing their immaturity.

That's all from me on this subject.

[billy.pilgrim]

I find it rather interesting that Piper and DooHickey have taken it upon themselves to judge my quality of faith.

I may be wrong but it looked to me like The Piper was posting as one believer to another. He's just not the calling out type unless one posts something pretty offensive.

Thank you Vrede, you are correct. mike did not post anything offensive to religion; rather I was attempting to stand beside him.

Mike, if I offended you, I apologize; that was not the intent, nor did I choose DooHickey to stand in as my spokesperson. My intent was not to question your faith, rather to remind you that as a child of God, all evil should be shunned. I felt that by your thanks that you would encourage more postings of this type from those who can post some of the ugliest, hateful tripe concerning the God you and I worship. I was appalled that, even though you can laugh off ridicule of your beliefs; (as I can too) you found humor and even thanked the poster for the cartoon that ridiculed aspects of religious beliefs.

The following, as well as some of the garbage posted by Bannination, billy.pilgrim and Bungalow Bill do not deserve thanks, nor even any recognition for that matter.

Yes, that would be ridicule. One could argue that symbolic cannibalism should be above ridicule.

That they choose to be non-believers is their business; yours and my beliefs are our business. We don't make light of their non-belief and I feel they should not ridicule us, but if they thought they were impressing someone else with what they feel is humorous remarks, they are only showing their immaturity.

That's all from me on this subject.

looks like ol pippi the piper gets his panties in a wad when someone posts the source of his quote - cause posting the source of his quote was the only comment I made and it earned me an attack by the grand pippi calling my post garbage

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I gonna go cry - pippi hurt my feelings

[rstrong]

Yes, that would be ridicule. One could argue that symbolic cannibalism should be above ridicule.

That they choose to be non-believers is their business; yours and my beliefs are our business. We don't make light of their non-belief and I feel they should not ridicule us, but if they thought they were impressing someone else with what they feel is humorous remarks, they are only showing their immaturity.

Most of us with reality-based beliefs would be more than happy to to simply ignore your mythology. Alas, your fellow believers insist on making their beliefs our business. From telling us that we can't visit the drug store when our child has an allergic reaction on a Sunday to dictating who can be married based on your personal interpretation of your mythology, you don't just shove our religion in our face; you try to dictate our lives.

In the religion thread the creationism and state of Texas revisionist guidelines - which thankfully the Orleans Parish School Board voted to ban from science class - are another good example. And yet you yourself claim that it's sad that the school board did so. With reasoning as to why. Leave science class to science. Your want to teach YOUR kids your mythology, teach it in your church.

With your fellow believers' efforts to remove the barriers between church and state, you can bloody well expect some commentary from the rest of the people in the state. Get used to it. Especially when you imply a higher level of morals, with your church's record of morals being in such rough shape.

[rstrong]

My intent was not to question your faith, rather to remind you that as a child of God, all evil should be shunned. [...] I was appalled that, even though you can laugh off ridicule of your beliefs; (as I can too) you found humor and even thanked the poster for the cartoon that ridiculed aspects of religious beliefs.

Interesting: I could give you a long list of evil acts by the Catholic Church, whose particular variation of Christanity features the practices in the setup and punch line of the cartoon. (Cannibalism, even symbolic, doesn't make you uneasy?) That includes practices and policies still "current."

Why do you think that evil should *not* be ridiculed, and yet it should be shunned?

The Orleans Parish School Board clearly shunned the state of Texas revisionist guidelines, which they and many others - for good reason - consider to be evil. And yet you think such shunning is sad. Why?

[Bungalow Bill]

The manifold absurdities of the supernaturalists will always be easier to
ridicule than just about anything else. Sorry, that's just the way it works out.

[mike]

Guys, I don't expect you all to believe as I do. I understand many here do not believe as I do.

I don't shove it down your throats and I expect you not to shove your disbelief down mine.

That being said, I do know there are idiots out there who tout Christianity in ways I find rather offensive and highly opportunistic.

As I've mentioned prior, I can laugh at at the traditions of my religion. I realize they make no sense to one who is not a believer. Certainly, the Catholic Church has erred over and over and over and still continues to err. There are many of us who fight against the teachings we feel to be outside the basic message of Catholicism. Vatican II came about and we are working evermore to make further changes.

My disabled neighbor needed help with her light bill today. I took her to the local Catholic Charity and they paid the light bill for her. I volunteer at our Brother's Keeper Soup Kitchen quite often to help feed those in need.
There is much I do which involves my belief but I don't wear it on my sleeve. I only mention the above as an example that we are not all "speaking in tongues," ripping people off, attempting to stop gay rights and having "orgasms" from some stupid charlatan wannabe hypnotist.

Not sure why I feel it necessarily to make even a passing justification ... have at it, all, enjoy yourselves ...

[homerfobe]

You ignorant dipshits think todays christians (or other denominations) are responsible for every little thing that gets your Depends panty liners in a wad.
rstrongsmell has been pissing and bitching about that fricking drugstore being closed on Sunday ever since he arrived on the scene to correct us poor ignorant hillbillies of our wrongful ways; and of course the locals here are responsible for dictating to his local authorities to close that drugstore. You, bunghole billy, and your pilgrim.slimeball are nothing but pathetic jerkoffs who think everyone should bow down in reverence to you. If it don't rain until I hear from any of you, piss on you.


waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa you gonna go cry?

[Wneglia]

Guys, I don't expect you all to believe as I do. I understand many here do not believe as I do.

I don't shove it down your throats and I expect you not to shove your disbelief down mine.

That being said, I do know there are idiots out there who tout Christianity in ways I find rather offensive and highly opportunistic.

As I've mentioned prior, I can laugh at at the traditions of my religion. I realize they make no sense to one who is not a believer. Certainly, the Catholic Church has erred over and over and over and still continues to err. There are many of us who fight against the teachings we feel to be outside the basic message of Catholicism. Vatican II came about and we are working evermore to make further changes.

My disabled neighbor needed help with her light bill today. I took her to the local Catholic Charity and they paid the light bill for her. I volunteer at our Brother's Keeper Soup Kitchen quite often to help feed those in need.
There is much I do which involves my belief but I don't wear it on my sleeve. I only mention the above as an example that we are not all "speaking in tongues," ripping people off, attempting to stop gay rights and having "orgasms" from some stupid charlatan wannabe hypnotist.

Not sure why I feel it necessarily to make even a passing justification ... have at it, all, enjoy yourselves ...

I. too am Catholic, although I was not raised in that faith. I applaud your efforts to live your faith in serving others. I hope to do more volunteer work when time will permit, but in the meantime will provide my professional services to all in need, and use my monetary resources to help others. I often fall short of God's expectations, as many do, but ask for His mercy and forgiveness daily. There are many unbelievers who have high moral and charitable standards, and they are to be applauded as well.

[rstrong]

rstrongsmell has been pissing and bitching about that fricking drugstore being closed on Sunday ever since he arrived on the scene

The religious are still - in your words - "pissing and bitching about the fricking" non-religious somehow interfering with THEIR lives. My response was valid a year ago, and nothing has made it less valid today.

Sorry that you lack the intelligence to figure this out, but I suppose you can take consolation in God having made you that way. Mysterious ways indeed.

to correct us poor ignorant hillbillies of our wrongful ways

Ignorant Hillbilly. Singular. Just you. You're welcome.

Now run on back to stormfront.

[mike]

I. too am Catholic, although I was not raised in that faith. I applaud your efforts to live your faith in serving others. I hope to do more volunteer work when time will permit, but in the meantime will provide my professional services to all in need, and use my monetary resources to help others. I often fall short of God's expectations, as many do, but ask for His mercy and forgiveness daily. There are many unbelievers who have high moral and charitable standards, and they are to be applauded as well.

Agreed, Doc. It doesn't take religion to have a high moral standard.

Sadly, I see the opposite all too often.
Even so, I will continue to attempt walking in my faith and doing what is asked of me.
Will I always succeed? Probably not.
No one is perfect though I do know a few who think they are.

[rstrong]

Agreed, Doc. It doesn't take religion to have a high moral standard.

Sadly, I see the opposite all too often.
Even so, I will continue to attempt walking in my faith and doing what is asked of me.
Will I always succeed? Probably not.
No one is perfect though I do know a few who think they are.

I've never had a problem with your posts. And frankly I think that folks like you are the rule rather than the exception among religious folks.

But folks like The Piper don't just give the religious a bad reputation; they try to rule the rest of us with their questionable interpretation of religion and morals. People are getting tired of it, and whatever they shovel at us we SHOULD shovel right back.