IntenseDebate - the chaplain

11 years ago @ Atheist Revolution - Are You Saved? · 0 replies · +2 points

Yep. The vast majority of humankind has never "heard the gospel" and is thus consigned to Hell by this loving god just because they were unfortunate enough to live in the wrong time or place. Christianity may well be the most narcissistic religion ever invented.
My recent post Have Yourself a Very (un)Merry Christmas

11 years ago @ Atheist Revolution - Have You Been Possesse... · 0 replies · +3 points

Taking personal responsibility is a bitch. Growing up is hard to do.
My recent post Have Yourself a Very (un)Merry Christmas

11 years ago @ Atheist Revolution - Have You Been Possesse... · 0 replies · +3 points

My experience has been that the more thoughtful religious believers admit that they are not 100% sure of the things they believe, and that they are taking a step or leap of faith. The ones who claim 100% certainty are often, as you noted, not knowledgeable and not worth wasting time with - they're unteachable.
My recent post Have Yourself a Very (un)Merry Christmas

11 years ago @ Atheist Revolution - For All Americans and ... · 0 replies · +6 points

Perhaps the difficulty with not using the term "American" to refer to a citizen of the USA is that there is no accepted equivalent term that is as concise as the old one. I'm like you on this issue, I'd rather use another term, but I don't know another that works as well.
My recent post Have Yourself a Very (un)Merry Christmas

11 years ago @ You Made Me Say It! - Believer Brain Twisting · 3 replies · +3 points

The person you were arguing with didn't become a believer because of the argument they were sharing with you. At best, that argument serves as a great justification for them to indulge in the belief.

Exactly right. Children aren't given logical explanations for the stories and values they are taught in church; their emotions are manipulated. What 5-year-old boy wouldn't want to slay a giant and be a hero, for example? As children grow older and start asking questions, then the "logical arguments" and "historical data" are thrown at them. These are often bolstered by substantial doses of hellfire and brimstone. Since fear is probably the powerful raw emotion humans have to handle, threats are powerful medicine. Likewise, many adults who find religion are initially drawn in by emotion: lonely people find socialization, hurting people find comfort, etc. When their crises end and they start questioning their new beliefs, then the "logical arguments" and "historical data" are trotted out to bolster their faith. Those arguments are meant to keep people in the fold, not draw them in. And, as with children, hellfire and brimstone often accompany religious "logic," because no one is ever too old or sophisticated to be scared shitless.

11 years ago @ Atheist Revolution - No Gods at the London ... · 0 replies · +2 points

Gabby Douglas, a gymnastics gold medalist (all-around, I think, as well as team), had plenty of praise for her god. It's annoying, but the girl's only 16 - IMO she's just spurting out the ramblings she's been brainwashed into spurting at such moments. She may grow out of it.
My recent post The Devil Made Him Do It – Maybe

11 years ago @ Reason Being - The Catholic Church’... · 1 reply · +3 points

Thanks for this post. I've been following the Catholic Church's various intrusions into the American political sphere for several years and, like you, have been alarmed by its growing influence. I fear that the USA is heading down a very dark road.

11 years ago @ Atheist Revolution - Religious Extremists W... · 0 replies · +1 points

... this kind of event would have gotten more mainstream attention had it been organized by fundamentalist Christions.

Truer words were never spoken. Or written.
My recent post Kudos to Home Depot & Target

11 years ago @ Atheist Revolution - Religious Extremists W... · 0 replies · +3 points

My guess is that we haven't seen more anti-Internet protests from the Religious Right because they are using it to promote their own agendas. Wingnuts may be in an intellectual Stone Age, but many of them are right alongside us when it comes to communications technology.

11 years ago @ Atheist Revolution - Voters Tiring of Heari... · 0 replies · +2 points

As an ex-evangelical, I'll state that I agree with your statement, but add this. Many recognize that it's pandering to some degree, but hope there's at least a smidgen of sincerity involved. Moreover, fundogelicals feel reassured that even panderers apparently know "the truth," even if they don't always live up to its standards. They feel there's more hope for a panderer who knows the talk and is willing to speak it than there is for someone who either doesn't know the talk, or knows it and refuses to at least give lip service to it.

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