Hello from Jersey
Offline Hello to all, I've lived in Jersey my entire life and am a Rutgers student who is extremely serious about advancing the atheist movement. I grew up in a Jewish household with a dad that frequently repeated the mantra, "Religion is bullshit." But instead of just stopping with this statement I've spent the last two years advancing my knowledge of why religion actually is bullshit, and why religions must be completely revamped or destroyed altogether.
I've honestly gotten to the point of having almost no tolerance for ludicrous religious belief, and spend a lot of time pouring out my opinions on to other people who might not always want to hear them. But instead of talking to people who are comfortable in their own ignorance, this seems like a great place to talk to other activist/militant atheists. In my mind, the combination of technological weaponry at this point in time along with the continuing presence of absolute truth beliefs held around the world is an increasingly scary situation that bothers me every day.
Well...that's my introduction. Hello, and I hope to have interesting conversations with all of you and learn new things as well.
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Hi, nice to have you here.
Hey hedberg, welcome to the site! From your post, I'll think you'll enjoy your time here! See you in the discussions.
"This may shock you, but not everything in the bible is true." The only true statement ever to be uttered by Jean Chauvinism, sociopathic emotional terrorist.
"A Boss in Heaven is the best excuse for a boss on earth, therefore If God did exist, he would have to be abolished." Mikhail Bakunin
"The means in which you take,
dictate the ends in which you find yourself."
"Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government! Supreme leadership derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony!"
No Gods, No Masters!
Welcome.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors, | As I foretold you, were all spirits, and | Are melted into air, into thin air; | And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, | The cloud-capped towers, the gorgeous palaces, | The solemn temples, the great globe itself, - Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve, | And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, | Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff | As dreams are made on, and our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. - Shakespeare
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
Double post, sorry. In any case. To the OP.
I am always careful in saying things like this. While it is true religion is bullshit(FYI, revamping it is not an option, that is merely repackaging the same skunk).........
In any case, like I said, saying "religion must be destroyed" sends the false impression to the believer that somehow we want to set up Hitler like death camps and use genocide to get rid of religion. I think it is important in while saying this that what we talk about here is merely "getting the word out in the free market of ideas" in a non-force, non-violent way.
I'd say our tactic should more "Jeffersonian" in "Question with boldness even the existence of a god" and "Ridicule is the only weapon that can be used against unintelligible propositions"
When we talk about destroying religion, we don't want to sound like we are monsters out to murder believers. Utopias don't exist and 6 billion people are not going to always believe the same thing.
In saying "religion must be destroyed" what we mean would be the same as, "We must stop believing that the earth is flat". I do warn people that while fighting to open believers minds to reality and appeal to give up on superstition, it is important to make it clear that you are not out to physically harm them. You merely hold the position that invisible friends in the sky are myths that do not deserve respect "Just because".
It is OK to expose the man behind the curtain, not only OK, but in this day and age, we have more important things to worry about as a species than fighting over disembodied brains with magical super powers. But we as atheists should not allow believers to falsely think that our blasphemy is some sort of inhumane call to murder them when all we want to say is "bullshit".
"We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers."Obama
Check out my poetry here on Rational Responders Like my poetry thread on Facebook under Brian James Rational Poet, @Brianrrs37 on Twitter and my blog at www.brianjamesrationalpoet.blog
Good to have you here.
I am Joe from manchester.
Thanks
"Destroyed"? I sympathise with the feeling behind that, but it is an unrealistic aim, in any sort of literal sense, and when stated out loud, will reinforce the (false) impression of 'extremists', fascists, etc, that many theists have of atheists, as Brian37 said.
My feeling is that the minimum target must be to fight to have religion put back in its place, removed from the default pedestal upon which it has been place by society consensus, where it 'must be respected' and NOT subject to the Jeffersonian challenges. Instead, the observance and rituals should as far as possible be removed from the public realm and firmly left in the private realm of the believer. And no special allowances for people justifying acts which cause harm to others, especially their children, because of the religions dogma, or their interpretation of it.
And people who don't share the delusion should be free to speak out against what they see as its flaws and dangers, at least as much as the sheep are allowed to preach their crap.
Favorite oxymorons: Gospel Truth, Rational Supernaturalist, Business Ethics, Christian Morality
"Theology is now little more than a branch of human ignorance. Indeed, it is ignorance with wings." - Sam Harris
The path to Truth lies via careful study of reality, not the dreams of our fallible minds - me
From the sublime to the ridiculous: Science -> Philosophy -> Theology
Welcome aboard and glad to have you here.
I currently live in the Bible Belt area of Memphis, Tennessee but was born and raised in New Jersey.
That having been said, I still have the habit of carrying extra change in case I encounter a tollbooth and am one of the few people in the area where I now reside that knows what "shopping at WaWa's" means.
I knew the way to Seaside Heights when I was but a little kid and remember the days when every parking lot had at least five or six Camaros.
It's been a few years since I have been back, but let me ask you this : Do you still encounter Bruce Springsteen fans and people who can tell you where Bon Jovi are from ? Or have they finally subsided ? Hehe.
“It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
― Giordano Bruno
Signature ? How ?
welcome, fellow Jerseyan.
I guess it's a Jersey thing, we wouldn't understand.
welcome to the forum. I think you'll find a lot of posters that identify with your views in principle. We all recognize the harm religion has done and continues to do. The more intelligent theists I encounter, however, the more unrealistic your sentiment seems. We should definitely strive to expose religion for what it is as Bob pointed out, complete eradication is out of the question.
I've learned quite a bit in the short time I've frequented this forum. What I find interesting is how intelligent theists accept god in spite of a scientific understanding. There are so many more factors besides logic that are part of the equation postulating god. Emotional investment, self delusion and a number of other personal factors take part in their belief.
Stay a while, I think you'll enjoy the forum.
"Don't seek these laws to understand. Only the mad can comprehend..." -- George Cosbuc