Title: If Atheists Ruled the World Source:
[None] URL Source:[None] Published:Jan 12, 2011 Author:. Post Date:2011-01-12 09:23:20 by PSUSA Keywords:None Views:1595 Comments:85
All text taken directly from online Christian fundamentalist forums.
If you don't oppose evil, what are you doing here?
According to the New Testement, Sermon on the Mount in particular, the flock should be setting an example of Light in this world through compassion and loving of enemies.
I suppose if this were the case, you would not have such a negative view of Christians. : )
" If you cannot govern yourself, you will be governed by assholes. " Randge, Poet de Forum, 1/11/11
"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men." -- Samuel Adams (1722-1803)‡
"The ground of liberty is to be gained by inches, and we must be contented to secure what we can get from time to time and eternally press forward for what is yet to get. It takes time to persuade men to do even what is for their own good." -- Thomas Jefferson
The fundie game is so insidious because actively opposing it makes you as they are. That's one of the lessons of Christ: opposing evil on the worldly plane makes one evil.
Note that I didn't say it's one of the lessons of Christianity. ; )
The contrary of course is:
"The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing." ~ Edmund Burke
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Creation of a good and decent world requires only that each of us as individuals behave in a good and decent manner. There are times when evil requires direct opposition to protect others but by and large we create the world in which we live - each of us by our own actions.
Religion, regardless of the excesses of some, has ever been a motivating force toward good. Religion is the advance guard as it seeks to understand and explain the most fundamental questions central to existence.
Who am I?
What am I?
What is the meaning of life?
Is there a God? If so what is man's relationship to God?
All of these are basic and fundamental to understanding our existence and creating a world in which we wish to live. There are other questions that spin off of these but those are the basis upon which religious thought, and philosophy, is formed. Each religion has its own answers to these questions, and they may be right or wrong, but they are never irrelevant.
"“Believe nothing merely because you have been told it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings - that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide.” ~ Gautama Siddhartha — The Buddha
"The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing."
Resolving to live a life of good and then doing it is doing something. Many people never even get to the resolving part, hence they do nothing.
I see religion as a very large, very tall tree with many branches. Sometimes, the tree obscures the sunlight and sometimes it doesn't. It all depends on where one is standing in relation to the tree.
I would just note that nobody is so rabidly anti-alcohol as an ex-drunk. Most of us can consume it safely and responsibly, but try telling that to an AA member.
That is quite possibly a legitimate point. It's one that I have thought about. Would I be this way if I had never been exposed to xtianity? Maybe not. But I can't say for sure. I might have been even more vocal, seeing the damage it has done to this planet and the people on it, while I was on the outside and looking in.
I do have more empathy with those still in it though. I would not have that empathy if I had never been inside it for all that time.
"If ye will not give glory unto my name saith the LORD ... I will spread dung upon your faces.– Malachi 2.2,3. So you better give the nutty kike god some glory, goddammit!
Well put. If you want to find the light you have to look for it.
"“Believe nothing merely because you have been told it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings - that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide.” ~ Gautama Siddhartha — The Buddha
"The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing."
I would say that no man has conquered any evil in this world without first conquering himself. That something right there is a quite a feat to accomplish.
Let's be honest, few people are aware enough to be effective at all in regards to attempts to triumph over evil.......and those who lack the necessary awareness to be effective end up making it worse.
" If you cannot govern yourself, you will be governed by assholes. " Randge, Poet de Forum, 1/11/11
According to the New Testement, Sermon on the Mount in particular, the flock should be setting an example of Light in this world through compassion and loving of enemies.
That "advice" is suicidal and stupid beyond words. But it sounds so sweet. Until one scratches beneath the surface.
I suppose if this were the case, you would not have such a negative view of Christians. : )
My negative views are limited to the religions and their programming of innocent people, usually from birth. I do not hate the programmed because I was in the same boat that they are in now. I'd much rather see them being set free from that programming, because it is destroying them, and the planet.
"If ye will not give glory unto my name saith the LORD ... I will spread dung upon your faces.– Malachi 2.2,3. So you better give the nutty kike god some glory, goddammit!
"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brush fires of freedom in the minds of men." -- Samuel Adams (1722-1803)‡
"The ground of liberty is to be gained by inches, and we must be contented to secure what we can get from time to time and eternally press forward for what is yet to get. It takes time to persuade men to do even what is for their own good." -- Thomas Jefferson
"The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing."
I would say that no man has conquered any evil in this world without first conquering himself. That something right there is a quite a feat to accomplish.
Let's be honest, few people are aware enough to be effective at all in regards to attempts to triumph over evil.......and those who lack the necessary awareness to be effective end up making it worse.
So, the solution then would seem to be, raising first awareness.
"“Believe nothing merely because you have been told it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings - that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide.” ~ Gautama Siddhartha — The Buddha
Turtle is fibbing again. There have been no reports of perma-grin amid the laments of women claiming they need to stop drinking. ; )
Women quit drinking and doing drugs after one session with Turtle.
"If ever this vast country is brought under a single government, it will be one of the most extensive corruption, indifferent and incapable of a wholesome care over so wide a spread of surface. This will not be borne, and you will have to choose between reform and revolution. If I know the spirit of this country, the one or the other is inevitable." - Thomas Jefferson
Yes, this makes sense. There's never a second session and de women don't want to ever repeat that mistake. lol
Twist my words all you want...there are two dozen women who smile everytime they think of Turtle.
"If ever this vast country is brought under a single government, it will be one of the most extensive corruption, indifferent and incapable of a wholesome care over so wide a spread of surface. This will not be borne, and you will have to choose between reform and revolution. If I know the spirit of this country, the one or the other is inevitable." - Thomas Jefferson
Of course they do, Turtle was their inspiration for sobriety. lol
I inspired them, all right.
"If ever this vast country is brought under a single government, it will be one of the most extensive corruption, indifferent and incapable of a wholesome care over so wide a spread of surface. This will not be borne, and you will have to choose between reform and revolution. If I know the spirit of this country, the one or the other is inevitable." - Thomas Jefferson
Yes, to give up the drinking and drugs. Good work Turtle!! : )
One session with me...and they'll give up everything for a second session.
"If ever this vast country is brought under a single government, it will be one of the most extensive corruption, indifferent and incapable of a wholesome care over so wide a spread of surface. This will not be borne, and you will have to choose between reform and revolution. If I know the spirit of this country, the one or the other is inevitable." - Thomas Jefferson
Would the printing press have been invented if the inventors hadn't wanted to make bibles? Would literacy have grown so rapidly in the west if not for the reformationists wanting bibles in homes?
You're forgetting that for a long time it was illegal, and punishable by death, to have possession of a bible.
And masses were said in latin, a language that only the priests understood.
But who's to know when the printing press would have been invented? I personally think a less destructive book would have been a better choice than the bible. But TPTB at the time saw the usefulness of printing it, so they did.
Any study of English literature will show you massive influence from religion, and even the renaissance has a lot of basis in theological thought. Sure, faith can be a reason or provide a justification for oppression, but do you think the Spanish would have been any less ruthless in conquering S. America if they had been atheists or muslims?
Why did they go to S. America? To spread xtianity. Who knows how many they murdered in the process. They destroyed everything, for all intents and purposes; people, books, etc. So much for the "good news".
Muslims probably would have done the same thing, to spread islam.
Atheists would have to have chosen another excuse, since they don't care about the kike god, unlike muslims, kikes and xtians.
If you read Theucydides History of the Peloponnesian war (a completely pre-Christian text) you can see that the Greek City States and the Persians were fully capable of torture, vile acts of murder and horrifying warfare without any exposure to the kike God. They nakedly took over cities, killed all of the men and boys and sold the women into slavery as a matter of national policy, with no real religious underpinnings at all.
If you study any region for which histories exist, mankind's general tendency has been toward pillage, plunder, conquest and slavery. I don't think Christianity really has much to do with it (although certainly the Jewish histories are unexceptionally brutal, too).
No argument there. Some use religion, others pull out something else from their toolbox to invade. It might be race, or aspects of another culture that they don't like, or they were allied with the wrong people, or who knows what else.
IMO people don't want war, they are pushed into war by their leaders.
Basically, you get any group of men together and their first thought seems to be how to steal shit so they don't have to work.
I disagree. I dont think that way and I'm pretty sure that you don't either. We know that cooperation is more beneficial to all than theft and war. Even though there are "certain groups" that don't work that way. But I question whether they are even truly human or not, because they sure don't act like humans.
"If ye will not give glory unto my name saith the LORD ... I will spread dung upon your faces.– Malachi 2.2,3. So you better give the nutty kike god some glory, goddammit!
Let's be honest, few people are aware enough to be effective at all in regards to attempts to triumph over evil.......and those who lack the necessary awareness to be effective end up making it worse.
Define "evil".
You can't triumph over it if you can't define it.
I'd be happy to just be left alone, with no authoritarian pricks demanding anything of me, while I demand nothing of anyone else. To me that's good, and evil disappears without having to "triumph" over it.
"If ye will not give glory unto my name saith the LORD ... I will spread dung upon your faces.– Malachi 2.2,3. So you better give the nutty kike god some glory, goddammit!
Gold. Gold was and is their religion, not Christianity. Christianity was the perfect religion to gull the Incas and the Aztecs as they both shared mythologies that could be exploited by the Spanish/Portuguese "priests".
Gold. Gold was and is their religion, not Christianity.
I disagree. Yes, they wanted, and stole, the gold. But they also went there to spread xtianity. I believe both reasons are right.
Otherwise, destroying their literature has nothing to do with getting their gold.
They believed in converting others by force. They did it in Europe, and they did it everywhere they went.
Not that they shouldn't have encouraged human sacrifice to stop. But one group of cutthroats should not tell another group of cutthroats how to act nice. It lacks a certain credibility.
"If ye will not give glory unto my name saith the LORD ... I will spread dung upon your faces.– Malachi 2.2,3. So you better give the nutty kike god some glory, goddammit!
It is all base thought and action that is not in alignment with our true nature. Hence, one must first conquer the self--our own base thought and action--in order to triumph over it. The root word for evil means transgression.
Viewed solely as a concept within duality, evil is the opposite of good. Anton LaVay, founder of the church of Satanism was fond of saying tht evil is LIVE spelled backwards. Of course, LaVay was fond of embracing what is generally deemed base--chasing after pleasures and personal satisfaction.
There is an interesting story from the Buddha where he meets Maya (who rules the underworld and represents evil) and he welcomes him as an old friend. The two discuss how difficult each of their roles are in this world, revealing that when one conquers the self there really is no more duality or evil or fear overcome.
" If you cannot govern yourself, you will be governed by assholes. " Randge, Poet de Forum, 1/11/11
According to the New Testement, Sermon on the Mount in particular, the flock should be setting an example of Light in this world through compassion and loving of enemies.
And Muslims. Don't forget that the flock should be setting an example of Light in this world through compassion, the loving of enemies and death to Muslims.
I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. - Benjamin Franklin
Don't forget that the flock should be setting an example of Light in this world through compassion, the loving of enemies and death to Muslims.
I've gone around and around multiple times with the Fundies.....they have a ton of excuses and justification for not following the Sermon on the Mount. It would be comical if it were not so deadly and destructive.
" If you cannot govern yourself, you will be governed by assholes. " Randge, Poet de Forum, 1/11/11
It is all base thought and action that is not in alignment with our true nature.
That is precisely what xtianity attempts to force onto others. They call our true nature "sinful". Then, they wonder why they constantly seek "forgiveness" for their "sins", yet they still commit those "sins" because it is in their nature to do so, which makes them think they are failures, which leads to more "repentance" blah blah blah rinse and repeat until the end of time.
How can you "triumph" over your true nature? Can a leopard change its spots?
IMO it's a maturing process. But some hang on desperately to what they thought they understood in the past, but they don't advance because they don't question. It's as if they refuse to admit that they wasted all that time on errors, because to do so is just too painful.
LaVey, from what I read, was a scumbag to people that he should have loved, and a conman to everyone else. I don't take anything he says seriously.
"If ye will not give glory unto my name saith the LORD ... I will spread dung upon your faces.– Malachi 2.2,3. So you better give the nutty kike god some glory, goddammit!
I've gone around and around multiple times with the Fundies.....they have a ton of excuses and justification for not following the Sermon on the Mount. It would be comical if it were not so deadly and destructive.
Don't you know? Once you are born again and washed in the blood of Jesus (or the American military) you can do whatever you want because you are saved and no longer need to pay attention to the bible or Jesus' words.
I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. - Benjamin Franklin
That is precisely what xtianity attempts to force onto others. They call our true nature "sinful". Then, they wonder why they constantly seek "forgiveness" for their "sins", yet they still commit those "sins" because it is in their nature to do so, which makes them think they are failures, which leads to more "repentance" blah blah blah rinse and repeat until the end of time.
How can you "triumph" over your true nature? Can a leopard change its spots?
Yeah. God supposedly made us in his own image and therefore must torture us in a lake of fire for eternity for behaving in the way he supposedly made us. It's like training your dog to sit and then beating him every time he does it. Makes perfect sense /s.
I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. - Benjamin Franklin
Sweet Jeebus! You bust your melon in rough seas or something?
Godfrey Smith: Mike, I wouldn't worry. Prosperity is just around the corner. Mike Flaherty: Yeah, it's been there a long time. I wish I knew which corner. My Man Godfrey (1936)
"If ye will not give glory unto my name saith the LORD ... I will spread dung upon your faces.– Malachi 2.2,3. So you better give the nutty kike god some glory, goddammit!
That is precisely what xtianity attempts to force onto others
How can you "triumph" over your true nature?
No, Christians generally claim that they are simply sinful and only the grace of God through Jesus will save them. Therefore, they do not have to do anything to control, change, or take self responsibility because all sins are washed away when they ask for forgiveness. Hence, they do not need to overcome the ego in order to find a deeper nature.
By seeking it and finding it. Generally, people live their lives through their ego and the personality drives their actions--hurt, angry, sad, happy etc. People live at whims of their emotions without ever acknowleding that they have the ability to control them. People are not mindful, if they were they would know that the ego and personality are not our true nature. The true nature is deeper than this mask.
Yes, LaVey was very base.
" If you cannot govern yourself, you will be governed by assholes. " Randge, Poet de Forum, 1/11/11