Does being a furry make you go to hell? Christian

[Lucy Bones]

Yes it will. People need to simply know what a lack of respect is to know what respect is. And most people do. Therefore the respect will mean something, as people will know and appreciate it. Respect is used to keep things civil, and keep people in a good mood, or at least a better mood. A lack of respect destroys arguments and turns them into fights. Always treat others kindly, and with respect, regardless of who they are or what they've done.

It takes more than existing to earn my respect. You have to do well with what you have. "I believe in God" is not doing well with what you have, it's being a psychotic nutcase. I don't respect religion, and I never will. It's fucked up the world and my life far too many times for it to ever be a respectable institution.

 

[Fallowfox]

Raptros, watch out for Godwin's law!

 

[CaptainCool]

Tolerance is the word you're looking for, not respect (yes I know I say this all the time). We shouldn't tolerate or respect people like Hitler...

Exactly, that is what I have been saying for some time now as well. Respect is earned, not handed out like candy.
People who actually accomplished something for all of humanity deserve our respect.
A concept like religion that is respoisble for countless deaths and so many problems within modern society doesn't deserve any respect at all. It doesn't even deserve tolerance.
Religious people on the other hand do deserve tolerance.

 

[Kalmor]

Raptros, watch out for Godwin's law!

He/she already brought it up anyway.

 

[Lucy Bones]

Regarding a fairy tale as true is not okay when you're an adult. It's a sign of mental damage.

 

[Fallowfox]

Regarding a fairy tale as true is not okay when you're an adult. It's a sign of mental damage.

I have to disagree with this, otherwise a majority of humans are to be considered mentally damaged.

Believing in myths and magic should instead be viewed as an errnoneous epiphenomenon of the human brain.

 

[TrishaCat]

The big bang has been confirmed. The physicists predicted that the transparency and expansion of the universe should mean that space is permeated by a radiation of 3 degrees kelvin.

This is known as the cosmic background radiation and it has been observed to be 3 degrees kelvin, just as predicted.

Yet still many religiously minded individuals insist that their faith based beliefs about the origin of everything are superior and are assumed correct unless somebody can stand and recant the entire history of the universe down to the resolution of single molecules.

This is irrational behaviour, the reason being that people don't simply admit their religious claims are wrong. They invest their emotional security and identity in them, and as valuable as those things are they should not be allowed to supercede fact.

The big bang happened. Fact. [the earth however was not created in the big bang, just for the record. Some 9 billion years passed first]

Thank you for that.

 

[Ryuu]

Hell..... welcome to it

 

[Lucy Bones]

I have to disagree with this, otherwise a majority of humans are to be considered mentally damaged.

Believing in myths and magic should instead be viewed as an errnoneous epiphenomenon of the human brain.

Clearly a majority of humans ARE mentally damaged if religion is such a large institution.

 

[TrishaCat]

Exactly, that is what I have been saying for some time now as well. Respect is earned, not handed out like candy.
People who actually accomplished something for all of humanity deserve our respect.
A concept like religion that is respoisble for countless deaths and so many problems within modern society doesn't deserve any respect at all. It doesn't even deserve tolerance.
Religious people on the other hand do deserve tolerance.

A lot of things have caused countless deaths and problems.

To pretty much everyone: Tolerance simply means you put up with it, right? I want people to go farther than that. I want people to go out of their way to be kind to other people, even horrible people. (I give you full permission to call me insane for this)
Still, well, people here were saying earlier its ok to ridicule religion. I don't believe in ridiculing anything. Or anyone. For any reason. Ridicule=disrespect=a lack of tolerance.
Do you disagree?

 

[Lucy Bones]

Tolerance only goes so far. When something legitimately becomes a problem for a large group of people, it doesn't need to be tolerated. That's what religion is. It's something causing problems for the entire world. We don't need to tolerate it anymore.

 

[Holtzmann]

I have to disagree with this, otherwise a majority of humans are to be considered mentally damaged.

Believing in myths and magic should instead be viewed as an errnoneous epiphenomenon of the human brain.

Pay close attention to this, folks! We evolved to be superstitious and believe in things we have no proof of. It's a perfectly natural, if sometimes counterproductive thing. It's part of us. Don't think that just because someone believes there's an invisible man in the sky watching their every move, they're anything different from you. With the correct set of experiences through your life, you'd very likely believe the same thing.

 

[Captain Howdy]

Because people believing in something that can't be proven or disproven causes problems in society. That's why new inventions and new scientific discoveries are made every day.
Science can't live alongside religion logically? I think it can. Observe:
Person 1: "I think that money grows on trees, because my religion says so."
Person 2: "Hmm, let's test that".
Person 1: "Sure, it'd be nice to try and confirm that"
Person 2: *grows a tree supposedly said to grow money* *no money is on it*
Person 1: "Well, I guess that means money doesn't grow on trees. My religion was wrong about that."
Person 1: *still follows religion, but crosses that out as a thing to believe in*
Person 2:" There's a new scientific discovery! Recent evidence shows that the Earth may have been created during a great event in space called the big bang!"
Person 1: "Cool story bro, let me know when you can confirm it without question like you did that tree"

That is literally how I work things in my mind. I am person 1.
Before anyone says anything: This is by far the stupidest argument I've ever made. If you can pick holes in it, do it, I give you whole hearted permission to do so and in fact I want you to do so. Because this argument sucks and I want to refine it.

Your example is absurd, and absolutely correct. Western theologies are absurd, and the way you think is silly at best. If you are unquestionably proven wrong, and can repeatedly be proven wrong 100% of the time, you'd still continue with that train of thought/belief?

I hate to give a personal attack, but you've proven yourself worthy of being called an idiot. And not only that, but you proved my point. Idiots fester idiots. Thank your god that you are not in a position of power, because that is one of the ways religions start.

If this is even your worst argument, but you still insist on thinking like that, then you dramatically need to change your way of thinking. Take a Philosophy 101 class at the very least.

 

[Kalmor]

A lot of things have caused countless deaths and problems.

To pretty much everyone: Tolerance simply means you put up with it, right? I want people to go farther than that. I want people to go out of their way to be kind to other people, even horrible people. (I give you full permission to call me insane for this)
Still, well, people here were saying earlier its ok to ridicule religion. I don't believe in ridiculing anything. Or anyone. For any reason. Ridicule=disrespect=a lack of tolerance.
Do you disagree?

I somehow doubt that'll ever happen....

 

[Fallowfox]

A lot of things have caused countless deaths and problems.

To pretty much everyone: Tolerance simply means you put up with it, right? I want people to go farther than that. I want people to go out of their way to be kind to other people, even horrible people. (I give you full permission to call me insane for this)
Still, well, people here were saying earlier its ok to ridicule religion. I don't believe in ridiculing anything. Or anyone. For any reason. Ridicule=disrespect=a lack of tolerance.
Do you disagree?

I disagree emphatically!

Ridicule is fundamentally important, because without criticism how will we recognise as correct our mistakes? Without ridiculing Newton, and calling out his mistakes, how could those like Einstein and Dirac bring about an entirely new understanding of physics?

Rather than insisting that nothing should be ridiculed, because ridicule is disrespectful, I assert that nobody should be above ridicule because nobody's claims and actions are inherently worth respect. They are only worth respect by the measure of their merits, not their mere existance.

To ridicule is not to intrinsically disrespect. Skepticism is an important part of our journey towards enlightenment. The field of sculpture must include a chisel as well as clay.

 

[Lucy Bones]

They say the definition of insanity is to do the same thing multiple times and expect a different outcome.

That's what religion is. People think that no matter how much they pray, they can change the laws of physics.

 

[TrishaCat]

@lastdirewolfI've not taken a philosophy class, but I've taken an American Literature class and have determined that I absolutely love transcendentalism.
Also, if I'm an idiot, than most people are below idiots. I'm considered above average by most of society.
I used to go to a normal public school
I was one of the smartest kids there.
I had almost no competition.
And now I'm at a school for the gifted.
And I'm average.
Also, it was my worst argument and I hated my argument myself.
The fact that you disagreed with it gave me what I wanted because my argument sucked.
Thank you, but you don't need to be rude about it.

 

[CaptainCool]

I want people to go out of their way to be kind to other people, even horrible people.

That... Is tolerance. Not respect >__> Tolerance doesn't just mean that you put up with something. It does mean that you try to live peacefully and be kind to each other.
Respect means to praise someone for something they have done.
Again, respect is earned.

 

[TrishaCat]

I disagree emphatically!

Ridicule is fundamentally important, because without criticism how will we recognise as correct our mistakes? Without ridiculing Newton, and calling out his mistakes, how could those like Einstein and Dirac bring about an entirely new understanding of physics?

Rather than insisting that nothing should be ridiculed, because ridicule is disrespectful, I assert that nobody should be above ridicule because nobody's claims and actions are inherently worth respect. They are only worth respect by the measure of their merits, not their mere existance.

To ridicule is not to intrinsically disrespect. Skepticism is an important part of our journey towards enlightenment. The field of sculpture must include a chisel as well as clay.

I still love your arguments. You give arguments that make sense, aren't rude, and are very enlightening. I believe this is a good point, but when I say ridicule, I don't consider it the same thing as criticism. I think of criticism as pointing out problems with something. I consider ridicule as "to make fun of", which I don't believe in doing.

 

[Lucy Bones]

I can't respect stubbornness in the face of pure defeat. Which is what talking to a religious person is like. Not once has a religious person ever logically proven their religion correct, and yet they still try to keep it, regardless of how many times it's been proven false. That's just being ridiculous.

 

[Holtzmann]

They say the definition of insanity is to do the same thing multiple times and expect a different outcome.

That's what religion is. People think that no matter how much they pray, they can change the laws of physics.

In their view, they are changing the laws of physics. If they pray that their mother's cancer goes away and it eventually goes into full remission by itself (as it occasionally does), what do you think they'll believe in? That the deadliest, nastiest, most insidious disease known to man suddenly just packed up shop and left, or that God heard their prayers and took it away? To them, cancer is supposed to always kill. If it doesn't, then something else made it stop.

It's not based on reality, but we're not talking about reality. We're talking about people's perceptions of reality, which can vary A LOT.

 

[Traven V]

Quit using an old doctrine, if God wanted you dead you would be but I admit I've had problems with this question. Would you die a slave?

 

[TrishaCat]

Pay close attention to this, folks! We evolved to be superstitious and believe in things we have no proof of. It's a perfectly natural, if sometimes counterproductive thing. It's part of us. Don't think that just because someone believes there's an invisible man in the sky watching their every move, they're anything different from you. With the correct set of experiences through your life, you'd very likely believe the same thing.

I love this argument too, and it is indeed a good point.
Though the argument is rather that religion causes too many problems and should be eradicated, is what people are saying.

 

[Fallowfox]

I still love your arguments. You give arguments that make sense, aren't rude, and are very enlightening. I believe this is a good point, but when I say ridicule, I don't consider it the same thing as criticism. I think of criticism as pointing out problems with something. I consider ridicule as "to make fun of", which I don't believe in doing.

I'm sorry, I didn't know what you meant by 'ridicule'. I have no view eitherway on making fun of ideas.

@lastdirewolfI've not taken a philosophy class, but I've taken an American Literature class and have determined that I absolutely love transcendentalism.
Also, if I'm an idiot, than most people are below idiots. I'm considered above average by most of society.
I used to go to a normal public school
I was one of the smartest kids there.
I had almost no competition.
And now I'm at a school for the gifted.
And I'm average.
Also, it was my worst argument and I hated my argument myself.
The fact that you disagreed with it gave me what I wanted because my argument sucked.
Thank you, but you don't need to be rude about it.

And I'm going to study Geology at Oxford. It doesn't mean that I'm above being an idiot, that I'm above making mistakes.

I make mistakes all the time. I can be a complete idiot and often people with far less academic prestige will be able to point out my obvious errors.

Lastdirewolf's comment was a little mean, but academic prestige does not mean you are above getting thing wrong. Academic reputation is worth nothing. The merit of your comments is everything.

 

[Lucy Bones]

In their view, they are changing the laws of physics. If they pray that their mother's cancer goes away and it eventually goes into full remission by itself (as it occasionally does), what do you think they'll believe in? That the deadliest, nastiest, most insidious disease known to man suddenly just packed up shop and left, or that God heard their prayers and took it away? To them, cancer is supposed to always kill. If it doesn't, then something else made it stop.

It's not based on reality, but we're not talking about reality. We're talking about people's perceptions of reality, which can vary A LOT.

When you see reality as something that isn't actually there, there's a word for that. Schizophrenia.