[Tfug] Apple Mac OS X: tool of Godless Darwinists and Communist / TROLL ALERT?

[keith smith]

Try http://www.thetruthproject.org/



------------------------
Keith Smith


--- On Mon, 6/22/09, Bexley Hall <bexley401 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> From: Bexley Hall <bexley401 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Tfug] Apple Mac OS X: tool of Godless Darwinists and Communist / TROLL ALERT?
> To: "Tucson Free Unix Group" <tfug at tfug.org>
> Date: Monday, June 22, 2009, 4:53 PM
> 
> Hi, Bowie,
> 
> --- On Mon, 6/22/09, bpoag at comcast.net
> <bpoag at comcast.net>
> wrote:
> 
> > >On a truly serious note, why do you think people
> become
> > >"zealots"?  (this is not a rhetorical question)
>  If you
> > >*truly* "believe" (whatever you happen to
> believe), then
> > >why care about what others "believe"?  (let's
> please avoid
> > >the cop-out replies...)
> > 
> > Exactly. I would absolutely agree that zealotry is
> caused
> > by people who have unresolved doubts, deep down...
> The
> > scarier the doubts, the more fiery the zealot. Look at
> it
> > this way---There are people out there who claim to
> have
> > total faith in God, but still feel magnetically drawn
> to the
> > idea of having proof to justify it to others--A shroud
> in
> > this church over here, a supposed fragment of the
> cross in
> > that church over there, all sorts of little fetishes
> that
> > fill in the cracks. All it takes is a Jesus on a
> tortilla
> > for these folks to line up and start sobbing,
> lighting
> > candles, and throwing quarters over the velvet rope.
> 
> Understood.  Though please note, I wasn't trying to
> single
> out *religious* zealots.  Rather, *all* zealots.
> 
> > I know I love my family, for example. I don't feel
> > compelled to prove it, since I know intrinsically. 
> > Similarly, I don't need to see a tortilla to know God
> is
> > real, because I know it intrinsically.
> 
> Exactly.  A "True Christian" might *like* for you to
> "be
> saved" (whatever that might mean), but I can't see someone
> *compelled* to "make you save yourself".
> 
> I.e., "smoking is bad", "being overweight is bad", "jumping
> out
> of an airplane without a parachute is bad" -- but, if you
> want to
> *do* them, I don't feel *compelled* to prevent you from
> doing
> so (the gr[ea]y area is when those things have
> consequential
> impact on others; i.e., if *your* obesity ends up costing
> *me*
> more in health insurance premiums, or if your jumping out
> of
> a plane w/o parachute ends up with your carcass falling
> through
> my living room *roof*, etc.)
> 
> > There's nothing wrong with inviting people, or
> > encouraging people to talk about and learn what you
> know,
> > but bashing people over the head with your religion
> is
> > counterproductive and stupid. By guilt-tripping people
> into
> > religion, you're depriving those individuals of the
> > unique and deeply personal connection they need to
> have with
> > God....A connection that doesn't require a damn
> tortilla
> > to bolster. 
> 
> Yes (though I am distressed at howmuch this is focusing on
> "religion").  I had a lover many years ago who was a
> "holy
> roller".  I recall engaging her in an argument about
> the
> existence of God.  After "toying" with her for 15
> minutes,
> I smiled sadly and said, "You miss the point.  If
> *you* have
> FAITH, then that is *the* answer; trying to rationally
> argue for God's existence turns your religion into a
> science or pseudo-science (i.e., something that can be
> *proven*)"
> 
> > I am a Christian, and i'll be the first to tell you
> > that Christianity is absolutely buckshot-peppered
> with
> > layers of stupidity so thick and so complex that it's
> > hard even for the most well-meaning individuals to
> make
> > heads or tails of it. I also refuse to believe that
> the God
> > who gave us the ability to think and reason intended
> for us
> > to not use them. Feel free to pick Christianity apart.
> I do
> > all the time. People who call themselves Christians,
> but are
> > then hesitant to take apart and examine their own
> beliefs in
> > detail are fundamentally cowards looking more prefer
> comfort
> > to truth.
> 
> Or, use it to rationalize their actions.  E.g., the
> clown
> who executed the abortion doctor.
> 
> Buddy Hackett (sp?) has some excellent stand-up routines
> where he throws (small) barbs at Christians.  I find
> it
> amusing how readily (some) folks will laugh at these
> comments -- yet fail to see the truth in them (much good
> humor has truth as its basis).
> 
> But, I would hate to focus this discussion on purely
> "religious"
> issues.  I make the same claims about *all*
> zealots.  E.g.,
> whether you're touting your version of gawd, your favorite
> restaurant (BTW, *the* best Italian restaurant, IMO, is in
> Liverpool; the second and third best are in NYC), your
> OS/application of choice or your idea of "the best"
> pistachio
> nuts (hands down, Zenobia) or potato chips (amazing how
> fervently chip eaters cling to their favorite brands!)...
> 
> 
>       
> 
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