Blasphemy

[Virtual_Cliff]

Originally Posted by Tao_Equus

I stand by my assertion that without exception blasphemy has only been claimed by those seeking to censor art. Give me knowledge of an exception and I will be happy to eat humble pie.

Tao

Blasphemy happens all around us all the time. It's just the controversial cases that hit the headlines. Most of the time it is a vehicle for race hate - not a vehicle I would drive my art around in. It is often a moot point where free speech ends and incitement begins.

[wil]

Originally Posted by Tao_Equus

Carefully worded. It always stands up to rational scrutiny. Standing on irrational, unprovable beliefs nothing is secure.

I've discussed before dabbling on some atheist sites in discussion. It is interesting, atheists are quite literal, dogmatic, and orthodox in their treatment of religion. They believe that we all believe that sacred texts were written by the finger of G!d, and that they are inerrant. They don't wish to discuss allegory, metaphor or parables, they want to disprove the texts and thought by literal dogmatic review of scripture.

In some cases I've never met such an irrational bunch who claim such rationality.

[noctuary]

Originally Posted by wil

I've discussed before dabbling on some atheist sites in discussion. It is interesting, atheists are quite literal, dogmatic, and orthodox in their treatment of religion. They believe that we all believe that sacred texts were written by the finger of G!d, and that they are inerrant. They don't wish to discuss allegory, metaphor or parables, they want to disprove the texts and thought by literal dogmatic review of scripture.

In some cases I've never met such an irrational bunch who claim such rationality.

I suggest you talk to Christians who believe in talking snakes. Then come ask who is irrational and who is not.

[juantoo3]

Kindest Regards, Cliff!

Originally Posted by Virtual_Cliff

William Wordsworth said "We murder to dissect". My fear is that, like missionaries who unwittingly brought disease and destruction to "lost" African tribes, we could trample on rare fragile specimens of human experience that we can't even understand.

And worse, do so of willful ignorance without even the pretense of respect for the other.

[juantoo3]

Originally Posted by wil

In some cases I've never met such an irrational bunch who claim such rationality.

Hear, hear!

Fortunately there are a few "atheists" I have seen around here, Tao included, that are not so absorbed in their own irrationality, with whom a respectful dialogue can still be had.

Of course, that street is two-way.

[juantoo3]

Originally Posted by noctuary

I suggest you talk to Christians who believe in talking snakes. Then come ask who is irrational and who is not.

And if that talking snake is a metaphor? Who then is irrational; the person who believes, or the person who doesn't?

[Snoopy]

I imagine there’s “non-rational” material in all the major religions. They offer spiritual truth to the reader (or not). You don’t go reading them with a materialistic perspective, unless its to dismiss them. By the same token, I think, you don’t go reading scientific journals looking for spirituality.

s.

[bananabrain]

i just read a great book, for anyone who finds richard dawkins annoying whenever he talks about religion and would like to hear from scientists who don't think it's stupid to be religious. basically, this chap is a professor of biology at oxford (as is dawkins) and is an ex-atheist, now a christian. i recommend it. incidentally, i love dawkins' popular scientific works, he's a great thinker, but his understanding of religion is just *so* hopelessly, tendentiously one-sided that i wish he'd stick to what he's good at instead of perpetuating the idea that science and religion have to be enemies. they don't. this book is an interesting attack on dawkins' arguments, although it suffers somewhat from being written as if it therefore meant that the only other logical choice was to be christian. nevertheless, it's worth a squirt.

Amazon.com: The Dawkins Delusion?: Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine: Books: Alister E. McGrath,Joanna Collicutt Mcgrath

b'shalom

bananabrain

[17th Angel]

Originally Posted by Tao_Equus

I will never ever support book burners.

Tao

Interesting...... Mee.... Got anything to say on.... Sorry, I'll start again... Mee.... The watchtower got anything to say on this?? *waits.... Knowingly....*

[wil]

Originally Posted by noctuary

I suggest you talk to Christians who believe in talking snakes. Then come ask who is irrational and who is not.

Namaste noctuary,

Two thoughts.

First yes, that is why I said some, in all groups there are some who exhibit behaviour we question.

Second, I find that I say "yeah right" a lot less than I used to. There are many things that in my youth I discounted as hokum, ridiculous nonsense, however time and experience brings me to the point where it demands an open mind, beyond my reasoning even, as many unexplainable things have been shown to me.

Now I know plenty of folks that talk to their dogs and cats, I truly wouldn't be surprised if others talked to their snakes. I've yet to meet a snake who talked to me, but as I've lived in the desert of Nevada, I've met a few who were able to be quite clear about getting their point across the language barrier.

[flowperson]

Hey...I talk with my bird and everyone acknowledges these days that birds were serpents in their ancient iterations. She even talks back to me, although it is in imitation.

And as far as far as blasphemy goes, there is nothing more blasphemous, IMHO, that what the USA has been doing to some of its highly competent and educated people who are responsible for our collective futures.

flow....

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...ome-commentary