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JasonDrexler wrote
I don't see the correlation between unicorns and God. Besides that, who's to say that the unicorn, or something akin to it, isn't one amongst the thousands of now-extinct species that used to populate the Earth?
But that is all secondary to this: It's great to see that some of those who accuse theists of "behaving like fucking sheep" show the intelligence of our alleged cave-dwelling ancestors. To say that "an 'intellectual case' regarding belief in God is laughable" -- without any supporting material, no less -- is the very epitome of narrow-mindedness, not to mention an insult to the very notion of an intellectual discussion, such as what some of us here are trying to have.
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Others may be, but I'm not really interested in "intellectual discussion". I'm actually beginning to think it's impossible with regard to God and religion.
If you have something to contribute, though, by all means go ahead. Comparing me to "our alleged cave-dwelling ancestors", though, just makes me think you're an asshat as well as a sheep.
Not to get off topic, but does this mean you don't believe in evolution?
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Concerning your comments about the Church, some of them are specifically directed at the Catholic Church, of which I've never been a part. I myself have many disagreements with the Catholic Church, and dislike having its beliefs assumed to be mine.
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I never assumed you were part of it. I was giving examples from what I have experience with. It's nice that you disagree with them.
Now what was I saying about making excuses...
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Regarding your comment that "religions are extremely good at giving people an easy out": Your summation of Christianity is just plain wrong.
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Oh yeah. You're offended by being grouped with those dirty Catholics, and then go on to and accuse my "summation of Christianity" to be wrong. Now this might be fair, but you're now grouping all Christians together and defending their beliefs, as if every Christian believes the same thing you do.
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My guess is that you believe that morality comes from evolution...
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It does, at least in some sense. This can be clearly demonstrated by looking at basic moral instincts among our non-human animal relatives. Apes, monkeys, and even some fish show basic behaviours akin to the Golden Rule.
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..which would lead you to conclude, most likely, that our morality is inherent and that we thus don't need any "commandments" to tell us what is right and wrong.
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Nope. Never said that. Way to make a blatant, emotionally loaded strawman.
What I said was that serious, secular ethics and philosophy are a better place to look for morality. Huge difference.
You're leaping to conclusions, and grouping atheists together under a single banner. You are guilty of the same things you accuse me of.
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I've heard other atheists make this same basic point. But are the Ten Commandments obvious? There seems to be a lot of people today who lie, covet, commit adultery and dishonor their parents without batting a lash
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Yes, we could also talk about the parts of the commandments which have nothing to do with morality. You're right, I should have qualified which ten commandments weren't completely full of shit before saying they were obvious.
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to address Hitchens' most scathing criticism of the Decalogue --the pre-Hebrew inhabitants of Canaan routinely practiced child sacrifice. I guess their pre-Decalogue, innate evolutionary morality failed to notify them that murder was off-limits.
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And the Hebrews themselves slaughtered the men, older women, and children if the cities they conquered, you're right. Unfortunately, the whole thing is a strawman argument.
I thought you wanted an intellectual discussion, I really did.
