A belief system
doesn't necessarily mean a religious belief system.
( Wicca'd Witch needs ideas for a new sig on..., Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:08, archived)

Any belief system is shit
Athiests have it right

Believing in gods or angels, or maybe wood nymphs is utter bollocks
( Mykeyboy A massive, salty filing cabinet, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:12, archived)

Don't Atheists
believe there are no Gods?

Isn't that a belief?
( Wicca'd Witch needs ideas for a new sig on..., Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:13, archived)

No i think its more they dont believe...in anything

( Mykeyboy A massive, salty filing cabinet, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:15, archived)

This shiftsixshiftsix
An agnostic waits for it to be proved to him, and a Humanist, such as myself, believes in the power of science, politics, and other things under human control.

Or something like that.
( supermoore: HUNG, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:17, archived)

isn't not believing in something
technically believing?

*head asplodes*
( Wicca'd Witch needs ideas for a new sig on..., Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:19, archived)

Not believing in the possibility of there being a higher power
is an indirect belief in there being an explainability and concreteness to the world around us. It's just as 'irrational' as anything else because it's not the sort of thing that can be proven either way.

What is truly stupid is believing so much in any one thing so much that you ignore anything that happens to go against that.
(s0WmVHAwZgpG, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:25, archived)

Well no
Its not believing
( Mykeyboy A massive, salty filing cabinet, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:25, archived)

but if you hold fast to that one opinion
and put faith in it...
( Wicca'd Witch needs ideas for a new sig on..., Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:31, archived)

Not really
It doesnt take faith to accept scientific principles, it takes faith to believe in unproved unlikely things like god/s
( Mykeyboy A massive, salty filing cabinet, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:33, archived)

That's more like nihilism
but yes, I'm an aetheist and don't believe in gods, spirits, afterlife, ghosts etc.
( Fenris temporary Lazarus, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:21, archived)

www.b3ta.com/talk/625193
( Amorous Badger NAKED BEA ARTHUR PHOTOS 4U, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:17, archived)

no
edit: that was rude ... but I'm off to the pub

nytol!
( Dr. Shambolic je suis charlie, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:21, archived)

No, fuck off.
Some people need to have religion to give them something to live for and to give them reason to do things.
Whether gods/angels/laser marmots actually exist is irrelevant. Believing in them gives people hope and makes them feel better.
( Comma, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:14, archived)

Whereas the first thing they should believe in
is themselves. It's far too easy to have something else to blame.
( Lonewolf - O R'lyeh? Ya R'lyeh!, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:16, archived)

Very much this sir
Religion is for the utterly weak minded
( Mykeyboy A massive, salty filing cabinet, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:18, archived)

*coughs*
www.b3ta.com/talk/599655

;)
( Amorous Badger NAKED BEA ARTHUR PHOTOS 4U, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:20, archived)

That really doesnt mean anything

( Mykeyboy A massive, salty filing cabinet, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:24, archived)

Well | know that...
..the context it was in was you and a.n. other b3tan talking about doing terrible things to Mrs Trev, just angling for cheap laughs really.
( Amorous Badger NAKED BEA ARTHUR PHOTOS 4U, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:27, archived)

It doesn't mean they're weak,
just that the other things they have (family/work/friends/drinking/whatever) don't fulfill them.
( Comma, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:21, archived)

But why do they need it?
To fill a hole in their lives or to remove them from having to think about the true nature of existence?
( DrPoppers Touched by his noodly appendage, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:16, archived)

www.b3ta.com/talk/625239
( Mykeyboy A massive, salty filing cabinet, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:18, archived)

Bit of both, I suppose.
When I was at school, I got shit from all directions every day, and if I hadn't been able to pray and actually believe that there was a God listening, I don't think I would have survived.
The only reason I'm an Atheist now is because I don't feel like I need to believe in a God anymore.
( Comma, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:20, archived)

believing
in wood nymphs is generally safer, it doesn't make you want to get up on a Sunday morning.
( DrPoppers Touched by his noodly appendage, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:14, archived)

How fucking dare you.
Who are you to decide that somebody else's beliefs are bollocks?

If you keep this bullshit up I'm never bumming you again.
(s0WmVHAwZgpG, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:15, archived)

*changes mind*

( Mykeyboy A massive, salty filing cabinet, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:16, archived)

Exactly,
isn't it saying this sort of thing that's causing a hell of a lot of the problems we're dealing with nowadays?
( Fudgebags will wear you like a glove, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:34, archived)

I'm kind of with you on this
I think they're fucking ridiculous but in general I'll tolerate them hoping that in a generation or 2 they'll all have gotten over it.

Religion was a really useful crutch for humanity for 2000 years but it's not needed any more. Before we can walk properly we need to throw it away.
( Fenris temporary Lazarus, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:24, archived)

So what would you suggest we do,
turn towards scientific fundamentalism? If you look purely at the concrete when examining the weird and wonderful questions about life, the universe and everything, you can very easily forget the things that are not concrete - from the nature of human interaction to the boundaries of human knowledge. What about nationalism/"patriotism"? It's obvious what the problems are with an overdose of that.

It's all the same bloody thing, and people will find something else to fight about.
(s0WmVHAwZgpG, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:33, archived)