I'm Going as an Unbeliever for Halloween.

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
a reply to: TzarChasm

really? im a blasphemer and im fairly positive i exist unlike other mythical characters i could name.

eloquent as always but your point is clumsily made.

Perhaps I can iron it out for you.

A blasphemer speaks irreverently about God or sacred things.
God and sacred things do not exist,
Therefor, a blasphemer speaks irreverently about things that do not exist.

In other words, a blasphemer does not blaspheme, for one cannot blaspheme against nothing. If he does not blaspheme, he is not a blasphemer.

And what would we talk about without each other?

The history and the mystery of the human race and condition, you can't make this $het up.

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

Atheists are NOT saying that they don't believe in a GOD (that they believe exists)... that would make them theists... They are saying that they don't believe in the PROPOSITION of a God. I guess the shorthand can be confusing...

And if you haven't heard people saying that they are witches, you're simply not getting out much.

One of these days, I suppose I may understand what you, an atheist, has against people calling themselves atheists... But until then, I will read your MANY posts that attempt to redifine the word atheist, and smile...

Signed,
Benevolent Heretic
An atheist, a heretic, a blasphemer, an unbeliever... whether you believe in me or not.

If God is but a proposition—which I believe it is—and you find yourself constantly fighting against said proposition, then you aren’t without God in the slightest. In fact, an atheist is an atheist only in reference to this proposition.

That’s all I ask, my friend Heretic—a smile upon your face. You have at least the wherewithal to notice the irony of these threads, and see that I am poking fun; but it is my hope that you might take it further and realize the irony of your ideology, one that has yet to break orbit from its focus. The world needs people like yourself to move on to more pressing intellectual matters. A world of reality awaits your triumphant return.

a reply to: Stormdancer777

And what would we talk about without each other?

The history and the mystery of the human race and condition, you can't make this $het up.

True story. We are the only species that can think about things that do not exist. We have plenty of fictions, idols and gods (money, nations, economy for instance) that have no reality outside the human mind. There is almost too much to be atheistic about, that when we overcome one, we find another.

now im thinking of going as god. because i find the idea ironically amusing. celebrating a pagan holiday using a christian idol. you might even hear the outrage from where you are.

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
a reply to: TzarChasm

really? im a blasphemer and im fairly positive i exist unlike other mythical characters i could name.

eloquent as always but your point is clumsily made.

Perhaps I can iron it out for you.

A blasphemer speaks irreverently about God or sacred things.
God and sacred things do not exist,
Therefor, a blasphemer speaks irreverently about things that do not exist.

In other words, a blasphemer does not blaspheme, for one cannot blaspheme against nothing. If he does not blaspheme, he is not a blasphemer.

if its real to them, it doesnt matter if i am blaspheming against something i dont believe in. and thats the point. you seem to think that communication relies solely on the communicator and is minimally influenced by the audience. quite the opposite. if i were to tell a four year old i shot santa in the head it would upset them because their perception tells them i committed an heinous act against a symbol of joy and hope that they fully believe in. intention is only half of the exchange. that is the whole reason you made this thread because you were aware of how it would be perceived not just how you intended it to be perceived. the two are very different.

Dang.

I went as a "millionaire entrepreneur" one year.

A bigger kid slugged me in the nose and stole my bag of candy.

Bastard ruined my first 3 piece suit.

Treat or treat! Please!

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

“But it’s striking; we don’t see people in everyday life walking around calling themselves witches and demons. Witches and demons, we've found, are superstitions. But the atheist is not? How is it any less superstitious to condemn someone of atheism than it is to condemn someone as a witch? It isn’t really. Then why aren’t people going around calling themselves witches and demons nowadays, while another ecclesiastical condemnation of the very same sort, the atheist, still goes around calling himself an atheist like it's in vogue?”

It is often in society (or maybe it is just apparent to me) that the metaphysical world is not taken seriously. So I’d assume that any atheist who labels himself as such is considered much more down to earth that someone who believes their self to be a demon or even a believer.

I can be in a room full of believers but when I start talking about God I turn out to be the crazy one in the room. Although it may be egotistical, when I examine myself I find myself to be full of sense, of sound mind, good reason, and average intelligence.

I find it sad that many atheists and even theists do not take religion, or the spirit of it, seriously.

To remind you of great religious philosophers though, of which there are many, I will quote Fulton J. Sheen:
“Criticism of others is thus an oblique form of self-commendation. We think we make the picture hang straight on our wall by telling our neighbors that all his pictures are crooked.”

a reply to: backcase

im not sure that the metaphysical world is considered ridiculous as much as the idea that anyone can speak of it with any degree of certainty.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

If you decide to go as an atheist than there is no reason why you couldn't wear the following as a costume.



The shirt is interchangeable just add: "God doesn't exist" or "God Exists" depending on your BELIEVE.

a reply to: interupt42

if i might add one more word to that...INFORMED faith. let me define that for you - there is believing in an assertion for no reason at all other than you want to, and there is believing in an assertion because the limited information available assists a process of elimination. which means basically that you are guessing but you are guessing because of these points that have been observed and factored in. its a 50/50 chance with a plethora of clues that are still being decrypted. it doesnt help that a lot of those clues are pretty ambiguous and more suggestive than conclusive. minute possibility turns into fact when you employ UNINFORMED or BLIND faith and thats what makes religion come across as broken. on the other hand...placebos, man. they work. kind of. especially when your ailments are psychosomatic.

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
If God is but a proposition—which I believe it is—and you find yourself constantly fighting against said proposition, then you aren’t without God in the slightest.

I don't find myself constantly (or even for an instant) fighting against said proposition. Why would I fight something I don't believe in?

... but it is my hope that you might take it further and realize the irony of your ideology

Atheism isn't an "ideology" at all. It's ONE thing, ONE thought... not a whole group or system of ideas and beliefs. Just ONE. Some people (the vocal minority) may MAKE an ideology out of it, but by itself, atheism is one small thought within one's mind.

misanthrope i see from your history of threads that you have this thing about atheism being just as fundamentally flawed as theism. while i cant speak for the atheists among us, i myself am critically skeptical regarding the idea of submitting myself to be anyones servant. we didnt free the slaves and fight the british just to surrender to another monarch upon death. maybe its just me. but i do find that atheism and similar concepts tend to be more conducive to a humanist approach. that is, humanity has an inherent value that should be honored in its conduct. abasing ourselves before a psychological construct is emotionally abusive in my opinion. like walking up to the president and getting down and kissing his shoes. and any "president" who approves of or demands such behavior is equally abusive.

Just put a spaghetti strainer on your head. BOOM, costume done!

You'd be a disciple of the church of the flying spaghetti monster, which is atheism.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
You'd be a disciple of the church of the flying spaghetti monster, which is atheism.

They're called Pastafarians, not atheists.

Soo, what will you actually end up wearing?

You could sew a stuffed lion on a shirt for a quick costume. Or tape a stick to your back, or something. Then you could refuse to disclose what you are by claiming such information only emboldens the enemy.

The reactions would probably be worth it.

Halloween is make believe, so if you aren't a believer in the supernatural, doesn't mean you can't swing the other way and go as Doctor Who last minute or something.

cdn.buzznet.com...

originally posted by: Benevolent Heretic

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
You'd be a disciple of the church of the flying spaghetti monster, which is atheism.

They're called Pastafarians, not atheists.

pastafarianism is a mockery of theism and alludes to atheism. the definition of irony.

a reply to: TzarChasm

I know. This IS a humorous thread, right? I was trying to be funny... fail.

originally posted by: TzarChasm
a reply to: backcase

im not sure that the metaphysical world is considered ridiculous as much as the idea that anyone can speak of it with any degree of certainty.

Even if they can they can't, because no one believes them anyway. Now I have had quite a few metaphysical experiences, although that word in a sense means nothing if everything is understood, just that there are things seen and unseen that we cannot comprehend.

a reply to: TzarChasm

maybe its just me. but i do find that atheism and similar concepts tend to be more conducive to a humanist approach.

I think reasoning, imagination and being inquisitive, pondering existence, was necessary for the evolution of the human mind.

Heaven forbid we ever lose our imagination.

Think of something that has never been thought before.