Dan Barker on Religion

Philosophy Forums Religion and Spirituality
21

Hehheh…good one! :laughing:

You could have made more sense if you had better grammar. “The way you phrase your thoughts” is an incomplete sentence and has no relevance to the matter. As for your second sentence, you apparentely failed to really read my comments and understand them, which is supported by the fact that you have failed to answer my question: “Do you even know what an aethiest is?”

It’s interesting how you attempt to try to make it look like my fault, when it was you who made the questionable comments in the first place. Changing the subject will not give you an advantage in this forum.

Making assumptions? Hardly. I’ve already made it very clear as a fact that you tend to not make much sense out of what you’re saying.

From your religious point of view, it seems that you take the bible pretty seriously eh? You sure have a knack for saying things that people already know…it makes you look like a fool. The sooner you get that fact, the sooner you can fix it. Which reminds me, Nietzsche said: “There are no truths, only interpretations.” Do you agree?

Which other country is this that you speak of?

Wow, first you spend all your time trying to make me look bad by calling me a stereotyper, not to mention calling me and Future Man people who hate another’s ideas, and then you proclaim your intentions to make yourself out as the very plague you accuse us to be. Sad…you are a fool, but in hope that you change your ways, I forgive you.

By the way, the next set of comments you made is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever read on this forum. It’s too bad you let your religious arrogance get the best of you on this…

“Every?” Are you sure? You sure are making yourself out to be one of the most narrow-minded people that has ever graced this forum.

I’m not sure I understand what this question is suppose to mean.

Is it? Hmmm…gee…I guess you’ve never heard of Hinduism. That’s too bad.

That one comment is going to get you flammed for the duration of your time on this forum, I gaurentee it.

You really need to rephrase this in a more grammatical sense. Your speech pattern is becoming a real confusing factor in your arguments.

22

The way I phrase my thoughts is a “incomplete sentence??”

Read books like “Tom Sawyer,” theres sentences that are 4 words long sometimes. And that book is heralded.

You just quote people when you know they made a point proving your just straight big-headed. Thinking you can prove every new thinker wrong, for everything you approve of. Even if its scientifically proven I bet you’d still do your garbage of quoting, then trying to dis-credit logical thoughts. And reading Future Man’s stuff. I thought he was big-headed trying to proof every new creative idea I come up with, when you just hate new ideas that doesn’t fit your stereotype of “right, good, ect.” Depressed people do what you do, trying to prove every new honest idea wrong, to make yourself think that you are smarter, for bashing someone else’s ideas.

23

There, you did it again, you wrote something grammatically incorrect. You said “is a” when you should have said “was an.” The best way to have put what you just said could have been: “You think the way I phrase my thoughts are through ‘incomplete sentences?’” I would have answered yes, and sadly, any good writer would agree with me.

You’re trying to validate your writing now, which can’t work. I shall explain.

Tom Sawyer, and books like those, are written in a fashion designed to capture the cultural speech patterns of certain characters. (I love Mark Twain’s material by the way.) This is not the case here, you are not writing prose designed to capture a character’s dialect, you are speaking as you normally do, and that’s the problem. Also, it doesn’t matter how many words are used in a sentence, it’s how those words are used that matters. I could say: “Jim likes apples.” That works and that has three words. Which reminds me, you once again wrote in a grammatically incorrect manner, let me rephrase it for you.

“Read books like Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. There are sentences in there that are four words long, and that book is heralded as one of the finest pieces of American Literature.”

You are incorrect sir. I quote people when I feel there is a detail about part or all of someone’s post that I care to reflect on. When I quote a post repeatedly, piecing it apart as I did to yours, I intended to make specific comments about specific parts of your post.

Where did you get this notion? You are over-generalizing, and stereotyping me very poorly I might add. There have been plenty of new posters who have offered their thoughts in this forum, making very fruitful arguments and conversations. The only reason I’m flaming you is because of your arrogant religious thinking. I don’t pay kindness to people who lack an open mind, and that is something you appear to not have.

Now, are you going to answer my questions, or are you going to continue straying off topic like you have been, letting your arrogance get the best of you?

24

a good question to ask yourself sagesound.

25

How do you figure Kain? Do you think I’m letting my arrogance get the best of me? Heh…hardly…allow me to put this thread back on its topic. By doing this, I openly forgive golden arm’s comments which are those of a closed box.

This is exactly what I was trying to tell golden arm. Thank you Phaedrus for elaborating on this.

I wasn’t sure who you were directing this question to in your original post which is why I didn’t answer it. However, for the sake of the thread, I would be happy to! :slight_smile: I know my legs are not solid foundations, for they are able to be broken or damaged, thus I acknowledge them for what they are, support beams that allow me to move where I need to go.

I feel the same way about faith. I’m not talking about faith in a particular thing, but faith in general. We know it’s there, we acknowledge its ability to get us from a bad emotional state to a good one. It’s roots are found in hope. I believe what Barker was trying to get at when he used the word ‘faith’ itself, was trying to explain religious faith. He used the word ‘faith’ mainly because it represents belief in something without proof. Thus I agree with him on the point that religious ideas taken only on faith contain a person within the confines of limited intellect.

26

Well that’s all I was trying to say, but I don’t think faith in god is a “bad” thing. Certainly when you let your belief be your rock, then you will run into problems.

Like you (and I) said faith is an unstable platform, and should be treated as such.

An example I used a month or so ago, is would you entrust me (or anyone else on the board) with 10,000 dollars? Why entrust your life to god, who has never spoken to you? Why entrust your life to any blind faith? when you put your life in faith, your life hangs over a precipice. It’s a dangerous proposition.

(I’m sure you agree sagesound.)

Sam Harris stated similiar things, in his book “the end of faith”.

27

There is an idea that many Atheists are not in fact Atheists, but so hate God that they deny him. This idea is expressed by Dostoevsky in Brothers Karamazov in the character of Ivan. I am not saying you should buy into this idea, but that sort of “atheist” does exist.

This idea ties into the idea that some religious have that God makes himself known to every person and it is simple a decision on our part to accept him or deny him. Again, not saying you should buy into this idea, just tryin to explain where it might come from.

28

Yeah, just with him though. During the arguments, his writing styles began to become an annoying and confusing factor in the debate. Seriously, I’ve seen better writing from people who aren’t American who post here.

I do agree! It bothers me how many religious fundies think of faith as something that’s holy, sacred, and infallible.

29

Ah! I imagine Schoenhauer would love that tactic! That type of arguement uses at least three of his favorite lowdown dirty tricks of sophistry to defeat an opponent whom you can’t defeat based upon the strength of your own arguements. :wink:

Still, it’s an interesting view. Dosteovsky himself may have even believed that himself.

30

I don’t agree with you…the subject of that sentence is “The way”, which is singular…therefore, “is” is the correct conjugation. The sentence has the structure “the X is a Y”. The only correction necessary is the replacement of “a incompletel sentence” with “an incomplete sentence”.

31

Actually, it’s funny you mention this, because that’s what I wanted to write originally, but then decided to change the sentence altogether. The original was just a fix up of what he wrote: “The way I phrase my thoughts is an ‘incomplete sentence?’”