Famous Atheists

[Sazerac]

Originally posted by Cerek the Barbaric: And there are some who "pretend" to be religious...but don't follow the morals that go along with it. That's basically the argument I'm presenting.

"By their deeds, shall ye know them." That's always been a great heuristic for me.

-Saz

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Originally posted by Ronn_Bman: The truth is, there will always be strong reactions to any statement or idea worth debating. It doesn't mean it's personal. Just because people don't agree doesn't necessarily mean they're slamming one another.

What an absolutely brilliant concept! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] You should be a sage, Bman!

[Cloudbringer]

Originally posted by Cerek the Barbaric: quote: Originally posted by Ronn_Bman: The truth is, there will always be strong reactions to any statement or idea worth debating. It doesn't mean it's personal. Just because people don't agree doesn't necessarily mean they're slamming one another.

What an absolutely brilliant concept! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] You should be a sage, Bman! [/QUOTE]Nice concept! One we should all keep in mind, especially on these threads that can heat up. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Larry_OHF]

Hey! That's a quote for Nanobyte to have in his sig! Where is he when the good stuff is being spewed?

[Bardan the Slayer]

Originally posted by Yorick: Charles Darwin was also not an athiest. He believed God breathed life into the earth, but radically theorised as to what happened after that moment.

I'm afraid that he was, Yorick. After the death of his first daughter at the age of ten, he stated that he was totally unable to believe in any kind of benevolent God.

Maybe he believed in a wicked God, but that would hardly make him very 'religious' in the common interpretation now, would it? In any case, I don't believe he did.

[Bardan the Slayer]

Originally posted by K T Ong (about the "God is an alien" theory): It's no longer a very original theory, actually. Others have come up with this theory before.

Yes, including Erik Von Daniken. Read his books - you'll soon see that what his supporters proclaim to be "stirring and fundamentally challenging questions" actually tend to be the ravings of a semi-coherent maniac. I read Chariots of the Gods and Return to the Stars and I don't think I stopped laughing for days due to the absurd leaps of logic he makes.

[Chewbacca]

So are we born with a conscience, or are we taught that some behaviors cause guilt and others joy? Nature or nuture, the age old debate.

Well, my belief is that we are born with a conscience, instinct will drive us to seek joy and bliss, but conditioning will lead us to guilt and shame. Just my belief.

[ 10-29-2002, 12:18 AM: Message edited by: Chewbacca ]

[LordKathen]

Well said Chewbacca...

[Ronn_Bman]

I enjoyed the nature VS nurture thread last week.

I though it was both, but the final deciding influence was nurture. Of course, I was told I was wrong. [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

Originally posted by Chewbacca: So are we born with a conscience, or are we taught that some behaviors cause guilt and others joy? Nature or nuture, the age old debate. Well, my belief is that we are born with a conscience, instinct will drive us to seek joy and bliss, but conditioning will lead us to guilt and shame. Just my belief.

You might be interested in some of the psychological studies done a few deacades ago (would be illegal to do them now). They isolated children and raised them with no moral or behavioral guidence, from what I recall, there was no evidence of instinct nor moral compas inate to human children. The info is really hazy because I read about it years and years ago, but I seem to recall that some of the cildren turned very savage, and others ended up being near immobile and timid. All I remember clearly is how horrible I thought it was that they used human children in this research.

[ 10-29-2002, 10:29 AM: Message edited by: MagiK ]