OT: Something worrying

[Will]

Emo Phillips said:
I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said "Stop! don't do it!"
"Why shouldn't I?" he said.
I said, "Well, there's so much to live for!"
He said, "Like what?"
I said, "Well... are you religious or atheist?"
He said, "Religious."
I said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?"
He said, "Christian."
I said, "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?"
He said, "Protestant."
I said, "Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?"
He said, "Baptist!"
I said,"Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?"
He said, "Baptist Church of God!"
I said, "Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?"
He said,"Reformed Baptist Church of God!"
I said, "Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?"
He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915!"
I said, "Die, heretic scum", and pushed him off.

[Atrocities]

Suicide Junkie said:
Wow, I can't believe you said that Atro. That's gotta be the most trollish thing posted on this board in the last two years.
*Don't do that again*

Starhawk, you gotta calm down a bit there... you're way overreacting.

So by extention you are calling me a troll for posting my opinion of religion? The fact that you all instantly jumped on the beat Atrocities band wagon just proves my point. That being that people are way to willing to attack any one who does not agree or share their religious views.

I posted what I posted to prove a point.

I do not subscribe to religion, I know that it was created as an instrument of control and is still being used today as such. That millions of people throughout history have been killed in its name, that wars have been fought, justified, and instigated all because of religion.

Religion allows for explotation of the weak. It takes adavantage of peoples willingness to believe. It exploits ones faith and it gives to much control of the individuals right to freedom of choice to those who would use it for ill gains. Look at all the children that have been abused in the name of God by the very people who have sworn their lives to God. Do any of these comments sound familar; "Do this or God will strike you down. God told me that we must do this. It is Gods will that we do what we do. Kill them all and let God sort them out."

It is your right to believe in whatever you wish to believe in. But when you are willing to hurt others in the name of your faith or religion, then a line has been crossed. Your religion is no longer about faith, it is about control.

I have faith, that is all I need. I don't need to belong to any religion or have any group of people tell me that I must believe in their religion to be loved by God.

Having faith is all that matters.



EDIT: I am sorry that I upset many of you. But that was the point. I needed to demonstrate how willing people are to fight for their religious beliefs and or to justify why they must. I respect and have nothing but great admiration for you all.

The comments I posted are exactly what many in the news media have been stating for years now. They attack those of faith to marginalize the Religion. I may not agree with organized religion for many reasons, but I am a man of faith. Playing the devils advocate I posted the comments that seem most painful to hear. The media and many others are attacking religion by attacking those who belong to it. They are attempting to marginalize religion and to make faith anti-politically correct.

If you are willing to fight for what you believe in, as you did here, than there is still hope.

[Will]

Well, the comment was a little trollish, even if you did not intend it to be Atrocities. If I did agree with you, I would be sure to say it out of earshot of anyone I thought might try to prove the point of the statement by starting a fight.

And everyone needs to remember Rule #1 about online discussions like this: automatically prepend the words "I think that..." to EVERYTHING. And Rule #2, step back for a few minutes and then re-read your post before sending it if you're getting emotional on the subject. It saves everyone a headache.

Now, let's all laugh about it and move on, eh?

[Atrocities]

Religion is dangerous, that is why it is best not discussed.

[Suicide Junkie]

That second try is better.

Can you honestly say with a straight face that your other post was not trollish?
If so, remind me to never play poker with you.

[Hunpecked]

Atrocities said:
So by extention you are calling me a troll for posting my opinion of religion?

Actually, AT was labeled a troll for posting his opinion of people with religious views, i.e. "the weak minded, the gullable, those who follow, cannot think for themselves, the narrow minded, the fanatical, and the insane".

The fact that you all instantly jumped on the beat Atrocities band wagon just proves my point.

Huh? TWO posters (three now) called him a troll, yet "you all" ganged up on poor AT? My, what a brave little martyr he is!

That being that people are way to willing to attack any one who does not agree or share their religious views.

No responses were needed. AT proved that with his own post. What words did he use? Weak-minded? Gullible? Insane?. All that just for disagreeing with AT?

I posted what I posted to prove a point.

Yes. Not to contribute, not to question, but to provoke an emotional response and then proclaim, "See? I was right!" Hmm, there's a word for that...

[snip rant]

EDIT: I am sorry that I upset many of you.

I doubt it, since that was the whole object of the post.

But that was the point. I needed to demonstrate how willing people are to fight for their religious beliefs and or to justify why they must.

I'd like to thank AT for demonstrating how willing he is to fight for his religious beliefs, and for sharing with us his justification for being a troll.

I respect and have nothing but great admiration for you all.

Actions speak louder than words.

[Hunpecked]

Having just committed the sin of feeding a troll, I seek to atone by contributing something to the (off-topic) topic.

In his original post, Narf included a lot of "I have the right to...", "the atheist has a right to...", and "he doesn't have a right to...". While that might be true in the country of "CHEESE!" where he lives, that's not necessarily true all over the world. We may all have "natural" rights or "moral" rights, but in practice the only rights we have are those our fellow humans allow us. It's easy to forget that the "rights" currently enjoyed by Narf and his fellow CHEESErs were likely gained by a combination of physical and political force over a period of centuries, and are still subject to those forces today.

In that context, the dispute in Italy is just another skirmish in the ongoing politics of religion. If enough Italians believe in religion, or at least in religious tolerance, then this will be just a tempest in a teapot. If not, then the balance will shift a bit in the favor of the anti-religionists, for now, and the process will continue.

[Atrocities]

Suicide Junkie said:
That second try is better.

Can you honestly say with a straight face that your other post was not trollish?
If so, remind me to never play poker with you.

No really. It was designed to be what it was labled.

[Atrocities]

Hunpecked - psi-cops are not welcome... Go back to Corp and get out of my mind!

[Hunpecked]

Given AT's candor, it was hardly necessary to read his mind--thank Gore!