Atheism

[Mason89]

Here’s a helpful guide to avoid more embarrassment

[mondo_notion]

Here’s a helpful guide to avoid more embarrassment

Willie Miller was a French Philosopher?

[Mason89]

Willie Miller was a French Philosopher?

Indeed. He most famously asked ‘qui est-ce qui se trouve à Pittodrie?’ which has been studied by academics for years

[Pacman1903]

The standards on this board have fallen sharply. I yearn for the days when we could discuss French philosophers without such basic errors

Ahhh the halcyon days of threads on Voltaire.

[DonUnder]

I find atheism and humanism to be pretty dull to be honest. Clearly atheism doesn't necessitate any particular moral system or belief but there is a certain "type" of atheist (i.e. quotes Richard Dawkins religiously). Dawkins should stick to Darwinian evolution - he comes across as sophomoric when he tries to branch out.

Philosophically, humanist ethics always seem to be pretty circular. It's good to be kind to people because being kind to people is good. (Yeah I know there's more to it than that).

A lot of Humanists i have met would describe themselves as agnostic. I think this is a "denying the possibility i could be wrong would put me in the same bracket as doorstep evangalists" stance.

Dawkins (and Hitchens for that matter) can be a little dull and preachy but surely that's inevitable if someone choses to stand against institutionalised religeon? Regardless in the boring stakes i suspect a lot of christians would be scoring highly.

[Pacman1903]

Speaking of cults, tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre

[donsdaft]

A quick chorus of my favourite religious song

There's a mannie in the sky

There's a ma-han-ey in the sky.

[57vintage]

Ahhh the halcyon days of threads on Voltaire.

Voltaire Smith is a hun ****.

Voltaire Sobchak, on the other oxter, was a legend in the annals of this place.

[Aldo1983]

Speaking of cults, tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre

Happy birthday Brian. I had no idea the massacre was in Cults.

[BogBrush1903]

As for God, I think the best way to think of it is as a kind of allegorical metaphor for the ultimate nature of reality (which is basically how Spinoza saw it). No matter how smart, rational and powerful humans become we will always be constrained by our limited and finite state within the infinite. God represents the infinite. If God is portrayed as cruel and arbitrary the correct question is not "why would God create such a world as this", it's "why wouldn't a God who created such a world as this not be cruel and arbitrary?".

As others have stated, it's an interesting post from Ragnarok, and finishes off with a good counterpoint to Stephen Frei 's emotion based argument about an inhumane God.

I've also wondered about the relevance of Islam in the modern world but there's no denying that it's managed to retain the adherents under its spell in greater numbers than possibly any other today.

Are all religions based on an assumption that if you're good and benevolent in this world, then you'll be well looked after in the next, but if you're bad or don't practice your religion, then hell mend you?