btlzu2's Journal: absolutely hilarious--wish it was required in school :D

This is one of the funniest things I've seen in ages. :)

by the way, why doesn't the power of prayer heal amputees?

Amputees

[aridhol]

why doesn't the power of prayer heal amputees?

To heal them, you just need to say the wrong letters [wikipedia.org]. Of course, then they have bigger problems to deal with.

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[btlzu2]

LOL--pretty clever. ;) Welcome back BTW!

why doesn't the power of prayer heal amputees?

[NeMon'ess]

Because Jesus is too fucking busy helping football players score touchdowns.

God damn it religion gets me riled up.

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[btlzu2]

God damn it religion gets me riled up.
You and me both!

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[Mantorp]

between touchdowns and grammies no wonder there's so much misery in the world, he should outsource to India, they have lots of deities who probably need the work

I predict

[Mantorp]

stoning to death to be added to the execution methods available to sinners in US prisons

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[btlzu2]

That is "Repulsive". :)

I loved the part in the video where he said, "Jesus is an idiot!" when talking about the eye-gouging and hand-cutting-off. Just cracked up.

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[Mantorp]

How do normal religious people view parts in the bible that says stone people to death for working on Sundays? Who decides which parts you obide?

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[btlzu2]

I just gouged my right eye out because it saw a sexy girl at the gym this morning. Now I'm a 1-eyed "pervert". Bummer. :)

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[elmegil]

I've already got a "one eyed pervert" thanks :)

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[btlzu2]

ewwww--i really set myself up for that one. it just took the right mind to pounce on it. thought it would've been ellem in retrospect! :)

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[elmegil]

Despite our political differences, I think ellem and I are way too much alike. :)

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[btlzu2]

I think ellem and I are way too much alike.
You mean "repulsive"? ;)

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[elmegil]

The only difference between a repulsor beam and a tractor beam is which way it's pointed ;)

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[FuzzyBad-Mofo]

Normal religious people, at least in the US, only know the parts of their religion that their priest tells them about. How many Christians do you know who murder their children because they talk back to their elders? Moderates I'm ok with (Protestants, etc) but the fundies are a menace to society--no less than the fanatics who blow themselves up to prove a point.

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[btlzu2]

The problem I'm dealing with in my thoughts with moderates is the validity they give to fundies who would do this crap. Moderates demand respect of their views because, well, they have intelligence. When we must respect someone who believes even just the good bits in the bible, the fundies latch on and demand the same respect. Don't know where to draw the line on a book riddled with inconsistencies, fallacies, hatred and decide who to give respect to and who to try to convince to let it go.

Of course, I a

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[FuzzyBad-Mofo]

Well.. the moderates realize that much of their religious texts are allegory and fable (I'm not singling out a religion here, they all have their literalists). Granted that does lend some credibility to the viewpoints of the nutcases --such as those who think the Earth is 6,000 years old or that some guy built a wooden ship able to carry at least 2 of each species in the world(including dinosaurs) AND food to sustain them for well over a month-- but I think any other method would be incompatible with a fre

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[subgeek]

you could just hate every religious person. that would solve your problems of having to think about it at all. you'll have one simple solution that fits every situation.

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[btlzu2]

well, i don't hate anyone. but a lot of people scare me (and drive me batty in some cases--especially, it seems in the US). and a lot of people unwittingly providing bits of validity to those scary people scares me too when i think about it.

it's true that people will still find ways to be evil. when some of the doctrines, which are used today as reasons for harming others and making judgments, can obviously and easily be shed as ancient myths in the light of reasonable thought, it's really hard not to sa

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[subgeek]

well then i guess that won't help remove the ambiguity for you. what i really want is for the subject of religion (or anything else) not to get you so upset so frequently. i used to think trying to promote an understanding/tolerance for some religious people might help, but it doesn't seem to have so far.

in the scale of human history, a lot of modern reasoning is relatively new. it takes people time to change. just like in math class there are people who catch on immediately and people who just don't ge

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[btlzu2]

wow, that's a great summary. i agree with you on a lot of it. i just get impatient at times and also angry at things i read sometimes at the willful propagation of ignorance. i think there is a strong reaction of intellectual intolerance of religious belief probably due in part to the fact that the foundations just seem so flawed that many people (including me) can't quite understand how intelligent people don't get stuck at square one. it's probably obvious where intolerance of fundamentalism comes fro

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[subgeek]

in my use of "spiritual" i meant it to include the things you allude to, a desire to understand purpose and emotions, to commune with the universe, and to seek the knowledge that brings people a sense of peace. that's why i didn't use the word religious. i think if you keep looking for answers you'll find them. you'll probably also get new questions, but at least there is movement.

i think atheists are often demonized because what they see as bringing reason to the masses is received by some as an attack

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[btlzu2]

ok, then i'm spiritual! :) i don't believe there is a purpose to things though. i think we can learn from our experiences, but i don't think things happen specifically to teach us things or that "we're here for a reason". well, i take that back, we're here because our genes are trying to survive within the bounds of natural selection. :)

but do you think some of your anger towards religious things is amplified as the result of anger being redirected from those who pulled the wool

oh yeah, absolutely that's

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[subgeek]

i think that's the big difference between you and me. evolution and the big bang give you answers without bringing more questions about purpose or meaning, while to me they explain the mechanics, but not the purpose or meaning that i still feel a need to work out.

and i know you were just making light, but technically if there's nothing beyond the physical and the laws of physics that guide it, genes would have no will of their own, but simply making complex reactions. they wouldn't try to survive, but sim

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[btlzu2]

ah ok. if you'd ever want to discuss purpose and meaning some day, i'd really be interested in that--maybe next time over a steak or something when you're in chicago if you're interested! i've thought about it a ton and i think it's a really interesting topic--even though i have what you might think is a fairly unsatisfactory view of it. wdb and i have re-hashed that one a lot as i'm sure you and wds (!) have. ;)

i don't know if you're interested at all in the physical explanation of genes' "purpose" (no,

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[subgeek]

as long as you can accept that your explanation doesn't have everything i'm looking for, i accept that it entirely satisfactory for you. i agree that it's an interesting topic. the steak or something idea sounds good. not sure when i'll make it out to chicago again.

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[btlzu2]

of course! i'm more interested in finding out what other people have to say about purpose. i've heard it all my life from people, but never really found out what they meant. i might be missing the gene that gives me a purpose. (that was a joke)