Afraid to Faith

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Quote:Nowadays those kinds of threads just make me tired so I ignore them I think you just hit the nail on the head.On a side note, I think Steve is one of the most helpful people on this board. He likes to debate...so what? If someone does not want to debate him, then read another thread. No one forces you to make a reply. I think what has caused the riff between members here is shear boredom. Ever since the server switch, there has been less new members and even less new posts seeking advice.

Originally Posted By: DxLISHxISx_43 Quote:Nowadays those kinds of threads just make me tired so I ignore them I think you just hit the nail on the head.On a side note, I think Steve is one of the most helpful people on this board. He likes to debate...so what? I think the main issue is the fact is scares some people off or even annoy them to the point of leaving. We have lost some good members because of such happenings. Thing is the board is to be tolerate of everyone, those who are religious and those who are not religious. But there is a point where the line is drawn when people are insulted for their beliefs, or even perhaps the lack of beliefs (though on these boards as of late it's more "attacks" towards those with beliefs).I'm not sure how fair it is to tell a person to sit back and ignore someone who is attacking something very dear to him or her. Sadly the respect level has gone VERY down hill on this site. I don’t care if it’s over the Internet or not, people need to remember there are human begins behind the screen names and respect that individual.I will agree that Steve is intelligent and CAN bring a lot of good to the site. But I certainly would not call these actions as Intelligent or bringing anything good to the site. Granted I opened myself up for an attack (which I wouldn’t expect anything less), but it’s the truth as many people see it.

Quote:though on these bards as of late it's more "attacks" towards those with beliefsperception is an interesting thing. So, are you saying you disagree with my assesement of the tone of the debates (my post last night)? It's something I kinda wanted to discuss (nicely )

I’ll do my best to address hehe >why is it bad to critisize the written and accepted history of organised religion yet, somehow, acceptable for the members of any critisized religious group to reply to the critasism with a direct, personal attack on the critic.I certainly don’t think it’s bad to “criticize” so to speak, but there is a point when it’s taken to mudslinging and insults or telling them person they are “stupid” for believing in something that’s “imaginary”. I am all for an INTELLECTUAL debate but I won’t stand someone calling me stupid because of my belief or resort to the child antics of mudslinging. Sadly most of the debate regarding religion resorts to what I have mentioned.I think people on both sides of this debate need to understand there will always be that other person on the other side of the fence. I personally don’t care if the person is religious or not religious, I will treat that person the same regardless. But at the same time have the same common courtesy in return.>…… there is no point in defending any of that.Absolutely!! I’ll be the first one to accept and acknowledge the fact people have done some horrible things in the name of the Lord, but at the same time you cannot judge the religion but instead the person who decided to skew his own version of the “truth” of the bible. I really think that’s where a lot of the issues lie is people lay so much of the blame on the religion instead of the person/people.I have said many times I cannot stand the Christian Radicals. I feel they truly go against what the bible talks about and preaches. I have “told off” more than a few of the radicals myself, I think they are nasty, rude, and obnoxious just to name a few characteristics. But at the same time there are MANY Christians like myself who do not have these radical views and to make a blanket statement on how horrible Christians are and attack the beliefs makes that person just as wrong and ignorant as the radical.

I guess it depends on how people view the meaning of 'attack'. I am Catholic and not one of these religious debates offended me. The only thing that hit a nerve was when someone said Jesus was a cunt. That bothered me a bit, but somehow I resisted the urge to hit the reply button. It's not worth my time to respond to something so stupid. And honestly, I cannot see Steve making an 'attack' like calling Jesus a cunt. For the most part, I see him trying to keep the debate intelligent and civil. It is when people come in calling him an asshole or whatever that things take a turn for the worse.

Cunt is a word best used for describing my x wife.
Its nto really strong enough a word, but its the best I can do.
I also like refering to women that piss me off particularly driving, as Brenda, it really confuses them to be called brenda instead of cunt.

You are such a Mallrat.

\_You believe in God?
yes? Well, prove that he exists.
Oh you can't? But you just believe?
Do you believe in the Easter Bunny?
No? But you believe in an imaginary God?
Haha, what an idiot.\_
You get what we're talking about now? And this same story occurs again and again and again.

While I love the movie, it has nothing to do with what I said.Brenda is my x wifes name and she is indeed a cunt.The movie is however great, "Fly fat ass ! FLY!"

Yes, I get what your saying, but arguing/debating is a two way street. I have seen people actually say they are going to kick Steve's ass....sounds like a personal attack to me. However I have never seen Steve say anything like that. But yet if he questions the existence of God, or compares God to Santa Claus, everyone thinks he is personally attacking them. I guess I just don't get the whole 'attacking' thing.

Dayum, Son! That's like.. 10~ Burns.That's pretty dope, man.I'm Catholic(Or so they say) and I didn't get offended by these debates. It's just when these apes generalize all Christians. It's cute how he still replies to me. Thank God for the ignore button! It's a life saver.I need to come on more ofter -- I gotta his reply.

how dare anyone compare god to such evil malfeasants as Santa Clause and the easter bunny! where will it end?!Quote:Cunt is a word best used for describing my x wife.what an odd coincidence...

Its not odd, its divorce and hatred. Youll have a hard tme finding a man whos divorced that doesnt think that applies to his x.Do you keep a tampon on your tv to remind you of the cunt that took the VCR? Im betting yuoll also agree that divorce is expensive, and worth every penny.

But yet if he questions the existence of God, or compares God to Santa Claus, everyone thinks he is personally attacking them. No, the suggestion is that a person who believes in an "imaginary" diety, is a buffoon.

Quote:As time progresses, the less I like this place.You mean I don't turn you on anymore

Starfish was right about you. You always like to frame things to fit your agenda.You mean that I'm a fucking asshole? Nyah, nyah, Starfish was right about you! Shouldn't a moderator be an exemplar of maturity? At least a little bit?My "agenda" is that you complain about people being intolerant, but you are rather more intolerant than I am. You focus in on the religion thing, but there is a pretty long list of things that you not only think are "unnatural" or bad or stupid, but you're not afraid to tell people exactly what you think. Thank God we know that you think that a man's drinking breast milk is messed up. I don't know what we would have done without that opinion.(As Starfish often pointed out.. you like to take things out of context and make then fit your agenda..You failed to mention that I though men who had the "need" to nurse might have some deep-seated issues with nurturing and Mother/child issues -sdp)Go back and read through your many, many posts. Some good fraction are helpful (though normally quite brief), but half of them are bitches, insults, and putdowns. What makes you so sour?(So I have 5000 "bitches, insults, and putdowns"??? Yeah right Steve -sdp)Quote:My attitude towrds gays is shitty huh? OK. I think homosexuality is biologically not natural. But, if they are gay, fine by me.. Yup yup yup, that's a shitty attitude.Yes, your attitude is shitty, about homosexuality and other things. But it's OK; after bad cop (you) insults someone, good cop (Ineligible) can make it all better.You're ignorant of biology if you think homosexuality is unnatural. It's as natural as red hair. It occurs in most if not all mammals. It even occurs among penguins, in the wild.(Another one of your out of context statements used to paint me as a gay hater....Nice...As usual you failed to mention, that when we had this discussion long ago, no one could provide me with an answer, not how or why homosexuality occurs in nature, but what the purpose was for nature to create a homosexual. Even the great Steve had no answer. We left it as a biological anomaly. It's not bad or anyones fault that they are gay.. That's the way they are and should have every right afforded to any human being. -sdp)You're a moderator? Good. Your expertise in foreskins is worthy of respect. Now go learn something else about biology.Quote:"little tolerance for people's "weird" sexual proclivities"OK so eating shit, drinking piss and adults needing to suckle and nurse milk from a womans breast is weird in my book. I guess I must now condem them, eh? Please point out all the other intolerant views on people's "weird" sexual proclivities that I might have. You are a cornucopia on facts and trivia.Drinking urine is common in some cultures. It's credited with curative powers, although I don't buy that. But if done in moderation, it doesn't cause harm.So, have you ever smoked? Do you think that causes more or less harm than drinking urine? Do you think smoking is "natural"? In fact, is wearing clothes "natural"?Go do a search on "sdp's sour attitude about lots of things", and you'll be sure to get thousands of hits.Quote:And now because of this... I'm full of shit.No, I think you're intolerant about lots of stuff, including the subject of this thread. I don't know what you mean by "full of shit".Unless you can honestly say that you fully respect an adult's belief in Santa Clause, you are full of shit. To me, Jesus, Santa, God, Vishnu, and Zeus are interchangeable. None makes less sense than any of the others.(That's nice, but calling someone a idiot(in your fine linguistic manner) due to their beliefs becasue it doesn't fit your logical and scientific template is just not constructive)Quote:You know, when you walk through a field and then you get a pesky little gnat or fly that starts swirling around in your face? You swat and shoo it away but it comes back. You can flail your arms all you like but it just keeps comming back again and again and again. You Steve are just like that little gnat.So this is what pases for clever discourse and argument for you? (Not a discourse, just a statement of how you are percieved by many. -sdp)Quote:You are incessant and pester people to death. You must have been a diminutive person growing up and used intelligence as a counterbalance.That's it. Let it all out. Vent. Feel better now? Clearly you have nothing intelligent to say, so a verbose version of "Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!" feels really good, right?I don't know about being full of shit, but you are a shitty example of how you claim this site should be used.Quote:Now you use it browbeat people into submission and you're good at it. Your 17,000 posts in the past 2 years are a testimonial to your pestering. You've become a intellectual bully. You have no problem calling others bullies but you, in fact, are no better. You probably don't see it but many other do. You thrive on dominating over people. Does that make you feel good or something?I'm saying that, certainly right now, you are a bad example of a moderator. Apparently moderators are not above having childish temper tantrums.If someone wants to argue a point, and they're reasoning is to call me a dickhead, then I become a "bully".You are a "public figure". You are subject to criticism. Being a moderator sure as hell doesn't put you above all that. You may not like my approach, and Ineligible might not like my people skills, but your response with a barrage of insults is classic.Quote:What exactly are you doing in a place like this?Might I ask you the same question?It doesn't matter. I'm not a moderator. I wouldn't be one. The question is, why would someone with your temperament become a moderator? Does it get you off to keep showing your moral superiority to everyone, and criticize all the many things that you find disagreeable? In fact, if you'd just say something like, "I find that disagreeable", it wouldn't be so bad. But you always need to twist the knife. I wonder how many people who've come here with a question you deem weird have been put off by that.Quote:Why doesn't your computer break for good? It was quite nice for a while. (twice actually)You know, there was a time before you became and Administrator when you weren't on as often. It was fine. Nyah, nyah, got you back. Aren't we mature?Administrate more, criticize less.

Quote:Dayum, Son! That's like.. 10~ Burns.That's pretty dope, man.I'm Catholic(Or so they say) and I didn't get offended by these debates. It's just when these apes generalize all Christians.It's cute how he still replies to me. Thank God for the ignore button! It's a life saver.I need to come on more ofter -- I gotta his reply.For someone who got banned, came back with another ID, lied about it, got banned again, came back with a couple more IDs....I'm trying to think of a time that you've posted something useful, but I'm drawing a blank. Perhaps you can point to a constructive post of yours, if such a thing exists.If you'd stop with the "fuck you"s and such, the site would be a better place."Apes", huh? You are such a clever little boy, a little boy with such a big temper.

Quote:What I've been noticing is that all the Christians who are, supposedly, so eager to push their beliefs on others are not the ones starting these threads. They just respond in defense of what they believe. Seems as if perhaps the Christians are the ones being persecuted...not the ones doing the persecuting.A Christian with a persecution complex. Qelle ironie. I'm not sure what country you live in, but reality extends beyond this Web site. In this 85% Christian country, and even more so, in the over 50% evangelical South, everyone is bathed in a sea of Christianity, whether or not they are Christian.Maybe you live in New York or San Francisco, but in most other places, if you're in middle school, you'd be better off saying you're gay than saying you're homosexual. Religion is everywhere, on money, in the Pledge of Allegiance that all children are taught, and -- worst of all -- in politics. Politics is saturated with religious morality, and who rates and who doesn't. A black man, a Moslem, a Jew, and a gay person all have a shot at winning elective office (although not in some conservative districts). An out-of-the-closet atheist wouldn't have a prayer. They may exist, but they don't mention their beliefs, or lack thereof.I'm sorry, I can't shed a tear over your perceived persecution. I'll never know what it's like to be a black man, but I can put myself in his shoes and sympathize. You will never have any idea what it's like to be a non-believer in the U.S., at least outside of the cities, and Massachusetts.

Good boy Steve.. If you think I was having a tantrum then so be it. You want to paint me as a monger, then so be it. It's not unexpected of you and you do it so eloquently, too! Gosh, I'm so uptight I'm going to explode. Can you recommend a good hydraulic pump?As much as you have been a positive member, you have been just as negative. I've privately defended you in the past. Unfortnately most people on this board won't open their mouth because of your tirades. And if they do, your wasp-like attacks drive them away. It not the first time this has been discussed.I don't need to defend myself. I think most people see the real picture not the one you paint. I think you might need a need a bigger easel.You can go and complain. Be my guest.

Originally Posted By: DxLISHxISx_43

I have seen people actually say they are going to kick Steve's ass....sounds like a personal attack to me. However I have never seen Steve say anything like that.

I get what you're saying, and you may be right.
However, I think there might be a game being played here. If I say to someone "F you. You're a moron", then it's obvious to everyone that I'm levying a personal attack. No questions.
However, if I'm really smart, I can dress my personal attack up in pretty language and big ACT words and sophist arguments, so that it isn't obvious to most people that it is, in fact, a personal attack. It's rather passive-aggressive I think. And actually a damned good strategy. Cause if you call me out I can claim the high moral ground and accuse you of ad hominem attacks on poor little old me who is just trying to carry on a logical, passionless debate.

In short...I ain't buying it.