Atheism

UTZ in Delaware

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But wait. I've obviously skipped a large batch of pages, I'm guessing ten. What did I miss? Spendius romps?

It may have been inspired by the UU hymn that I've posted around here before



UU is a hotbed of atheists, agnostics, skeptics, thinkers, and theists all trying to co-exist.

Growing up my coolest friends were Unitarians.

I could have a bit of a romp with JPB's "song" osso. I restrain myself more than you know.

Wow, I must have been a Unitarian to remember those lines. AStill, its bullshit that just sounds deep.

Maybe spendi can add some more useless irrelevant drivvle. Thats his style.

It didn't seem deep to me unless you mean in the sense that a large tank of bullshit will be deep.

Give me an example of what you consider to be my useless, irrelevant drivvle. How can I improve myself if I don't know where I went wrong?

Ex atheist on her religion:

Anne Rice leaves Christianity
Legendary author Anne Rice has announced that she’s quitting Christianity.

The “Interview with a Vampire” author, who wrote a book about her spirituality titled "Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession" in 2008, said Wednesday that she refuses to be “anti-gay,” “anti-feminist," “anti-science” and “anti-Democrat.”

Rice wrote, “For those who care, and I understand if you don't: Today I quit being a Christian ... It's simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I've tried. I've failed. I'm an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.”


Rice then added another post explaining her decision on Thursday:

“My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me," Rice wrote. "But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been or might become.”

“My faith in Christ is central to my life. My conversion from a pessimistic atheist lost in a world I didn't understand, to an optimistic believer in a universe created and sustained by a loving God is crucial to me," Rice wrote. "But following Christ does not mean following His followers. Christ is infinitely more important than Christianity and always will be, no matter what Christianity is, has been or might become.”

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Yes, yes, yes. What a mouthful of truth this lady has said.

An ex-atheist on her ex-religion it seems.
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The vampire erotica genre is firing back up in the last 2 year. Tis a good season for Ms Rice if she so chooses to.

I am only familiar with her celebrity. I don't know her works.

Well--she does make a bit of a shopping list about what being anti-Christian entails. It clears the air a bit.

http://xkcd.com/774/

I had a friend email me this last night. Funny, and yet somehow I feel inevitable that I would see it appear on a2K.

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This is oldish news, but I haven't seen it posted anywhere else on A2K yet: Christopher Hitchens has cancer---the same kind that killed his father. And as he says himself, "the statistics at this point are quite poor".

Here is his interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper. Its title, "Why Not Me?", captures the spirit of their conversation well.

Also true to Hitchens' form is the end of the interview:

Cooper: In a moment of doubt, isn't there .... I don't know, I just find it fascinating that ... even when you're alone and, you know, noone else is watching, if there might be a moment where you, you know, want to hedge your bets.

Hitchens: If that comes, it'll be when I'm very ill---when I'm half-demented, either by drugs or by pain I won't have control over. See, I mention this in case you hear a rumor later on...

Cooper: (laughs)

Hitchens: ... because these things happen, and the faithful love to spread these rumors. 'Oh on his deathbed he finally', well.... I can't say that the entity that by then wouldn't be me wouldn't do such a pathetic thing. But I can tell you that ... not while I'm lucid. No. I could be quite sure of that.

Cooper: (laughs) So if there is some story that on your on your deathbed ...

Hitchens: Don't believe it. Don't credit it, no.

It would be a shame if Hitchens didn't stick around for a few more years. But whether he does or not, I hope he won't go through too much pain in the process.

I mentioned his cancer on a thread, but this interview was not covered. My take is, you know what you know. Whether you are ill or healthy makes no difference.

I watched one of those network real crime shows. There are more than one. Did not get the title. 48 Hours, maybe?

It was a true tale, of an atheist and a minister. I missed some of the early portions, so did not hear the reason these two became so close. The atheist was in his 80s, the other young enough that they received father-son comparisons. They seemed so happy and loving, planning the big project in a vacant field, behind the church. As intimations of a car wreck, with the near death of the atheist the result, I began to think, "It's to be the heartwarming tale of how an atheist learned to be a god fearing man." Not so. The old man recovered, and he and the Christian resumed their relationship. Much of the stalled project hinged on the actions of the charismatic minister. They made plans, made trips, and so forth, but, always, that field remained empty.

The Christian drove. The atheist could no longer drive anyway. The last trip ended with the pick up they were in going into an irrigation canal. The minister got out the window and eventually pulled out the atheist. It was too late to save him.

While the church members immediately responded with sympathy for the tragic accident, other folks close to the dead atheist immediately cried 'murder.' The old man had told them, in strictest secrecy, that the minister had intentionally set out to harm him with the first wreck.

Investigators discovered that the old man's money ended up in the bank accounts of the minister and his sons. The minister had opened a new church in Mexico.

I needed no more and walked away from the TV.

I realize the story concerned just the two persons involved and not their views re religion. Still, it was an interesting story.

It's a common enough propaganda trick ed. In another story you could just as easy reverse the positions and have the atheist shoot the Christian in the back of the head whilst he was reading the Bible and dump his body in a concrete coffin off Nantucket and inherit his estates in Ireland which he allowed his brother to manage because he loved the atheist so much And never get found out.

I could work it up I suppose but is is so, so old and washed out.

I bet you could find true stories and present them in such a way that you could make as many impressions as you could think of regarding the relative merits of A or B. Or Black or White.

I gave up thinking there was any such thing as a true story a long while ago.

You stupid ****. This is a true story. You decide to muddy it with cheap dime store fiction. There is no propaganda involved, except in your hysterical imaginings.