Is the concept of ''Atheist'' necessary, let alone real?

Is there a God? If so, what is She like?

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Walker
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Re: Is the concept of ''Atheist'' necessary, let alone real?

Post by Walker »

uwot, more or less wrote:Got any proof?
Of course. Look it up. You would have to be gullible to not verify, and you would have to either be from another planet, dishonest, oblivious, or an iconizer of words to have not noticed the liberal bias of the media on your own. It’s thick enough to choke a horse.
Nick_A
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Re: Is the concept of ''Atheist'' necessary, let alone real?

Post by Nick_A »

uwot wrote: Sun May 20, 2018 11:08 pm
Reflex wrote: Sun May 20, 2018 6:19 am
Greta wrote: Sun May 20, 2018 5:39 amNot human? We are all humans.
Drivel. To be truly human is to be more than human.
Reflex! Again I salute you; this is comedy gold and the variations are endless. How about 'To be truly a bicycle is to be more than a bicycle'? Whaddya think?
To be truly an oak means to be more than an acorn. To be human means to be more than a potential human. Acorns and potential humans get insulted but that's life.
Reflex
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Re: Is the concept of ''Atheist'' necessary, let alone real?

Post by Reflex »

uwot wrote: Sun May 20, 2018 10:49 pm
Reflex wrote: Sun May 20, 2018 9:29 pmSo why the vulgarity? Is it an expression of hopelessness? immaturity? fear? what?
Humour.
That stopped being funny when I was 12.
Nick_A
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Re: Is the concept of ''Atheist'' necessary, let alone real?

Post by Nick_A »

"There are two atheisms of which one is a purification of the notion of God.
Perhaps every evil thing has a second aspect—a purification in the course of progress towards the good—and a third which is the higher good.
We have to distinguish carefully between these three aspects because it is very dangerous for thought and for the effective conduct of life to confuse them." ~ Simone Weil
The ravings of a mad woman or just representative of a quality of understanding the secular world struggles against?
Walker
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Re: Is the concept of ''Atheist'' necessary, let alone real?

Post by Walker »

uwot wrote: Sun May 20, 2018 11:08 pm
Reflex wrote: Sun May 20, 2018 6:19 am
Greta wrote: Sun May 20, 2018 5:39 amNot human? We are all humans.
Drivel. To be truly human is to be more than human.
Reflex! Again I salute you; this is comedy gold and the variations are endless. How about 'To be truly a bicycle is to be more than a bicycle'? Whaddya think?
An animal cannot transcend its animal limitations.
A human can transcend its human limitations.
That’s the advantage of a human birth.
What are human limitations?
Ignorance caused by desire, leading to attachment and suffering.

Humans can even transcend modern notions of liberalism to see the light. 8)

Thus, humans become more than human.
(Although often, less is more.)
Reflex
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Re: Is the concept of ''Atheist'' necessary, let alone real?

Post by Reflex »

Nick_A wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 1:43 am
uwot wrote: Sun May 20, 2018 11:08 pm
Reflex wrote: Sun May 20, 2018 6:19 am
Drivel. To be truly human is to be more than human.
Reflex! Again I salute you; this is comedy gold and the variations are endless. How about 'To be truly a bicycle is to be more than a bicycle'? Whaddya think?
To be truly an oak means to be more than an acorn. To be human means to be more than a potential human. Acorns and potential humans get insulted but that's life.
Nick, it's obvious that most people here have about as much insight as a wart.
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Greta
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Re: Is the concept of ''Atheist'' necessary, let alone real?

Post by Greta »

Reflex wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 3:31 am
Nick_A wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 1:43 am
uwot wrote: Sun May 20, 2018 11:08 pm
Reflex! Again I salute you; this is comedy gold and the variations are endless. How about 'To be truly a bicycle is to be more than a bicycle'? Whaddya think?
To be truly an oak means to be more than an acorn. To be human means to be more than a potential human. Acorns and potential humans get insulted but that's life.
Nick, it's obvious that most people here have about as much insight as a wart.
Thus spake the "more than human" displaying his great maturity, understanding and depth. Noted.
Reflex
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Re: Is the concept of ''Atheist'' necessary, let alone real?

Post by Reflex »

Greta wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 4:21 am
Reflex wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 3:31 am
Nick_A wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 1:43 am

To be truly an oak means to be more than an acorn. To be human means to be more than a potential human. Acorns and potential humans get insulted but that's life.
Nick, it's obvious that most people here have about as much insight as a wart.
Thus spake the "more than human" displaying his great maturity, understanding and depth. Noted.
And well it should be. You might learn something.
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Greta
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Re: Is the concept of ''Atheist'' necessary, let alone real?

Post by Greta »

Reflex wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 5:42 am
Greta wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 4:21 am
Reflex wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 3:31 am

Nick, it's obvious that most people here have about as much insight as a wart.
Thus spake the "more than human" displaying his great maturity, understanding and depth. Noted.
And well it should be. You might learn something.
To be fully human is to be insulting towards other people? Cool. I made the cut.
uwot
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Re: Is the concept of ''Atheist'' necessary, let alone real?

Post by uwot »

Walker wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 1:35 am
uwot, more or less wrote:Got any proof?
Of course. Look it up.
Ok, I did. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_bia ... ted_States
Walker wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 1:35 amYou would have to be gullible to not verify, and you would have to either be from another planet...
In these days, when you can communicate with complete strangers anywhere in the world, it takes a special type of idiot to assume that their own country is representative of the entire planet.
Walker wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 1:35 am... dishonest, oblivious, or an iconizer of words to have not noticed the liberal bias of the media on your own. It’s thick enough to choke a horse.
Well, from what I read, in the USA you either have to be very selective with the data to conclude as you do; you uncritically believe everything that demonstrably right wing media outlets tell you, or your own views are so extreme that Adolf Hitler is mainstream by comparison.
uwot
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Re: Is the concept of ''Atheist'' necessary, let alone real?

Post by uwot »

Reflex wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 2:01 am
uwot wrote: Sun May 20, 2018 10:49 pm
Reflex wrote: Sun May 20, 2018 9:29 pmSo why the vulgarity? Is it an expression of hopelessness? immaturity? fear? what?
Humour.
That stopped being funny when I was 12.
Humour stopped being funny when you were 12, Reflex? That explains a lot.
uwot
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Re: Is the concept of ''Atheist'' necessary, let alone real?

Post by uwot »

Nick_A wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 1:43 amTo be truly an oak means to be more than an acorn. To be human means to be more than a potential human. Acorns and potential humans get insulted but that's life.
Nah. Reflex does it better.
uwot
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Re: Is the concept of ''Atheist'' necessary, let alone real?

Post by uwot »

Walker wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 2:24 am A human can transcend its human limitations.
Then they're not limitations.
Walker wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 2:24 amThat’s the advantage of a human birth.
What are human limitations?
Ignorance caused by desire, leading to attachment and suffering.
Ha! Ignorance is caused by laziness. It is the most easily cured of human afflictions, but some people cannot or will not risk finding out anything that will cause their flabby arsed brain to think.
Walker wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 2:24 amHumans can even transcend modern notions of liberalism to see the light. 8)

Thus, humans become more than human.
(Although often, less is more.)
That is not some Zen koan, Walker; sometimes gibberish is just gibberish.
Walker
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Re: Is the concept of ''Atheist'' necessary, let alone real?

Post by Walker »

uwot wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 8:27 am
Walker wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 2:24 am A human can transcend its human limitations.
Then they're not limitations.
Another sui generis definition.
Walker wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 2:24 amThat’s the advantage of a human birth.
What are human limitations?
Ignorance caused by desire, leading to attachment and suffering.
Ha! Ignorance is caused by laziness. It is the most easily cured of human afflictions, but some people cannot or will not risk finding out anything that will cause their flabby arsed brain to think.
What causes laziness, and is it measured by effort or results?
Walker wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 2:24 amHumans can even transcend modern notions of liberalism to see the light. 8)

Thus, humans become more than human.
(Although often, less is more.)
That is not some Zen koan, Walker; sometimes gibberish is just gibberish.
Alien from another planet is gaining steam.

“Less is more” is a well-known human principle that nimbly skips from situation to situation.

Examples: Gary Cooper’s acting. Jesus Christ’s words. A meditator’s thoughts. Distracting noise. Observations and commentary. Advice. Gift packages. Steven Wright’s jokes. Sunday School before AC. A dimensionless point from which a universe of mass instantaneously appears. The usual etc.

In the phrase less is more, “less” refers to quantity, whilst “more” refers to quality.

I thought everyone knew that.


:wink:
uwot
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Re: Is the concept of ''Atheist'' necessary, let alone real?

Post by uwot »

Walker wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 2:24 amA human can transcend its human limitations.
uwot wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 8:27 amThen they're not limitations.
Another sui generis definition.
Have you forgotten already?
Walker wrote: Sun May 20, 2018 4:44 pmDon't confuse words with reality...
You can attach whatever meanings to words that please you, but you will limit the number of people who understand you.
Walker wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 2:24 amWhat are human limitations?
Ignorance caused by desire, leading to attachment and suffering.
That, Walker, is a sui generis definition. Personally I'm happy to stick with a definition according to which if you exceed what you thought was a limit, you were ignorant of what the limit is.
Walker wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 2:24 am
uwot wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 8:27 amIgnorance is caused by laziness. It is the most easily cured of human afflictions, but some people cannot or will not risk finding out anything that will cause their flabby arsed brain to think.
What causes laziness, and is it measured by effort or results?
Dunno. You have more experience in this; what do you reckon?
Walker wrote: Mon May 21, 2018 2:24 am“Less is more” is a well-known human principle that nimbly skips from situation to situation.
I was referring to the "humans become more than human" bit.
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