"Afterlife is a fairytale", Hawking says.

[LucyDuke]

I'm going off of what you said. Or are you denying that you posted:

Someone being deliberately offensive for its own sake would be a problem.

That's not what Hawking was doing.

If you're offended by Hawking, yeah, that's your problem.

I find your hell-threats offensive. That's my problem.

 

[LucyDuke]

No, some idiot said something stupid. And I could ask, is there anything ATHEISTS won't whine about?

You'll find someone to whine about anything.

Saying Hawking is wrong... okay. Maybe this particular thing is stupid. But calling Hawking an idiot? Really? Compared to who?

 

[SG-17]

Lazarus.

You'd put more stock in a fictional zombie character than the smartest man alive?

I guess if I followed in Aeneas' footsteps I could find the entrance to Hades too. Since he was an expert on the afterlife and all.

 

[Wolfbeckett]

You'd put more stock in a fictional zombie character than the smartest man alive?

I guess if I followed in Aeneas' footsteps I could find the entrance to Hades too. Since he was an expert on the afterlife and all.




It is like talking to a brick wall, only worse.

Definitely worse, brick walls don't regularly reply with things that make your brain weep.

 

[GhostWriter16]

You'll find someone to whine about anything.

Saying Hawking is wrong... okay. Maybe this particular thing is stupid. But calling Hawking an idiot? Really? Compared to who?

Calling the afterlife "A fairytale" is deluded and stupid.

You'd put more stock in a fictional zombie character than the smartest man alive?

Rethink your post, rethink who you are speaking to, and try again.

 

[BvBPL]

If you find my statement "uncivil," I'm sorry - it's certainly not my intent to discuss this with a lack of civility - but I see a distinct difference between speech that is designed to intentionally offend, and speech that people choose to find offensive because it doesn't conform to their religious beliefs.

I inferred from your original post that you were saying that anytime a listener takes offense at a speaker’s statement that such offense is the responsibility of the listener (particularly when the speaker does not intend offense). It is that opinion that I find uncivil, in no small part because I used to have it prior to being corrected by my friends. I think there is amble reason for unintentional offenses to be the responsibility of the speaker in many, but necessarily all, cases.

As seen from your more recent post, I imagine you don’t necessarily feel that way, but I hope you can understand how I inferred that from you brief original post. There wasn’t a lot of context for me to draw from. I apologize for presuming your post was indicative of how you feel generally about when offense is warranted and by whom; it’s just a topic I, personally, feel strongly about. I can also understand that most people may not feel as strongly about that subject as I do.

As for the afterlife being called a fairy story and whether or not it is offensive, I think it is because it contravenes many people’s deeply held beliefs, beliefs of which I think we should be respectful. That said, I recognize the difficulty in presenting the opinion that the afterlife does not exist in a respectful manner, which is to say it is very difficult. I think it is worth noting that true statements can be as offensive as falsehoods or opinions, but such offense does not invalidate the veracity of such statements.

 

[SG-17]

Calling the afterlife "A fairytale" is deluded and stupid.





Rethink your post, rethink who you are speaking to, and try again.

I rescinded my "Brick Wall" statement because I thought it was going to far. I was wrong. It is spot on.

 

[_random_]

Well I mean a Priest seems to be as much an authority on the existence of an afterlife and God a super geek/fan might be an "authority" on the Lord of the Rings setting and the gods and myths of that world.

Being authoritative in that regard is cool for describing beliefs or being able to understand things from that perspective, but it doesn't make one an authority on the truth of reality or this universe. A priest is an authority on the literature and history, not the truthiness of the claims made. That is the realm of science.

Keep in mind that I'm coming from a similar perspective to those Patriarch Bartholemew/The Pope/Billy Graham/whoever. Since the setting of Christian thought and the setting of the real world are one and the same to us, I would take their word pretty seriously.

No it is not. The Torah and New Testament take stories from Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Greek myths and retell them for the new intended audience. All of which are much older than the Bible.
The story of Christ himself is just a retelling of the legend of Horus.


I know that you are just going to stick your fingers in your ears and shout "LALALALA" because this, the truth, completely invalidates your worldview.

There was a lot of influence of Egyptian and Mesopotamian myths on some parts of the Old Testament, but the Jesus-Horus connection is bunk. You kind of hurt your credibility when you say crap like that.

 

[Communisto]

Calling the afterlife "A fairytale" is deluded and stupid.

Rethink your post, rethink who you are speaking to, and try again.

Stop inferring your own personal set of hokum upon everyone elses reality. Not everyone subscribes to your anachronistic views. Believe what you want but you will get no where in life by devaluing everyone else because they dont follow your religion.

There are many religiously faithful posters on this board who are respected for their opinion by non-christians and even atheists because they debate intelligently, graciously and civily. Right now, you are not one of those theists. You were making so much progress as a poster, you dont need to go backwards.

 

[GhostWriter16]

I rescinded my "Brick Wall" statement because I thought it was going to far. I was wrong. It is spot on.

Our "House" is to be built with solid rock...

 

[mrt144]

Calling the afterlife "A fairytale" is deluded and stupid.





Rethink your post, rethink who you are speaking to, and try again.

We're speaking to someone who has faith. Blind faith.

 

[SG-17]

There was a lot of influence of Egyptian and Mesopotamian myths on some parts of the Old Testament, but the Jesus-Horus connection is bunk. You kind of hurt your credibility when you say crap like that.

Really? The information I have must be dated. How was it debunked?

 

[RedRalph]

Sadly (and terrifyingly), he's probably right.

 

[GhostWriter16]

We're speaking to someone who has faith. Blind faith.

Truly I tell you, unless one makes himself like a little child, he shall never see Heaven.

 

[LucyDuke]

Calling the afterlife "A fairytale" is deluded and stupid.

You're entitled to your opinion. I think believing in an afterlife is pretty delusional. Maybe you'll be proven right. Maybe not. You find out when you die. Arguing about it is definitely stupid, since none of us has any actual evidence.

 

[GhostWriter16]

You're entitled to your opinion. I think believing in an afterlife is pretty delusional. Maybe you'll be proven right. Maybe not. You find out when you die. Arguing about it is definitely stupid, since none of us has any actual evidence.

I hope for your sake you change your position sometime between now and your death. It will be far less painful that way.

 

[CaptainF]

Truly I tell you, unless one makes himself like a little child, he shall never see Heaven.

So I need to make myself dumber in order to reach heaven?

You're not making heaven sound very appealing at all. You would do well to avoid further efforts at proselytizing.

 

[bathsheba666]

Truly I tell you, unless one makes himself like a little child, he shall never see Heaven.

Well, I guess liking fairytales is one of the attributes of little children.

 

[CaptainF]

I hope for your sake you change your position sometime between now and your death. It will be far less painful that way.

How do you know? Have you died yet?

No?

Then please stop speculating on what you know nothing about.

 

[mrt144]

Truly I tell you, unless one makes himself like a little child, he shall never see Heaven.

I'm sure that's exactly what Catholic Priests want.