i said you may be an austistic savant. autism isnt stupidity, and savants have incredible skills in spite of, or possibly because of, their unique brain chemistry or structure. maybe your particular skill is the ability to use a computer to misunderstand me. i ought to be easy to understand, given that i am half your intelligence and cannot say anything very complicated. but that just speaks to how incredibly talented you are at misunderstanding me. i am sad to hear that i am below average intelligence. if my IQ is only 90, that means you only get to be 180, being twice as smart. you had better cut your losses and not make me out to be any dumber than that. when mine goes down 5, yours goes down 10!
My dear friend, you are correct. I don't know why I confused you with Martin. Please accept my deepest and sincerest apologies for the mistake. I offer no excuse except brain lock which many of us suffer from time to time. May God watch over and protect you and your family.
Martin nails himself to his own cross with this statement. Obviously he has chosen not to believe. He has been presented with a particular set of ideas or facts (religion, Christianity in particular) at a certain age and, for whatever reasons, chosen not to believe in them. He also has been presented with a certain theory, the Big Bang, which in many circles is considered not theory but fact, and chosen not to believe either way. To my simple way of thinking and living, EVERYTHING we do is based on choice. If we are at least halfway intelligent, we face many choices each day. Some decisions are based on familial beliefs and habits, some are based on law and some just plain guesswork. He states, and rightly so, that most people choose a religious belief based on parental influence. But by the same token we also choose political affiliation and most other life choices. How many people here are LSU fans because their parents were? But as we grow older and learn to think for ourselves, we can, or should be able to, assimilate facts and ideas and learn to make our own choices. For instance, I grew up in a staunchly Catholic and Republican household and so held those beliefs as my core values. But as I grew older and went through different experiences and learned to think for myself, much of that changed. I no longer believe in Christianity as taught by the Catholic church and I consider myself to be an independent politically. So as we go through life, we are presented with many choices about our beliefs and values and what we base them on. I don't find Martin at fault for not believing, that is his right. What I find him at fault for is his penchant to denigrate the beliefs of others for whatever reasons he may have. And if those of us who disagree with him do likewise to him, we are no better.
I'll try to survive somehow :dis: BTW martin I do not follow the same beliefs or worship in the dame denomination as my parents. :shock: Mike the tiger wrote " So as we go through life, we are presented with many choices about our beliefs and values and what we base them on. I don't find Martin at fault for not believing, that is his right. What I find him at fault for is his penchant to denigrate the beliefs of others for whatever reasons he may have. And if those of us who disagree with him do likewise to him, we are no better." Actually Mike I was not denigrating his beliefs if you mean me I was trying to get him to see that he was doing this.
anyone who thinks big bang is fact is being stupid. gravity is a "law", big bang is a "theory" no scientist would ever claim big bang was fact. there is a HUGE difference. so if i put a gun to your head and forced you to believe in astrology, would you? can you decide that you think astrology is true? is that a choice? of course not. similarly, i cannot believe in christianity. but i dont believe LSU is the one true school that everyone should be fans of. you dont seem to understand this about religion. but why? why are your beliefs off limits for taunting? why so thin skinned? if you are wiccan can i make fun of you? what about amish or satan worhippers? which religions can i make fun of? why cant i taunt whatever beliefs i think are stupid? "We must respect the other fellow’s religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.' - HL mencken
martin, I suppose you should treat them all with equal disdain. maybe not. I just wondered since you don't subscribe to any theory or religion ( not the same I know ) Why do you single out Christianity as the one to ridicule? Or is this just coincidence? It just seems rather hypocritic to me, apparently I'm missing soomething. Just thought you might be able to lend substance to this observation. I have no quarrel with thy choice or lack there of beliefs. It's your house burn it if you want to. I won't bother you further, hope things work out for you. Take care.
I just got back from the funeral of my 43 year old cousin who lost her 5 and a half year battle with breast cancer. She was a Christian and a member of the 1st Baptist Church of Lafayette. As I was listening to the scripture readings and the comforting words of Rev. Perry Sanders, I actually thought of Martin. How sad that he will never experience the blessings of faith. To him, this would have been no more meaningful than throwing a dog in a hole. To my beautiful cousin's husband, daughter and son, the words of Jesus will help to get them through the dark days ahead.
if i lived in islamic country, i would be telling everyone they were practicing a stupid religion. when i see hassidic jews in new york, i laugh at their ridiculous hair and yarmulkes. when a psychic is on tv i am amazed that he/she isnt laughed off whatever show he/she is on. it happens i live in a country where the dominant mystical beliefs are christian. that is why we are discussing it and not buddhism. if you believed in buddhism, we would talk about that. to me there is no real difference between any set of beliefs that involve magic or faith. some people believe the truth is whatever superstition their culture tells them, and that other cultures are wrong. i prefer science to superstition. thy? hehe. thou dost not?
and of course i cant fault them for that, and i would never argue with them about it. if it was a jewish ceremony, they wouldnt be comforted by the words of jesus, but i would keep my mouth shut there too of course . but you are right, the service would not have comforted me if i was them. it sucks. reality is harsh. i know people need to believe in something, because the alternative can be unbearable. that makes sense. doesnt make it true though. trust me, realizing that when i die it is all over is no picnic.
