Negreanu and Jesus

[Matt Ruff]

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Allegations of blasphemy or not?

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You want blasphemy, here's your card protector for your next heads-up match against Daniel:

http://www.sharethepassionofthechris...5044010_lg.jpg

-- M. Ruff

[toots]

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Maybe Daniel should listen to some Bill Hicks.

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Nominated for "Best Post in Thread"

I think everyone (who can stomach it) could benefit from some Bill Hicks therapy.

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Ok, color me noob, but wtf is Bill Hicks?

[Matt Ruff]

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"As long as people are good to others, I don't care what caused them to incorporate that into their philosophy."


Barry

I have two problems with that statement. Firstly I think it is a bit selfish. Most people would like to live in a world where the rest of the population, especially non friends and family, can be guaranteed to be nice even if that means they must believe in nonsense to get that way. But it would be more selfless to wish eveybody wisdom even if that slightly (but not greatly) increases the chances for a few bad apples.

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Sounds like idle wishing either way. You're talking about the kind of world you'd ideally like to live in, but I take Barry's statement to be about his attitude towards real people in the world we actually live in.


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My second problem is that the nonsensical beliefs of religion don't really always make people be good to each other. Often they simply make them more, shall we say, "polite". Their deeper feelings are apt to cause more harm to people in general than the fact that they are nice during one to one encounters.

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Granting this for the sake of argument, I think there are two additional points worth considering.

One, religious beliefs tend to be deeply held, so even if you think someone would be better off without them, you are unlikely to convince them of that, especially if you insult them up front by referring to their deeply held beliefs as nonsense.

Second, even if you could talk them out of their beliefs, you might be wrong about it being an improvement -- the loss of faith could actually leave them worse off than before.

So again, I think Barry may have the more realistic attitude: judge people by how they behave, and don't worry so much about beliefs that you don't have the power (or the wisdom) to alter.

But I still want to see someone use a passion nail as a card protector.

-- M. Ruff

[Matt Ruff]

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Why would anyone be afraid that there is an afterlife?

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Not dressed for it.

-- M. Ruff

[toots]

Oh, crap.

Now you're telling me there's a dress code?

Dang.

("I'm afraid it was the Mormons. Yes, the Mormons were the correct answer.")

[Jim T]

It has long been obvious that DN isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. This is just more evidence.

WRT his comments on the black guy, I thought his reference to "certain parts of the South" to be quite (unintentionally) hysterical. I'd lay long odds that the VAST majority of the Southern US is far more diverse racially than the VAST majority of Canada.

I did live in a part of Texas for several years in which I believe I saw a black person only one time. Everyone was staring at the poor guy. Of course, the county was about 99.9% hispanic and I may have been the only person within 50 miles who didn't speak spanish.

[maurile]

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But posting a link to a site calling creationism nonsense isn't going to help me or anyone on the fence like me.

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But Creationism is nonsense; there's no legitimate dispute about that; and it's precisely the people on the fence who need to hear it. The True Believers aren't worth arguing with -- no amount of evidence or reason can budge them. But the fence-sitters, they need to understand that there really aren't two legitimate scientific theories of our origins: there is evolutionary theory, and then there is nonsense.

Just calling it nonsense, of course, does nothing to enlighten anybody. We have to show that it's nonsense using evidence and reason. John Rennie's article ("Fifteen Answers to Creationist Nonsense") in fact does this.

[Jim T]

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"As long as people are good to others, I don't care what caused them to incorporate that into their philosophy."

-Barry


I have two problems with that statement. Firstly I think it is a bit selfish. Most people would like to live in a world where the rest of the population, especially non friends and family, can be guaranteed to be nice even if that means they must believe in nonsense to get that way. But it would be more selfless to wish eveybody wisdom even if that slightly (but not greatly) increases the chances for a few bad apples.

What a remarkably strange comment. It's like if someone wished for "peace for all", and then ripping them for not instead wishing "good will to all". Who wishes "wisdom" for everyone anyway? And why on Earth would you believe that if everyone was suddenly wiser that there would be an increase (even if slight) in "bad apples"? It would seem to me that if everyone were wiser they would be more likely to ... treat everyone else well. That certainly seems like a generally wise course of action to me.

And finally, why is something supposedly better simply because it is "selfless"?

My second problem is that the nonsensical beliefs of religion don't really always make people be good to each other. Often they simply make them more, shall we say, "polite". Their deeper feelings are apt to cause more harm to people in general than the fact that they are nice during one to one encounters.

My problem with this second part is that Barry never said that religion "always makes people be good to each other". He said that it CAN cause them to act that way, which is not exactly a controversial statement.

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[PukaPlaya]

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Ok, color me noob, but wtf is Bill Hicks?

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You believe the world's 12 thousand years old? "That's right." Okay. I got one word to ask you, a one word question. Ready? "Uh huh." Dinosaurs. You know the world's 12 thousand years old and dinosaurs existed, they existed in that time, you'd think it would have been mentioned in the fvcking Bible at some point. "And lo Jesus and the disciples walked to Nazareth. But the trail was blocked by a giant brontosaurus ... with a splinter in his paw. And O the disciples did run a shriekin': 'What a big fvckin' lizard, Lord!' But Jesus was unafraid, and he took the splinter from the brontosaurus's paw, and the big lizard became his friend."
Revelations (1990's comedy routine) -- Bill Hicks


"Dinosaur fossils? God put those there to test our faith." Thank God, I'm strapped in right now here, man. I think God put you here to test my faith, dude. You believe that? "Uh huh." Does that trouble anyone here? The idea that God ... might be ... fvckin' with our heads? I have trouble sleeping with that knowledge. Some prankster God running around: "Hu hu ho. We will see who believes in me now, ha HA." -- Bill Hicks

A lot of Christians wear crosses around their necks.- You think when Jesus comes back, he ever wants to see a [censored] cross? Kind of like going up to Jackie Onassis with a rifle pendant on, you know? -- Bill Hicks

[toots]

Thank you very much.

Worth the price of admission, or typing or whatever.

Much appreciated.