2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

[Old Pio]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Or you failed to come up with a retort. To wit:

D*mn what an incisive analysis. You've pretty much internalized all of Deadmeat's talking points. Bonus for managing to work in a Koch brothers reference. Highest marks. But it's still libtard horsesh*t.
It's nice to know Mike Lofgren's your new favorite Repubican. However, no device available for the home market can measure my interest in what you or he thinks about these matters.

 

[Slap Shot]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

D*mn what an incisive analysis. You've pretty much internalized all of Deadmeat's talking points. Bonus for managing to work in a Koch brothers reference. Highest marks. But it's still libtard horsesh*t.
It's nice to know Mike Lofgren's your new favorite Repubican. However, no device available for the home market can measure my interest in what you or he thinks about these matters.

You're not a gutless twerp, so why respond as such?

 

[5mn_Major]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

The Bible is the infallible word of God and can contain no untruths. It is not an allegory.

From the same Gallup survey as Foxton referenced, about half of Christians who attend church every week do NOT consider the Bible as literal. This group (Christians that are not conservative envangelicals) thinks of the Bible as an allegory. They focus on good deeds and donations to the community. This half of Christians don't even think about whether there should be literal interpretation or not...unlike nonbelievers who seem to use it as a crutch to support their POV. In fact, I've found that nonbelievers are frequently, if not typically, as rigid and extremist about thoughts on Christianity as conservative evangelicals. Indeed, nonbelievers often absolutely don't believe an a God that is completely different than most Christians believe in.

If you feel you only need to get your source of news from a single biased source of news...you deserve the knowledge base you get. Likewise, if you never go to church and don't spend any time working on its programs...you should be not be surprised when you find you don't really understand Christianity.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

You're not a gutless twerp, so why respond as such?

Just can't keep up with your titanic intellect, I guess. Or maybe it's the company I keep. You gonna run off in a huff now? Good.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

From the same Gallup survey as Foxton referenced, about half of Christians who attend church every week do NOT consider the Bible as literal. This group (Christians that are not conservative envangelicals) thinks of the Bible as an allegory. They focus on good deeds and donations to the community. This half of Christians don't even think about whether there should be literal interpretation or not...unlike nonbelievers who seem to use it as a crutch to support their POV. In fact, I've found that nonbelievers are frequently, if not typically, as rigid and extremist about thoughts on Christianity as conservative evangelicals. Indeed, nonbelievers often absolutely don't believe an a God that is completely different than most Christians believe in.

If you feel you only need to get your source of news from a single biased source of news...you deserve the knowledge base you get. Likewise, if you never go to church and don't spend any time working on its programs...you should be not be surprised when you find you don't really understand Christianity.

I believe I made that exact point a few posts back, although not as elegantly, of course. It's like, nobody conforms more than a non conformist. Otherwise, how can we instantly recognize bikers?

 

[duper]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Indeed, nonbelievers often absolutely don't believe an a God that is completely different than most Christians believe in.

If you feel you only need to get your source of news from a single biased source of news...you deserve the knowledge base you get. Likewise, if you never go to church and don't spend any time working on its programs...you should be not be surprised when you find you don't really understand Christianity.

As long as we keep in mind that most nonbelievers are the same as most believers; one could spend a good amount of time around my dad without ever realizing he's a regular churchgoer and a devout Christian (who for the record believes in evolution and not literal interpretationism), and one could spend a pretty good amount of time around me without realizing I am an atheist.

 

[Foxton]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

From the same Gallup survey as Foxton referenced, about half of Christians who attend church every week do NOT consider the Bible as literal. This group (Christians that are not conservative envangelicals) thinks of the Bible as an allegory. They focus on good deeds and donations to the community. This half of Christians don't even think about whether there should be literal interpretation or not...unlike nonbelievers who seem to use it as a crutch to support their POV. In fact, I've found that nonbelievers are frequently, if not typically, as rigid and extremist about thoughts on Christianity as conservative evangelicals. Indeed, nonbelievers often absolutely don't believe an a God that is completely different than most Christians believe in.

No that percentage said it was just "inspired". Meaning they just pick and chose what's literal. In fact let me directly quote their conclusions.

The majority of those Americans who don't believe that the Bible is literally true believe that it is the inspired word of God but that not everything it in should be taken literally.

Because even they are able to see that the Earth did not flood and 2 of every type of animal didn't survive by being in a boat. Do you really think the only conservative candidates running for president would only be religious nutjubs if it was just a tiny minority who didn't believe that it was mostly true? Why is there more than one church within walking distance of most of the population. In fact just outside my neighborhood there are 3 churches literally on top of each other with parking lots touching and another 8 I can name off the top of my head spread a bit further out. A city of ~6500 people. (And there's a lot more outside of it on all the county roads.)

And quit trying to confuse not putting up with bull**** with being evangelical. Doing so is just as inane as trying to say the rejection of theism is a religion. Or whatever the hell this retard likes to go on about. (Majority of his ideas are just apologetics to justify a literal reading of the bible)

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If you feel you only need to get your source of news from a single biased source of news...you deserve the knowledge base you get. Likewise, if you never go to church and don't spend any time working on its programs...you should be not be surprised when you find you don't really understand Christianity.

Oh because xtianity is such a complex and amazing religion you could never understand it unless you're one of them. Newsflash, most xtians have never read the bible and at one time it was blasphemy to print it in anything the population could read. The only thing they understand is what the talking head behind the podium feeds them.

Edit removed a remark about a fallacy because it wasn't applicable and the only thing we should celebrate xtianity for is for giving us Creationist Cat.
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[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

h because xtianity is such a complex and amazing religion you could never understand it unless you're one of them.

You can understand some things about a given religion from understanding what psychological needs and social functions religions are created to satisfy, sure, but it's unrealistic to think you have a strong grasp on any religion without having been exposed to it in depth either by upbringing or deliberate study. What comes to mind is all those knuck blowhards who go on about Islam.

Anyway, "Christianity" is so diverse there's no single meaning, just a blurry central tendency. Anybody who claims he can define all of Christianity is just a sectarian trying to delegitimize everything but his own narrow beliefs.

 

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Per CNN, Pawlenty endorsed Romney. Feel free to make "crickets" jokes.

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Per CNN, Pawlenty endorsed Romney. Feel free to make "crickets" jokes.

TPAW had so much clout to give. I'm sure Romney is ecstatic with his endorsement. What a slap in the face to Michele Bachmann. Minnesota nice is dead. I'm supporting Michele till the bitter end.

 

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

TPAW had so much clout to give. I'm sure Romney is ecstatic with his endorsement. What a slap in the face to Michele Bachmann. Minnesota nice is dead. I'm supporting Michele till the bitter end.

You are nothing if not loyal.

You should canvass for her. I think you would meet some very interesting people in the Bachmann campaign.

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

You are nothing.

FYP. And, I agree.

 

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Concise, accurate, devastating.

This is the conservative's essay that provoked the response. It jibes quite well with what I've seen on the Hill.

 

[Bakunin]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

You can understand some things about a given religion from understanding what psychological needs and social functions religions are created to satisfy, sure, but it's unrealistic to think you have a strong grasp on any religion without having been exposed to it in depth either by upbringing or deliberate study.

Without deliberate study, I can tell you that a theistic religion such as Christianity accepts as fact that a supernatural being exists. I can also tell you there is no evidence whatsoever supporting the existence of any supernatural being or its intervention on behalf of people that pray to it for help. As such, I find it exceedingly hard to take any of these belief systems seriously. They are nothing more than modern versions of the same bull**** that has existed throughout human history. We fear death, so we create stories of people that get to live forever. We don't like how awful people get away with things and become incredibly rich, so we believe they get their just desserts after their run here on earth ends. If that is what it takes to keep your sanity, so be it.

 

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

You're Missing the Point for two reasons.

1. Whether or not a philosophy is provable is irrelevant to understanding how it is lived.

2. If we were just to throw away everybody who believed patently false things, the people remaining would be few and stupefyingly unimaginative.

Gods make life more interesting, whether they're creepy old sexists who care if you eat shellfish or disembodied Hegelian zeitgeists that glow when you see a butterfly.

 

[Bakunin]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

1. Whether or not a philosophy is provable is irrelevant to understanding how it is lived.

You're presuming I care about how they live. My concern arises when they attempt to shape public policy to suit their religious beliefs (gay marriage, abortion, and creationism/ID as science to name three major issues). Beyond that, I don't give two ****s about how much time they spend praying to the nonexistent entity to forgive their sins or to save my nonexistent soul.

2. If we were just to throw away everybody who believed patently false things, the people remaining would be few and stupefyingly unimaginative.

We'll never be able to get rid of them given the fact this crapola has persisted for many thousands of years. As long as parents keep passing it on to their children, it will continue in perpetuity - in some form or another. And of course, there'll be a few of us who reject it outright.

Gods make life more interesting, whether they're creepy old sexists who care if you eat shellfish or disembodied Hegelian zeitgeists that glow when you see a butterfly.

Maybe so, but I'd appreciate it if they didn't motivate their followers to commit mass murder and oppress people.

 

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Maybe so, but I'd appreciate it if they didn't motivate their followers to commit mass murder and oppress people.

That's just people. If they didn't do it for God they'd do it for The Cultural Revolution or the purity of the race or the glory of the nation or some other dumb idea.

You're blaming a fire hose because there are people who abuse it for enhanced interrogation.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Our loud mouthed little athiests consistently hit for the cycle: intolerance, bigotry, prejudice and above all, self importance. Keep up the good work, kids.

 

[Bakunin]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

You're blaming a fire hose because there are people who abuse it for enhanced interrogation.

Careful - some would read your post and accuse you of referring to the Almighty as a fire hose. All sorts of bad things are directed at blasphemers.

 

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections Part I: All Politics is Yokel

Careful - some would read your post and accuse you of referring to the Almighty as a fire hose. All sorts of bad things are directed at blasphemers.

Depends whether it's circumcised.