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Status Updates posted by iNow
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Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity, but be sure not to completely rule out stupidity, either.
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"The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error." ~John Stuart Mill, On Liber...
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His aversion to religion, in the sense usually attached to the term, was of the same kind with that of Lucretius: he regarded it with the feelings due not to a mere mental delusion, but to a great moral evil. He looked upon it as the greatest enemy of morality: first, by setting up factitious excellencies—belief in creeds, devotional feelings, and ceremonies, not connected with the good of human kind—and causing these to be accepted as substitutes for genuine virtue: but above all...
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Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish.
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Not really. The beginning of the universe is a separate question from the existence of god(s), especially since positing that "goddidit" only displaces the original question and leaves us with, "who/what created god then?" If you're willing to assume that god has always existed, then why not eliminate the unnecessary middle man and assume that the universe has always existed? It's turtles all the way down.
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Because that would mean that it was Steady-State, which is clearly not possible because the Universe is always expanding. It's quite funny how it was originally thought by the scientific community that the Universe always existed and it wasn't even the religious who thought such things for it was a Catholic who formed the first idea of an expanding Universe.
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Yes, it's pretty damned impressive that you can grow coral in a shot glass. That most certainly makes you an expert in my book.
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"Since the dawn of rational thought, the advancement of science has been retarded by the minions of mysticism, and profound revelations have often been opposed or suppressed by the greater part of the dominant religion, because dogmatic faith is not based on reason and zealots will not be reasoned with." AronRa
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Let me ask you... Was their mysticism rooted in reality? No. Just because Newton was an alchemist doesn't mean his belief led to advancement in the science of chemical reaction. Also, sure... we can find singular examples, but anecdotes don't negate the median trend. Those were quotes from Richard Feynman. Not me. Take your challenge to him.
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The politics section here has become a ridiculous waste of bandwidth. Logic and accuracy don't seem to matter among the most active
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Where's Bascule been? Did he finally just get sick of it here?
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TAR - You are a very kind soul, and I appreciate your words, but I want to make clear that the closure of the "How Religion Hijacks Neocortical Mechanisms and Why so Many Believe in a Deity" thread was unrelated to you. Your contributions always challenged me to think in new ways, and (while it may not have been clear) I appreciated that tremendously. Again though, the thread closure was a result of my own impatience and frustration with the staff, and not a result of anything you contributed. Please know that, it was my fault, not yours. Take care, friend.
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Thanks for the note. Your words were very kind. I have my flaws, and certainly have holes in some of my positions, but I think my strength is in the fact that I'm constantly trying to fill those holes, and am quite willing to abandon the position/change my mind if I cannot. Cheers.
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It's been nice seeing you around these last few days. Your absence was noticed. I hope all is well with you and yours.
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Wow! I can't believe we haven't done this sooner. Of course I will accept your friendship request. Thank you for sending it! I hope things are well with you out on the sub-continent.