Atheists....

I agree that proof shouldn't enter into it (I believe it was Kierkegaard who said that a Christian needs to believe in God precisely BECAUSE His existence cannot be proven, or something to that effect).

And consequently, I call myself an agnostic because I cannot find enough... consistence in the world for me to believe in either one or the other. There's too much wonders in the world for me to say "All I believe is what I can see with my own senses", yet too much stupidity and cruelty for me to believe that there is any intelligence behind it. And so, I remain on the fence, unable to exclude either alternative. (Which is a very blunt way of explaining an process of thought which for me is in its third decade by now, but...)

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Originally Posted by beer good

Carl von Linné - the father of modern botany - suggested that the forbidden fruit was bananas. Because A) they're so sweet it's almost impossible to resist eating them, and B) their leaves are several feet long and cover a lot more than a fig leaf could. (I'm sure Freud might have something to say about the theory of Eve being unable to resist a banana...) :banana:

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I'm allergic to bananas. Beer good, bananas bad. Just think, if it had been Xamonas & Eve, we night still be in Eden. :lol:

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Originally Posted by Xamonas Chegwe

I'm allergic to bananas. Beer good, bananas bad. Just think, if it had been Xamonas & Eve, we night still be in Eden. :lol:

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I do not get the sense of your words, my firend.

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Originally Posted by Xamonas Chegwe

I'm allergic to bananas. Beer good, bananas bad. Just think, if it had been Xamonas & Eve, we night still be in Eden. :lol:

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What about banana beer? http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/er...smiley-015.gif

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Originally Posted by water lily

But I have a question for the atheists: Would you prefer it if God did exist, but are convinced that he does not or that it is impossible? Or do you prefer it that he doesn't?

Hope that was clear.

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Very clear. First, let me say I love your avatar, because I don't believe I've done that yet. :D It's lovely.

Personally, I'm not at all opposed to the idea that God may exist. I think it would add some beauty and magic to the world if there were a guiding hand behind it all. It's not an aversion to the idea that caused my disbelief; it's simply not in me to believe. I think it would be lovely if elves and fairies existed, too, and unicorns. Inside me is always a bit of sadness—well, a lot of sadness, but a bit of it quardoned off to the idea that there are no magic gardens and groves of talking animals having tea parties and things, like in Disney movies. But that's a wish, not a reality. I think of God the same way.

Perhaps I am really an agnostic, but I never describe myself as such because, in my experience, the word holds some pretentious associations. I've heard people describe themselves as such who then go on to say scathing things about religion, and I feel as though they only adopted the label to sound more open-minded than they are. In theory, I believe I should give equal credit to the ideas of the religious as I do to those of athiests. I think there is no way of knowing whether or not there really is a God, and I would be pleasantly surprised to die and discover that there is yet more to come. But, in practice, the gut feeling inside of me is that there is not, and so I describe myself as an atheist.

:eek2: Ladies and gentlemen, this thread is now hijacked.

Worry not, XXdarkclarityXX (do you have a real name by which we can call you?), I have reclaimed it. :D

Name? Dissent is my name, and it is I who plagues the realm of tranquility in this tangible world which we call life. My identity is that which articulates the nature of my personality. Therefore you may call me dissent. Ahhh the amusement of the intellectually blind! The splendor of those who speak but know not! How the folly of human views have perverted the truth, such a melancholy tale is this! No, there is nothing left now. Merely the remnants of dark clarity. Find what you can in the dark and elucidate. Find a target in the dark and take a shot. It's all that's left. When the light invades the void of visual knowledge that is the darkness, the truth will surely nullify the effort made by your senses to rationalize such a phenomenon. Enlighten and be awakened! Hide not in the darkness, for the light is what is needed now...take not what you want, take what is necessary! The time has arisen to abandon the depths of the unknown to begin traveling the path which leads to what is and what can be. Be not idle, be not still in the dark! All will be dark in the realm of the unknown...

Careful around whom you say the words "take a shot," XXdarkclarityXX...:p


http://www.websmileys.com/sm/violent/sterb001.gifhttp://www.websmileys.com/sm/violent/sterb043.gif

Just keep your quiver full, Robin....

Aww, just one shaft--did you mean "dissent"?

Otherwise, a very eloquent résumé, XXdarkclarityXX! (Do you happen to have a nickname to go with that?)

Indeed, I meant dissent. You wish to have my nickname? t'is.....Tim! Yes, it is my name. Thou may calleth me Tim.

...Tim? Well, if you say so...

Interestingly enough, I've also heard theories that the forbidden fruit of infamy was actually a pomegranate.

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Originally Posted by RobinHood3000

...Tim? Well, if you say so...

Interestingly enough, I've also heard theories that the forbidden fruit of infamy was actually a pomegranate.

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Sure you're not thinking of persephone? Mind you, both legends could come from the same original source I suppose. Both involve a woman being tempted with fruit. Personally, I find that plying them with drink and professing an interest in whatever garbage they come out with is more effective. :lol:

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Originally Posted by beer good

What about banana beer? http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/er...smiley-015.gif

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Sadly that has the same effect - thus proving that it does contain real bananas. I prefer beer that doesn't make my mouth swell up like this. :rage: