Meh, 16:21 is a smug "I'm better than both of you."

I avoid the Political forum like the plague. Maybe it's because I work on Capitol Hill, but the sheer immaturity and ignorance of some of the posts drives me up the wall. I'm Christian and liberal, and I usually avoid this forum for the same reasons - I don't think some of the atheists here want to discuss issues, they just want to abuse people. Maybe a year ago a particularly abusive atheist (if it's descriptive and accurate, it's not an insult, right?) identified him/herself as conservative/libertarian, so often I wonder if the same immature, abusive person is posting in both the Political abd Religion forums. I also wonder if the same person has entered the College forum recently - there's a similar taunting, childish approach to issues like affirmative action in recent posts there.

It's too bad, because promising threads get destroyed. I think I'll promise myself to stay away from DCUM today.

16:21, just to let you know, you are not just a voice crying in the wilderness (do I recall that phrase from somewhere?). I, for one, agree with you that, while there are plenty of interesting points to discuss about religion and belief in God (not quite the same things), arguing about whether "we" are better/smarter/nicer than "you" is not one of them.

Just out of curiosity, how many of those pointing out that "you atheists" or "you Christians" are dumb also take part in the arguments about how dumb "you liberals" or "you conservatives" are?

Not to say that it's not fun. Here I am going online just to argue that "you people who go online to argue" are dumb.

19:58 again. Did someone say "sophistry?" Pointless arguments about what words mean, complete with deliberate misrepresentations and outright fudges? That would be 19:10.

Oh, what the heck. Let me clear it up for other readers who might be sucked into your lying BS.

- Atheists were the ones comparing religion to the Flying Spaghetti monster. NOBODY EVER said this translates to "Christians believe in the FSM". Where you got that particular piece of cr@p is beyond me. Your so-called "links" show that you've deliberately misinterpreted some shorthand representations of this much more complicated comparison. In other words, you pulled this from up your butt.

-- I compared Atheism to belief in the Almighty Dollar. It was part of a strategy to use examples and make it personal, in an obviously doomed effort to get it through your thick skull that the Atheism/Dollar comparison is just as false and insulting as the religion/FSM comparison.

See, they are totally different. Get it now? Different rhetorical strategies altogether, nothing like how you're presenting them.

Good night again.

PS. My favorite exchange of the day: atheists are 20% of the general population of America, and another 60% of the general population (80 - 20) is composed of atheists who are pressured/expected to identify themselves as religious. So in total, 80% of the population of America is atheist. Hold on, that makes you guys the majority, so what on earth are you feeling to persecuted about?!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your capacity for manipulating and distorting and insulting seems to know no bounds. Yes, I could point out specific lies in your post above if I wanted to waste my time.

Not very respectful dialogue.

If you could actually point to one instance of my arguing in bad faith, I'd feel bad about your breakdown here. But I'm at a loss.

Is this some kind of ironic performance art designed to prove the OP's thesis? Brilliant!

Easy. Your claim that believers think the atheist argument is that we "literally believe in the FSM." I could go on, but arguing with a manipulator isn't worth my time.

Have a good evening. Over and out.

At the risk of belaboring the point, I was quoting you with links. You said it. If you didn't mean it, that's on you. We can only read what you write.

Have a great evening! Talk to you soon!

You totally misquoted me, or missed the point. You know perfectly well that the AD/Atheist and FSM/Believer dichotomy wasn't what you're trying to represent it. It was another point entirely.

You are a manipulative jerk.

Have a great evening! Hope I never have to set you straight again!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your capacity for manipulating and distorting and insulting seems to know no bounds. Yes, I could point out specific lies in your post above if I wanted to waste my time.

Not very respectful dialogue.

If you could actually point to one instance of my arguing in bad faith, I'd feel bad about your breakdown here. But I'm at a loss.

Is this some kind of ironic performance art designed to prove the OP's thesis? Brilliant!

Easy. Your claim that believers think the atheist argument is that we "literally believe in the FSM." I could go on, but arguing with a manipulator isn't worth my time.

Have a good evening. Over and out.

At the risk of belaboring the point, I was quoting you with links. You said it. If you didn't mean it, that's on you. We can only read what you write.

Have a great evening! Talk to you soon!