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Cosmos-a space-time odyssey


123Imirish

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25 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you believe in evolution

    • yes I'm Atheist/ Agnostic ect.
      17
    • no- I believe in Intelligent design
      2
    • yes and I also believe in a god(s)
      9
    • I don't know
      2
  2. 2. would you say science or religion is more important

    • religion
      5
    • science
      18
  3. 3. Do you believed in the views expressed on the programme

    • yes all the time
      10
    • never
      1
    • 50/50
      3
    • 90% of the time
      6
    • 20-40% of the time
      1
    • 60-80% of the time
      4
    • no and this programme is an abomination I tell ye.
      1


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Clearly I haven't been paying close enough attention to this series, then, because the episodes I watched have mostly taken a pro scientific attitude with no real defining stance on religion or atheism. Where religion was involved at all it was mostly mentioned for the purposes of historical context and I don't recall ever seeing any effort to demonize religion in general.

 

What exactly is  the "old atheist line" anyway?

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What exactly is  the "old atheist line" anyway?

 

As an atheist, I'm always infuriated when people tell me I'm part of a 'group'.

 

I know atheists who are racist/selfish/sexist/dishonest/horrible. I know atheists who are Lovely/generous/honest/giving.

&

I know theists who are racist/selfish/sexist/dishonest/horrible. I know theists who are Lovely/generous/honest/giving.

 

There is no "old atheist line". There is no atheist dogma. There are no atheist tenants to follow.

The discrete commonality between atheists, is their lack of a belief in gods.

 

There is currently a movement who call themselves 'Atheism+', who are attempting to gain a 'popularity platform' by aligning their own personal (sociopolitical) grievances with their atheism, as if the two things where a single issue. These people make me sick to my stomach, tbh. Self serving idiots.

(I'm not a fan of people conflating separate issues. Read my previous posts above on the subject of relativity for evidence of that.) ;)

 

Being an atheist is not a direct modal equivalent of being in a club/tribe/religion (no matter how many times I'm told otherwise). In exactly the same way that 'not collecting stamps' isn't a hobby.

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By "old atheist line" I just meant the stereotypical "science beats religion" type deal. I know not all atheists are... I don't know how to put it... "anti-god", or that not all atheists push their views on others, but in my personal experience half the atheists I know not only don't believe in "God" but ridicule/attack anybody who does, and demand the world conform to their views. (Which is why in my opinion Atheism is a religion, but that's a whole different argument.)

Now, maybe I picked up on something more subtle than I thought it was. Or maybe I interpreted things incorrectly. As an aspie that does happen to me from time to time. All I was trying to say was that I see the new Cosmos as pushing the Atheism/science "link" very strongly, pushing that religion is evil, and I just don't really find the show appealing.

(I'd just like to note that I'm not against Atheism or any other religion. I consider myself Agnostic simply because I do not claim to say what is and what isn't fact about the universe. Who am I to say there is or isn't a God, or Gods? If science proves something as fact then it's fact, but accepting science doesn't mean you don't believe in a deity, or a force, or something bigger than yourself. Hell, there are scientists who think we're in a giant bubble universe. My personal favorite scientific theory is that we're all part of a vast computer program. lol.)

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Science certainly beats religion on non-religious, scientific matters. So. =/

Now I'll have to agonize over whether I need to warn myself for the above post or not. Perhpas I will not need to if I explain that science and religion deal with separate frameworks of knowledge.

Ironic that the OP seemed to suggest there was a theological undertone to the show, and now it's overly atheist, though.

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Unfortunately cognitive bias happens to the best of us, so it's hard to draw any firm conclusions on whether there is an "atheist agenda" or not.

As a theist myself I have felt, throughout my life, harassed and attacked by atheists on a regular basis, and I do strongly feel that many atheists make a concerted and crusade-like effort to not only try to dissuade theists from their beliefs, but often to publicly shame them as well.

That being said, I think it would be untenable to claim that there's a secret club of atheists with these direct goals- everyone's motivations are different and making the sweeping generalization that all atheists are like that is just as ignorant and unfortunate as positing that all religious people ignore science or worse are just plain stupid.

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As a theist-turned-totally-confused/lapsed, I'd agree there is a segment of the atheist community, who seek out and attack theists in any area they inhabit. So many small internet communities I've seen destroyed by a concerted hostile attack. Most people are unaware of this segment, until they see it in action, or they come under attack from it.

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Eh, after being at the brunt end of people who really, really wanted to convert me to one following or another, I'll just leave it at those people exist in all groups.

 

I can somewhat agree with this, but having been on both ends I have to say I've had a lot more atheists attack me on a personal front (you're an ignorant piece of milk-soaked turnip cake you blithering sponge-mucker, etc.) whereas the theists tend to be even more pushy sometimes, but on the whole much less inclined to make it a personal insult contest. Just my experience again, though, so YMMV.

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I can somewhat agree with this, but having been on both ends I have to say I've had a lot more atheists attack me on a personal front (you're an ignorant piece of milk-soaked turnip cake you blithering sponge-mucker, etc.) whereas the theists tend to be even more pushy sometimes, but on the whole much less inclined to make it a personal insult contest. Just my experience again, though, so YMMV.

Cool anecdote.

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That being said, I think it would be untenable to claim that there's a secret club of atheists with these direct goals- everyone's motivations are different and making the sweeping generalization that all atheists are like that is just as ignorant and unfortunate as positing that all religious people ignore science or worse are just plain stupid.

 

There is no point. A lot of you seem too think being an atheist is synonyms [sic] with being anti-theist. It isn't, if you want to be annoyed by something be annoyed by them, don't group regular atheists into the shit pot.

 

Read the people's posts you're responding to or don't post.

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Posted · Hidden by EnigmaGrey, April 20, 2014 - No reason given
Hidden by EnigmaGrey, April 20, 2014 - No reason given

Read the people's posts you're responding to or don't post.

 

 

There is no point. A lot of you seem too think being an atheist is synonyms with being anti-theist. It isn't, if you want to be annoyed by something be annoyed by them, don't group regular atheists into the shit pot.

Wasn't specifically talking too you, pal.

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As a theist-turned-totally-confused/lapsed, I'd agree there is a segment of the atheist community, who seek out and attack theists in any area they inhabit.

 

That certainly does happen. As happens with every contentious issue (politics/religion/class/race/sex). Religious people have their beliefs/opinions contested in the same way everyone else does on the internet. Look at any random cat video on YouTube, you'll find a hundred comments saying "Dogs are better!". (Dogs totally are better, btw.) ;)

 

Errrrm... Merry Easter, folks! ;D

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Eh, after being at the brunt end of people who really, really wanted to convert me to one following or another, I'll just leave it at those people exist in all groups.

 

I can somewhat agree with this, but having been on both ends I have to say I've had a lot more atheists attack me on a personal front (you're an ignorant piece of milk-soaked turnip cake you blithering sponge-mucker, etc.) whereas the theists tend to be even more pushy sometimes, but on the whole much less inclined to make it a personal insult contest. Just my experience again, though, so YMMV.

 

You have had more atheists attack you because you are a theist, while an atheist would be in your situation the thing would be vice versa. Humans are assholes. On both sides (an unbiased atheist perspective)

There is no point. A lot of you seem too think being an atheist is synonyms with being anti-theist. It isn't, if you want to be annoyed by something be annoyed by them, don't group regular atheists into the shit pot.

That one moment when you find a sensible person on the interwebs 

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Eh, after being at the brunt end of people who really, really wanted to convert me to one following or another, I'll just leave it at those people exist in all groups.

 

I can somewhat agree with this, but having been on both ends I have to say I've had a lot more atheists attack me on a personal front (you're an ignorant piece of milk-soaked turnip cake you blithering sponge-mucker, etc.) whereas the theists tend to be even more pushy sometimes, but on the whole much less inclined to make it a personal insult contest. Just my experience again, though, so YMMV.

 

You have had more atheists attack you because you are a theist, while an atheist would be in your situation the thing would be vice versa. Humans are assholes. On both sides (an unbiased atheist perspective)

There is no point. A lot of you seem too think being an atheist is synonyms with being anti-theist. It isn't, if you want to be annoyed by something be annoyed by them, don't group regular atheists into the shit pot.

That one moment when you find a sensible person on the interwebs 

 

 

 

There's no such thing as an unbiased perspective.

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Eh, after being at the brunt end of people who really, really wanted to convert me to one following or another, I'll just leave it at those people exist in all groups.

 

I can somewhat agree with this, but having been on both ends I have to say I've had a lot more atheists attack me on a personal front (you're an ignorant piece of milk-soaked turnip cake you blithering sponge-mucker, etc.) whereas the theists tend to be even more pushy sometimes, but on the whole much less inclined to make it a personal insult contest. Just my experience again, though, so YMMV.

 

You have had more atheists attack you because you are a theist, while an atheist would be in your situation the thing would be vice versa. Humans are assholes. On both sides (an unbiased atheist perspective)

 

You do realize I said I've been on both sides of it in the very post you quoted? Who says I've been a theist forever?

 

 

 

There is no point. A lot of you seem too think being an atheist is synonyms with being anti-theist. It isn't, if you want to be annoyed by something be annoyed by them, don't group regular atheists into the shit pot.

That one moment when you find a sensible person on the interwebs 

 

 

You do realize I said the exact same thing just up this page? Why don't I get to be a sensible person on the interwebs D=

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Eh, after being at the brunt end of people who really, really wanted to convert me to one following or another, I'll just leave it at those people exist in all groups.

 

I can somewhat agree with this, but having been on both ends I have to say I've had a lot more atheists attack me on a personal front (you're an ignorant piece of milk-soaked turnip cake you blithering sponge-mucker, etc.) whereas the theists tend to be even more pushy sometimes, but on the whole much less inclined to make it a personal insult contest. Just my experience again, though, so YMMV.

 

You have had more atheists attack you because you are a theist, while an atheist would be in your situation the thing would be vice versa. Humans are assholes. On both sides (an unbiased atheist perspective)

There is no point. A lot of you seem too think being an atheist is synonyms with being anti-theist. It isn't, if you want to be annoyed by something be annoyed by them, don't group regular atheists into the shit pot.

That one moment when you find a sensible person on the interwebs 

 

 

 

There's no such thing as an unbiased perspective.

 

Well thats as unbiased as it gets

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123, your post was a bit on the sarcastic-sounding side. It may well be not what you intended, but it is how it reads. Be careful about the tone you use in what you say, and remember it's really, really hard to get emotions across in text.

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