Beau wrote on Dec 6^th, 2010 at 10:26am:


Very well put.

I have read through the thread, and I have not seen anyone proseltyzing one brand of religion, or one "true path," or condemning anyone.

Theism does not presuppose an agenda.  This is exactly my point in past posts.  Are there theists who tell you its their way or a hell?  Sure.  And they are full of it, and should be ignored.  But this represents a small number of people who are genuinely good and believe in God.

No, though I dislike the title to the thread as well, I see it as an interesting topic of discussion.  Theist or atheist, it shouldn't matter - as long as the discourse is civil, and all are entitled to their points of view, no one should be offended here.


Matthew

Quote:



I truly agree. It's getting old.

DocM wrote on Dec 6^th, 2010 at 2:00pm:


I'm offended by the title which was my point Doc. The discussion is civil but like B2 stated it singles a group of people out. I don't come here to talk about atheism.

But if someone makes a thread about it, I'm going to speak on it. Like if someone made a thread about black people or women or people who live in Indiana.

Don't single out a group of people and we're all good.

I just recently read an article called "Fifty Years on the Razor's Edge" about Huston Smith, now 90 years old, who wrote "The Religions of Man", later called "The World's Religions".  A fascinating look at an amazing man who was good friends with many equally amazing people.  But the quote I liked the best was from Huston Smith about Aldous Huxley, who was his friend for 35 years:  "One of the last things he said to me was, 'It's a little embarrassing to have spent one's entire life pondering the human situation and find oneself in the end with nothing more profound to say than try to be a little nicer.'"

Then why not just post a thread on the Pros and cons of atheism and theism instead of a letter addressing atheists?

And your post makes no mention that you wrote this letter to someone else. Even though I swear I've read that somewhere else....I could be wrong....anywho...

You didn't make those distinctions up front. So it looks like you want to single atheists out especially since it's been posted before.

May not have been your intention but that's how its coming off.

I need some PUL....be back....

It appears to me that this forum belongs to Bruce Moen. Personally, I think that repeating posts such as this is on the verge of monopolising the space that he has provided for all. There are lots of posts from 'the past' which deserve attention, if anyone wants to take a look. That is their choice. Occasionally, they are brought forward, out of interest. I don't 'run' this forum, so it is just my opinion, but it seems to me that it defeats the purpose of the forum that Bruce has established to put a 'spotlight' on discussions of this nature. As a matter of fact, it may harm him, as many people are actually 'put off' by such topics. They can find them anywhere. In fact, I believe this sort of topic, as well as the resultant disagreements, were cited as a reason that he lost a professional opportunity to expand his message to a larger audience a few years ago. I think that's a shame, since his message has been one of interest to many people for many years now.

Bruce's website offers something a little different. It promotes an 'imagination' method of exploring 'unseen' worlds. I feel that focusing on those types of subjects better serve his purpose.

I think that I am getting all this negative flack because I titled this thread as a statement rather than a question.

Thus "A letter to an atheist" should have read "are you an atheist?" or something along those lines

Sorry guys I will try to behave myself in future!!

But to suggest that I am somehow monopolizing the forum is simply nonsense

Blessings and light

Alan