The strident desperation...

[NeoGreen]

…to post anything, ANYTHING, that might shed the merest whiff of positive reflection upon faith or the faithful is extremely apparent these days.

I wonder at it.

Truly I do.

Is it, perhaps, the perception by some that their deepest held and most cherished beliefs are on the block, so to speak?

Beliefs which likely keep their greatest and most personal fears at bay.

What would they do, if they were to suddenly become untethered from the fantasies that lash them to their false comforts?

Better to strive and search and share confirmation that ‘all is well’ and/or ‘all is valid’, and that the organizations are actually growing stronger.

Despite the evidence.

When will they realize, they are not driven by love but by fear?

When will they let go of the tether, and accept the world as it is, with tooth and claw and spirochete?

Once indoctrinated, are they even capable of breaking free?

I wonder at it.

Truly I do.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. The simplest thing about religion is that most people believe what their parents believed.

Which is why thousands of religions all claim they alone and only they individually have the complete set of answers and all the rest are charlatans, apostates, frauds and worse.

If your religion has gone almost all the way and reject almost all gods, complete the journey and reject the last one for the same reasons the others were rejected.

[Lordquinton]

11. Which is also why the growth of religion

Is noted to be mainly due to birthrates rather than conversions, as noted in a study posted recently.

[vlyons]

2. It's called spiritual materialism, whic is

using spirituality to enhance and protect the ego.

[guillaumeb]

3. What is indoctrination?

Have you been indoctrinated to believe in what you believe?

If you answer no, what makes you so certain?



I wonder why some few here are so compelled to attack theists, an important part of the Democratic Party. Why these few feel that their own beliefs must be the only correct beliefs.

I wonder why they seem compelled to condescend, and to mock, all in the name of tolerance.


Almost the mirror image of the intolerant theists that they claim to oppose.

[Act_of_Reparation]

4. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwn.

Much privilege. Very butthurt.

[guillaumeb]

6. Sorry to hear, citizen of the US.

Speak to me about privilege.

[Act_of_Reparation]

7. I'd love to.

What, specifically, would you like to know?

[guillaumeb]

14. Are you educated, white, male,

living in a nice area, with indoor plumbing and internet access? A resident of the US?

If any of these apply, you are privileged.

[Eko]

18. Well there are different levels of privilege.

Be 14, live in government subsidized housing, all your clothes are hand me downs or thrift store. Never even ask if you can go on school trips because you know your mom cant afford it and you don't want to make her feel bad. Govt cheese is awesome and dessert is a piece of bread with sugar on it, and we loved it. Decide you are atheist, you don't believe in god. Girl in gym class asks you about it and you say you dont believe in god, she yells you are a devil worshiper. For the rest of the time there you are the poor devil worshiper to the students and teachers. Have multiple meetings with your teachers, mom and principal over it. Sounds fun don't it!! So freaking privileged!!! Might as well ask if they have a cell phone, a refrigerator and a tv!!! Why does that sound familiar?

[Act_of_Reparation]

19. Congratulations. You clearly understand how privilege works.

Now if only you were as capable of seeing it in yourself as you are at seeing it in others...

[guillaumeb]

27. And do you understand your own?

What is considered privilege varies by culture. One might as well say that rich people have more choices.

[Act_of_Reparation]

51. Go on.

I'm interested to see how you relate that to this topic.

[NeoGreen]

20. Does your metric to measure privledge include...

...having the time to make multiple posts per day on a anonymous web forum?

Does someone who can make, let's say...for the sake of argument ~20 posts per day, have more privilege than someone who makes fewer, say... less than 1 per day?

[guillaumeb]

28. Your own might.

Ask the same question of other high post count DU members, like Trotsky and MM.

[NeoGreen]

29. I asked you...

... about your metric.

And you responded with a non-answer.

You have added nothing substantive to the dialog with this non-answer.

It leads me to wonder if you have anything of substance to add, and if I should expect nothing more than a continuous series of non-answers.

[guillaumeb]

30. And your question,

being so narrowly directed to the non-theist in this thread, leads me to question the motivation behind your somewhat off-topic question.

Unless you employ different standards for theists and non-theists.

[NeoGreen]

32. Your continued deflection...

...is duly noted.

Please, answer the question guillaumeb, and while you're at it answer the question in post 8, the one you didn't even bother to deflect the one you completely ignored.

After you answer those questions, I'll consider your questions.

That's how dialog works.

[guillaumeb]

45. The post was not designed to be dialogue.

It was designed to be insulting. The only question remaining is why you are determined to avoid dialogue.

[MineralMan]

33. Another example of whataboutism, rather than an answer?

As for myself, yes, I am privileged to be able to post frequently here. I'm semi-retired, and my workload is erratic. I work about quarter-time, but in spurts of activity. So, I get to use the internet to participate in discussions.

That's why I have a high post count. That and my typing speed, honed by years of cranking out copy.

I answered the question. You did not. Instead, you said "What about...?" Weak sauce. I'll have none of it, thanks.

[guillaumeb]

46. No, it is a question of a double standard being applied for theists versus

non-theists.

As to cranking out copy, it is an apt description of your high post count indeed.

[trotsky]

21. This is the Religion group, gil.

Religious privilege is the topic.

Your whataboutism fails yet again.

[MineralMan]

5. It is a common word, with a well-known definition.

You can look it up on Google. But, be sure to read all of the definitions, not just the one you prefer.

Oddly enough, it derives from the word "doctrine." Isn't that interesting?

This is a boring conversation, since one of the participants apparently doesn't understand a word of it.

[NeoGreen]

8. Indoctrinate:

Synonyms of indoctrinate
Educate, instruct, lesson, school, teach, train, tutor, coach, mentor, drill, fit, ground, habilitate, prepare, prime, qualify, direct, guide, lead, rear, catechize, lecture, moralize, preach, implant, inculcate, instill (also instil), homeschool, edify, enlighten, brief, familiarize, impart (to), inform, verse, initiate, introduce, show, reeducate, reschool, reteach, retrain.

Interesting. Your make the statement "theists, an important part of the Democratic Party".

Do you believe they an important part of the Democratic Party because they are theists?

Or is it possible that they are important part of the Democratic Party because they are progressive, regardless of their theism?

[guillaumeb]

15. And which of these synonyms did you intend your re aders to understand?

[NeoGreen]

17. Preferably...

...all of them.

[edhopper]

9. Because it's the Religion Forum

not GD and we are here to talk about our opinions on Religion.

[Mariana]

10. What is indoctrination?

indoctrination: noun

The process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/indoctrination

[MineralMan]

12. +100

[EddieA]

13. Looking around, what is exremely apparent is the need to denounce anything that suggests religion is

Last edited Thu Aug 30, 2018, 09:20 PM - Edit history (2)

anything but destructive fantasies.

[trotsky]

22. That's completely false.

Such exaggerations do not help raise the level of discussion.

Be the change you want to see. Instead of making a blanket attack like that, start a thread and guide a discussion.

Give it a try. Or just yell at people who think differently than you, and complain about it. Your call.

[EddieA]

31. The OP is a blanket attack.

And is consequently false.

Why don't you rebut instead of typing "That's completely false." followed by personal remarks but no facts.

You have simply demonstrated the point of the post.

[trotsky]

50. A blanket attack on whom, a floor covering?

You envision persecution where none exists.

BTW, you probably shouldn't step foot in any Catholic churches in Pennsylvania, it looks like. Ouch.

[Act_of_Reparation]

24. Seems legit.

Welcome to religion. Or welcome back, maybe.

[NeoGreen]

25. "Regrediar", counselor?

You just can't let it go, can you?

In of itself, your continued return is a demonstration of the Strident Desperation hypothesized in my OP.
It is Exhibit A.

Why do you persist in proving my point?

[Iggo]

26. Religion is so much more than destructive fantasies. (n/t)

[MineralMan]

34. I suggest looking around more.

As long you're here, you can do that freely.

[EddieA]

35. I suggest you link to one post, one thread, that belies the reply.

[MineralMan]

36. I don't have time today. I have to clean the carpet.

[EddieA]

37. Given the time you spend here, I find that hard to believe.

As to your carpet, perhaps you shouldn't drag in so much dirt.

[MineralMan]

38. Well, you're off to a great start, aren't you?

[EddieA]

39. Given the quality of comments to one reply, I remain without expectations.

It would be refreshing to read comments on substance rather than childish emoji duels.

[MineralMan]

42. Well, if you have low expectations, you will always be satisified, I suppose.

[Hekate]

43. Welcome to DU. Have we met before?

Enjoy your stay.

[MineralMan]

44. It's possible, I suppose.

Perhaps.

[Voltaire2]

40. Again?

[MineralMan]

41. Well, we have two dogs. While they're well-trained,

old stains just seem to come back again and again in our carpeting. We're thinking about tearing it all out to expose the hardwood floor, and just toss a couple of rugs on the floor. That way, we can just dispose of them when they get unsightly stains. I sure don't want to keep cleaning the old carpet, when I could be posting on my favorite forum.

[Duppers]

16. A retired Methodist minister

Last edited Fri Aug 31, 2018, 02:26 AM - Edit history (1)

Decades ago, our son's friend's grandfather was a retired minister. One day the grandfather came over to pick up his g'son after the boys had played several hrs. They begged for more time, so the g'father sat down for a long conversation, while the boys played in the over-the-garage room. His son, like my hubby, was a physicist, so there was a likelihood there had been discussions between the two over the yrs.

Anyway, this retired Methodist Minster confessed to us that he was an atheist! Wow. He had to sense that we were also.

So, Bill Maher's interviews at the Vatican didn't shock us. The retired minister's wife later invited me to one of her church socials. No way, but I declined politely.

Obviously, the minister had kept his atheism a secret from his wife.


My favorite out spoken atheists who once preached Christianity are Dan Barker and Matt Dillahunty.

Wonder which is more difficult, converting a Republican or a fundamentalist?

[MineralMan]

23. There are, no doubt, many atheists in pulpits.

More, probably, than anyone suspects.

I don't see how they do it, but I also don't see how anyone can be a Republican.

[Pope George Ringo II]

49. And it gets worse at times.

Sometimes we see the truly ugly side of it, and a simply incomprehensible personal hubris based on what appears to be a complete lack of individual merit, and a genuinely outraged sense of persecution that everybody doesn't just adore the imaginary friend who tells them their faults are really virtues.

Heck, I wonder at those who even engage that kind. I truly do. Mind you, I appreciate it once the signal-to-noise ratio improves.