Come to think of it, I'm not particularly fond of "Imagine" either, especially with the neckbearditude that an unfortunate number of John Lennon fans demonstrate.
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
I know I'm a ragingly liberal atheist hippie and all but I HATE "Imagine"
I don't know why, something about it just grates on me
Y'know, saying that you dislike organised religion doesn't make you one in the same with Richard Dawkins. I really don't like all this back and forth smugness about religion and the lack thereof. There are plenty of smug religious people and smug atheists, but there are also quite a few smug anti-anti-religious people who act as if not being anti-religious automatically makes them sensitive and worldly
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
Yeah, I know. But even divorced from that it's basically arguing for homogenization based on a few instances where organized religion has been harmful despite the many helpful things it has done, never mind the fact that it's impossible to prove or disprove the existence of a god.
I know I'm a ragingly liberal atheist hippie and all but I HATE "Imagine"
I don't know why, something about it just grates on me
John Lennon could and did do better.
The song gets used by people who don't agree with the message because they know John wasn't serious.
I wouldn't say "wasn't serious" - he really did believe in all that stuff he was singing, but the thing is that his political views was almost always shifting, at least til his Lost Weekend, IIRC.
I would prefer not to get into this argument, but I will say this: Organised religion, for all the good that has been done through it, has been the catalyst and excuse for more violence, bigotry and turmoil than any other set of institutions of a similar nature. States, ideologies, philosophies, convictions, political agendas—they pale before the power of the declaration that God is on one's side in terms of incitement to atrocity.
Le Chat Noir said:man i am on a roll tonight fuck yeah my logic has defeated u what now
What can I do? Your patrician logic has simply defeated me on every possible level. I don't want to trouble you any further, I'm sure you have plenty of important patrician duties to attend to, like voting and owning land and whatnot.
Sredni Vashtar said:A few? I would prefer not to get into this argument, but I will say this: Organised religion, for all the good that has been done through it, has been the catalyst and excuse for more violence, bigotry and turmoil than any other set of institutions of a similar nature. States, ideologies, philosophies, convictions, political agendas—they pale before the power of the declaration that God is on one's side in terms of incitement to atrocity.
You could argue that pretty much any other cultural divide has caused problems and as such should be eradicated.
I would prefer not to get into this argument, but I will say this: Organised religion, for all the good that has been done through it, has been the catalyst and excuse for more violence, bigotry and turmoil than any other set of institutions of a similar nature. States, ideologies, philosophies, convictions, political agendas—they pale before the power of the declaration that God is on one's side in terms of incitement to atrocity.
You could argue that pretty much any other cultural divide has caused problems and as such should be eradicated.
"Has caused problems." Not "has caused an equal number of equally dire problems." But then, the problem of organised religion is not one in and of itself—organisation aside, but that is a personal issue of mine—but that it is the perfect facilitator for every other sort of hatefulness. Racism, cultural supremacism, the oppression of sexual minorities, sex and gender discrimination, caste and class systems, economic stratification, anti-intellectualism, forced isolation, tyranny and mob rule: All have been excused by canon, prophecy, divine mandate or holy wisdom. Religion becomes a problem when it goes from being a personal path to a demand of others, at which point it, more often than not, becomes a justification for cruelty.
Y'know, saying that you dislike organised religion doesn't make you one in the same with Richard Dawkins. I really don't like all this back and forth smugness about religion and the lack thereof. There are plenty of smug religious people and smug atheists, but there are also quite a few smug anti-anti-religious people who act as if not being anti-religious automatically makes them sensitive and worldly
And then there you get people who are smug about not being anti-anti-ANTI-religous and people who are smug about being against THEM and people who are smug about being against THEM and then suddenly you have the French revolution on your hands for the third time this month and it's all very messy and Robespierre is tired of coming back from the death again and again because Voltaire keeps making inappropriate puns involving the word death.
honestly attributing anything to 'organized religion' in the broadest sense of the term makes little sense to me because it encompasses a bunch of ideologies that have almost nothing to do with one another
i mean it'd be like claiming 'government' is the leading cause of injustice and violence
A few people on Tumblr pointed out the similarities between Azula and Damara Megido and now I cannot unsee them. I think I find this a positive rather than a negative.
A few people on Tumblr pointed out the similarities between Azula and Damara Megido and now I cannot unsee them. I think I find this a positive rather than a negative.
So, Stephen Fry has finally responded to the uproar over the Dawkins tweets. It's a lot more in-character than said tweets, to say the least, and while I am still very disappointed in him for the initial statements, I can at least say that I understand why he said them in the first place. (I also wish that he had acknowledged that the wording of those initial statements was, well, dodgy, but eh.)
honestly i feel he brought it on himself for trying to defend ignorant statements by Dawkins
not that Dawkins never has intelligent things to say or that he deserves all the hate he gets, but that was a bit of an own goal by the atheist online community, there
Comments
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
What can I do? Your patrician logic has simply defeated me on every possible level. I don't want to trouble you any further, I'm sure you have plenty of important patrician duties to attend to, like voting and owning land and whatnot.
I would prefer not to get into this argument, but I will say this: Organised religion, for all the good that has been done through it, has been the catalyst and excuse for more violence, bigotry and turmoil than any other set of institutions of a similar nature. States, ideologies, philosophies, convictions, political agendas—they pale before the power of the declaration that God is on one's side in terms of incitement to atrocity.
You could argue that pretty much any other cultural divide has caused problems and as such should be eradicated.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
"Has caused problems." Not "has caused an equal number of equally dire problems." But then, the problem of organised religion is not one in and of itself—organisation aside, but that is a personal issue of mine—but that it is the perfect facilitator for every other sort of hatefulness. Racism, cultural supremacism, the oppression of sexual minorities, sex and gender discrimination, caste and class systems, economic stratification, anti-intellectualism, forced isolation, tyranny and mob rule: All have been excused by canon, prophecy, divine mandate or holy wisdom. Religion becomes a problem when it goes from being a personal path to a demand of others, at which point it, more often than not, becomes a justification for cruelty.
if it's supposed to be taken at face value it's completely naïve, but i'm not sure it is. or if it is it doesn't have to be
i don't like the 'no religion' bit but it doesn't really detract from anything, i get where he was coming from
i mean it'd be like claiming 'government' is the leading cause of injustice and violence
which i guess some people do but yea
i get so angry sometimes i just punch plankton --Klinotaxis
not that Dawkins never has intelligent things to say or that he deserves all the hate he gets, but that was a bit of an own goal by the atheist online community, there