tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post5809695602289604908..comments2023-08-09T03:21:13.354-05:00Comments on Letters from Gehenna: The World on a Slant: Tips for AtheistsDw3t-Hthrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584245136407694660noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-5328288053570259582010-07-03T09:45:37.283-05:002010-07-03T09:45:37.283-05:00(Hey Rosemary, I only just noticed that you sent m...(Hey Rosemary, I only just noticed that you sent me a blog invite in, like, April. It's expired by now, could you resend?)Dw3t-Hthrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11584245136407694660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-69758947239577813162010-07-03T05:42:32.861-05:002010-07-03T05:42:32.861-05:00I love this post. (It also made me go look up some...I love this post. (It also made me go look up some of the words, which I think is a good thing.) For some time I've been finding something uncomfortable about a lot of the (online) proponents of atheism and I couldn't completely put my finger on it, although their fundamentalism scared me: <br /><br />I came to atheism as an conclusion and escape from growing up in a fundy Christian church (which was also a cult, the two do sometimes go hand in hand but not always, they did in this case though - lots of spiritual and emotional abuse especially of children and young people) - imagine my horror when I found there were fundy <i>atheists</i>. <br /><br />But I think this post put it really eloquantly in particular the part about the colonialist nature of it... <br /><br />Aqua - <i>I'm an atheist somewhat because gods absolutely do not talk to me and I have actually tried.</i><br /><br />Hmm, this rang a lot of bells for me. Sometimes I call myself less of an atheist and just someone who chooses to live their life without deity/ies. But we could be on totally different wavelengths there, not sure.Rosemary Cottagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12204378986946967049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-15874966906215742662010-06-28T08:47:11.379-05:002010-06-28T08:47:11.379-05:00Bullshit no. Inflammatory yes, but dammit, fightin...Bullshit no. Inflammatory yes, but dammit, fighting fire with fire is so satisfying! Some things need to be burnt.*Waves little happy fanboy flag*Eaglehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06893113025969696870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-81270980788536007552010-06-25T23:07:48.061-05:002010-06-25T23:07:48.061-05:00Working on it! In bits. Not terribly coherently....Working on it! In bits. Not terribly coherently.Dw3t-Hthrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11584245136407694660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-64727036161132981742010-06-25T15:35:19.432-05:002010-06-25T15:35:19.432-05:00maybe you should right something then!maybe you should right something then!mamacrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16484565827023574347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-70409611720436621682010-06-23T22:55:11.191-05:002010-06-23T22:55:11.191-05:00I know that there are several books dealing with p...I know that there are several books dealing with polytheistic theology out there; I haven't (yet) read them, though, so I don't know what I would recommend. I wish I could help you there, Anonymous.<br /><br />The books I know of, if you want to look without a specific recommendation, are:<br /><br />Pagan Theology: Paganism as a World Religion, by Michael York<br />The Deities Are Many: A Polytheistic Theology (S U N Y Series in Religious Studies) by Jordan D. Paper<br />A World Full of Gods: An Inquiry into Polytheism by John Michael Greer <br /><br />I don't really have any sources I'd recommend on my own religion's theology; nothing much has been written from the perspective of a practitioner.Dw3t-Hthrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11584245136407694660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-13652478401067130312010-06-23T21:31:34.781-05:002010-06-23T21:31:34.781-05:00I find myself really intrigued by statement 4, spe...I find myself really intrigued by statement 4, specifically:<br /><br />"For a trivially obvious couple of examples, an animistically inclined religious person can entirely agree with you that there is no supernatural and still have boatloads of gods kicking around; a religion that is primarily defined on the social practices and behaviours of a community does not go away even if gods do."<br /><br />It's not entirely obvious to me, and I think that's it not shows my ignorance on the subject. The brief looks at polytheism and your spirituality have intrigued me, and I'd like to learn more. Can you suggest any 101-level books on polytheism- especially this kind of polytheism, or the kind of polytheism you practice?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-78803274274303410442010-06-23T15:55:58.817-05:002010-06-23T15:55:58.817-05:00'People form social structures to make levers;...'People form social structures to make levers; people apply levers to get what they want. Some things people want are bloody awful.'<br /><br />GENIUSmamacrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16484565827023574347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-49573012004982296742010-06-21T00:39:08.136-05:002010-06-21T00:39:08.136-05:00A-freaking-men!A-freaking-men!WordKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13155725542014595709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-1234027271167827762010-06-18T13:42:31.712-05:002010-06-18T13:42:31.712-05:00This entire post is pretty awesome, but I wanted t...This entire post is pretty awesome, but I wanted to thank you in particular for this: <br /><br />"2b, though) Also, you're ignoring theistic or religious agnostics when you dismiss religious people as "believers"."<br /><br />Rarely does anyone recognize this.Kristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13802639814234250619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-8058349800984237172010-06-15T23:47:58.100-05:002010-06-15T23:47:58.100-05:00I believe, but am not certain, that my dear compet...I believe, but am not certain, that my dear competitor is an atheist of that variety, Aqua. So further confirmation that you are not alone in that (Ugol Ugol).<br /><br />He's actually one of my favorite people to talk religion with because he approaches it as a sci-fi worldbuilding problem, and that's <i>useful</i>. (We also talk a lot about sci-fi worldbuilding problems, so it's all of a piece.)Dw3t-Hthrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11584245136407694660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-3177734304402825372010-06-15T19:02:27.010-05:002010-06-15T19:02:27.010-05:00So I'm an atheist, and yeah, I don't spend...So I'm an atheist, and yeah, I don't spend much time with other (Jack Chick Christianity) atheists for the kinds of reasons you list.<br /><br />Also the bit where I try to talk to them about really <i>being</i> an atheist and they have no clue what I'm talking about. I'm an atheist somewhat because gods absolutely do not talk to me and I have actually tried. I can sense the exact space in myself/whatever where they would go (combined with a weird sense that it's not a space where anything can go (in my case)) and it's always only me. I assume this is the space where interesting god stuff happens if you're a theist. <br /><br />I've met maybe one other atheist who understands what I'm talking about, so I don't quite think of the noisy Jack Chick atheists as <b>real</b> atheists, because they don't have any personal experience to back up their claims of anything so how can I be sure they know what they're talking about (particularly when they're raving about science/religion etc)?Aqua, of the Questionershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03729823323134474391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-56844388878493200332010-06-15T12:39:29.622-05:002010-06-15T12:39:29.622-05:00Love it. Great post, and thanks!Love it. Great post, and thanks!Daisy Deadheadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17993200276152025235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-86337478876222746862010-06-14T15:43:20.625-05:002010-06-14T15:43:20.625-05:00"jack chick christianity"
::blink::
(fal..."jack chick christianity"<br />::blink::<br />(falls over giggling)<br />some of my favorite people are athiests, we just talk about other things. Some of my other favorite people are Christians, we talk about it sometimes because it's something we have in common. In general faith/religion/deities are simply not something I like to argue about...dicuss, yes, but hand flapping and finger pointing haven't ever accomplished anything but to piss someone off (in my experience), and to damn someone to hell for their unbelief...well oh boy, that'll convert um!<br />anyway, this post is articulate, and I appreciate that.Rootietoothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06804816032287310463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-47521371048426085042010-06-13T01:39:33.874-05:002010-06-13T01:39:33.874-05:00*bookmarks forever*
What I really hate is the one...*bookmarks forever*<br /><br />What I really hate is the ones who mansplain religion to me. Hi, I am right here, I know more about my connection to my religion than you do because a) it's mine and b) you're an atheist so PLEASE SHUT UP.thenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11851538869806389235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-58265063863840729652010-06-12T13:04:03.099-05:002010-06-12T13:04:03.099-05:00cheshire - sorry my precognition is on the fritz. ...cheshire - sorry my precognition is on the fritz. :}<br /><br />Meecie - as I said, this is mostly a rant about The Sort Of Atheist Who Gets Into Arguments About It Online. Which is certainly not all of them/you - but the people who get into screaming arguments on the internets frequently give the worst show of anyone with their adjectives.<br /><br />Keshwyn - I'm pretty sure one of the things I read before generating this was a run-down of what was likely that panel at Wiscon (the one with a bunch of atheists and a rabbi on it?), so that's unsurprising.<br /><br />And I wish more atheists really had a handle on the notion that there are religious options other than Jack Chick Christianity. As Graydon said a while back on rasseff, people don't disbelieve in Thor the same way they disbelieve in Yahweh. (Of course, he got a few defensive atheists saying they did too disbelieve just the same! Did too did too! Why, listen to this argument that only applies to some Abrahamic god-conceptions, that'll show you!)Dw3t-Hthrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11584245136407694660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-57914972836901667362010-06-12T08:16:35.124-05:002010-06-12T08:16:35.124-05:00Bless you - I wish I had had this paper to wave at...Bless you - I wish I had had this paper to wave at the Atheists in the panel I was listening in on, because you say far more coherently, "Look, you, here are your holes."<br /><br />Also, it pisses me off no end that people I know and like keep condescendingly pointing me at the Bright organization and saying, "Hey, you should join this here with us because you're not a Christian and that means you agree with us that Christians and religion all suck and are a load of bunk." The logical fallacy inherent in the comment never seems to register. >:|Keshwynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08389759041537824581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-3080812289463026842010-06-12T08:14:04.597-05:002010-06-12T08:14:04.597-05:00Mostly, I'm sorry the Atheists you've enco...Mostly, I'm sorry the Atheists you've encountered have been such assholes. It gives us moderates a bad name (and maybe the reason I identify as "skeptical agnostic" rather than "atheist"). I don't let anyone dictate what feels right and sacred for me, why would I try to do that for anyone else?Meeciehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14700405851191163262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-2336568986331770122010-06-12T03:01:30.516-05:002010-06-12T03:01:30.516-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Teeth Whiteninghttp://www.teethwhiteningknowhow.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4427538608110635294.post-74420507425049047052010-06-12T02:05:01.231-05:002010-06-12T02:05:01.231-05:00Thankyou for having the words when I feel like I h...Thankyou for having the words when I feel like I have none of them. Although you do loss some points for not publishing this several weeks back because I am currently sitting here with the biggest ever case of "on the stairs" and seriously considering emailing this to one of my lovers under the heading see points 2, 2b, 3 (dear white male) all of 5, 7 and 9 for the other conversation about why I strugle with the idea of being "a liberal" even though that is probable a good discription of my politics. <br /><br />But then, I am too tired I think.cheshirehttp://cheshire.dreamwidth.orgnoreply@blogger.com