Took a long break...

Discussion in 'New Member Introductions' started by Resistance101, Mar 23, 2020.

  1. Resistance101

    Resistance101 Banned

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    Wish they'd write the manual in easier to understand terminology.
     
  2. Derideo_Te

    Derideo_Te Well-Known Member

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    Technical writers are the translators of the Word (16, 32, 64 bits) of the Almighty (IBM, Microsoft, Google, etc, etc, etc) into cryptic verses that can only be understood by the High Priests (geeks, nerds, hackers) and then explained to the masses via Places of Worship (call centers, select 2 for...) after making the requisite Offering (support fees, contracts).

    Does that help? ;)
     
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  3. Resistance101

    Resistance101 Banned

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    It sums up the way I think about computers and the community in general. So I'd say it summarized it in a way that was easy to understand and to the point.
     
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  4. Sleep Monster

    Sleep Monster Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yeah ... I keep hearing people talking about the constitution, but FYI once an emergency is declared, the government does have the right to make us stay home even if we don't want to. Government's powers are sweeping during a declared emergency. Each state that declares an emergency has written laws that define the suspension of rights during the emergency, and that includes the state or local authority's right to apply punishments like fines.

    For more information on what the federal government can and can't do, start here:

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Emergencies_Act
     
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  5. Sleep Monster

    Sleep Monster Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    If they did that, you wouldn't need them!

    Just kidding. Instructions for complex gadgets or applications are not easy to write. Some places let their engineers or programmers to write the manuals ... a very bad idea. Some places hire good writers, but without enough technical background. Good writers with a tech background are worth the extra cost IMO. I used to tell a prospective client to pick two of the following:

    Good
    Fast
    Cheap

    No one gets all three. :mrgreen:
     
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  6. Resistance101

    Resistance101 Banned

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    I'm well aware of what they can do, but if the people don't cooperate with the quarantine, Martial Law is next.
     
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  7. Resistance101

    Resistance101 Banned

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    If you believe that presupposition you are probably right about your church. You may be happy to know that, while our website is not fully functional yet (it is accessible) there will be no feature asking you to donate money. We still have all kinds of ways to stay in touch, so if anybody needs an understanding voice on the other end of the phone or an e mail exchange, etc. got you covered.
     
  8. Sleep Monster

    Sleep Monster Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    My church? Sorry, my failure to communicate. I thought I made myself understood in that I don't have a church. I'm an atheist.

    If all religions claim supremacy or legitimacy, they can't all be right. Applying Occam's Razor, it is my considered opinion that they are all wrong. Like I said, I prefer knowledge to belief.

    Funny but true: I tested negative for VMAT2, the so-called "god gene." Maybe that explains my inability, or unwillingness, to suspend disbelief. :)
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2020
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  9. Resistance101

    Resistance101 Banned

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    You are your own God. Therefore, that would make you religious. It may or may not be semantics, but if atheists were not religious, they would spend less time worrying about the fact that there are believers in this world. Atheists are always seeking to convert by denigrating believers for accepting a religion (usually Christians), and having really negative things to say about believers (as you just did.) You're religious. That's why you are pursuing this thread. My advantage is, I do not waste my life fretting over whether or not atheists are believers in a God or not. I'm not responsible for your soul nor what you accept as evidence in support of your non-beliefs. Quite the contrary. I may not agree with a thing you have to say, but I'd fight to the death for your Right to say it. AND, I do not have to denigrate what you don't believe in while fighting for your Right to not believe in it.
     
  10. Sleep Monster

    Sleep Monster Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Well, now you've become annoying. And rude, and personally insulting towards me.

    No, I am not my own god. I don't believe in the existence of god. And I'm not trying to recruit anyone because I don't care what anyone else chooses to believe. I'm on this thread first out of boredom, then out of enjoyment at what was a pleasant exchange of ideas.

    But now here you are, claiming to know my mind and my intentions. Do you not see how arrogant that is on your part? And how insulting towards me? If insult was your intention, you've succeeded.

    "Atheists are always seeking to convert by denigrating believers ..." Horse pucky. It is believers who work at converting others to their beliefs. I don't care what you believe, I'm all for you choosing your path and me choosing mine without rancor, but you just had to go there, when I was being so civil. And where did I say anything denigrating to you? Am I not allowed to express my thoughts on religion? Does that free exchange of ideas only apply to you here? Wake up and smell your own hypocrisy.

    "My advantage is, I do not waste my life fretting over whether or not atheists are believers in a God or not." -- are you saying that in your opinion, I'm wasting my life worrying about your beliefs? Seriously arrogant. Get over yourself.
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2020
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  11. Resistance101

    Resistance101 Banned

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    First, I'm not on any thread you started to debate you. You came here of your own free will and volition. So, if you don't control you, who does?

    Did I get offended by what you wrote? You wrote: "I prefer knowledge to belief." Yeah, that is offensive, pal. My former field of study and work was in law. My mentors were lawyers turned ministers along with an archaeologist and a historian. I have a lot more working knowledge about evidence than most laymen, so yeah, that IS an offensive statement. Not all believers are cultist nutjobs that believe whatever famous preachers spew from their pulpits. So you come here out of boredom, hurl the first insult and get annoyed that I responded??? Wake up and smell my own hypocrisy? Too funny. Too funny.
     
  12. Sleep Monster

    Sleep Monster Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    That's a common, unoffensive statement that many atheists use when asked what they believe in. I'm sorry if you thought that was a judgment against you. I was just explaining me. It wasn't a commentary on your ability to acquire knowledge.

    We were doing fine here until I told you I was an atheist, and now it's become rancorous. You were friendly before that. Think about it.
     
  13. Resistance101

    Resistance101 Banned

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    I'm still friendly. Dude, you have a 50 / 50 chance of being right and I have a 50 / 50 chance of being right. Having studied the evidence I'm comfortable with my position and don't even see what people get in arguing about the subject over. It never changes anybody's mind. You cannot believe that a God created the Heavens and the earth, but you're still stuck with not being able to find an origination point for the elements that supposedly evolved and made this world possible. So, in my mind, the atheist and the believer accept their premise on faith. I don't get my boxers in a bunch when people disagree with me. I just interpreted your statements to mean that I did not use knowledge to arrive at a belief. Neither side possesses that silver bullet to convince the other with.
     
  14. Derideo_Te

    Derideo_Te Well-Known Member

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    That imposes the THEIST "in the beginning..." fallacy on atheists.

    There is no requirement for there to be any "beginning" of the universe.

    The Laws of Physics establish an ETERNAL universe that has always existed and will always exist in one form or another.

    We can only observe the current form of the universe but there is now evidence to support the theory of the Cyclical Universe.

    Theists believe in an "eternal creator" of the universe while the science points to an eternal universe thereby negating the need for any imaginary "creator".

    Personally I prefer the scientific data because it is self correcting over theist superstitions that pretend to be "the truth".

    Furthermore I uphold and will always defend the rights of theists to believe whatever they like as long as they make no attempts to impose their beliefs on others. There is no freedom OF religion WITHOUT freedom FROM religion which is WHY the Constitution explicitly STIPULATES that there can NEVER be any "religious test" in order to hold office.
     
  15. Sleep Monster

    Sleep Monster Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    On the one hand, you're right, no one has proof either way. On the other hand, believers don't generally believe 50% of the way ... they're usually all in on the question of whether or not god exists.

    As for that proof: there is nothing that we know for certian so far as our knowledge currently goes that would indicate the existence of a supreme being. We do know that the universe was a white hot singularity that exploded into what we now can observe and measure, but we don't know what may have caused what's known as "the big bang." We will probably never know that. God? Perhaps, but I doubt it.

    Belief remains a matter of personal choice, and while most atheists were raised by believers in one chruch or another, after growing up and noticing that all organized religions consider themselves to be the one and only, we looked for answers elsewhere.

    Religion provides something that science cannot provide: certainty. Human beings are comforted by certainties. More than 90% of us believe in one form of god or another.

    Science provides certainties as well, but not for "the big picture" of why we're here. Science answers questions which always lead to more questions. A small percentage of humans (growing, but still small) prefer the questions, the excitement that comes when someone figures something out conclusively, and the curiosity about the possible answers to the many new questions. That keeps me interested in everything.
     
    Last edited: Apr 23, 2020
  16. Resistance101

    Resistance101 Banned

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    I have no fight with religious or non-religious. As long as nonbelievers aren't stuffing secular humanism down my throat, I won't tell them about creation. A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.
     
  17. Resistance101

    Resistance101 Banned

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    I 100 percent believe. Belief does not translate into a certainty no matter how much I believe. Big bang is a theory as well. Just a personal observation: If both sides quit trying to argue over it and see if the Bible confirms science and science confirms the Bible, we might be in for startling revelations.
     
  18. yguy

    yguy Well-Known Member

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    On the contrary, the presence of conscience is a clear indicator of His existence, and I know for certain I have one. How about you?
     
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  19. Derideo_Te

    Derideo_Te Well-Known Member

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    Theists can also be secular humanists. They understand that they do not need the threat of eternal damnation by their deity in order to embrace morality. I have never encountered any proselytizing secular humanists, have you?
     
  20. Resistance101

    Resistance101 Banned

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    Secular humanism is the unofficial state religion in the United States and its precepts are taught in all U.S. public schools consistent with the Humanist Manifesto.
     
  21. Hoosier8

    Hoosier8 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Some are, some aren't. The ones that send out tithing bills I call Monitarians.
     
  22. Sleep Monster

    Sleep Monster Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Confirmation is very problematic. Science has long been disproving the bible's creation details, although not deliberately. When the bible was written, people knew basically nothing about the planet, how it was formed, or even that it orbited the sun. The people of that time mostly had no idea that the earth was round. They didn't even have books back then.

    The amount of time for creation as described in the bible has also been disproven. A few thousand years, that's what they believed at the time based on their own stories and legends. 4.5 billion years was not a concept known in those times.

    I have seen some hypotheses that attempt to correlate creation as described in the bible on the timing of the creation of our planet, for example some claim that each of the few thousand years represent millenia instead of years.

    But creationism is just not science. It's mythology based on the beliefs of people 2,000 years ago, before science existed in any real form. Have you ever been to the Creation Museum in Kentucky? Curated by Christian believers, it actually shows people riding dinosaurs.
     
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  23. Sleep Monster

    Sleep Monster Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Big bang is a theory, yes, but using the scienctific definition:

    A plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena.

    A coherent group of tested general propositions, commonly regarded as correct, that can be used as principles of explanation and prediction for a class of phenomena.

    It's much more than a guess, there is solid proof based on observations and calculations. I'm really looking forward to what we'll lean when this project gets going:

    https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/

    Exciting stuff. Please read it. It's being built in my home town, Redondo Beach, CA. Can't wait!
     
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  24. Sleep Monster

    Sleep Monster Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Of course I do. But it didn't come from a god, we evolved this way. We're the most intelligent species on this planet because that's how our brains evolved in order for our species to survive the predators in pre-historic times. It's how we became social creatures ... safety in numbers. People were never loners back then, loners did not survive.

    The need for living in groups is also how we developed moral behavior. It was essential to live within the rules of the group or tribe or clan, so we conformed to the rules or we were ostracised, kicked out of the clan, which often meant death.
     
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  25. Resistance101

    Resistance101 Banned

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    Surely you jest. Are these your personal interpretations of the Bible? The Bible does not say when the Heavens and the earth were created. Furthermore, the word days in the original languages simply meant equal periods of time. See, this was supposed to be a introduction thread and you want a silly fight that I'm not engaging in... not afraid of the fight. It's just irrelevant. Nonbelievers want to read into the Bible their private interpretations and argue but, no matter how you slice it, dice it, cut it or spin it; it's the THEORY of evolution. I'm finished arguing about it. See you on another thread.
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2020

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