Make A Religion

Guybrush · 05-05-2009, 09:23 AM

When I read old philosophy, I often find myself criticizing it for a lack of understanding of who we are, where we come from, the basis for our morality etc. Modern biology and evolution explain so much of what they tried to explain back then.

Sorry if that sounds pretentious and all-knowing. It's not just me, though, I think that view is probably shared by at least 90% of people who study or work in modern evolutionary biology/ecology.

pahuuuta · 05-05-2009, 09:25 AM

ha im one of that 90%

lucifer_sam · 05-05-2009, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toretorden

When I read old philosophy, I often find myself criticizing it for a lack of understanding of who we are, where we come from, the basis for our morality etc. Modern biology and evolution explain so much of what they tried to explain back then.

Sorry if that sounds pretentious and all-knowing. It's not just me, though, I think that view is probably shared by at least 90% of people who study or work in modern evolutionary biology/ecology.

well, like others have said, Nietzsche wasn't really part of that category. his philosophy is difficult to understand and impossible to pigeonhole (though a countless number of people falsely call it nihilism). i don't pretend to even understand it now, but it's easy to see that he was way more than a social commentator.

OLD philosophers of the eighteenth century and prior were woefully inept, and when i read some of them (especially crapheads like Voltaire) i can certainly echo your lament. it's either common sense or a load of aphorism-laden garbage.

Guybrush · 05-05-2009, 10:34 AM

Yes, my argument wasn't so much against Nietzche but more against philosophers like Thomas Hobbes for example who bases a lot of his thinking on the assumption that man in his natural state, without society, is extremely prone to war and aggression. Despite being cynical being such a trend trend, in the light of evolutionary science today, Hobbes was likely a bit too pessimistic. He didn't have the means to understand the human nature the way we can today and so some of the writings he's famous for rest on shaky foundations.

Of course he might still have a lot of good points, but it turns me off a bit.

ElephantSack · 05-05-2009, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by half_baked87

so uhhh.. this has probably been said a few thousand times in this thread... but i refuse to notice or care ... i think any and all religions are a plague. no matter how you organize or practice your religion, there will always be dissenters and always be fundamentalists who won't agree and decide to butt **** each other out of existence. hate, prejudice and "other ills" are programmed into us for survival and it's not going to change any time soon.

explain to me how hate and prejudice are conducive to the long term survival of humankind.

Mirrorball95 · 05-05-2009, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBig3KilledMyRainDog

It would be paramilitary, and we'd raise an army that would rent itself out for merc operations and birthday parties. We'd convert the homeless and the drug addled into clean, furious killing machines that we could use to overthrow succeding states and South Carolina for its past transgressions.

It would have a Christian template but operate heavily in druadic and primalist maxims. We'd eat a macro-biotic diet, and there would be several "achievements" that would allow one to achieve true physical virtue. They would be:

1. Iron Cross, held for 5+ minutes
2. Iron Man
3. Ultra Marathon
4. Iditarod completion
5. Volvo Ocean Race completion (sans death)

Also there are several animals you must best in combat. The ones marked with a star allow for a single, blunt weapon to be included in combat.

1. Wolf
2. Bear*
3. Shark*
4. Lyger
5. Singular piranha*

One must live a life free of drug and alcohol use. Marriage would be considered a limitation of the growth potential and therefore barred. Copius amounts of sex would be encouraged. All carries of any STD, curable or otherwise would be executed immediatly.

Our Major holidays would include secular ones, such as Thanksgiving and Memorial Day. the 4th of July would be a recognized holiday for the religios freedom that gave us the oppertunity to be. We would also have our own centered around the 5 feats and 2 more; The 15th of April (reanimation day) and November 1st (marking the end of harvest)

(am I taking this too far? I'm bored at work)

Within the confines of the city we'd live in an agrarian society, with tradeing and bartering as our only currency. Only portable instruments would be allowed. Those illitarate by the age of ten would be subject to execution.

Tattoo's are mandatory.

The part I highlighted in bold confirm to me that you have way to much time on your hands; worse also- wasting it with such pretentious nonsense.

Quote:

Originally Posted by toretorden

I wonder what established religions are being made fun of .. My post here was criticism of scientology which I think every scientologist should read, but I can't remember coming across anything else. It doesn't mean there isn't some (I'm too lazy to look atm), but feel free to regard this as an invitation to point the mockery out to me.

It not the fact of which religion is being 'made fun' of, fair enough have a laugh but I think the religious people on here should be taken into account and obviously this could be seen as offensive as one poster has already complained about. Also I must stress that I am neither religious or non religious, I just have an open mind on things. I dont practice religion but I dont mock people who do.
I can somehow find it within myself to respect religious people & I cant see why these people(including yourself) cant do the same.
So from a neutral point of view I see it as inappropriate.
As for 'pointing' out the mockery I dont think its necessary as most of the posts before I started posting on this topic were just mocking religion in general. If you really need to look at them to get the just of what Im talking about then go ahead...

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleepy jack

The only good thing about Muhammad, Moses, and Jesus were their beards.

So judging by your 'theory', your favourite band is ZZ Top then?

Quote:

Originally Posted by cardboard adolescent

i'm sorry, but that seems pretty closed-minded to me. no brownie points for "love thy neighbor" or "turn the other cheek"?

What he said (In bold).

Guybrush · 05-06-2009, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mirrorball95

It not the fact of which religion is being 'made fun' of, fair enough have a laugh but I think the religious people on here should be taken into account and obviously this could be seen as offensive as one poster has already complained about. Also I must stress that I am neither religious or non religious, I just have an open mind on things. I dont practice religion but I dont mock people who do.
I can somehow find it within myself to respect religious people & I cant see why these people(including yourself) cant do the same.
So from a neutral point of view I see it as inappropriate.
As for 'pointing' out the mockery I dont think its necessary as most of the posts before I started posting on this topic were just mocking religion in general. If you really need to look at them to get the just of what Im talking about then go ahead...

So judging by your 'theory', your favourite band is ZZ Top then?

ZZ Top is awesome.

In fact, most of the posts here by far only mocks religion in a very general way. I don't see why followers of a specific religion like catholism should feel hurt if I make fun of Janzsoonism, Bowism or Infinitism. I don't think they should feel hurt if I make fun of scientology either actually.

In other words, I don't think there's a problem with the thread in general, but if you come across any posts you find particularly offensive, you're free to report them.

Mirrorball95 · 05-06-2009, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by toretorden

ZZ Top is awesome.

In fact, most of the posts here by far only mocks religion in a very general way. I don't see why followers of a specific religion like catholism should feel hurt if I make fun of Janzsoonism, Bowism or Infinitism. I don't think they should feel hurt if I make fun of scientology either actually.

In other words, I don't think there's a problem with the thread in general, but if you come across any posts you find particularly offensive, you're free to report them.

Yeah I agree, ZZ Top's stuff from the 70s before they went all 'synth-rock' in the 80s is absolutely fantastic, especially the albums 'Tejas', 'Tres Hombres' & 'Deguello'. Also they did a fantastic 'comeback' album in the mid 90s called 'Antenna' which is probably my favourite ZZ Top album.
As for the 80s stuff I dont dislike it, just crap is comparison to the other stuff they did in previous and proceeding decades. I have 'Eliminator' & 'Recycler' (which is actually 90s (1990) but still has a kind of 80s sound to it).

Anyway after my rant about ZZ top (which you either wanted to or didnt want to hear)
I have to say that I am not personally offended by these posts but I just think it is pretty much unsuitable for religious people to be viewing these posts.It doesnt really matter whether your mocking it in general or specifically people will still be offended.
+ I aint gonna complain about any posts, as Im neither religious or non religious & It isnt my place.
The people who are offended should do this, not me- Im only voicing an opinion from a neutral point of view.

sleepy jack · 05-06-2009, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mirrorball95

Yeah I agree, ZZ Top's stuff from the 70s before they went all 'synth-rock' in the 80s is absolutely fantastic, especially the albums 'Tejas', 'Tres Hombres' & 'Deguello'. Also they did a fantastic 'comeback' album in the mid 90s called 'Antenna' which is probably my favourite ZZ Top album.
As for the 80s stuff I dont dislike it, just crap is comparison to the other stuff they did in previous and proceeding decades. I have 'Eliminator' & 'Recycler' (which is actually 90s (1990) but still has a kind of 80s sound to it).

Anyway after my rant about ZZ top (which you either wanted to or didnt want to hear)
I have to say that I am not personally offended by these posts but I just think it is pretty much unsuitable for religious people to be viewing these posts.It doesnt really matter whether your mocking it in general or specifically people will still be offended.
+ I aint gonna complain about any posts, as Im neither religious or non religious & It isnt my place.
The people who are offended should do this, not me- Im only voicing an opinion from a neutral point of view.

Mirrorball95 have you ever heard of something called humor? I bolded the letters that make up the word for you.

half_baked87 · 05-09-2009, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElephantSack

explain to me how hate and prejudice are conducive to the long term survival of humankind.

its all from early humanity. "the other tribe looks different, and they are more than likely going to try and take our **** and rape our women". none of you can deny having a racist or prejudiced thought at one time or another. and it's there for a reason. I'm not advocating it, i'm just a realist. think about it this way, if you were approached by a group of thugs in a rough part of town after dark... what do you think. "gee, these fellows look like they just want a chat, maybe they need the time" or is it "what the ****s happening.. should i be running for my life?" that feeling you get in your gut is prejudice. and its there because its for survival. at the same time i dont think it has a place in modern society, and absolutely the world would be a better place without it, but its just not pyschologically possible to erase that little voice in us. we're barely out of the jungle and we still have instincts in us that were originally intended for survival in the wild. as much as we try to mitigate them, they'll always be there

05-05-2009, 09:23 AM	#61 (permalink)
Guybrush Juicious Maximus III Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Scabb Island Posts: 6,525	When I read old philosophy, I often find myself criticizing it for a lack of understanding of who we are, where we come from, the basis for our morality etc. Modern biology and evolution explain so much of what they tried to explain back then. Sorry if that sounds pretentious and all-knowing. It's not just me, though, I think that view is probably shared by at least 90% of people who study or work in modern evolutionary biology/ecology. __________________ Something Completely Different

05-05-2009, 09:25 AM	#62 (permalink)
pahuuuta Craziest Thing Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: New York Posts: 459	ha im one of that 90% __________________ *He Who Makes A Beast Out Of Himself Gets Rid Of The Pain Of Being A Man*

05-05-2009, 10:34 AM	#64 (permalink)
Guybrush Juicious Maximus III Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Scabb Island Posts: 6,525	Yes, my argument wasn't so much against Nietzche but more against philosophers like Thomas Hobbes for example who bases a lot of his thinking on the assumption that man in his natural state, without society, is extremely prone to war and aggression. Despite being cynical being such a trend trend, in the light of evolutionary science today, Hobbes was likely a bit too pessimistic. He didn't have the means to understand the human nature the way we can today and so some of the writings he's famous for rest on shaky foundations. Of course he might still have a lot of good points, but it turns me off a bit. __________________ Something Completely Different