Posted on 02/26/2014 3:05:25 PM PST by Notary Sojac
Thanks for the ping!
>> Where do your rights come from?
> Tradition, the social contract, biology, enlightened self
> interest, etc.
Then they are subject to the vicissitudes of the culture at large, and there is no reason for us to complain when they change. For example, why fight for “gun rights” if such things are a completely artificial construct?
>> Why do you wear clothes?
> Fashion, social acceptance, desire to avoid social
> friction, mating strategies, survival, comfort, etc.
I can see I should have qualified this question.
:)
If we are nothing more than mere animals, then why do we wear clothes? None of the animals do. When the weather is warm, what’s the point of being uncomfortable?
>> Why are there seven days in a week?
> A social convention, tradition.
All over the world? Even in “primitive” cultures?
>> How do you know what is good and what is evil?
> There is no such things as good and evil, just biological
> optimums or the opposite, enlightened self-interest, etc.
If there are no such things as good and evil, then why strive for justice? Who determines what kind of self-interest is “enlightened”? If only driven by biological drives, why don’t feral animals have the same moral sensibilities of obligation toward the weak and feeble members of their own species? How does helping the weak and feeble, the sick and elderly, advance our biological advantage? If anything, it compromises it.
> Biological programming towards reproduction and the
> survival of progeny; biological programming towards the
> survival of the group, etc.
I would submit that biology is very unlikely the only force driving sentient beings capable of abstract thought.
A good many people live that way. They should not be surprised when the country goes to sh*t as they sit and wait for someone to give reason to act, and then only to shoot.
The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.-- John Adams, second President of the United States and a signer of the Declaration of Independence
It is nice that you know about the Inquisition
"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable Rights; that among these, are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness; that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
For the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."~Thomas Jefferson
Curiously, its extremely easy to visualize a theistic socialism. Several have existed and some still do, in the rest of he world. Very easy to justify philosophically. The longest-living “communes” are religious ones.
There isn’t much of it around now, politically speaking in the US, but I think thats just a matter of fashion.
That's because they were communists, not because they were atheists.
Its the narcissus atheists that have their self as their god that are the biggest problem..most narcissus become atheist because the idea of anything bigger the their self is not acceptable to believe
They go hand in hand.
The reality is that my father and mother were my "makers", and I hope I don't go back to them.
This is very true that most atheists are leftists and I can’t understand why. They rightly reject a belief in god based on a lack of rational justification but they accept the idea that we are our brothers keeper without any rational justification. They embrace welfare statism and egalitarianism when there is no rational justification for them. They reject the belief in God but accept the altruism preached by religion. That is why I don’t belong to any atheist organizations and won’t. I find an equally strange dichotomy with religious conservatives. They are pro capitalism and individual rights and are against welfare statism and egalitarianism but they embrace the altruist morality that they are based on and that their religion promotes and which is incompatible with capitalism IMO.
And yes we conservative atheists are very rare eggs in my experience.
Atheism is a preposterous philosophy presuming the understanding of another person’s deity.
You say that like it is a bad thing.
>> Contrast the atheist with the christian or moslem.
>> The atheist won’t kill you for not agreeing with them.
Are you equating Christ to Allah?
Are you suggesting killing is immoral?
Ahem. So rejecting a belief in God (note the capitalization which you prefer not to use) is right. Four letters:
This thread is getting very revealing.
However beyond that Charles, the specifics become pretty clear. As an atheist, without a God, why would you even believe or care about being pro life? Of course without God, same sex marriage certainly makes sense.
Prayer in school or public forums, even a cross on public property most likely offends you considering that you mistakenly believe the constitution says freedom from instead of freedom OF religion.
Yes, i clearly understand there are exceptions to all cases. But thinking, Bozell might have gotten this one correct.
I do not find virtue in unconditionally allowing vice to go unnoticed and/or unaddressed so, yes, I say it like it is a “bad thing.”
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