Have you ever heard of this thing called USSR?

Disclaimer: Unlike you I know that one shouldn’t equate the power seekers of a system with its individual members. So the above sentence is obviously just a provocation.

@GR: I’ll try.

1. Just because someone's religious leaders don't/won't admit part or a good chunk of it's religious ideas could be wrong doesn't mean all those who follow that faith also do so. I'm religious and even I don't believe everything i';m told. I admit some of it could be very wrong...

2. And what religion does this today and kills/imprisons people of opposing beliefs? Outside the more visible extremist sects and offshoots that is.

I know mine doesn't, and I don't.

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As for scientists, it's more the fact that many of the more extreme atheists don't find it hypocritical to follow a theory(like big bang) with only shreds of "evidence" that only a few eggheads can understand fully?

Not syaing Big Bang is wrong, but to tout it as almost 100% fact as some hard;ine atheists do is borderline blind faith on their part, just like some extremist faith followers follow blindly something they can't prove themsleves or understand little about yet follow anyways.

^This.

1. The homosexual marraige ban/etc is done by religious branches that I don't follow and hate as well. And again I asked you to name a FULL religious faith where all of most of it's members does or advocates such things, and not just one that has some fundie/extremist branch that does such things.

2. Alot of extremist atheist tout theory as fact all the time when trying to show how much "better" atheism is over religion. Just as some extremist religious tout theory as fact.

It was openly banned in California, and now Missouri is trying to straight up get their state constitution changed to permanently ban it. That's not a small sect affecting these changes. The vast majority of chaplains in the military are going apeshit over openly allowing homosexuals to serve in the military, not to mention an enormous number of servicemembers, especially the religious ones.

This is not a small thing.

As a religious servicemember who belongs to a community of religious servicemembers and is friends with chaplains, I disagree with your broad strokes.

These aren't broad strokes. I didn't say all. But I doubt you're on 32nd St.

While I mostly support the equalization of homosexuality you can very well argue that a marriage sanctioned by the state is not part of that. According to the constitution (at least in Germany) the state may decide which things he deems worthy of support and which not. And since same-sex couples can’t have children on their own (don’t get me started on sperm donations) this could be a legit reason for a state to not give them the same support in that aspect. I have no problem with them adopting children or making use of IVF and condemn the discrimination they have to face in institutions such as the US Army. But it’s another matter if they should get an equal treatment (not rights mind you) in every aspect.

Yeah, umm...I started this thread just to poke fun at what I perceived to be a 99.9% that Harold Camping was out of his gourd. It was for fun. The thread's not fun anymore. Too much seriousness.

I'll be back next time Camping gives me something to poke fun at. Which will probably be around October 24th.

A religion doesn't have to have fancy trappings and a hierarchical priesthood, nor does worship require going to a specific building once a week. That's like defining mathematics as "adding two numbers together." One aspect of worship is deferring to an "ultimate authority" who determines the rules governing one's life (e.g. "right" and "wrong"). For some people that "ultimate authority" is Science.

There's a quite fascinating documentary called "The Trouble with Atheism" floating around it's really quite worth watching. (Look it up on the net.) If nothing else, it will (hopefully) give you pause to consider human nature (with or without the trappings of "organized religion") and why it is that a person simply must end up worshiping something or other.


-Khalaq

Hey, you have a whole year of posts coming up next year. It'll be like Christmas every day.

I hope what you said about MO doesn't come to fruition. As a Missourian, I would be very disappointed.

But can you? Is marriage a right and a privilege or an obligation to the state? If you didn't say it was an obligation to the state (like jury duty in the US, or registering for selective service), then it's pretty much discrimination. People are much less likely to resent social engineering when it's giving tax breaks to home owners or something less volatile.

And who is to say that being serious can't also be fun? You didn't ask the fun question!

Q. How is it possible that this guy and his followers can continue to believe in their prediction(s) when they keep failing to materialize? Here's a quotation to mull over:

"It is just that he who does not believe in the truth must necessarily believe in the lie."


-Khalaq