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What would make you religious?

So, is this hypothetical “you” actually converting or just faking it?

In your second paragraph you suggest the person can fake it and still reap the benefits. In that case they didn’t really become religious, did they?
Answer my questions, then I will answer yours:
So would you "convert" under those circumstances? If not, are there other circumstances that would make you religious?

Been there, done that.

I did a ton of work for the local RCC. I didn't even need pay, I paid.

Does that make me religious?
Tom
Answer my questions, then I will answer yours:
So would you "convert" under those circumstances? If not, are there other circumstances that would make you religious?

Why should we answer a stupid question when the questioner refuses invitations to make the stupid question less stupid?
Welcome to "Banned Land."
It's rather endearing that US thinks he has the authority or ability to ban people, which is (of course) the prerogative of the moderation team.

I presume that he means he is ignoring you; I have allegedly been on his ignore list for a while now, and it's really not a major hardship.

Eventually he will have put everyone on ignore, and will be able to persuade himself that nobody here ever disagrees with him.

I wish him all the very best in that endeavour. Though I can't help but think it would be quicker if he were to just close his account.
 
And rememer, this
It's rather endearing that US thinks he has the authority or ability to ban people, which is (of course) the prerogative of the moderation team.

I presume that he means he is ignoring you; I have allegedly been on his ignore list for a while now, and it's really not a major hardship.

Eventually he will have put everyone on ignore, and will be able to persuade himself that nobody here ever disagrees with him.

I wish him all the very best in that endeavour. Though I can't help but think it would be quicker if he were to just close his account.

And remember, this is the guy who is against censorship, even for child porn. :rofl:It’s also amusing how he thinks censoring others from talking to his tender ears causes those he censors the slightest bit of agita.
 
As soon as a God, an in your face, genuine gold standard, Supernatural Creator of the Universe makes an appearance and sets us straight, everyone becomes a theist.
Could still be aliens.
What's your problem with that?

What's the important difference between a God-like being and a being that is God-like?

Frankly, I'm pretty sure that my possession of an internet connected cell phone would qualify me as a supernatural being, with divine powers of Google, to an 18th century monk.
Tom
The important difference would be that the appearance of a vastly more advanced alien society, even one that appears god-like, wouldn’t make me a theist. I’m just not doing it.
You're right. You'd just be a believer in aliens, if you got to shake hands with one.
 
I asked the wrong question. You guys are already religious.

Duh! You've been making the same thread over-and-over now for months:

Waitaminnut.

I thought the op author said that atheism is a religion.

So, wouldn't we all already be "religious?"

According to you: Atheists are a suicide "cult." Atheist have a "hell." Atheists have a "god." Atheist actually can't help but believe in god. And it goes on and on...

Since a religious tenet of yours is clearly that atheists are a religious cult, one wonders why on Earth you'd make a thread asking what would make atheists religious.

Perhaps you doubted your religion or forgot what you've been preaching but now you are back to it.
 
Welcome to "Banned Land."
How Christian of you.

I honestly thought you'd started censoring yourself a while back. I really don't care.
Tom
I asked the wrong question. You guys are already religious.
Yes, isn‘t it pretty to think so.

Now you can run to the other Christians at CARM and tell them you’ve discovered that all atheists are secretly Chrisitans, which is what you were going to distort, misinterpret and cherry pick your way to anyway,.
 
Eventually he will have put everyone on ignore, and will be able to persuade himself that nobody here ever disagrees with him.
I think it's a slightly different project, and I think we're in the homestretch. There are still a few more threads to go. I predict:
Do Atheists Pray?
Do Atheists Prophesy?
Do Atheists Have a Pope?
Do Atheists Have Rites?
Do Atheists Exorcise?
Do Atheists Have a Savior?
Are You Atheists Really, Really, Scouts Honor, Atheists?

Then, by ignoring and faux banning, he will winnow the field down to the Ultimate Find: a prayerful, evangelical, God-fearing, hell-scorning, heaven-bound ATHEIST. There will be a dream date:

Maitre d': Your table is ready. (ushers him in) Table for one.
Waiter: Good evening, I'm your server. I'm Gregory. Are we waiting for another guest?
Truth Seeker: No, Just me!!
Waiter: Do you need a few minutes?
Truth Seeker: Yes. We need a minute to introduce ourselves. (indicates other side of table. Exit waiter, mystified.)
Truth Seeker: It took me so long to find you. Do you...believe in heaven and hell?
TS: Yes.
TS: Me too! Are you an atheist?
TS: Yes.
TS: Me Too!! Me Too!!! Are you secretly religious, though?
TS: Yes.
TS: Wow. WOW. Me too! Are the other atheists a bunch of meanies to you?
etc., etc., etc., etc.

It is possible, I guess, to define each and every term of contention so that yours is the only solution to the question. But that leaves you with Gregory as your waiter,
 
I think it's a slightly different project, and I think we're in the homestretch. There are still a few more threads to go. I predict:
Do Atheists Pray?
Do Atheists Prophesy?
Do Atheists Have a Pope?
Do Atheists Have Rites?
Do Atheists Exorcise?
Do Atheists Have a Savior?
Are You Atheists Really, Really, Scouts Honor, Atheists?

Don't forget two things:
(1) He could also make: Does Atheism Have "Sacred Sites?"

(2) Put it in quotes the first time but then for the rest of the op post, treat it like literal reality without quotes. And post mostly about the -ism, like you are discussing an idea but then switch to individuals instead as a sneaky way to do ad homs. Here's an example but I'll use Truth Seekers instead to illustrate.

Is a "Christ Complex" at the root of Truth Seeker-ism?

I've often heard people, arm-chair psychologists in particular, refer to a "Christ complex." Depending on where you get your definitions, a truth seeker with a "Christ complex" appears to be an oxymoron. Many truth seekers define themselves as agnostics stuck on always seeking an answer to something and so how could they model themselves after a character who might not be real. Others may question what does the nature of psychology have to do with searching for religious truth?

So although truth seekers with Christ complexes appears to be a very unusual idea, it could be that someone who chooses to invent a new label is simply an anti-social personality disordered contrarian who is deliberately setting themselves up to draw negative attention. How does this manifest itself in a religious domain and discussion and related to thinking of themselves as a fictional Jesus?

Here is an example of what one wrote:
Wear it as a badge of honor, ... I've been banned from more forums than I can remember. In each case I think I did the right thing. And wasn't Jesus punished for doing the right thing?

So, is a Christ complex at the root of Truth Seeker-ism?
 
Welcome to "Banned Land."
How Christian of you.

I honestly thought you'd started censoring yourself a while back. I really don't care.
Tom
I asked the wrong question. You guys are already religious.
You asked the wrong question in that you're ignoring or trying to conflate the difference between "converting" as a sort of performance, and "converting" as a literal change in beliefs and convictions.

I tried to answer earlier assuming you meant the first type of conversion.

In both scenarios, we are indeed adopting a new belief:
In the first, we are now believing that a change in behaviour meant to appease religous employers will be worth the benefits of having the job. So we consciously must change our speech and behaviour to conform to whatever standards are defined by the religion. So this becomes a cost/benefit decision- does the effort of maintaining a public face justify the benefits provided by the job?

In the second, we are now believing that the religous claims of the employers are true. So, the new speech and behaviour required for membership in the religion flows naturally from the new beliefs- they do not require a constant effort to maintain, and thus the benefits of the new job are absolutely worth converting, even if the benefits are simply "donuts on Fridays". But in my experience, personal beliefs and convictions can't simply be overturned by choice- I cannot simply choose to believe the tenets of the new religion. So, if my new employers gave me cause to re-evaluate my beliefs, and after re-evaluation I concluded their religious beliefs are correct, then the job is now irrelevant. I'd likely convert even if they didn't hire me. Why wouldn't I?
 
Welcome to "Banned Land."
How Christian of you.

I honestly thought you'd started censoring yourself a while back. I really don't care.
Tom
I asked the wrong question. You guys are already religious.

I can't help but notice how consistently you interpret people responding to you in ways you don't like as "religious".
Tom
You're right. I should say that the responses I get are fallacious.
 
Deep ignorance, a lack of access to measurement or the ability to measure my environment, and the enthusiastic support of my peers of an apparent system of knowledge that plausibly explains my surroundings presented as fact.

This would be a difficult state to maintain and would probably require me to be subjected to some massive shift in the apparent physics of my surroundings to even initiate, and now that I've thought about that its automatically less likely to succeed.

The only way to maintain it would be to show things that were apparently sort of evidentiary and would require a shell game, as well as the ability to demonstrate useful knowledge via this system, but ultimately such is doomed to fail over time.
 
Have the atheists been exposed as secret god-loving Christians yet? Does Unknown Christian have enough research material that can be distorted to support his corrupt thesis and submitted to his true audience at CARM? Will he stop posting the same drivel over and over and retire to playing video games in the comfort of his mommy's basement once he is done exposing the atheists?
 
You're right. I should say that the responses I get are fallacious.
It's the sort of thing I'd expect from you.

But no, you shouldn't say that unless your goal is to kid yourself. You aren't kidding most of us.
Tom
Here's the way the dialog is going here at IIDB:

Unknown Soldier: I discern some logical, factual, and ethical difficulties in the argumentation coming from many of the atheists on this board.
The Religious Atheists: Unknown 'Sewer' (heh heh heh) you're a G_d d__ned piece of s__t from your mother's c__t, and you better watch yer back!!!
Unknown Soldier: That's an unkind thing to say.
Tom: (shrieking with anger while pulling much hair from his head) US, how dare you try to deceive us with more of your s__t! You are a t__t and a p___y and a sack of p__s!! You need psychological help!!!
 
More like this:

Unknown Soldier: You poopooheads are actually religious.
Atheists: No we're not.
Unknown Soldier: You poopooheads don't realize you are religious because you are in a brainwashed cult.
Atheists: We're not in a cult.
Unknown Soldier: You poopooheads have a "god," a "hell," and get mad when someone calls you poopooheads. Looks like a cult to me.
Atheists: You are delusional.
Unknown Soldier: Look, the poopooheads are flagrantly breaking rules! They are using insults. The biased moderators don't care because they are in the suicide cult, too!
Atheists: Stop being a jackwagon. Your threads are dumb.
Unknown Soldier: These poopooheads keep doing it. I know the biased moderators are going to ban me soon, just like at countless other sites for speaking truth to poopooheads. This proves I am right and I am willing to sacrifice myself. Just like Jesus.
 
Unknown Soldier: Look, the poopooheads are flagrantly breaking rules! They are using insults. The biased moderators don't care because they are in the suicide cult, too!
Ah--so we are not quite as blind as it appeared.
Unknown Soldier: These poopooheads keep doing it. I know the biased moderators are going to ban me soon, just like at countless other sites for speaking truth to poopooheads. This proves I am right and I am willing to sacrifice myself. Just like Jesus.
I don't know about Jesus, but I have been banned from more boards than I can remember. For example, check out Was Jesus a real guy? , a thread I started which I did not survive. I was "Jagella" at that time and board.
 
You're right. I should say that the responses I get are fallacious.
It's the sort of thing I'd expect from you.

But no, you shouldn't say that unless your goal is to kid yourself. You aren't kidding most of us.
Tom
Here's the way the dialog is going here at IIDB:

Unknown Soldier: I discern some logical, factual, and ethical difficulties in the argumentation coming from many of the atheists on this board.
The Religious Atheists: Unknown 'Sewer' (heh heh heh) you're a G_d d__ned piece of s__t from your mother's c__t, and you better watch yer back!!!
Unknown Soldier: That's an unkind thing to say.
Tom: (shrieking with anger while pulling much hair from his head) US, how dare you try to deceive us with more of your s__t! You are a t__t and a p___y and a sack of p__s!! You need psychological help!!!

I apologize if that's how I come across. (Although I don't THINK you're talking about me. Am I a "religious atheist"?)

But frankly, I do not have the slightest clue what your thesis is. You seem to argue that "atheists" want, need or already have some sort of "religion." But there must be more (or less) to it than that.

Could you be kind enough to compose a paragraph summarizing your thesis. You know, the sort of paragraph Ms. McNulty taught us to write in 11th-grade English, with a clear introductory sentence, and so on?

Thank you.
 
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