I can't believe this thread has finally slowed down - it was going pretty strong here for what...a week? Kudos to all that wrote but never got out of hand.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by JonBoy
[B]I can't believe this thread has finally slowed down - it was going pretty strong here for what...a week?

 

This was a great thread IMHO. The fact that it was as outspoken as it was without ending in uproar says a lot for the participants. I can't think of many sites where this could have happened, politics and religion being the great social taboos in discussion... never sure why really.

 

My contributions to this thread were a little edgy at times, but it wasn't to be disrespectful at all, it was only because I'm passionate about the subject matter. Although I'm not religious myself, I find it fascinating as a field of study, so I have a long history with such as well as philosophy/history/science.

It is my firm belief that when all is said and done people should have the opportunity to think/practice/believe what they want. When a given society forces issues that are essentially personal into the legal or public system, they inevitably suppress in some way the ability for a person to truly make choices.

I, for one, want my choices (although if you get right down to it I don't believe choice exists either).

I'll end on that note...lol.

Andrew

 

An interesting read on politics, religion, and public works:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,57411,00.html

 

Thanks for the link. Very interesting article.

 

Story
[QUOTE]SAN FRANCISCO

 

I'm entering this really late, but I'm sure plenty of people will disagree with me here. I'm an athiest, and I personally do not believe in the goodness of man. I believe that the majority of people are more likely to be someone I consider bad, rather than good.

Following from this, even IF I were to believe in higher being, it would only make more logical sense for me to believe in satan rather than god. Yet, if I said I believed in satan, people would immediately assume that I'm a devil-worshipper. People don't view believing in the devil as a valid viewpoint, when in actuality it is. Believing in satan does not indicate that you are evil, and belief is very different from praise or worship. In summary, satan believer = not necessarily bad, satan worshipper = enjoys evil, therefore bad.

However, I'm sure there are many people that don't believe in the goodness of man, and if these people were to believe in a deity, the only logical choice for them would be satan. If I were to believe in a deity, that's who I would pick, because it would make logical sense. Yet, I have a very high moral code, and I consider myself a man of prinicple.

I'm sure some people will have something to say about my comments.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jay Li
[B]I'm entering this really late, but I'm sure plenty of people will disagree with me here.

 

Jay, cheer up man! It's not that bad