Re: Bill Maher - Religulous
Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 10:17 pm
Directed by Larry Charles. Doesn't he do Curb Your Enthusiasm? I love that show...
Lying? They are only stating the facts as they see them - because when it comes to faith, you can believe whatever you want to, as long as enough other people believe it too.Turing wrote:If you can find me a single spot in the Bible that explicitly suggests that one should lie in order to convert people, I will more than happily concede your point. If you can't, then it's sorta dumb.![]()
Okay, so you don't think that shouting at homosexuals fits in with their holy book. But you are also refusing to admit that the book makes it just as easy to justify shouting at homosexuals as it does to dissuade it. Probably even more.Again; I don't think that hatred and imposing your beliefs on others is correct. That's why I'm against people trying to tear down religious beliefs, actually; I think that trying to impose why your beliefs are 'correct' and those of other people are stupid is the entire flaw in this system. I don't think that shouting at homosexuals makes any more sense that shouting at religious people. I also don't think that shouting at homosexuals fits in with their holy book.
Good Zeus, what world do you live in?I think that it should be pointed out that their God specifically told them not to be judgmental and that it's not their place to act like complete fuckwits. I think that's a much more rational and useful argument than "Religin sux and dont maek no sinse lulz," which seems to be the keystone of Maher's argument.
Wrong. Larry David writes and stars in Curb. He doesn't direct. Larry Charles does...Big Kahuna Burger wrote:that's Larry David
There's only been a trailer that contains some light ridicule, I haven't heard any gross misinformation yet, so why jump to conclusions.Turing wrote:By looking at recent history at all? Moore and Stein and anyone else who has been in the mood to make a movie like this has always presented as many of the facts in as warped a manner as possible.bikkeldesnikkel wrote:That's quite a statement, the amount of misinformation provided by expelled is enormous, where do you think the misinformation on that scale is going to come from in this movie?
Harmful rational beliefs? Examples please.turing wrote:It's always more rational, I will give you. And there are plenty of harmful irrational beliefs, though there are plenty of harmful rational beliefs. But I don't think that being reasonable is always better, to be sure. Reason can only take you so far.bikkeldesnikkel wrote:Hm, I don't agree. Talking religious belief on these terms is too broad a perspective. Religious belief can mean practically anything. We're talking religious belief in the presence of contrary evidence and in the abscence of evidence. A well informed/reasoned belief is i.m.o. always better than a belief without evidence/reasoning to back it up.
Although seeking out the truth is primary in reason, seeking out the best (at that time) is always the practical (reasonable) solution, what works best. How can trying to figure out what's best not be better than not caring what's best?Wikipedia wrote:Reason is a way of thinking characterized by logic, analysis, and synthesis. It is often contrasted with emotionalism, which is thinking driven by desire, passion or prejudice. Reason attempts to discover what is true or what is best. Reason often follows a chain of cause and effect, and the word "reason" can be a synynom for "cause". Reason has been a major subject of interest since the beginning of philosophy.
Sorry, it -helped- to confirm my suspicions further. I'm not saying that I'm going to judge the whole thing without having seen it, I'm saying that the trailer is set up to maximize the chuckles.GONNAFISTYA wrote:lol
Turing's "proof that he's right" is by judging an entire movie on a trailer.
And it also points out that he argued up and down the walls against something he'd never seen yet.
Yeah....rational thinking to the core.
Uh... that's because I was railing against the content of your posts, rather than the movie itself? The only thing I said about it is that I expected it to be a pseudo-documentary in the vein of many such movies that have come out of late, like Expelled and Fahrenheit 9/11. There might be some truth to them (there's much more in the latter than the former, to be sure) but even the true parts are manipulated so as to entertain and to preach to the converted rather than to open up any kind of meaningful dialog.GONNAFISTYA wrote:It's sad. Turing showed up in this thread railing against people's posts and he hadn't even seen the trailer...let alone the movie.
Whatsamatter Turing? Frustrated? Looking for targets to bitch at? Just wanting to pick fights? Problems at home? The wife not working the shaft?
I always thought Turing was retard...long before I knew he existed. I actually managed to read some of his posts, which confirmed my suspicions pretty hard.
Ah, but that's the trick, you're wrong there. They are stating the facts as they -want- to see them. I am rather religious and I think that the idea of Intelligent Design is fucking retarded, as far as the capitalized, pseudo-scientific version of it. It's a manner of warping science to fit belief. Science doesn't work that way. Thus, even if they are lying to themselves as well, they are still lying.R00k wrote:Lying? They are only stating the facts as they see them - because when it comes to faith, you can believe whatever you want to, as long as enough other people believe it too.
Eh, there are a few Old Testament verses about it that make it not kosher. They're right in next to the lines about shellfish. Anyone who's ignoring God's word enough to use verses like that out of context is, once again, Doing It Wrong.R00k wrote:Okay, so you don't think that shouting at homosexuals fits in with their holy book. But you are also refusing to admit that the book makes it just as easy to justify shouting at homosexuals as it does to dissuade it. Probably even more.
Not in the least. I'm not pushing my beliefs on them at all, I am simply pointing out that this is what a constructive dialog would look like. It's not about calling them stupid. It's about having a conversation regarding why pushing your beliefs on others is wrong, about putting up cultural boundaries that make certain behaviors not okay, and about helping people to believe in the way that their holy books tell them.R00k wrote:Good Zeus, what world do you live in?
Two points here:
1) (a rhetorical question): Do you really think that telling these goons they aren't supposed to be judgmental, and that acting like complete fuckwits isn't their place, is actually going to effect some kind of change?
2): So now your approach is that you know their religion better than they do. Your argument has come full-circle, and you are doing what you have accused others of doing - calling them stupid and acting like you're better than they are, as well as pushing your own beliefs on them. That's not exactly a first though -- you've accused others of putting words into your mouth, and you've been doing that through the whole thread.
Because it's rather familiar ridicule that seems to be in the same vein as Stein's film, taking interviews with people and cutting them up to make the best (and most entertaining!) point in your favor.bikkeldesnikkel wrote:There's only been a trailer that contains some light ridicule, I haven't heard any gross misinformation yet, so why jump to conclusions.
bikkeldesnikkel wrote:Harmful rational beliefs? Examples please.
Because as I pointed out above, reason can lead people astray. There is also a very human element of doubt and gut instinct that I think is important for people, from pilots and surgeons to customer service folks. People use a combination of reason and instinct to get by, and I think that trying to set reason on a pedestal as the end-all, be-all of human capacity is sort of silly. Reason is important, but I think that faith is rather important too, and I think that people denigrating it is just silly.bikkeldesnikkel wrote:Also, how can reasoning not be what's best. Look at the definition.Although seeking out the truth is primary in reason, seeking out the best (at that time) is always the practical (reasonable) solution, what works best. How can trying to figure out what's best not be better than not caring what's best?Wikipedia wrote:Reason is a way of thinking characterized by logic, analysis, and synthesis. It is often contrasted with emotionalism, which is thinking driven by desire, passion or prejudice. Reason attempts to discover what is true or what is best. Reason often follows a chain of cause and effect, and the word "reason" can be a synynom for "cause". Reason has been a major subject of interest since the beginning of philosophy.
Dude I've been having deep and meaningful discussions about religion since I was 10 years old when my best friend "found God" (he's now a full-fledged priest with his own church). I've heard it all and I think that after 30 years of discussing the subject I have every right to dismiss the same tired arguments I've heard since I was a wee pup. That doesn't mean I dismiss everything...just the garbage that gets regurgitated.Turing wrote:I am arguing that half of the problem with there not being a dialog about religion are people like you, who think you can be dismissive of religion entirely and still have a meaningful conversation about the topic that doesn't immediately alienate people who have faith.
Poor angry Turing. I made him count posts to make sure he wasn't crazy.Turing wrote:I like how you reply twice in a row and then add on a bunch of back-slapping posts, then you try to accuse me of posting too much in reply when I reply to only half of your bullshit.
Or are you referring to the fact that I am actually engaging your intellectual superiors in a rational manner, too? I know, four whole posts when six or seven people are addressing me, that's the oloest thing evar.
HM-PuFFNSTuFF wrote:The old Turing was cool but the recent opinionated Turing is turning out to be, for lack of a better word, disagreeable to my knee-jerk humanist liberal stance.
If you mean that I don't embrace the irrational then you've got me.Turing wrote:HM-PuFFNSTuFF wrote:The old Turing was cool but the recent opinionated Turing is turning out to be, for lack of a better word, disagreeable to my knee-jerk humanist liberal stance.
lolTuring wrote:Actually, I don't have to go back to count in order to remember small numbers. It's part of not being a complete moron.
And the fact is that you're absolutely not seeing my point whatsoever and you took an argument that I was making to someone else, warped it into what you wanted to argue against, and then used that to dismiss me. Now all you have to add is "I don't wanna hear it" and "Wah wah wah" and now you're gushing about childhood stories. It's like you're giving me all of the downsides of fucking a college girl but with none of the perks.
George Carlin was the tipping point that converted me to atheism although converting isn't exactly the right word. It's more like knocked some common sense into me.nsaP wrote:dude maher is just relijullus
Comedians discussing religion isn't crazy...George Carlin is proof of that.GONNAFISTYA wrote:Yeah...I know a comedian attempting a serious discussion is kinda crazy (there's that word again) but it's the same thing as back in the days of the kings...only the Court Jester could speak the truth without getting his head chopped off. Comedy can indeed bring down barriers.
It's just the way that you start crying and telling me about how you used to fight with your childhood friends. At least you didn't leave hymen blood on my sheets.GONNAFISTYA wrote:lol
Dude....you have no point to make. All you've done is tell people that rational is irrational and done your own knee jerk and attribute strawman arguments to me and another poster.
And the fact that you see downsides to fucking a college girl shines a bright light on whatever anger/frustration that compels you to be "God's advocate".