Any Geeks or Family planning on being Raptured on May 21?

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#470531 18-May-2011 14:36

allan: Actually for a bunch of atheists, they don't sound very sure about it...

You are mistaking atheists for those who have the negative belief (in theistic areas), rather than those who hold no belief (in theistic areas), which is the definiton of atheism.

Granted, it's a difficult and sometimes grey distinction depending on who you talk to, but the statement on the billboard is totally fine with atheism.

There probably is no God (there probably is no FSM, Main-in-the-moon, or marsh mellow in the center of the earth), so stop worrying about it (because it's pointless to believe in something for which no evidence exists and which is neither provable or disprovable).

Tenuously still on topic, this thread is about religion right.

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MackinNZ

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#470532 18-May-2011 14:37

There's a very good reason why the bus ad uses the word "probably", and it's nothing to do with being not very sure

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/23/atheist-bus-campaign-ariane-sherine

sleemanj

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#470541 18-May-2011 14:57

MackinNZ: There's a very good reason why the bus ad uses the word "probably", and it's nothing to do with being not very sure

Perhaps "not being very sure" sounds too strong a phrase, "not being 100% certain" is perhaps better, although I would contend they have the same meaning. From the article you linked...

As Richard Dawkins states in The God Delusion, saying "there's no God" is taking a "faith" position. He writes: "Atheists do not have faith; and reason alone could not propel one to total conviction that anything definitely does not exist". His choice of words in the book is "almost certainly"; but while this is closer to what most atheists believe, "probably" is shorter and catchier, which is helpful for advertising. I also think the word is more lighthearted, and somehow makes the message more positive.

Not being positive that there is no God, is the foundation of an atheists thought, if we (atheists of which I count myself) were to take simply the stance "there is no God" then we have stooped to the level of the theists in taking an unwavering belief which can not be disproved, nor proved.

We can say there is probably no God, because the evidence against (at least in cases of specific Gods) and lack of evidence for (in all cases of Gods) suggests there is no God, but we can not say this in certainty.

Probably is as good as it gets. And that is why it's not worth worrying about.

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allan

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#470542 18-May-2011 14:57

sleemanj:
allan: Actually for a bunch of atheists, they don't sound very sure about it...

You are mistaking atheists for those who have the negative belief (in theistic areas), rather than those who hold no belief (in theistic areas), which is the definiton of atheism.

Granted, it's a difficult and sometimes grey distinction depending on who you talk to, but the statement on the billboard is totally fine with atheism.

There probably is no God (there probably is no FSM, Main-in-the-moon, or marsh mellow in the center of the earth), so stop worrying about it (because it's pointless to believe in something for which no evidence exists and which is neither provable or disprovable).

Tenuously still on topic, this thread is about religion right.

Yeah but you could remove the probably from the "marsh mellow in the centre of the earth".

Now moving way off topic....

blakamin

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#470572 18-May-2011 15:40

At least most of us will still be here on the 22nd... even if it does happen ;P

gzt

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#470590 18-May-2011 15:57

What if Jesus returns as an Australian?

And what if he looks a bit like Tom Cruise and has a girlfriend who looks a bit like Katie Holmes?

And what if he has a whiteboard and teaches something similar to primal therapy?

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blakamin

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#470621 18-May-2011 16:29

bloody Queenslanders.. they'll believe anything!

And you'd think Jesus would have a better website!

gzt

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#470672 18-May-2011 17:31

blakamin: bloody Queenslanders.. they'll believe anything! And you'd think Jesus would have a better website!

For some believers this is just confirmation the end times are in progress.

But hang on a minute - he did design and build the whole website himself - and he is planning to buy MYSQL. It is obvious he is looking for something scalable and fully supported : )

Got to give him credit for choosing open source!

Dratsab

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#470920 19-May-2011 08:14

"6pm standard time" is what this idiot said on Close Up last night. Only watched it because I wanted a laugh. Pity he didn't specify which standard time, although as he's based in California I'm going to assume he means Pacific Standard Time. So about 1pm Sunday 22nd here as California is 17 hours behind us.

Nice of the people who wrote the [subsequently rewritten and heavily edited] passages that became the bible to have factored the end of times to be convenient enough for him to have a good hearty dinner just before the rapture.

Something that really interested me was that he didn't say he was prepared to stake his life on his predictions.