|
Post by jonathanlobl on Jul 31, 2021 11:56:08 GMT -5
I'm posting here because I find the board clumsy and hard to work with. This was the only place it would let me post.
I think that "Belief In Self" is a badly named section. Being Atheist -- or Agnostic -- or Apatheist -- or Humanist -- Etc. has nothing at all to do with "Belief In Self" This is forcing secular people into a religious format.
Why "Belief"? Why not "Secular"? Or "Non-Belief"? Or "Atheist and Agnostic"?
If I can figure out how to post, I will. This is too difficult.
Jonathan Lobl
|
|
|
Post by jonathanlobl on Jul 31, 2021 21:21:45 GMT -5
Alright. That seems to have worked better than I thought.
I would like to begin with a thought on labels. There is no such thing as a perfect label for all situations. The label must depend on context. What is my label? I'm an American; and a human being; and a man; and a senior; and a mammal. These and other labels apply to me.
In like manner, depending on context, I'm an Atheist; an Agnostic; an Apatheist; a Secularist; and other labels as needed.
I would like to examine each of these labels individually.
|
|
Rakehel
Administrator
Tribal Peacekeeper
Still here...
Posts: 23,230
Ordained Minister: Yes
Country: United States
|
Post by Rakehel on Aug 1, 2021 10:31:45 GMT -5
I'm sorry you've had problems with the new board Jonathan. We're getting used to it too, after having had "modern software" people complained about. This board fairly much works like all of the old forum software used by many boards on the web, yet it functions well with portable devices. ProBoards requires a central registration to access individual boards because it is an umbrella host for many types of boards. Windows 95 is history, Usenet once had a purpose, cellphones & tablets require different formatting to work. People aren't using desktops & laptops as much anymore. ProBoards appears to have kept things "old looking," perhaps until Boomers, Millennials & Zoomers die off & Alpha Gen rises to use the internet the way they know it using their devices? There are a lot of discussion boards with far fewer features than we currently have. I call them "Wordpress Sites." They're all the rage today, easiest way to start a new business. Things were set up here fairly quickly. I've changed the description, it probably should've been edited sooner. Atheist, humanist, agnostic topics will work under the general religious discussion forum. The forum was never intended to encourage discussion about what individual human beings can accomplish by being atheists or dedicated to any one religion. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Tribal Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/ulintertribal
|
|
|
Post by jonathanlobl on Aug 8, 2021 19:43:30 GMT -5
Thank you for responding. I'm not sure I'm posting this in the right place. I thought I should finish off my last thought.
I am an Apatheist. A god that can not be demonstrated to exist isn't worth arguing about. Even if that god actually exists -- so what?
I am an Agnostic. We have no objective, verifiable information about gods or God. In the total absence of facts, what are we even talking about?
I am an Atheist. Because I don't believe. That's all it means. That and nothing more.
Of the three labels, I am most inclined to use Agnostic. The Atheist label gets me into too many stupid arguments. Most people have never heard of Apatheist. There we are. I try to keep things simple.
|
|
Rakehel
Administrator
Tribal Peacekeeper
Still here...
Posts: 23,230
Ordained Minister: Yes
Country: United States
|
Post by Rakehel on Aug 10, 2021 6:50:32 GMT -5
There are people who've never heard of agnostics. Or at least live in ignorance to facts about others' beliefs, homophobia, racism, misogyny & a lot of concepts. Tribal Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/ulintertribal
|
|
mark
Moderator
Posts: 13,060
|
Post by mark on Aug 10, 2021 8:06:24 GMT -5
like rake said(and i am trying to catch up),this section was not made just for one group,but for anyone who wishes to identify and discuss same.
am i making any sense?
|
|
|
Post by jonathanlobl on Aug 15, 2021 17:46:44 GMT -5
There are people who've never heard of agnostics. Or at least live in ignorance to facts about others' beliefs, homophobia, racism, misogyny & a lot of concepts. Tribal Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/ulintertribalIt is difficult to talk with people, who truly know nothing. Then again, would someone with that level of ignorance be here? On this board? It would speed things along, if I could get an e-mal notice that someone has responded.
|
|
|
Post by jonathanlobl on Aug 15, 2021 18:27:26 GMT -5
like rake said(and i am trying to catch up),this section was not made just for one group,but for anyone who wishes to identify and discuss same. am i making any sense? Up to a point. Only up to a point. I don't expect everybody on this board to be a college graduate. Not even a High School graduate. I do expect them to know what a school is. I don't expect people to be graduates of a law school. I do expect them to know what a lawyer is. And a judge. To have some concept of Law. To understand that breaking the law has consequences. I don't need people to be nimble in their understanding of Atheism. Or what it means to be Agnostic. If they are not open to learning, there is no point in talking with them. If they are here to preach at me -- I'm not interested. If people are so ignorant, or stupid, that they think the whole world has their brand of religion -- screw them. If they are here to preach their faith at me -- then double screw them. Their education is not my problem. I lack sainthood and I lack piety. More to the point, I'm done with being preached at. Something else that I'm no longer prepared to tolerate. Watching some Bible (t)humping prick spew bigotry at my gay brothers and sisters -- then try to hide their hatred behind Scripture. They don't hate anybody. They simply obey God's Holy Word. Again. If they want to spew that kind of poisonous crap; then let them do it some place else. Christians have the Great Commission. In the Gospels, the risen Christ commands his followers to "spread the Good News". I'm an Agnostic. I have no responsibility to change people. I respect difference. I don't need others to be like me. Or to agree with me. At the same time, I'm done with taking crap. It's good to be open minded. We don't want the brain to actually fall out.
|
|
|
Post by jonathanlobl on Aug 15, 2021 18:41:01 GMT -5
Before I forget to mention this. A few years back, I joined some Atheist and Agnostic groups on Facebook. Those groups no longer exist. They were constantly blasted by what I call -- Drive by preaching. Someone would post a conversion message, then vanish before they could be blocked. It happened a lot. The groups died.
Being overly tolerant to Bible Bigots -- Islamic Bigots are the same -- will destroy this board. Arguing with them does no good at all. It only encourages them. The take away is simple. Don't feed the trolls.
|
|
|
Post by jonathanlobl on Aug 16, 2021 2:27:12 GMT -5
A few brief words on the Atheist and Agnostic Facebook groups. The ones that no longer exist. I did find them informative.
There was a trope on the Atheist boards. It kept coming up. If you had to pick a religion, which religion would you join? I was bored, so I said "Agnostic". I thought it was funny. The Atheists on the board lost their shit. No sense of humor. I left when I couldn't stand the pile on.
In like manner, I have been watching the You Tube videos. I find the Atheist videos have a lot more passion than the Agnostic videos.
There are intellectual distinctions to be made between Atheist and Agnostic. I find the cultural distinctions much clearer. The Atheists tend to care a whole lot more than the Agnostics. This is largely why I now prefer the Agnostic label. I still enjoy social chat. My passion for arguing is past.
One more point. As an Agnostic, I do find I catch crap from both hard core Atheists and believers alike. In life, I find the extremists are seldom right about anything.
|
|