I am of the opinion that there is no group that can hold a candle - candlestick if you prefer - to the materialists in terms of defaming, insulting and demeaning people of other belief systems. Call me biased, but I don't see the Jews, Christians, deists, true agnostics, etc. generally calling each other "stupid". Can someone please explain to me why materialists (with the exception of a couple of individuals such as Turok) are almost the opposite of all other groups? I'm trying not be prejudiced here, but I'm really struggling. (And, puh-leez, no whining: "It's cuzz of that street preacher that told me I was going to hell.") There's got to be a deeper reason, a certain personality type perhaps that is attracted to materialism? Or are the humanist leaders (B. Russell, Ted Turner, etc.) highly belittling and disrespectful individuals? Or maybe we're all missing the point: maybe the materialists are really vastly intellectually superior to all of us? Perhaps their arrogance is justified? Should we not just accept them as leaders and usher in a new age - pardon the expression - of peace and prosperity? Can our feeble intellects even contribute to any meaningful dialogue with them? I hope someone out there will help me with all these questions. I don't want to harbor ill will - I need to understand...
SSB, is your question, Why do materialists call each other stupid? Why do religious people NOT call each other stupid? Why are some people materialists and others are not? Or, what makes a person a materialist? I was not clear on it. Best regards, to
Aha! Your inability to understand my post further demonstrates my intellectual inferiority. I'm beginning to see... Actually, Rowenwood's "all beliefs are stupid poll/thread" inspired me to ask these questions. In other words, I'm asking why materialists see all other belief systems as idiotic and those involved as just plain - well, you put the adjective in here. And, again, I'm simply asking - I'm sure there's a perfectly logical and rational explanation...
OK....I'm officially lost.....What are any of you guys talking about? Or is the problem that I'm one of the 'stupid' ones?
Well Rowenwood's thread was the first thing that came to mind... and if you'll look in that thread, you'll notice that I didn't vote.....
I was merely being reflective and thought of the diehard materialists I've known over the years and they are very often like rowenwood, longshot, stu, gordon gekko, etc. (I'm assuming of course that these aren't all the same person.) I seriously got to thinking about it: why are they like that? There must be a reason. Help me - please - that's all I ask...
I guess what I'm saying is that I've observed that those who are genuinely agnostic, that is they think there's a reasonable chance that the deistic, "new age" or even theistic position is true, generally don't like to talk about religion but they are extremely respectful of others - often more so than my theistic brethren - unless they're the "seeker" type. But as you slide up toward atheism, the more insulting and demeaning the individual becomes. Is it something about the atheistic postion that makes a person this way? Or is it a weird humanist persecution complex? Or do they seriously think they're intellectually superior? (I do get that idea.) These are the q's I'm asking...
No, you're not stupid (then again, I'm biased towards you). SSB is posing the opposite question rowenwood asked in his poll. (For some reason I haven't been able to write tonight, I am leaving words out - so if you read something that I wrote that looks wrong, give me up to 60 minutes to correct the post.) to
You gotta be kidding, pal... Ever heard about religious wars, crusades, etc. These dudes are beyond defaming, they are more into killing each other. Fortunately, the human race has evolved enough to condemn such acts of violence, but this evolution has more to do with secular than religious enlightement.