More fun with unevidenced assertions...

[Zhade]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4268632

I swear, I try to keep calm about it, but sometimes it's maddening how people want to insist that their personal beliefs translate into factual truths.

Why is that? Why do some not understand that their personal belief doesn't constitute evidence? WHY?

[beam me up scottie]

1. Nice.

Let him go, he does far more to hurt his cause than we ever could.

Wind him up and hit record...

Good job, you are awesome.

There are a lot more of us than I thought...

Maybe I could get some help in the next Bigfoot thread.:evilgrin:

[Zhade]

2. Thanks. Like I said, I try to be calm.

He's a nice guy, just doesn't seem to get my point.

[beam me up scottie]

3. He is much more lucid

and polite than the ts'd dude who kept posting "evidence" of Bigfoot.
No amount of debunking and actual science could dent his skull.
It is difficult to argue atheism, faith requires no proof or evidence.
At least with Bigfoot I had a major amount of research to draw from.

But, like woo woos, if they insist the object of their belief is real and verifiable, the burden of proof falls on them.

[Zhade]

4. What's worse is when their evidence has been repeatedly debunked...

...yet they insist that it's still credible!

:rofl:

[eek MD]

5. Sheesh....

If there really was a god, she'd have to do a whole heck of a lot more than providing a grainy video of a statue in India drinking milk to get me to believe.

Maybe something like curing world hunger and disease....or ending war? Or maybe i'm just a demanding SOB... :)

[GOPFighter]

6. Well, that was a weird thread!

I can see how hucksters and grifters never seem to run out of customers.

And did you see the great Flying Spaghetti Monster made a cameo appearance in the thread? That myths got legs!

[beam me up scottie]

7. ROFL!!!

"That myths got legs"
:rofl:

[Zhade]

8. No, that myth's got noodles.

:D

[GOPFighter]

9. Right you are!

:toast: You sure did your best to set that dude straight.

[Zhade]

10. Actually, I feel I failed somewhat.

Not being a scientist, I can't readily explain the evidence that actual scientists have used to successfully debunk the ludicrous notion that statues somehow drank milk.

I feel like I made a poor showing, even though I'm correct.

[immoderate]

11. It was nice to see allies...

such as yourself and Commie Pinko Dirtbag that carry on the ideals of the Enlightenment. I sure don't think you made a poor showing, and not being able to convince that person (or get him to admit it) is no shame. Maybe he won't admit it, but we gave him something to think about.

I wanted to say, it's no big deal for statues to drink milk. If they gave us a cure for cancer, that would be a miracle.

--IMM

on edit: I didn't want appear to leave out Scottie, Eek, GOPFighter and many others from this forum who so often carry the torch of rationalism on this board. I see you guys in the fray, and I know my back is covered. Thanks.

[beam me up scottie]

12. Nice to see you too.

The first time I met you and Zhade and Beetwasher was when you guys came to my rescue after I spent hours defending our good name to Imenja and
I was about ready to give up.
It was like seeing the cavalry come over the hill!
:woohoo:

We all rock, IMO!

[immoderate]

13. Yeah, I left the milk drinker thread for a while...

and when I got back Zhade was all over that guy, and when I see you all, and suspending the self serving aspect, I say to myself, "That's what I would have said." AND IT'S NOT FROM TALKING POINTS!

(Tee-hee, you have a Freudian typo in your post. Intentional? LOL)

--IMM

[beam me up scottie]

14. ack!

Good catch, spell check wouldn't have caught that.
What is a calvary anyhoo?

[immoderate]

15. I really don't know, but it's religious...

I'll do a quick lookup -

1 : an open-air representation of the crucifixion of Jesus
2 : an experience of usually intense mental suffering

From my dictionary program. Still don't know what it means.

(I know it's rude to point out typos, but that was ironic. I won't report you to the Head Atheist.)

--IMM

[beam me up scottie]

16. Thanks!

I didn't want to have to turn in my badge!

[Zhade]

18. Imenja...the DUer who compared me to Nazis and Klansmen.

Nope, I haven't forgotten THAT bit of nastiness.

Hi, L! Hope all's well? :hi:

[beam me up scottie]

19. Yep,

that's her!

I'm coping, hope you're doing all right.
I'm waiting to hear back from my brother in Ramadi, so far so good.

[Zhade]

17. As far as I'm concerned, you ALL rock the house!

I learn and hone logic just by reading your posts - it's a pleasure to see the wheels turning.

:)

[immoderate]

20. Heh heh, you tore the milk guy apart!

He must be on strong anesthesia!

--IMM

[leftofthedial]

23. noodly appendages, to be correct

you could be cast into the fiery depths of lasagne for that kind of blasphemy

[Zhade]

25. "fiery depths of lasagne" - HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!111oneoneone!

I suppose, in the Greek version of the myth, Sisyphus would be pushing a giant meatball up a hill forever?

Mmmm, this religion is sounding tastier every day! :9

[Gelliebeans]

21. maybe it's a milk thing Zhade

:rofl:

[leftofthedial]

22. you mean you don't believe in IFF?

Parachutes and gliders disprove your "falling" theory . . .

;)

[Zhade]

24. Er...IFF?

Wasn't that the 'alternative theory' to gravity?

You're right, how could I be so blind???

:rofl:

[onager]

26. That was fun!

(As posted elsewhere, I am back in L.A. and mostly alive, despite 16 hours on airplanes. I got so bored I tried watching a couple of movies. Tip Of The Day: any third-world tyrant who needs a new instrument of torture should pick up a few copies of The Pacifier with Vin Diesel.)

One of the last touristy things I got to do in Egypt was visit the Graeco-Roman Museum.

That thread reminded me a little of something I saw there: the worship of the god Serapis in Egypt.

Now Serapis had all the things a God should have: a mammoth temple (the Serapeum in Alexandria), statues and icons all over the place, and a good marriage--to Isis, the goddess already venerated by Egyptians for thousands of years before the Greeks showed up circa 330 BCE.

And the whole flipping Serapis thing was made up out of whole cloth, on the spot, by King Ptolemy I. (Formerly Alexander The Great's general). Ptolemy needed a religion that would appeal to the conquered Egyptians and the new Greek settlers, so he just invented a belief system that would appeal to both groups.

Skip a couple of generations ahead, though, and I bet you had Serapis Fundamentalists talking just like the people in that thread: "I KNOW Serapis is real, dammit! He's a Certified God and he goes back to the dawn of time. And most important--I believe in him, therefore he exists!"

The same thing happened when the Aryans conquered India and invented Hinduism, for exactly the same reason--to pacify a conquered people.

It tickles me to think of these Ancient, Venerated Religions as nothing more than really old versions of $cientlogy...

There may not be a point here. I'm still jet-lagged. Or at least that's my excuse.

[Zhade]

27. Hey, I didn't realize you lived here!

We should do a meet-up sometime - I'd love to talk with some of you guys in person.

Glad you had a good trip!