This quote came from a fundie

[hyphenate]

"I love all animals. Except for the snakes, because the devil made them."

Said person also believes in creationism, the "End of Days" and all that other apocalyptic crap.


Who can possibly argue with that kind of logic?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. That person isn't using logic.

Don't waste your breath on him/her.

There is no reasoning with that sort of idiot.

[hyphenate]

9. Yeah, I know

I knew her for over 20 years. I became highly concerned with her behavior at times. But there is very little you can say about someone who becomes involved in that kind of dubious cult. Unfortunately, the last asshat who was president gave a lot of attention to that crap, and unfortunately, it has colored the amount of exaggerated extremism in general.

How are you, Peggy? Hope all is well.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

13. I'm good, thanks, my dear hyphenate!

I hope things are good with you too...

[handmade34]

2. that is not logic!

fundamentalism is irrational and believers are unable to cope with reality.

[hyphenate]

10. And this woman

has a Master's in Special Education. I suggested she use it to look at her own life and why she turned into such a waste of space. She told me that I had "a lot of hatred" in me, and that her beliefs kept her calm and collected. :shrug: I guess I'd rather be mad as hell and hating idiots than calm and cool, and with shit for brains.

I never finished my degree program, but I think I can think more for myself than many of the morons who come out of "schools" like Falwell's university

[handmade34]

11. Education and intelligence

don't necessarily indicate logic and critical thinking skills. My mother (now 83) is a very intelligent woman but also a Fundamentalist Christian. It is true that fundamentalist use their beliefs to keep "calm" in a often harsh world... they cannot cope with the real world and have escaped into their religion... these psychotic beliefs manifest in different ways; abuse, inability to be rational or logical, etc... they can never be reasoned with and it does no good to try to discuss many issues

That being said, I studied at seminary and wanted to become a minister (my husband died and I left). I think the church can be valuable for community, but as they operate today, many times are failing. "Christians" that understand history and "their story" can be wonderful, loving and rational.I have met many wonderful people of faith in my travels. I went to work in a Congregational Church in St. Johnsbury Vermont a number of years ago and my first day the pastor and I were talking and he maintained that fundamentalists Christians and some of the most dangerous people in a society... (the big mega churches are an example)

Good luck with this woman... best to avoid her or always shy away from topics that get her going

Welron Gaddy is always a delight to hear and read...
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/c_welton_gaddy/

Rev. Mitchell Hay of Vermont was one of my inspirations

[patrice]

3. Is God all-powerful? So, according to your friend there's some things that

God doesn't have power over.

Are these evil things capable of doing evil because they have more power than God? or is it because God lets them?

I guess you have to get her to talk about her definition (ha!) of God first, or at least describe God some, in order to establish that, conventionally, God is thought to be omnipotent, i.e. have power over all things, which then raises the question of how evil could not be part of God's will.

BTW, I believe that there are such things as good and evil, but just that they are human constructs.

[hyphenate]

15. I think a lot of people who are "into"

this branch of Xtianity can't understand that the things they believe in are as far from the ideals of Jesus Christ that he would be trying to avoid them if they had been around in his day. In fact, there are many quotes in the babble that are aimed at people like them, but it is not something they can figure out, due again to their fanaticism. The truth is, if I believed in a god myself, I can see just about everyone in the world being accepted into heaven except these people.

As writer Isaac Asimov (a famous atheist) once said: “If I am right, then will not go to Heaven, because there is no Heaven. If THEY are right, then they will not go to Heaven, because they are hypocrites.”

“If I were not an atheist, I would believe in a God who would choose to save people on the basis of the totality of their lives and not the pattern of their words. I think he would prefer an honest and righteous atheist to a TV preacher whose every word is God, God, God, and whose every deed is foul, foul, foul.”

[dimbear]

4. I would explain that he/she is confused by the ancient fertility god that shows up in Genesis.

Nothing to do with the devil at all. Should be a popular discussion.

[Ninjaneer]

5. Reminds me of the Islamic aversion to dogs. Apparently they're "dirty". eom

[sakabatou]

6. I seem to remember that it was God that made snakes

Oh yes, Genesis 3:14.

[ZombieHorde]

7. You are correct. nt

[hyphenate]

8. Well, you are aware

that fundies don't give a shit about some of the things in the babble (even if they insist otherwise)--they pick and choose which parts they want to follow, and the hell with almost everything else. :/

Snakes are actually quite useful--they devour quite a few small mammals in order to keep the population down. And while I've never owned one, my brother did when he was younger, and I know a lot more people who own them. Once, at a convention many years ago, one of our roommates kept a python in the top drawer of the bureau in the hotel room. Peaceful thing--he pretty much stayed dormant the whole weekend.

But evil? Naw. Just less involved by mammalian standards.

[Interzone]

14. Well, "moderates" pick and choose as well,

even moreso than fundamentalists. I just don't see how anyone can ignore whole chunks of the bible and call themself a Christian. The fanatics of the Middle East are more honest about their faith than any Christian I know. In a twisted way, I respect them for that.

[handmade34]

16. twisted... yes

dangerous ideology deserves no respect

[Interzone]

17. Did I

say that I respected dangerous ideology? No. But guess what, Christianity is a prime example of a "dangerous ideology." That the bible's been watered down by secularism and science is not my problem, but when I hear a moderate Christian complaining about how fundamentalists aren't representative of the true "spirit of the bible," I know that person is full of shit. Shows a complete lack of moral and intellectual integrity. What that person should do is let his/her logic run it's natural course, upon which they'll come to realize that Christianity (or any other religion for that matter) is a hoax. If they're not willing to do this, the VERY least they can do is own up to the fact that their holy texts ARE dangerous and extremist at their core. None of this wishy washy crap. So yes, in a way, I'm responding directly to your assertion that "fundamentalism is irrational and believers are unable to cope with reality." Of course fundamentalists are irrational, but so are MODERATES, perhaps even moreso.

[DeadEyeDyck]

12. 21 May 2011

tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock,tick-tock zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz