Finally! a 'definition' of god that I understand.

O.K. you probably know how to spell criticise by now if you are not a slow learner.
The religious may not "constantly criticise" atheists, but they do claim exclusivity to morality and maybe that's what rankles. I recommend you read Sam Harris The Moral Landscape for an insight into a rational basis for morality.

I'm with Bags on this - I too respect people but not necessarily their ideas.

I have read them. I'm not being drawn any further into this.

BTW, I'm not trying to convert anyone to atheism. Especially not on this thread. It was really just a statement of delighted surprise on my part that I'd stumbled on something I found so delicious. As with other nice things about my life and thoughts, I wanted to share it on gransnet because that's what gransnet forums are for.

Anyone secure in their faith will not find anything I say offensive, though they may wish to give a different point of view, which is welcome, of course. That is what gransnet forums are for too.

I'm off to bed now

Read some of jings posts on this thread, ana. They are pretty mocking in tone. Personally too in some cases.

They're getting upset about it and about my talking about it. We,ve had religious missionaries for hundreds of years (still do) and that's OK apparently but when atheists talk about atheism and what it means that's not OK apparently. That's the comparison.

And of course, I'm not an atheist missionary because no-one has to read threads I start. Those GNers who know me know the sort of line I will take and could easily avoid them, but they are exactly the people who choose to take offence.

Essentially, they seem to me to be saying that I simply "shouldn't say such things." I disagree.

I don't see anyone mocking your, or anyone else's, lack of belief, Bags. Where's the comparison?

OK, so why can someone who is secure in their lack of belief not talk in the same way as someone who is secure in the beliefs that are being lampooned?

Religious privilege again?

caught up now.

come ON, I mean

So the PakistaniAtheist is a believer in Allah?

Come one, ana!

(My reply was to Elegran)

Yes. I'm sure I'm not splitting hairs. The same distinction, in a slightly different form, is used by the gransnet forum guidelines. The distinction between disrespecting people and disrespecting ideas/beliefs is perfectly clear.

But of course it was he himself who was mocking aspects of his faith, safe in his own belief.

Bags are you sure you are not splitting hairs?

Well yes it doesn't matter that much in the big scheme of things if people want to take a pop at religion. At least these days you won't get arrested and tortured on the wrack for it.

And it might even be doing Christians a favour!

I have just finished watching a documentary I recorded about Dave Allen. If it can still be found, I recommend it.

He was a genuinely religious man who ended his programmes with "May your god go with you" but he also included the most iconoclastic jokes and sketches lampooning religion.

It is possible to have a strong faith without feeling that god and belief must always be treated with kid gloves.

So... nobody has said yet why we can't be disrespectful of religions? Why we can't mock beliefs that we think are daft?

So far, this is one of the main ways scientific knowledge has progressed.

At one time it was disrespectful to religion to think the Earth was a sphere. Whoops.
At one time it was disrespectful to religion to think the Earth was not the centre of the universe. Whoops.
At one time it was disrespectful of religion to think that the solar system was not geo-centric. Whoops.

And on and on throughout history,

Disrespecting religious ideas has proved quite useful quite often.

Not disrespectful of people who believe in Allah. Disrespectful, perhaps (though that's arguable) of belief in Allah. Not the same.

Who was it mentioned po-facedness? Bang on.

Wrong, petallus. The person whom I am quoting from Twitter uses the word "He" in the OP. You are assuming you know which he.

I use the word god in the thread title. I do not mentioon any particular god. People assumed I was only referring to their own personal god. I was referring to anything that anyone understands as god.

Some people "got it". Some didn't. The ones who didn't decided to get on their high horses about it. As usual.

I repeat: why is religion so fragile?

Elegranit is true that the quote does not mention God but Bags does in the OP.

Anyway, doesn't the quote refer to Allah as it comes from Pakistani Atheists?

And the phrase 'inert gasbag' was from a poster who commented further down.

Incidentally I thought the poem was quite beautiful, the inert gasbag remark funny but also disrespectful to believers in Allah.

Thanks, galen. I value your opinion, and that of all the other interesting posters on this and other threads.

The snipers come with the territory, I guess. Hey ho.

It's good to be challenged though. I enjoy that.

I , as a Christian, am not in least bit offended.
Taken objectively, it is in fact a very witty definition!
Keep it up Bags.i for one enjoy your posts.

Oh Bags, you're so patronising witty...

I have just looked again at the quote referred to in the original post.

Nowhere is there any mention of any God. The language is reminiscent of that used in sermons or religious tracts, but also of that used in those inspirational talks given in hotel conference rooms by successful business men.

Anyone who inserted their own God into it did so out of their own minds. Someone was talking in a previous thread about setting up straw men to knock down. This is another invented cause for a fight.

Now I'm off to watch Lewis.

Sleep well.