Excellent essay

Mmmm, none of those things mollie.

For me it's simply the absence of a belief in God.

Incidentally, I have not read the thread in the OP.

I've done this kind of thing to death, twice, in the last twenty years and now can't be bothered.

I didn't think my post was particularly rude and I'm astonished that anyone who expresses herself as robustly as Bags took exception to it. And I would suggest that it is not up to other Gransnetters to rebuke me, or anyone else, for what is perceived as rudeness. I think constantly banging on about the absurdity of faith is unkind in the extreme when it has been pointed out, over and over, that people find it upsetting. But it isn't PERSONALLY rude or unkind so it doesn't count!

Agree entirely.

Me too.

petallus, I haven't said I was hurt or insulted because I wasn't. I just said I thought lily telling me to put a sock in it was rude, which it is. She doesn't need to read this thread. She could see I started it. She knows what to expect. She just doesn't want me to speak about atheism.

I'm not sure lily could hurt or insult me. She can be rude but she she can be rude to just anyone. I guess I will just have to ignore her.

Actually, the essay is more about reasoning than anything. The subject happens to be religion/atheism but it could have been something else.

I was going to suggest that people who don't think atheism belongs with religion and spirituality should ask for a different forum for it, such as philosophy, or atheism/agnosticism, or the range of views from faith to non-faith. At the moment there isn't an alternative.

soop and I, both atheists, were talking about meditation today and how we do it. Some people would put that under the spiritualism heading.

I'm not sure putting atheism in a differently titled forum would help lily though. I've a feeling she'd fox out my atheist posts and mention socks rudely again.

soop mentioned socks too today, and gave me some old ones to recycle into temari.

I did suggest a philosphy forum, further up on this thread. I think that on balance I'd put meditation (which I also practise!) under that heading, as although it can be linked to religion that's by no means always the case.

I will put in a request to GNHQ.

Quite happy with meditation in the 'spirituality' section.

Anyway, I can't make my request because when I clicked on Contact Gransnet a message came up saying 'the default mail client is not properly installed'!! So someone else will have to do it...if they want.

I'm not doing it. #headdown

The Jesus and Mo take on Sacks' article

Ooh! I wonder how I managed to underline that!?

Oh.

I didn't.

You could always just email HQ from your usual email prog, ana. [email protected], I think.

Just seen your post, feetle. I think it means the cartoon is based on what Sacks wrote (and which the article I linked to demolished with rational argument).

I've asked

Ah! Never thought of that, Bags...I knew there must be another way. Thanks, petallus.

When all else fails - read the instructions. GN is quite clear that in the Religion and Spirituality thread, posts are welcome 'of all religions and none'.

Quite. Thanks, bluebell.

The next thing will be that someone will ask "Is atheism a religion?"

To which the answer is another question: "Is the TV off mode a channel?"

(The person on twitter who as the first question then replied "Fuck you", to which the teapot replied with great amusement and said it had made his day).



For me atheism is for analysing how religion works, why it has and wants to have political influence, and discussing/arguing such issues.

If that's the case, presumably Bags will continue to use it as a platform for going on and on and on about the unacceptability of faith of any kind. And I shall probably go on telling her to give it a rest.

Good pounce, lily! I knew I could rely on you.

Why would you want to 'analyse how religion works' if you think it is nonsense? Unless you are out to ridicule the simple-minded believers?

For me, atheism is about rejecting something I grew up with and sometimes I miss the fellowship of the churches I once attended. But I concluded that I no longer need the 'crutch' of religion and just got on with it. I prefer to call myself a humanist which has a more positive connotation than atheist.

Why does any person want to analyse any knd of belief or behaviour? It's what we do, an attempt to understand each other.