Yet another example of "Yea, their legends and traditions are hoky and I wish they wouldn't peddle them, BUT DONT QUESTION MINE"

Ok Isak Hayes.

LMFAO. Oh Mr. Ben Stein! You make me laugh!

Let's get several things straight because you are only trying to provoke me in to some kind of heated post where I get angry and use profanity.

1 - I  am a weak atheist. I do not believe in any god(s) because there is no evidence that any of them existed or exist.

I admit I don't know every thing and that there are plenty of subjects out there in science and the universe which I will never know during my lifetime.

2 - I am a buddhist for one reason only. I practice the 4 noble truths and I find them to be truthful and testable. I don't care who said them, wrote them or taught them. I do not care for any of the writings and I discard any thing which is mythical for the same reasons I do of every thing else I read, hear or see.

3 - I do not worship the buddha(s) and they were not gods.

4 - I do not believe in any of the myths surrounding the story of the buddha(s).

5 - I believe that this life is an illusion. The reality which we create for the sake of our ego has us confused and only those who no longer have an ego can see through the illusion.

6 - I do not go around preaching, knocking on doors, telling others that they are wrong for thinking what they believe. I do however, when challenged, dispute others that say their god is real.

7 - I do take up your challenge that your way of life is best, that your belief system is rational and perfect. I do believe that you are wrong many times over and you are arrogant and stubborn. You refuse to have an open mind because you have labeled everything and created motifs which you use over and over in discussions.

8 - I believe in a life after death, but do not be confused with my belief of "life after death" as I do not believe that this body I am using is real. It is part of the illusion and will cease to exist while my mind (best word I could come up with) is the only thing that will continue on after death of the body. I can not prove this to any one or to myself. It is the one thing that I have rationalize for myself as being a possibility. I do not preach this to any one else nor do I believe every one will experience this after they pass.

9 - I believe you have beliefs of your own which you can not prove or rationalize. You can not prove them to yourself or to others. You do not know every thing about your life, my life, other lives, about science or this universe.

Thanks Mr. Ben Stein. Now go make another movie which completely sucks ass and then pass it off as a documentary so I can laugh at you hysterically.

This is what really pisses me off about atheism at times and that is it that it just doesn't seem to be enough with other atheists; some, not all.  It's not enough that we get flak from the douche bags on the religious side, but from our fellow non-believers for not having the EXACT SAME STANCE as them in every single regard philosophically, morally, emotionally, physically, etc.  Case in point, digital makes a small blog post about "bible thumpers" slithering through his neighborhood trying to spread lies to people that would rather sleep and/or spend their time on this Earth doing something fun and meaningful.  Then, out of left field comes a passive criticism from another atheist that doesn't make any sense.  Yeah, digital believes in some of the Buddhist teachings, but he's stated many times that he doesn't believe in anything supernatural, no gods, demi-gods, prophets, NONE OF IT.  Atheism means "no belief in any god of any kind" so, when did it become such a big deal that an atheist just so happens to adopt a few pieces of moral beliefs from another system?  Digital doesn't evoke any omnipotence when it suits him and he doesn't take shit at face value when confronted with the universal "big questions," either, or, at least, I've never seen him do that.  I've noticed Brian37 go back and forth with digital on this issue a few times with regards to his moral standings and Buddhism and, in all honesty, it's just stupid.  He's an atheist, whether he says he's a "weak one" or not; he's still a friggin' atheist. 

I don't mean to go off the rails or try too hard to defend a position of atheism that seems multifaceted that I'm sure many other non-believers subscribe to or even try to be a "white knight" for digital; I just get sick of the nitpicking.  The day digital, and guy's like him, decide to start believing in gods again, then we can bust out the pitchforks and torches, but until that day, just knock it all the fuck off. 

And people keep missing my point which I AM AT EVERYONE, which I have aimed at pantheists and Lum's Mayan stuff, and even at atheists postulating the transporter. Why should his claims be any different?

I don't care that he claims he doesn't believe in a god. I am saying that claiming to be a Buddhist is merely his predilection and is NOT a requirement for evolution to occur and BUDDHA was not the inventor of morality because he liked the pretty words Buddha wrote.

Evolution was around before all our modern cultures and will be around after we die. "I am not like the others" is a dodge. If he suddenly came to the conclusion he didn't need hold the label "Buddhist" his life would still go on, and he could still do the things he is currently doing without it. There are 7 billion people on this planet and most are not Buddhist.

STOP IT! No one has pitchforks here. But don't try to sell me that because most Buddhists don't believe in a god does not mean that they don't have rituals and superstitions that DO govern their lives. Most of the Asian world is Buddhist and you can find plenty of superstitions in their cultures REGARDLESS. Statues protecting their houses from demons, numbers they avoid using, homopathy(sp).

No different than an atheist here in the states who says "yea, there is no god, but little green men did visit us".

THERE IS MORE TO MYTH THAN GODS, SUPERSTITIONS ARE PART OF RITUAL REGARDLESS, and I am NOT singling him out merely because i say he doesn't get a pass "just because".

Brian and Bob especially know damned well how fair I am to everyone. No one is demanding he stop being a Buddhist for merely suggesting he doesn't need to be one. No one is calling for his arrest for merely saying, "Buddha didn't invent morality, he merely successfully marketed pretty words people liked:."

Where people's natural empathy come in is that Buddhist are a minority in America. And we have natural empathy for the images of oppression of Tibet because of China. But, people stupidly think that because China has no officially sanctioned religion that they are not religious. THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE in China are what religion?.......................Please don't lie because the question wasn't "officially sanctioned", the question is "if surveyed."

This natural empathy for wanting to protect the minority or the oppressed is well intended, but it does not take into account the long term picture of power shifting over time in evolution. Being Buddhist has NEVER stopped human conflict. Asia in it's history has never been immune to war anymore than the rest of our species.

It is also what allows the conflict in Palestine and Israel to fester. But sides point to the outsider, use passive aggressive behavior to point the finger at the other and go "I'm the oppressed" or "I am special".

My not giving him a pass is for the same reason I don't give anyone a pass "just because".

There is sympathy for the minority which is what is going on here, but that is evolutionary. HOWEVER it misses the evolutionary long term aspect that we DO NOT see ourselves as merely local in groups, vs out groups. Because we don't collectively recognize that, we can and often do repeat the mistake of "virtue of the oppressed" to go on in the future to become the oppressor.

NOW AGAIN when anyone of any label can point to me where there was a point in our human history where we never had some sort of war or oppression of a minority, I will give you a Nobel Prize, but Buddhism doesn't get a pass and it's history has not been immune to human nature just because we RIGHTFULLY have empathy for the oppressed.

People think I don't know what I am doing here and want to paint me falsely as a drooling bloodthirsty demon with a pitchfork. No, not going to work. Being blunt and blasphemous does not mean I have a pitchfork. It merely means it makes YOU uncomfortable. But that does not mean evolution is going to make ANYONE OF US SPECIAL.

No one is, not you, not me not Digital. We are special to ourselves and we far to often emotionally as a species mistake our predilections as being the greatest thing since sliced bread, when in reality, when you take the SAMPLE RATE OF OUR EVOLUTION over a long period, the conclusion is, it is just one predilection in a long line of human invented predilections.

Sage, and Digital, do both yourselves a favor and read "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins and "The New Atheism" By Victor Stinger. And "Why People Believe Weird Things" Micheal Shermer. These are NOT mere laypersons like me. They give US a evolutionary reason, a biological reason, as to why we mistake our predilections as being the inventor of morality. Our species has constantly done this instead of what we really should be doing is seeing it as "in group vs out group". Far too often we take our rituals, and project them on the out group because the placebo works for us, and when that ritual gets challenged by the minority or the out group, the group reacts to that threat.

I DO NOT expect the world to bow to me, but merely saying "No one deserves a pedestal" is not a crime nor does it make me evil. It merely means you are not used to the questioning.

And another thing, because I did this too when I was too emotionally sensitive as a kid, even when someone's criticism was to help me, I would passively aggressively try to demonize them because I was too immature to see it as mere criticism.

BUT THAT is what our species does when the apple cart is upset and our patterns we value, get challenged.

Ditigital has every legal and human right under the laws of our government to hold his label. But I am not talking about his human rights. I am challenging his idea that because he found something he likes, that makes Buddha the inventor of evolutionary morality and that is simply not the case. He merely wrote some pretty words that Digital likes. THIS ATTITUDE of passive aggressive "virtue of the oppressed" .

Didgital " Buddha is the greatest thing since sliced bread"

Me, "No he is not"

Digital "YOU HATE ME"

Me, "No, I merely hate that fact that humans take a club and think it is special"

1. The right to hold a claim and make a claim IS NOT THE ISSUE

2. The ability to demonstrate the credibility of a claim IS THE ISSUE.

Since we can all go into a biology science class, regardless of our labels, and learn entropy and evolution, and DNA and black holes, ect ect ect, proves my point that all he has is a predilection, otherwise Buddhism OR ANY LABEL FOR THAT MATTER, would go beyond that and it would be as pragmatic and universal as scientific method.

Now, take that same example conversation and replace "Buddhist" with "Christian" with "Hindu" with "Communist" with "Socialist', with "White" with "black" with "Hispanic" with "American" with "Japanese" ect ect ect.

THEN THINK ABOUT A TIME IN HUMAN HISTORY when we didn't have human conflict, when we didn't have natural disasters. When death didn't exist. When you take the FULL SCOPE OF HUMAN EVOLUTION, the only rational conclusion is that people merely like their labels because they find them comforting.

I do get tired of being falsely accused of being a bigot for merely saying "Your claims do not deserve a pedestal".

I was wondering if any one else was watching, but I let it roll off me when he keeps pushing the same stuff over and over.

He's very stubborn and ignorant.

You keep hurting my feelings. You are big bad brute who likes to stomp on other people's beliefs. I'm very sad and I spent last night crying in my room under the blankets with my little red bear.

I'm going to start a new religion. It will be called Brian37ism and we shall all worship the all-knowing and mighty Brian37 for his superior skills of logic and debate.

Brian37 "Why don't you listen to me, I'm right and you are wrong"

Digital "I hate you"

Brian37 "You are labeling me"

Digital "All hail the great and might Brian37! The supreme labeler of the universe!"

Ok, if you are saying you are a big boy, then stop accusing me of stupid things like being a troll or being a hateful bigot because you are NOT afraid of me, no one should be in any case. You are simply fine with picking on the claims of others, but like most people draw a line at your own claims. If you pick on claims, which IS what you are doing, then treat what I do to YOU as picking on your claims and NOT YOU personally.

Othrwise you really DO need a little cheese with your whine.

I am picking on their beliefs, not their rights, there is a difference. Much like my mom doesn't like all the things I do and just like you don't like the things other people do.

CLAIMS are not people, CLAIMS are positions people hold.

LMAO... bigot? or bigidiot?

I haven't picked any thing in a long time, well, ok, I still pick my nose some times. You know. When you got one of those hard boogers which don't come out even though you blew your nose so hard it bled? So you stick you finger way up there and turn it around and around while trying to scrape it with your nail, but you clipped your nail so your finger tip is all smooth? So all you end up doing is massaging your brain.

I don't drink whine but I bet you do.

I don't give two shits and a piss about every one else. They are free to think about any thing they want; including fuck face jean and you.

If a person says to me, "my god exists" or "my god is best" I don't really care, but if they put it out there for me to test, if it is a challenge... then sure I'll give it a go and shove it back in their face. You on the other hand, if some one just voices their opinion and you see their opinion, you get your hands out of your ass and then start fling shit at them. You are an opinionated, arrogant, self centered, hypocrite; and while you might not think you are this way, it's the way I view you, and that's my opinion like it or not.