The Bthiest
Offline Well, This is my first post here. Don't worry I'm not going to do a bunch of thiest slander, and sacobable.
I am probably the first bthiest. Well at least the first to realize it. let me take you through it. What happens when you mesh reality with escape stories of suspense, and unfasmable beauty? We you get metaphors, such powerful metaphors that people start talking them seriously, their brain takes the feelings over the logical outcome of their 5 senses, this is the basis of the problems of religion, and this is everything athiesm stands against.
I am a person who was brought up in a life style where I was aloud any belief, my father is a rooted solid athiest (his dad was a orthodox priest), and my mom doesn't know what she is (Still techniquely prodistant), and neither of them have tried to influence my outlook. I went to church and Sunday school with some christian friends, or my grandmother. I found church incredibly boring, where as things like Greek and Roman gods were a lot more interesting to me. Even more interesting then that was the GIGANTIC reptiles that used to walk around. They could get bigger then elephants, and a elephant was the biggest (land) animal I'd ever seen, I was fascinated by dinosaurs. Needless to say, when your a kid YOU GO WITH WHAT IS FUN/GO WITH THE CROWD.
I have been very lucky to not have had people IMPOSING beliefs on me, I've always been so lucky to have them 'presented' to me, I'm not like many people here, who would get slapped with a bible for telling their mom they don't think Jesus was born to a virgin. So my views have never been hindered, or repressed.
So what is Bthiesm already?
I don't want to hear what you think, I want to hear what you know.
you have a place in your mind for pondering, and you have a place in your mind for facts.
Fact: The ball is round.
Ponder: Everything contains a binaric spark that decides from birth, whether it is a evil existance, or a good existance.
The idea behind bthiesm is maintaining the line between fact and metaphorical ponder. Athiesm works for many people, as I can see, you have no reason to spend time thinking about things that JUST DON'T EXIST.
With Bthiesm, you have the right to believe whatever you want, and it does not inflict with your logical process like with many fundamentalists. I have a hyper-active imagination/I smoke a lot of weed, and i like the feeling, that some beliefs bring me, I like the glory, I like the unrelenting irony, I like how rediculously funny beliefs can get, and I like how they can bring me to a consensus on the things that go bump in the night.
One fact a bthiest has to remeber is, a truth is a truth, and we share them together, and your belief, or spirituality, is entirely your own. Yes one may find connections between the two, but it has to be realized that these metaphors are only to be though or seen, but not acted upon, they are simply facilitating the extensive evolution of a human brain. These metaphors are connective membranes of information, not the information itself.
athiest x DIY thiest=Bthiest
Lets stop comparing apples to rubix cubes already.
PS, Please don't delete this, I am not a thiest, if you don't understand, I'd be happy to reiderate.
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Psst...
Isaac Asimov, whom I consider to have had one of the most vivid imaginations in the 20th century, was an atheist. Einstein, who was constantly talking in metaphor, was an atheist. One of the most outspoken atheists in the world, Richard Dawkins, is a master of metaphor.
Back in the day, when I was a D&D geek, I could think up some pretty amazing plot lines with all sorts of non-realistic stuff.
You can call yourself whatever you like, but I'd be just as happy if you admit that atheists have imagination, kthx.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
http://hambydammit.wordpress.com/
Books about atheism
I think what you are trying to advocate here is what Stephen J. Gould termed non-overlapping magisteria or in simpler terms...Science has nothing to say about religion and religion has nothing to say about science since they are wholly separate endeavors. Here is the Wiki entry on it for a more accurate portrayal.
"In his book Rocks of Ages, Gould put forward what he described as "a blessedly simple and entirely conventional resolution to ... the supposed conflict between science and religion."[44] He defines the term magisterium as "a domain where one form of teaching holds the appropriate tools for meaningful discourse and resolution"[44] and the NOMA principle is "the magisterium of science covers the empirical realm: what the Universe is made of (fact) and why does it work in this way (theory). The magisterium of religion extends over questions of ultimate meaning and moral value. These two magisteria do not overlap, nor do they encompass all inquiry (consider, for example, the magisterium of art and the meaning of beauty)."[44]
In his view, "Science and religion do not glower at each other...[but] interdigitate in patterns of complex fingering, and at every fractal scale of self-similarity."[44] He suggests, with examples, that "NOMA enjoys strong and fully explicit support, even from the primary cultural stereotypes of hard-line traditionalism" and that it is "a sound position of general consensus, established by long struggle among people of goodwill in both magisteria."[44]
A similar position has been adopted by the National Academy of Sciences. Its publication Science and Creationism states that "Scientists, like many others, are touched with awe at the order and complexity of nature. Indeed, many scientists are deeply religious. But science and religion occupy two separate realms of human experience. Demanding that they be combined detracts from the glory of each."[45]"
Richard Dawkins in the God Delusion basically debunked this claim. While this NOMA idea is a variation of conceeding a point to religion so that they can gain acceptance of Science's truths, Gould has done himself a disservice to not realize that Faith, unfounded beliefs, and religion in general are constantly crossing the line of scientific facts to replace them with their dogmatic beliefs. Examples. Stem cell research and abortion are huge debates on what is primarily a scientific and personal, medical judgement call, but some people believe a third soul is sucked into the room before a man can roll off a woman and light up a smoke. These ideas do matter.
You write:
"With Bthiesm, you have the right to believe whatever you want, and it does not inflict(conflict I assume) with your logical process like with many fundamentalists. I have a hyper-active imagination/I smoke a lot of weed, and i like the feeling, that some beliefs bring me, I like the glory, I like the unrelenting irony, I like how rediculously funny beliefs can get, and I like how they can bring me to a consensus on the things that go bump in the night.
One fact a bthiest has to remeber is, a truth is a truth, and we share them together, and your belief, or spirituality, is entirely your own. Yes one may find connections between the two, but it has to be realized that these metaphors are only to be though(thought I assume) or seen, but not acted upon, they are simply facilitating the extensive evolution of a human brain. These metaphors are connective membranes of information, not the information itself."
On the surface this seems to be a very live and live mentality accepting of all peoples beliefs and spirituality where a truth is truth, and the metaphors(I am assuming positive biblical parables, allegories, or other religious ideas) are only thoughts that may help us find a connection between the truth and spirituality and are not meant to be taken literally. One problem with this utterly Utopian view of the real world is that people do take things like exorcising demons, cutting off the protective sheath of one's penis as a covenant with God, and a coming apocalyptic showdown between good and evil as very, very real. I don't think you need to make a half-hearted apology of theism via "athiest x DIY thiest=Bthiest" to be able to enjoy Marijuana enhanced philosophical ponderings on the nature of the universe. It sounds a little bit to me that you don't want to give up some irrational ideas because you have fun exploring them in your mind, which is fine, I think the message of "you can shit in your own cereal as long as you don't shit in mine" applies nicely here.
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” Yoda
Yeah thats what I think too. My dad went in Isaac Asimov's class in university, until he got drafted and moved to canada.
I know what you mean, its just a label. But, the way I see athiesm on it self, is strictly reality and fact base. Anything that 'can't be disproven', is irelevent.
I call It bthiesm, because, just because you don't know, doesn't mean that pondery, metaphory, part of the brain has no right to talk. It's still bemusing. Just remembering the difference between your own thoughts, and realities action.
Hahaha, I can see how my words are so corruptable, like if more then one person were to believe a though, that gives it some part reality to them or some bull shit. But thats why we taste, smell, feel, hear, and see. Also, one must remember when stuff they 'see' on phycedelic inhibitors, is simply a mix of their bthoughts too.
Exactly, why the fuck do I care about somebody cutting there dick off.
I don't want that much shit in my cerial.
Dunno about you, but... I was never given the choice of either having an anteater(uncircumcised) or going without a turtleneck(circumcised) so I would say in a way most guy's cereals, at least in America, have already been shat in even if they weren't the children of religious parents. Circumcision is a covenant with God and while it is an extremely common mutilation with many adverse side effects, it is now widely and blindly accepted in the medical field as something that is just routinely done mainly out of the concern of increasing cleanliness(possibly reducing cancer) with no respect to the sexual consequences(of which there are many) of the child.
“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” Yoda
It's incredibly unclear what exactly a "btheist" is supposed to be. Are you suggesting that atheists don't have any imagination? Perhaps you don't understand what atheism actually is. Not all atheist are even strict materialists.
Could you clarify what a btheist is?
I'm sure there's a word out there that means "I don't believe in any religion but I still think it's possible that weird shit happens that can't be explained by science".
Oh, yeah, it's called ignorance.
However, just because atheists reject magical thinking doesn't mean we don't have imaginations. Personally I love books about fantasy creatures and magic spells and such. For instance, right now I'm reading the Dresden Files series of light novels. They're great! But that doesn't mean that I think vampires exist, or circles can hold magic power like batteries, or that things that go bump in the night might be a dead relative.
There's no harm in enjoying flights of fancy (as long as you are aware it is fantasy), and it is not at all a conflict with holding a strict atheistic stance.
PS. Please use spell-check. It's reeeeally important when you're high.
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I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting. But it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously.
- Douglas Adams, Salmon of Doubt
I also think that crazy things can happen, like anti-gravity or magnetism. But what ever happens in this universe will always be based on reality, and never nothing supernatural...
Slimm,
OK. Simply put, there are no walls but one. If someone says something like 'god', its a general term for everthing so simply put,
I believe in god, I don't know theres a god, and I don't care about nothing but how rediculous the journey may be to knowing the answer, ( which i already 'know' will be paradox in the end. ) I think I'm on the wrong forums.
If you want to open your eyes to the real world, then you are on the right forum. If you want to stick your head up your butt and pretend you have invisible friends, then you may want to go somewhere else.
It's called the "Rational Response Squad" for a reason. It's about being rational.
I hope you stick around and think about the responses you get to your posts.
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I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting. But it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously.
- Douglas Adams, Salmon of Doubt
Unnecessary term is unnecessary.
Yeah your on the right forum if you love being exposed to, talking about, and living the reality of reality...
Maybe not. Starting with the assumption of a god and trying your best to find it is usually the best way to atheism.
Also, did your father move to Quebec? Your English seems to have a francophone flavour. That's definitely not an insult - my French is so terrible that it wouldn't just be my spelling that you'd notice.
Saint Will: no gyration without funkstification.
fabulae! nil satis firmi video quam ob rem accipere hunc mi expediat metum. - Terence
Hahaha. No BC man, Its all the weed I smoke that helps me talk that way.
Well I shouldn't say I believe in god, as a athiest would see god. I fully agree with Richard Dawkins logic, on how this universe could not have a god because it all occured organicly, took gradual steps of refinement. Where as the whole basis behind most religious gods is a fully omnicient being in full concious control of the whole process, and that creations and destructions can happen on a whim.
But (calling myself a bthiest again (AND YES, I see the grammar problem with starting a paragraph with but, but suck my nuts)), I have to ask, what does the world god even mean? Its been whored up so much that Its a direct name to one thing now. I want to call myself a Bthiest, because I like to toy with the meaning of god. "god is flowing through that mans hands when he plays that guitar solo", and my interpretation of god there is such perfect refinement of life, that it mimics death to yin emptinesses yang, blah blah blah blah, blah blah...
I just want to expose fundamentalist in a different way is all. Its to prove a point that its time to evolve mentally, even phycotic people like me don't have to hinder themselves behind stuff they know not to be true, with my long complicated concept, like a retarded theory of relativity...
It sounds like you're talking about metaphors. Some things are so beautiful or amazing that we can't help but think of them as heavenly or god-like. It's just the language we use. If you want, you can say something like "God is flowing through his hands", but if you know it's a metaphor and not literal then you are still being rational. You can even have an image in your mind of a radiance surrounding the artist, flowing into his instrument and out into the world, but as long as you know that is just your imagination, you are still being rational. On the other hand, if you honestly think that nobody could play like that, or paint like that, or have a body like that, without supernatural intervention, then you've crossed the line.
And I have seen some heavenly bodies...
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I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting. But it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously.
- Douglas Adams, Salmon of Doubt
You mean like "not see god"? Weird sentence, dude. That's not a grammar critique, that's just a weird sentence.
So you want "God" to mean ... "whatever"? Why do you need to believe in adding an extra layer to everything? Why not just believe in everything? I mean, everything's right there, and "god is glowing through that man's hands" is more of an expression than actually stating that there is a god, and god flows, etc.
Certainly psychotic people have a hard time figuring out what's fact from fantasy (after all, they're psychotic) but what does this have to do with fundamentalists or your belief in god (or "whatever"
?
Saint Will: no gyration without funkstification.
fabulae! nil satis firmi video quam ob rem accipere hunc mi expediat metum. - Terence