Man Shits Self to Death For Jesus
Offline COLUMBIA, South Carolina (NBC) -- Believing his faith would heal him, a Greenwood County, South Carolina man sat down in his recliner after an injury in March and never got up. On Thursday, his wife explained why he stayed in the recliner until shortly before he died. "The man totally believed in God and his healing," said Ada Webb. In March, Webb's 550-pound husband, Tillmon, sat down in a recliner inside their trailer in Greenwood. Wearing nothing but a blanket, the 33-year-old didn't move from that recliner for the next eight months.
To be fair to Pineapple, I should also include this quote. "They were gonna give him an appointment, but they wanted $300 up front, and we didn't have the money," said Webb."
So, instead of, you know... taking a collection from church, or calling family members to ask for help, or going to a free clinic, or the emergency room, or SOMETHING... he sat in his chair for eight months, read the Bible, prayed for healing, and told everybody about how wonderful Jesus was for the healing he was going to receive.
But this is not an example of faith causing people to do irrational things. Had he been a rationalist and an atheist, he would have sat in his chair for eight months telling everybody that his ankle was going to magically heal itself. It was completely about three hundred dollars. No influence from faith at all. He would have done exactly the same thing in any case.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
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Wow. Just wow.
That's so nasty. Another one for the Darwin awards. How ironic that he figured he could use his being healed to testify on behalf of god. Instead the absence of said god was the demonstration given.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
But you can still see the face of Jesus in one of the dried up terds. So he still got his miracle.
http://weeklyworldnews.com/headlines/13823/tillmon-webb/
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Actually, to make things clear, not it wasn't and isn't my position that faith has no effects on people and that a person in the same situation that was rational would have done the same thing.
What I am getting at is that some people are just plain irrational. That's a fact. You can train and train somebody to be a rationalist atheist but no avail. Atheism does not guarentee rationalism, and some will just plain fight rationalism every step of the way. [see astrology homeopathy etc...]
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Oh and to make it clear, I'm not saying faith had nothing to do with this.
Everyone who helps spread the 'meme' that faith works, including the idiot who said even if it is "as small as a mustard seed", shares blame for this.
Favorite oxymorons: Gospel Truth, Rational Supernaturalist, Business Ethics, Christian Morality
"Theology is now little more than a branch of human ignorance. Indeed, it is ignorance with wings." - Sam Harris
The path to Truth lies via careful study of reality, not the dreams of our fallible minds - me
From the sublime to the ridiculous: Science -> Philosophy -> Theology
This guy could afford to eat his way to 550 pounds but could not afford to go to the doctor?
How much do you have to chaw through each day to stay 550 pounds...
Ed: Meaning
"Experiments are the only means of knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination." Max Planck
One lesson is ... have money.
... 8 months? WOW... that must have been one muthafuckin comfy chair!
I think it's a pant-warming story.
Spanish Inquisition... Comfy chair... it all adds up
I dont know who is more insane him or his wife, i'd say they are equally retarded.
Anyone that listened to this guy should of figured he was just full of it.
Yeah, we get that. I have said many times that atheism doesn't equal rationality. We need to learn how to utilize our intelligence better, doing so will not leave room for beliefs like religion, astrology, or anything involving sitting in a chair for 8 months.
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Which is why I always stress that atheism isn't a starting point for me. It's the conclusion that makes the most sense when I begin with rationalism. Atheism is a conclusion.
For some reason, Pineapple has a problem with the concept that teaching, encouraging, and literally glorifying rationalism wouldn't improve the human condition. I find that baffling, and sadly defeatist. Rationalism is worth glorifying. It does glorious things! People make the correct decisions based on the evidence, and not emotional woo-woo.
Or... maybe she hasn't thought of it this way. She keeps talking about what to "replace religion" with, and I wonder if it's occurred to her that faith is a worldview, not a practice. Replacing faith with rationalism leaves plenty of room for potluck dinners, social clubs, and all the psychological supports that keep people emotionally involved with the practice of religion. It's just that nobody has to pray before meals, and gee... we can let the gays get married.
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 never said don't teach/encourage rational thinking. I'm just saying, don't expect it to stop people from doing stupid things. About what 56% of Europeans believe in God? Well, 41% think astrology is science and 33% think homeopathy is science. For the record, the former is on the the decline in many places, while the latter along with other New age woo woo is on the raise.
Was the results of the Asch line experiment the way they were because we didn't properly teach people to compare lengths of lines?
Considering that coaltition is a positive predictor of intolerance/violence condoning and scapegoating, you have fun with that.