Isn’t August the month to harvest crops?
Belves using a pure solar calendar where the months are just mathematical divisions of the solar year rather than relating to a moon at all would be interesting.
Likewise for gnomes, given their traditional underground dwelling.
Can see an argument for night elves using a sidereal calendar with lunar subdivisions, which would almost be the same as a lunisolar calendar but not quite. Also no one but me would care about the distinction.
Depends on the crop and your latitude.
Continuing the discussion from Why morally grey Light makes sense:
Nah definitely not. People who call themselves atheists may define their stance by going far beyond the mere lack of belief in a deity and say things that are highly reminiscent of secular humanism for example. That is my experience at least.
Atheism is not culturally neutral, it’s often driven by an initial rejection of the majority religion, and as such militant atheism often has the opposition to this specific religion and what it embodies as a founding principle. Sometimes it may also be synonymous with “faith in Science”, which to me belongs to the field of religion.
Again, that’s merely what I’ve gathered from my interactions with people who identify as atheists. Not saying this is universal. I’m not interested in discussing concepts based on their definition in the dictionary, I’d rather discuss them based on how people use them
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Oh yeah Anti Theists are cursed
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You have just proven her point lol.
Glad to learn that, would you mind saying how though
I have no idea why they locked that thread, we were having such a good intellectual discussion. That’s why I think the moderators are bad, they don’t know the difference between a civil conversation and trolling, they let the trolling run rampant, ironically, but shut down any interesting discussion or debate.
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yeah, but most of them are just a fringe minority of new age hippies, or nihilists-shudders in horror.
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Nihilists are the worse group of people I ever had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting
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they are real debbie downers for sure. “life is meaningless and then you die.” yeah, okay Janet, if that’s how you want to live your life, good luck with that.
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It is your perception. Again, this is a country where religion gets politicised very quickly. Which is doubly ironic since this was the first country to posit the idea of freedom of religion, which includes the freedom not to be religious.
I think we really need a refresher on the Establishment Clause here. The entire United States Constitution was a rejection of Church as State. That was a given formula which had it’s bumps but is showing a strain greater than has been seen since the founding of the Republic.
As an atheist, I have absolutely no issue with anyone’s belief with whatever religion they draw comfort with. It’s their insistence that I should draw comfort or more importantly be subject to THEIR beliefs which provoke with you would term a “secular reaction”. Militant reactions are generally reactions to christian militance which we’re seeing a hell of a lot of in the last few decades.
I don’t go around wearing a top that says "ATHEIST’ in bold capital letters. I don’t bring the subject up unless someone asks me. And the conversation ends with my statement of disbelief unless the person I’m talking to wants to continue the subject.
And that’s the space where most of us who are atheists live in. You’ve made your judgement out of those people who have chosen to expand the conversation or circumstances have pushed them to do so. The truth of the matter is that even most people who consider themselves Christians do so at a very minimum rate… the term is I believe, “Sunday Christians” and most of them are willing to leave others be. like your experience, mine has been shaped by the loudest mouths.
I’m going to try to break this in stages.
In the days where Humans lived in caves, virtually their entire world was framed by fear of unknown forces… if a tree is struck by lightning the gods were surely angry at it. in Dark Age Europe, if a person was sick it was because they were posessed by disease and plague spirits. The custom of saying “Geshundheit!” was based on a belief that breath was spirit and that a sneeze ran the risk of ejecting your own ghost.
And then people started applying reason. We learned things about electricity by applying observation and logic. We learned why it wasn’t a good idea to stand under trees during a lightning storm, and we learned to actually put that dreaded force to work. We learned how to make milk safe by pasteurising it. With a simple flick of a light switch you can exert more change on the universe than a century of spinning prayer bells.
The thing about “faith in science” as you put it it’s not about trading in one diety for another. It’s about faith in the use of human abilities, such as human mind, human tools, and the human experience. to be summed up in the following two words. Two words which deliver what praying for miracles only fulfills by circumstance.
SCIENCE WORKS
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I think both have their place, and context matters. Especially when it comes to the worst aspects of misappropriation.
Because people do use the dictionary definition. Even if the vernacular is different.
But your interest is your interest. I think Drahliana was being practical. By saying:
They were distilling what atheism is, to just a few words.
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Science and religion can coexist though. One can still be religious and still understand that going to the doctor is good for your long term health, etc.
Like you and others, it was the militant religious folks that ultimately turned me back to paganism. It provides me a comfort knowing my god looks out for me. But I don’t talk about it much or force it down other peoples throats
Oh, nothing, I just think that “Atheism is synonymous with science worship” and “Atheism is driven by rejection (hatred?) of one specific religion” are bad takes.
I think you’ll be very happy to hear that those people don’t actually exist outside of TV shows and internet conversations.
which country are you in? because pretty sure America was founded by people who wanted the seperation of church and state. This was from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson in 1802.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
Jefferson is rolling over in his grave. He was a Rebuplican to boot, I wonder if he would support the current state of the political right.
I tried the pagan thing for a bit. And then I realised it was just trading one form of theism for another. And my belief structure simply has no need to accommodate the supernatural.
I used to feel this way, until I found a cool black rock in my back yard, and it turned out to be a palantiri
(kidding btw, I am not that crazy)
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And that works for you. Which is great. Just know that not every religious person is out to convert everyone. We sane ones just want to be left alone.
Why are you replying to me on this? That’s not from any of my posts.
I misread this comment, I was reading to react not understand. I had thought you were justifying the polarization.
this is a country where religion gets politicised very quickly. Which is doubly ironic since this was the first country to posit the idea of freedom of religion, which includes the freedom not to be religious.
My bad. My point supports yours not contradicts it. You are right , America was founded with the ideas of seperation of church and state, just like any democracy. The radicalization of late is… unconstitutional and very dangerous, it’s very concerning to me since it’s happening here too.