Are you supercilious?

[DavidRandallCurtis]

You must be getting vote botted again - this had 3 stars when I looked at it... 5* from me! (and faved :P )

[rozeboosje]

It's a regular occurrence. I don't even notice it anymore. LOL

[premed2]

No, just cilious.

[rozeboosje]

Bah humbug! I can spot false modesty a mile away XD

[ScientificSkeptic]

If any Christian simply defined "sin" to be "anything that has negative consequences", then they could claim that avoiding sin could keep someone out of a lot of misfortune. It wouldn't make their religion more correct or show that it had any revealed knowledge, but that they were clever enough to understand causal relationships and dishonest enough to claim that it's the following of their religion that prevents the negative consequences. Great video!

[rozeboosje]

Thank you!

[RyuDarragh]

Having studies every case of a highlited "Sin" I could find, I concluded the *only* sin that exists is "disobedience of Gods will." That's it. "God" says do this or don't do that and somebody does/doesn't do that activity.

[rozeboosje]

Yup

[FarrenfollowsBen]

I see Disney princesses! :D

[rozeboosje]

Ah, the joy of having a six year old daughter :-)

[HowDaWorldTwerks]

I kind of am superstitious (but I know its BS) Its just kind of fun sometimes, I don't really want to lose my child like imagination. I don't think thats a good thing. But yeah, letting superstitious things actually manifest (or whatever that word is) in your behavior or descision making, that could get dangerous or something I suppose.

[rozeboosje]

Well, I guess, our superstitious thinking is part of what eventually became our scientific bent. It's all about "if I do THIS then THAT will happen." The difference in science is that after formulating that assumption you go about testing it rigorously until you have amassed plenty of evidence to support it and you can successfully predict things. But without our tendency to make such links in the first place we would have never got there. So it ain't all bad.

[metalorg]

Good job on the clever title.

[rozeboosje]

Thanks for noticing ;-)

[ravenslaves]

Feeling both smug and prideful, I will answer for Anthony.

Everything bad, that happens to you is because you've sinned. Perhaps you hurt someones feelings once, and you weren't really sorry when mom made you apologize...you'll suffer for that. Maybe once you "touched" yourself, and made baby Jesus cry in the process...you'll suffer big time. Thumbs down this comment...pits of hell.

Yes, God is a surly bastard, who has nothing better to do than fuck with people...for being people.

Now pray.

[rozeboosje]

ROFL

[thedynamitekidd]

Friars cook the best rashers.

[rozeboosje]

:-)

[floydstinkyboy]

nope and i ain't punctilious either.

[rozeboosje]

teehee

[Largo64]

I don' think I'm supercilious, but I am occasionally super-silly.

Like now, for instance!

[rozeboosje]

The difference is you can be silly when it suits you ;-)

[Vogter2100]

Ah... a friend of mine, she has 3 kids, raised them by herself, had so many misfortunes in life that had I been her I might have offed myself to get som frigging peace. She faught thru it and is out of the misfortunes that had haunted her for her 35 yers of life so far.

Why did she get so much shit and I almost, compared to her, none?

Ah.. one will never know.. wil one ;-P

[rozeboosje]

You're obviously a good little Xtian XD

[Vogter2100]

Obviously. Im a spy in the midst of atheists LOL

[rozeboosje]

[grin]

[Vogter2100]

Want to hear the 'fun' part? She believes in god.. go figure.

[rozeboosje]

It would be funny if it weren't so tragic.

[Mephistophilus]

Succinct video is succinct.

I've nothing to add except I perceive there to be no issue with pride. It's malevolent ( even when presented as benevolent) , belligerent and ignorant false pride that I have an issue with.

[rozeboosje]

"pride" is another one of those words that carries different meanings. In the context of sin and religion, I think the most applicable meaning is thinking that one knows the mind of the God that one believes in, and assuming that people like JF really DO believe all the BS they spout about the gods they believe in, the way he talked in his video definitely speaks of that very kind of boastful arrogant pride.

[Mephistophilus]

We could on for weeks about that man's apparent issues, like when he advocated slavery and then was completely baffled as to why people were riled up.

[rozeboosje]

Yeah

[Orygyn]

Excellent. Now I'm going to go to the theatre carrying a bunch of broken mirrors and scream "Macbeth". Also, I'll be sure to walk under a ladder on the way there stepping on only the lines of the pavement.

[rozeboosje]

The lines are carrying high voltage. The tiles inbetween are lava. You're doomed. [giggles insanely]

[Marchawc]

The events we categorise as misfortunes can be self-created, created by others, natural processes or often just plain random occurances. We all have a psychological imperative to try and make sense of them the best way we can in order to prevent or resolve them. In my view, when no causal links can be found, people often make up the shortfall with superstition and religion.

[rozeboosje]

Exactly. "Everything happens for a reason". What a happily trite thing to console oneself with when one is faced with misfortune, as long as one is willing to blithely ignore the slippery slope into condemnation that one stepped on to.

[Prophiscient]

There was a time when I still had some belief in the idea that "everything happens for a reason," but I now I no longer interpret that "reason" as some higher force's purpose. (I never seriously believed that anyway. It was just one of those vague superstitious beliefs that I held on the side, like the idea that "maybe there could be some truth in astrology after all.") Now my only consolation is the idea that "everything must be good for something," because everything is a learning experience.

[rozeboosje]

Ah yes. Shit happens, but that doesn't absolve you of the responsibility to make the best of the shit that happens to you. Good call.

[Prophiscient]

When I was in the Army ('84) I had a little talk with a sergeant who was about my age. When he asked me about it, I said that nothing really bad had ever happened to me, and then he explained that that was because God loved me. I doubted that, so I brought up "those poor little Negroes in Africa," but he said that God didn't love those people. Next he explained that certain LPs contained hidden messages and that disco music contained demonic drum rhythms.

He was a Christian school teacher.

:-(

[Prophiscient]

A little P.S. for Rozeboosje:

One word: Veluwe!

[CousinoMacul]

Nice sweater!

There are many "types" of Christians just as there are atheists.

[rozeboosje]

Evidently XD

[CousinoMacul]

And here I was hoping you would elaborate on the sweater. :-P

[rozeboosje]

It's made from the wool of fundies.

[premed2]

and sweaters

[funkskull]

driving through atl this morning at 6am, I found comfort in the fact that, like it or not, this was all of my own design, I think this is on topic? MAS CHAMPAGNE

[rozeboosje]

Don't know, I think you may be referring to something I have no knowledge of or that I don't understand here, sorry.

[AncientAtheist]

Does he think the misfortunes of atheists are merely due to sin, and not "trials and tribulations"?

[rozeboosje]

That is the first implication of what he's saying, yes. The second is that a Christian would somehow "know" whether a particular misfortune experienced by him or herself is due to one or the other thing, which lands him in an irresolvable fix. Deciding wrongly that you're reaping means that you're indulging in self-loathing (a favourite passtime of fundies, of course), deciding wrongly that you're suffering trials is indulging in the sin of pride. He talked himself into a hole.

[HaleyMary]

as far as christianity goes, I tend to go towards the you reap what you sow law better. I think it tends to make people more aware and careful about the actions they take in their lives.

[rozeboosje]

Even that doesn't work. Why should, for example, stupidity be deserving of suffering (even though it obviously often leads to it)? Why should one person's immoral actions lead to no obvious repercussions while another pays dearly? And most imporantly, what have I, an unrepentent atheist who will never accept the so-called "grace" of Anthony's imaginary friend, done to deserve the undeniably privileged existence I enjoy?

[thatgaybloke]

"And most importantly, what have I, an unrepentant atheist who will never accept the so-called "grace" of Anthony's imaginary friend, done to deserve the undeniably privileged existence I enjoy?"

I suspect that, like the rest of us, merit had less to do with it than being in the right place at the right time. For example, being born in late 20th Century Western Europe as opposed to a poor third world country.

[rozeboosje]

You and your pesky common sense XD

Damn right though.

[funkskull]

"what goes around comes around" and the sad expectation of karmatic revenge, are the manifestations of futile and hopless expectations of regressive justice

[rozeboosje]

Damn well said

[BrianTheGoldfish]

The biggest problem with his idea that less misfortune will befall those who don't sin (or sin less) would be, IMO, that it's plainly untrue. Unless all the children starving to death around the world in horrible conditions through no fault of their own are just awful sinners.

I don't know, I'm sure Anthony is a fantastically reasonable person but I've always found that kind of short-sighted attitude offensively self-righteous.

[rozeboosje]

Absolutely, but I reckoned he has already received THAT message loud and clear. Well, to us, anyway.

[Smidge204]

I do think there is a kernel of truth to the idea that if you don't sin you can expect less misfortune.

Not because God isn't punishing you, but only because a lot of what constitutes 'sin' also makes you an asshole, if not a straight-up criminal. In behaving yourself you tend to not to accumulate as many enemies or encounter as many ugly situations.

[rozeboosje]

Well, I don't buy "sin" as a concept but I hear what you're saying. Where Anthony went off into lala land is where he brought in the trials and tribulations thing. Shit happens to all of us, sometimes because we invite it - like you said - and sometimes simply for no good reason.

[TheAist]

i guess im professionally religious too, but it only confirms my disbelief. The best cure for christianity is reading the bible.

[rozeboosje]

I always say: It's not what it says in the book, but what is made of it between a person's ears that counts. The person I mentioned at the start is one of the most down to earth people I know. I think I'll leave it at that ;-)