Agnostics/Atheists and maybe why they support Ron Paul

Thanks for sharing all these interesting points of view.

Isn't it grand how Freedom and Liberty allow all of this here... all within the same big tent as long as coercion and force doesn't enter into the exchange of these ideas!

I respect those of faith, those who don't, and those who have not made up their minds, and those who don't even care. (hope that about covers it)

Have a great day!
 
Thanks for sharing all these interesting points of view.

Isn't it grand how Freedom and Liberty allow all of this here... all within the same big tent as long as coercion and force doesn't enter into the exchange of these ideas!

I respect those of faith, those who don't, and those who have not made up their minds, and those who don't even care. (hope that about covers it)

Have a great day!

If Theocrat and a few others have their way, we won't be able to do this much longer.

Yes, it is great. Which is why it's worth arguing about.

I am not going to be forced to pay money to a Christian Theocracy, ever.
 
Thanks for sharing all these interesting points of view.

Isn't it grand how Freedom and Liberty allow all of this here... all within the same big tent as long as coercion and force doesn't enter into the exchange of these ideas!

I respect those of faith, those who don't, and those who have not made up their minds, and those who don't even care. (hope that about covers it)

Have a great day!

Yes, it is grand. It is also why we're here fighting, and what we have in common. Freedom and liberty are grand, indeed.

You have a great day, too, my friend.
 
Simply Put

Unless you ask what every atheist in the world believes, the only thing you are qualified to say is based on the very definition of the word.

We do not believe in gods.

Some atheists are humanists, but not all. Humanism is a religion. Atheism is not.

You are the only one being intellectually dishonest here Theocrat.

I'll make it real simple for you, as Mark as tried to explain to you. You believe there is no God, but since you don't have absolute knowledge of the universe, you cannot know with certainty that there is no God. Thus, your belief in the nonexistence of God forces you to act religiously towards the worship of something else, whether it's natural science, reason, Obama, or anything else. Whatever you put first in your life is your god, and you can't help that because it is in all of our natures as humans to worship something.
 
Thus, your belief in the nonexistence of God forces you to act religiously towards the worship of something else, whether it's natural science, reason, Obama, or anything else. Whatever you put first in your life is your god, and you can't help that because it is in all of our natures as humans to worship something.

Maybe a bit of a stretch, here. We are all different. And I, for one, am grateful for this--especially when I see someone doing a necessary job that I know I could not or would not do. That is why freedom is popular, it is why we're here (if we weren't all different, why would we worry about one size fits all laws?) and, I'm afraid, it's the hole in your theory.

Theocrat, the problem with theocracies is they don't give God credit for being able (like a good parent) to meet each of us on our own terms. Arguably they do Him as much harm as us...
 
Likewise

If Theocrat and a few others have their way, we won't be able to do this much longer.

Yes, it is great. Which is why it's worth arguing about.

I am not going to be forced to pay money to a Christian Theocracy, ever.

Neither am I going to be forced to pay to spread your religion of doubt to the masses via the school systems, government institutions, or scientific establishments.

Secular governments, like communism and socialism, never work, and they only result in social genocide and political/economic suicide.
 
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Understanding Our Terms

Maybe a bit of a stretch, here. We are all different. And I, for one, am grateful for this--especially when I see someone doing a necessary job that I know I could not or would not do. That is why freedom is popular, it is why we're here (if we weren't all different, why would we worry about one size fits all laws?) and, I'm afraid, it's the hole in your theory.

Theocrat, the problem with theocracies is they don't give God credit for being able (like a good parent) to meet each of us on our own terms. Arguably they do Him as much harm as us...

I don't think you understand rightly what a theocracy is, and that's understandable because most people today in our post-modern culture equate a "theocracy" with an "ecclesiocracy" (rule of the Church). I don't advocate that.
 
I don't think you understand rightly what a theocracy is, and that's understandable because most people today in our post-modern culture equate a "theocracy" with an "ecclesiocracy" (rule of the Church). I don't advocate that.

7 results for: theocracy

the·oc·ra·cy Audio Help /θiˈɒkrəsi/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[thee-ok-ruh-see] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -cies. 1. a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, the God's or deity's laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities.
2. a system of government by priests claiming a divine commission.
3. a commonwealth or state under such a form or system of government.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Origin: 1615–25; < Gk theokratía. See theo-, -cracy]

—Related forms
the·o·crat·ic Audio Help /ˌθiəˈkrætɪk/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[thee-uh-krat-ik] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation, the·o·crat·i·cal, adjective
the·o·crat·i·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
theocracy

To learn more about theocracy visit Britannica.com

© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This the·oc·ra·cy Audio Help (thē-ŏk'rə-sē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. the·oc·ra·cies

A government ruled by or subject to religious authority.
A state so governed.


(Download Now or Buy the Book) The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
theocracy

1622, "sacerdotal government under divine inspiration" (as that of Israel before the rise of kings), from Gk. theokratia "the rule of God" (Josephus), from theos "god" (of unknown origin, perhaps a non-I.E. word) + kratos "a rule, regime, strength" (see -cracy). Meaning "priestly or religious body wielding political and civil power" is recorded from 1825.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This theocracy

noun
1. a political unit governed by a deity (or by officials thought to be divinely guided)
2. the belief in government by divine guidance

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
theocracy [(thee-ok-ruh-see)]


A nation or state in which the clergy exercise political power and in which religious law is dominant over civil law. Iran led by the Ayatollah Khomeini was a theocracy under the Islamic clergy. (See Islam.)


[Chapter:] World Politics


The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Theocracy

The*oc"ra*cy\, n. [Gr. ?; ? God + ? to be strong, to rule, fr. ? strength: cf. F. th['e]ocratie. See Theism, and cf. Democracy.]

1. Government of a state by the immediate direction or administration of God; hence, the exercise of political authority by priests as representing the Deity.

2. The state thus governed, as the Hebrew commonwealth before it became a kingdom. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

You and Kade certainly have in common a desire to stretch the labels you use. And, as we have seen during this campaign, people tend to flame what they don't understand. Maybe part of the heat you both seem to generate is simply misunderstandings over vague terms...
 
Terms and Views

7 results for: theocracy

the·oc·ra·cy Audio Help /θiˈɒkrəsi/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[thee-ok-ruh-see] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -cies. 1. a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, the God's or deity's laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities.
2. a system of government by priests claiming a divine commission.
3. a commonwealth or state under such a form or system of government.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Origin: 1615–25; < Gk theokratía. See theo-, -cracy]

—Related forms
the·o·crat·ic Audio Help /ˌθiəˈkrætɪk/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[thee-uh-krat-ik] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation, the·o·crat·i·cal, adjective
the·o·crat·i·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
theocracy

To learn more about theocracy visit Britannica.com

© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This the·oc·ra·cy Audio Help (thē-ŏk'rə-sē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. the·oc·ra·cies

A government ruled by or subject to religious authority.
A state so governed.


(Download Now or Buy the Book) The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
theocracy

1622, "sacerdotal government under divine inspiration" (as that of Israel before the rise of kings), from Gk. theokratia "the rule of God" (Josephus), from theos "god" (of unknown origin, perhaps a non-I.E. word) + kratos "a rule, regime, strength" (see -cracy). Meaning "priestly or religious body wielding political and civil power" is recorded from 1825.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This theocracy

noun
1. a political unit governed by a deity (or by officials thought to be divinely guided)
2. the belief in government by divine guidance

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
theocracy [(thee-ok-ruh-see)]


A nation or state in which the clergy exercise political power and in which religious law is dominant over civil law. Iran led by the Ayatollah Khomeini was a theocracy under the Islamic clergy. (See Islam.)


[Chapter:] World Politics


The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Theocracy

The*oc"ra*cy\, n. [Gr. ?; ? God + ? to be strong, to rule, fr. ? strength: cf. F. th['e]ocratie. See Theism, and cf. Democracy.]

1. Government of a state by the immediate direction or administration of God; hence, the exercise of political authority by priests as representing the Deity.

2. The state thus governed, as the Hebrew commonwealth before it became a kingdom. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

Some of those definitions I can agree with as a proper meaning of a theocracy. I feel the others are just subjective extrapolations based on present social stigmas and variations of unguided knowledge, lacking Biblical precedent of terms.

You and Kade certainly have in common a desire to stretch the labels you use. And, as we have seen during this campaign, people tend to flame what they don't understand. Maybe part of the heat you both seem to generate is simply misunderstandings over vague terms...

Perhaps there's some truth to have you've said here, but fundamentally, Kade and I have two worldviews which are diametrically opposed to one another. He hates God (though he won't admit that), and I trust in God, but both of us are religious in our beliefs towards His nonexistence and existence, respectively.
 
I'll make it real simple for you, as Mark as tried to explain to you. You believe there is no God, but since you don't have absolute knowledge of the universe, you cannot know with certainty that there is no God. Thus, your belief in the nonexistence of God forces you to act religiously towards the worship of something else, whether it's natural science, reason, Obama, or anything else. Whatever you put first in your life is your god, and you can't help that because it is in all of our natures as humans to worship something.

Is it a "religion" to believe that a giant pink elephant controls the universe? We don't "have all the facts." Is it a religion to not believe in things there is no proof for (I mean empircal, testable proof)?

This atheism=religion thing is FUCKING STUPID.
 
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