tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post6719684549787851091..comments2023-10-29T08:19:51.395-05:00Comments on The Raytractors - Ray Comfort's Detractors: I just say no or nothing at all.MacGyver Jrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307024564664964571noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-26716427539077787312008-11-21T09:30:00.001-06:002008-11-21T09:30:00.001-06:00Felix,Thanks for this. I'm going to post about it...Felix,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for this. I'm going to post about it.nonmagichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12986030395050670437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-23748986930953483142008-11-21T09:30:00.000-06:002008-11-21T09:30:00.000-06:00Nohm,Oh I'm wayyy too cool for this place, too, so...Nohm,<BR/><BR/>Oh I'm wayyy too cool for this place, too, so no problems there. This place has no culture, very little arts (and what they do try to pass off as arts is laughable) and really unless you never got past the whole 'Oh LOOK, it's a HOOKER!' stage in life, I don't see how anyone could enjoy it here.<BR/><BR/>I think we see eye to eye!nonmagichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12986030395050670437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-25454984096280501722008-11-21T04:35:00.000-06:002008-11-21T04:35:00.000-06:00Update on the Jean story:http://richarddawkins.net...Update on the Jean story:<BR/>http://richarddawkins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=62891<BR/><BR/>see last post.felixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00749925395851545703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-54231158743781876882008-11-21T04:23:00.000-06:002008-11-21T04:23:00.000-06:00I just ignore them when they address me in the str...I just ignore them when they address me in the streets and when they come to my door I make my most stupid face and say something like: "Unnskyld, men jeg forstår dessverre hverken tysk eller engelsk."<BR/>And I can do that with a quite convincing Norwegian accent.It's a little bit cowardly but the best way to make them go away without hurting their feelings.<BR/>I tried that in French before but there are actually JW's here that understand French...Anna Sethehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07863425770114336085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-71804147392509034862008-11-21T02:19:00.000-06:002008-11-21T02:19:00.000-06:00Nonmagic,I'm glad you agree, but only because that...Nonmagic,<BR/><BR/>I'm glad you agree, but only because that post of mine was pretty assy and snooty. Kinda "I'm too cool for that".<BR/><BR/>Feh.<BR/><BR/>I'm just not into gambling, nightclubs, or strip clubs[1]. Not saying that that's all that Vegas is, but when all of your experiences are during bachelor parties, that's pretty much what ya do.<BR/><BR/>[1] Hey now, don't get me wrong... I like nekkid womyn. I just feel that it's more fun to not have to pay to see one. ;-)Nohmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04810408271483617763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-24934653000560631332008-11-20T22:23:00.000-06:002008-11-20T22:23:00.000-06:00Nohm,Oh, I hate it here!! I had no desire to ever...Nohm,<BR/><BR/>Oh, I hate it here!! I had no desire to ever visit here before we moved here and I've only grown to hate it more since we've lived here. It's really a horrid, hot, ugly place to live.<BR/><BR/>I totally understand people not wanting to come here and people wanting to get out!!nonmagichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12986030395050670437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-54162042003013911632008-11-20T20:42:00.000-06:002008-11-20T20:42:00.000-06:00Nonmagic,Thanks for the info about the youtube vid...Nonmagic,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the info about the youtube vids; I'll definitely check those out.<BR/><BR/>As for travelling to Vegas, no thank you. :-)<BR/><BR/>I know, it's weird; I might be the only male in my age range who not only doesn't love going to Vegas, but actually can't stand it. Unfortunately, I live close enough to there that I have to go about once a year for a bachelor party.<BR/><BR/>Nothing against the people who live or work there, though.Nohmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04810408271483617763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-43531088742069386362008-11-20T20:24:00.000-06:002008-11-20T20:24:00.000-06:00Hi Non Magic,They did stay for a bit. There were ...Hi Non Magic,<BR/><BR/>They did stay for a bit. There were two guys, one middle aged and one in his late 20s.<BR/><BR/>The younger one stepped back a bit when I mentioned that I was an atheist, and the older one hesitated for all of a second, appeared to not compute, and then launched back into his spiel about the signs that the end times were a'comin. That was when I said that I was happy to debate and discuss with them, but that they probably had a quota of doors to knock on and I wouldn't keep them.<BR/><BR/>I was feeling in a happy place that morning. :-)KiwiInOzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01990626308558012109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-68230186162658788172008-11-20T20:22:00.000-06:002008-11-20T20:22:00.000-06:00Nohm,Look no further! Your dream of being yelled a...Nohm,<BR/><BR/>Look no further! Your dream of being yelled at by crazy people living their lives by the words of a long since demised sheep herding culture can now come true!<BR/><BR/>All you have to do is hop a plane, come to Vegas and when you leave the airport take a cab to Fremont Street. You'll have all the crazy you can handle, and some you wouldn't want to handle! ;) <BR/><BR/>For a sample of the fun that awaits you try some of the YouTube videos filmed there. It will warm your...well, it'll have some sort of effect.nonmagichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12986030395050670437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-3622643544664147832008-11-20T20:17:00.000-06:002008-11-20T20:17:00.000-06:00Nonmagic,Thank you for your reply. I can certainl...Nonmagic,<BR/><BR/>Thank you for your reply. I can certainly see where you're coming from. I have certainly held that same point of view regarding salespeople.<BR/><BR/>I guess that now, since I don't find myself being approached by salespeople, that I kinda miss it, if only because the conversations were always so <I>weird</I>. This probably goes back to my enjoyment of talking with people who think completely differently than I do.<BR/><BR/>If I had to deal with them daily, when I was trying to get stuff done in a rush, I would probably be far more bothered by them than I am.<BR/><BR/>But I gotta admit... I really wish that someone would try to evangelize to me on the street, or get me to go through Friel's little game.<BR/><BR/>Yeah, I know, <B>I'm</B> the asshole.<BR/><BR/>:-)Nohmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04810408271483617763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-3835220746846871432008-11-20T20:06:00.001-06:002008-11-20T20:06:00.001-06:00Kiwi,Just out of curiosity, did the JW's stay and ...Kiwi,<BR/><BR/>Just out of curiosity, did the JW's stay and talk to you anyway? What was their reaction to you revealing your atheism?nonmagichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12986030395050670437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-36562057291211834252008-11-20T20:06:00.000-06:002008-11-20T20:06:00.000-06:00KiwiInOz,Heh, that would cause a bit of "huh??" :...KiwiInOz,<BR/><BR/>Heh, that would cause a bit of "huh??" :-)<BR/><BR/>For those who don't know, within Islam, the word "haram" means "not allowed" and the word "halal" means "permitted" (well, basically).<BR/><BR/>My verification word is "egene".<BR/><BR/>egene: An electronic sequence of nucleotides along a segment of electronic DNA.Nohmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04810408271483617763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-15963336083193175182008-11-20T20:05:00.000-06:002008-11-20T20:05:00.000-06:00Nohm,Good question. Bothered is a good word, too....Nohm,<BR/><BR/>Good question. Bothered is a good word, too. It does bother me that she is pushing religion, but she could be selling vacuum cleaners for all I care and I'd still be aggravated by it. I don't like people coming up to me and trying to push anything on me. Not a time share in the Bahamas, not the latest pyramid scheme, not a religion. <BR/><BR/>If I want a church, I can look around me and find one post haste. Same for a place to buy a vacuum, or a time share. I understand advertising your product, and religion really is just another product, but going out and shoving it in people's faces in person is quite a bit different. As an atheist, I wouldn't go out and bother someone at a gas pump or a drive through window with my personal yada yada, and I don't appreciate it when the religious folk do it.<BR/><BR/>Now, here is the icing on the cake. I've never had a vacuum salesman or a time share pusher tell me that if I didn't buy their product or at least try it that I was going to literally burn for all eternity. I've never seen a vacuum cleaner salesman or a pyramid marketer show up at a gay parade and tell them that if they didn't buy a vacuum or a time share that they were going going to burn and they they were filthy human beings. The judgmental attitude of the street preachers and proselytizers is stomach churning and in quite a few cases they are doing some of the so called 'vile' things that they are out yelling about. <BR/><BR/>Next, we have the fact that as a child I was made to go out into trailer parks to the beer-for-breakfast crowd and tell them that god hated them and was going to burn them for all eternity. I didn't believe it then, and swore I'd never spread that hate as an adult. Promise kept.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for asking, btw.nonmagichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12986030395050670437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-56846694117396495582008-11-20T19:42:00.000-06:002008-11-20T19:42:00.000-06:00Ah, the trifecta!First, "slay the celestial beast"...Ah, the trifecta!<BR/><BR/>First, "slay the celestial beast", then "sex up the goddess", and finish it off with "gunning for Christian warriors"<BR/><BR/>Wow, and its not even Saturday night.Benjamin Franklinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00975695604400974378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-83594812450186845762008-11-20T19:18:00.000-06:002008-11-20T19:18:00.000-06:00Back on topic (sorry Non Magic) - I have the full ...Back on topic (sorry Non Magic) - I have the full range of responses listed here depending on my mood. I told the last JDubs that came to the door that I was an atheist and was quite happy to talk with them but they may wish to spend their time in more fertile fields.<BR/><BR/>I did take some brochures off some cute 7th dayers, but my wife made me chase after them and give them back.<BR/><BR/>sceans, as in sceans b'levin.KiwiInOzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01990626308558012109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-78075282876095488362008-11-20T19:15:00.000-06:002008-11-20T19:15:00.000-06:00nohm - on my first reading I thought that you said...nohm - on my first reading I thought that you said you talked about harem haircuts! That piqued my interest. :-)<BR/><BR/>Hey, these word verification letters are looking more and more like real words. Perhaps we should start defining them.<BR/><BR/>Mine is whieful, which is old Scottish for a dram too many.KiwiInOzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01990626308558012109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-9621797528904106492008-11-20T19:02:00.000-06:002008-11-20T19:02:00.000-06:00Nonmagic,In your opinion, why do you think you are...Nonmagic,<BR/><BR/>In your opinion, why do you think you are bothered (pick a different word if you'd like) by the street preachers or tract-pushers, like Trish?<BR/><BR/>I'm just curious; I don't have an angle or a point.Nohmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04810408271483617763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-39073967117138011712008-11-20T18:47:00.000-06:002008-11-20T18:47:00.000-06:00I want to say thinks to everyone who answered in t...I want to say thinks to everyone who answered in this thread and to those that might answer after it drops down the page a ways. It really is interesting to hear how different people respond to these situations.nonmagichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12986030395050670437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-62936400196592891532008-11-20T18:43:00.000-06:002008-11-20T18:43:00.000-06:00Charles,Obstreperous is my new word of the day!Charles,<BR/><BR/>Obstreperous is my new word of the day!nonmagichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12986030395050670437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-30035613429575593442008-11-20T18:35:00.000-06:002008-11-20T18:35:00.000-06:00I agree with Vagon that it's best to go for the em...I agree with Vagon that it's best to go for the emotions, because that's how these people tend to communicate.<BR/><BR/>I guess my perspective is that the main thing I want to accomplish is to show that atheists aren't what they've been told we are. That I can accomplish without arguing or debating or anything like that. Simply being nice, listening, but still disagreeing... a "agree to disagree" kind of mindset.<BR/><BR/>Here's my thinking: when I was a fundamentalist, the fact that atheists didn't match the "imaginary atheist" I was taught started to really bother me. It made me think, "hey, if they're wrong about that, maybe my teachers might be wrong about other things..." As I've said before, I don't think that there's a single argument that I could give a fundamentalist that would change their mind; it's only through their own experiences that they will change their minds. So, if I can give them an experience that goes against what they've been taught, that's a small advance into the "maybe my teachers are incorrect" line of thinking.<BR/><BR/>Plus, I guess the other reason is that I live in an area where fundamentalists aren't in any kind of significant numbers, so I never get annoyed by them. Combine that with my enjoyment of talking with people who don't think like I do, and you get someone who tries to seek out fundamentalists. :-)<BR/><BR/>...which is why I hang out with muslims in online chatrooms, talking about haram haircuts.<BR/><BR/>(Yes, seriously)Nohmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04810408271483617763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-60322830496721329332008-11-20T18:24:00.000-06:002008-11-20T18:24:00.000-06:00I like to out-nice them.I'll usually go along the ...I like to out-nice them.<BR/><BR/>I'll usually go along the lines of you shouldn't waste your time on silly rituals, for humanities sake.<BR/><BR/>I appeal to what a great contribution to society they could make if they weren't tied up in Bible study or church.<BR/><BR/>I say things like how its shocking that religion devalues the tragedy of death by sugar-coating it. That we need scientific progress to avoid the horrors of cancer, etc.<BR/><BR/>My reason for this is that I know if they are converts to God they most likely dont think in a rational, logical way, so all my statements appeal to emotions.Vagonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05758734418127314111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-13599001826085443332008-11-20T18:21:00.000-06:002008-11-20T18:21:00.000-06:00I don't really punch them, or advocate that anyone...I don't really punch them, or advocate that anyone else do so.<BR/><BR/>I usually pretend that street prosteletizers are invisible no matter how obstreperous they get. (I used to live in NYC, and looking right through people is a necessary skill. Even subway station preachers using a Mr Microphone.) Other times, I say a gracious thank you, take the tract -- I have an almost complete collection of Chick tracts -- and keep on walking.<BR/><BR/>Everyone deserves gracious behavior.<BR/><BR/>I swear though, I can't answer for myself if was cornered by someone who wanted to give my the Good Person Test.Char'Elshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08257999516820029452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-81286742904106671642008-11-20T18:12:00.000-06:002008-11-20T18:12:00.000-06:00This reminds me of the Bill O'Reily's "War on Chri...This reminds me of the Bill O'Reily's "War on Chritmas" Shtick.<BR/><BR/>Until the fundies started this crap I always remained very respectful and accepting of their greetings around the holidays (I know that is hard to believe.)<BR/><BR/>But the gloveas are off now. <BR/><BR/>Mrs. Frog and the polywog don't even like to go to Wal-mart with me this time of year because they know I am gunning for Christian warriors.<BR/><BR/>Last year Mrs. Frog and I were standing in line and I noticed the check-out girl was wearing a Pentagram necklace. I told Beth that if she said Merry Christmas I was going to make a scene.......<BR/><BR/>She did. <BR/><BR/>I know this is anti-climatic but so as not to embarass Beth I merely said to her, I wish you a merry Holiday too, but I am a Warlock. The look on her face was beyond priceless. I was laughing all the way to the car with Beth griping about my bad manners, etc.<BR/><BR/>I guess you'll have that sometimes.......Froggiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12972110380349786742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-5283598903071831392008-11-20T18:03:00.000-06:002008-11-20T18:03:00.000-06:00So, I'm looking over the responses so far, and I'm...So, I'm looking over the responses so far, and I'm noticing a trend. Overwhelmingly the responses that atheists give to religious proselytizers ranges from downright warm and cozy to indifference. One vote from Charles to punch them, but uh...well, I do not condone violence towards others.<BR/><BR/>So we have many who are friendly, and only want to wants to act violently. But the consistent response I see from most fundies is that we <I><B>deserve</B></I> to be literally burned forever for not believing as they do.<BR/><BR/>Of course, this is no scientific poll or anything, but just note that difference. Even Charles doesn't want them to literally burn throughout all eternity...umm....right, Charles? Like I said, I do not condone violence, but a punch or two is not an everlasting punishment for not sharing the same belief system.<BR/><BR/>Interesting.<BR/><BR/>And we're the hateful ones? I don't think so.nonmagichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12986030395050670437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4140917903722388348.post-34121043333495503352008-11-20T17:26:00.000-06:002008-11-20T17:26:00.000-06:00Thats evangelicals, of course!When am I ever going...Thats evang<B>e</B>licals, of course!<BR/><BR/>When am I ever going to learn that preview is my friend?Benjamin Franklinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00975695604400974378noreply@blogger.com