10-23-2010, 05:37 PM
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Oddworld Administrator
Rainbow of Flavour
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: Apr 2002
: Seattle (woo!)
: 16,311
Rep Power: 42
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I have to say something that is heartfelt, and is also meant to offend. I do not absolve you mealy-mouthed moderates, I do not regard your beliefs as harmless. If Colleen Hauser or Leilani Neumann were in your church, you'd tell them to get medical care, but you'd also validate their belief in prayers. You would provide the soothing background muzak that says prayer is good, prayer is virtuous, prayer will connect you to the great lord who can do anything, prayer will give you solace in your time of worry. You would not raise your voice to say that prayer is useless, prayer is self-defeating, that while prayer might make you feel better while your child is suffering, that is no virtue. You pray yourselves. You think it is a noble and generous act for your representatives to prowl the corridors of hospitals, preying on the desperation of the sick. You abase yourselves before false hopes, and sacrifice human dignity on an altar built from the bones of the dead. You would spread the poison, piously excusing yourselves because you only want to administer sub-lethal doses.
You are Abraham's enablers. I hope you all feel a small tremor of guilt when you sit your own children down at bedtime to beg a nonexistent being for aid, when you plant the seed of futile supplication and surrender to delusions in their trusting minds. Damn you all.
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He doesn't know what he's talking about. All the religious people I know acknowledge that prayer is like throwing letters in bottles in to the ocean; there's never any guarantee God will respond in the way you want.
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Yes! I'm not saying otherwise. I said right at the beginning (or meant to) that I respect people, and I respect their rights, including the right to believe whatever. That is distinct from respecting ideas. It is not my goal to harass anybody, but anyone should be able to publicly criticise any idea without a deafening chorus of "you big meanie!" or being marked out for death. Those criticisms may be wrong or otherwise objectionable. Fine. Respond in kind! It's a two way street.
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Whilst I agree with this point in principle, it's a very fine line to tread and I think most people do not have the ability to discuss ideas without criticising the person.
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Spending as long as I do here, it's easy to forget that Oddworld has actual fans.
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