Author Topic: A Million Pound Atheist "Temple"  (Read 18490 times)

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Offline N. De Plume

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Re: A Million Pound Atheist "Temple"
« Reply #15 on: January 28, 2012, 10:24:12 pm »
Quote
That could mean a temple to love, friendship, calm or perspective.

Am I the only one who thought "pony temple" when I read this?
Actually, I got thinking more about Legend of Zelda style temples.
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Offline Lithp

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Re: A Million Pound Atheist "Temple"
« Reply #16 on: January 28, 2012, 10:31:45 pm »
It seems to me like it isn't uncommon for self-proclaimed atheists to get Hype Aversion from the New Atheist movement, & try to be overaccomodating of religion. For example, if you've ever run into that guy who said, "I'm an atheist, but what's the big deal of having faculty-lead prayer in schools? Why are you trying to start a culture war?"

Does it make sense? No. Do I see where it comes from? Yes. What do I propose the solution is? Recognizing that you're never going to find a Patron Saint of Atheism. Skepchick, Dawkins, Hitchens, et al all have their good & bad points &, like any philosophical movement, they each put emphasis on different things.

Offline VirtualStranger

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Re: A Million Pound Atheist "Temple"
« Reply #17 on: January 28, 2012, 10:37:57 pm »
Richard Dawkins was put on my shit list after being a over-entitled, privileged, condescending dick to Rebecca Watson.

That said, he's done far more good for the atheist "movement" than a giant fucking temple will ever do.

Offline Lithp

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Re: A Million Pound Atheist "Temple"
« Reply #18 on: January 28, 2012, 10:41:55 pm »
Am I the only one who really doesn't care about that incident? Shit was stupid, but it's over now.

Offline Rabbit of Caerbannog

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Re: A Million Pound Atheist "Temple"
« Reply #19 on: January 28, 2012, 11:52:19 pm »
For the record I'm still a fan of Richard Dawkins, though I do concede dickiness on the Skepchick matter.

Offline N. De Plume

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Re: A Million Pound Atheist "Temple"
« Reply #20 on: January 28, 2012, 11:59:59 pm »
I really don’t give a shit about Dawkins one way or the other. Though most of the time I hear about him, he is taking crap from some fundie or another, so I just wind up being on his side by default.
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Offline Lithp

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Re: A Million Pound Atheist "Temple"
« Reply #21 on: January 29, 2012, 12:12:41 am »
I think the initial complaint was silly, Dawkins way overreacted, boycotting him over it makes no damn sense, & in the end Conservapedia got the last laugh.

So, to recap:

Quote
Shit was stupid

Offline Witchyjoshy

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Re: A Million Pound Atheist "Temple"
« Reply #22 on: January 29, 2012, 12:30:04 am »
Dawkins is a haughty ass, in general.  He makes good points, don't get me wrong, but he's haughty and an ass.

I'll acknowledge his good points, but I'm not going to stand with him.  Ever.
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Offline Captain Jack Harkness

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Re: A Million Pound Atheist "Temple"
« Reply #23 on: January 29, 2012, 12:43:12 am »
I'm afraid I missed this Dawkins drama thing you're all taking about.

I like avoiding drama.
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Offline Lithp

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Re: A Million Pound Atheist "Temple"
« Reply #24 on: January 29, 2012, 01:27:37 am »
Rebecca Watson is a female atheist (duh) & originator of a blog called "Skepchick," who wants to promote gender equality in the "skeptic community." Anywho, she was at some kind of atheist convention. After the fact, she made a video blog detailing her visit, part of which explained being hit on by a man in an elevator. She, I guess, wanted to advise that people not do that. Of course, being a blog entry, it was over-analyzed to all Hell, resulting in an incredibly stupid flame war (redundant). Dawkins, who was also there, had heard her speak about sexism in the atheist community, & picked up on this whole thing evidently thought she was being melodramatic, & proceeded to compare her situation to women's rights violations in radical Islamic countries. They had a debate, neither one being persuaded by the other, & she & a lot of her supporters basically boycotted him after the fact. Conservapedia has an article on it called "Elevatorgate," which it uses to justify the claim that most atheists are socially dysfunctional men, & to laugh at atheists "attacking each other" in general. I'm sure you could find a lot of other blog entries about it, as well.

Quote
So, to recap:

Shit was stupid.

Dawkins is an ass, but his whole overarching point is that it's not necessary, nor inherently desirable, to be nice during a debate. Sometimes it gets him into trouble, but I can appreciate that general approach.
« Last Edit: January 29, 2012, 01:30:57 am by Lithp »

Offline Rabbit of Caerbannog

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Re: A Million Pound Atheist "Temple"
« Reply #25 on: January 29, 2012, 02:43:59 am »
Am I the only one who really doesn't care about that incident? Shit was stupid, but it's over now.
Yeah, this, basically.

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Re: A Million Pound Atheist "Temple"
« Reply #26 on: January 29, 2012, 03:53:27 am »
Trying to turn atheism into a psuedo-religion is the most asinine idea since some moron decided that sultanas would be a good addition to ice cream.

Offline The Right Honourable Mlle Antéchrist

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Re: A Million Pound Atheist "Temple"
« Reply #27 on: January 29, 2012, 04:35:36 am »
Why not put that money towards funding education for underprivileged students? If we want to further rationality, education is the way to go.

Dawkins is very hit or miss. I find myself agreeing with a lot of what he says, but there are times when he annoys the hell out of me, particularly with some of his more condescending comments.
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Offline RavynousHunter

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Re: A Million Pound Atheist "Temple"
« Reply #28 on: January 29, 2012, 05:42:22 am »
Dawkins can be a prick, sure, but at least he sticks by his fuckin guns when the goin gets tough, which is a lot more than what can be said for many folks, religious and otherwise.

That said, really?  Motherfucker, we don't need a temple.  We NEED food, clothes, and bloody education.

Jesus, for an "enlightened" atheist, this bastard sure is stupid.
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Offline Sigmaleph

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Re: A Million Pound Atheist "Temple"
« Reply #29 on: January 29, 2012, 10:38:59 am »
For all his faults, Dawkins is a thousand times preferable to the faitheist accommodationist "the Gnu Atheists are mean" crowd.

And that includes de Botton.
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