Certainly, in fact the language is quite poetic. Western culture would be unrecognizable without the literary influence of the King James Bible.
Really? No! Get out of town! There are different interpretations of a philosophy? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!:bawl: Is this an appeal to authority? Or an argumentum ad populum? I can't quite make up my mind. Your assertion here is what precsiely? Why is one (presumably) atheists opinion of some of their fellow atheists relevant here? Not in the slightest. How many Atheists are there, do you think, that were formerly theists? More to the point. Are you suggesting that Atheists shouldn't try to understand that which they choose to reject? That their arguments should be based on... Something else? Do you have even the remotest comprehension of how ridiculous that sounds? Yes, that's right. Your opinion, which you present as a fact, which attacks a certain philosophy. Do you actually understand what it is you're attacking?
wynn Actually, the point is that you are largely incomprehensable and eratic when discussing theism. You alone are responsible for the persona you project. No one has yet even articulated the "secrets of life, the Universe and everything" or demonstrated their essential nature. As to any wisdom I may possess, I leave those judgements to others, though I, of course, have a fairly high regard for my own opinions. GrumpyPlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
For you, perhaps. Has it ever occured to you that you just might not be able to talk about things on my level? But that would be preposterous to consider, right? Surely, my level must be beneath yours, surely you know better than me. Oh. And you play no part in how you perceive people? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Not every phrase that has "true" in it is a No True Scotsman Fallacy. No, I don't need to change my image. If anything, I should go away from atheistic mirrors like you who render distorted images of me. If one is indeed free of the faith, wouldn't that show in one's language? Perhaps you take yours too seriously.
wynn No, it never occurred to me, and it is curious that you even think that way. I do, evidently, "know better" than you on many topics, though that is often a really low bar. I can, at least, put forward a coherent thought in clear language and answer questions directly(however much you don't like my answers). I don't know whether you are capable of direct, cogent, non-evasive debate, I just have no evidence in support of that, it would be a pleasant surprise if any showed up. GrumpyPlease Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Well, I would disagree. Your behavior has resulted in two temporary bans, and you react with hostility whenever someone tells you about yourself. I mean, you've resorted to ad hominem already (DID I USE IT RIGHT, DAVE C?!), contending that my atheism has something to do with how your behavior is interpreted. There is no clearer case of a tiger needing to change their stripes. In small ways, perhaps. One might say "Gesundheit" instead of "God bless you," but the language is too dependent upon Biblical imagery to be completely free from it. In this case, atheists are much like minorities who take ownership of the pejoratives used against them. If I say "God damn him," I don't literally mean I hope God damns him, I mean that he's a jackass and I hope ill befalls him.
I think 99% of the time that's what 99% of Christians mean too. In fact in vernacular use among Christians, atheists, Buddhists, Rastafarians or whatever, they generally don't even want ill to befall him. They just wish he would stop being such an asshole, by growing up, becoming enlightened through education, or having his mother/father/wife/sister/brother/friend/teacher/pastor/coach/whatever tell him that he is in fact an asshole and he should try to improve himself. How many times have you "goddamned" your own wife/girlfriend/child/friend/whatever? Did you really want ill to befall him/her?
Define "really." I mean, that's a snarky answer, but it's true. Yes, when someone does me wrong, for a moment I really hate them, and can visualize that proverbial anvil falling on their heads. More to your point, though, I was simply pointing out that one not only can't "free" themselves of theistic references in the language, but doesn't have to, because the words and phrases have been appropriated by secular society. I mean, Christmas, the chief holiday of the Christian faith, is now a completely secular commercial holiday celebrated by all faiths. Who needs to free themselves from any of it when they can simply take it for themselves?