Merry Christmas

On Thu, 28 Dec 2006 20:10:54 +0000, Harry Stottle wrote:

"Annika1980" wrote in message
ups.com...

Harry Stottle wrote:

Not a problem for us atheists, we don't believe in the devil either,
which is why these scare stories written to try and make us conform,
will never work.

So what stops an atheist from just going around stealing and killing
people they don't like?


Atheists don't believe in god, that has nothing to do with not believing
in law and order, which can be easily achieved without the threat of an
imaginary hell.

The thing about religion is that it allows a level of social control
between that of "enlighened self interest" and that of "do this and those
men over there will beat the crap out you and lock you in a cage".

Doesn't always work, but neither does enlightened self interest or the
threat of violence, just gives another option.

Also, since it is possible for one who believes in God to blame God for
unavoidable tragedies, and since there is no percentage at all in filing
lawsuits against God, a widespread belief in such an entity can cut down
on the lawsuits.

--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

"Alan Browne" wrote in
Little Rock city population: 184,000
Murders to date in 2006: 55

Montreal metro population: 3,636,700
Murders to date in 2006: 62

How many of those 55 people in Little Rock deserved to die, and how much
better off is the rest of the population because they are dead?

And how many of those 3.6 million people in Montreal should be dead, but
aren't because of anti-gun laws that prevent the honest people in the
population from blowing them away?

These are questions that the liberals never address.....They make the tacit
assumption that every one who dies by gunshot is killed by accident and/or
mistake, and that none of them are ever killed by design, because THEY
DESERVED TO DIE!

A gun is a tool, just like a monkey wrench. Only, instead of tightening your
plumbing, it is for killing people. And, just like some plumbing leaks and
needs to be tightened, there are some people who need to be killed. When
that time comes, you better hope you are carrying the tool you need to
accomplish the task at hand.

"J. Clarke" wrote in message
So what stops an atheist from just going around stealing and killing
people they don't like?

Just because we don't believe in a God, that doesn't mean that we have no
morality, and/or don't believe in the laws of society. People banded
together and organized themselves into societies long before they believed
in Heavens and Hells, or any sort of after-life punishments. I don't go
around raping and murdering because I don't want others to go around raping
and murdering me. I am a perfectly good citizen in spite of the fact that I
don't believe that the creator of the whole universe, with more galaxies in
it than there are grains of sand on all the beaches on earth, is hovering
over my bunk at night listening to my prayers and making sure I get a good
night's sleep. IOW, I don't have to be insane in order to be a good
citizen.......

(Alan*Browne) wrote:
All of them in his head. Crime is crime
and cannot be attributed to 'devils'.
The fact is that Little Rock is a violent
place:

****Little Rock city population: * 184,000
******Murders to date in 2006: 55
********Montreal metro population:
3,636,700
******Murders to date in 2006: 62

Happy New Year! Know that about 55
people in Little Rock will be murdered
next year! Try not to be one of them.

Hopefully our new sheriff "Doc Holladay" will clean things up a bit
(Dirty Harry Style).
http://www.katv.com/news/stories/1206/383481.html
You be careful yourself, I know you travel to the US occasionally and
there are a lot of violent cities in the US. Happy New Year.


Cody,

http://community-2.webtv.net/AnOverc...otographyLinks

On 28 Dec 2006 23:00:12 GMT, J. Clarke wrote:

Also, since it is possible for one who believes in God to blame God for
unavoidable tragedies, and since there is no percentage at all in filing
lawsuits against God, a widespread belief in such an entity can cut down
on the lawsuits.

But it can also result in God-appeasing sacrifices. Of the two
options, filing lawsuits against God causes no harm (which any right
thinking God readily acknowledges) and indicates a much greater
degree of sanity than that exhibited by the God fearing mobs.

On Thu, 28 Dec 2006 14:28:46 -0800, "Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even
number wrote:

Bill Funk wrote:
On Thu, 28 Dec 2006 14:24:28 -0000, "Harry Stottle"
wrote:

I don't think Hell is a big fire-pit.
I think Hell will be the place where people recognize that they've
utterly missed their opportunity to know God...and are then faced
with the reality of being eternally alone. If there is "knashing of
teeth..." I think it will be due to ultimate lonliness...rather than
physical pain or physical torment.

But who cares what I think...

I think you are in for a big disappointment.

If the atheists are right, he won't be disappointed.
He won't be anything.

If there is any disappointment after death (or any thought at all, for that
matter), then atheists may have some reason for concern. If they're right,
then neither of us will care. If I'm right, there may indeed be
disappointment.

Yes.
If the atheists are right,there's no problem.
If they are wrong...
--
Bill Funk
replace "g" with "a"

"Bill Funk" wrote:

If there is any disappointment after death (or any thought at all, for
that
matter), then atheists may have some reason for concern. If they're
right,
then neither of us will care. If I'm right, there may indeed be
disappointment.

Yes.
If the atheists are right,there's no problem.
If they are wrong...

Even if the atheists are wrong, they'll have lots of company in Hell.

Most religions tell you that you're damned if you don't believe their
particular flavor of religion, and they can't all be right. And there's no
way to tell which is right.

David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan

(David*J.*Littleboy) wrote:
Most religions tell you that you're
damned if you don't believe their
particular flavor of religion, and they
can't all be right. And there's no way to
tell which is right.

Only one man gave his life for our sins.
Only one man has arose from the dead.
Jesus the Christ!

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

William Graham wrote:
"J. Clarke" wrote in message
So what stops an atheist from just going around stealing and killing
people they don't like?

Just because we don't believe in a God, that doesn't mean that we have no
morality, and/or don't believe in the laws of society. People banded
together and organized themselves into societies long before they believed
in Heavens and Hells, or any sort of after-life punishments. I don't go
around raping and murdering because I don't want others to go around raping
and murdering me. I am a perfectly good citizen in spite of the fact that I
don't believe that the creator of the whole universe, with more galaxies in
it than there are grains of sand on all the beaches on earth, is hovering
over my bunk at night listening to my prayers and making sure I get a good
night's sleep. IOW, I don't have to be insane in order to be a good
citizen.......


Is this the moral and ethical William Graham who, in another thread, was
telling us how he plans to keep driving at night on unlit roads, even
though he is so night-blind that he can't see where he is going? If so,
then your above answer is meaningless, and you may soon find out if
there is a God, or not. Good luck.

Annika1980 wrote:
Harry Stottle wrote:

Not a problem for us atheists, we don't believe in the devil either,
which is why these scare stories written to try and make us conform,
will never work.

So what stops an atheist from just going around stealing and killing
people they don't like?

What stops a Christian from doing the same?

If you really want to know what God has to say, listen to our president.
Bush says that God speaks through him.