Does the following statement sound familiar?

"Religion is a tool for controlling the masses, anyone who follows a religion is a sheep who doesn't think independently".

Yes! It is the very statement most "independently thinking" atheists use to bash people who belong to an organised religion... virtually word for word.

Makes me chuckle.

[Rust]

Really? Most atheists say that? That's news to me. I know many say that it can be used as a control method, but certainly not that "control" is its only use.

Your statement makes me chuckle.

quote:Originally posted by Velio:

"Religion is a tool for controlling the masses, anyone who follows a religion is a sheep who doesn't think independently".

Reminds me a fair bit of "Religion is the opium of the people."

That's like saying all atheists can't agree that we need oxygen to live.

All I'm saying is that belief systems are an integral part of being human... They all have shortcomings, they all have benefits... They can produce monsters who destroy or they can produce benevolent people who elevate the lives of those around them...

In the end, we're all looking for the same thing, we're just taking different routes to get there... Why bother on shitting someone's parade just because you're also struggling to make sense of your existence?

For every dumbass fundamentalist religious zealot there is also a dumbass self-hating nihilist... For every spiritual teacher who improves people's lives through care and compassion there's a scientific genius who achieves the same through technology...

We're all sheep, some of us are black, some of us are white... Let's just stop and think about the herd and whether our actions are moving towards the edge of a cliff or greener pastures...

quote:some of us our black, some of us our white

The minute you said that I stopped taking you seriously.

quote:Originally posted by Velio:



We're all sheep, some of us are black, some of us are white... Let's just stop and think about the herd and whether our actions are moving towards the edge of a cliff or greener pastures...

Fuck you. We're not all sheep. Do not PRESUME that because you go "baaaaa!" and follow some dumbfuck shepherd around, waiting to be butchered by him, that WE are ALL sheep! There are the sheep and there are the predators. Predators happen to be at the top of the food chain. Sheep do have a purpose, to feed the predators.

quote:Originally posted by crazed_hamster:

Fuck you. We're not all sheep. Do not PRESUME that because you go "baaaaa!" and follow some dumbfuck shepherd around, waiting to be butchered by him, that WE are ALL sheep! There are the sheep and there are the predators. Predators happen to be at the top of the food chain. Sheep do have a purpose, to feed the predators.

I've never heard of a preditory sheep before. There is the saying "A wolf in sheeps clothing", but that's not the same thing, as the wolf wasn't born a sheep. He's only pretending to be one.

Also if you equate those who believe in religion as sheep, then the preditors in this case would technically be the shepherds as they are the ones in control of the sheep.

quote:Originally posted by Adrenochrome:

The minute you said that I stopped taking you seriously.

Why? Did you think I was referring to race?

...and crazed_hamster, I can understand why it makes you angry to be labelled part of the herd... but hey, sooner or later you'll have to face it... you're no different than any other human being on the planet... embrace your humanity and try to grow by improving yourself, not by hampering the growth of everything around you...

quote:Originally posted by Velio:

Why? Did you think I was referring to race?

I think he meant because you were too stupid to use "are" instead of "our."

Woah, no way! I didn't even notice that

...and I did it TWICE...

Well in my defense, English is not my native tongue, but it is a silly mistake that I usually ridicule myself...

UPDATE:

...wait a minute... he quoted me wrongly! Awww... I guess not only did he misunderstand my point, it was HE who used "our" instead of "are"...

[This message has been edited by Velio (edited 03-21-2006).]

Ok the bottom line, my apologies for lashing out at a specific belief system, the irony is that what I was trying to get people to think about the intolerance of intolerance through intolerance of my own

[jb_mcbean]

quote:Originally posted by Nemisis:

I've never heard of a preditory sheep before. There is the saying "A wolf in sheeps clothing", but that's not the same thing, as the wolf wasn't born a sheep. He's only pretending to be one.

Also if you equate those who believe in religion as sheep, then the preditors in this case would technically be the shepherds as they are the ones in control of the sheep.

If I was a sheep I'd be an evil predatory one and I'd eat the shepherd.