Are you an atheist? (1 Viewer)

[Frothingslosh]

I do think that most priests really do try to fulfill the PRIMARY purpose of a shepard: to PROTECT the flock. Some people (typically those with authoritarian personalities), have a distressing tendency to think that someone must 100% be correct if that person is trusted or in a position of power. There's no second-guessing, no confirmation, just the understanding that those 'above' you are always correct.

Hell, we see that constantly today, and it has been repeated over and over again on this very thread, as it's the heart and soul of Bible (and Qu'ran) literalism.

Couple that with the very human tendency to believe anything you're told by people you already agree with or like, and you get things like the Salem Witch Trials, the Inquisition (or the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to call it by its modern name), the Holocaust, and hell, even things like the murder of George Tiller, the Charleston church shooting, the Oklahoma City bombing, and 9/11.

When people believe God is on their side, they are capable of and willing to do literally ANYTHING, not matter how horrifying the action. Or as Voltaire said:

Formerly there were those who said: You believe things that are incomprehensible, inconsistent, impossible because we have commanded you to believe them; go then and do what is unjust because we command it. Such people show admirable reasoning. Truly, whoever is able to make you absurd is able to make you unjust. If the God-given understanding of your mind does not resist a demand to believe what is impossible, then you will not resist a demand to do wrong to that God-given sense of justice in your heart. As soon as one faculty of your soul has been dominated, other faculties will follow as well. And from this derives all those crimes of religion which have overrun the world.

Or, as it's usually mis-quoted:

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.

That is, in the end, why I am SO down on people who merely think what they're told to think without even TRYING to get at the actual facts of the case. Agree with what you're told in the end, if you must, but do it because the facts LEAD you there, not just because you were told to think that.

My true opposition, though, is for those who abuse their positions and take advantage of this tendency for either hatred or personal gain. Whether it's mega-churches raising millions per year for their 'pastors' to live in mansions, televangelists inciting hatred and violence against people who don't live the Quaker lifestyle, or "news" organizations like Fox News and Sinclair Broadcasting (who literally just forced all of its stations to read a condemnation of unspecified (and utterly unproven) Deep State agents (who are apparently all Democrats more loyal to party than nation) hidden in the federal government and working toward the destruction of the US) using propaganda to incite panic, fear, and hatred, they all are the spiritual descendants of Machiavelli, Torquemada, and the like, and they all embody the worst parts of humanity.

 

[Mark_]

televangelists inciting hatred and violence against people who don't live the Quaker lifestyle

The irony in this posts is that actual Quakers are almost all pacifists...

On point though is the "Us or THEM" mentality most fanatical believers have. This is not restricted to religion though. Both "Democrats" and "Republicans" in the United States have their fair share of fanatics unwilling to reasonably discuss opposing views. The same holds true for the militant "Environmental Activists" and other groups.

For the most part, those who learn to reason first are least likely to indulge in "Well, I'm going to regurgitate what which I was spoon fed".

 

[Frothingslosh]

Oh, I used Quakers knowing full well the irony. I was trying write that while waiting on a query to run, and drew a blank for better comparisons for what I really meant: "people who think and live precisely as they're told to by the televangelists".

 

[Mark_]

@ Frothingslosh,

If you want to do that, may as well include those who allow politics to be their religion!

 

[Frothingslosh]

I'm trying to stay at least KIND of on-topic.

Unusual for me, I know.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

If you want to do that, may as well include those who allow politics to be their religion!

Not TRYING to go off topic here, but that is why I'm more of a Libertarian than any other political denomination. I'm not a "anarchistic Libertarian" because some laws are good. I just don't align completely with Republicans OR Democrats. I know some of the laws we have now are slanted by which party was in power when they were enacted.

My political non-alignment is analogous to my position as an atheist. The Bible and Qu'ran have many good statements about love, forgiveness, and an attitude of peace. I don't agree with the claimed origins of their commandments and beliefs, but that doesn't stop forgiveness and mercy from being good things in and of themselves.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

No, no, didn't you see? D&D is nothing but literal black magic grimoires published under the ruse of being a game!

Two divergent thoughts here...

First, if the "D&D is Satanic" crowd hated the 'sword & sorcery' games published back then, they would probably foam at the mouth over the 'Magic the Gathering' card game, which is on their 15th or 16th iteration of new card series. This year I believe they are featuring dragons as critters to include in your horde.

Second, (the momentary diversion) it was D&D that gave me a basis for a hobby I picked up while my mother was still alive but needed a 'sitter' to be available if she needed me. I became a novelist and finished five full-length novels in the D&D genre, though I was careful to avoid treading on the toes of the creations of Tolkein or Gygax. I have never had them published but I have a couple of nice rejection letters, at least.

I have to admit an ulterior motive in this post - I saw from the main topics page that this thread was at 5999 posts. You KNOW I couldn't just leave it there. I just LOVE to watch mileage gauges "click over" to the next unit of 1000.

 

[Frothingslosh]

1) Actually, M:tG has always had dragons. Both the Shivan Dragon and the Dragon Whelp were available from the day Alpha launched in 1993 the Dragon Engine was a thing in the March, 1994 Antiquities expansion, and Elder Dragon Legends (including the utterly terrifying, if too-hard-to-play Nicol Bolas) were included when Legends came out in June, 1994. Many (if not most) expansions contain one or more dragons.

2) Oh GOD yes, the screams of outrage were raised from Coast to Coast when the game came out, and they STILL call the game 'demonic' and 'Satanic'.

3) Actually, yours appears to be post 6001. You did post 6000 a few days ago.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Yes, but the front page was still showing 5999 at the bottom.

As to M:tG, satanic & demonic only if you really like the black cards. I have a white deck that is based on angelic creatures. If I can get a couple of the special effects out quickly enough, you can't do enough damage to my critters to get through to me because of life-link and because of life bonuses for all cases of tapping white mana. Plus the effect that makes all my creatures indestructible and vigilant.

 

[Frothingslosh]

I was a tournament player (ranked 35 in the DCI in 1996 or 1997), so I didn't have a set 'deck'; I simply played whatever deck I felt was the strongest. So, in necro summer, I ran a necro deck tweaked to deal with all the white weenie decks I was facing. Then Ehrnageddon, then Marogeddon. Sligh, green weenie, white weenie with firestorm, hatred, K-post, Pros-Bloom, you name it. Hell, I even took tournaments with a blue weenie deck that completely lacked counterspells (it did NOT lack Man-o-War, Phantom Warrior, or Tradewind Rider, or this cheap blue wall that unsummoned anything it blocked. Or 4 copies of this enchantment that made my opponent play 2 mana per enchantment per attacker.)

My favorites were probably the final version of the necro deck and a Type I (classic, now) deck that was all about using and re-using artifacts that provide more mana than their cost, Hurkyl's Recall, Prosperity, and black vice. I scored more first-turn wins with that deck than any other I used.

Unfortunately, I've not played since 1999 or so, so I haven't the slightest clue what today's tournament environment looks like.

 

[Frothingslosh]

And FYI, Affinity was after my time, or I guarantee you I would have been playing that monstrosity as well.

 

[Vassago]

I haven't played MtG since the mid-90s. I still have all of my alpha and beta through Generation (4?) cards.

I wonder how much they are worth these days.

 

[Frothingslosh]

4th edition.

Depends on the set, the condition, and the card itself. Beat up 4th Edition commons would likely range from worthless (Grizzly Bear) to a few cents (Lightning Bolt). Fair condition Alphas would be worth a few cents to a few bucks (Lightning Bolt) to significantly more (Black Lotus: an alpha sold for $27,000 a few years back). Mint condition Betas, should you have any, are probably your highest priced options, but then again, if your hands have touched them, then they're no longer mint. (A perfect mint Beta Black Lotus - the only known to still exist - was on eBay last year for $100,000, but IIRC, didn't sell.)

Overall, your 4E cards will probably average a cent or two per card for the entire collection, your Revised will be in the same ballpark, and your Unlimited Edition will probably average a few cents per card higher. (Revised still has dual lands, which remain pricey even now, and Unlimited still had the Power Nine, which are VERY expensive these days.) Your betas and alphas will go for a fair amount, but unless you sell them yourself individually, you're going to be lucky to average ten or 15 cents per card overall.

Basically, you can sell them en masse to a dealer or hobby shop for about 15% to 20% of their list price, or you can sell them on eBay and get full price but over a much longer time, and with the caveat that most Unlimited, Revised, and 4E commons and uncommons aren't going to sell, and even most rares won't be particularly popular.

Now, if you have a Beta Black Lotus in even fair condition, you can get some serious money, and the same to a lesser extent for the rest of the Power Nine.

 

[oumahexi]

OMG, I've been out of the forum for a few years and come back to find this debate is still going on lol.
In my years away I still haven't found God...

 

[The_Doc_Man]

The role of religion in government is still contested by die-hards, so it is no surprise that this debate won't die either.

 

[Frothingslosh]

OMG, I've been out of the forum for a few years and come back to find this debate is still going on lol.
In my years away I still haven't found God...

Have you checked behind the couch?

 

[The_Doc_Man]

When I checked behind the couch, all I found was dust that blew away into nothingness at the slightest air disturbance. Which I guess IS consistent with God.

 

[Frothingslosh]

Last time I looked behind the couch, I found a TRULY ridiculous number of cat toys.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I have to admit that a few years ago when #2 grandson was still pre-school, we found all sorts of Matchbox cars under the sofa. He's gotten past that stage, though.

 

[Dick7Access]

40 years ago, back in RI my wife hid jelly beans for the kids to find at Easter. A few years ago, in FL we were downsizing and I took the legs off the coffee table for storage. We found the last of the jelly Bean.