Dear Pope Benedict XVI

Posted by HeroofTime55 on Sept. 17, 2010, 10:13 p.m.

Fuck you.

In a recent speech, you equated atheism with Nazism. I am not a Nazi and the two concepts have nothing to do with each other.

Yes, we live in an age where religion is quickly dying out. In the past, religion served to 'fill in the gaps' of human knowledge. Whenever science has come along to fill those gaps with the truth, those clinging to their religious beliefs stop the progress of science, and for many centuries, religion has held back the human race and our progression forward.

Today we live in an era dominated by science and technology; new discoveries are being made every day, and we know more about the universe and it's workings than anyone in history. This is a scary thing for religion, because it's purpose of 'filling in the gaps' is quickly becoming vestigial. It is, of course, no wonder that a large number of religious bodies are aggressively fighting against this new era of humanity, and it's not surprising to watch them go to such ridiculous extremes as to make comparisons with Hitler and Nazism. Pathetic, really.

But for calling me a Nazi: Fuck you.

Comments

Leyenda 14 years, 2 months ago

que toda la vida es sueño,

y los sueños, sueños son.

– Segismundo

sirxemic 14 years, 2 months ago

Quote:
So your statement that reality is consistent is just an assumption.
It's not an assumption. Reality is by definition consistent.

Well, maybe quantum mechanics might prove wrong.

Leyenda 14 years, 2 months ago

Quote:
It's not an assumption. Reality is by definition consistent.
Whether or not reality exists independently of observation, is an open question.

And even if it does exist independently, there's no requirement that it be "consistent" and free of contradiction.

So you are still making assumptions.

sirxemic 14 years, 2 months ago

How can the state of things as they actually exist (the definition of reality) be inconsistent?

Castypher 14 years, 2 months ago

Only serprex is allowed to see the philosophical side of things. He was also the only one who could argue the topic while actually having any idea what he was talking about.

Leyenda 14 years, 2 months ago

Quote: Xemic
How can the state of things as they actually exist (the definition of reality) be inconsistent?
Maybe we should each define what meant by "consistent". To me, consistency means static, unchanging, and free from contradiction.

But why does reality have to be this? For example, reality could include multiple realities, or conflicting realities that change over time. It could consist of an infinity of universes, each with only one occupant – ourselves.

Any weird thing you can dream up is possible. The point is, we can never know which is true, because we each perceive reality differently. We can't step "outside" of our own perception to see the "true reality".

HeroofTime55 14 years, 2 months ago

I love how if we follow this train of thought all the way back, it basically amounts to "god is real because reality doesn't exist"

Juju 14 years, 2 months ago

No.

I, personally, am saying (other people will probably think something different) is that that neither science nor religion is provably better because both ask you to make assumptions to some degree. You simply choose which one you want to roll with. However, the way religion is used, e.g. the Papacy, can be criticised but only in terms of the application of particular beliefs.

Acid 14 years, 2 months ago

I enjoy how the people that are attacking religion/defending science are dealing in absolutes whilst criticizing religious people for doing the same.

"Reality IS consistent, it is the perception of reality that is not."

"The math perfectly simulates reality without flaw."

You don't even know what reality is. You only have your own perception of it. You cannot prove anything outside of your perception because you can't experience anything outside of yourself.

HeroofTime55 14 years, 2 months ago

Juju, I will repeat, Science is NOT a set of beliefs. Science is a process, a systematic search for the truth. Science cannot be false simply because science is not a set of claims or statements like religion is. It is a process, a methodology, and it cannot be right or wrong.

The body of knowledge produced by science is more comparable to religion, but this body is fluid and ever changing, and through science we have found errors in that knowledge and corrected them to the best of our ability.