A foolish reply .. help me to answer

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Permalink Reply by Loren Miller on May 25, 2010 at 5:48am

If this idiot-child can quantify "breath" as something other than air and the involuntary response of the body to move its diaphragm to move air ... OR he can quantify "atman" or "prana," he gets a prize.

Otherwise, he can suck eggs for all of me.

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Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on May 23, 2010 at 9:50pm

sounds good to me!

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Permalink Reply by chekuthan on May 23, 2010 at 10:25pm

if u think its a A Brilliant ...
Reply

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Permalink Reply by Jo Jerome on May 23, 2010 at 10:35pm

Breath is quite 'visible' in the context being discussed. Under the right conditions you can see it with the naked eye. You can smell it, feel it, taste it, there are any number of scientific instruments to detect it, measure it, break it down into it's elemental components.

Unlike god/s, which exists only in the mind of the believer.

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Permalink Reply by chekuthan on May 23, 2010 at 11:03pm

Thanks :-)

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Permalink Reply by Tarquin St John Sh'gn'sty on May 24, 2010 at 4:55am

John Buchan? The novelist and erstwhile Governor General of Canada?

Might be a be hard to tell him anything,what with him having died in 1940 and al.


What would I say.Nothing,I'd probably laugh at them.

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Permalink Reply by Kalypso on May 24, 2010 at 9:27am

Invisible, undetectable = non-existant

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Permalink Reply by Gila Guerilla on May 24, 2010 at 9:13pm

I recently read in a book, this gem: "An atheist's body, in a coffin, is all dressed up with no place to go".

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Permalink Reply by amer muhammad on May 24, 2010 at 9:54pm

go to hell, other side is going to be full of ediots.

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Permalink Reply by unholyroller on May 24, 2010 at 11:22pm

HAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAA.......Amer....you are so right!

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Permalink Reply by Stephen Moore on May 25, 2010 at 2:02am

Yes, it is foolish.

There are two types of breath:
1. That which is part of respiration; the inhaling and exhaling of air.
2. The spirit; that which animates the corporeal body. For example, Yahweh breathes life into Adam (Genesis 2:7). A related concept in Hinduism is ātman. That a deity or other supernatural being breathes life into human beings is an ancient and common story in religions around the world, both extant and extinct.

That the respondent has capitalised 'breath' suggests a reference to the second meaning. Especially considering the conversation is part of a Philosophy discussion.

My response would be along the lines of "There is no compelling evidence in support of a supernatural breath that animates life."

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Permalink Reply by Richard Francis on May 25, 2010 at 5:36am

If you want a more anthropological answer then try "An atheist has empathy, argumentation, exposition, personal experience, reason, logic and critical analysis to rely on." These have led to a more egalitarian, democratic society.

What would they have us do? Return to a patriarchal, corrupt system based on ignorance, prejudice and oppression?

The original statement is still equating God with goodness. History tells us a very different story.

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