"Throughout the years I've found myself almost entirely incapable of agreeing with any article that wants to blame the Holocaust or communist atrocities on either "atheist philosophy" or "the Church". It seems that neither…"
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The Dangers of Atheism
Started this discussion. Last reply by Madhukar Kulkarni Mar 22. 23 Replies 3 Likes
I ran a quick search for discussions on this topic and nothing came up, so I thought I'd make a thread on it to see what you guys think. The provocative title of this thread is identical to the title…Continue
Tags: Usefulness, Definitions, Atheist, Label, Harris
Agora and Hypatia: Separating Fact from Fiction
Started this discussion. Last reply by Secular Forces 2013 Mar 26. 72 Replies 0 Likes
Alright, I know that this might be a bit of a serious topic to discuss around the "water cooler", but bear with me. I'm a bit of a history nut, and a big pet peeve of mine are the pseudo-historical…Continue
Atheist from Belgium
Started this discussion. Last reply by booklover Jan 1, 2012. 10 Replies 1 Like
Hey what's up everybody ;)Just thought I'd stop by and say hi. I'm a 17-year-old (well, almost 18) atheist from Belgium. My name is Mathieu, but since you Americans have trouble with them French…Continue
Matt VDB's Page
Latest Activity
Matt VDB replied to eric stone's discussion fundamentalists are arguing that reason of the enlightenment led to the Holocaust
Matt VDB replied to Mantiki Mjadili's discussion Do you have any unanswerable Biblical contradictions?
"Hi Michael,
Precisely! I'm glad someone else making this point, as too many on this forum let their experience with creationist or literalist strains of Christianity inform their critiques to an unhealthy extent.
We need quite a bit more of…"
Matt VDB replied to Anthony Jordan's discussion What is your view of Agnosticism ?
"Hi Mathew,
In fairness to Madhukar, the nature of dictionairies have made this problem more difficult. That's because most people don't realize that dictionairies don't define words: they just record the way is colloquially used. And…"
Matt VDB replied to Anthony Jordan's discussion What is your view of Agnosticism ?
"No, an atheist is simply someone who does not have a positive belief in God. That doesn't mean he's certain, sure or confident there is no God, just that he -for whatever reason- has not been positively persuaded that there is one.…"
Matt VDB replied to Anthony Jordan's discussion What is your view of Agnosticism ?
"Hi Jaime,
Given the context I assume you meant to say 'definition a' there, which is indeed roughly the one most people here are using for agnosticism. Definition b is clearly sloppy and a non-technical version, but hey, some people use it…"
Matt VDB replied to Anthony Jordan's discussion What is your view of Agnosticism ?
"Hi,
The part I agreed with was that one shouldn't characterize agnostics as claiming absolute knowledge (that they know) about God being unknowable :)
The part I disagreed about was that Huxley only claimed to have no personal knowledge of…"
Matt VDB replied to Anthony Jordan's discussion What is your view of Agnosticism ?
"True, but given the context I think it's rather clear that 'the problem of existence' refers to the existential question of why we're here and what kind of universe we're living in. After all, he contrasts his own view…"
Matt VDB replied to Anthony Jordan's discussion What is your view of Agnosticism ?
"I don't completely agree with that. Part of the reason for the differing definitions of agnosticism is that Huxley was somewhat ambiguous on these points. For instance he did say that, in contrast to 'the gnostics', he had a pretty…"
Matt VDB replied to Anthony Jordan's discussion What is your view of Agnosticism ?
"There's no such thing as someone who is just an agnostic, however it is possible to be agnostic about the existence of God (while still being a theist or an atheist).
Check the figure on the first page of the thread for details."
Matt VDB replied to Anthony Jordan's discussion What is your view of Agnosticism ?
"Jaime,
Calm down. I don't think you fully understand the use of the word 'gnostic' here. It doesn't refer to absolute knowledge about the existence of God, which obviously no one has and no one here is stupid enough to claim it.…"
Matt VDB replied to Anthony Jordan's discussion Unreliable Bible
"Okay. Well in my opinion trying to use inaccuracies in the Bible as a means of challenging literalism, doesn't really work. It certainly hasn't worked in my experience. I prefer to challenge the underlying assumptions of literalism right…"
Matt VDB replied to Anthony Jordan's discussion Unreliable Bible
"Anthony,
Beats me. What does that have to do with anything I said? All I explained was why gMatt has this passage and why it mirrors Exodus in the way that it does. It's clearly not actual history, and one can argue that it was never really…"
Matt VDB replied to Anthony Jordan's discussion Unreliable Bible
"Hey James,
I won't for a moment pretend to be either a professional scholar or a historian, I'm just a history enthusiast who enjoys the subject and likes to share some of the more interesting stuff the actual scholars are figuring out :)…"
Matt VDB replied to Anthony Jordan's discussion The Bible is Full of False Prophecies
"> By the same token, Anthony, it has now been shown to some folks' satisfaction that the whole notion of a Second Coming in general, and the Rapture in particular, is stupid
Well the Rapture, sure, but the notion of a second coming…"
Matt VDB replied to Anthony Jordan's discussion Unreliable Bible
"Hey Anthony,
Your first question is actually very interesting, since this is one of the ways of understanding the message that the writer of Matthew is trying to impart, and the way he goes about doing it. I don't really know of anyone who…"
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- Outspoken atheist and skeptic, and have been for several years (actually, for my entire life but I didn't really realise it). I'm a civil engineering student in Ghent University currently and enjoy any kind of interesting conversation ;)
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Matt VDB's Blog
Correctly applying skepticism (in history)
Posted on January 26, 2012 at 7:30pm 1 Comment 0 Likes
I want to talk briefly about what it really means to be a skeptic. Skepticism can be variously defined, but it generally relates to the idea that information needs to be well supported by evidence to be believed. It seems characterised by an attitude that questions sources, checks facts, analyses data, and fields a healthy amount of incredulity with regards to nonsense.
In short, I think a skeptic is someone who comes to beliefs about reality through a process of rational inquiry into…
Continue Historical Myths and Atheism
Posted on January 11, 2012 at 5:30am 36 Comments 0 Likes
As most of you who know me have found out, I spend a fair amount of time on this site not just making friends and having conversations, but also have debates which usually center around history. I am not a professional historian, but I am pretty well-read on the subject and consider it one of my hobbies, so I usually find myself debating with people not very familiar with the issues.
What I've noticed is that many atheists are not as historically literate as they think (I've…
ContinueComment Wall (19 comments)
- At 3:29pm on April 16, 2013,
Mathew T. said… Hi Matt, this is an odd format for a reply to be sure, but I was unable to reply back to you on the thread itself (possibly blocked, I don't know, but I doubt it). In any event, I don't want to clog up your entire comment wall with such a lengthy response, so feel free to delete if you like. *Note - sorry about the friend request, that was an accidental click - I'm not some basket-case who launches verbal (textual?) tirades in order to friend people.
I carefully reread my response to you and maybe a personal message would have been a better avenue, but it was simply easier to follow along with quoting/etc.
Look, I don't dislike you, and the bulk of my post probably seems that way. I don't even know you and am largely indifferent to the topics that you post about, and I wasn't trying to be a jerk to you or attack your character. I understand the frustration of arguing with people who respond nastily and the inclination I get to respond in kind is generally met with more of the same, much like you have said. I DID infact make several assumptions about you which now, based on the frank and productive reply I got from you, seem as though they were made in error, and I'm perfectly happy to admit as such.
With regard to the masturbation comment, please understand the context involved verbal masturbation and was not intended as a presupposition for any sort of inappropriate sexual innuendo, which you may have known, but just to be clear:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=verbal%20masturbation
Even so, I made a good deal of unfair attacks and will more carefully consider my responses to you in the future (should we cross paths).
I'm still not for snappy remarks between people and will likely continue to have a problem with them, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't surprised by your reply.
As I've already stated, I actually agree with many of your positions and I respect the work that it appears you put into your studies. If your responses are as courteous to others as yours was to me just now, I expect I'll probably agree with you on much more than I would disagree.
Greetings from Canada, take care.
- At 5:55pm on March 18, 2012,
Steph S. said… I liked what you had to say! I sent you a friend request. Have a nice weekend!
- At 9:00pm on January 7, 2012,
Lorien said… Watergate was a coverup. Yes conspiring does exist but the conspiracy theory rhetoric is a complete waste of time and never ends because they don't accept provided evidence proving there claims are wrong.
- At 4:21pm on January 7, 2012, Lorien said…
I wonder if my double facepalm will be deleted again on that 9/11 blog. Some atheists just can't make the leap to being a skeptic. You can't be a real skeptic if you are not an atheist (non-believer) but you can be an atheist and believe in conspiracy and paranormal crap.
- At 1:56am on December 31, 2011,
Alice said… Hi - just so you know - I've quoted you here: http://www.atheistnexus.org/group/originsuniverselifehumankindanddarwin/forum/topics/what-is-your-response-to-none-rational-thinking
- At 7:30pm on May 15, 2011,
Ruth Anthony-Gardner said… - Greetings, Matt! I'd like to invite you to a group where we talk about anything on our minds, Hang With Friends. :D We'll have some interesting conversations. Maybe you can start one.
- At 10:18am on October 3, 2010,
Diana Agorio said… - Matt, I further defined "Mad Dog" and "Wild Boar" for you on Sigmund's blog post ''Did Jesus exist?' vs. 'Did God exist?''
I would appreciate a response. The reason I get a bit irritated with you is because you ask me question after question and once I have answered all your questions, you drop it. It would be nice if you could say: "I see your point" or "That makes sense" or something to that effect. Also, the story about the swine should be the easiest for someone not familiar with Babylonian mythology to recognize as an astrological tale. Can you see it?
- At 5:35am on September 23, 2010,
Rob van Senten said… - Hi Matt VDB,
Thanks, and you're welcome!
I hope that the discussion at the "Man Made God" blog from Richard Goscicki will not be completely derailed.
- At 6:27am on September 21, 2010, Rob van Senten said…
- Hi Matt VDB,
I just came by to tell you that I appreciate your input. A|N needs more people that actually check the facts before regurgitating them, thanks!
- At 3:38pm on August 9, 2010,
Mark R. Stevens said… - Not a problem here -I do understand that these are emotional issues and have had a lifetime of practice discussing them. I like to think that those of us independent thinkers are a cut above -if that's not being too pompous...
I appreciate the comment
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