Texas State Board of Education approves Bible course for high schools

[ragged325]

how come the only people that openly criticize other's beliefs and force their own views onto others are the atheists?

Are you kidding?

[Aptyp]

+1

I mentioned Socrates because he was the OG of atheism.

And being agnostic, i congratulate you on that, i guess I am in that category. as well.

I went after Christianity because of your reading list. It was that or mythology, and I don't want to anger Zeus.

[Lair]

I'd be willing to bet that if you remove tax-free money from the equation, organized religion would all but disappear in the US.

[speedhop]

If anyone can show me proof of a supreme being, I'll be the first one in line at church on Sundays.

I'm not an atheist. I'm an agnostic. I don't think there are any supreme beings, but I'm not ruling out the possibility, either.

I've never seen any evidence that there is a supreme being, much less proof.

When I see incontrovertible PROOF that there is a god, I'll buy the whole religion thing. Until then, practice what you preach. Just don't expect ME to live according to YOUR faith.

That is very well put. All I argue over is, make sure that you acknowledge the fact that others come by this so called "faith" easily. Religion is interesting in many respects. Lots of powerful people have used it to control, others have used it in genuine faith. There is no proof, that's why it's a topic for discussion. Agnostic is the only logical choice. If it weren't for Constantine, I'd be willing to bet that the free world would still be into Greek mythology and polytheism.

[speedhop]

speedhop, you're contradicting yourself. A lot like religions do.

How can you study something faith based? You're on a high horse because you read something leading you in one direction? I bet you've read it all, in their original languages, with their dialects.

I'll bust you on your Christian belief right here.
It's based on Torah, old testament, and it was written by Jews. Being part-Jew, I understand the meaning of jewish sarcasm, and knowing history of my people, I also know self-preservation. Torah was crap, and the rest of the additions isn't any better.

So you've read all those books and came out with religion? Plato also wrote down what Socrates said, but I bet you didn't read that, because Socrates asked "why". As if you went to Liberty University and got to read both sides. Just shut up.

If I read only magazines written before 1987, I will argue to death that my ES is best 3-series. Since then there were plenty discoveries and achievements to produce better models. But FUCK ALL OF YOU, MY ES IS THE BEST CAR IN THE WORLD.

I agree...I like the ES. But other than that, you are fucking dense. Did you read anything I wrote? I'll put it in bold for you this time I'm not Christian nor am I arguing for Christianity's sake. If you want to label it I believe myself to be AGNOSTIC. There it is again for you.

I have no idea what you're talking about with the Plato/Socrates remark. Congratulations on restating the fact that Socrates' was Plato's mentor. Thank you for contributing.

I'm going to revert back to my original argument...learn all of the facts before you come up with witty and "knowledgeable" responses.

[Lair]

If anyone can show me proof of a supreme being, I'll be the first one in line at church on Sundays.

I'm not an atheist. I'm an agnostic. I don't think there are any supreme beings, but I'm not ruling out the possibility, either.

I've never seen any evidence that there is a supreme being, much less proof.

When I see incontrovertible PROOF that there is a god, I'll buy the whole religion thing. Until then, practice what you preach. Just don't expect ME to live according to YOUR faith.

[Aptyp]

speedhop, you're contradicting yourself. A lot like religions do.

How can you study something faith based? You're on a high horse because you read something leading you in one direction? I bet you've read it all, in their original languages, with their dialects.

I'll bust you on your Christian belief right here.
It's based on Torah, old testament, and it was written by Jews. Being part-Jew, I understand the meaning of jewish sarcasm, and knowing history of my people, I also know self-preservation. Torah was crap, and the rest of the additions isn't any better.

So you've read all those books and came out with religion? Plato also wrote down what Socrates said, but I bet you didn't read that, because Socrates asked "why". As if you went to Liberty University and got to read both sides. Just shut up.

If I read only magazines written before 1987, I will argue to death that my ES is best 3-series. Since then there were plenty discoveries and achievements to produce better models. But FUCK ALL OF YOU, MY ES IS THE BEST CAR IN THE WORLD.

[speedhop]

Get off your fucking high horse too - religion isn't something that's hard to wrap your brain around. It's fear based group solidarity at it's finest. You'd have a lot less faith if you were the only person in your religious group. Not to mention - what ever happened to doing good things just for the sake of doing them? What's wrong with understanding the complexity and value in life without adding an unexplainable explainer into the equation?

FYI: I'd sacrifice my life to protect someone else's rights and freedoms. If there was a war worth fighting right now I'd be doing so.

If you believe that religion is merely a "fear based group" then you have quite a lot to learn. I'm going to guess that you've never actually studied a great deal of religion and are just arguing for your sake. Whatever the case, I'll sit on my high horse because I've done the work and I know my decision based on experience and knowledge.

Based on what you've said I can't gather a great deal of knowledge on religion, just the acceptance of not accepting. This is my distaste for our current society. Knowledge based on general public, whether that be based on religion or disbelief of religion. As I said, I'm not arguing for religion's sake, I'm arguing for knowledge's sake. Go read Aquinas, Plato, Aristotle, Paley, Freud, Dawkins, etc etc. Then come back to me with some concrete beliefs based on previous discoveries and theologies. Don't just bicker to bicker.

[speedhop]

That's not what I'm asking. I mean a full blown class dedicated to the teachings of atheism. Is that acceptable?

Of course it would be acceptable, but how can you teach disbelief? Belief is taught, disbelief is the acceptance of not believing in a belief. In order for there to be disbelief there must be an initial belief. Maybe you meant to ask, could one teach the acceptance of modern science as a structure for existence. The answer to that is, yes of course.

[Turf1600]

ever taken a science class? many of mine were taught under the banner that because science/evolution is right, God must be wrong.

That's not what I'm asking. I mean a full blown class dedicated to the teachings of atheism. Is that acceptable?

[Ral]

How would you feel about an atheism class being taught in your local schools?

ever taken a science class? many of mine were taught under the banner that because science/evolution is right, God must be wrong.

[Turf1600]

so, because you don't have hair I should wear a hat/skincap/beanie whenever I go to school? Because the feeling I get from the atheists on the board is that because you don't agree with it, it should be hidden away and not discussed in forums that are open and non-biased.

How would you feel about an atheism class being taught in your local schools?

[Turf1600]

Hahahaha...what priest raped you as a child? I wasn't rooting for any of the religious folk, but from the beginning of our existence religion is the nvoice of reason. And yes it gives people a reason to live. Maybe not you, but a specific portion of "believers". Again, stop living in your conch shell of an existence and think beyond why the religious act as they do. They believe so heavily in their religion that they will sacrafice their lives for it. What belief would you sacrafice your life for? All I was making light of is that religion is grounded in belief and humans need belief to exist. I gave you the short hand version again. Let's see if you can wrap your brain around it.

Before you go and sit on the stick, think about why the religious act as they do...in every sense. Not just negative.

Unfortunately for your argument science is now the voice of reason to many. Get off your fucking high horse too - religion isn't something that's hard to wrap your brain around. It's fear based group solidarity at it's finest. You'd have a lot less faith if you were the only person in your religious group. Not to mention - what ever happened to doing good things just for the sake of doing them? What's wrong with understanding the complexity and value in life without adding an unexplainable explainer into the equation?

FYI: I'd sacrifice my life to protect someone else's rights and freedoms. If there was a war worth fighting right now I'd be doing so.

[speedhop]

Since the very beginning? Yes we did great with Ra and Titans. And a good bunch more of gods that you "believers" conveniently done away with. And continue trying to do away with.

And which religion are you talking about, there hundreds of christian denominations and they didn't even have problem with murder of each other. Going to church makes you feel good about yourself? How about good actions and behavior. You really need some one watching you to make sure you don't fuck up. If people took responsibility for their actions and didn't have so many fears, religion would have no place in society.

it's only natural to think there's something out there bigger than all of us, but pointing a finger and saying "he did it" every time you can't answer a question is childish.

Where in any of this have I ever said I was a believer in religion of any type? I believe that for you to be human you have to have beliefs, not just a set of rules in which you sometimes live by. Religion is hypocritical and power hungry.

Don't confuse your understanding of belief with a childs. You have to remember that kids act for a number of reasons, 1. to not get in trouble with parents or those older and 2. not to get in trouble with god (whichever one). A lot of people lose sight on number 1 and only answer to number 2.

No one is pushing anything on to anyone. I think it's great that they offer an elective that teaches you the bible. Just because you learn about the bible doesn't mean you are forced to accept the nuances of that religion. Courses dedicated to teaching the bible is just another english course. Some people chose to accept the bible for the real word, others, not so much.

In order to make an enlightening decision on religion, you have to be versed in ALL different types. Just because you don't like Christianity doesn't mean that you are immediately an atheist, it simply means that Christianity isn't for you. How could you shun further gathering of knowledge? It's like yelling at someone for teaching Huckleberry Fin or Fahrenheit 451 or any other book read in school.

[Turf1600]

how come the only people that openly criticize other's beliefs and force their own views onto others are the atheists? You don't like something or agree with it so it must be hidden away behind closed doors? If there's a demand for a class like this, why would there be an issue? it's for students that want to learn more about the bible in a manner that presents information and does not force beliefs, I see no problem with it.

Atheism is still a religion: it is still a guiding set of beliefs concerning things that have not been proven. (and, keep in mind that much of our knowledge about early interstellar formation, etc. is theory.. the world was scientifically defined as being flat for a very long time)

I'm sick of having the ACLU push atheism on me.

I'm not pushing atheism. I don't give a shit what you guys believe. However, religion does not have a place in schools or in politics. I mean seriously - if *christianity* is in public schools, wtf is the point of church or private school? Not only that but these kinds of classes will only further segregate groups of people within schools.

Like I said, I'm all for a non biased world religion class. Unfortunately, that's not what this is about.