I dunno, for me it shows a little bit of arrogance. Religious people love to think that God has a special plan just for them. These kids are happy that God's plan had them living but aren't really sparing any thought as to why God thought it would be a good idea for their friends (twin brothers!) to get decapitated and bleed out on a luge track at the age of 18.
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Interesting to hear the details this wasn't the first time they had done this. Sort of like safety issues I deal with a work when people become complacent doing a dangerous task because they have done it over and over again with no issues.
Also I must put this out there:
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Last edited by FireGilbert; 02-03-2017 at 02:59 PM.
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Dogs have not been observed to have magical powers in any scientific manner that has been peer reviewed.
Support animals can provide comfort by easing anxiety in those people who pet them in times of stress. The effectiveness of petting animals in reducing stress levels in the "petter" has been studied extensively. This is not even in question any more. No one is claiming that support animals are magical or whatnot.
I don't doubt that a person's faith can provide them with comfort. We hear loads of anecdotal evidence to support this. The placebo effect is a helluva thing. A misguided comfort, while misguided, is still a comfort. I don't dispute this. I may take great comfort in the notion that a giant, pipe smoking rabbit controls everything but without evidence it is an unsupportable idea. Thus, if I believed such a thing, I would keep it to myself rather than run it up the flag to see who salutes. I wouldn't put it out there and expect no criticism and unwavering acceptance. Perhaps I'm too self aware for that sort of thing.
I simply have yet to see any evidence that any deity exists and choose to live my life based on evidence and reason as opposed to blind devotion. It helps me be more present in my day to day life and helps me to make the most of it.
I'm not moving the goalposts. Go read my first post. I certainly havent argued for the existence of a deity here. I have simply argued that their faith has helped them to cope and therefore provided benefit. To which you compared them to opiate addicts.
So your criticism of them thanking god is basically criticizing them for the type of psychological intervention they chose. A psychological intervention that works. And like the support animals it's not the animal that is providing the support but a psychological / physiological reaction to the animal.
What you are doing is essentially going around to funerals and telling people there loved ones aren't in a better place. While this may be technically correct you aren't allowing people to cope in their own way.
Last edited by GGG; 02-03-2017 at 02:56 PM.
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When you think about it, it is amazing how meaningless the words prayed are. For instance:
Quote:
When Jordan Caldwell gave a push-off to the second sled, he recited the Lord's Prayer
Now, I'm not religious but I was in Boy Scouts and know that it contains the words "and forgive us our trespasses," so AS he is trespassing, he has the wherewithal to ask the Lord to forgive him. Is it just automatic, and people don't think about what they are praying? What's the point? The argument tossed into the faces of us heathens(ahem, Peter) is that only through religion can you get the good morals that stops society from going to ####. Yet here is a perfect example of the hypocrisy of it all and they come out the other side more committed to it. None of it is logical, but I guess that is the point.
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When you think about it, it is amazing how meaningless the words prayed are. For instance:
Now, I'm not religious but I was in Boy Scouts and know that it contains the words "and forgive us our trespasses," so AS he is trespassing, he has the wherewithal to ask the Lord to forgive him. Is it just automatic, and people don't think about what they are praying? What's the point? The argument tossed into the faces of us heathens(ahem, Peter) is that only through religion can you get the good morals that stops society from going to ####. Yet here is a perfect example of the hypocrisy of it all and they come out the other side more committed to it. None of it is logical, but I guess that is the point.
I was in cubs and scouts and either I don't remember or its changed but the religious aspects of that group are too much now and I refuse to send my kid because of it.
I'm not moving the goalposts. Go read my first post. I certainly haven't argued for the existence of a deity here. I have simply argued that their faith has helped them to cope and therefore provided benefit. To which you compared them to opiate addicts.
I never said that their faith didn't help them cope. I get that some people cope using religion. I never once questioned whether or not their faith helps them. I also didn't "compare them to opiate addicts." I used an extreme example of how people can use ways to modify their internal feelings that are based on faulty ideas. My apologies if I put the dots too far apart.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GGG
So your criticism of them thanking god is basically criticizing them for the type of psychological intervention they chose. A psychological intervention that works. And like the support animals it's not the animal that is providing the support but a psychological/physiological reaction to the animal.
My criticism of them thanking a higher power is because it's a false premise. The EMTs and first responders that attended to the survivors are responsible for saving those kids. Give them the proper credit.
If a god was really on the job to save people from harm you'd think that he/she/whatever would have kept those kids from dying or the one from losing his eye. So, either the premise of thanking god for saving those kids is false because the other ones died or the concept of divine intervention is. If god saves people from death then he/she/whatever lets people die. If that is the case then maybe don't intimate that he/she/it wanted your kid to live while the other two died.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GGG
What you are doing is essentially going around to funerals and telling people there loved ones aren't in a better place.
Holy over-the-top comparison. You realize this is a discussion board, right? I don't picket funerals or tell people that their relatives are just dead when they bring up an afterlife. I'm not ringing up the parents of the dead kids and correcting them. On the same token, if someone would have told me that when my Dad died that he was "in a better place" I probably would have laid them out. Get out of my kitchen with that spoiled food.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GGG
While this may be technically correct you aren't allowing people to cope in their own way.
Technically correct is the best kind of correct and I am allowing people to cope in their own way. I think the premise is faulty and that humanity would be much better off if everyone realized that this life is the only one we have and to not hold out for some better life that there is no proof of.
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The great thing about arguments between religious folks and atheists is that they often find middle ground and it never turns into pages of insults and standing their ground.
It's great because we needed another thread like this. So...how about those kids and their poor families?
Now the first responders that have to live with those gruesome memories on the other hand?
Sure, that's fine lets talk about the first reponders, or Winsport or something related to the accident. I just don't want the thread more derailed about whether people believe in god and how entrenched they are in their position.
It's great because we needed another thread like this. So...how about those kids and their poor families?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slava
Sure, that's fine lets talk about the first reponders, or Winsport or something related to the accident. I just don't want the thread more derailed about whether people believe in god and how entrenched they are in their position.
Interesting to hear the details this wasn't the first time they had done this. Sort of like safety issues I deal with a work when people become complacent doing a dangerous task because they have done it over and over again with no issues.
Also I must put this out there:
Any video of Tim Minchin gets an automatic thanks from me before I even watch it.
