ItWasMeantToBe19
Banned
These seem like extraordinary claims that would be nice to be backed by evidence.
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Mark Zuckerberg Says He's No Longer An Atheist, Believes "Religion Is Very Important"
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These seem like extraordinary claims that would be nice to be backed by evidence.
Bornstellar
Member
Bullshit.
NoblesseOblige
Banned
You didn't know? Only a member of a denominational group can give positive wishes to that group's celebrations. Similarly non-Americans are forbidden from wishing Americans a happy 4th of July, and only citizens of Great Britain can wish another a good 5th of November.
Code of Hammurabi probably
Dancing Queen
Banned
Two words: Donald Trump.
So...like Trump?
None of this really matters. As long as he "appears confident" (even if the shit he says is total gibberish or nonsense), as long as he is constantly in touch with his devout followers with every Facebook post that comes to his head, as long as he is a big name, as long as he lists himself as either a democrat or republican (whichever base will vote for him anyway regardless but GO TEAM PARTY!), he will have a chance.
The only disadvantage he really has at the moment is that he looks and acts like a "nerd". Casual voters will look at that as weak or any other negative cogitations that associate with that.
This is the current state of the country right now....fuck....
ItWasMeantToBe19
Banned
Okay, so, Donald Trump won the primary off his Republican instincts alone. No one other than someone who understood the Deplorables would have called for a Muslim ban and that alone probably won him the primary. He won the general from partisanship and EMAILS.
Zuckerberg is a Democrat who will be forever blamed by Democrats for getting Trump elected president. That shows no political instincts whatsoever because the Facebook fake news problem was an entirely self-inflicted wound.
All kinds of stuff happens to people during their life that make them challenge their views and beliefs. I'm not saying Zuckerberg had any kind of "awakening" but you're making a huge generalisation.
PeakPointMatrix
Member
STUPID PLEBEIANS OF FAITH AM I RIGHT??? LMAO
ItWasMeantToBe19
Banned
"They're rapists" is probably the greatest demonstration of Donald Trump's political instincts possible. It was an impossibly horrible statement that no politician would have said (partially because it's false and absurdly racist) that appealed to the exact voters Trump needed.
Trump has a deep understanding of half of the Republican base and that is how he is president now.
Zuckerberg is a dummy who will have to always respond to his primary opponents being able to say "you got Donald Trump elected president." Spoilers, all Democrats hate Donald Trump.
Trump has a deep understanding of half of the Republican base and that is how he is president now.
Zuckerberg is a dummy who will have to always respond to his primary opponents being able to say "you got Donald Trump elected president." Spoilers, all Democrats hate Donald Trump.
sans_pants
avec_pénis
direct_quote
Member
Well most religious texts were written hundreds to thousands of years before modern times, so they might be a bit outdated. Hell seeing how much science has changed in the past 200 years brings to light how vastly the perspective of the world can change over centuries...
It can happen, some people are atheist just by default of not growing up in a religious family or for rebellious reasons and not fully investigating it? Even I could see someone who has researched it going religious because they might feel it fulfills their life or something.
sans_pants
avec_pénis
He also gave Chris Christie and his goons hundreds of millions of dollars for "schools" that was a horrible flop
Subpar Scrub
Banned
Take my shit and I'll kill you? I imagine that's how it went.
Even wild dogs know not to steal food from other dogs unless they're willing to fight (sometimes to the death) for it.
Hip Hop
Member
How?
Everyone is an atheist (When they know the concepts at least) until they turn religious, and that's a lot of people that do so.
First off, there isn't very much consciousness amongst general voters about the fake news issue. More Dems probably blame the candidate herself, the FBI, emails of Russia than Facebook--otherwise wouldn't there be some gigantic boycott of Facebook by Dems? Facebook remains popular.
Secondly, California's open primary system, which guarantees that open seats (i.e., no incumbent running) will be Dem vs. Dem on the general ballot would seem to favor him if he makes it out of the primary--it would seem that the Dem that can attract California Republicans on the general ballot would win, and California Republicans seem to love tech executives (they nominated Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina back to back).
It is possible that he would get out of a primary due to a crowded field (similar to how Trump emerged out of a crowded GOP primary). There are already 4-5 strong potential Democratic candidates for Governor or Senator.
ItWasMeantToBe19
Banned
Yeah but his political opponents would make sure that there was by voting day.
Co-operation amongst species is common, and falls under the broader umbrella of reciprocal altruism. The earliest hominids weren't equipped with technology and strong weapons so they had to work together to survive. If you weren't a co-operative member of a tribe, and were ostracised, your odds of survival and procreation reduce dramatically. Because stealing is an act that damages the group, it makes sense that it was discouraged.
We see this behaviour in a number of species today, including bonobos and other great apes, but not only apes. They don't have religion.
tl;dr: religion plagiarised the rule of not stealing
JimmyRustler
Member
He says he was raised Jewish. Going out of a religion takes a lot and I don't think it's an easy transition for anyone. But I don't believe there is a way back. Maybe if you become agnostic, but not if you become atheist.
How it's probably because i'm muslin but i hear stories or people becoming religious all the time. It's not a weird thing and i'm pretty sure i heard i guy who became religious after either becoming atheist or disillusioned with his previous religion.
ginger ninja
Banned
Atheist folks having real trouble being open minded and accepting that yes, people's opinion of things change and they move towards new meanings as they see different lights. Ironic.
Hip Hop
Member
yeah, pretty much.
Brawndo Addict
Banned
Must be nice to have a simplistic worldview where all of humanity's problems can be blamed on people not being smart like atheists.
Or is this sarcasm / Poes law? The idea that buddhist monks are preventing us from reaching our glorious Star Trek future does seem a bit too comical to be a real opinion...
Isn't Christmas basically secular in certain parts of the world, i know Muslims in general are indifferent and only see as an opportunity for a holiday but i figured people in western countries celebrate Christmas regardless.
Salty Rice
Member
People say all the time that religion is important but in reality its just their wishful thinking of needing to make stuff up to feel better.
Exactly. The holiday period is pretty common in western civilisation and middle eastern societies and has a number of festivals associated with it. It isn't just an Abrahamic tradition, it is near the solstice so it has history in astronomically focussed societies too.
Consumas you mean
Obama
It happens all the time. People go through shit and change.
NumberThree
Member
Weird that someone would question his atheism based on him wishing people Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. By that same logic he shouldn't say both of those things if he's religious, either just Merry Christmas if he's Christian or Happy Hanukkah if he's Jewish.
Acerac
Banned
It happens all the time, especially when it is advantageous to do so.
Not saying it isn't genuine, but either way it is a smart decision.
the-pi-guy
Member
I'd argue being a fanatic is the danger, not religion.
Getting so invested in something whether it's Nazi-ism or a twisted religion, it has more to do with the investment that's dangerous.
Religion is just a popular thing to be a fanatic about.
If religion never existed in the form we know today, I would guarantee people would still be fanatics about some twisted thing instead. Nazi-ism for example, might be just as prevalant should there have never been religion.
ginger ninja
Banned
Yes, if it wasn't clear, that is sarcasm.
South Park has an episode trilogy on this called "Go God Go", that pretty much nails everything.
ItWasMeantToBe19
Banned
Uhhhh, Communism is the much better thing to point to than Nazism in this discussion.
Nazism's worst trait (The violent Antisemitism) follows pretty clearly from "The Jews and Their Lies" (from Martin Luther) and the New Testament lie that Jewish people killed Christ.
Religion encourages fanatical behavior, and I don't know how you could rationalize the sex abuse atrocity within the Catholic Church that got swept under the expensive rug with fanaticism. That seems to me to be the byproduct of, surprise, an antiquated naive doctrine that slanders the human body and the sexual process as "dirty" and "sinful". This also of course has the further knock on effect of demonizing women.
Here is a fine example: Ancient Greece and Rome, before the times of Christianity, sexuality was arguably more liberal than it is today. People having sex in public baths and in front of one another, with antiquities themed around sexual themes like giant penises. They had paintings on their walls of people fucking for everyone to see and nobody cared, it was a normal part of life. You don't even have to look up an unheard of macro society to find it. Just look up Pompeii. Yes, that Pompeii.
On the flipside, you have the Middle East, where even something that happens in secrecy (read: privacy) like adultery can have you stoned to death. Another surprise, it's very likely to be a woman. Claim to be the son of god and develop a massive (threatening) following? Get nailed to a cross and kick off 2000 years of hatred, bloodshed and ruin.
It's all about perspective, and mine is that the Middle East is a particular hot spot for a very specific reason. You have 3 different doctrines fighting over the one piece of sand. Jerusalem has been destroyed twice and besieged 23 times throughout its history. Does that sound normal to you? Or extraordinary? Because it seems very much like the latter to me.
ItWasMeantToBe19
Banned
The Middle East is mostly a proxy war between Iran/Russia and Saudi Arabia/America but the main religion division in the Middle East is Sunni vs. Shia, not Muslim vs. Christian.
it It happens all the time. I know you're very proud of yourself for Having It All Figured Out, but you're demonstrating a very limited understanding of the world by saying this.
GameAddict411
Member
People can change their religious views hence how they can adopt a new religion later in their lives. But I can also see how this can benefit Mark considering the current political climate. Regardless if he is sincere or not, it's not a big deal IMO
the thing is, I'm sure most atheist think of themselves as rational-thinking people that believe in knowledge, science and our ability to explain everything with natural causes above anything else. They are not going to be very open-minded about spiritual or mystical matters, but generally keep it to themselves
Agnosticism and atheism aren't mutually exclusive. In fact, they don't even exist on the same philosophical/epistemological spectrum.
One is position of knowledge and the other is a position of belief. They work together nicely for me.
"I have no knowledge or evidence to prove the existence/non-existence of god and cannot intellectually/philosophically come to a definitive conclusion" = my agnosticism.
"Based on the fact I have no knowledge or evidence of the existence of god, I am unable to create or sustain a personal belief in god" = my atheism.
adamsappel
Member
I think this is a "Republicans buy shoes, too" stance. Facebook facilitates a lot of religious messaging.
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