Religion

longship

(40,416 posts)

4. Indeed.

Thu May 23, 2013, 08:34 PM

May 2013

I love Pascal's wager. I hear that one often enough in such interactions. This one is kind of related to it. There are so many variants of the you're going to Hell gambit.

Maybe we can start categorizing them so that we can check them off like your post suggests.

"Yup! That's #17 alright."

To answer the question:

Myself, if I detect any ill intent behind the questions, I may not respond so politely. But otherwise I would simply say, "I'm sorry. I don't believe in Heaven or Hell."

That might get a discussion going which I normally handle with politeness.

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How do you react when people tell you that you believe in fairy tales? [View all] hrmjustin May 2013 OP

I check off #17 of the talking points list. rug May 2013 #1

lol! hrmjustin May 2013 #3

Indeed. longship May 2013 #4

Oooh, we should post competing checlists! rug May 2013 #5

DUzy longship May 2013 #7

Claude Shannon would be proud goldent May 2013 #49

Well, now I had to google him. Interesting stuff. rug May 2013 #50

hahah, I've seen people EvilAL May 2013 #60

Proverbs 12:15-16 rug May 2013 #81

Now I know you're serious, EvilAL May 2013 #85

OT, but we should all be applying Pascal's wager to global warming.... truebluegreen May 2013 #6

That's the problem with Pascal's wager. longship May 2013 #10

I'd say you are being too literal with my suggestion. truebluegreen May 2013 #12

Well, this thread/group isn't about climate. longship May 2013 #13

That's probably why I put "OT" for "off-topic" in my first post. truebluegreen May 2013 #14

I usually treat them with more courtesy and kindness than vice-versa BlueJazz May 2013 #2

I love fairy tales, and have studied them a bit. It's remarkable how far back they go, dimbear May 2013 #8

If mine are fact based and theirs are delusional, I demote them to fools and put them on ignore on point May 2013 #9

I send Einstein riding a unicorn over to kick thier ass. nt rrneck May 2013 #11

"I ain't missin' shit." Iggo May 2013 #15

Are we talking about LostOne4Ever May 2013 #16

I mean theism in general. hrmjustin May 2013 #17

I like your answer LostOne4Ever May 2013 #18

Sometimes I wonder if we are an experiment. hrmjustin May 2013 #19

That is what I thought as a Deist LostOne4Ever May 2013 #20

I don't ever get told that Marrah_G May 2013 #21

BTW, the Biblical book which is most like a fairy tale is Tobit. dimbear May 2013 #22

Both situations involve taking the position that someone knows the truth. cbayer May 2013 #23

Well that's interesting. trotsky May 2013 #24

Ahh, the old "but you can't prove it doesn't exist" reply straight from the apologists play book. cleanhippie May 2013 #25

You can't prove he doesn't exist. hrmjustin May 2013 #26

Is that a joke too? cleanhippie May 2013 #29

LOl just wanted to get a laugh out of you my friend. hrmjustin May 2013 #30

I think that when we die, we won't know anything. cleanhippie May 2013 #32

Well we will find out. hrmjustin May 2013 #33

I don't think we will. cleanhippie May 2013 #36

Unless there is an afterlife. hrmjustin May 2013 #38

An "afterlife" has such a high improbability of existing, it takes the rejection of reality to think cleanhippie May 2013 #39

from my brief experience with death, i agree...we won`t remember/know anything madrchsod May 2013 #52

I couldn't agree more. If a person was strong in his/her upaloopa May 2013 #31

So you're condemning mission programs at all churches, then? trotsky May 2013 #37

Yes I guess I am. upaloopa May 2013 #40

show me a repeatable method of observing a faerie and I will believe in faeries. nt. Warren Stupidity May 2013 #48

I have no idea what this has to do with the topic at hand. cbayer May 2013 #55

no of course you don't. Warren Stupidity May 2013 #57

Perhaps you could elaborate, or I guess you could just use it as an opportunity cbayer May 2013 #59

Uh - you started in with the antagonism. But fine... Warren Stupidity May 2013 #63

No antagonism meant and I'm not sure why it came across that way. cbayer May 2013 #83

You continue to harp on skepticscott May 2013 #58

I think you're only partially right, but it brings up an interesting point EvolveOrConvolve May 2013 #64

I hear you believe in fairy tales all the time. hrmjustin May 2013 #65

In real life? EvolveOrConvolve May 2013 #66

My family say it all the time to me. hrmjustin May 2013 #67

There's probably a familiarity there EvolveOrConvolve May 2013 #68

Yes several times. hrmjustin May 2013 #69

I have a really hard time believing that EvolveOrConvolve May 2013 #70

I live in NYC! hrmjustin May 2013 #71

That could make a difference EvolveOrConvolve May 2013 #72

I am so very sorry to hear that. You think people would just let people be. hrmjustin May 2013 #73

Most are well intentioned EvolveOrConvolve May 2013 #74

I never tell people what they should believe. It is just so rude. hrmjustin May 2013 #75

That's definitely something we can agree on EvolveOrConvolve May 2013 #76

They would not tkae kindly to it. hrmjustin May 2013 #78

I attended an Episcopalian church after deciding I was an atheist EvolveOrConvolve May 2013 #79

Hour and a half service for me and beers after at brunch. hrmjustin May 2013 #80

Interestingly, I hear the first on DU frequently but not the second. cbayer May 2013 #82

I hide under a bridge..... clarice May 2013 #27

I say that we should co-exist and it shouldn't upaloopa May 2013 #28

As a "non-believer," I remind them that "religion" and "myth" have similar definitions KansDem May 2013 #34

I don't tell all religious people that they LuvNewcastle May 2013 #35

The most commonly believed fairy tales I run into in my day to day life ZombieHorde May 2013 #41

Oddly enough, no one has ever said this to me in real life. okasha May 2013 #42

Generally the people who believe in evil fairy tales tell me I can't go to their heaven, for... Humanist_Activist May 2013 #43

#17, #12, #39 rug May 2013 #44

What the fuck do those numbers mean? n/t Humanist_Activist May 2013 #45

Aarne Thompson numbers, used to classify fairy tales. Usually just written dimbear May 2013 #46

The glossary will be published shortly. rug May 2013 #47

I think I'm going to get stoned and listen to that Talking Heads' song: Heaven Kolesar May 2013 #51

Oh, I fuck with their heads, especially the ones who tell me I'm going to hell. Warpy May 2013 #53

The fairy tales thing has become a cliche in DU - it makes me feel like I do when a web page takes goldent May 2013 #54

I have also never run into anyone IRL who says such things.... cbayer May 2013 #56

In all fairness LostOne4Ever May 2013 #62

You are speaking of anti-theists, imo. cbayer May 2013 #84

I really don't care if people think I'm missing something EvilAL May 2013 #61

I just laugh notadmblnd May 2013 #77