Prayer = horseshoe

[serene]

You really really should skip this link if atheism bothers you. You should skip this link if you feel insulted by the assertion that faith in the supernatural is superstition.



Prayer=horseshoe (YouTube video), by WhyWontGodHealAmputees.com (garden-variety HTML site).

Comments

[zpdiduda.livejournal.com]

And what's so bad about superstition?

[I'm just yanking your chain here. I got about three minutes into the video before I started to nod off and dream about pitching horseshoes. :)}

[zpdiduda.livejournal.com]

Atheism doesn't bother me, btw, although my own beliefs tend otherwise. Organized religion, on the other hand, frequently scares the crap out of me.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

I feel about religion much as I feel about drugs: I think adults should be allowed to consume all they want so long as they don't harm others' persons or property in doing so. What scares the crap out of me is organized *hatred* hiding behind religion. Creepy stuff.

(Belief doesn't bother me. It seems pointless to me, but I'm completely in support of people's right to do things that aren't my bag, and I can respect the person without having much regard for the path, if that makes sense.)

[zpdiduda.livejournal.com]

I agree re: the masses and their opiates. :) As long as they keep them out of the water supply.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

Hee!

[necturus.livejournal.com]

What scares the crap out of me is organized *hatred* hiding behind religion.

I suspect hatred can hide behind anything that can be perceived as separating "us" from "them". What makes religion special, though, is that it can be used so easily to sanctify hatred and violence.

[someotherguy.livejournal.com]

What makes religion special, though, is that it can be used so easily to sanctify hatred and violence.

It's "faith" the idea that you have to believe X with no evidence, or even in the face of contrary evidence. It's possible to generate that mindset without religion (e.g. Stalinism) but it's not easy or common.

If someone is a bigot because he thinks blacks are inferior you at least have a chance of showing him that he's wrong. If someone is a bigot because he thinks God hates fags, there's not much you can do.

[necturus.livejournal.com]

I think most people are attracted to religion because they find comfort in it, not because they hear a voice speaking to them which they take to be God. They read things in scripture they find appealing; they meet people at church who share their outlooks on life. If they weren't receptive to the argument that God hates "fags", they'd go to a different church. What I'm seeing isn't so much religion spawning hatred, but hateful, often fearful and embittered people seeking refuge in churches and mosques.

As for convincing someone who thinks blacks are inferior to whites, I don't think it can be done in most cases. Prejudices seem to be driven more by life experience than by logic or reason, and someone who has always experienced a certain subset of humanity in a certain way isn't likely to be persuadable that things are otherwise than he or she has always perceived them to be.

But then, my own life experience had made me deeply skeptical that people can ever change unless life itself changes them, so I will admit the possibility that I'm wrong on both counts.

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

i think prejudices are more often driven by lack of actual direct experience.

and people do change all the time. everybody i know well has changed. not all have changed in a big, 180 degree reversal, mind, but even that has happened -- the *poing* was once an eager young rightwinger. i have changed so much about myself i don't even know what's still original parts. :)

[someotherguy.livejournal.com]

If they weren't receptive to the argument that God hates "fags", they'd go to a different church.

Yes, but by staying with the church that teaches an anti gay message (or by switching to one) they have an excuse which you just can't reason with. Not only do they not have to examine their prejudices, but when an outside force challenges them they are protected.

What I'm seeing isn't so much religion spawning hatred, but hateful, often fearful and embittered people seeking refuge in churches and mosques.

I would agree that religion often takes advantage of existing prejudices, but I don't see how an active and often violent effort to spread one's beliefs can be seen as "taking refuge" We're not talking about a bunch of Amish homophobes withdrawing from society; we're talking about a bunch of people who are actively try to make their prejudices the law of the land.

Anti-gay church people aren't using their churches as refuges, they're using them as bases from which to launch attacks.

Prejudices seem to be driven more by life experience than by logic or reason, and someone who has always experienced a certain subset of humanity in a certain way isn't likely to be persuadable that things are otherwise than he or she has always perceived them to be.

I agree logic and reason would be unlikely to work in those cases. But experience can eventually show people that the Black Jewish lesbians who just moved in down the block are intelligent articulate people with jobs who tip well and don't attempt to seduce children. You can't show them that God approves of what their doing.

[pure-agnostic.livejournal.com]

I feel about religion much as I feel about drugs: I think adults should be allowed to consume all they want so long as they don't harm others' persons or property in doing so.

Mind if I borrow that quote and post it to the LJ agnosticism community?

What scares the crap out of me is organized *hatred* hiding behind religion. Creepy stuff.
Yeah, me too. Maybe someday we'll get to see the separation of Church and Hate.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

Feel free to quote me, and I like your pithy comment, as well.

[bratman.livejournal.com]

You never hear from the nine who died, because they are dead.

This made me bust out laughing. I'm not right.

Oh, and I do find it annoying that the phrase "if you are a normal intelligent person" is used repeatedly.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

I found the whole thing kitschyfunny in much the way that old sex-ed filmstrips are.

[bratman.livejournal.com]

Well what if you pray to the lucky horseshoe? Huh? Well?

He never tested *THAT*!

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

Ooh, such a good point!

[pure-agnostic.livejournal.com]

Actually, he did test that. At about 9 minutes into the video, he says "What if you are in the hospital, and a friend says he will pray to the lucky horseshoe to cure you? You would think your friend was an idiot." He also mentions an example of a platoon leader telling his troops to pray to the lucky horseshoe for safety in battle.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

He's just pokin' at me. He knows I *could* beat him up, but I'm a pacifist, so I don't. That's what keeps him being a fearless sassy beast to me.