Waldheri's Comments

The Antichristian Phenomenon : How to respond to a "Used-to-be-an-Atheist"

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 20:55:35 +0000

Hey Alexander! I wanted to respond to a few things you said. Hopefully you don't feel like all us authors are descending on you like vultures. I just think you bring up some interesting things that I would like to share my thoughts about. Maybe the conversation has gone over these points already so if you feel I'm not contributing anything new, don't feel obliged to respond. I do not think science is separate from philosophy. I think science is the application of certain philosophical ideas - you could call it a pragmatic philosophy of epistemology. It is concerned with determining truths, using methods from various philosophical schools (mainly empiricism and rationalism). But it works both ways, because scientific knowledge can influence philosophical ideas - think of the philosophy of mind: experiments from neuroscience can help answer questions that before could only be approached philosophically. So I think it really depends on what the question is that determines whether you can use science or not to find out the answer. And so it comes down to what you mean by "god" and "existence" that will determine whether you can use science to find out whether "god exists". If God is supposed to transcend the natural world, then it is out of reach of science. But if you say that God has an active role in the events of the universe (e.g. answering prayers), then that influence should be measurable, and hence testable, and hence it can be scientifically investigated whether this indeed happens.

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Christian non-ethics

Fri, 5 Nov 2010 16:23:26 +0000

Well, thank you for your confidence that this reply will be mean and full of verbal abuse, and that you will not care about anything I say. Where would I be without being condescendingly stigmatized before I even open my mouth. Is this what you mean when you say you "love" me? Seriously though, did you even read the post? It seems that you didn't, and I think you should. I think (hope) you'll find it provides food for thought, and I would very much like to hear if you think I'm wrong (and more importantly: why).

The Antichristian Phenomenon : The Shapeshifter

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:40:59 +0000

Use HTML, not BBCode ;-) And I think you might have to use blockquote and not quote.

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Christianity, not Islam, threatens American freedom

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 13:55:30 +0000

Alright. Do you want me to quote some other random people back at you?

The Antichristian Phenomenon : The Shapeshifter

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 19:07:08 +0000

Dark matter is a placeholder name for something we are ignorant about. It is indeed hypothesized matter, but it was hypothesized as a result of the observation that the perceived mass of the universe does not account for the perceived gravity. Gravity is the result of matter, hence the hypothesized "matter" that is otherwise undetectable by current instruments - but we do perceive it's gravitational effect! Perhaps it will turn out that there isn't some kind of exotic matter out there producing all this gravity, and that our current understanding of "normal matter" is faulty, or that something completely different is going on. We will have to let science run it's course and see what it will turn out to be.

The Antichristian Phenomenon : The Shapeshifter

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 19:02:44 +0000

I, for one, don't know. Perhaps it is even unknowable (certainly, if something occurs outside of the boundaries of space and time of our universe, we can not gain empirical knowledge of it). Some disagree - surely you've heard the recent conclusions of Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow's book 'The Grand Design' that "invoking God is not necessary to explain the origins of the universe, and that the Big Bang is a consequence of the laws of physics alone" (Wikipedia). I'm not knowledgeable about this, so I would not defend the view, but it is an interesting take nonetheless. As an atheist, I am not required to be able to give answers to questions that have not been answered other than "goddidit". That's something you should keep in your mind. "I don't know" is a perfectly valid response, even though your answer would be "God".

The Antichristian Phenomenon : The "true christian" argument

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 06:44:10 +0000

Ah, I didn't look at the URL XD Oops.

The Antichristian Phenomenon : The "true christian" argument

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 20:07:51 +0000

You're welcome, thanks for the comment.

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Christianity, not Islam, threatens American freedom

Mon, 9 Aug 2010 09:21:57 +0000

Preaching. Yeah, that will help.

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Bible Multiple Choice

Tue, 3 Aug 2010 14:45:52 +0000

Brilliant. I thought I knew 11, though I had 9 of those 11 correct. The ones I didn't know I guessed, and eventually scored only 10/20.

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Religion: Merely a Socio-political Construct

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:09:33 +0000

Atheists don't "purely believe in Science [sic]". You are begging the question by asking "who created all these things in the world". The correct question is: "how did all the things in the world get here?". Do you see the difference? You are presupposing a being. And to be an atheist, you don't even have to know the answer, because it is an argument from ignorance that you are putting forward.

Listverse : Top 10 Film Musicals

Sat, 3 Jul 2010 10:40:36 +0000

The beatles' songs musical: Across the Universe

Listverse : Top 10 Most Disturbing Novels

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 17:10:59 +0000

This list needs "The Girl Next Door" by Jack Ketchum.

Listverse : Top 10 Difficult LiteraryÂ Works

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 17:06:50 +0000

I didn't find it that hard to read, but I do admit it is a bit dense in parts.

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Popular agnosticism versus proper agnosticism

Sun, 30 May 2010 08:36:28 +0000

Well, replace Santa Clause with any other deity of your choosing, like Thor. The point I was making in the article was that "agnosticism" tells you something about knowledge, and that it can apply to more than just "god", but that it isn't used in that fashion.

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Popular agnosticism versus proper agnosticism

Sat, 29 May 2010 21:58:49 +0000

So why tag "theism" onto it? What's theistic about your worldview, if it is nothing more than an equivalent to nature? Or do you attribute some kind of consciousness to it? In other words: please elaborate on what "pantheism" means to you (other than "energy flow" because that's a bit weird if you replace it with any other natural phenomenon, like "electromagnetic fields" - unless there is a reason why "energy flow" is somehow special?)

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Popular agnosticism versus proper agnosticism

Sat, 29 May 2010 07:57:37 +0000

What is this "energy flow" you speak of? Of course, there is energy in the universe, and it traverses distance in the form of quanta. Quantum mechanics will tell you all about energy packets.

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Popular agnosticism versus proper agnosticism

Fri, 28 May 2010 08:35:51 +0000

I'm glad I've given you some food for thought, and that you are openminded enough to re-evaluate your own position. We need more people like you.

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Have You Been Brainwashed?

Wed, 7 Apr 2010 17:18:11 +0000

Yes, I do agree and think that we are more a product of 'extrapersonal' conditions than our own volition, even though it is often hard to see it is so. However, I also agree with the article that in the very least, some fundamentals of the Christian religion (or even all three Abrahamic religions) work especially well in the brainwashing scheme that is presented. Perhaps it is partly the reason why these three religions have been able to permeate and dominate societies on an almost global level. People who promote this religion needn't even consciously go for a brainwashing scheme (which I think is very rare), but the teachings and mindset themselves are what allow for easy meme infection.

The Antichristian Phenomenon : âSaved!â â Yet another high school movie

Tue, 6 Apr 2010 20:36:43 +0000

Wow, the Christian elements are so over the top it's just ridiculous. And Jesus proposing that she offer her viriginity to him? I don't think a lot of Christians would find this action in the subset of WWJD. Bizarre film.

Waldheri's Comments

The Antichristian Phenomenon : How to respond to a "Used-to-be-an-Atheist"

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Christian non-ethics

The Antichristian Phenomenon : The Shapeshifter

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Christianity, not Islam, threatens American freedom

The Antichristian Phenomenon : The Shapeshifter

The Antichristian Phenomenon : The Shapeshifter

The Antichristian Phenomenon : The "true christian" argument

The Antichristian Phenomenon : The "true christian" argument

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Christianity, not Islam, threatens American freedom

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Bible Multiple Choice

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Religion: Merely a Socio-political Construct

Listverse : Top 10 Film Musicals

Listverse : Top 10 Most Disturbing Novels

Listverse : Top 10 Difficult LiteraryÂ Works

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Popular agnosticism versus proper agnosticism

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Popular agnosticism versus proper agnosticism

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Popular agnosticism versus proper agnosticism

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Popular agnosticism versus proper agnosticism

The Antichristian Phenomenon : Have You Been Brainwashed?

The Antichristian Phenomenon : âSaved!â â Yet another high school movie

The Antichristian Phenomenon : âSaved!â â Yet another high school movie