Logicboy03:
1) Define non-theism if you feel that the definition I referenced was opinionated.

2) Misconcetptions about buddhism-

http://www.livingdharma.org/Misconceptions.html

advocate666:

I don't know why you are trying to use my statement to justify your stance because it doesn't. My statement was a rebutall of yours. I completely understand and agree with everything Muskeeto said here.

And I have read ecclesiates a number of times and my conclusion was that it was written by a depressed fellow who had to conclude with the god nonsense as many nigerians do. Even the ones that don't believe. Why? because in a godly society, so far as you mention god, whatever nonsense that spews out of your mouth is taken seriously by the people. So even when you are telling the truth, you need to mention god if you don't want to be ostracised.

Do you think that book would have been included in the bible if it didn't have that conclusion?

This is my own conclusion. Solomon was godly (theist). Solomon was depressed. Solomon decided (or felt, or concluded) that life is meaningless. Solomon wrote that life is meaningless. His consclusion affirms that he was godly theist.

Logicboy03:

lol.....ashamed of your position? I also noticed that you removed the "ra.pe" comment from the original quote on that thread

Mr_Anony:
1. Hmm...how do I put it to you now? Ok here goes....the difference between atheism and non-theism is similar to the difference between atheism and secularism. i.e. non-theism is used in a much broader sense and will include, agnostics, deists, pantheists e.t.c. It is not exactly the same thing as atheism.

2. Are you holding up Shin Buddhism as an example of atheistic Buddhism? i.e. those who adhere to Shin Buddhism will not believe in anything spiritual/supernatural?

Logicboy03:

1) Who told you that atheists believe that life is meaningless? A Buddhist atheist will tell you from his religion that life is finding your own path to enlightenment. I will tell you that life is an empty slate and you have the choice to fill it with your own meaning.

2) Theism does not give life a purpose. A deist is also a theist. A deist does not believe in a personal god and such god does not have an effect on life's meaning.



Please, get your facts right

Mr_Anony:
What?? Actually I stand by what I have said. I just don't want to argue on that thread because usually such a thread by reason of the title subtly suggests that I am/was some sort of rapist and that is simply not true. I don't want to go on a thread where I am answering a loaded question similar to "have you stopped beating your wife?"

If you are really interested in an answer, ask the same question here on this thread and we shall thrash it out. Let's see how honest you are.


....and no I am quite sure I didn't remove anything . . . . .hold on a minute, which quote are you referring to in particular?

advocate666:

I don't know why you are trying to use my statement to justify your stance because it doesn't. My statement was a rebutall of yours. I completely understand and agree with everything Muskeeto said here.

And I have read ecclesiates a number of times and my conclusion was that it was written by a depressed fellow who had to conclude with the god nonsense as many nigerians do. Even the ones that don't believe. Why? because in a godly society, so far as you mention god, whatever nonsense that spews out of your mouth is taken seriously by the people. So even when you are telling the truth, you need to mention god if you don't want to be ostracised.

Do you think that book would have been included in the bible if it didn't have that conclusion?

This is my own conclusion. Solomon was godly (theist). Solomon was depressed. Solomon decided (or felt, or concluded) that life is meaningless. Solomon wrote that life is meaningless. His consclusion affirms that he was godly theist.

musKeeto:
So Anony misrepresented your statement.. lol... what's new?

Mr_Anony:
I and muskeeto have spent a good few hours this morning debating over the difference between "feel" and "conclude". If you don't know exactly which one muskeeto was really on about, then I am afraid it cannot possibly be said that you agree with him neither can it be said that you understood him.

Mr_Anony:
I and muskeeto have spent a good few hours this morning debating over the difference between "feel" and "conclude". If you don't know exactly which one muskeeto was really on about, then I am afraid it cannot possibly be said that you agree with him neither can it be said that you understood him.

You don't have to be an atheist to feel life's meaningless.

Mr_Anony:
Seriously? how sly of you. Why don't you educate him as to what your stance really was.

Logicboy03:

1) Lies. non-theist has nothing to do with god. A deist/pantheist can not be a non-theist. You keep lying and lying. Why not put a reference to your definition

2) You have been answered, not all Buddhists believe in the life after death.



Now back to my quote debunking your nonsense on atheist hopelesness;

Logicboy03:
You mentioned in your thread about being born again that you saw nothing wrong as an atheist in women and atheists complained. Now, I can find that molesting part again.

Mr_Anony:
Lol, it appears I wasn't the only one to "misunderstand" you.....so I beg you please explain the same thing to advocate666 so that he can also understand your stance.

Mr_Anony:
The point I am making to you is that Solomon did not feel that life is meaningless.[b]He was only using it as a rhetoric [/b]to lead his reader to the conclusion that the meaning of life lies with God.

Logicboy03:
Bullshyt. You remixed muskeeto's comment (from feel to conclude)and he complained then you claimed that Muskeeto's argument was not clear-

musKeeto:
Lol, and you're supposed to be the 'most intelligent' atheist? Honestly, you don't know the difference between feel(opinion) and conclusion..

musKeeto:
I don't need to... he's not been anonized..

Mr_Anony:
Actually no I did not. I also pointed to him that nothing in that book suggests that Solomon felt that life was meaningless and he only used it as rhetoric in order to drive his point home which is that God gives meaning to life. I am sure uskeeto himself knows this.

Ecclesiastes 9:
So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. 2 All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad.... As it is with the good, so with the sinful...

3 This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead...

5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing;they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten.
6 Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.

7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.

9 Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun.

Mr_Anony:
"most intelligent atheist" Whose that?

Mr_Anony:
Lol, the usual "anonyism" cop-out at work again

musKeeto:
Like I said.. it seems like you're the only one who didn't understand me..

And quote-mining goes both ways.. you know.. So if I'm, you're too..

Give it a rest man, we all know Solomon wasn't an atheist...

And in a strange way, I found this quite amusing...

Mr_Anony:
I am quite unimpressed at how sly you are being. You and I both know that you engaged in some wonderful quote-mining exercise there. Anyway, I'll let it rest for now. I remember another time when you were trying to pass of cannibalism as holy communion.....It is these sorts of nonsense that really make me worried about you.

When folks like logicboy say rubbish, I can overlook because he is a bible illiterate. . .but you knowing the bible and the context in which those verses are written yet you misrepresent them especially for people who have little or no bible knowledge, it makes me worry because you are deceiving folks willfully.

Trust me a nairaland reputation is not worth the waters you are threading in. I'll leave you to your conscience. Feel free to shout "dubious anonyism!" and call me names after this.

musKeeto:

Mr_Anony:

1. Not to be confused with atheism. Nontheism is a term that covers a range of both religious and nonreligious attitudes characterized by the absence or rejection of theism or any belief in a personal god or gods. It has become an umbrella term for summarizing various distinct and even mutually exclusive positions united by a naturalist approach, such as agnosticism, ignosticism, skepticism, and atheism. It is in use in the fields of Christian apologetics and general liberal theology. Sometimes used synonymously with the term atheism, it can also include positions of belief in a non-personal deity, such as deism and pantheism.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nontheism

Mr_Anony:
2. I believe that the reason you have come here, crossing over more than ten provinces at the risk of your lives, is solely to ascertain the path that leads to birth in the Pure Land. But if you suspect that I know ways other than the nembutsu to attain birth, or that I am versed in the scriptures connected with them, you are greatly mistaken. If that be the case, there are many eminent scholars in the monasteries of Nara and Mt. Hiei, so you should go see them and ask them in detail about the way to attain birth in the Pure Land.

As for myself, Shinran, I simply take to heart the words of my dear teacher, Honen, "Just say the nembutsu and be saved by Amida," and entrust myself to the Primal Vow. Besides this, there is nothing else.

I really do not know whether the nembutsu may be the cause for my birth in the Pure Land, or the act that shall condemn me to hell. But I have nothing to regret, even if I should have been deceived by my teacher, and, saying the nembutsu, fall into hell. The reason is that if I were capable of realizing buddhahood by other religious practices and yet fell into hell for saying the nembutsu I might have dire regrets for having been deceived. But since I am absolutely incapable of any religious practice, hell is my only home.

If Amida's Primal Vow is true, Sakyamuni's teaching cannot be false. If the Buddha's teaching is true, Shantao's commentaries cannot be false. If Shantao's commentaries are true, how can Honen's words be empty of meaning? If Honen's words are true, what I, Shinran, say cannot be meaningless. In brief, such is the true entrusting of this foolish one. Now, whether you accept the nembutsu, entrusting yourself to it, or reject it, that is your own decision.

The verse above is an excerpt from The Tannisho Chapter 2. The person speaking is Shinran himself the founder of Shin Buddhism. Notice that he believes he will be reborn into the pure land after death and be welcomed by Amida Buddha. Also notice that the alternative would be him going to hell if his path is wrong.[/i]

Please don't be decieved by the PR stuff of the Buddhist "church" you went to go and copypaste from. Buddhists believe in life after death. Buddha himself believed in life after death.

The Pure Land
In another departure from more traditional Pure Land schools of Buddhism, Shinran Shonin advocated that birth in the Pure Land was settled in the midst of life rather than at death. At the moment one entrusts oneself to Amida Buddha, a Pure Land birth is settled. This is equivalent to the stage of non-retrogression along the bodhisattva path, a characteristic of Mahayana Buddhism, or shinjin.

The Tannishō (歎異抄?), also known as the Lamentations of Divergences, is a late 13th century short Buddhist text generally thought to have been written by Yuien, a disciple of Shinran. In the Tannishō, Yuien is concerned about the rising doctrinal divergences that emerged in Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism after the death of their founder, so he wrote down dialogues between himself and Shinran that he could recall when his master was alive.

Mr_Anony:
I am quite unimpressed at how sly you are being. You and I both know that you engaged in some wonderful quote-mining exercise there. Anyway, I'll let it rest for now. I remember another time when you were trying to pass of cannibalism as holy communion.....It is these sorts of nonsense that really make me worried about you.

[b]When folks like logicboy say rubbish, I can overlook because he is a bible illiterate. . .[/b]but you knowing the bible and the context in which those verses are written yet you misrepresent them especially for people who have little or no bible knowledge, it makes me worry because you are deceiving folks willfully.

Trust me a nairaland reputation is not worth the waters you are threading in. I'll leave you to your conscience. Feel free to shout "dubious anonyism!" and call me names after this.

inspiredbyGOD:.:
Imagine I didn't believe in the existence of God, life would be so worthless to me and it would be of no value. I would wake up everyday wondering and trying to figure out the reason for my existence.

I would just be a product of probability, a random occurence, a by-product of s.ex from two hor.ny adults. Finally, I would get tired of life for it has no purpose, no reason for us to exist. I would have to go out with a b.ang, i would have to become very famous (actually infamous would be the case).

Since I have just one life to live, I have to be remembered for something right? I would create my own terrorist group (of course with affiliations to al-quaeda and other major terrorist groups). Together, we would cause havoc to the world; carefully, we would eliminate all major world leaders (of course, I would upload a video to youtube with my face clearly showing claiming responsibility for their deaths).

Also, I would incite a nuclear war that would be so catastrophic, the population of the whole world would dwindle into non-existence. The survivors would remember my name for ages to come, my name would be used to strike terror into the hearts of little children and adults alike.

Finally, I would become so famous, people for ages to come would remember me as the god of war (the man who changed the whole world by eliminating almost all population of the world).
-----------------------------



Pheeew, thanks be to God that I am not an atheist.

inspiredbyGOD:.:
*facepalm* Seriously, I was just joking. I can never be an atheist and even if I became one, it wouldn't change who I am. Thanks @all for humouring me. Muskeeto really made me laugh.

aribisala0: Imagine if was a mumu that thought I was sharp and have no friends sincere enough to tell me the truth .,.......,.,.,.,.,

inspiredbyGOD:.:

Also, I would incite a nuclear war that would be so catastrophic, the population of the whole world would dwindle into non-existence. The survivors would remember my name for ages to come, my name would be used to strike terror into the hearts of little children and adults alike.

Pheeew, thanks be to God that I am not an atheist.

inspiredbyGOD:.:
Imagine I didn't believe in the existence of God, life would be so worthless to me and it would be of no value. I would wake up everyday wondering and trying to figure out the reason for my existence.

I would just be a product of probability, a random occurence, a by-product of s.ex from two hor.ny adults. Finally, I would get tired of life for it has no purpose, no reason for us to exist. I would have to go out with a b.ang, i would have to become very famous (actually infamous would be the case).

Since I have just one life to live, I have to be remembered for something right? I would create my own terrorist group (of course with affiliations to al-quaeda and other major terrorist groups). Together, we would cause havoc to the world; carefully, we would eliminate all major world leaders (of course, I would upload a video to youtube with my face clearly showing claiming responsibility for their deaths).

Also, I would incite a nuclear war that would be so catastrophic, the population of the whole world would dwindle into non-existence. The survivors would remember my name for ages to come, my name would be used to strike terror into the hearts of little children and adults alike.

Finally, I would become so famous, people for ages to come would remember me as the god of war (the man who changed the whole world by eliminating almost all population of the world).
-----------------------------



Pheeew, thanks be to God that I am not an atheist.

EdesonNews: There is nothing wrong being atheist. it's a choice. There are atheist who behaves more morally than Christians. Atheism is not a crime