JCC Arena The Theist/Atheist Thunderdome™

Yeah, that's what I was getting at. Pulsar's "I'll pray for you" came across as condescending, and not in the least bit sincere.

 

i cant recall ever having snarky "prayers" directed at me. i find "god bless you"s and "you're in my prayers" and the likes to be sweet things to say. cultural context, holmes/thought that counts, etc

 

I've had one person say they were praying for me, but it was totally sincere, so I didn't mind.

 

timmoishere

 

in that instance the 'my faith demands that' is a type of motivator, I guess, but it's not strictly necessary. you could begin that sentence at the first 'I' and the sentence still works and would describe many atheists.

 

No, I know, but I don't think there are many who could begrudge Jimmy Carter for his faith-based initiatives -- and that it's a large part of his belief system.

There are clearly bad things that come out of religion, but to paint everyone in a religious-belief set as horrible people is the same as lumping all atheists in with the piece of trash in NC, isn't it?

In other words: "Can't we all just get along?"

 

You can never doubt how stupid Fox news and it's viewers really are!!!!!

 

Well, yes, I'm okay lumping all those people together... lol///

 

You don't need faith to be a good person and do good works. Claiming to do good only because your faith demands it shows that you're not a good person to begin with.

 

Very insightful, timmo.

 

If only the quote included the words "for whomever I can" then it would be a truly positive statement expressing the good things that come from religious faith. Otherwise it's just a "I look after my own" but teh gays and the unwed mothers can all go to HELL! Having said that I do love Jimmy Carter.

 

remember this guys?

 

definitely agree. certainly there are many people who use their faith as a source of inspiration to do good in the world (most of my family, for one) and i don't have any problem with that; it's just that i think, on the whole, religion ultimately does more harm than good, and that (most) of the people who do use their faith positively could certainly be just as positive without it.

 

I took the "wherever I can" to indicate that he helps all different kinds of people.

 

I don't think he actually said "wherever I can" he said "wherever I am" but perhaps you mean "whenever I can"? I know I went cross eyed too.

 

It does start to read like Dr. Seuss after a few times.

 

He said both, but Guy nailed it... it had a very Dr. Seuss feel to it... like, kind of insincere and cliché.

 

No, you're right, I did misread it . . . I think your original point stands as "wherever I am" is a lot different than "wherever I can." But, yeah, I'm kind of starting to feel like the rest of you. Sentiment is good, but, seriously, **** that noise.

 

No, **** your noise, because this is a guy who has actually lived by those words.

He has spent his entire post-presidency pretty much doing nothing but helping people, mostly poor people, including Africans (actual Africans) and Vietnamese, criticizing the Guantanamo Bay prison, Bush and the Iraq war, the War on Drugs or whatever it's called, the death penalty, his fellow Christians for being hateful in general but specifically toward women, and the rest of his time has been spent pursuing peace all over the world, including the Middle East, North Korea, and all over Africa and South America.

"Wherever I am" means all over the world, which is where he's been. He didn't say "whomever I can", but that just happens to include all kinds of people, basically everybody.

I'm not saying he's perfect, but come on, you cannot deny this guy's life has been dedicated to helping people, regardless of their religion.

 

Speaking for myself, my post wasn't a comment on Jimmy Carter's character.

 

I think you've worked yourself up over a bit of nothing. Everyone here is talking about how the quote sounds, not whether or not Carter is a good person.

 

No, **** your noise, because the man was President of the United States so you'd expect him to know how to express a thought so that it's clear (lol bush lol). The man's done a lot of good in the world. It's the "noise" I'm objecting to, ie. the silly way he phrased the sentiment. How about just "I do all the good I can." Everything else really kind of falls under that, doesn't it? It doesn't have the charm of initially looking very clever, but it also doesn't have the problem of eventually seeming really strange and head-ache inducing and confusing.

Maybe he's your personal hero; that's cool, he's a really good one to have. I was just having a little fun.

 

666 proofs of God's existence

I'm pretty sure that in the near 13 years I have been here I have encountered all of these.

 

Well, that's not entirely true for some people, is it? Otherwise organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous. Al-Anon, etc. wouldn't be as successful as they are. Humans sometimes need structure, organization and support to have a normal life, right? Is that really so hard to believe that some people find that and do good with religion (or atheism)? Or do evil with both?

Even something as basic as therapy is necessary for people, regardless of whether they have actual clinical mental issues. Why do we label people using faith for the same thing as somehow "lesser," providing they are not harming other people?