Prayer to start a race

Disprove?Disprove what?

Disprove the existence of the Flying Spaghetti Monster!

Disprove that Jason Rexing has run a 5k in 10min with the Flying Spaghetti Monster on his back.

Debate is fun.

If some have fun doing christian things...great, i have absolutely nothing against that!

The problem with christians is that they try to influence and control others people life with their beliefs.

After some centuries, the mass murdering and witch burning is gladly over but they still don't stop trying to take over the world.Stay out of the schools(except your private catholic schools) and respect other people, we have laws if for guys who do real criminal things and thats it.

First, a point of agreement. Debate like this is fun. Even though I don't agree with you, you don't agree with me. You won't change me and I won't change you. It has nothing to do with running, but so be it. It's spirited and what b-boards on Black Friday are all about.

Now, to respond..

to this

"It's ridicolous to even debate about that but:

Now what about the millions murdered by the hands of Christians?

Uhoh...,what about the former pope being friends with the Nazis and the Ustasa..uhoh, what about the thousands of priests caught for sexual abuse of children...uhoh.

Yes, christianity was always about love and help.

Who is responisble for the freedom women have now?

Surely not your superchrists.

And the bible is as much hateful,pro-war,pro-torture,pro-rape,anti-women than the Koran if not more(not that i like that religion).

Human beings killed in the name of the FSM:0

Human beings killed in the name of god:99999999999999..."

Per my earlier post, horrible stuff. Bad. Evil. Though I am a devout Catholic, I would never condone any of the killing done in a God or my God's name. In fact, my earlier post talked about a Pope JP2 apologizing for the sins and evils of the past church. Despite all that, I am still sick of the church covering up the priest scandal; it's inexcusable and I can understand why some people feel the way they do about religion and especially my religion.

Man has run a religion and worship of God off the tracks time and time again be it the Aztecs, Muslims, or Christians or anyone with zeal, greed and anti-Christ passions, and earthly goals. The Vatican is guilty of this time and time again. No excuses here.

But my God and my belief in a man that came to earth, didn't resist his torture and violent death, preached to forgive and be humble, was mocked, nailed to a cross, hung out with poor people, rebels, scoundrels, whores and the 'AIDS patients' of the 1st century AD and in the end tried to teach the ultimate lesson by giving up his power to prove his points is incredible, mind boggling, and worth dedicating my life to emulate.

It's a better lesson to emulate than seeking maximum self pleasure and mocking others while waiting for funny things like beer and strippers at the end.

Atheism leaves a cold void of self-gratification which is maybe why it is so embraced by us runners who dedicate ourselves to being alone and chasing times,medals,and mocking apparent 'weakness'our whole life.

My beliefs leave me with an almost unattainable standard that makes my life worth living.

ekidenbiden wrote:

The problem with christians is that they try to influence and control others people life with their beliefs.

Thus bringing us back to people who think a public mass prayer prior to a fun run is harmless. What if it were instead a public mass appeal to consider the tenets of white supremacy? Still harmless, no? Still offensive to too many, yes?

Although religion is used to justify much hatred & evil in the world, it is a good thing that so many people find an inner peace through it. But I can tell you that atheism does not leave "a cold void of self-gratification".

The thing is, and it seems to be missed by a lot of religion supporters here, that to believe or not is not a decision we get to make. Just as you Christians or whatever cannot fathom that anyone would believe in a Flying Spaghetti Monster, others can't force a belief in your legends either.

Some of you lay out Pascal's Wager to prove it is the better bet to believe in God. Well, it isn't something you can force. If you claim to believe in God to hedge your bets, you don't really believe. So maybe we'll meet in hell.

I was raised Catholic and was a believer for many years, but when I really started to explore religion in general I realized that none of it was rational or made sense. To bad because I would like the warm, comfy feeling of believing in a cool afterlife and I'd like to see evil people actually get punished. But it ain't happening.

And if I get sent to hell for being wrong so be it. But in the end, my argument will be: it's not my fault, God made me an atheist!

Why can't a person believe in God and Jesus without subscribing to and supporting one corrupt man-made organization or another? Why would a devout and pious believer associate with such corrupt and evil-enabling organizations? In this passage"It's a better lesson to emulate than seeking maximum self pleasure and mocking others while waiting for funny things like beer and strippers at the end."That describes a lot of churches and clergy, perhaps minus the beer and strippers at the end bit (apparently plenty of parishoners and clergy alike indulge in this in their lifetimes.) Just look at how they treat homosexuals or the abortion issue. Your Jesus wouldn't shun homosexuals nor would he bomb (or even picket with graphic imagery) women's clinics. He also wouldn't be at all in favor of an invasion of Iraq like so many of Bush's supposed "Christian values" voters have. It seems like a LOT of Christians adopt that doctrine so that they can go around feeling superior to others. And that's how everyone who has posted serious anti-FSM posts comes across here, as smugly self-righteous. Like it or not, that's what's conveyed and that's what and who you're choosing to associate with by defending them.

No, plenty of harm done, thanks to the form so-called Christianity assumes in America. It would be one thing if people simply prayed, attended church, read their Bibles, and formed social networks based on their religious beliefs. But between railing against gays and abortion under the aegis of divine punishment (e.g., Hurricane Katrina), trying to force various forms of creationism into public schools, and meddling with biomedical research they don't understand, a vocal but politically active minority of Christians has become three hundred times the pest the boll weevil or gypsy moth ever were.

I think you should re-examine your simplistic notion of Pascal's wager. For one thing, observing the world around us - which includes no evidence in support of sectarian gods and plenty against it - reveals that the existence of gods and the absence of gods are clearly not equally likely scenarios. For another, there are hundreds of human-borne gods from which to choose. If you're wrong and the supreme being turns out to be Allah, you will be far more screwed upon your passing than will atheists, assuming there are ways to stratify levels of horrible eternal suffering.

sounds like a sales platform for insurance. I, however, choose to not believe in a spiteful God.

What do you mean by this? I have never heard anyone say anything along the lines of "I'm too fast for God". It's just a question of looking at the material and deciding what seems to most plausible (or what you want to be true).

and that's where you lose me. Image in you have a friend in their 60s who read Macbeth 40 years ago, and you have him recite it, line by line, to the best of his/her memory, and you have to write it down. This would have a similar accuracy to the Gospels, given that they would have been written under the same conditions.

I'm too sexy for your God!

trackhead wrote: I have never heard anyone say anything along the lines of "I'm too fast for God".

Just to chime in on this debate, hopefully not to offend anyone. From the agnostic/atheist point of view:

For the Christians who say you might as well believe because if you turn out to be wrong there is no harm done. That is very true but that is not a genuine belief.

A genuine belief is believing because it is deeply embedded in your thought process and faith carries you through to your final conclusions.

As one poster put it, it is not a logical decision to believe in Christ from the facts point of view. It is logical from the brain's perspective. The human brain fills in gaps where needed. Its like a dream, you can't remember everything, but you will definately explain every detail.

For the folks who say that Christians are subject to the rudest comments. That may be true, but agnostics and atheists are subjects to being excommunicated or outcasts. I can't believe in God. Sad, but true. I have actually tried. The more I read or research, the more I move in the opposite direction. The more I read, the more "ridiculous" it all is. I could not have a genuine belief. I could never hold that safe view; I would only be able to proclaim it to the public.

I have nothing against Christians, Muslims, Atheists, anybody. Because to a true non-believer, none of that stuff matters at all.

If you are taught something, it is not a lie. If you were taught 2 + 2 = 5 for 25 years, you would be very unsure about whether to look into that not being the correct, safe, accepted answer. You may not know how to handle it.

The sad fact is that the Muslim terrorists were actually right for blowing up the towers and all of the other acts. Obviously, I don't believe so. But they do. And as humans, thats all that matters. They were following their God.

?? wrote:

The sad fact is that the Muslim terrorists were actually right for blowing up the towers and all of the other acts. Obviously, I don't believe so. But they do. And as humans, thats all that matters. They were following their God.

I have a feeling that last comment won't be received too well. Beside the fact that these terrorists were not "actually right" (and I am speaking from an atheist viewpoint too) they did not commit their crime because they were following their God.

Like most major religions, there are extremists. I don't believe most Muslims agree with the attacks. And this was a crime rooted in economics. Rich Muslims (i.e. the Saudi Royal family) don't hate the U.S. But millions of poor Muslims, who believe that the U.S. policies throughout the world are in some ways responsible for their poverty, do hate us. And they are correct in their impressions that our country does implement some policies that are unfavorable to many less-advantaged individuals.

Extremists can always manipulate these poor folks who have little to lose to believe that they are "richer" in a sense if they are willing to kill & die for their religion. But it doesn't have to be Islam. Christianity has it's share of whackos too. Timothy McVeigh was a terrorist and a Christian.

Damn. I think I'm the only 'God'believer left of this b-board. Have at me boys and girls. Stick me up on a stick like Nero did to the early Christians and light me up for your party (read about Christian perscution while you are out there researching your thesis on non-belief) You all love to bring up Christian injustice, how about Roman? Oh wait, no they believed in gods. Hmm....ok, Nazi. Pagans right? No? Not good enough? Ok, Soviet? True atheists to the core, and purged more people than Hitler. Good ole' Stalin. Screw God. He is evil. Dig that trench faster damnit! Not good enough? Pol Pot.

Yay Atheism! Hip hooray. Enlightened intellectual atheism. Yippee!

Anyone care to speak about Christ's teachings? Any refutation of this man?

Oh wait. JESUS. That brings to mind a man that you love to mock. Am I offending you and making you reach for your funny, crude South Park drawings of him?

Ok. Damn. I'll change the subject.

Buddha? He's cool. He's politically correct. Don't mess with that dude. Richard Gere is into Tibet these days I here. Free Tibet!

Hmm...prince gives up all his belongings to help people. Preaches about forgiveness and humility.

Still not good enough?

Ghandi?

MLK? Passive non-violence.

All believers in things more than self. Higher powers. Creators. Dogma to help and love one another different than that zany FSM up there mocking us from down below.

Pope Pasta wrote:

I have a feeling that last comment won't be received too well. Beside the fact that these terrorists were not "actually right" (and I am speaking from an atheist viewpoint too) they did not commit their crime because they were following their God.

Christianity has it's share of whackos too. Timothy McVeigh was a terrorist and a Christian.

Fortunately, as you say, most religious people are not inclined toward violence. However, the Koran and the Bible both do implore their followers to do tremendous harm to non-adherents. Thankfully, most "fundamentalists" actually aren't, or else they'd be kicking their wives out of the house whenever they were menstruating and doing all sorts of other bizarre and nasty stuff.

Then there are the fake Christians who cloak pre-existing homicidal or bigoted tendencies in religious doctrine. I don't think you see this as much with Islam, though - those bastards are dead serious.

How funny. You are so...how shall I say it...brilliant? Your comments bashing those sloth Christians and those dead-serious Muslims....brilliant man...gold. Keep it up. Throw some intellect into your next posting too, that will make you....cool, respected, and running-popular. Stay with it mate. Lay waste to all those Jesus freaks man.

sh-t...'wasn't created from a rib' I get it. So you aren't like Adam? Man. Nice retort. Nice handle. You evolved. You are chosen. You are naturally selected. Sweetness. What's your 5k PR?

Correlation does not imply causation.

Pope Pasta? So were you handed a FSM noodle to unlock the box of Barilla? That's awesome, crafy, and hilarious. Way to go Pope. Mock on brotha! Keep on being ingenious. Think outside the Barilla box my man.

Screw solar powered cars. I'm going to invent the first stupidity powered car. Plug your car into this thread and it will run for weeks.

ingenious posting. car. thread that will keep going. unlimited energy. wow. do you have any other brilliance to share with us? maybe a car that runs off pasta? that ties it all together.

tim the toot wrote:

The Living History Farms race has lead off with a prayer.

I'm a religious folk but is it right or proper to start off a race with a prayer?

There may be people who are not christians in the race and since our world is so sensitive to everything these days is this a big deal?

Before every race I say, "I LOVE SATAN!!!!"