Winner and Losers of 2005

[snaw]

Hmm difficult one that - Does Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin et al ring a bell?

Stalin I'll give you, but I don't think he was specifically targetting people because of their religious beliefs as opposed to killing then because they a percieved threat. Point being your claim is foundless - exponentially more people have indisputably been killed because of religion than for any other reason.

[EternalOptimist]

actually, I think I know someone who IS without sin

[darmstadt]

actually, I think I know someone who IS without sin

I think you will find we are all without sin. Apparently when the big day comes, we will be forgiven our sins and trespasses.

[Hart-floot]

A discussion on the radio i heard recently placed Mao Tse Tung (and his devotees) as the biggest mass murderer in history in terms of numbers of people killed/starved. Aconservative estimate puts it in the region of 100 million people. Possibly more. His religion - communism. After all religion is the opium of the people!

Incidentally, back on message. My winner for 2005 has to be China for continuing to lift millions of people out of poverty. Maybe Neo Capitalism works! Next would come India a largely secular democracy.

Biggest losers for 2005 have to be the people that the misfortune to live under the yoke of the religious fundamentalists whether Muslim (Iran/Saudi/Sudan/much of Pakistan) or Christian (Phillipines, still no family planning!). There has to be some reason why these countries have the crappiest economies!

[Xerxes]

Oh right I get it - Iran should be allowed to manufacture nuclear weapons and wipe Israel off the map ehh?

What do you propose should be done about Iran?

[sasguru]

What do you propose should be done about Iran?

Don't bother asking him penetrating questions. Anything that pierces below his rather shallow intellect, he ignores. And no that's not an insult, Chico - it has been noticed by most of this forum. I would be happy for you to prove me wrong by answering Xerxes simple question?

[Xerxes]

I hope he has an answer. There are far too many people as it is who say "something" must be done but, when pushed, can't elaborate on what that "something" should be.

[Fungus]

Science is not based on proof, only a very narrow part of it is - pure mathematics - and that has very little bearing on the real world. Sure the pure punk will tell you it does, but they are looking for their next grant check.
Science is itself a belief system.

Science is based on axiom, experiment and politics - increasingly on politics. Bit like religion really, the axioms are in the bible, the experiments are on the human mind, and the politics, well, just join your local church.

People who ask for a proof of God display their ignorance and narrow-mindedness. It is a meaningless question - it like asking a pure mathematician to prove their axioms.

What load of tosh from Sausage Jockey. There is overwhelming supporting evidence for quantum theory, special and general relativity, evolution, genetics, and so on. And the one big difference is this. If the facts contradict a scientific theory, the theory is discarded/improved. But religion, well. But you have got one thing right. You cannot prove that God exists, or does not exist, and hence it is a faith. And that's why fundamentalist Christians/Muslims etc give me the heeby geebies.

Fungus

[Lucifer Box]

What load of tosh from Sausage Jockey. There is overwhelming supporting evidence for quantum theory, special and general relativity, evolution, genetics, and so on. And the one big difference is this. If the facts contradict a scientific theory, the theory is discarded/improved. But religion, well. But you have got one thing right. You cannot prove that God exists, or does not exist, and hence it is a faith. And that's why fundamentalist Christians/Muslims etc give me the heeby geebies.

Fungus

Take no notice of KnobJockey, he is a Walter Mitty character of the first order. He's only pretending to be some sort of fundamentalist nut for some screwed up reason of his own. You may remember that a couple of months ago he was pretending to be American, but I guess he got bored of that.

[Fungus]

Eternal Optimist

When Jesus was accused of being an agent of the devil this is what he said

"Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."

Matt 12: 25-28

That's the best argument I've yet seen for just saying no to drugs.

Fungus.