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Post by FishBait on Jan 16, 2004 10:56:44 GMT -5
faith ( P ) Pronunciation Key (fth) n. 1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. 2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. See Synonyms at belief. See Synonyms at trust. 3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters. 4. often Faith Christianity. The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will. 5. The body of dogma of a religion: the Muslim faith. 6. A set of principles or beliefs. the above is copy and pasted from dictionary.reference.com/search?q=faithnotice number 2, there is no evidence of a god, but there is evidence of everything in science, even though we cannot prove we do not have faith. And I highly doubt he can prove that it is more likely that there is a god than their isn't, you should try calling him on that, and the thing about science not proving and disproving is quite possibly one of the most ridiculus statements i have ever heard, first off science is generally about disproving, we don't prove because we accept that we cannot know anything to be true with absolute certainty, so basically the idea of science is to disprove all of the alternatives, science is about disproving, and the fact that it isn't about proving has nothing to do with money
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Rama from computer lab
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Post by Rama from computer lab on Jan 22, 2004 12:03:09 GMT -5
Hehe, I haven't bothered replying to his last letter because I know he'd just ignore anything I said in the first place, plus if he reads the state news he's already seen everything I'd have to say. On a slightly different note though, I sent in the following letter just now and really REALLY hope it gets published. I'm wondering how many people would not realize it's a satire. Enjoy. -------------
Flabbergasted and astounded is how you could describe my reaction to the news in the recent weeks. The lack of support and morality shown in the opinion pages of the State News makes me weep bitter tears of fear every night as I try to sleep, and nothing disturbs me more than those immoral heathens who would try to do away with traditional marriage. In His state of the union address to the country, George Bush specifically called for an end to the threats against the moral and religious values that we all hold and which cannot be refuted (Christian values are obviously the only valid ones, that's why there aren't any other religions, right?). I would like to issue a call to arms to all my fellow Christian brothers and sisters, for our very ways of life are under assault! It goes against the American spirit to change the way things are (that's why our constitution has stayed the same for 200+ years, right?) and this is especially true of marriage, an institution which is wholly religious and not in the least bit secular or governmental (that's why only Christian Southern Baptist ministers can perform marriages, right?). The abandonment of traditional marriage values is an assault on all our unilaterally held Christian values, not an attempt to move sodomites from their status as second-class citizens! While I applaud Bush's attempts to defend our traditional values, I do not believe he goes far enough by simply seeking to constitutionally ban gay marriages. I beleive we should return to our truly traditional marriages, for anything else would be inviting the divine retritbution of God Himself! Firstly, all marriages should be arranged! They should only be between people of the same race and economic class (What a mistake the civil rights movement was! Why, my grandfather fought against inter-racial marriages just the same way I'm fighting against homosexual marriages!). A dowry should always be offered by the woman's family, preferably in the form of livestock. Arranged marriages should happen early in a child's life, around the age of 13 or 14, and no heed should be paid to any disparity in ages (that just wouldn't be traditional!). While we're at it, I think we should actualy push the drive to traditional values even further! Lets get rid of those uppity blacks (the bible supports slavery, dontcha know?!), uppity women (they're not as smart as us men, and besides, they all probably only use their suffrage to vote for people like Bill Clinton anyway!), uppity children (just think of the benefits to our economy if we started allowing child labor again!), and uppity liberals (dissent is unamerican! So is stating your opinion!). Because our Constitution, declaration of independence, and the very spirit of America itself do not hold dear the notion that all people are created equal and should not be discriminated against for who they are, the only upright and righteous thing to do is to support George Bush and His holy ammendment to the United States Constitution! And remember guys, it's not rape if you're married!
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Post by Rama on Jan 22, 2004 15:06:08 GMT -5
Woohoo! Just got called by the SN asking to verify my name/major/etc., which means they'll be printing my letter. This is significant because it means they have no qualms about printing multiple letters from someone in one semester, which is good and makes sense. So if your excuse in not writing a letter to the editor to make sure the truth is properly represented in the opinion pages is that they wouldn't print it, then you now have nothing holding you back! WRITE MY FRIENDS! WRITE FOR ALL YOU'RE WORTH! MAKE GRANDMOTHERS ALL OVER JEALOUS OF YOUR TENACITY!!
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Post by profdunebastard on Jan 22, 2004 16:50:41 GMT -5
Your letter is hilarious, bound to either piss off or bring tears of laughter to anyone who reads. It certainly is harsh, but clever. Milk spewing out of the nose clever. I wonder what stupid title they will give it the SN, and how much they will edit- alot of that hinges on if the editors get the joke. Anyway, keep rakin' the muck.
Ian "the ironing is delicious" Thompson
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Post by Seany-D on Jan 26, 2004 12:00:47 GMT -5
well, it hit TSN today, so let's see what transpires....
Sean "casual observer" Davis
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Post by profdunebastard on Jan 26, 2004 13:42:08 GMT -5
Seeing that article in print, in the news imakes it even funnier than just reading it here. I can't wait for tomorrow and etc's papers. I doubt anyone who agrees or gets it is going to post; the'll just laugh to themselves and say right on brother. But offended blacks, women, and everyone are sure to bark back, as are some conservatives who get the joke and are pissed. The suspense is almost orgasmic.
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Post by Rama on Jan 26, 2004 14:18:07 GMT -5
Heh, so far I've gotten two letters of support, one of them from my personal on-campus hero, John Bice. You guys been reading his letters? Pure genius. Comedic genius, that is. On his blog he posts the replies he gets from students and then posts his replies afterwards. As you might expect, he violates the fundies in a fashion more logical than they could have ever thought possible. It's at homepage.mac.com/bice1/B1144903672/ btw. So far nobody's failed to spot the satire, but here's hoping!
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Post by Rama on Jan 27, 2004 15:30:37 GMT -5
Here ya go. In the spirit of sharing the mirth in my life, I post my first and only negative response to my letter. And yes, sure enough, he fails to realize it was a satire.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- From: danny kusk <conceptcar3@yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 23:48:49 -0800 (PST)
Your bolligerant mockery of the Christian faith is both uncalled for, as well as moronic. In the letter, "Conservative values are American way," the Christian faith and moral stand points that it makes are not only mocked, many are falsified. For instance, in the latter part of your treatise to idiocy, you say, "Firstly, all marriages should be arranged." The Bible, which in case you didn't know, is the FINAL source for everything in the Christian faith, teaches NOTHING about arranged marriages. If you'd like specific passages dealing with marriage and other such moral code, feel free to email me. Next, I would like to address the erroneous comment you made near the beginning of your sanctimonious platitude.
"In President Bush's State of the Union address, he specifically called for an end to the threats against the moral and religious values that we all hold and which cannot be refuted (Christian values are obviously the only valid ones, that's why there aren't any other religions, right?)."
Although I have not yet listened to the President's State of the Union address myself, (I plan to in the near future,) I'm sure you utterly destroyed the context of his message, as well as altered his intent. If your curious as to how I found you out, it was obvious by the countless other flaws in your long-winded paper. More importantly, I would like to offer a suggestion to your comment in the parenthesis. The mere existance of religions does not validate them. As for your comment that Christian values are the only valid ones, I would agree, because any other religion forsakes the name of Jesus who is the only way to heaven. HOW do i know this? How can anyone know what religion is correct? History itself shows us. Alexander the great's existance is not challenged. Curiously, there is more historical proof that Jesus rose from the dead than that Alexander even existed. The Bible is 2/3 prophecy, and these prophetic pieces make it, without DOUBT, the only VALID religion.
Moving on, the next comment I would like to address is this one:
"and this is especially true of marriage, an institution which is wholly religious and not in the least bit secular or governmental (that's why only Christian Southern Baptist ministers can perform marriages, right?)."
Again, this is not even close to the Biblical fact, which is what Christians consider to be the most valid and appropriate document in the faith (with the exception of the Roman Catholic church and a few others.) In no way shape or form can only Southern Baptist ministers perform marriages. It is foolish to makes such flawed and ignorant statements. Next time, consider educating yourself before sending in such a flawed an inherantly wasteful paper.
For any other details or information, feel free to contact me at the return address.
Danny Kusk.
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Post by the anti-myrmidon on Jan 27, 2004 16:22:03 GMT -5
Actually Nathan...I think he gets the joke. He just doesn't find it to be funny.
*modified to fix typo*
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Post by Rama on Jan 27, 2004 17:00:02 GMT -5
"In no way shape or form can only Southern Baptist ministers perform marriages. It is foolish to makes such flawed and ignorant statements. Next time, consider educating yourself before sending in such a flawed an inherantly wasteful paper."
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Post by Valvilis on Jan 27, 2004 17:09:26 GMT -5
What a twit. Can I have his email address?
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Post by Rama on Jan 27, 2004 17:25:52 GMT -5
Ask and ye shall receive... Read once more the words of the foolish.
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Post by Valvilis on Jan 27, 2004 17:56:21 GMT -5
Hmmm, well, isn't this going to be fun. I love when stupid people try to point out someone else's stupidity while sounding worse themselves. This guy strikes me as being immune to actual fact, but I guess I'll have at it anyway. I'll let you know if anything fruitful comes of it.
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Post by UsherBen on Jan 27, 2004 18:59:56 GMT -5
My head hurts now.... At least he did get one thing right, even if he did contradict it in the next couple ill-formed sentences.
"The mere existance of religions does not validate them."
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Post by profdunebastard on Jan 27, 2004 19:38:54 GMT -5
I think what this guy's deal is is that he is aware that you, Nathan, are mocking his values but he thinks that you are stupid and that all the 'errors' you made-regarding arranged marriages and Bush and whatnot . So yes he thinks you are joking, and no he doesn't get the joke. All I can say is I hope you and Valvillis stick it to him. I'm not going to out and out call him an idiot, because I am trying to remain objective in all my endeavors. I also don't want to besmirch the good name of the MSUFA by sounding pety and arrogant. We all know we are too cool for school, but to critics, especially those defensive of a religion more full of holes than the ozone, our words are miscontrued to further the cause to disenfranchise freethinkers. Furthermore...wait,nevermind, yeah this guy is an idiot. A big istupid idiot.
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