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Atheist contends, "Africa needs God"
Loren Michael
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/matthew_parris/article5400568.ece
AAARRRRRGGHHHH
What a prick! Doesn't he know he's betraying the cause with this bullshit?
What do you think? Does this cockbite Benedict Arnold have a point?
Before Christmas I returned, after 45 years, to the country that as a boy I knew as Nyasaland. Today it's Malawi, and The Times Christmas Appeal includes a small British charity working there. Pump Aid helps rural communities to install a simple pump, letting people keep their village wells sealed and clean. I went to see this work.
It inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I've been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I've been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.
Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.
I used to avoid this truth by applauding - as you can - the practical work of mission churches in Africa. It's a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians black and white, working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it. I would allow that if faith was needed to motivate missionaries to help, then, fine: but what counted was the help, not the faith.
But this doesn't fit the facts. Faith does more than support the missionary; it is also transferred to his flock. This is the effect that matters so immensely, and which I cannot help observing.
AAARRRRRGGHHHH
What a prick! Doesn't he know he's betraying the cause with this bullshit?
What do you think? Does this cockbite Benedict Arnold have a point?
Loren Michael on
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Of course, the "growing belief there is no god" thing suggests he's not an actual atheist. Sounds like one of those fucking Born-Again pricks.
It seems like a sincere observation of his that Christian ideology displaces traditional tribal ideology.
Does the atheist "side" really depend on the worldviews of organized religion being even more anti-social than redneck peasant superstitions and dislocated tribal norms?
Most Catholics think the church's official stance on condom use in Africa is fucking retarded.
That's not an element of the religion, it's a bullshit rule thrown in way after the fact, and never repealed when it's purpose had been served.
Pretty much the entire premise of atheism is that if you think long and hard enough about religion you come to the belief that there is no God.
It seems like he's implying that people in Africa are incapable of doing this and would be better served by a delusion.
Maybe they would be. It's patronizing, sure, but maybe it's true. Keanu wasn't really ready for the red pill either. I mean he did go on to kick ass but it could have gone either way, really.
They already have their own brand of religion.
The valuable aspects of Western society are -humanism- and -science-. The only thing Christianity provides is more missionaries willing to feed anyone willing to listen to them preach.
I thought that was a myth.
https://twitter.com/Hooraydiation
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/correspondent/2311067.stm
Wait, how is Christian dogma responsible for that?
But in context, hell no.
As I recall, it had to do with missionaries telling lies about reproductive health and creating a huge mass of confusion and distrust about STDs.
That article indicates that witch doctors are to blame for this bit of misinformation.
I heard about it significantly later than that article was posted, and from American TV. More information may have come about. *shrug*
Africa's a big place. Both could be equally true.
Basically religion+religion=dead raped babies.
I want christianity to blame so lets drag blocks of sequences together as hard as we gnnnngggrrrggg okay now we can blame baby raping on them yayyy! It's pathetic. It's the same sort of thinking religion does for christ sakes. Just drop it, the article doesn't support the assertation, so drop it.
At the end of the day both religions are harming people.
You proclaim science as a benefit of western culture.
And then you go and make a stupid claim that no scientist would ever do.
I think you are being highly inconsistent about this and it's spurred by deep seated bias.
And yes this tangent needs to stop now.
And your claim was not worded that way at first.
That you didn't even try to look it up and verify a highly unreliable source?
I'm not offended I just think it's very stupid. Stupid makes me angry but it's not personally directed at you.
This is what we call bias Icenjucar. If you didn't have time to investigate you disregard the information not assume it is correct. Otherwise yes you are biased.
And cut it out with the silly offending shit, it reveals more about you than it does about me.
And yes, it reveals my not being able to take you seriously.
Really? This works now? In a thread in which we debate stuff? Fine.
I heard incenjucar is a baby rapist and has the IQ of a dying frog, and he eats puppies. See, I dont have to support these statements with facts, because they are facts, and im not gonna bother to investigate facts about a baby rapist. Especially not a stupid one that eats puppies.
https://twitter.com/Hooraydiation
I've already clarified that my statement is what I have heard. I am perfectly willing to accept that I am in error. My point was that I do not automatically question journalism when it reports something that seems to confirm a trend that has been evident for all of human history. Don't be fucking dense. When someone says "A group of known assholes did something stupid" I don't go to the fucking college library to investigate because it's already been well-established that assholes do stupid shit. Investigations are for when you plan on ACTING on something, or when something is unusual.
Funny that because you feeling justified in ignoring your massive biases is doing the same for me.
Sorry about blowing up in that first post though but I couldn't think of another way to express it and you are being massively biased.
You aren't even debating it now you are just going "yeah well that's me, deal with it".
Well my way of dealing with it if you continue is ignoring your opinions in threads like this. Since you are showing yourself to be extremely unreliable as a source. Btw those last two sentences are satire meant to show you what bias does. I'm not actually going to do it.
When someone says "KKK Members are scaring black people" I'm going to be biased into assuming they aren't making shit up.
Questioning things is great, but some investigations have a very low priority on the to-do list.
But...the Pope is the voice of God and shit.
Therefore the church's stance must be God's stance, right?
Or else, why the hell would a person be Catholic?
I'm sorry man but baby raping doesn't fall into the non unusual list unless you do actually have a massive bias.
And even then.
Because it's easier to ignore the Church's teachings than to start a new Church.