They have no basis in fact - they're irrational at best and downright arrogant at worst.
What makes you think love is anything other than the brain experiencing a debilitating, fever-like hormone overload? What makes you think justice is anything other than the mindless enforcement of arbitrary laws drawn up by long-dead aristocrats? What makes you think there is any kind of purpose behind the human race's existence, given that the entire universe is governed by random, chaotic events at all levels? What makes you think we're anything more than mere animals (but smug and conceited animals with our collective heads shoved firmly up our own arses)?

But please, feel free to gloss over such huge logical fallacies and pursue your own petty, impotent little crusade against the beliefs of religious people - who for the most part mind their own business, don't harm anyone else and respect the beliefs of others even if they don't agree with them. I'm sure St. Dawkins will reward your good work in the afterlife.
( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Sat 3 Apr 2010, 3:09, 2 replies)

Nothing, nothing, nothing, and nothing.

And this suits lots of us just fine.
(Legion, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 8:40, closed)

Well I assume that you are religious
Look, don't take this personally. I don't want to insult religious people. They're not bad people (well - the ones who don't go around killing other people who don't believe in the same sky fairy, anyway) - it's just that their beliefs are irrational.

You appear to be confusing the words "intangible" and "irrational".

What makes you think love is anything other than the brain experiencing a debilitating, fever-like hormone overload?

Nothing. In fact you're probably quite correct. So the name that we give this hormone overload just happens to be "love". It has its basis in chemistry. It makes us feel good. Nothing irrational about that at all.

What makes you think justice is anything other than the mindless enforcement of arbitrary laws drawn up by long-dead aristocrats?

Well for the most part it's not "mindless": the laws have basis in common sense (most of them). Theft is illegal for good reasons. There is nothing irrational about that.

What makes you think we're anything more than mere animals...

We are animals. There's no reason to think anything different.

There are no "logical fallacies" in any of this.
There are, however, huge logical fallacies in thinking that just because you may have happened to be born in England (or wherever you were born), and happen to have been brought up in a Christian community (or whatever is true for you) - then YOUR religion is somehow "more correct" than the religion of, for example, someone who was born in India into a Sikh community.

It's an accident of birth, my friend. And as for "respecing the beliefs of others" - I do respect your right to hold whatever beliefs you want. And if all religious people kept their views as a private, personal matter then the rest of us would probably feel no need to comment on them whatsoever. Unfortunately, because of the fact that - for example - Christian fundamentalists go around bombing abortion clinics in America; and a little man living in a palace in Rome tells Africans that they're not allowed to use condoms to protect themselves from HIV - then we DO feel the need to comment on it.

Oh sure, you are not one of the fundamentalists - and if you just live your own life without telling others what to do then I have no problem with you at all. But instead of taking issue with me for criticising the concept of religion, you should direct your energy towards criticising the fundamentalists who make your religion look bad. They're doing you a disservice.
(EuroSong I love horse meat: best of all the animals, Sun 4 Apr 2010, 11:49, closed)