Atheist Temple

Agrippina · **#41** by **Agrippina** » Jan 26, 2012 6:16 pm

There's definitely something Freudian going on in my head today. This is the second time I've misread something and laughed:

I read Darwin on it with a Diplococus in front!

My apologies to the Jurassic period.

monkeyboy · **#42** by **monkeyboy** » Jan 26, 2012 6:26 pm

Animavore wrote:http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/jan/26/alain-de-botton-temple-atheists?newsfeed=true

The Guardian's article is better.

Definitely a better article. Much more balanced and less sensational. It actually explains some of the problems atheists are going to have if this dickhead gets this project off the ground. I personally will not have someone lump me in with such a tagnut just the same as anyone who wants to add anything to the definition or attributes of atheism as being anything other than descriptive of people who don't believe in God/s.

I don't need or want a place of "worship". I have one of those already, it's called my bedroom and it's where I pay homage to the only person I truly worship, the mother of my children.

Lion IRC · **#43** by **Lion IRC** » Jan 26, 2012 6:37 pm

If his "Atheist Temple" notion annoys/depresses you, read his book The Consolations of Philosophy. (Yuck!)

It gives a fair idea where he's coming from - Montaigne, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Epicurus.

Yeah right! Schopenhauer and Nietzsche are really gonna "console" you.

Agrippina · **#44** by **Agrippina** » Jan 26, 2012 6:41 pm

I have a temple where I worship almost all day, it's called Rational Skepticism, and I'm the high priestess (on the post count anyway).

Animavore · **#45** by **Animavore** » Jan 26, 2012 6:42 pm

Lion IRC wrote:If his "Atheist Temple" notion annoys/depresses you, read his book The Consolations of Philosophy. (Yuck!)

It gives a fair idea where he's coming from - Montaigne, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Epicurus.

Yeah right! Schopenhauer and Nietzsche are really gonna "console" you.

Nietzsche is rather uplifting and optomistic.

Spearthrower · **#46** by **Spearthrower** » Jan 26, 2012 6:44 pm

Lion IRC wrote:If his "Atheist Temple" notion annoys/depresses you, read his book The Consolations of Philosophy. (Yuck!)

I more find it baffling than anything else. His talk was equally baffling, but so many people in the audience seemed to like it. *shrug*

Agrippina wrote:I have a temple where I worship almost all day, it's called Rational Skepticism, and I'm the high priestess (on the post count anyway).

This is one step away from Aggie declaring the need for saucy rituals to appease the Great Nothing!

Agrippina · **#47** by **Agrippina** » Jan 26, 2012 6:46 pm

I have never, ever in my whole life, spent as much time having as much fun learning, as I do on this forum (or laughing either, shit clever people are really funny). :lol:

Mazille · **#48** by **Mazille** » Jan 26, 2012 7:22 pm

Spearthrower wrote:
Agrippina wrote:I have a temple where I worship almost all day, it's called Rational Skepticism, and I'm the high priestess (on the post count anyway).

This is one step away from Aggie declaring the need for saucy rituals to appease the Great Nothing!

Yes!

Aern Rakesh · **#49** by **Aern Rakesh** » Jan 26, 2012 7:26 pm

Mazille wrote:
Spearthrower wrote:
Agrippina wrote:I have a temple where I worship almost all day, it's called Rational Skepticism, and I'm the high priestess (on the post count anyway).

This is one step away from Aggie declaring the need for saucy rituals to appease the Great Nothing!

Yes!

Watch out, GoGo Blobby! If I know Aggie, you'll be the first in the dance cage!

Mazille · **#50** by **Mazille** » Jan 26, 2012 7:31 pm

I'm so ready for it:

virphen · **#51** by **virphen** » Jan 26, 2012 7:37 pm

Who is that with his head stuck up your arse?

Aern Rakesh · **#52** by **Aern Rakesh** » Jan 26, 2012 7:39 pm

Mazille wrote:I'm so ready for it:

Lion IRC · **#53** by **Lion IRC** » Jan 26, 2012 8:12 pm

chairman bill wrote:
mattwilson wrote:The French built guillotines but people had to be dragged kicking and screaming to them

Check... and... mate!

And they built those guillotines to provide a humane form of execution. Compared to what went before in pre-revolutionary France, they were positively enlightened.

As to the substantive of an atheist temple, what fucking nonsense. Now LionIRC will be saying, "See, told you -atheism is a religion.", and however wrong we all know that to be (including Lion), it'll be harder to refute.

I was searching my posts for "refute" and I found this.
Thanks chairman bill. You saved me the trouble of saying....well... you know.

DoctorE · **#54** by **DoctorE** » Jan 27, 2012 12:11 pm

Dawk no like, obviously

Alain de Botton, the philosopher and writer, has proposed constructing a 150ft tower in the heart of the capital’s financial district to celebrate atheism as a positive force.

However, the idea has been condemned by Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist and author, as a waste of money and a contradiction of terms.

"Normally a temple is to Jesus, Mary or Buddha, but you can build a temple to anything that's positive and good," de Botton told The Guardian.

"That could mean a temple to love, friendship, calm or perspective. Because of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens atheism has become known as a destructive force. But there are lots of people who don't believe but aren't aggressive towards religions."

Dawkins has hit back, saying: "Atheists don't need temples/ I think there are better things to spend this kind of money on. If you are going to spend money on atheism you could improve secular education and build non-religious schools which teach rational, sceptical critical thinking."

Continues: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebri ... evers.html

Agrippina · **#55** by **Agrippina** » Jan 27, 2012 1:56 pm

You guys really don't want me dancing in the cage, for one thing I wouldn't fit. :lol:

dogmadogsh1t · **#56** by **dogmadogsh1t** » Jan 27, 2012 2:22 pm

What a twat. I don't like this guy one bit - why do we need a place of worship? Why do we need a religion for Atheists? Here's a sample from his site:

The boring debate between fundamentalist believers and non-believers is finally moved on by Alain's inspiring new book, which boldly argues that the supernatural claims of religion are of course entirely false – and yet that religions still have some very important things to teach the secular world.

What exactly are the important things that religions can teach us?

Blending deep respect with total impiety, Alain (a non-believer himself) proposes that we should look to religions for insights into, among other concerns, how to:

- build a sense of community

- make our relationships last

- overcome feelings of envy and inadequacy

- escape the twenty-four hour media

- go travelling

- get more out of art, architecture and music

- and create new businesses designed to address our emotional needs.

So when he says that we can learn from religions, he actually means we can learn from science and logic, from politics and from travel and commerce, because religion teaches us nothing about any of the above. Well, maybe apart from building a sense of community - that has been done within religion by creating an us and them culture, which has done very little toward peaceful aims over the last few hundred years.

The guy is a barnpot - I've never met or seen any athiest ever wanting the same things this guy does, and not only that but he undermines some of our best anti-religious arguments.

Anyone read his book or got any links to a critique?

pelfdaddy · **#57** by **pelfdaddy** » Jan 27, 2012 4:22 pm

Ok, I'm in full agreement with the posting immediately above, in that everything listed that we are supposed to learn from religion is fully subsumed by other (real) disciplines. But at the risk of appearing to share the specific goals of the author in question, might I ask of this forum...

Under what category of life does marriage fall?

I admit it's merely a traditional institution, and shorn of faith-based assertions it is not a religious matter as such; neither do we need to adhere to any formal dogma on what marriage must be, however...

Marriage will probably be with us for a long time, and many of us will confess to being rather fond of it (however we choose to define it). Is it not worthy of a certain degree of ceremony, ritual or pageantry according to long-held custom? Where might future atheists perform such ceremonies, or will they perform them at all?

Aern Rakesh · **#58** by **Aern Rakesh** » Jan 27, 2012 4:28 pm

pelfdaddy wrote:Ok, I'm in full agreement with the posting immediately above, in that everything listed that we are supposed to learn from religion is fully subsumed by other (real) disciplines. But at the risk of appearing to share the specific goals of the author in question, might I ask of this forum...

Under what category of life does marriage fall?

I admit it's merely a traditional institution, and shorn of faith-based assertions it is not a religious matter as such; neither do we need to adhere to any formal dogma on what marriage must be, however...

Marriage will probably be with us for a long time, and many of us will confess to being rather fond of it (however we choose to define it). Is it not worthy of a certain degree of ceremony, ritual or pageantry according to long-held custom? Where might future atheists perform such ceremonies, or will they perform them at all?

I'm not in agreement with most of the posts here. I definitely think atheists/humanists could do with some meeting places that serve a variety of functions, much like churches and temples. I don't think it should be called a place of worship, however. And I haven't read the original article or know nothing of the person who is proposing this.

There are already humanist celebrants for infant naming ceremonies, marriages and funerals. These celebrants will perform in a place of the family's choosing but I don't see why there couldn't be beautiful halls in a secular building that might serve the purpose. After all, I think many non-religious couples still choose to get married in a church because of the location/atmosphere.

laklak · **#59** by **laklak** » Jan 27, 2012 4:42 pm

We've already got meeting places. Around here we call them "bars".

Mrs. Lak and I had a "humanist celebrant" officiate at our wedding, it was a total crock of shit. Lots of nebulous, meaningless verbiage. In the celebrant's defense, I told her before the ceremony that I didn't want any spiritual shite, so maybe she was a bit stuck for words. Most of that sort I've run into are fuzzy-wuzzy wooheads of the finest kind.

pelfdaddy · **#60** by **pelfdaddy** » Jan 27, 2012 4:45 pm

Nora,

Agreed, and in light of the fact that ritual is probably older than gods, there will always be various ways to mark the passing of life's milestones and--some of the funnier postings notwithstanding--there is nothing quite like a little solemnity.

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