tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36994129.post320318322340381791..comments2024-02-26T21:27:17.091+13:00Comments on The Fundy Post: Wild about nothingPaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08024440694895271805noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36994129.post-68141824971872246422007-07-19T06:51:00.000+12:002007-07-19T06:51:00.000+12:00I came here quite by accident actually, I was look...I came here quite by accident actually, I was looking up something random on Google. I found this quite an interesting read, not the least of all because you are defending your own personal and abnormal definition of atheism. Yet deriding the people who you feel define atheism differently and 'wrongly'. Have you actually looked up the dictionary definitions of atheism and agnosticism? I'm sure you must have, and obviously words often take on a far deeper meaning than just what is in the dictionary, but it's certainly not a source to just brush off and to be honest, the majority of atheists and especially organized atheists I've met fit the root definition. The atheists that specifically disbelieve the existence of deities as opposed to just, 'well, I just don't believe one way or another' are in fact the true atheists as far as the accepted meaning of the word goes. Likewise, the definition of agnosticism is simply that it is impossible to know for sure if there is, or is not, deities. Your beliefs fit more closely to the accepted definition of agnosticism.<BR/><BR/>Of course, we define ourselves and the world around us however makes us happy. I'm not trying to change your view, so much as I'm curious about your justification for why you think your personal definition of atheism is inherently more 'correct'. It's interesting because, being agnostic myself, I share your views. I also used to call myself atheist, in the terms of, 'I just don't specifically believe anything' until I realized I had an incorrect view of agnosticism, thinking that it actually meant, 'I believe there is something, just not specific on what' as opposed to just disbelief of ultimate knowledge.<BR/><BR/>So the root meaning of atheism - and really, if we're talking getting back to basics, this is the one we have to use and not a random person's personal definition - is specifically a disbelief in god or gods. Since there is no concrete proof for or against, it is indeed a belief and not simply disinterest.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36994129.post-7328073600267147992007-05-02T00:40:00.000+12:002007-05-02T00:40:00.000+12:00Now you have given me something else to worry abou...Now you have given me something else to worry about.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08024440694895271805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36994129.post-63357889689387543242007-05-01T23:37:00.000+12:002007-05-01T23:37:00.000+12:00On the subject of vegetarian food poisoning: what ...On the subject of vegetarian food poisoning: what about ergots?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36994129.post-33230209072212465842007-05-01T20:10:00.000+12:002007-05-01T20:10:00.000+12:00I have revised my theory of food poisoning. David ...I have revised my theory of food poisoning. David (nice blog, by the way) is a scientist, he should know; I'm blaming the lentils.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08024440694895271805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36994129.post-47456231942880918752007-05-01T19:23:00.000+12:002007-05-01T19:23:00.000+12:00This would explain why the last time I met a harpi...This would explain why the last time I met a harpist in a pub after a gig, I asked her how she was and she exclaimed "Drunk!" much as someone else might say "Engaged!"<BR/><BR/>There was a change in the orchestral drinking culture round here about 10 years ago, with the arrival of players from former Soviet Republics. Suddenly, a lot of local musicians were shown a whole new level of consumption that they'd previously not thought possible, nor wise.harvestbirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11898121062164798211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36994129.post-36353025740416285202007-05-01T18:00:00.000+12:002007-05-01T18:00:00.000+12:00The Brass Section always leaves the stage first an...The Brass Section always leaves the stage first and heads straight to the pub with military precision. The Strings always get confused about where they are meant to be going, while the poor harpist is stuck with her instrument until someone comes along to help her.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08024440694895271805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36994129.post-71637762200978731022007-05-01T17:27:00.000+12:002007-05-01T17:27:00.000+12:00Well, in truth, I never went full-time professiona...Well, in truth, I never went full-time professional: I couldn't keep up with the drinking.<BR/><BR/>I can also say "when I was a church organist" truthfully, but my work colleagues used to laugh so much when I said it that I stopped using it to introduce anecdotes (many of which also ended in "food poisoning").harvestbirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11898121062164798211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36994129.post-87504285918339148832007-05-01T16:04:00.000+12:002007-05-01T16:04:00.000+12:00Nice piece, the distinction between the 'i just do...Nice piece, the distinction between the 'i just don't choose to believe (now leave me alone)' atheist and the 'not only to I not believe but I can prove definitively there's no reason to believe (now engage me in a long and boring argument)' atheist is hard for some to grasp. <BR/><BR/><BR/>BTW, vegetarian food poisoning (of the bacterial type, not the type, referred to above, induced by fungi's greatest contribution to man kind) can happen - apparently cooked rice is a breeding ground for nasty things.David Winterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09704684760112027351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36994129.post-34921896063081561572007-05-01T13:44:00.000+12:002007-05-01T13:44:00.000+12:00I was using the expression in a similar fashion. I...I was using the expression in a similar fashion. It would be quite difficult to get food poisoning when you do not eat meat.<BR/><BR/>I envy your ability to say "When I was an orchestral musician" truthfully.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08024440694895271805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36994129.post-18866356653118532742007-05-01T12:36:00.000+12:002007-05-01T12:36:00.000+12:00When I was an orchestral musician, "having food po...When I was an orchestral musician, "having food poisoning" was the expression players used to describe being in the condition of having drunk so much they were too sick to work the next day.<BR/><BR/>Which is to insinuate nothing, or at least, very little. Call it an asinuation?harvestbirdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11898121062164798211noreply@blogger.com