Dear Pogi,

«I wrote nothing AGAINST christianity and nor did I of buddhism.»

You wrote:

1. "Mahayana buddhism's purpose in deifying Buddha and easing the entry to nirvana has all the characteristics of a marketing ploy to attract followers."

2. "In similar fashion was "born again" contrived by the christians."

3. "Considering the bloody, brutal disgusting behaviour that besmirched their path to scientific truth, I would be highly timorous in claiming credit of any kind for religious people."

«I pointed to the irreconcilable differences between them and how it makes nonsense of your fanciful opinion on ecumenism»

While there exist undeniable differences between Christianity and Buddhism, none of the differences you mentioned is to do with the achievability of the state of permanent cessation of all suffering and attainment of eternal absolute joy.

«that a Multi-Cultural Paradise (an MCP) has...»

I mentioned neither paradise nor culture.

«That you lament not being paid for your posts and time/effort»

I never expected financial gain, but what about being paid some minimal respect?
Knowing in advance that I have no hope for any (as you said, "I would be highly timorous in claiming credit of any kind for religious people."), why should I be wasting my time and effort answering your bothersome questions?

«this is the way of all flesh»

Indeed so. All life-forms end with death, humans included.

Had you been a rational investor, then you would bet all you've got on that which has some chance for infinite eternal fruits rather than on finite things which you already know for certain, will end with a total loss.

Posted by Yuyutsu, Saturday, 4 June 2022 9:17:41 PM writes:

"I mentioned neither paradise nor culture."

You cannot help being a pompous arse when matters of your teligious faith are concerned, can you? Multi-Cultural Paradise is most apt as a definition of your unity with god construct. I accept your own pretty pictures and define them within my experience of theist slipperiness, that collection of human dishonesty dressed up as apologetics and ecumenism.

"I never expected financial gain, but what about being paid some minimal respect?"
I accord you all the respect that is deserved by an intellect that I strongly suspect is being wasted. That others take the time and effort to engage with you on varying degrees of disagreement is a distinct measure of respect. If some are more caustic, abrupt and forthright, then, in my case at least, I reflect the respect that has been directed to the thinkers, doubters, skeptics and gainsayers over the millennia who suffered ghastly retribution at the hands of the faithful of all kidney who committed their exquisite imaginations to the infliction of pain on those who were committed differently and who deserved the "minimal respect" that you today have the temerity to demand.

Treating your ilk with considered mercy and willingness to forgive and overcome resentment is itself a form of disrespect to the millions who suffered. Mercy is a suspension of justice and justice is genteel revenge.

"....why should I be wasting my time and effort answering your bothersome questions?"
A penetrating question in itself and one we should treat with respect. I recognise that there can be several levels of response. I commit to unalloyed honesty in answering but I prevail upon you, in order that I keep my commitment, that you answer your own question before I. I further commit to answering as if I had asked.

Sunday 5 June 2022

Dear Pogi,

As you wrote nothing of essence, I am gratefully relieved of any further time-wasting duty to respond to your post. I thank you for that.

second post

"Indeed so. All life-forms end with death, humans included."
But in the natural world DEATH is extinction/oblivion. For the theist it is merely change, a new start and an eternal continuation of conscience - the very soul of religious thought and its raison d'etre. It is an acknowledgment of human terror of the unknown and a bowell-evacuating fear of being alone and defenceless therein.
If we fail to grow up and face reality then it is distinctly plausible that humankind will face an inexorable opposition to inflicting itself upon the Universe. We handicap ourselves unreasonably if we expect gods and ghosts to be our vanguards into the next great frontier. Science, logic, rational thinking will, we have learned from bitter and sweet experience, always prevail despite the odd falter. Of the thousands of gaps from which science has expelled gods throughout history, no gap existed where religiom expelled science.

"Had you been a rational investor, then you would bet all you've got on that which has some chance for infinite eternal fruits rather than on finite things which you already know for certain, will end with a total loss."
If you insist on inflicting allegory of the most inane and obvious character on your posts and expect an interlocutor to be impressed, then he/she will be impressed but by the disingenuous and woefully limited imagination that you apply to this often useful linguistic device. I was a rational investor in the Australian mining boom. I gleaned enough spondooliks from the SUN's centrefold Golden Guide every Friday afternoon wherein the sport of kings received an intense analysis of its entrants and the conditions that prevailed track-wise, that I bought a set of taxi plates and spent a joyous 23 years driving, the best sequence of years in my life. I always apportioned my "investing" to the knowledge I could bring to it. Over the years I doubled my income 4 weeks out of 5

4th & final post

But enough of that.
There is another issue I would broach with you: "Had you been a rational investor, then you would bet all you've got on that which has some chance for infinite eternal fruits rather than on finite things which you already know for certain, will end with a total loss."

Did your teenage daughter or sister write this for you?
It's immaterial whether you believe me or not, but I chose to refute your mistaken allegory to discover how moderately I could express my ire, by not trading insult for insult.

Upon being a theist I'd bet my pelf on "some chance for infinite eternal fruits." What chance? And for IEFs? This scenario is born in religious faith, has no evidence for support and defies every rule of probability. Only the pompous brain-dead would enter into such a wager. SORRY - no bet.
Upon being an atheist and skeptic I'd wager my coin on finite things, but this one I know for certain will return a loss! SORRY - no bet.
That, for my meagre erudition, makes me a rational investor

Sunday 5 June 202

Hume, a wise philosopher said, "Reason is the slave of the passions." I believe that is true. However, the wiser we are the better we can cloak our passions in the garb of reason and avoid being pilloried. All the foofaraw about God, the afterlife and such is nonsense. If I were wiser I could better cloak in reason my awareness of the fact that all of our belief is nonsense. If we could prove our beliefs were the product of reason we might not need to cloak our passions. I say 'might not need' because most human beings are not susceptible to reason.

Humans are creative animals. We created God.