Maybe it would be a good idea to discontinue this thread.

It would now appear to be promoting ill-will among Forum members, although it has at times raised interesting points and vigorous discussion. However, it is now going beyond this and becoming rather distasteful.

Surely enough points of view have been made [ and scored ] already to satisfy one and all!

True, the Christmas spirit is somehow sadly lacking.

Perhaps this can help,
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow(1807-1882), 1867

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."
Till, ringing singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

Go with the sentiments. There is no call for offending anyone who is going about their peaceful business and enjoying the Christmas tradition and spirit. If some have faith that sustains them, good for them. Anyhow, science now says that prayer can have beneficial effects. Others might choose meditation, or music. Whatever rocks your boat. We all make our choices and are responsible for them. Freedom.

Now to make those Christmas puddings as rich as last year. Where is that unbleached linen?

David,

I posted two comments on this thread before you labelled me a "stalker".

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=5547&page=0#151274

and http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=5547&page=0#151353

It's obviously a hilarious tactic to shut down criticism of your style by labelling fellow posters as stalkers. You're the one who can't handle the deep end, if that's your only strategy.

Btw, you really do have tickets on yourself. As if I could be bothered stalking a blowhard like you. That's the funniest thing anyone's posted to me in yonks.

SoG,

So long as you remain completely incapable of thinking outside a paradigm of absolutes, I suspect my attempts to explain to you where your thinking is confused will be as futile as trying to explain a 3-dimentional world to a 2-dimentional character.

Is your inability to think outside a paradigm of absolutes restricted to this topic alone? If so, then ask yourself why. I'd imagine the answer would be quite revealing. Sadly though, I suspect this is yet just another symptom of the undue privilege that religious beliefs enjoy; relieving them from ever having to abide by, or adhere to, the same standards and expectations that every other claim in the world has to.

This is why I find “fence-sitters” so irritating. They think their position is reasonable and righteous, yet in reality, it is counterproductive at best.

<<You may as well say “my guess is”.>>

There are varying degrees of guesses, ranging from wild stabs in the dark to near certainties. 

There is also the implication from you here that if we can't achieve absolute certainty, then there's no point in even trying to think.

Which is wrong, of course.

Shockadelic,

Sorry, I didn't mean to cut so deep with the whole Joho bit. But you have to admit, it was a pretty glaring inconsistency in your bizarre attack on atheism. 

<<Aren't atheists the ones always going on about facts, evidence, reason?>>

Not necessarily. You're thinking of rationalists and sceptics. Atheism only addresses whether or not one holds a belief in god(s); either they do or they don't (and no, that doesn't mean that 50% of people are atheists).

Personally, I consider myself to be a sceptic first and an atheist second. 

<<Aren't you going to be consistently in your child-rearing>>

Like the many other atheists I know of, I let my children believe in Santa because of the magic it provides them with while they're still innocent enough to enjoy it, and because the reasoning skills they may acquire in discovering that he doesn't really exist could prove useful when confronted with religious claims later in life. 

As for your understanding of percentages and probabilities... 

Wow! Just... Wow!

Poirot,

“I posted two comments on this thread before you labelled me a "stalker".”

This is pure you. Use basic evidence and try to make a case from it for the audience. You know I also mean earlier posts. Stop playing to the crowd.

Those two comments were inane and off topic may I remind you and maybe you should check back a bit further on other threads.

“It's obviously a hilarious tactic to shut down criticism of your style by labelling fellow posters as stalkers. You're the one who can't handle the deep end, if that's your only strategy.”

Oh, so I don’t use the ‘tactic’ as a given then. But you throw insults around as though you have every right to do so without knowing what you are talking about. And now you attempt to disguise that fact.

Being upset by my style as an excuse to act out your mental aggression towards me is so incredibly unbelievable as to be ridiculous. It's nothing more than dick-waving.

“Btw, you really do have tickets on yourself. As if I could be bothered stalking a blowhard like you. That's the funniest thing anyone's posted to me in yonks.”

Easy solution, if you are incapable of making relevant comment but can only come up with ad hominem phrasing, (still) then maybe you should stay away from my posts. I can’t imagine why you don’t.

Don’t think I'm going into discussion with you about this matter. That is only a ploy to try and extricating yourself from the very large hole you have dug. That is your sneaky style. I’d have a close look at myself if I were you. Being guilty of stalking is akin to internet bullying but with me that doesn't work. I don’t get intimidated that easily, rather, I fight back.

Trust me when I say this but I am quite disgusted with your methods.

David