[BJWilliams]

I will say having seen the tet-a-tet between RM and shuk the last number of posts, I have no problem helping people out. I dont do it because I expect something in return, I do it because I care about that person enough to meet their needs. If I get something in return (even if its just a simple "thank you") then I know Ive blessed them. If I dont get anything in return, I can still go to sleep at night knowing that good has been done for that person. DOes it increase the chances that that person will return the favor in kind? Probably not...but for what its worth no one should ever do good for the sake of "getting anything back". If they end up getting something back then that is a further blessing, but if not, then there should be a satisfaction that good has been done and the other person has been blessed by your act of kindness.

[Liberty4Life]

you are such a toolbag. Just because you feel good for helping someone, doesn't make it any less compassionate. You can't just add characteristics to definitions.

Whatever happened to "Whenever you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing"? Fact is, if your motivation for being compassionate is to feel good about yourself or get accolades from Man, then yes, it does make your act of kindness that much less compassionate.

[LUconn]

I didn't say that was everybody's motivation. Just a natural result. But I'm saying it doesn't make it less compassionate. This whole argument is a giant straw-man courtesy of shuck. Another discussion successfully derailed.

[GoUNCA]

oh and this book is a result of the new atheist movement which is alot stronger than the old. they aren't mearly tolerating ID they are out to destroy it. this is the first all encompassing book that looks to address it. while he does include many quotes from cs lewis and his counterparts its mostly his own interjection that has our biggest skeptic in the office dumbfounded....literally.

What does this even mean? "New" and "Old" atheism. Is new atheism just what is to be found during your existence? Does old mean Hindu atheism or 5th century Greek atheism? By saying something like this you are just trying to position yourself in an evil "them" versus a virtuous "us." I don't buy into this fear based tactic. Why everyone in America seems to think that "others" are meeting secretly and conspiring to destroy their way of life and enslave them to a different ideology/value/political persuation/etc is beyond me.

[RubberMallet]

i don't know why dont' you ask them

http://newatheism.org/

[ALUmnus]

Hey, RM, check out this new one for your class:

Who Made God? by Edgar Andrews
http://www.challies.com/archives/book-r ... de-god.php

[RubberMallet]

Hey, RM, check out this new one for your class:

Who Made God? by Edgar Andrews
http://www.challies.com/archives/book-r ... de-god.php

its on my list.

wedged in between The Greatest Show on Earth by Dawkins and The Illogical Atheist by Vox Day.