h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Just thought I'd pop in and say hello. I've been reading some of your postings on the God-fact or fiction thread and find them quite amusing, thoughtful and wise. I don't post there regularly anymore after having had a problem with a certain individual there and also feeling like I had said all I had to say about the concept of 'god'. But I still read it from time to time, and occasionally put in my two-cents worth.

Enjoyed reading your personal page - you very clever person! I am assuming you are a woman, though I could be wrong.

Anyhow, that's all. Just wanted to say 'hola'.



azahar

hear hear to that
Jesus everyone getting all B****y serious defensive in that thread. lighten up take it as a joke. i suppose the reason they don't see the funny side is that they don't think God is a Joke! Fair enough i suppose. But it is good comedy material. the amount of evangelicalism i've been subjected to makes me wonder about the sanity about a large part of the population. don't eeven get me started on the hands-in-the-air-thing-with-closed-eyes while singing from a projector "send your pooooooweeer oh loooord....." yeah in your dreams.

Hola Azahar, thanks for dropping by!

Weird how my enthusiasm for this place oscillates - I find myself going away for months on end, then coming back for a week or two... hmm, manic phase followed by... nah... but?

I was hoping that someone on the God - fact or fiction thread would actually be prepared to argue a few sensible points, but as usual, it was like they never heard the question. I know it always ends with differing axioms or agreeing to differ, etc., but occasionally you can have a good skirmish in the meantime. Oh well.

Glad you enjoyed my page - I'm hoping the blog will continue, but it doesn't come on demand - if it did, I'd have a different career!

I don't know why you assumed I'm a woman (curious though). As it happens I'm not, but it doesn't really matter online (or does it?)

Well I suppose it would be more funny if they didn't waste so much time and energy and do so much damage... It's nearly always the most extreme ends of the human spectrum who have the drive to get into positions of authority and power, and when you believe God is on your side, it has the often-realised potential to make things so much worse.

But hey, complaining makes me feel better

hello,

Yeah, I don't know why I thought you were a woman. Go figure.

I started off on the God thread when I first got into h2g2 back in March. It just happened by chance, in fact I don't even remember how I actually found that thread at the time. I've had my ups and downs there. Mostly with some people treating me like an 'intellectual lightweight' when they get into all the philosphical stuff about what exists and what doesn't. Well, you do this too. But so far, you have been kind to me.

I've already said all I think I can say there about my own personal god concept, so now I mostly just provide brekky (my way of bookmarking and offering some coffee, etc at the same time). Also I think I am mostly on that thread for a bit of comic relief. Before I used to post a 'quote del día' which always had something to do with whatever people had been talking about over the past 24 hours. But then Toxxin and others made fun of me about doing this. So I stopped. That was back when I actually cared what others on that thread thought of me.

Now I very happily don't care at all.

They can say what they like. I say what I like. I don't care any more if some people want to try and make me appear silly.

I continue on that thread because there are people there that I like and respect. And the topic is interesting to me.

Anyhow, between Moth, Noggin, Alji, Matholwch and others I am sure you are finding many people to debate with.

az

I think your approach is the right one. Things are always productive when people show a bit of respect for each other. As soon as someone feels they are not treated with respect, they either withdraw or become aggressive, and the discussion is spoilt. Of course, some people are just trying to provoke a reaction, which is fine if it's done with a smile, but nasty when it's intended to hurt. The answer is to see that it is they who have the problems; as you say, you can choose not to be upset by their behaviour and see it as immaturity.

As for all the philosophical stuff, it's all been argued much better by the 'professionals', there are books full of it, so we're not really likely to make any novel insights. I see it mostly as an exercise in debate, picking out the flaws in people's arguments, and clarify my own. Once in a while, you get to rethink a few of your own ideas

I don't know how long I'll stay with the thread - I get bored very easily

well, today's 'debate' on the god thread has mostly been about breakfast and Leonard Cohen.

Now I am off to have a very late lunch (early dinner?) and watch a dvd - shall check back later to see what gems of wisdom and wit you may have chosen to add.

I used to get much more easily bored than I do now. I don't know why that has changed.

Anyhow, I hope you stick around. . .

az

ps

Jordan is newly back on the thread. He is lovely, very intelligent and interesting. Just so you know . . .

az

hi again,

I am forced to be at home because I am a weirdo and sometimes cannot leave my house. Agoraphobia. The worst part of it is not - in fact - having to stay at home, it's losing income because I get paid by the class. F**k.

So I have been beguiling the stay-at-home afternoon hours by lurking around on h2g2 and I noticed (re-noticed?) that you not only quoted the Kinks but also Brian Singer's The Usual Suspects (which is on my top ten all-time favourite film list).

Anyhoodle, I have one student coming soon. Happily I can still work at home - it's when I have to teach OUT THERE that occasionally overwhelms me with totally unreasonable fear and panic.

Also, sorry I am so vague on the God thread. Toxxin used to rip me to shreds because of this but these days he is being quite nice. I can't help being vague because, truly, I don't have any REAL answers or carved-in-stone opinions to offer anyone.

Whoops, gotta go - my student will be here in a few minutes.

Love that Kink's song. Think I will download it right now!

az

Apologies for the slow response - I've been away (away from h2g2).

I'm not contributing to the God thread at the moment, because I used up all my enthusiasm for it temporarily, and although I'm a firm disbeliever (atheist, I guess), I still got an awful lot of interesting stuff to think about from it. I really like the nature-romantic druid beliefs; if I was to get religious, it would either be Druidism (with lots of gods) or Bhuddism (with none).

I hope you find a way to deal with the Agoraphobia - I've heard that some conditioning techniques can help...

re: agoraphobia

Well sometimes a lot of helps too.

The god thread has been decidedly strange recently. It got into the concept of homosexuality and it turned into a Christians vs everyone else kind of thing. Now and then some other topics have been raised.

I'm not sure if you are actually missing anything by not being there recently. But you have been missed. At least by me.

I tend to believe in the possibility of all the gods, though without a religion connected to them. I could never be an atheist because I honestly think we are all 'god'. And since we are all god then we have no one to 'worship' other than each other. Yeah, I know, that probably sounds a bit flaky. And it feels different to what I am able to express in words. Well anyhow.

Hope you stick around.

az