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

I love the idea of a "doorstep Unconversion" of a JW. I've been annoyed by them far too often and have only recently succeeded in making them go away. (The best line, which works, is : "You're wasting your time." and when they continue, say "Now your wasting mine." That leaves them with nothing and they go....)

I'm currently reading Jack Whyte's "The Eagles' Brood", the end of which is dealing with the arrival of the Roman Catholic faith in Britain and the conversion of the whole country's bishops over from Pelagianism. I'm more noting the timing of finding this thread while reading this material than commenting on the question raised.

Reason and Belief rarely go together. Douglas Adams put it well, in one of his books, when he said "In the beginning'...;three little words that have been the cause of more bloodshed through history than any others (sic)"

I'm rather attracted by Ambrose Bierce's definition of Belief: "Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel."

Fruitbat

What is Pelagianism? That is one damn fine definition of 'beleief'. I would phrase it:

"Belief: Blind faith in something because the idea of it not existing is incongruous with your world view."

My presonal definition of the term faith: desperate clinging to an idea in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

That is a very tidy one.

Right, so if I concentrate hard enough, and believe that my latest telephone bill is a deity, it will cease to exist??? (Oh, it was worth a try anyway.....do you think British Telecom will believe me? I suppose it is rather unbelievable...ubelievabubble. Don't burst me bubble.....)

It would only work if you lived in America and made all contact through the Internet.

PS, everyone: I'm changing my name by vote, so can you pop along to my page and state your preferences, please?

Ahh! Hence the American t.v. evangelists then.....

If there is a God and I pray hard enough, will he/she pay my 'phone bill for me?

Nah, that's silly - just ignore me - I'm still in a state of shock from said phone bill! I shouldn't even be here! I think I'll just go and have a quiet lie down somewhere....

Phone bills reall are very nasty indeed, and the employment of a stout stick may be necessary to deal with the problem that they pose.

It's scandalous that BT don't do free local calls like they do in the states.... it's just one more thing the Americans are better at than us: being fair.

AT&T once screwed us here in the States as harshly as BT is doing to y'all. Difference is, we sicked Uncle Sam on them. Long live the Sherman Anti-Trust Act!

I'm not sure it'd work here (maybe if we prayed hard enough...). I'd switch my telephone provider, but I have this huge bill which is going to take me a few months to pay off by direct debit!

What's the Sherman Anti-Trust Act?

Hmmm, perhaps I ought to do an article on this. Anyway, it's an anti-trust (monopoly) legislation that was passed during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, circa 1910. Makes it illegal for one company to monopolize an industry. It was used to bring the railroad robber-barons to heel, made AT&T cry for mercy, and is currently working its magic on Microsoft.

I think the trouble with B.T. is that it was a nationalised industry which was sold off by Maggie Thatcher (the old bat) to a bunch of her cronies with (I think I'm correct here)a guarantee that they'd have sole monopoly for a period of time.... The Post Office used to run the telephones and maintain all the lines, etc. We do have competitors now but B.T. still has a strangle hold on the market.

Well, the only way to break a trust is government...sounds like government sold you out. Be sure to send Aunt Maggie a copy of your last phone bill, along with a warm letter of thanks.

Warm letter? Letterbomb?

I'd sent a letter with a whole load of itching powder in and something my doggies do in the garden tied up with string to all her little helpers!

I was going to suggest that we put a dead horse's head in her bed, and then I realised that her husband wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Good one! Most amusing... I take it you're not a Tory voter.... I've never been able to vote for them (Communist, Labour, Liberal and now, completely disillusioned with the whole bunch of 'em, I'm a member of the Green Party) but my hubby voted for Maggie twice (the idiot) for which I rub his nose in it repeatedly!! Oh, the "discussions" we used to have....

One of my chief ambitions in life is to outlive Maggie. I'm only 39, so I should get there. I fantasise about watching footage of her funeral and yelling "NOW %#&@ everything up, you evil old bat!"
Not a nice thing to say in the season of goodwill, I know, but then what she did to Britain wasn't nice. At all.