Is Randi a Closet Druid?
- Thread starter Beady
- Start date
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- druidism james randi
1inChrist said:The original poster is pointing out that even though Randi likes to play the ''freethinking scientific intelluctual who views Christianity the same as other religions and mythologies'' guy, he really has an emotional connection to Christianity, Jesus, God and The Bible that makes him single out Christmas.
James Randi is inconsistent because he plays the ''freethinking scientific intelluctual who views Christianity the same as other religions and mythologies'' guy but his act is exposed when he bashes Christmas and not other religious holidays that are not Christian. Like for instance halloween, a satanic holiday.
Good job to the original poster at exposing Randi on this.
Halloween is a Christian Holiday now.
Is telling a lie like that part of your religion, 1inChrist?
Beady
Philosopher
jj said:
Y'know, I thought my own reply to One-er about this (see above) was rather cogent and erudite.
[sigh]
Beady
Philosopher
jj said:
I probably should have put a smiley in my reply to you (think I'll do it when I finish here).
[Guess I won't. I tried, but the time limit expired.]
As to the trolling, I've been reading up on 1iC, and I think it's more a case of mental illness. He's inconsistent, but only from the outside looking in; inside his own little world, he's perfectly consistent. He truly doesn't see anything wrong with what he says; he doesn't reply to anyone's objections or counterarguments because, to him, objections and counterarguments are completely irrelevant.
What *is* relevant is that what he says gets attention, and in this he is perfectly correct. I've been reading these boards steadily for only the last couple of weeks, and I can tell you from a newcomer's perspective that 1inChrist is the dominant personality here; if he's not posting, himself, people are posting about him even in threads he's never touched. Hell, there are threads designed solely to catch his attention, and that talk about him even when he hasn't been near them. I haven't done a content analysis, but I would be perfectly willing to wager my next paycheck that his "name" appears here more than Randi's. Look at *this* thread, fer Chrisake! It started out about Randi, and *now* look!
So go ahead and tell me that 1inChrist isn't the dominant personality on these boards. He doesn't control them, but his shadow is everywhere and his very name can hijack any thread.
LOL, no. He isn't the most dominant personality on the board -- just the most recent entertainment for a number of people. People considered what he had to say seriously 2 months ago when he first showed up, but since then he's made it rather aparent that he has no interest in enguaging in actual discussion. At this point people either ignore him or tease him.
Your reply to his trolling was quite lucid and well worth reading and all the same, though.
BUT, I do think you're cherry-picking a bit if you're trying to build a case that Randi discriminates against x-tians.
Your reply to his trolling was quite lucid and well worth reading and all the same, though.
BUT, I do think you're cherry-picking a bit if you're trying to build a case that Randi discriminates against x-tians.
Beady
Philosopher
Vim Razz said:
Not Christians, just holidays. As I quoted somewhere above, Randi bemoans... well, here, I just found it:
"Enjoy the holidays, folks. Be good to one another, feed someone who's hungry, comfort a stranger, smile at a little child. Do what we should all be doing, every day. Without needing a holiday to remind us� "
Now, in the next town from me, there's still a banner up in the park (towns are so slow to take these things down) saying "October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month." Why doesn't Randi say the same thing about Breast Cancer Awareness Month as he does about Christmas? Surely he is aware of breast cancer? Surely he feels we should all be aware of breast cancer during the other 11 months without needing a designated month to remind us?
To put it another way, if there's nothing wrong with designating a month to remind us to be mindful of breast cancer victims (and all that is inherently involved), why is there something wrong with designating a single day to remind us to be mindful of our fellow humans, in general? And if Randi is going to bemoan a holiday which is at least nominally devoted to our better aspects, why does he not bemoan a holiday (Halloween - which is rapidly becoming just as popular in this country as Christmas) nominally devoted to our worst apsects?
BTW, for the record, the Christmas *I* celebrate is more the Dickens variety (watching the various versions of "A Christmas Carol" is a favorite holiday activity). However, I see nothing wrong with an infidel such as myself venerating the memory of a man whose message was, basically, that we'd all be better off if we all behaved like decent human beings. And, while I try to behave decently the entire year, I see nothing wrong with devoting a special single day/fortnight/whatever to making a special effort.
I started this thread as kind of a half-joke, but now... It really strikes me that such inconsistency in such a prominent spokesman for rational thought is more than a tad irrational.
DrMatt
Graduate Poster
- Joined
- May 10, 2002
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- 1,414
Randi is extremely outspoken on topics which matter to him. Read the archives--he's a vociferous Bright, and also speaks favorably of the Secular Humanist movement within the Jewish people (in fact, search the archives for the string "Jew" and you'll see some very interesting things).
Halloween is, indeed, a pagan holiday which was appropropriated by Catholicism but which subsequently has pretty much died out--except in the USA, where it was revitalized by the counterculture in the 1960's and 1970's, and has subsequently been heavily commercialized.
Randi's career takes him regularly to all corners of the globe.
The claim that he's quiet about Halloween for any reason other than that he has more important things to do really holds no water.
Halloween is, indeed, a pagan holiday which was appropropriated by Catholicism but which subsequently has pretty much died out--except in the USA, where it was revitalized by the counterculture in the 1960's and 1970's, and has subsequently been heavily commercialized.
Randi's career takes him regularly to all corners of the globe.
The claim that he's quiet about Halloween for any reason other than that he has more important things to do really holds no water.
DrMatt
Graduate Poster
- Joined
- May 10, 2002
- Messages
- 1,414
Beady said:
I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that Randi would probably agree that we should be taking steps to prevent breast cancer every day of the year and not just during whatever month that was--I've never heard of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I even work for a hospital.
Some holidays, like the darkest day of the year or whatever, may be times you set aside to remind yourself to do the right thing. But reminding us that we should be doing the right thing every day does not in itself constitute an attack on the holiday. It certainly isn't an attack on Christmas, which is just timed to coincide with and co-opt solstice celebrations and which isn't even mentioned in the Randi quote.
Alburg must be very cold in the winter, especially when the nor'easter wind blows off of Ransoms Bay. Nice farm country, though. And, close enough to Canada that you can take advantage of the weak dollar right now. Probably don't get too much traffic coming down Route 2 when the snow piles up.
-TT
-TT
Beady
Philosopher
ThirdTwin said:
I was wondering when/if anyone would get curious.
But I can tell you're not local. The worst winds come out of the south and west (like right now), not from Ransom Bay, to the east. I can, however, be in Canada in 10 minutes, which was a real temptation the day after the election.
Beady
Philosopher
DrMatt said:
No it doesn't, yes it does (when combined with the parts you left out), and it was mentioned by implication (when combined with the parts you left out).
Here is the full quote (see near the top of this thread); try reading it *all* and then tell me he wasn't specifically belittling (attacking) the Christmas holiday:
"December 19, 2003:
"Happy Newton's Birthday! Just 361 years ago this next Thursday [guess which day he's talking about here], Sir Isaac Newton was born, a man we know existed, someone who contributed hugely to his and to our world, and a chap we can and should commemorate by means of observance of his birthday. Instead, most of the world chooses to believe that another guy was born on this day, a notion for which there's no proof at all [this is not an attack on the holiday?]."
And:
"Enjoy the holidays, folks [what an odd sentiment, given the above]. Be good to one another, feed someone who's hungry, comfort a stranger, smile at a little child. Do what we should all be doing, every day. Without needing a holiday to remind us� "
If Randi is so hot on celebrating Newton's birthday over Christmas, maybe he should bemoan the lack of an annual reminder for us to obey the law of angular momentum. Oh wait! He does! And then he tells us to enjoy Christmas, instead. This is not inconsistent?
Beady said:
I bet it's beautiful up there! Looks like you have water all around you. I'm not sure I could tough-out the winters, though. I'm looking at residency programs right now, and many of them are in the northeast. Brrrrrrr......
-TT
Beady
Philosopher
ThirdTwin said:
I grew up in Michigan and spent the five years before moving to Vermont in Alaska, so winters here aren't any big deal for me. It is gorgeous, here, and I do have water all around me, and the mountains are only an hour away. You can swim in the summer and ski in the winter, all without leaving home.
A word of advice, though: Don't even think about doing a residency in Burlington. The city beaches close down every summer because of E Coli, and the rents are astronomical. Try for a smaller hospital, like in St. Albans.
