Mother Teresa Again

Eventually I relented and abandoned the urge to respond to my Mother Teresa antagonist, even after the most compelling piece of persuasion I could have received, courtesy of Thom:

I'm not particularly clued up on mother teresa, but you gotsta reply to that guy. Literally take out your intellectual cock and piss all over his faithful face.

Even that didn't crack my stubborn desire to let him stew in his pit of anger and frustration. Anyone with an ounce of sense and a search engine could have written a decent rebuttal to that dirge of slurrilous drivel anyway. That being said, Clinton gave a powerful defense of freedom of expression and it's inevitable (and necessary) corollary: debate.

If you need to be angry then be angry that too many of the world's population lives without clean water, basic shelter or power.
I cannot support the view that this suffering leads to some form of enlightenment. It is a stain on humanity and and humanity needs to work to alleviate this.
You are the generation that should be producing the great ideas, the passion and the motivation to solve these issues.
Get talking, get debating, don't accept everything you're told by professors, teachers, priests and other assorted wise men.
Come on, you're better than this.

The crux of the matter lies in this latter concept; never accept what you're told without first questioning it, or, indeed, applying itself to itself. Would Kant, Hegel, or Marx want you to take their teachings and philosophies ex nihilo? No, they wouldn't. I fear my antagonist fell prey to this tendency and I did, admittedly, enjoy rubbing his face in it. It's understandable, then, that he turned to resentment and frustration, which he, when pushed, regretted. Although I'm notably absent, the rest of the conversation that you couldn't read is posted below.

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Zachary Hojnacki
As a follower of God myself i must say both of you have strong points and the lives that were touched by Mother Theresa cannot be denied, nor can Rob's obvious examples of her darker side be ignored. But i must interject that I am slightly disappointed in the attacks on Rob in that, while he may or may not have an atheist agenda, it is the hypocrisy by the believer that keeps atheist like Rob from ever even considering our point of view. Both of you have no regard for the others opinion, but I would expect the religious individual to show some grace towards his atheist opponent, certainly before the opposite happened. If were to ever make any non believer believe then we cannot take a holier than thou approach and must show to them that we have something that they are lacking. When an atheist hears an enraged believer tell him his points are "idiotic" and "petty", it basically suggest that he is an inferior human being, and its no wonder he doesn't believe God exist. I am not saying I believe what Rob is saying is right, but there are better ways to go about solving disagreements, and I would expect a follower of Christ to show respect to all of God's people, not just those who share his beliefs.

Andrew Starbuck
For my part, I do apologize for letting things get too personal. It's so easy to fall into an eye-for-an-eye type of argument. I definitely don't feel any ill will towards Rob, even if I have problems with his beliefs on issues, and certainly wasn't feeling "enraged". If he is anything like me, he was probably just as distracted from whatever he should've been doing in getting into a good ol' debate as I was.

On the other hand, we must be careful that we don't confuse being a peace-loving, respectful Christian, with letting others disrespect our God and those who serve Him. Jesus made it clear that we would be hated for what we believe, but not to fall into the complacency of the World. "I come not to bring peace, but to bring a sword" - Matthew 10:34.

Zachary Hojnacki
I appreciate and respect the clarification and your apology

Jordan Smith
Rob has big muscles.

Zachary Hojnacki
its true.

Jordan Smith
You too Hoj

Zachary Hojnacki
thanks jordan i aspire to be as strong as you someday

Susana Helms
Over. This. Post.

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P.S. As if anything more need be said after that last remark from Dr. God.