fliers in st kilda : "Get Saved today" & "stop preaching at me"

[Mithridates]

Good point, Xeno. It reminds me of the story of the exchange between an Innuit (sp?) hunter and a missionary.

The Innuit said to the missionary "If I didn't know about God, would I be sent to Hell when I die?", to which the missionary replied in the negative. "Then, responded the Innuit "why did you tell me?"

Of course it is the parochial, localised nature of the origins of the various religions which indicates very clearly that religion is of entirely human origin.

Regards

Mithridates

[Orphia Nay]

Originally Posted by Mithridates

Good point, Xeno. It reminds me of the story of the exchange between an Innuit (sp?) hunter and a missionary.

The Innuit said to the missionary "If I didn't know about God, would I be sent to Hell when I die?", to which the missionary replied in the negative. "Then, responded the Innuit "why did you tell me?"

Of course it is the parochial, localised nature of the origins of the various religions which indicates very clearly that religion is of entirely human origin.

Regards

Mithridates

Love the story! I'm stealing it.

[Fearless]

Out of interest I wonder if that flyer could be confused as a Poe from either side sending a confusing message to some who are unable to tell the difference.

The only mail I think atheists could post might be invites to free seminars based on the sciences.

We surely don't want to resort to their level of being annoying to householders.

I must admit a flyer purely made for comedic reasons kind of appeals.

[Mithridates]

@ Orphia Nay

Thanks, but I can't claim that one - it's a very old story. Originally it was an Eskimo hunter, but the term "Eskimo" is considered non-PC these days. I did get the spelling wrong, too - it is "Inuit" with just one "n"

There's a similar story about a supposedly "primitive" heathen very neatly putting the superior white missionary in his place - related to the cargo cult. Offhand, I don't recall the location, but it involves a messiah-like figure called "John Frum" who is supposed to return to the world soon, bringing wealth and good times for his followers.

The missionary pointed out that the cult followers had been waiting for John to reappear for the past 19 years without success - didn't that suggest he wasn't coming? The native replied, "You white fellas have been waiting for Jesus for 2000 years and still he don't come. I reckon I can wait a few more years for John."

'nuff said!

Regards

Mithridates

[Logic please]

@Mithridates: not sure of the original source, but IIRC that story is reproduced in The God Delusion. I'll check on a page ref later.

[Mithridates]

@Logic Please

I think you're right on the money. I've mislaid my copy of "The God Delusion" (after cleaning up my flat, I can't find a damn thing ), so I've had to rely on memory - I've probably misremembered some details, but I think the punchline is pretty well spot on.

Regards

Mithridates

[Orphia Nay]

Originally Posted by Mithridates

@ Orphia Nay

Thanks, but I can't claim that one - it's a very old story. Originally it was an Eskimo hunter, but the term "Eskimo" is considered non-PC these days. I did get the spelling wrong, too - it is "Inuit" with just one "n"

Cheers. I posted it like this on Facebook:

Inuit: If I didn't know about God, would I be sent to Hell when I die?
Missionary: No.
Inuit: Why did you tell me?

It got 10 likes, which you can think of as yours.