General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAtheist Making A Fortune From Selling Bibles
âWhat if you sold Harry Potter books or Lord of the Rings books, but you told people it was real? And you told people if they would just learn how to write spells themselves, they could heal their children? And if you sold that as a real thing? I would feel terrible about that. But thatâs really the situation I am in selling the bible. I am selling this thing I truly believe is fiction.â
http://www.inquisitr.com/1921336/atheist-making-a-fortune-from-selling-bibles-says-the-money-is-too-good-to-be-true/
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Damn wish I had thought of that!
merrily
(45,251 posts)I don't see this as the same kind of story as an evangelist exploiting believers while living a life that is inconsistent with what he or she directs others to do, ostensibly under an anointing from God.
It's more like a bookstore that doesn't believe in witchcraft selling Harry Potter books because they are big moneymakers for the bookstore.
Is anyone under the illusion that everyone who has sold a cross or a Star of David in Israel was/is a devout Christian or a devout Jew? Ditto for everyone who has sold Bibles or Korans?
anotojefiremnesuka
(198 posts)are under the illusion that those flogging religious products are believers just like them.
merrily
(45,251 posts)It's another to ascribe it to a peddler of Vatican or "holy land" souvenirs. But, this guy is openly atheist. No sense at all ascribing anything but an atheism to him.
anotojefiremnesuka
(198 posts)condemn them to eternal damnation.
Yes very silly indeed.
merrily
(45,251 posts)However, I have no desire to even appear to defend those bakeries, so I'll stop that train of thought right there.
Those bakeries are hypocrites. Do they clear their customers for other things they consider sins? Stealing? Bearing false witness against a neighbor? Coveting a neighbor's spouse? And so on?
anotojefiremnesuka
(198 posts)I agree they are hypocrites
merrily
(45,251 posts)In fact, I won't ask those turds about anything.
If I were going to ask anyone about your statement, I'd ask you, but I won't do that, either. I will simply say again that I have never seen that specific claim made by a bakery that has refused to bake a cake for a GLBT wedding. IOW, you have stated their alleged objection in a way that I have not seen any of them state it.
And, as my prior post said, I would like to leave it at that, esp. since this thread is not even about that.
anotojefiremnesuka
(198 posts)If you are interested to understand the mindset, there are plenty of other examples in the news too
Personally I do know now any butcher, bakers, and candle stick makers who are denying service to LGBT people but they are out there if all the news reports and law suites are true.
merrily
(45,251 posts)I am familiar with the refusals and the reasons they give. So far, I have not heard or read of one that says they believe they will go to hell or be damned for eternity if they bake the cake. Nor did the baker at your source say that.
anotojefiremnesuka
(198 posts)Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)uh no. Essentially nobody believes that the Harry Potter books describe real events, it is almost universally understood that they are works of fiction. So this is not at all analogous to the bible, which book is thought by millions to not be a work of fiction. While you and I and the subject of the op might agree that the bible is of course a work of fiction, there is something a bit off with an atheist peddling this crap to the believers, it borders on fraud and seems more analogous to a snake-oil salesman peddling bogus remedies knowing full well that they are nonsense.
merrily
(45,251 posts)religion or believe in any of its tenets. (meaning no disrespect to that religion).
Bookstores sell all kinds of books covering things some people believe in, but the bookseller might not believe it.
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)muriel_volestrangler
(102,141 posts)He's not saying "this will make you a better person" or "this will save your soul". He's not saying "this is a better guide to life than the works of Bertrand Russell". He saying "here's a convenient way to get the information from the bible".
Is a publisher that publishes sacred texts from more than one religion bordering on committing fraud, in your eyes?
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)AFAIC anyone peddling religion is in the region of fraud.
greatlaurel
(2,010 posts)Thanks for posting.
CK_John
(10,005 posts)Thor_MN
(11,843 posts)hatrack
(60,368 posts)no_hypocrisy
(48,134 posts)Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)and upwards of 10,000 lies." Mark Twain