Thread: Greatest fictional book

And tell me, Mr. Jesuson, what good is a phone call if you're unable to speak.

ONE GOD TO RULE THEM ALL, ONE GOD TO FIND THEM, ONE GOD TO BRING THEM ALL AND IN THE DARKNESS BIND

Moses tablet surfing down the side of Mount Sinai shooting the Hethans with a sling.

Greatest fictional book would have to be LOTR.

mrs frisby and the rats of nim is high up there for my greatest book... or mabey not
id say the bible but in my opinion it isnt that great

Originally Posted by samid

[quote:c4e349658b="ebola"]It has never been proven wrong or right

has actually. was proved to be fictional by a historian guy a couple of years back. if i cared more i'd tell you who, but i can't remember his name. of course no religion swallowed it, so it basically meant nothing and has therefore been forgotten.

i'm going to say ulysses is the most influencial book for writers now...and therefore for current readers.[/quote:c4e349658b]

i'd want to see that, to the best of my knowledege, no one has ever disproved the bible conclusively, which if it is fiction surely would have happened by now...

Greatest fiction: Sherlock holmes series, brilliant stuff.
Most influential fiction: Prob LOTR.

-D.

Originally Posted by Remy Lebeau (X)

i'd want to see that, to the best of my knowledege, no one has ever disproved the bible conclusively, which if it is fiction surely would have happened by now...

The problem is that the supernatural claims of most religions, including christianity cannot be falsified. That is, we can't propose a test which would prove Christian Postulate x to be false.

By contrast, any scientific theory in wide acceptance has faced, or can be made to face, falsification. Evolution and Relativity are both falsifiable theories, and have been tested.

Read Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark for a good exposition of the strength of skepticism and the scientific method.

Originally Posted by Remy Lebau

Most influential fiction: Prob LOTR.

Years ago the US Library of Congress conducted a survey to discover which books people had considered most influential in their lives. I can't find an original source, but here is a list claiming to be based on that one. Notice that the Bible came first, and Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged came second. (Incidentally we keep a copy in the ULC library).

i'd have to say....

be careful what you say, Jaian and Meataxe.

so, Jaian, because someone believes in a god then that freely permits others to mock, belittle and 'jeer' at them?

go jeer at an Islamic extremist, wanker.

Originally Posted by Seqo

so, Jaian, because someone believes in a god then that freely permits others to mock, belittle and 'jeer' at them?

Are you saying you wouldn't mock someone who claims the world is flat, or that Santa Clause is real? Even if you wouldn't, most would.

go jeer at an Islamic extremist, wanker.

I have, but only in Australia, and only when I was certain of my own safety. I was born a minority in an Islamic country, so I'm fairly familiar with the dangers of arousing anger in Islamic extremists...

My flatmate of two years in Sydney was a member of the Jaamati Islam in Bangladesh, and we tended to insult each others religions. The only thing that kept him from assaulting me was the fact that I would occasionally train him, so he knew I could kick his ass, and secondly, he would be arrested and deported.

However, I don't see the purpose of your comment. Islam is worse than Christianity in my eyes, but most of the Islamic worlds are mired in poverty and illiteracy and many other problems. Most 1st World Christians do not have this excuse.

the comment was a statement, saying that you should do it. to get rid of you. remove you from the face of this earth. etc.

i would find what they believe in a little weird - ie Santa Claus. however, Santa and the world being flat are easily proven as False. Santa being created by the Coca Cola company and the fact that people have been outside of the atmosphere to see that the world is not, indeed, flat.

it is a very different story in proving a religion entire belief system is wrong.

technically you are jeering at something which you are unable to disprove, yet you jeer at it anyway.

Originally Posted by Seqo

technically you are jeering at something which you are unable to disprove, yet you jeer at it anyway.

That's exactly why religion deserves a skeptical attitude. It can't be disproved. You cannot propose a single objective test to prove or disprove various supernatural claims made by religions.

But inability to disprove is not proof. If I collar you in a street and say you killed Jimmy Hoffa, and you can't prove otherwise, are you guilty of jimmy hoffa's murder? No, of course you're not.

You need to think clearly and carefully about proof, disproof, and what I mentioned about - falsifiability. The scientific method works so well because it does just that. The religious method does not, and therefore cannot be settled either way. You will always be able to "but" your way out of a test.

alibi is a wonderful thing.

ok, i understand that.

i just feel that Jaian is being an immature little tart. you don't just mock someone's religious belief's because, more often than not, they will never mock your atheism.