[Rufus]

[byrt_001]

hi rufs

i really really like the first one the composition and colours is great....what is it? a guitar? or violin?

thanks

christian

[Don Schaeffer]

Intriguing. I like the way you flatten the 3-d shape.

[Rufus]

hi rufs

i really really like the first one the composition and colours is great....what is it? a guitar? or violin?

thanks

christian

Thanks.

Yes, it's an acoustic guitar, (a very big one!).

[Rufus]

Intriguing. I like the way you flatten the 3-d shape.

Thanks Don. Yes, the intention was to present only the lines and flow.

[shuttertalk]

I like the flowing lines, and the way you've zoomed in on a small cross section of the guitar. Nice work!

[Irma]

Your pictures are great Rufus... the first one has a very sensual look to me... I like it a lot!!

[Pioneer70]

I prefer the abstractness of the second, though in many ways the first may be a better photo.

[Rufus]

Many thanks, folks!!

Mr Pioneer, may I ask, do you equate belief with intoxication, an artificially induced and transitory thing? Very interesting......

[Pioneer70]

Mr Pioneer, may I ask, do you equate belief with intoxication, an artificially induced and transitory thing?

No more so than you equate disbelief with a crime or something shameful.

[noisynoodle]

The thief and policeman analogy hasn't anything to with crime or shameful things. The way I read it is that the reason a thief can't find a policeman (and an atheist can't find God) is that neither of them wants to.

[Rufus]

Quite so.

[Pioneer70]

The thief and policeman analogy hasn't anything to with crime or shameful things.

I didn't say that it necessarily did.

The way I read it is that the reason a thief can't find a policeman (and an atheist can't find God) is that neither of them wants to.

There are multiple ways to read both quotes. Why, though, would someone not want to find God, unless perhaps they are ashamed? The analogy is poor unless the reasons the atheists has for not finding God are at least very similar, if not identical, to those the thief has for not finding the police. The analogy is actually misleading and deceptive if the reasons why an atheist doesn't find God are completely unrelated to why a thief doesn't find police. It seems that the way you read the quote may be close to what you say the quote has nothing to do with - if the analogy to police and thieves isn't an analogy about trying to avoid being caught for doing something wrong, then it really isn't about anything much at all.

If a person is trying to avoid finding God, that assumes they think God exists - you can't actively avoid finding something non-existent. Who tries to avoid finding Darth Vader? The suggestion that people who call themselves "atheists" (note the scare quotes, as are found in the original quote) actually believe in a god but just don't want to be held responsible for immoral behavior is a common (not to mention arrogant and ignorant) argument. It's an attempt to say that there are no "real" atheists, just angry or dishonest theists who refuse to take responsibility for their actions.

This quote appears, on multiple levels, to tie into that argument. Of course, perhaps Rufus had none of that in mind when using it and was completely unaware of all the implications. I don't know - I can't read his mind. Regardless, my signature is not intended to equate belief with intoxication or to suggest that it is transitory. I had very different things in mind, but I choose not to explain it and instead allow people to interpret on their own - just as Rufus did.

[Rufus]

Wouldnt you agree, that the similarity in our tag lines is remarkable? Wouldnt you also agree that it could be seen as a response to mine? Wouldnt that suggest antagonism? Wouldnt that, further suggest disquiet? Wouldnt that suggest that we speak of this no more? I think so.
Goodbye.