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Belated Response To The Forum's Macula

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Posted by Aurino Souza on November 18, 2003 21:31:44 UTC

OK, so Mario made me feel bad about my behaviour (I do respect Mario's opinions), so I'll try and explain where my disdain for "macula" comes from. Here's my reply to his post (now that I read it, it was quite humorous in its attempt to sound offensive and witty)

Sorry that I pointed out your plagiarism, by the way.

I can't believe macula really thinks I was trying to pass off Chesterton's words as my own. And I can't believe he think this forum is about literature or original ideas. Most of all, I can't believe anyone actually reads the nonsense I post to Mike.

calling me "stupid" was not only a powerful display of your intellectual virtuosity, but I reckon that this time you actually made a rebuttal that you wrote all by yourself !

Wrong. I actually quoted Dick Stafford.

I sometimes pick on you Aurino because you often come across as a bit of a hypocrite.

I know that.

As far as I'm concerned, it's okay to be arrogant, vulgar or insulting (as you can be sometimes -- and I'm no saint either)

Macula is no saint, but he feels OK about it. Did anyone mention hypocrisy?

but it's not okay to behave that way if at the same time you assert that your Christian beliefs make you wiser, better or morally superior to others.

Now this was the greatest laugh I got. It's the confirmation that macula is, after all, quite dumb. Where did I ever say I'm a Christian? Where did I ever quote scripture? I can't even remember the names of the authors of the five gospels in the New Testament.

You said that Christians are to secularists as humans are to "beasts".

That is a lie. Besides being intellectually limited, macula is a liar. What I said was something entirely different which, obviously, is beyond his ability to understand.

As to "beasts", I'd like to know where is the scientific evidence that humans are better than elephants or leopards. Those would be "beasts", right? If not, please pardon my poor English.

Oh and it gets better: you not only stated that secularists were beasts, but you went on to say that secularists are "intellectually inferior" to Christians. (Lol)

I don't remember what I said. I don't even remember saying it here. I wonder if macula isn't chasing me in the other forum I post. In any case, all I may have said was that a person who is unsure of his beliefs is in a better intellectual position than another who's firmly convinced. And as far as I can tell I was only considering the hypothesis.

One of my favorite Gary Larson FarSide comics is the one where a nondescript man is opening his mailbox off an alleyway beside his apartment, when from beneath a dark stairway you can just see the shadow of a film-noir type character wearing a gigantic trenchcoat-- it's an elephant. The caption reads:
"Remember me, Mr. Schneider? Kenya, 1947.
If you're going to shoot an elephant, Mr. Schneider, you'd better be prepared to finish the job."

LOL. The repeated courtesy of the "Mr. Schneider", the film-noir atmosphere, and of course the (cough) anthropomorphization (cough) of the elephant from a safari game animal to a 1930's type hitman, while still referencing the animal's legendary memory... pure comic genius!


Is that supposed to be funny?

I wrote about the beauty and awesomeness of the universe and asked how it was, and why it was, that we came to be here; and what the nature and meaning of all of this is... and you (so characteristically) said that I was a 'fool' to ask such meaningless questions. The implication being that Christianity had all the answers as far as you were concerned -- so why did I bother to ask such stupid questions?

I think macula is lying again. Besides, whatever implications there are in my arguments, one must be really dumb to think they have anything to do with Christianity.

Frankly, they are questions that consistently blow my mind -- and fill me with the same kind of awe that you probably feel when you go to church.

Go to church? What is the problem with this guy?

But you've yet to prove my first impression of you wrong, Aurino. ...and lately, in addition to your pathological indifference...

What macula calls "pathological indifference", I call "don't care what this guy thinks and hope the feeling is mutual; which, unfortunately, it isn't"

One advantage that I have over you with regards to avoiding hypocrisy is that as a self-proclaimed heathen, I make no pretenses about my human (beastly?) flaws, nor do I claim any moral superiority because of my beliefs. You, on the other hand, denounce secularists as less than human, while simultaneously behaving much worse than most atheists and agnostics that I know!

Without getting into any argument regarding secularism, I wonder just exactly macula thinks it means to be human, as opposed to being any other animal.

So off the top of my head (I'm not keeping score but since we're on the topic), here are some award-winning examples of your un-Christian conduct...

Since I'm not a Christian, most of what follows is nonsense I couldn't gather the patience to read. But there are some nuggets.

In one of your more shifty schemes, you lied to Tim (who was defending Dr. Dick's position) by pretending that one of Dr. Dick's arguments was your own -- in the hopes that Tim would be tricked into refuting that argument, and you would thus trap and embarrass him. (I suppose that it would have been too honest and forthright to debate Tim in the good ole' fashioned way).

I did lie to Tim, and I was going to apologize for it, but the story is a bit more complicated. I thought Tim wanted to have a real discussion about Dick's ideas, so I did post what Dick had explained to me. When the guy dropped out for no reason, I felt like a fool for taking him seriously. So I felt justified in making him feel like a fool as well, by saying I had made that up. But Dick, if he saw it, knows the truth. Harv and Alan should know it as well, as I was posting from memory something Dick wrote on another forum.

I felt bad about the episode because I realized something I didn't see before. Dick's ideas ARE crazy if presented that way. It was only natural that Tim would think I was playing a game. Yet I found it strange that, all of a sudden, Tim stopped his proselytism for Dick's ideas. Maybe he did see that I was telling the truth, even though I said I wasn't. Maybe he got it directly from Dick, I don't know.

I don't expect anyone to believe any of this. I'm writing it in case Dick reads it.

From your own instruction manual on proper conduct, aren't the bad guys the ones who enjoy deceiving others? Psalm 62:4 "...they take pleasure in telling lies. They bless with their mouths but inwardly they curse."

For a non-Christian, macula seems to have a good knowledge of the bible. I for one have never read it, I don't even know what a psalm is.

The Gold Award For Hypocrisy (Winner: Aurino)
You recently threatened someone (Mike) to "watch out" since you might "blow his brains out".


Mike constantly refers to my nationality as something to be ashamed of. I thought I'd play along with his provincial views of the world. South-Americans seem to be considered violent people, so I thought I'd make some fun of it. I wonder if he got scared.

Aurino, please help me out here, my scriptural knowledge is a bit rusty

Funny that macula says that when his knowledge of scripture is infinitely greater than mine, which is nil.

presented to Aurino for calling the US Bill of Rights "toilet paper".

I'm the hypocrite, but it's OK for Mike to argue that my worldviews are related to the poverty in South American countries. Excuse me if I feel there are double standards around.

Mario, I'm also disappointed in you. Macula can write a huge post attacking me, but he's a great poster and I'm a jackass who needs to grow the hell up. But that's OK too.

you claim that biologists are not 'real scientists'. Can you say "insulting!"? Although Yanniru already corrected you, I would be happy to debate that point further if you really think that you can defend it.

Actually, not long ago Yanniru said "biologists are the least honest among scientists", or something to that effect.

Do I see double standards again, or is it just me? Perhaps it would be OK for me to say such things if I signed my posts "Aurino Souza, Ph.D.", or better, "Anthony Smith, PhD & WASP".

people like me just want to reciprocate and put you in your place.

But I'm the arrogant one...

In contrast to you, a guy like say Harv conducts himself in a consistently Chrisitan way. Even if I don't agree with him 100% on all things, I have to respect his lack of hypocrisy. He practices what he preaches.

He also uses an English name as an alias? Come on, say it!

(Now don't take any of this too seriously, Aurino... like I said, I'm just having some fun and giving you a hard time!)

I don't take this seriuosly at all. But I'm quite upset with Mario's double standards. Mike's double standards don't bother me as I don't take him seriously, but I used to have a lot of respect for Mario.

Don't talk the talk if you can't walk the walk!

Is there a greater sign of intellectual poverty than resorting to ready-made phrases like that?

On a positive note, if my little tirade helped you straighten out your behavior a little, then I'll offer you a 'you're welcome' in advance...

Macula thinks he can succeed where my mother failed. Macula needs to concentrate on more productive endeavours, and that excludes trying to have conversations with me, because there just isn't any chemistry between the two of us.

That's all I have to say.

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