Offside Chat Archives (2014-2021)

Secondly, if he’s going to be a man, he should at least have a name like Doug.

brightpilot6 said:But then again, I fail to see how that could be considered hypocritical. True hypocrisy lies with those believers who feel compelled to impose their religious lifestyle on everyone else while failing to live up to those very standards themselves. Why should an atheist be labeled a hypocrite simply for participating in traditions tied to faith, provided they aren't forcing their own way of life onto others?

Go ahead, you sheep, just bow down to him if it makes you feel better...

Charles Roberts33 said:Thank God. If you’re going to stand for something, you do it all the way—not halfway, not a third of the way, and certainly not whenever it happens to suit your mood.
I'm not a believer. I don't hang lights, I don't sing Christmas carols, and frankly, I don't mind the people who do. I tend to avoid the crowds, too. But I find it pretty hilarious when people spend the entire year calling believers hypocrites—mocking how they interpret their faith just to suit themselves—only to turn around during the holidays and embrace every single one of those traditions. They cherry-pick exactly what they want from the customs: mostly the superficial stuff, the glitter, the kitsch, and the noise. It seems they find some sort of comfort or solace in that shallow spectacle.

It’s all or nothing. There is no middle ground. ☕

I have one question for you then.

If you aren't an atheist, what are you?

And don't say agnostic. That's just a fancy way of saying "I can't decide if I want to eat or sleep."

Ashley Bailey6 said:I have one question for you then.

If you aren't an atheist, what are you?

And don't say agnostic. That's just a fancy way of saying "I can't decide if I want to eat or sleep."

Don't be like that.
I used to call myself an agnostic, too.
I spent plenty of time pondering the universe, only to realize I had no clue if God actually existed.
But somewhere around age 11 or 12, it clicked. I wasn't an agnostic; I was an atheist, plain and simple.

The whole issue with the atheist crowd is their mindset—they act like nobody should believe in anything at all.

ZZ, do you seriously feel the need to go around pestering people about why they shouldn't believe during Christmas too?

Jessica Gonzalez said:That was easily the worst funeral I've ever attended, and I buried my own father not too long ago. This one felt much heavier, just pure depression. The guy was a huge fan of the local baseball team, so they played their anthems while he was being laid to rest. Then I get home feeling completely drained in the evening, only for my wife to tell me she's pregnant again. I guess that’s just life; you just have to keep moving forward and try not to sweat the small stuff.

Isn't it just hilarious reading all these hate-filled posts on here just because someone has a slightly different take on soccer? Honestly, this sub made me sick to my stomach when some absolute trash (some guy with Antonia Misur in his avatar) told someone else he was going to rape his daughter, all over some stupid argument about Mamić, the national team, or whatever. And then the mods give that creep a few days of "cool down" time, probably because they let the other side say whatever they want. 👎 No sane person should ever use sports as an excuse for that kind of filth. Screw soccer.

Check out this Facebook status from a colleague of mine who’s living and working over in Germany. It is brutally honest. Just absolute chaos. People are fleeing from total jerks like those guys involved in the Kolinjda rallies or Milanovic, and then you have priests trying to lecture them during Midnight Mass? What a disaster.

Went to Midnight Mass, came back. I honestly can't tell if I was at a holy service or some post-election rally for Miroslav Škoro combined with a pre-election KGK meeting.

It hit me that we’re all just idiots because we voted for the exact same people again when we could have chosen others and won in the first round easily.
But hey, maybe we get a chance to fix things on January 5th, and we really need to show up for those elections; they are incredibly important and we have to go, otherwise, anyone who skips them will probably end up stuck in hell forever...
And on another note: Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ

Ashley Bailey6 said:I have one question for you then.

If you aren't an atheist, what are you?

And don't say agnostic. That's just a fancy way of saying "I can't decide if I want to eat or sleep."

Yeah, life really is just black and white. When I read Byron, I get this feeling like his spirit was inspired by Bazarov.
It’s easy to be some eighteen-year-old anarchist when your whole worldview revolves around hunting, consuming, and making yourself the center of the universe.
No doubt plenty of "Bazarovs" will cling to that youthful nihilism and stick to their ideals—mostly because, hey, sometimes that's the only thing that feels real.

But then there are the souls inspired by Karamazov... you know, the people who step away from the ego of pure reason because they'd rather live in a beautiful lie than struggle with a truth that's too damn hard to swallow.

If you're born with a skeptical streak, you're never gonna become a believer no matter how hard you try—but once you move past that nihilistic void, you're actually even further from being an atheist.

nimbleranger52 said:Check out this Facebook status from a colleague of mine who’s living and working over in Germany. It is brutally honest. Just absolute chaos. People are fleeing from total jerks like those guys involved in the Kolinjda rallies or Milanovic, and then you have priests trying to lecture them during Midnight Mass? What a disaster.

Went to Midnight Mass, came back. I honestly can't tell if I was at a holy service or some post-election rally for Miroslav Škoro combined with a pre-election KGK meeting.

It hit me that we’re all just idiots because we voted for the exact same people again when we could have chosen others and won in the first round easily.
But hey, maybe we get a chance to fix things on January 5th, and we really need to show up for those elections; they are incredibly important and we have to go, otherwise, anyone who skips them will probably end up stuck in hell forever...
And on another note: Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ

In the Catholic Church, they are Priests, not Popes. "Popes" is more an Eastern thing, so I'm not entirely sure where she actually went. Brutally honest? You think quoting a Priest's words makes it "brutally honest"?

It’s even weirder that anyone in 2020 is acting surprised by politics in the church or the church in politics. Even stranger is someone moving to Germany today and being shocked that people there support the Republican Party and things like that. That diaspora really started when those 20,000 people left for Germany a year ago. Besides, daily political topics are everywhere in churches worldwide, so why not ask your friend if she's ever been to a German Church and what they talked about there? And while you're at it, ask her if she ever posted a status about that.

It’s just so typical of a believer like you. You’re constantly lecturing everyone else and calling people out in every single thread you start.

decent rotation

Elizabeth Mendoza said:It’s just so typical of a believer like you. You’re constantly lecturing everyone else and calling people out in every single thread you start.

What, you think you're some kind of Priest now?😳

Thanks for the correction, man. I appreciate you looking out.

Elizabeth Mendoza said:It’s just so typical of a believer like you. You’re constantly lecturing everyone else and calling people out in every single thread you start.

What did I say that wasn't true?
You move to Germany, hang out with the local community, go to church with the German diaspora—who you know have their own opinions—and then you act surprised. It’s the same during election season; you can walk into any church or mosque you want, and they'll keep the political talk to a minimum if you just listen...

It's even worse when you're living in Germany where the church is funded by the congregation; if you don't like it, you just stop attending. Instead, you choose to complain about some American Priest preaching to you about elections. Then you just head over to a German Church, or whatever, in whichever language you prefer—assuming you actually understand anything besides your native tongue...

People just argue too much on social media, which is what I've said before; they waste so much useless time and energy. It's like going to a restaurant—if you don't like the food or the service, you just pick a different place, and there are plenty to choose from. You don't sit there ranting about how the restaurant sucks when it's clearly packed and everyone else seems perfectly happy being there...

Why are you capitalizing church and mosque?

Anyway, I actually go to church myself, and honestly, it really rubs me the wrong way when they start bringing politics into the sermon—especially when it feels like they're just shoving their own opinions down everyone's throats.

The way you're looking at this is just classic small-town narrow-mindedness—which, if we're being real, is exactly why people love to make fun of those "traditional" religious types here in the States.

Eric Fox7 said:Why are you capitalizing church and mosque?

Anyway, I actually go to church myself, and honestly, it really rubs me the wrong way when they start bringing politics into the sermon—especially when it feels like they're just shoving their own opinions down everyone's throats.

The way you're looking at this is just classic small-town narrow-mindedness—which, if we're being real, is exactly why people love to make fun of those "traditional" religious types here in the States.

It's because that's how I choose to write.🤷
I capitalize Dad, Mom, Son, and the Church out of pure respect for the individuals and the institutions.

What "perspective" are you talking about? Go ahead, tell me, since I haven't actually written anything expressing an opinion on it. I might actually be closer to your way of thinking on this topic than the other side, except I look at things objectively. I don't like what happens, but I'm not shocked by it either. Honestly, I find it hilarious when people move away from their tiny hometowns and suddenly feel the need to criticize everything, acting like they're experts on life just because they finally made it somewhere. I certainly wouldn't go to someone living in New York City or Chicago for three generations just to lecture them on how they're doing everything wrong.

All I said was that it's totally normal, especially within the American community living in Germany, to show up to a mass in New York City and find it ridiculous that someone mentioned they should have voted for Miroslav Škoro. And I also pointed out that these topics aren't avoided in any other countries in Europe, given how many services I've attended around the world.
They only get mocked because they've never traveled further than their own backyard.

Paul Martinez73 said:In the Catholic Church, they are Priests, not Popes. "Popes" is more an Eastern thing, so I'm not entirely sure where she actually went. Brutally honest? You think quoting a Priest's words makes it "brutally honest"?

It’s even weirder that anyone in 2020 is acting surprised by politics in the church or the church in politics. Even stranger is someone moving to Germany today and being shocked that people there support the Republican Party and things like that. That diaspora really started when those 20,000 people left for Germany a year ago. Besides, daily political topics are everywhere in churches worldwide, so why not ask your friend if she's ever been to a German Church and what they talked about there? And while you're at it, ask her if she ever posted a status about that.

But here's the thing: you're acting like it's some shocker that a non-believer is out here decorating the tree. People generally scratch where it itches, don't they? Except this situation is a bit more slippery. It isn't just that the church is meddling in politics; it's that they're essentially running pre-election propaganda for a crooked organization called the Republican Party. But then again, I suppose that shouldn't be surprising, considering how much loot the Republican Party has handed out to priests.

Eric Fox7 said:Why are you capitalizing church and mosque?

Anyway, I actually go to church myself, and honestly, it really rubs me the wrong way when they start bringing politics into the sermon—especially when it feels like they're just shoving their own opinions down everyone's throats.

The way you're looking at this is just classic small-town narrow-mindedness—which, if we're being real, is exactly why people love to make fun of those "traditional" religious types here in the States.

When you refer to the Church as an organization—like the Catholic Church—it takes a capital letter.
In fact, there were several spots where using a capital was perfectly correct.
A church with a lowercase "c" is just a building.
As for a mosque, it should always be lowercase unless it starts a sentence.

Pretty simple to remember, isn't it?

ruggedjackal46 said:But here's the thing: you're acting like it's some shocker that a non-believer is out here decorating the tree. People generally scratch where it itches, don't they? Except this situation is a bit more slippery. It isn't just that the church is meddling in politics; it's that they're essentially running pre-election propaganda for a crooked organization called the Republican Party. But then again, I suppose that shouldn't be surprising, considering how much loot the Republican Party has handed out to priests.

I wasn't actually surprised by it, and I even mentioned being glad about it in one of my posts. I was being sincere, I just don't want to spend the next 350 days listening to everyone call me an idiot, which tied back into that discussion we had a few days ago regarding Faith and the Church.

I can agree that it’s slippery, but "weird"? Not quite. I wouldn't lump everyone together; there's a small minority taking the money, sure. But the majority answering that call are just doing their jobs conscientiously. Like Suker would say, every single coward has their own little grain of truth. I’d say it’s mostly just a leftover habit from the old days when the Church was exclusively tied to the Republican Party—if you were a Priest, you basically had to be a Republican. Besides, since the other side opposes the Church itself, it would be pretty foolish to campaign for them, don't you think?

Paul Martinez73 said:What did I say that wasn't true?
You move to Germany, hang out with the local community, go to church with the German diaspora—who you know have their own opinions—and then you act surprised. It’s the same during election season; you can walk into any church or mosque you want, and they'll keep the political talk to a minimum if you just listen...

It's even worse when you're living in Germany where the church is funded by the congregation; if you don't like it, you just stop attending. Instead, you choose to complain about some American Priest preaching to you about elections. Then you just head over to a German Church, or whatever, in whichever language you prefer—assuming you actually understand anything besides your native tongue...

People just argue too much on social media, which is what I've said before; they waste so much useless time and energy. It's like going to a restaurant—if you don't like the food or the service, you just pick a different place, and there are plenty to choose from. You don't sit there ranting about how the restaurant sucks when it's clearly packed and everyone else seems perfectly happy being there...

Your original post was aimed at atheists who celebrate Christmas, and I responded to you as an atheist, explaining that I do celebrate Christmas, just not through any religious lens.

To me, Christmas is just a commercial holiday. As an atheist, it’s just another day off to eat way too much and drink heavily. Plus, I actually dig the decorations, the lights, Santa Claus, those catchy songs, and all those capitalist gimmicks that came over from the States—none of that has anything to do with faith or the church. I have zero interest in the religious side of things. I don't plant wheat, I don't light candles on an Advent wreath, I don't decorate a tree, and I definitely don't go to Mass.

For me, it's strictly about downtime, eating and drinking, hanging out with my crew and family, and enjoying being off work. The rest doesn't bother me at all. You just refuse to accept that, which honestly makes you no different from 99% of believers. For people like you, it's either "join us" or "you're an idiot." Look, I couldn't care less what you do. Be as religious as you want. Kiss your altars, live your life by your faith—I'm not touching you or your lifestyle.

I just want it on the record that once again, a BELIEVER is the one dragging this guy's story back up. Once again, you're shoving your views down everyone's throats and judging how others live. That seems to be the job description for all of you: sticking your nose into other people's business and their dinner plates.