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The cherry picking strategy

firedragon

Veteran Member
Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

Thats the first verse of a nice old song we sing like its some kind of poem or nursery rhyme, sometimes to children.

What if you quote the first line only?

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam

Then tell someone "Look at this song. Its telling you to live with buffaloes"..

It could be that the person quoting this line took it from a website. This website maybe on a mission and they love cherry picking lines like that and listing the cherry picked lines for shock effect. But does not the one who cuts and pastes this line from a website have some responsibility to do some analysis? This is an everyday occurrence.

Why do you think people do this? I mean not the owner of the website, but the cut and paste guy. Why? What do they honestly gain by doing that?
 

PoetPhilosopher

Veteran Member
Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

Thats the first verse of a nice old song we sing like its some kind of poem or nursery rhyme, sometimes to children.

What if you quote the first line only?

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam

Then tell someone "Look at this song. Its telling you to live with buffaloes"..

It could be that the person quoting this line took it from a website. This website maybe on a mission and they love cherry picking lines like that and listing the cherry picked lines for shock effect. But does not the one who cuts and pastes this line from a website have some responsibility to do some analysis? This is an everyday occurrence.

Why do you think people do this? I mean not the owner of the website, but the cut and paste guy. Why? What do they honestly gain by doing that?

A lot of people who do that, but don't wish to know the teachings, are atheist arguers that are kind of being a bad caricature of their whole side, and of people within their group. So while I might be sitting there drinking tea and eating crumpets with the other people who are atheists, and agreeing to disagree, one or two particular atheists just have to remind you with shouts and yells of their disbelief and cognitive dissonance of religion.
 

firedragon

Veteran Member
A lot of people who do that, but don't wish to know the teachings, are atheist arguers that are kind of being a bad caricature of their whole side, and of people within their group. So while I might be sitting there drinking tea and eating crumpets with the other people who are atheists, and agreeing to disagree, one or two particular atheists just have to remind you with shouts and yells of their disbelief and cognitive dissonance of religion.

One thing that always surprises me is why an Atheist would fundamentally keep doing this. Of course its not all atheists because some of the most respected historians and scholars are atheists. But the difference is, these atheists who are most fair scholars, unbiased in their research are educated highly in that particular subject. That seems to be the difference.

Atheists generally claim to be scientific, rational and logical etc etc. Even the person who cherry picks one line like in the OP claims to be all that. The issue is, he claims to be superior in all of that over the theists by default. Being all of that, why an atheist be so inferior in doing this level of cut and paste jobs. IN fact, some of them are prolific in that.

All of this while some other atheists are passionately opposed to theism, but are equally passionate in being honest and scientific. Not just as lip service, but honestly. I don't really wish to name people but there are so many atheists who are like that.

Unbelievable really.
 

exchemist

Veteran Member
Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

Thats the first verse of a nice old song we sing like its some kind of poem or nursery rhyme, sometimes to children.

What if you quote the first line only?

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam

Then tell someone "Look at this song. Its telling you to live with buffaloes"..

It could be that the person quoting this line took it from a website. This website maybe on a mission and they love cherry picking lines like that and listing the cherry picked lines for shock effect. But does not the one who cuts and pastes this line from a website have some responsibility to do some analysis? This is an everyday occurrence.

Why do you think people do this? I mean not the owner of the website, but the cut and paste guy. Why? What do they honestly gain by doing that?
Surely the answer is obvious: taking things out of context is an age-old rhetorical trick of people with a pre-existing agenda, who want to use the quote in pursuit of that agenda. It is known as "quote-mining", and is a common strategy of creationists, among others.

More here: Quote mining - RationalWiki
 

firedragon

Veteran Member
For same the reason as anyone else with an agenda, who is not honest enough to support their point of view fairly.

The reason I ask this question is, YEC's for example have a huge cause. You see exchamist, the darwinian evolution was almost an explosion because it is so far accepted by most as the most coherent theory and is a direct attack on the YEC position. I mean directly, no hanky panky. So YEC's have a big vested interest in contextomy as displayed in the link you provided as well.

What would an atheist have in this cauldron?
 

PoetPhilosopher

Veteran Member
What would an atheist have in this cauldron?

Atheists don't like their worldview being broken to pieces as it implies those who experience spiritual experiences, really aren't mentally ill. Atheists like to follow a script of spiritual experiences as being mental illness to see a doctor about, only telling people when it's convenient to, when my own psychiatrist is pretty religious and has it worked down to a science how to separate religious beliefs from genuine hallucinations, something some atheists might not like to hear.
 

Aupmanyav

Be your own guru
One thing that always surprises me is why an Atheist would fundamentally keep doing this.
Just like the theists who keep talking about their God and books. Nothing very different. Discussions happen between two contesting parties. Can't clap with one hand.
Why do atheists do it in this forum? Among others that is!
The answer is obvious. This forum does not bar atheists. They have a sub-forum in it for atheists and some areas where atheists can participate.
I think we all like it when anyone poses rational arguments, don't we?
It is debatable whether theists can offer rational arguments. :)
.. when my own psychiatrist is pretty religious and has it worked down to a science how to separate religious beliefs from genuine hallucinations, something some atheists might not like to hear.
I would not mind hearing that.
 
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firedragon

Veteran Member
Atheists don't like their worldview being broken to pieces as it implies those who experience spiritual experiences, really aren't mentally ill. Atheists like to follow a script of spiritual experiences as being mental illness to see a doctor about, only telling people when it's convenient to, when my own psychiatrist is pretty religious and has it worked down to a science how to separate religious beliefs from genuine hallucinations, something some atheists might not like to hear.

haha. I understand that. See, the problem I have is this. A YEC has to save his theology from the darwinian bomb (as an example). Thus, they have a vested interest in being dishonest (I am not saying they all are, and neither am I justifying it) in order to save their religion and faith. But Atheists are not supposed to have any of those problems. They claim they have no religion, no faith, zilch. So why would an atheist be cherry picking? What is he gonna gain?
 

PoetPhilosopher

Veteran Member
haha. I understand that. See, the problem I have is this. A YEC has to save his theology from the darwinian bomb (as an example). Thus, they have a vested interest in being dishonest (I am not saying they all are, and neither am I justifying it) in order to save their religion and faith. But Atheists are not supposed to have any of those problems. They claim they have no religion, no faith, zilch. So why would an atheist be cherry picking? What is he gonna gain?

Atheists like to remind us that atheism isn't a religion, but they often kind of try to save their ideas or lack of ideas on a subject like a religion. Whenever I start to corner some atheists on a debate subject, their next question is, "Well if I do believe this, how will it help me?" rather than just following an idea through to completion on its merits.
 

firedragon

Veteran Member
Atheists like to remind us that atheism isn't a religion, but they often kind of try to save their ideas or lack of ideas on a subject like a religion. Whenever I start to corner some atheists on a debate question, their next question is, "Well if I do believe this, how will it help me?" rather than just following an idea through to completion on its merits.

I think I agree with you.
 

PoetPhilosopher

Veteran Member
I think I agree with you.

See, it's like a game of chess. For example, they might not do this now that I'm saying this, but the next step of some of them is going to be to get into this thread and remind us with large, bold-face letters that atheism is the lack of belief and that's all, as if that is a proper refutation to any situation and the situation presented here, and even though I've already factored that into my posts when speaking.
 

MikeF

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the skies are not cloudy all day

Thats the first verse of a nice old song we sing like its some kind of poem or nursery rhyme, sometimes to children.

What if you quote the first line only?

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam

Then tell someone "Look at this song. Its telling you to live with buffaloes"..

It could be that the person quoting this line took it from a website. This website maybe on a mission and they love cherry picking lines like that and listing the cherry picked lines for shock effect. But does not the one who cuts and pastes this line from a website have some responsibility to do some analysis? This is an everyday occurrence.

Why do you think people do this? I mean not the owner of the website, but the cut and paste guy. Why? What do they honestly gain by doing that?

Confirmation bias - Wikipedia
 
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