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What Makes A Good Heathen?


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There are more then numerous websites for Christians explaining what makes a good Christian. However, since we heathens do not have to live by anything except our own conscious and creed, we tend to be much more moral and upstanding as individuals than most Christians. So, I wanted to pose this question.

 

What makes a good heathen?

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Some things that occur to me spontaneously:

 

- accept that you are responsible for what you do, not some deity in control of everything

 

- never claim that you're surely right without having good evidence for the claim

 

- be intellectually honest (of course atheists have a right to point out that non-christian believers like me may not be fully honest here ;) )

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Celebrate life.

 

Be an active participant in family and community.

 

Realize that your actions in the world are your legacy, and strive for excellence in all things.

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There are more then numerous websites for Christians explaining what makes a good Christian. However, since we heathens do not have to live by anything except our own conscious and creed, we tend to be much more moral and upstanding as individuals than most Christians. So, I wanted to pose this question.

 

What makes a good heathen?

 

-realize you've got a brain.

 

-don't annoy others with nonsensical contradictary statements at frequent intervals.

 

-have sex out of wedlock, it's healthy.

 

-confront ignorance and stupidity whenever possible. [Friends don't let friends get saved by Jesus.]

 

-Accept other lifestyles and beliefs. It's none of your business.

 

-Remember, if a mob of people comes to your door demanding to have sex with guests, don't send out an even larger number of your virgin daughters.

 

-Obey the law, pay your taxes.

 

-VOTE.

 

-Support rational claims, and denounce crazy ones. [6000 year old planet, talking Donkeys, people turning into salt...]

 

-Don't go out of your way to be a jerk.

 

-Avoid going psychopathic. We don't need another reason for the faithful to 'prove' we're immoral and evil. [Manson, the jerk.]

 

-Support civil rights. Expect 'the church' to fight back. [it always has before.]

 

-Promote free thought. The next Einstein/Hawkings probably won't be one of them.

 

-Point out flaws in stupid or irrational arguments.

 

-Don't feel bad about enjoying yourself, if you're an Atheist this is all you get, if you're wrong, it will probably suck.

 

-Remember that evil is only fun until you get caught.

 

-Money can make you happy, but not as much as keeping your friends.

 

-Be trustworthy. [Note: I didn't use the word 'honest' on purpose. Too much honesty is rude.]

Remember: The dress doesn't make her look fat, ever.

 

-Don't put your children through the hell of Scouting, or make them dress up and sit still for an hour or so every week. It's cruel.

 

-Discipline your children.

 

-Do not lie to your children. It will come back to haunt you. [santa Clause, sexual questions that aren't explicit, what someone means when they say something stupid, when you don't know something, all opinions and beliefs are equally valid and deserving of respect.]

 

 

It makes the Theist look bad when your children are better behaved and smarter than theirs.

 

-Do things for yourself, solve problems whenever possible. [Even problems that aren't yours.] Remember, you don't have an invisible nothing to ask and beg instead of actually doing something.

 

-Be cordial. No one likes an asshole, and it's harder to argue with or refute someone who is in a good mood.

 

-Don't be agressive. It's annoying when they do it to you. Countering a confrontation, or discussing it in casual conversation is okay.

 

-Never yell when discussing religion. Theist tend to get louder, remain calm and rational, it rattles them. They often become angry when opposed, though many will respond to things that make sense by 'praising' louder. It's kind of like sticking your fingers in your ears and going 'LA LA LA LA LA LA LA! I can't hear you! LA LA LA LA!'.

 

-Remember, when confronting a Christian of just about any type, the bible is your friend.

 

-Mormons are even better. The book of Mormon is even worse than the bible. If you haven't read it, I suggest you do. It's even easier to point out problems than in the bible.

 

-If you're in college, the pages in the free bibles are the perfect size for wiping. Perfect for those times you're scraping by on instant ramen and beer flakes. You should find vendors on or near campus, and won't often have to go to the same supplier to restock.

 

-Be active in politics. VOTE. Write your representatives, send them E-mails, support social issues, keep an eye on what the govornment is doing. The Republican Party is dangerously theistic at the moment if you're an American. Express your displeasure with not being represented with them. They're ignoring you because you don't vote, and the theist are sheep.

 

-Don't tell others how to live their lives...oh wait...darn...

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...that's really the same question as, "what makes a good person?"

 

-Be excellent to each other

 

-To thine own self be true

 

-Read the replies that have already been posted: they have some good stuff.

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If one goes by the Hellenic definition, a 'heath', or some other random piece of country side would help...

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There is so much good literature out there about what makes a good non-Christian. A good place to start is the pre-Christian ethical philosophers from Greece and Rome. Read Plutarch's Moralia. Also, look at Plato's book Gorgias. Aristotle wrote a book on ethics called the Nichomachean Ethics.

 

Also, look at the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu. This is from Chinese culture.

 

A good human is a human is one who has been delivered of all meanness, all pretence, all falseness, all unfairness, all poverty of spirit, all cowardice, all fear, all anxiety, all forms of self-love, all trust or hope in possession. An ethical person is one who is merry as a child, loving nothing but what is lovely.

 

Or as Plato said, " We ought to fly away from earth to heaven as quickly as we can; and to fly away is to become like God, as far as this is possible; and to become like him is to become holy, just, and wise."

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Heathen;

1) Someone who has been driven out onto the heath (wasteland or wilderness).

2) A refugee forced from their home.

 

As the christian cult spread across dark age Europe, The bishops took all the best land for themselves.

They had their armys force whole comunitys to convert at swordpoint.

Some people fled the armys of the christian cult, They fled out onto the heath where they could hide more easily.

The bishops had no interest in controling the heath, so they left the heath to the non christians.

As a result, non-christians came to be known as heath dwellers or people of the heath.

Eventualy this was shortened to Heathen.

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There is so much good literature out there about what makes a good non-Christian. A good place to start is the pre-Christian ethical philosophers from Greece and Rome. Read Plutarch's Moralia. Also, look at Plato's book Gorgias. Aristotle wrote a book on ethics called the Nichomachean Ethics.

 

The Nicomachean Ethics is one of the best works of moral philosophy I've ever read. He bases it on the idea that man is a political (in modern English, social) animal, and that man is a rational animal. From this follows one of the best works ever written on what it is to live the excellent life.

 

One has to remember, though, that the virtues Aristotle mentions are tailored to the Greek city-state. The kinds of virtues that are best for our society are different in a few ways, and include things like respect for others' differing religion opinions. All in all, though, it's a wonderful book, and you could do much worse than to live your life by it. (You could, for instance, live your life by Kant's moral philosophy...)

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- Be willing to see life as it is, moment by moment

 

- Understand that all you have is each other

 

- Encourage love and compassion as much as possible and revel in it

 

- Use common sense as much as possible

 

- Be willing to lend a helping hand where you can.

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Always skin and clean your kittens before putting them on the BBQ.

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Do not cause unnecessary harm. I find that a simple creed to live by and it seems to work for me.

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What makes a good heathen?

 

Good? Bad? I'm the heathen with the gun.

 

 

Sorry... couldn't resist.

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Always skin and clean your kittens before putting them on the BBQ.

*ahem* Some friends of mine would like to have a word with you...

 

eac.jpg

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Great ideas so far.

 

Let me add:

 

Laugh often with the people you love.

 

Dream.

 

And above all else... Use your turn signals when you're driving!

 

(Except in Illinois where I think you can get a ticket for using turn signals! Maybe that's why no one uses them around here. Grr!) :P

 

CelloChick

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All of the above suggestions sound pretty good. Just be a good persoan and leave the world a better place. Anyone who improves the world around them instead of adding to the problems is okay in my book!

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Always skin and clean your kittens before putting them on the BBQ.

*ahem* Some friends of mine would like to have a word with you...

 

eac.jpg

 

Oh look! Dinner!

 

Why am I hearing helicopters?

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What breed is the one in the head phones?

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<roleplayer mode>

 

Clearly a Mokole/Bastet crossbreed :lmao:

 

</roleplayer mode>

 

(SCNR ;) )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Mokole = were-lizards in a certain RPG, Bastet = were-cats)

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Lifted from Mokole Mbembe no less...

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What breed is the one in the head phones?

Oh, that's Kitiara Slurp, one of the many daughters of Takhisis, Queen of Darkness. Near as I can tell, she hangs out in the Secret Base just so she can use the sophisticated electronics equipment. (In this picture, I think she's playing an .mp3 of "Kumbaya" backwards.)

 

The rest of the crew:

 

Left side, top to bottom: Raistlin; Freyja; Gregory Greyscale; and the black cat is RJ-45.

 

RIght side, top to bottom: Caramon; Walter J. Smooch at the keyboard; Ludwig "Qat" von Snow with the glowing eyes; and Frey.

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You have a cat named for a network plug? Cool... in a Nerdy way.

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There are more then numerous websites for Christians explaining what makes a good Christian. However, since we heathens do not have to live by anything except our own conscious and creed, we tend to be much more moral and upstanding as individuals than most Christians. So, I wanted to pose this question.

You ever wonder why Christians even need to reinforce what a good Christian is supposed to be? Shouldn't BornAgainSpirit/God/Bible/HolySpirit etc be enough guidance for the Christian to be good? I think the need to explain to Christians what a good Christian is, is the proof they don't know and they don't have it.

 

What makes a good heathen?

Someone that:

1) Set a life goal (meaning of life, purpose of life) and start working for it. (Be it to have a career, become rich or have a loving family or all of it, or maybe something else) As long as it doesn't hurt other humans.

 

2) Respect other humans to the degree that he won't hurt them or hinder them from achieve their goals, but not as respectful that he is overrun by others

 

3) Be kind to the people closest to him/her, as far as possible and not more than it hurts himself.

 

...

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