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If You Don't Read
This Rabbi's Book,
You're Dishonest
[unsigned]

From: [unsigned]
To: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
Sent: October 17, 2002 9:22 PM
Subject: question

i read marc furmans letter to cliff

i read cliffs response at the bottom.

you've gotta be kidding me. cliffs response shows he didnt read the many paged full argument which addresses and eliminates cliffs arguments 1 by 1.

Be honest and read it and thenrespond to the author of that article -- Rabbi David Gottlieb -- i have never heard a plausible refutation of his work Thanks

From: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
To: [unsigned]
Subject: Re: question
Date: October 18, 2002 7:39 AM
 

i have never heard a plausible refutation of his work

We suggest, then, that you learn how to read and write.

We do not accept the burden of providing you with an education.

Think what you want. We're not here to try to talk you out of it. If you want to jump, feel free, be our guest, and have at it -- if that's what you want to do.

Meanwhile, we stand by every nuance of our initial assessment of Mr. Furman's letter, regardless of your posturing about honesty.

Cliff Walker
Positive Atheism Magazine
Seven years of service to people
    with no reason to believe

From: [too chicken-shit to sign?]
To: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
Sent: October 19, 2002 4:51 PM
Subject: Re: question

if you don't read his text -- and i am sure you havent, then you will not ever know of his refutation of all of your refuting points on that web page of yours. therefore, i dont need your bad manners and personal vituperative invectives -- just curious to see if you can admit that you can't answer his refutations in his 80 page text.

From: "Positive Atheism" <editor@positiveatheism.org>
To: [unsigned]
Subject: Re: question
Date: October 20, 2002 3:21 PM

Keep in mind that we did not write to you, but you wrote to us.

Keep in mind that each week between ten and thirty people write here to claim that they have The One True Proof of something for which I have absolutely no interest: religion. Why they do this is beyond me, but they do.

And each one has a book to sell. I could sympathize if they were trying to peddle their own books, works they'd authored themselves. But no: very few of these semi-literate Goofuses could pull off writing even the title page of a book, much less knock off whole books.

So they cover up their own lack of fortitude by jumping up and down about what others have said! And I'm not talking about a simple healthy interest in the opinions of others, perhaps in the interest of openness or balance; I'm referring to such a whopper of an obsession toward the works of a specific individual that you'd hit people over the head for their indifference toward this individual.

Hey! Just because you're too unimaginative to lead your own life, don't go telling me to follow somebody else! Or will convincing others to make the same mistake soften the pangs of shame you feel from your own lack of creativity?

Keep in mind that if you wish to stand out among those others and actually get our attention, you'll need to give us a reason to take you seriously.

• Nobody gets our attention who is incapable of completing the simplest of English sentences (slack granted for those who had mastered at least four languages before embarking on their study of English).
   
• Nobody gets our attention who merely points to the works of others without at least explaining a little of what those other people are talking about. You tell us that you have "never heard a plausible refutation of his work." What does his work say? For all we can tell (from having read these two letters of yours), you have no clue what he said or did. In all likelihood, you've never read the Good Rabbi's arguments in the first place. Whether or not you even understand the issues, here, cannot be discerned solely from reading this parochial pontification of yours.

Keep in mind that unless and until you learn how to read and write, you will have a very tough time getting other people to take you seriously.

Cliff Walker
Positive Atheism Magazine
Seven years of service to people
    with no reason to believe

Material by Cliff Walker (including unsigned editorial commentary) is copyright ©1995-2006 by Cliff Walker. Each submission is copyrighted by its writer, who retains control of the work except that by submitting it to Positive Atheism, permission has been granted to use the material or an edited version: (1) on the Positive Atheism web site; (2) in Positive Atheism Magazine; (3) in subsequent works controlled by Cliff Walker or Positive Atheism Magazine (including published or posted compilations). Excerpts not exceeding 500 words are allowed provided the proper copyright notice is affixed. Other use requires permission; Positive Atheism will work to protect the rights of all who submit their writings to us.