that was rhetorical, but sure...

@Mana & @Enigma, you are missing the point.

My point was never to imply it is anyone's job to help out 'lower level' players. The point of my post was to point out the hypocrisy. It was to point out how much they have NOT cared about lower level players, but now they do care when they NEED them.

And how many invite matches would be casted this season if Open players decided to stick with CEVO and not be 'swayed' by the fake generosity? Mhmmm.

I don't buy the "limited resources" excuse. Plat and harb, along with many other "well-recognized" players could create their own twitch account and start casting lower-level games. This is where power rankings and talk of "who's the best of the worst" comes in. You do not have to cast every open game, but choose games that are supposed to be good according to the team's skill level. Even though Open is a lower division, there are still good games to watch. And IF people like Plat or harb were to cast these games, they could EXPLAIN what is going wrong, how to fix it and give people better insight.

Bottom line is, stop trying to act like you care about the lower divisions, because you don't.

that investment with ulterior motives. you remind me of the people who donate to churches and then use it as a tax write-off. yeah, very genuine...

remember the thread about ESEA and CEVO where harbleu essentially stated that lower level matches are not interesting to watch due to the lack of skill involved, therefore ONLY invite matches should be casted throughout the season. And if need be, when playoffs come around, the lower level players can be casted. You can view that here (read page 12 as well): http://teamfortress.tv/forum/thread/14139-esea-and-cevo/11#post-329

It's very convenient that the arrogance of "invite" has suddenly turned into generosity and consideration for the "lower level" players. You continuously bash on them daily, rebuttals consisting of "I don't know you, therefore what you say is not important." - But now that your precious toy might be taken from you, it's "NOW" time to actually "recognize" these players as, hmmmm, important? Disingenuous, manipulative, disgusting...

Looking for 2 tickets to buy. PM me or add me on steam: http://steamcommunity.com/id/shocka1/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ykAXB3JFy4

come play season 16. you can be our star scout

maybe your connection is constipa-.... fuck it, nevermind

http://i.imgur.com/KcJlROy.jpg

what a vile thing to do...

Saying "all beliefs are based on faith" is quite silly. You, along with Searchlight and many others, are questioning the very thing you use and trust on a daily basis. It's called "TRUST", not an "assumption". An assumption is more of a guess or hypothesis. Trust, confidence and good logic/reason are based on a solid foundation of evidence. So why do you take medicine? Drive a car? Use your phone or computer? Almost everything you encounter and use (trust) on a daily basis is based on scientific principles, and do you do this on faith? No. Do you use your car on faith that it is going to work properly? Or do you trust that your car has been built properly enough to work consistently, along with keeping up with automotive maintenance in which car "professionals" help you out with.

You and Searchlight might as well look into Solipsism. We could all just be in the matrix too, right? Me waking up and breathing and experiencing the world with all of my senses could be me just taking it on faith... This idea is quite absurd. Sure, I'll humor the idea and possibility of this being true, but so what? Until there is enough evidence to support that idea, it's a waste of time discussing it as more than science fiction.

you should have stopped here...

Ok, this is pointless to say. EVERYONE looks for purpose or reason in life, but this has NOTHING to do with atheism. It's like stating "even most vegetarians look for some purpose in life..." - And even the people who don't have a purpose to live, they still have a purpose to exist or die. So there will ALWAYS be a purpose in every way in regards to humanity.

Your words hurt my soul (no I don't believe in a soul, it is a figure of speech)... Order in the universe?... Order... Now you are tip-toeing on the "Fine-tuned universe" arguments that theist use. Are you sure you're an atheist? These people state that the universe is finely-tuned for life... Really? You realize that most of the universe is HIGHLY deadly to life. I'm glad god finely-tuned this vast universe of which we can't even explore a 0.0000000000001% of, and most of it has to be explored with extreme caution or it will kill you. Nice Fine-tuning there... Not to mention that we don't even have to explore outside of earth to experience how dangerous the universe actually is. Have you heard of meteors? Solar Flare? Sun expansion - Red Giant?

You should have stopped here...

"Faith" or an "assumption" are both awful things to based your decisions on. Faith is for people who do not have a good reason for what they believe, once you acquire good reasons, you don't need faith. Same with assumptions. Would you rather state A) I trust my girlfriend will not cheat on me --vs-- B) I assume my girlfriend will not cheat on me --- If you have to assume, you have no trust. And you build trust by gathering evidence.

I am not sure. Based on religious numbers, a child being raised into a religion (or some type of belief in god) is above 80%, since over 80% of the world is of religious faith. So I'd say a large majority of atheists are formerly religious, based on those numbers.

I never said "all", I said a vast majority. And yes, what is in the bible leads to their de-conversion. It may not be the SOLE reason which persuades them, but I'm sure it's definitely a deciding factor. Along with debating, research, documentaries, learning about other religions, etc... This isn't an assumption, just go talk to a few.

I don't understand how stating "religious people" would automatically imply I am stating they are exactly the same to one another. I know first hand that they are NOT exactly the same, hence the amount of denominations just within ONE religion. I never stated they all have the same beliefs either. I gave examples of different beliefs from all different types of religious people. When I made the skepticism comment, that was a broader point to the idea that "faith" overrules everything. And when it comes down to it, I'd say almost all religions have that in common.

So anyone who gains knowledge in any subject is "inherently smarter"? For the example I used, if I become more knowledgeable about cars, does this mean I'm inherently smarter? I'm not sure why you are focusing on this point.

ok... what do they question theism on?

Make myself feel important? I was simply stating why questioning people's beliefs and explain how they are wrong is a GOOD thing. Are you implying you do not think slavery should have been abolished? Slavery is an absolutely despicable act, and I'm personally happy that it is no longer existing in our culture. Instead of actually responding to me productively, you initiate in personal attacks with sarcasm. I'll stop responding to you now.

the scientific method is the single most reliable method of distinguishing what is real from what is not. the scrutiny of an idea involved throughout the scientific community and consensus is astounding, it is not just a few tests. the same proposition being put to test by all types of scientists from different backgrounds and education, match accurately after much repetition, by chance? No. Do you know what scientists do when they find that their "point of view" isn't producing accurate results? They CHANGE IT. That's the beauty of science. You constantly learn new things and when you find a flaw in what you know about the universe, you change it to match reality as best you can.

Not sure what you were trying to get across in your message, but at the end, what "basic assumptions are only supporting themselves" which I hold? I stated that what we label as "gravity" exists demonstrably, yet it is somehow an assumption?

not even going to respond to that... probably the most nonsensical comment in this thread. I hope you're trolling.

Yes... Why, yes I would. Have you ever heard of gravity? It is demonstrable. Jump in the air and feel the force that brings you back to the ground. Have your friends try it. Anyone can do it, even your pet. That's called an objective truth.

Wait, what? So you don't think we should have correct all the "scientific" errors people made in the past? *Earth is flat*-*Zeus shot thunderbolts down to create lightening*-*Earth is center of universe*

How about the moral/ethical stances from the past? You don't think we should have corrected those either? Since your stance is "You can't tell them what they believe is wrong..." - With that attitude, we would still have slavery, human sacrifice, animal sacrifice(even worse IMO), oppression of women, black people segregated and not being able to vote(+more), women not being able to vote, holy wars (we still have this), suppression of science/art/literature (we still have this), pro-life fanatics who are against condoms (this still happens)

Should I keep listing things, or do you want to change your stance on what we can or can't tell people in regards to how wrong they are in what they belief and why...

You must have misunderstood what I said, let me rephrase. I initially stated "Also, overall, nonbelievers are far beyond well versed compared to believers."

"Well versed", concerning the bible. A vast majority of atheists know more about what is in the bible than Theists do. And again, this is what leads to their de-conversion. This has nothing to do with being "inherently smarter". And when people stop believing in god, that does not mean they got "smarter". No, not at all. They simply have gained knowledge and have a better understanding regarding the value of skepticism and critical thinking. This sounds like an insult, sure, but people who are insulted by this are simply insecure with their beliefs. For instance, I don't know much about cars, but there are many people who do. Would you not state that their understanding of cars is much greater than mine? Does this make them smarter than me? No. Am I insulted by this? No. What if I was using the wrong type of oil for my car because I was taught this as a child by a parent who also didn't know about cars. And later on in life I found out from a mechanic that I actually need this other oil instead, and he explained why. I can recognize that people have a greater understanding in different areas of life without taking offense to it.

In addition, it seems religious people apply the same 'atheistic' skepticism throughout every endeavor of their life, (similarly to a court room), but when it comes to their religious beliefs, it goes out the windows. Eyes shut, headphones on.