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Post by Admin on Nov 16, 2021 2:03:59 GMT
No followup questions? No scholarly lectures? Not even a big gotcha? I gotta admit, I'm a little disappointed. Oh well. Baby steps, I reckon. Til next time... You think that's what I'm about? I didn't spend 20K on BA degree because I wanted a great paying job in the field of academic study of religion. There are other transcendental journeys that do not require a suspension of logic. I see you in there, Paul. So why did you leave Catholicism?
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Post by Admin on Nov 16, 2021 2:29:23 GMT
I see you in there, Paul. So why did you leave Catholicism? Because I could never make myself take the mythical part as literal. As beautiful as the Bible is, precious little of what is inside it actually happened. An actual Jesus may have lived and died inspiring a cult following, but he never got up off that slab. He was a full blown human being and not a god. I don't believe there was an actual tortoise and an actual hare having an actual race, but I do believe that in some circumstances, slow and steady does indeed win the race. So it wasn't anything to do with Catholicism, then? Just a blanket rejection of Christianity in general?
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Post by Admin on Nov 16, 2021 2:35:17 GMT
I don't believe there was an actual tortoise and an actual hare having an actual race, but I do believe that in some circumstances, slow and steady does indeed win the race. So it wasn't anything to do with Catholicism, then? Just a blanket rejection of Christianity in general? The inability to believe in it. Ask yourself, when did you start believing it was all real? Another presuming question.  It doesn't matter to me if it's all real. See the tortoise and the hare analogy above.
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Post by Admin on Nov 16, 2021 2:37:57 GMT
Another presuming question. It doesn't matter to me if it's all real. See the tortoise and the hare analogy above. It matters to me. I don't want to believe, I want to know. Don't you know that sometimes slow and steady wins the race?
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Post by Admin on Nov 16, 2021 3:04:40 GMT
Don't you know that sometimes slow and steady wins the race? There is no race to win. There was no tortoise and no hare, either. But you knew that already, didn't you?
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Post by Admin on Nov 16, 2021 3:12:58 GMT
There was no tortoise and no hare, either. But you knew that already, didn't you? If there are, they are trying to beat each other in non-existent race. I'm sorry, I just assumed you knew the story. Spoiler: the tortoise won.
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Post by Admin on Nov 16, 2021 3:45:09 GMT
I'm sorry, I just assumed you knew the story. Spoiler: the tortoise won. What was the prize again? There was a prize?
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Post by Admin on Nov 16, 2021 4:02:37 GMT
It's stupid to waste energy if there isn't one. I never thought to ask. According to Wiki, the tortoise got tired of the hare bullying him for being slow, so he challenged him to a race. If the prize was humility, I reckon we could say the rabbit won. Do you suppose they became friends afterwards?
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Post by Admin on Nov 16, 2021 4:46:13 GMT
I never thought to ask. According to Wiki, the tortoise got tired of the hare bullying him for being slow, so he challenged him to a race. If the prize was humility, I reckon we could say the rabbit won. Do you suppose they became friends afterwards? The rabbit is a fool for not smoking’m off the starting block. And the tortoise is an idiot for letting his bullying bother him because he’s going outlive that rabbit…so long as he can slow and strait across the road before a car crunches him. He could just wait and slow dance on the rabbit’s grave. Now, he’s opened himself up for rematch. You think the rabbit learned his lesson? If he did, maybe they became friends after all.
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Post by Stammerhead on Nov 17, 2021 0:14:51 GMT
“Self-identifying” makes it sound like he thinks atheism etc are nothing more than temporary labels created to cover up the true natures of these foolish folk.  |
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Post by rachelcarson1953 on Nov 22, 2021 19:28:16 GMT
Another presuming question. It doesn't matter to me if it's all real. See the tortoise and the hare analogy above. It matters to me. I don't want to believe, I want to know. And I said ask yourself, because I bet money you don't know when you started believing in it. ^^^^^^^this^^^^^^^ And if I can't know (no empirical evidence) I don't want to accept some comforting delusion. I'm not sure I ever had a choice as a child, it just was treated as fact in my family. No one questioned anything. But now... And, of course, this classic:
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Post by rachelcarson1953 on Nov 22, 2021 21:34:41 GMT
^^^^^^^this^^^^^^^ And if I can't know (no empirical evidence) I don't want to accept some comforting delusion. I'm not sure I ever had a choice as a child, it just was treated as fact in my family. No one questioned anything. But now... And, of course, this classic: What has been the case, and still is, the negative reaction of those seated in religious power or powerful spheres of influence to the scientifically derived evidence that their revelation derived religious facts, aka dogma, is not grounded in reality. Therefore, their claims to power are false. They then dig in deeper with their “facts” and crush the evidence or its transmission. But science and technology can’t be suppressed for long due to their overwhelming benefits over blind superstition and ruling elites. I so hope you are right. But the number of anti-science nutters in the USA is appalling. I have heard that this is a natural sort of backlash when science challenges long-held beliefs, but I am still stunned by how so many people that don't follow the science are around and vocal, as if they are proud of being stupid. It makes me crazy. You've heard my story; I am alive today because of advances in medical science. I have lived longer than I ever expected, given my illness, my genetics and my age. Because of advances in medical science. I follow the science.
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Post by Admin on Nov 23, 2021 2:40:55 GMT
We just need to get past the age of grand politics. We can live a 21st century lifestyle and not destroy the planet at the same time. People just don’t know that because things like religion helps keep them blind to this news. I'm guessing that when you were Catholic, you were you blind to the news and that's why you think everyone else is. Maybe you should help them be as enlightened as you. Shouldn't be too difficult to shed some light for all those blind maroons.
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Post by Admin on Nov 23, 2021 8:19:17 GMT
I'm guessing that when you were Catholic, you were you blind to the news and that's why you think everyone else is. Maybe you should help them be as enlightened as you. Shouldn't be too difficult to shed some light for all those blind maroons. The Catholic Church, the church Joe Biden attends, has no problem with the universe being 13.5 billions years old; the theory humans evolved from lower life forms; or even gay people coming to church. It’s the church Michael Flynn attends that does. The RCC also acknowledges the planet is being destroyed by our avarice and cruelty, as one pope said, “if you want justice, work for peace.” Despite the traditionalists who to want drag the Church back to its pre-Vatican II state, I don’t see the Evangelical Fundamentalists who are yelling Let’s Go Brandon and putting morons like Trump in office getting anywhere near that enlightened. I hope I’ve shed some light on the differences inside a Christianity that I’ve expressed many, many times and you somehow never remember. You shouldn’t take my opinions personal. Were you blind to the news when you were Catholic?
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Post by Admin on Nov 23, 2021 17:35:02 GMT
Were you blind to the news when you were Catholic? I never stop thinking the theory of evolution was true. I understood myths like Adam and Eve to be allegories. So you’re a rare exception, then. How convenient. |
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Post by Rodney Farber on Nov 25, 2021 0:05:20 GMT
Mike Rubens is correct at the end when he says "God or not, we can help each other and lift each other up." Maybe we can find a middle ground and get everybody to just see God and the Bible as metaphor as conceived entirely by human beings. Using logic and reason to find the answers and to help each other and not relying on a 2000 year old book or assumed divine unquestionable authority. Just as in their very extreme conservative political views, the Good Christians do not want any criticism of any kind directed at them. As far as they’re concerned they have discovered the true, perfected version of Christianity and everyone else should obey them. According to Wikipedia, Christians make up the highest population. 31% of the world is Christian. If Christianity is the one true religion (as these people profess), why does 69% of the world think that they're full of s***?
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Post by Rodney Farber on Nov 25, 2021 1:00:30 GMT
According to Wikipedia, Christians make up the highest population. 31% of the world is Christian. If Christianity is the one true religion (as these people profess), why does 69% of the world think that they're full of s***? The explanation among the most fervent believers is Satan controls the unbaptized world. But Jehovah is the creator of everything. Ergo, God must have created Satan. Why did Yahweh create Satan and how did Satan get the power to control the unbaptized world?
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Post by Isapop on Nov 25, 2021 1:34:48 GMT
According to Wikipedia, Christians make up the highest population. 31% of the world is Christian. If Christianity is the one true religion (as these people profess), why does 69% of the world think that they're full of s***? Where did you get this embedded notion of yours that how popular an idea is provides a reliable indicator of the rightness or wrongness of the idea? (I've asked you this before. You never answer.)
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Post by Rodney Farber on Dec 3, 2021 1:40:34 GMT
According to Wikipedia, Christians make up the highest population. 31% of the world is Christian. If Christianity is the one true religion (as these people profess), why does 69% of the world think that they're full of s***? Where did you get this embedded notion of yours that how popular an idea is provides a reliable indicator of the rightness or wrongness of the idea? (I've asked you this before. You never answer.) You are correct. An idea’s popularity is not a definitive indicator of its accuracy. What is a definitive indicator of a religion’s accuracy? However, I believe you are missing my point. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that Christianity is the one and only true religion even though only 31% of the world’s population is Christian. I’d like you to tell me WHY the remaining 69% of the population has not converted to Christianity? Have they been bamboozled? Have you even considered the possibility that you have been bamboozled? No? What indicators DO show Christianity to be the one, and only, true religion? If you can’t provide any, I must fall back to the only indicator I know: its popularity. In my mind, if there were one true religion, then no less than 80% of the population would adhere to that religion. The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread The bread slicer was invented in 1928. Within five years, 80% of all bread sold in the USA was pre-sliced. Bread sales increased because it was easier than cutting your own slice. If sliced bread captured an 80% market share within five years, why does Christianity have a meager 31% market share after two millennia? Homer Simpson – Season 04, “Homer the Heretic”
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Post by Isapop on Dec 3, 2021 2:31:06 GMT
Where did you get this embedded notion of yours that how popular an idea is provides a reliable indicator of the rightness or wrongness of the idea? (I've asked you this before. You never answer.) What indicators DO show Christianity to be the one, and only, true religion? If you can’t provide any, I must fall back to the only indicator I know: its popularity. Really? If you can't find a good indicator of whether Christianity is the true religion, then you will actually rely on a BAD indicator? Do you realize how senseless that sounds?It's to be expected that things (like sliced bread) that make our lives easier will become popular. Christianity doesn't promise to make your life easier.
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