The stupid, it burns!

[Alondro]

Well, the part about the feminists being socialist and anti-family is correct.

Or haven't you actually listened to some of them talk before?

The most radical of them are just as bad as religious fundies in their hatred of men.

Which goes back to my theory that any extreme ends up attracting all the loonies.  Just look at extreme mountain biking!  Of extreme Kirby!  It's terrifying!   

[Angel]

Yeah. Mom always said never to trust anyone who's overzealous about anything. The more I look around, the more I see how right she is. 

[Omega]

Yeah. Mom always said never to trust anyone who's overzealous about anything. The more I look around, the more I see how right she is. 

That's why I'm always questioning myself. It's not fair to claim others to be fanatics, if you're not willing to let go all of your believes in a moment of notice.

[Alondro]

Well, I wouldn't say being willing to let go your beliefs instantly is a good thing either.  In that case you don't stand for anything at all and you're pretty much non-functional in society, always dashing from one side to the other instead of being able to stand on your own two feet. 

Instead, I analyzed myself for most of my life, and then analyzed others to see where their beliefs led them.  My current levels are the result on non-stop thinking for 25 years, and thusly I'm LESS likely to change rapidly now because I've had enough vindication of myself versus other choices (which I have seen the ends of through other people's examples) to know that my ways cause the least harm and lead to the greatest acquisition of knowledge possible (given the physical limitations of my very erratic memory, which I now understand is likely the result of the mutation of a protein vital to memory storage and retrieval.  I got that from my dad, who has an even worse memory.    )

[Omega]

Well, I wouldn't say being willing to let go your beliefs instantly is a good thing either.  In that case you don't stand for anything at all and you're pretty much non-functional in society, always dashing from one side to the other instead of being able to stand on your own two feet. 

Don't make it sound so... so...  entropic. It's not like I turn my coat once a week. I'm saying that I'm willing to accept the possibility that I might be wrong. That my opinion may not the best one. Skepticism works both way, baby. It's a double-egde sword and you'll have to cut yourself in order to use it against others.

[Ryudo Lee]

Don't make it sound so... so...  entropic. It's not like I turn my coat once a week. I'm saying that I'm willing to accept the possibility that I might be wrong. That my opinion may not the best one. Skepticism works both way, baby. It's a double-egde sword and you'll have to cut yourself in order to use it against others.

My $0.02...

The only problem with this is that no one really knows who's right or wrong, right now.  There are only two ways to know who's right:
1 - Die and see what kind of afterlife is out there, if anything.
2 - God (or some other diety) come down here so we can see for ourselves who's really in charge.

Neither possibility is currently feasible.  When you die, you can't really come back and tell everyone which religion (if any) is right.  And thus far God hasn't been stomping around in plain sight, and unless you're catholic, he won't at least not until Armageddon, and then at that time (if we're right about this), this whole argument is moot.  So really, everything really has to be taken on faith.

So, how can you decide which faith is right, and when do you decide that that faith is wrong and you need to switch?

[Omega]

So, how can you decide which faith is right, and when do you decide that that faith is wrong and you need to switch?

To put it bluntly: You don't. Either you flip a coin or spend few years thinking, meditating and pondering which religion is the closest one of your heard. Then flip a coin.

To be, all the religion are the same. They worship same deity. They just don't know it. Every prayer you perform goes to the same address, if one wants to belive something...

[Ryudo Lee]

So, how can you decide which faith is right, and when do you decide that that faith is wrong and you need to switch?

To put it bluntly: You don't. Either you flip a coin or spend few years thinking, meditating and pondering which religion is the closest one of your heard. Then flip a coin.

I'll give you this much, that's possibly one of the best ways I've heard of to choose a religion (not the coin flip, the other part). 

But what I was asking was when you've already chosen a religion, why would you switch, and what's the reasoning behind switching?

[Omega]

A religion is really nothing more than a bunch of believes and many strange rituals. If you dislike either then you might want to give up them, or change them into something else. Luckily, you don't have to agree with all the believes, nor do you have to perform all the rituals by the book. I mean, if I'd have to go to church ever Sunday, I'd be a jew faster than you can spell a rabbi.


I'm not saying that religions are useless. Some People need them and they bring nice balance to this cold, lonely world around us.

[Ryudo Lee]

I'm not saying that religions are useless. Some People need them and they bring nice balance to this cold, lonely world around us.

I agree with you wholeheartedly on that, sir.

[Alondro]

It's a double-egde sword and you'll have to cut yourself in order to use it against others.

*ponders... and thinks... and ponders... which is a dangerous thing... finally, a thought forms from the murky depths*  Soooooo... what that means is the whole emo cutting thing is a literalized philosophical training ritual.   I get it now!   

[Vidar]

Don't make it sound so... so...  entropic. It's not like I turn my coat once a week. I'm saying that I'm willing to accept the possibility that I might be wrong. That my opinion may not the best one. Skepticism works both way, baby. It's a double-egde sword and you'll have to cut yourself in order to use it against others.

My $0.02...

The only problem with this is that no one really knows who's right or wrong, right now.  There are only two ways to know who's right:
1 - Die and see what kind of afterlife is out there, if anything.
2 - God (or some other diety) come down here so we can see for ourselves who's really in charge.

Neither possibility is currently feasible.  When you die, you can't really come back and tell everyone which religion (if any) is right.  And thus far God hasn't been stomping around in plain sight, and unless you're catholic, he won't at least not until Armageddon, and then at that time (if we're right about this), this whole argument is moot.  So really, everything really has to be taken on faith.

So, how can you decide which faith is right, and when do you decide that that faith is wrong and you need to switch?

For this one I use Occam's razor to cut out the hypothetical super-natural entity. Because there is no direct evidence for a god there is no reason for me to believe in one.

The other end of the spectrum would be Pascal's wager, but that just doesn't do it for me.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

For this one I use Occam's razor to cut out the hypothetical super-natural entity. Because there is no direct evidence for a god there is no reason for me to believe in one.

The other end of the spectrum would be Pascal's wager, but that just doesn't do it for me.

... where on that scale does Russell's Teapot fit?

[TheGreyRonin]

... where on that scale does Russell's Teapot fit?

I'm guessing somewhere on Kocer's Table, next to the sandwiches.

[Angel]

Are there any Pastafarian dishes on this table?

[Sienna Maiu - M T]

Is it wrong that I simply find the whole affair boring?


I pity the people these people meet, of course.


edit:
Ah, yes. My favourite though, would have to be the first one in the top 100.

Why yes, of course only English Bibles should exist.
Yep, let us all just ignore that originally only Latin Bibles should exist, and that when Luther made the first translation into German it was illegal.
Yep.

(although in a way I do agree with the Latin version. Because in it the language is as such that non gender-specific terms are used. For example, "Our Father in Heaven" originally was father/mother.)

[Alondro]

It dun there shoulds just bees English Bibles, cuz everone nows God speaks English!



Plus Jesus was a skinny white guy like in the pictures!   

[Sienna Maiu - M T]

Nope, Jesus was definitely never a Jew, nope.

[superluser]

Why yes, of course only English Bibles should exist.

Hee.  The KJV-only nutters are great.  I read somewhere that English was created directly by God five hundred years ago at the start of the Great Vowel Shift so that the King James Bible could be translated into it.

The King James nutters are so completely looney that it took me a while to realize that it was a joke.

(although in a way I do agree with the Latin version. Because in it the language is as such that non gender-specific terms are used. For example, "Our Father in Heaven" originally was father/mother.)

Uh...no.  In Latin, that was ``Pater noster,'' which is very explicitly masculine.  In the original Greek, it was πατερ ημων (or αγιασθητω in Luke), and I'm not sure how masculine that is, but it looks like pater to me.

It is true that in many cases, the original languages in which the Bible was written do not include genders where English is forced to, and in some cases, the genders specified in the original languages do not really imply the very strong male/female connection that they do in English.  In this case, however, this is incorrect.

[Sienna Maiu - M T]

Your face.

Don't cite me I said, nobody ever listens.

(Besides all that, it's been a few years, but I know whichever original language it was, it was non-gender specific, and the fact that one language was allowed at all is true.)


...
Something.

[superluser]

Most of the New Testament was written in Greek, which definitely has genders.  What is more, the words for mother (μήτηρ, I think, but it might be μάτηρ) and father (πατερ) are not the same.

You can make the argument that Jesus spoke Aramaic, which was later transmitted by the Evangelists as Greek.  Aramaic also has genders and in any case, father is abba, and mother is something else (again, Aramaic is not my forte--I'm looking it up in Google, and I'm getting a lot of answers--because there are quite a few languages called Aramaic--none of them are abba).

[Alondro]

We'll either find out who was right when we die (if we get resurrected), or never find out anything (cuz we'll just stay dead).

Except for me, as I am now close to evolving into an energy entity.   

[Ryudo Lee]

Just stirring the embers here, don't mind me...

From the top 100...

"Gravity: Doesn't exist. If items of mass had any impact of others, then mountains should have people orbiting them. Or the space shuttle in space should have the astronauts orbiting it. Of course, that's just the tip of the gravity myth. Think about it. Scientists want us to believe that the sun has a gravitation pull strong enough to keep a planet like neptune or pluto in orbit, but then it's not strong enough to keep the moon in orbit? Why is that? What I believe is going on here is this: These objects in space have yet to receive mans touch, and thus have no sin to weigh them down. This isn't the case for earth, where we see the impact of transfered sin to material objects. The more sin, the heavier something is. "

[bill]

That sounds about right to me 

[Caswin]

Just stirring the embers here, don't mind me...

From the top 100...

"Gravity: Doesn't exist. If items of mass had any impact of others, then mountains should have people orbiting them. Or the space shuttle in space should have the astronauts orbiting it. Of course, that's just the tip of the gravity myth. Think about it. Scientists want us to believe that the sun has a gravitation pull strong enough to keep a planet like neptune or pluto in orbit, but then it's not strong enough to keep the moon in orbit? Why is that? What I believe is going on here is this: These objects in space have yet to receive mans touch, and thus have no sin to weigh them down. This isn't the case for earth, where we see the impact of transfered sin to material objects. The more sin, the heavier something is. "

*Headdesk*

So... mountains are... evil.  Merits a groundbreaking fantasy story or something.  But not... this.  Whatever it is.  I'm not sure what this is.

EDIT: On further study by a third party, I'm going to say this is probably a depressingly plausible joke.

[bill]

I'm actually going to call BS on that one.

[Ryudo Lee]

It was a toss up between this and a larger one claiming that the world is flat.

[Alondro]

*grrs*  Anyone who said something that idiotic in our church would be laughed out of the building.  They belong on my TSTL list.  Too Stupid To Live.

[Caswin]

I'm actually going to call BS on that one.

...after thinking about it for five seconds, I am forced to concede that you may be right.  It gets hard to tell.

[Brunhidden]

Nope, Jesus was definitely never a Jew, nope.