Here Is What Will Be Happening.

[Rathum]

If you haven't got absolute proof of some great divine creator behind it all STFU, this aint church and we're not suckers.

We've moved past God and Dracula to Vanilla Ice.

Do try to keep up with the rest of the class.

 

[fiori_musicali]

One day someone's going to say "sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" and another person is going to reply "cool story bro" and then I will burst into flames of pure hatred.

:lol:

BTW, I share your concern.

[ ... ] though it's truly lamentable, I'm not SURE that it's a new phenomenon. I suspect that, mostly, we just got older... although, to be fair, the percentage of originality in our media does seem to have taken a nosedive in recent years.

It is probably so. The Internet also eliminates all the barriers for direct communication between people of different age, so sometimes you can - lacking that information - fail to adjust your own attitude accordingly. The younger generations always seem more ignorant than ourselves, where we define the standard relative to our own life and experience, often correspondingly neglecting to consider that we're bad points of reference ourselves with our limited perspective. I'm also of the generation that hasn't experienced war and I witness the effects of that in people of same age manifesting as somewhat childish, deluded and definitely ignorant arrogance and glorification of violence projecting to many aspects of life, so there also is actual larger-scale variation through time. I have also recently become aware - or am under the impression - that the maturity of the general population relative to their age has taken a nosedive. Side-effect of the modern achievement-driven, pressure-fueled society where people try to prolong their mental/spiritual youth, globalization, the Internet and free & direct communication, or just another illusion courtesy of aging? Life sure is interesting.

The Bible is full of all sorts of good stuff. It's a shame it isn't read more widely, though it could possibly do with a good update, with laser blasters and stuff. It's a bit retro as-is.

My approach would be a little different, and perhaps enjoying a little more faith in children's gift of vivid imagination. Maybe laser blasters would better conform to the cultural surroundings of the present but I would personally work on re-sensitizing people to material regardless of its external aspects. But not many elementary school teachers have enough pedagogic skills or insight - or motivation - to evoke children's interest even in the direst subjects in such a way. Besides, the effort could be wasted as they'd be exposed to the over-stimulating bombarding of senses again the moment they re-engage the real world.

 

[Phawx]

I look at the topic title and think to myself, "This is an appropriate title."

Also, after the stop sign you should have used "Hammer Time". The internet coalition agreed long ago that "ice ice baby" is nothing more than "Under Pressure" in Karaoke mode and thus cannot be used to reference *anything*. All internet inhabitants need to fill out your C647 forms before Chinese New Year to properly hand in your apology. Failure to comply will result in Vanilla Ice showing up at your door to "chill".

 

[Loonie]

all our beliefs and common morals of what is right and wrong come from the Torah, Bible and Qur'an (obviously with controversy though).

That's actually a little offensive. I don't need some God or book to tell me I shouldn't kill or steal or lie. You will find these ethical obligations exist in many religious and non-religious societies, and it is fallacious for a religion to claim ownership of them. Morality is independent of religion. If you want to take common ethics that most human beings share and preface them with "God says..." then that's your business. But it does not make them yours, and it does not imbue you with any moral authority above any other man, religious or otherwise.

 

[dgame]

I look at the topic title and think to myself, "This is an appropriate title."

Also, after the stop sign you should have used "Hammer Time". The internet coalition agreed long ago that "ice ice baby" is nothing more than "Under Pressure" in Karaoke mode and thus cannot be used to reference *anything*. All internet inhabitants need to fill out your C647 forms before Chinese New Year to properly hand in your apology. Failure to comply will result in Vanilla Ice showing up at your door to "chill".

How does the “internet coalition” feel about Rick James’ “Super Freak” which was bastardized by MC Hammer’s U Can't Touch This [Hammer Time]?

I suggest “The love you save may be your own!” after the STOP sign. B)

 

[skyeyemachine]

all our beliefs and common morals of what is right and wrong come from the Torah, Bible and Qur'an (obviously with controversy though).

That's actually a little offensive. I don't need some God or book to tell me I shouldn't kill or steal or lie. You will find these ethical obligations exist in many religious and non-religious societies, and it is fallacious for a religion to claim ownership of them. Morality is independent of religion. If you want to take common ethics that most human beings share and preface them with "God says..." then that's your business. But it does not make them yours, and it does not imbue you with any moral authority above any other man, religious or otherwise.

Speaking for myself, based on all the data life has presented me with so far, I have come to the conclusion that the universe probably came about just because it damn well felt like it (speaking metaphorically, that is), and in fact has no creator-entity associated with it. In fact, I think there is no point to life at all; but this is quite refreshing, actually, since that means I can point my moral compass towards whatever principles logic, reason, and observation find to be most useful and humane without fear of some obscure interdimensional dictatorship judging everything I do at every moment of every day. I also have much more time to get to the tasks that interest me when I don't have to fit in religious ceremonies or prayer time. And, speaking personally, the gods of most religions tend to strike me as quite vindictive and violent; for example, when the god of the old testament smites people with celestial firestorms or kills off the first-born child of every family in an entire city. Plus there's the time where he drowns every single living thing on Earth just because he doesn't like it. And if you don't do exactly what he tells you do do, you go to hell for INFINITY suffering. Moreover, most religions call for you to praise their gods constantly, and worse, they denounce any original human thought that goes against their teachings. I find it kind of amusing how religions, especially Christianity, keep pushing back the 'holiness' boundary to make room for proven scientific discoveries, lest they suffocate under the weight of their own dogma. Are the gods really so insecure that they demand you reassure them of their self-worth from the time you learn to speak to the day you die? These qualities hardly seem in tune with the idea of an all-powerful, all-loving deity (or deities). Frankly, god often strikes me as being rather like to Sarda from 8-bit Theatre. They have the same sense of humor.

But these are my opinions, and I am more than content to disagree with those who do not share them, and just get on with life.

 

[rmm2131]

 

[lulzfish]

ITT we discuss religion

 

[Days]

all our beliefs and common morals of what is right and wrong come from the Torah, Bible and Qur'an (obviously with controversy though).

That's actually a little offensive. I don't need some God or book to tell me I shouldn't kill or steal or lie. You will find these ethical obligations exist in many religious and non-religious societies, and it is fallacious for a religion to claim ownership of them. Morality is independent of religion. If you want to take common ethics that most human beings share and preface them with "God says..." then that's your business. But it does not make them yours, and it does not imbue you with any moral authority above any other man, religious or otherwise.

Plus the Catholic church teaches that morality is something that is part of the human condition, so even if we're playing by their rules having a conscience is part of being human, not something adopted from a book.

Also, just for kicks,

 

[WizardStan]

ITT we discuss religion

I just wanted to say "a lot of clever stuff comes from old works and people are forgetting that and it makes me sad"
It kinda blew up.

 

[Monk]

ITT we discuss religion

I just wanted to say "a lot of clever stuff comes from old works and people are forgetting that and it makes me sad"
It kinda blew up.

Didn't it just though? It made for fascinating, if saddening, viewing. The term zealotry comes unbidden to my mind

 

[fiori_musicali]

all our beliefs and common morals of what is right and wrong come from the Torah, Bible and Qur'an (obviously with controversy though).

That's actually a little offensive. I don't need some God or book to tell me I shouldn't kill or steal or lie. You will find these ethical obligations exist in many religious and non-religious societies, and it is fallacious for a religion to claim ownership of them. Morality is independent of religion. If you want to take common ethics that most human beings share and preface them with "God says..." then that's your business. But it does not make them yours, and it does not imbue you with any moral authority above any other man, religious or otherwise.

I will settle for a quick remark "I agree with you" and nothing more not to piss on anyone's toes.

In fact, I think there is no point to life at all [ ... ]

I think that's quite a ludicrous statement. Point made, but I can hardly believe anyone can sincerely come to that conclusion.

I also have much more time to get to the tasks that interest me when I don't have to fit in religious ceremonies or prayer time.

In my view praying is actually similar to meditation and hence mentally rejuvenating, whether the Big Boss is listening (or exists at all) or not.

I find it kind of amusing how religions, especially Christianity, keep pushing back the 'holiness' boundary to make room for proven scientific discoveries, lest they suffocate under the weight of their own dogma.

Or... You could call it adaptation. It's still marginally better than defying reality altogether, such as biological evolution.

Are the gods really so insecure that they demand you reassure them of their self-worth from the time you learn to speak to the day you die? These qualities hardly seem in tune with the idea of an all-powerful, all-loving deity (or deities).

Again, point taken. But. This is just people arguing to preserve their faith. We should also take into consideration the psychological and sociological functions of religions. If you look at them analytically, you will find more aspects to them (and more neutral) than just being instruments for maintaining power of the elite or invading nearby nations. Religion is just another complex algorithm in the tree of life.

I admit I'm an agnostic because picking pretty much any other category would for me personally feel dishonest or deluded. I don't like the way some people express their faith or lack thereof in an over-emphasized manner blurring the boundaries of their subjective and objective reality. I think it relates to what was brought up earlier by WizardStan about not stopping to consider alternatives to the most immediate answers, at the core it's about our subjective reality expanding beyond what is within the carrying capacity of our individual selves. It's pretty much what happens in psychosis when your internal reality expands at the cost of the external giving you a composite reality disproportional to the relative size (weighed in physical dimensions, amount of information, or anything) or significance between the two. Although this kind of discussions always tend to escalate into proving the other side evil or at least dumb, atheists have proven to be capable of substituting for the destructivity, arrogance and narrow-mindedness of the religious zealots, were we ever rid of the latter. For living a "good" life the whole question of religiosity is kind of irrelevant, and the intellect of an individual is really independent of whether they exclusively believe in a Spaghetti Monster or modern physics.

 

[Loonie]

I just wanted to say "a lot of clever stuff comes from old works and people are forgetting that and it makes me sad"
It kinda blew up.

Oh. Well, that's different. Why dintcha just say that, ya big silly.

 

[mali]

It's a pity that my philosophy thread is now empty. I deleted the rather personal content, because I was pretty close to being banned(actually this might never have happened, because the MODs are much cooler than I remembered at that time). It could have been interesting to discuss Descartes and his philosophy with some of you

 

[trooper]

Please guys and girls, Stop with the religious talk. It`s way off topic, Most of you know it`s not allowed here on these forums ( GP32x Rules quote "- Political discussion are prohibited, as is any discussion on religion and religious matters."), And most of you will know how it usually ends up. Thank`s

Trooper

 

[Loonie]

It was one of the more spectacular derailing, I thought.

 

[aesir911]

Hmm, I have never seen the Bible used as an excuse for genocide and war. Sure, people abused their political positions (which is what the church leaders had really become right before the Reformation) but I'd like to see an instance of when the Bible was abused like that, if you can find one.

And just so you know, the Koran has caused far more genocide and war than the Bible could have. In fact, the crusades were a response to all the havoc the Muslims were causing (and unfortunately these crusades went downhill due to lack of planning and the greed of a number of the crusaders)

hmm... i sense a very interesting off topic discussion opening soon.

 

[Kyo]

I thought the story of dracula was a part of the bible

I hope you decided against cancelling your order Kyosys.

So very, very close now!

Nah, I'm not just talk. I sent out an email canceling it before posting. Haven't gotten a reply yet, but even if it ships tomorrow I can't say I would regret it much.

 

[moxie]

I must say, that even though I agree with trooper (I.e. Stop it!), this was the most levelheaded derailing into religion I've seen in any internet forum ever, I think. (mostly) Well-reasoned opinions put forward with respect for each others positions and respect for the discussion as a medium. These boards never cease to amaze me.

 

[Dunny]

but I'd like to see an instance of when the Bible was abused, if you can find one.

Give me a few hours, I can get a pic of me abusing a bible. Which would you like to see on top?

D.