I think your extremely inflexible brain lets you down.

What was that about passive-aggressive insults, again?

I know at least one Christian who says all religions are different ways of trying to explain the same thing

If for the sake of debate we overlook the bits about power and crowd control, that’s a truism. All* religions seek to explain things that we can’t explain via conventional means. Eg, “what happens after we die?” or “where did the universe come from?” That’s a long chalk from positing that all gods are essentially the same thing though.

If you dropped a few Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Chinese Traditionals and Scientologists into a room and went “you all worship the same god” I don’t fancy your chances of making it to the door.

(* – ok, probably not all, but for practical purposes in this discussion)

What was that about passive-aggressive insults, again?

That’s a direct criticism. Although it’s not an insult, I’m just “making an observation”.

(That last bit is passive-aggressive though 🙂 )

I thought that there was originally 15 commandments ??

That’s a direct criticism. Although it’s not an insult, I’m just “making an observation”.

I think I need the Cliff Notes for this discussion.

It’s ok to question someone’s brain if their brain is actually questionable, is that the logic here?

I think your extremely inflexible brain lets you down.

however much you insult my thinking the facts will remain as per the ten commandments.

Its not inflexible to know what they say about other gods its just the facts.

It’s ok to question someone’s brain if their brain is actually questionable, is that the logic here?

That was a sarcastic reference to the protestations earlier in the thread where people were being insulting and then claiming to only be stating facts as if that made it ok. It was intended as a joke.

However I’m still not arguing with him because it’s still futile. I’d rather argue with TJ to be honest 🙂

Text-based communication fail again, gotcha.

I’m glad I deleted the second half of my reply. (-:

I’d rather argue with TJ to be honest

no you wouldn’t! 😉

That’s not an argument, it’s just contradiction.

Yes it is

No it isn’t.

Wait…

Has anyone been to Srinigar? That’s where Jesus’s tomb is. After the staged crucifixion and the 3 day recovery he went back to his bhuddist home in India and lived with into his eighties, dying with his children around him.

would this be a good time to suggest that religion has more to do with politics than god / the afterlife?

A good point.

Since Constantine (probably, I’m no historian) until I dunno, the modern era some time, I’d agree with that. I think a lot of people were just as cynical and sceptical as they are now, but Christianity was such a huge part of life that they couldn’t avoid it. I’m not sure if the merging of religion and politics two was done deliberately or simply extrapolated – after all, if God is the ultimate authority, then His representatives and those who know Him best would hold the most power, wouldn’t they?

I’m sure it was both at various times. Look at the political fallout from Luther’s theological thesis.

TurnerGuy – Member
I thought that there was originally 15 commandments ??

10 directly heard from god.

Jews have 613

Would any of these Gods still exist if Humans didn’t?

May be not, but this thread would….

tjagain – Member
I’d rather argue with TJ to be honest
no you wouldn’t!

I find it strange that you don’t believe in heaven TJ. After all, you’ve been into orbit so many times during your years on STW (if historical tags are to be believed), I assume you’ve been close enough to see it with your own eyes a number of times. 😀 😉

If you spend half your life praising and all that malarkey in order to secure your place at the high table only to find that there’s no god, man, what a monumental waste of time and effort.

Not if….. Heaven is a place on earth.

Mmmmm…. Belinda

Thinking about this thread has made me realise I miss a bit of church action on a sunday morning, when I’ve been helping out at my lad’s U7 rugby training instead. It’s brilliant fun but, now I realise, left a bit of a whole… will have to looking into a mid-week service.

10 directly heard from god.

Jews have 613

No the commandments are the same as you’d expect as the Old Testament is the foundtion of borth Judaism and Christianity. The 613 are laws. Quite different.

Earlier it was posted that religions in general tried to convince others of their beliefs. This is not true, not all religions are evangelical – ie try to convert others

poah – Member

TurnerGuy – Member
I thought that there was originally 15 commandments ??

10 directly heard from god.

Jews have 613

weren’t the 15 cast into 3 tablets, and then one of them got dropped, so only 10 commandments remain ?

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah-WdAwVg9c[/video]

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE8ooMBIyC8[/video]

Ok last night courtesy of this sanity-toppling thread- I didst go riding and (somewhere near Barnard’s Green) I didst declare that I now do not deny all of the gods, goddesses,Gods, Goddesses, demigods and any possible permutations thereof. Then I had a bag of chips. Even agnostic atheism needs sustenance.

Hallelujah and big up Pascal coz I shall now live me forever. PS I hope there are chips and beer in Valhalla/Nirvana/Heaven/Avalon/Moksha/Brahm?loka/Rafi’ etc (the sagga), (????)/Qaydum (?????)/Marum (???????)/Arfalun (???????)/Hay’oun (??????)/Arous (????)/Ajma’ (?????), Sach Khand…etc. (They go on a bit but just ase take it as read)

*Edit: I do now feel a little uncomfortable tho to be honest. What if one of those deities can read my mind and figure that I might be paying lip service/not truly really totally utterly believing in them? Do you think they can do that stuff? Now feel like I’m being watched all of the time. And I found a shiny five piece pence by the railway ridge in Clarence Rd and put it in my pocket. Thinking it that may be good luck. Yet now I am open to the possibility that those deities are watching, and I’m not the rightful owner of these monies. So I probably need to study some more. Should I give the fivepence to charity? But what about secular charities? Should I try to find the rightful owner or put it back where I found it? Will I be judged poorly for such an action? Is there a religion that says ‘Ah, just do yr best it’ll all work out, see you in paradise?’. Or do some Gods cancel out others? Or are some made up? In fact is it risky to believe in more than one? Or are All One and One is All Argh…overthinking again…

What if one of those deities can read my mind and figure that I might be paying lip service/not truly really totally utterly believing in them?

I think as long as you pay your subs to their representative on Earth you should be fine.

I didst declare that I now do not deny all of the gods, goddesses,Gods, Goddesses, demigods and any possible permutations thereof.

Does that count as a conversion? Road to Barnard’s Green?

No the commandments are the same as you’d expect as the Old Testament is the foundtion of borth Judaism and Christianity. The 613 are laws. Quite different.

yes, the jews refer to them as Mitzvo which means commandment.

*five pence piece.

(Sigh)

Don’t feel myself today. I feel some change. In fact I may never feel my self again. Now that I’m open to the possibility that I’m being watched by unseen interested parties. All of the time. It’s making me think. The 5p isn’t mine. And I know, it’s not like it’s £5m or even £5k? But am presuming that access to the eternal spiritual realm is not about a concept of scale, more one of action/principle? Or is the belief in deities the most important thing? But that is distinctly troubling because presumably the punishing bastards divine beings can read my mind and know how selfish it is of me to wish to live forever and see my loved ones again, yet this time free of pain and suffering? The trick is to love and trust in the being/s, isn’t it? Argh. Five pence. My grandmother was semi-religious and introduced me to the concepts of ‘hell’ and guilt. I can feel it all coming back to me…

I feel some change.

That’ll be the 5p in your pocket.

This has slowed down, do we have winner?

Depends on your point of view…..

wilburt – Member

This has slowed down, do we have winner?

cthulhu

yes, I think the aetheists have won the day…

There can be no winners here.

I think it ground to a halt as we realised that people were asking questions which were not answered and answering questions which were not asked and folks were looking for simple solutions to complex questions

Ah. Irony.

Beelzebub on a split decision

See? It’s not me trying to keep it going!

… he said, keeping it going.

(-:

yes, I think the aetheists have won the day…

I was hoping that someone was going to ask me what my evidence for that statement was, and then I could have replied that I didn’t need any evidence, it was good enough that I just believed it to be true 🙂

It works for me.

In the next few days just take a moment to forget all you’ve been brainwashed with, find a nice tranquil spot and just have a empty headed look around, spend as long as you like just gazing in wonder, spot the animals and insects, watch the trees sway in the wind, check out the cloud formations and breath that air in deep

After an hour or 2 or 3, just softly say to yourself… the big bang theory!
Hahahahahhahahahaahahahah, on your effing bike you dopey arsed human