Your Political Stance - 2014 Edition

[5mn_Major]

Re: Your Political Stance - 2014 Edition

But if we really want to go down this absurd path, I'd argue any mistake made in interpreting the bible leading to negative results is God's fault, and by extension Jesus's. A divine being surely knows about the concepts of brevity, conciseness, and clear writing. Why be so metaphorical in what you want your followers to do?

No worries. I'd rather leave Lynah on one of his many tangents anyways.

Often when non believers give their understanding of Christianity...they choose an extreme version...at which they marvel at how anyone could believe it. Not saying you are...but its super common.

So just reviewing what are pretty commonplace beliefs in Mpls. Man wrote the bible. There's one battle in the old testament that I've heard is referenced three separate times and has three different listed casualty figures. Metaphors were a major part of the ancient middle east in another sign that this in man's creation...Homer was an avid user. God/Jesus is not trying to enforce religion on everyone. I don't know how anyone could sign up for a omnipotent God, Who mandates that everyone should worship him...but somehow just can't seem to pull it off because so many people are misprioritizing what He wrote in the bible. That makes your scenario very unlikely.

My goal is not to try to frustrate its to have a meaningful dialog...

[LynahFan]

Re: Your Political Stance - 2014 Edition

God/Jesus is not trying to enforce religion on everyone. I don't know how anyone could sign up for a omnipotent God, Who mandates that everyone should worship him...but somehow just can't seem to pull it off because so many people are misprioritizing what He wrote in the bible. That makes your scenario very unlikely.

Yet you're surprised that everyone doesn't rush to sign up to worship the God who once murdered nearly everybody on earth, chose one ethnicity to lord it above all others and commanded them to kill all their neighbors, and whose most fervent supporters can't even agree on whether gays can get into heaven. If god wanted to increase the number of people signing up, a whole lot of things he's reported to have done would have to be considered "unlikely."

[unofan]

Re: Your Political Stance - 2014 Edition

God/Jesus is not trying to enforce religion on everyone.

Now that is a very, very carefully worded statement given the 1st Commandment. He's not trying to force religion on anyone, but he is saying he is your Lord and you better not believe in any other gods beside him if you do have a religion...

I don't know how anyone could sign up for a omnipotent God, Who mandates that everyone should worship him...

Me neither. Kinda why I haven't been to mass regularly since high school, and haven't been at all in probably 5 years outside of semi-forced familial obligations (ie, going to Christmas/Easter mass with Mom). But there are plenty of people who do sign up for that. I tend to call them born-again evangelicals.

[Kepler]

Re: Your Political Stance - 2014 Edition

I don't know how anyone could sign up for a omnipotent God

I don't see the problem. Think of God as the logical extension of the local chieftain or mafia boss. In a dangerous world you side with whoever is the strongest. Nothing is stronger than omnipotence.

OTOH, God is also the logical extension of the father. Real fathers are flawed and screwed up, but the ideal father is perfect, all-loving, and all-worthy of your deference and love.

It's the endless project of theology to square these two contradictory images with each other. It makes perfect sense, and I don't really see how it could have been different.

We invented gods for rational functions:

(1) to explain the world prior to science
(2) to protect against random disasters when that REALLY mattered (99% of your economy is agricultural and you haven't invented medicine yet)
(3) to ground the local moral code in absolutes to make it better than the next village's moral code
(4) to make life purposeful prior to realizing that purpose is wish-fulfillment

Reasons 1 and 2 don't apply any more (unless you live in the demon-haunted parts of Sudan or Mississippi). Reason 3 will always apply for most of the population. Not everybody is up for reading Euthypro. Reason 4 seems to come down to personality types, but even though purpose is a myth there are now tons of secular teleogies to choose from so the gods aren't needed anymore.

The history of the development of religion is different from the sense (or lack of it) that religion makes to the modern world, since one of the coolest things about religion is it gives us a picture of what people needed from the universe prior to modernity. Given that modernity is not all that great a bubble to live in (except for dentistry -- that part is awesome), the people who willfully step into the time machine of these functionally obsolete faiths are doing something that is in its own way very noble. The fact that the time machine's settings send them somewhere even more screwed up is beside the point -- they are actually attempting to fight their way outside of the universe. I don't trust them with sharp objects, but I want to see whether they can come up with something more satisfying than those of us in the real world have.

[huskyfan]

Re: Your Political Stance - 2014 Edition

opened up this thread and think I quietly step back out. something about Mom said about never discussing money or religion.

[huskyfan]

Re: Your Political Stance - 2014 Edition

or wait. was it politics and religion? shows how much I listened.

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Your Political Stance - 2014 Edition

Yeah this one went way off the rails. Like, next county over off the rails.

[geezer]

Re: Your Political Stance - 2014 Edition

Yeah this one went way off the rails. Like, next county over off the rails.

summer on USCHO: totally unproductive, but weirdly fascinating for what it tells us about ourselves.

[Kepler]

Re: Your Political Stance - 2014 Edition

summer on USCHO: totally unproductive, but weirdly fascinating for what it tells us about ourselves.

It's draft day. We've reached peak offseason.

[burd]

Re: Your Political Stance - 2014 Edition

opened up this thread and think I quietly step back out. something about Mom said about never discussing money or religion.

But since God played D1 hockey at the most followed college hockey program in the world, discussing him here is a natural fit.

[St. Clown]

Re: Your Political Stance - 2014 Edition

But since God played D1 hockey at the most followed college hockey program in the world, discussing him here is a natural fit.

God's a Gopher? That explains the entire state of Wisconsin.

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: Your Political Stance - 2014 Edition

USCHO: totally unproductive, but weirdly fascinating for what it tells us about ourselves.

This statement applies year-round, not just during the summer.

[William Blake]

Re: Your Political Stance - 2014 Edition

Are we still posting the results? Don't post in the political threads but here's mine:

My Political Views
I am a left social libertarian
Left: 6.74, Libertarian: 5.06

Political Spectrum Quiz



My Foreign Policy Views
Score: -7.94

Political Spectrum Quiz


My Culture War Stance
Score: -9.01

Political Spectrum Quiz

[burd]

Re: Your Political Stance - 2014 Edition

Are we still posting the results? Don't post in the political threads but here's mine:

My Political Views
I am a left social libertarian
Left: 6.74, Libertarian: 5.06

Political Spectrum Quiz



My Foreign Policy Views
Score: -7.94

Political Spectrum Quiz


My Culture War Stance
Score: -9.01

Political Spectrum Quiz

*******, *******, burning bright
in the forests of the right,

[Slap Shot]

Re: Your Political Stance - 2014 Edition

*******, *******, burning bright
in the forests of the right,

I see what you did there.

btw, back when Christian Rock was still cool...:

Daniel Amos - William Blake