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Reply to On Death in Religion JoeUser Forums

[quote]I believe that God is not angry with us, but he does feel a need to punish us, and if we choose to reject him, he will not let us into Heaven with Him, and instead gives us exactly what we ask for.[/quote] Well I suppose the easiest way to ruin a man is to give him everything he wants, but why should he punish those who only want heaven and his presence by giving them it? I think you might need to have a bit more of a think about this one. [quote]He CAN'T let t

By definition absurd in Writing JoeUser Forums

We all know the value of a good dictionary. For a child or a young adult making their way in a world of antiquated literature and the diseased mutterings of the overly erudite, a dictionary is a good friend, a fine companion and an essential aide in gaining the vocabulary of adulthood. Where it fails is in any other usage. Now, don't get me wrong - a good dictionary can probably stop a small bullet in a pinch, or be used for starting a fire. But when you're looking to def

Reply to On Death in Religion JoeUser Forums

[quote]I wouldn't worship such a god, for I knew that said god was a total wimp and wouldn't do anything.[/quote] Personally I've always valued the selfless above all others. Their time and influence on this world is all too short. They make the world a better place. Those who act through exclusion rarely if ever do so. But I suppose we are talking about religion. All we can do is parrot our books in the way that best suits our own temperament and values.

Reply to On Death in Religion JoeUser Forums

[quote]Would you worship a god who saved those who did not follow him?[/quote] Maybe. I'm not inclined to genuflect, but if a god showed they really, truly cared about people - even those who don't like or trust them - that would be a god worth worshipping. In this world though, I just don't see the influence of such a being.

Reply to On Death in Religion JoeUser Forums

You have a logic problem here. First you say death is a step into the perfect unknown. That's all well and good, apart from on a biological level no one's really sure what happens when the neurons stop bouncing around, or even if anything meaningful happens at all. But then you say that death is a stepping block between earth and heaven/hell. Do you see the problem here? Either death is a 'perfect unknown', or there is hell/heaven afterwards. If you know what

Reply to Long live Death in Philosophy JoeUser Forums

[quote]Not two squirts of owl shit, hamsucker. I cannot imagine desiring something less.[/quote] Eternal youth and vitality - maybe, but only if I was but one of hundreds or more immortals. Eternal life in a Swiftian way - no way in hell would I desire that.

Reply to What Happened to Me? in Life Journals JoeUser Forums

I wouldn't worry too much about your physical looks if I was you. Hotness has never been about how chiselled you are - it's all in the way you hold yourself. If that wasn't the case, most people would never get laid. As long as you motivate yourself to think you are the shiz, other people will think so too. It's all about the confidence. Of course, having an appropriate height/weight ratio is a definite positive, but I don't think that's a problem for you unless you've stacke

Reply to When Will Iraq's Tet Offensive Begin? in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]Read the thread. She is claiming now that she has not insulted anyone. I just pulled up one of her posts to show that she is a liar. That was my comment. She writes posts and then forgets she wrote them, or lies about them. "I forgot" is not the same as "No I did not".[/quote] Okay then. I didn't pick up on that context. [quote]Not sure about that. I was rather assimilated when I was younger. It was only in 2001 or so that I started seriously to question everything that

Reply to When Will Iraq's Tet Offensive Begin? in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]Probably not, but the average fifteen year old is much more capable of independent thought than the average conservative. Liar[/quote] Why? People are never more likely to question authority then in their youth. There's no reason this shouldn't lead to more independent thought than would arise in the mind of someone who has a) already chosen their political philosophy, b) self-identifies with it and c) has chosen a philosophy that places tradition at the top of the

Reply to The differences between Protestantism and Catholicism in Religion JoeUser Forums

[quote] I disagree. The Pope is there to distract people from Jesus.[/quote] That depends on how Catholic you are. For someone who really believes, the infallibility of the pope makes him so close to Jesus as to mean no real difference barring divinity.

Reply to The differences between Protestantism and Catholicism in Religion JoeUser Forums

[quote] I will write more on orange later, since I do know a lot about it! More than I know about blue.[/quote] That's why I've always turned to you, Tex, for all my colour related questions. Your insights on colour are as profound and deeply moving as Erathoniel's on religion.

Reply to Obama - Another Limousine Liberal in Democrat JoeUser Forums

[quote]Now you are defending the MAN (not a staffer) for basically saying the same thing about a different group of people. Since the staffer was fired (even with appologies), should not the candidate be held to the same standard?[/quote] They're different situations. A leader can say what they like; they define the agenda. A follower should follow. They don't get to have their own voice or public opinions because they have chosen to sacrifice their own views in service of their patron.

Reply to Obama - Another Limousine Liberal in Democrat JoeUser Forums

[quote] And any competant Psychologist will tell you that generalizations are the bastardization of the profession. That is one possible explanation, but with no more to go on, it is a statement by an incompetant (or layman) hack who is trying to get air time, not address and understand a situation. Especially not when talking about groups of people instead of an individual.[/quote] Politics is about theory, not practice. You win an election based on your understanding of the electo

Reply to Obama - Another Limousine Liberal in Democrat JoeUser Forums

[quote]"It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."[/quote] This is pretty basic psychology. I can understand people might not like the idea that it's easy to manipulate groups through playing to their fears, but it happens and there doesn't seem to be an advantage in denying it. Why is it so contentious for Obam

Reply to Why Embryonic Stem Cell Research is Wrong and Obsolete in Religion JoeUser Forums

Lula: I was unclear. Which countries have lasted forever as a result of their anti-abortion stance? I can't think of a single country which rose or fell where its stance on abortion was even remotely influential. Perhaps the best counter-example is Rome. It was all peachy up until it got God and abandoned abortion. Then it collapsed rather messily. Not that I think there's a causation there. From what I've seen and read abortion is at best an extremely minor factor in the life of states

Reply to Back in the Saddle Again. in Blogging JoeUser Forums

I had a similar traumatic experience with a grad student when I was overseas. I spent three days trying to find Indonesian translations for English emotion words. Until you've tried to explain the difference between rage, anger and wrath in a foreign language you just don't understand the meaning of frustration. Still, cash prizes at the end of it pay for the booze or diversions you need to forget.

Reply to Why Embryonic Stem Cell Research is Wrong and Obsolete in Religion JoeUser Forums

[quote]Abortion is evil. Any country that legitimizes killing its own progeny is doomed. [/quote] Which countries are you talking about? None except maybe China could be said to have survived very long, and even China had an enormous number of different dynasties. It also allowed abortion through herbal methods. Can you name a country in particular which held the unborn sacred and survived all that long? None really jump out to me, but I did Asian rather than European history,

Confession of a serial trivialiser in Blogging JoeUser Forums

I have a habit. In the greater scheme of things it's not a bad habit. Certainly it's one I can live with. A fat pay-out from your charity of choice would of course be a wonderful help, and several weeks in the luxury of a prestigious detox clinic wouldn't go astray if you're willing to finance it. But it's a hard habit to break. You see, I'm a habitual devil's advocate, a serial trivialiser, an adherent of argument and pettiness for their own sake. I would

Reply to My religious opinions on homosexuality in Religion JoeUser Forums

[quote]But how is it better than celibacy?[/quote] Let's throw that round the other way. Why is celibacy better than sex? In my experience celibacy tends to focus the mind on sex, so it's not exactly a productive avenue for future growth. You may as well accept that sex is a complicated need and let yourself meet it every once in a while, just like you might accept a complicated need for various other obsessions. Or more simply - neither is better than the other and straight se

Reply to When Will Iraq's Tet Offensive Begin? in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]You dont do your cause any good with statements like that. That will only demonstrate how far left you are. MSNBC is the farthest left of the TV news channels.[/quote] On any objective scale all US media outlets except PBS lean at least a little to the right or are so unprofessional that they cannot be considered to be on a political scale at all - the argument for American understanding of irony, Fox News, fits into that last category. Speaking of objective research, th

Reply to When Will Iraq's Tet Offensive Begin? in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]Also, "take back their country"? You mean, to where it was under Saddam? You think Iraqi's are wishing for those days back?[/quote] I think the implied ending to that statement was "from the Americans and their puppet Iraqi government", rather than implying some sort of time travel-like 'then is now' adventure. [quote]You see it is all in the context and understanding the goals they are trying to achieve.[/quote] That doesn't change the fact that in trying to m

Reply to My religious opinions on homosexuality in Religion JoeUser Forums

[quote]God's way tells us all to practice chastity before marriage and fidelity afterwards.[/quote] He didn't mention lesbians though so I assume he's bang up for that kind of action.

Reply to The Word Monkey is Now Off Limits in Democrat JoeUser Forums

[quote]And that is where we disagree. Children playing in trees are like monkeys. And to ban that speech because some moron with an IQ of silly putty might get offended is to abolish free speech.[/quote] The employee of a candidate for a racially charged election must meet a higher level of conduct than an ordinary citizen. If she's so stupid she stuffs up like she did, she doesn't deserve her job with the campaign. But she shouldn't have been fined. The police officer should h

Reply to The Word Monkey is Now Off Limits in Democrat JoeUser Forums

In Australia 'monkey' is a racist epithet for Malays - that's pretty common throughout the region, actually. So my first thought was that it's always been off-limits when used to describe other people. Of course, the particular circumstance goes a long way towards justifying it - climbing in trees is like monkeys, so I'd say even a $75 fine was overboard. Telling her not to be such a damn fool next time would have been a fairer move.

Reply to John McCain called his wife a c*nt in Politics JoeUser Forums

Interesting. Does he deny it or is it a false story?