Because Sharpton is a Legend in his own mind. I wonder if Sharpton is his real name.

I cannot say how much I enjoyed getting all of the well-wishing from the Gulch. Thank you John. I would love that scenario too.

Thanks for that.

I don't disagree that benevolence in the form of charity can be self-satisfying; I give what I can afford to what I consider worthy and effective charities. Such benevolence is not what religion preaches. To most religious people, "self-centered" charity is a contradiction in terms as they believe that one should think of the receiver of the charity first. I do not. I think of the potential long-term benefit to me hence I give to various charities that target curing diseases that could be my plight sometime in the future.

That;s a fascinating idea. Hannah Arendt believed that the unit of civilization was what she called political space, the space in which two people can exchange views. Can ISIS enter into political space with a person of reason so they can be listen? Can they enter that space unarmed? I suspect they cannot enter and can be unarmed in political space. The beauty of Arendt's idea is only reason works in political space and this thread shows it. Neither ISIS nor AG will give up faith for reason and at least one will shoot to enforce it. So I have nothing to say to either in that sense. Just don't let ISIS in the Gulch its bad enough to have Christians.

Alas, I see that you have, yet again, proven my point about the impermeability of the religious mind to reason and evidence based discourse. Your arguments are circular rendering intelligent communication efforts impossible hence my exit from this attempt at conversation.

The philosopher Colin McGinn argues man cannot know the mysteries of the universe because man's mind is specifically for some things and not others. Science shows the mind evolved to know all that matters to be a living thing flourishing on earth. SO if you can frame it as a conscious thought and set it aside you can know the answer. That doesn't give you the answer, that takes work, but it assures you that you can get the answer. So set things aside just for the time being and then resolve them by empirical knowledge and logic and some sweat. There are unknowns ...no mysteries.

Excellent, I tried to point out the psychological horror of the doctrine of original sin and didn't even get into the problem of the idea of a soul. Good job!

I don't really see that as reconciliation, but I guess that comes from my understanding of Christianity from a fundamentalist background. It was either you accept it all, or you have rejected it all. My family disliked the "cafeteria style Christianity" as they called it. Picking what you liked and leaving behind what you didn't. If that is sufficient for you to feel the two are melded, then fine by me.

Life does not "begin" at conception, it merely changes form. Both the sperm and the egg are fully alive and capable of continuing life separate from their host for a short time.
What makes the egg or sperm different from a fetus in that respect? Is it the DNA composition? A wart or a tumor both have different DNA from the person on or in whom they reside. That is why they grow more rapidly than the cells around them. Yet no one stages protests outside cancer hospitals, nor are there attempts to ban wart removal medicines.
Therefore we need a more specific definition than just "life" in order to understand when it is no longer acceptable to terminate a conceived pregnancy.

One possible solution is viability. We consider a child now an adult once they have reached the age where they generally could be considered to be able to understand what they are doing and their consequences. When they have developed enough to live on their own, essentially. At that point they are given the full rights of any other adult. So such a test would make sense for when a fetus has the rights of a child, such as to their life. When a fetus can live on its own, possibly with medical aid. At that point I can recognize him/her as a separate human, with his/her own rights, rather than something that is still very much a part of the mothers body.

It's not commanding or demanding it's an example. Try to live up to it, regret your failures and don't be taken advantage of because he also said do not cast your pearls before swine.
"Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High" that is my value and as I said "You may not place any value in what I receive but I do."

Thank you johnpe1. I have been in fights, I never started one but I have always stood up when I had to. I was visiting home from college and was in a bar. A much smaller friend of mind had been seeing a girl that the third baseman of the local community college thought was his girlfriend. And to be honest I knew her and she was defiantly not a one man girl. 9 of these guys came into the bar looking for a fight, I stood with him watching our other friends slip out the back. Luckily the bartender liked us and the cops showed up before we got beat to a pulp. And here's the point, what did I gain by JohnC' valuation? Nothing. Here's what I know I gained. It's a small town and they know I'll stick with you in troubled times. After several working lives I'm back in my home town as an independent financial adviser and a lot of the times my door opens people just want to talk or need advice on unrelated matters. But as I said its a small town, people talk and you can't buy that kind of advertisement. I get paid and blessed in more ways than I deserve.

I left organized religion behind when many of the rules and restrictions made no logical sense, but I don't hold those who belong to those organizations in contempt. Humans are social creatures, and are willing to make bargains to belong to a group that makes them happy. I just happen to be content to feel any real relation to the spiritual force of the universe has to be personal and direct, no managers, mediators, or interpreters needed.

there is a way to reconcile objectivism and Christianity --
the understanding that Christianity can be a process of research
into wisdom instead of a pit of altruism. . the simple assignment
of unknown stuff into a pile labeled "faith" and some learning from
accounts of things which happened long ago suffices. -- j
.

Thank You, Watcher55!!! -- j
.

I will have to look that up!!! -- j
.

OK. . I have a friend who is a master mechanic, a horse trainer and
an accomplished marksman. . he's a good example. . Sam,
let's call him, has an IQ of about 90 and does not follow the news
or current events in the neighborhood much, so he is relatively ignorant.
he did graduate from high school. . he is also a religious fellow who
never curses and attends church when he can. . I love him. . good example. -- j
.

he must have been one fine guy!!! . and self-interest makes it
entirely appropriate to invest in marriage when the results are gratifying!!! -- j
.

isn't it more like abandonment of the self, in "living for others?" -- j
.

yes, and it's FUN!!! -- j
.

don't you think that that might be metaphor for "bad things will happen
if you do not make wise choices?" -- j
.

Yes -- the smokies on a summer afternoon, say. -- j
.

Well Said Vido!!! -- j
.

best to ya, Mike, and welcome to the gulch!!! -- john
.

I choose the degree of humility, and it has a purpose -- self interest.
I choose the group and the degree of self-denial, and the purpose is:::
self-interest. . I want more from life and use these devices to get it. -- j
.

if I knew the time of my death in advance, I would get busy in giving
everything away, with the last thing a generous donation to the IRS
by way of a check which would bounce. -- j
.