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Interesting trends in the Gulch

Posted by $ Susanne 11 years, 3 months ago to Philosophy
265 comments | Share | Best of... | Flag

I have been following with (not very) amused intrest how a lot of the conversations here in the Gulch go from their topic subject to either a heated debate about Religion, or, less frequently, a heated debate about Sexuality and Sex. It does wonders to boost a topic's point and post count... but really stinks when you see a good, timely, and interesting topic, go to add or comment, and it's now a theological or psychosexual discussion.

While I do know that Humanity tends to shy away from mental work, and instead default to the base and easy, I was surprised to see this becoming a rising trend here in the Gulch, and rising exponentially over the past 30-60 days.


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  • Posted by mminnick 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    In the sense of not profaning the Lords name yes. In all others no. I do believe the Christians also have a tradition of not profaning the Lords name. I don't believe it extends to not writing the name, but the basic Yes
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  • Posted by Lucky 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Correct. tho' place .. instead of replace .
    Those without religious belief who do not go around 'raping that woman, mugging that grandfather, stealing that money' have internal values, an individual sense of personal integrity that requires some and forbids other behaviors. You may call it ego but I do not like the belief system or nomenclature of Freud.
    To push a point, I suggest you also have those values, and for the same reason.
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  • Posted by khalling 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I think what the deal was -I had given you a point earlier but you were downvoted. and I was like where's my vote? lol notice this post did not get put into the daily digest. wonder why?
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  • Posted by dbhalling 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    As opposed to a socialist troll or a moral relativist troll or an emotional epistemology troll (Kant)
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  • Posted by BambiB 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Good point. Could governments maintain control of people if people understood that THIS is all they've got? "Turn the other cheek" is not much of a philosophy for a man, because it teaches the aggressor that it's okay to attack. But it's a GREAT philosophy for a slave to have… from the perspective of the slave owner.
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  • Posted by Lucky 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Satre said-
    Belief in absurdities leads inevitably to atrocities.
    I doubt BambiB or khalling have a high regard for Satre, me neither, but that makes sense.
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  • Posted by Lucky 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    The words 'divine providence' are used. The writers being well educated knew the word 'god'. I reckon if that is what they meant that is the word they would have used. Now you could say they chose the words they did for purposes of euphony/ poetry, yes but that opens up more interpretations.
    As for hostility to Christians, abuse by priests may have its part as well as noting the use of abusive language which has proven to be a prelude to persecution.
    Slavery- practiced in the old South and supported by ministers of religion. Slavery in the American Christian South was the worst form known to history, in Islam being a slave was a matter of luck there were white black and pink slaves and owners, and there was recognition that a gift of freedom to a slave could be made but in the South slavery was inherent in skin color. Since then Christianity has softened, but Islam has regressed. What is written in holy books is ignored by most adherents as being you know what, interpretations are made according to the zeitgeist.
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  • Posted by Hiraghm 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    A belief in no-god doesn't make one rational, either.

    Agnostics I can concede as being rational. But not atheists.
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  • Posted by Hiraghm 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Why did you vote for them at all? Why didn't you just buy one?

    Sorry, an employee is not automatically a servant. He is someone who has contracted to do a job.
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  • -1
    Posted by Hiraghm 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Well, look at it this way... better get all you can out of this life, because when you die... the universe ends.

    For *real* Christians, by which I mean people who sincerely believe and do their best to follow the letter of Christianity as best they understand it, their lives aren't ground down, or in the mud, or bruised. While it may be a terrible, terrible burden upon a thief for it to be immoral to steal, it's hardly a thing worth noticing to an honest man. You may look upon the Christian lifestyle as terribly oppressed and deprived, but it's no more burdensome to a believer than it is for egotists... I mean Objectivists... to trade value for value, to consume no more than they produce, to honor contracts (except marriage contracts <cough>), or follow any of the tenets of *their* religion.
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  • Posted by Hiraghm 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    And what keeps you from raping that woman, mugging that grandfather, stealing that money?

    You still believe in a god; you just replaced a supernatural being with your own ego.
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  • -1
    Posted by Hiraghm 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    "For the most part, the founders were deist, not Christians,"

    ENOUGH OF THIS BULLSHIT!

    What religion was Thomas Jefferson's Daddy? And his Mommy? Franklin, Adams, Hamilton, the rest of them?

    They were raised as CHRISTIANS, the culture of their society was Christian, not "deist", not Moslem, not Jewish, not Buddhist. Just as Obama's upbringing in a Moslem culture colored his world view, so did the Founding Fathers' upbringing in a CHRISTIAN culture.

    "THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL; THAT THEY ARE ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR WITH CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS."

    That they would not impose any sect of Christianity on the nation is simply an awareness of the history of their country, England, which two centuries after the War of Independence was still battling among CHRISTIAN sects (protestant vs Catholic).

    They did not want to impose a particular flavor of Christianity on the nation, but every one of them shared a Christian concept of God. To suggest otherwise is to ignore reality.

    I don't know what priest molested you as a child to make you hate Christians, but you better wake up, because we're all that stands between you and Islamic slavery. Or worse; atheist slavery.

    "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

    Did it ever occur to your arrogant self that Christians view atheists as obnoxious as you find us? That we don't want to hear your condescending attitude, born of neurotic insecurity, any more than you want to hear our pious attitude, born of smug self-assurance?


    NOWHERE in the Founding documents, the Constitution or the DoI, does it refer to "natural rights", but the DoI refers to rights which come from the creator, and to reliance upon Divine providence...

    If they were merely "Deists", as you wrongly proclaim... which God did they believe in? Please show the texts where they made up their own opinions about God the Creator, wholly independent of Christianity?

    You are damned lucky this nation was founded by Christians upon Christian morality, and not atheists upon atheist "morality", or Moslems upon Islamic morality. You wouldn't be sitting at a computer arguing right now.
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  • Posted by Lucky 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Yes. James Delingpole was asked about the relative dangers from Islamism and the Greens. He said that the Green movement (collectivism, sustainability, equality, wishwashy do-goodism,..) was the worst as it leads to economic, ethical/moral and cultural decline with an inevitable take-over by Islamism or Stalinism, perhaps in temporary alliance, or something as bad.
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  • Posted by Hiraghm 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Remember that scene from Jurassic Park, where the herd of Gallamimus are running, and a T-Rex jumps out and grabs one... the poor little thing tries to bite the T-Rex back... as it dies.

    So much for it's "right" to self-defense and self-determination.

    If a right is something that exists even if curtailed or impaired... what IS a right?
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  • Posted by Hiraghm 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    If you take a point, then click on the thumbs down again, it'll "un-take" it.
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  • Posted by LetsShrug 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I'll give you a point for trying... will it let you reverse the negative point like it's supposed to. I don't understand points.
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  • Posted by $ WillH 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I would imagine that was a great experience with your dad.

    i am beginning to think that religion is a subject I am going to completely avoid on here. I have honestly been surprised by the amount of disrespect I have seen on here from a good amount of people. I still think that Objectivists and Religious Objectivists have far more problems in the world today than each other.
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  • Posted by $ Maphesdus 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Religious services may have been preached and taught in government buildings back in the early days of our nation, but back then the only religions in the country were all some variant of Christianity, and they were ALL allowed. If you want to have those same accommodations today, it would again have to allow ALL religions. That includes Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Sihkism, Wiccanism, and yes, even Satanism.

    There was a controversy recently about a city government erecting a stone monument of the Ten Commandments on the lawn of it's Capitol, but refusing requests that citizens made for monuments for other religions, the most popular of which was a proposal to build a statue of Baphomet.

    Is it freedom of religion if the government favors one particular religion like that? I don't think so...
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  • Posted by khalling 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    We say that when the god talk gets overwhelming. I am happy to discuss faith but when it starts to show up on every post. It's a little too much right now.
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  • Posted by Zenphamy 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    RR: I really despise calling them "leaders". I've never voted for a leader, only a servant. When they start to think of themselves as leaders, is when we get pushed into trouble.
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  • Posted by khalling 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    RR, the point should be that belief in God does not make one rational. There are other criteria for determining that. That is what the fear should be - irrational decisions.
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  • Posted by Zenphamy 11 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I'm a newbie, but I hope I'm not guilty of lectern banging. Did have to feel my way around a little, at first. But I do enjoy the site.
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