Let's Discuss Religion.

[garp6]

Interesting conversation.

I do think that science can limit creative thinking but doesn't have to. I find that religion does a much more thorough job of limiting creativity.

Scientists at least look for possibilities and when they can't explain something, they keep trying to look at different angles.

To me, religions limit creativity more as all leads back to our lack of of being able to understand the ways of God. Simple. Unprovable. Doesnt hurt the brains of stupid.

Of course the Bible and its set of contradicting rules doesn't help.

I could accept the whole religion thing if it wasn't so damaging and well... preachy. Religions are always telling everyone else what they can and can't do. Abortion is wrong. Gay relationships and especially gay marriage is immoral because religions say they are. Boo!

As far as the angel thing and Dry's brother goes, I encourage Dry to think about all the possibilities that he wants to. An alien would have been a more plausible choice to me than an angel but it's your amazing story.

[Drop-shot]

Wait a second... Ponchi's an angel?!?
I'm so confused.

Not quite. He failed to mention the girl´s name: Sarah Palin.

[mmmm8]

Not quite. He failed to mention the girl´s name: Sarah Palin.

Do you mean to say she got confused between the Americas on her all-American tour and accidentally went to Venezuela?

[Drop-shot]

Do you mean to say she got confused between the Americas on her all-American tour and accidentally went to Venezuela?

I think she thought she was in Russia actually.

[Vlad]

399,933. Number of people God has killed according to the Bible.
2,017,956. That's two million seventeen thousand nine hundred fifty six. Number of people God has directly ordered to be murdered by his followers.. according to the Bible.

Total would be...


2,417,889.


That is NOT including 65 ENTIRE cities destroyed and burned throughout the Bible and everyone BUT Noah and his family that God destroyed by the flood in the very beginning.

Pretty good for the all "loving" God huh?


If you look at the population estimate of the time (around 3000 years ago), which would be around 60 Million people, we find that God (again, according to the Bible) has killed far far bigger portion of the population than Hitler and Stalin and Mao combined.

Now... what if God had nuclear weapons???

and btw, Satan, for the record only killed 1 family which was no more than 10 people.

And such a huge population of the world worship that monster (again.. according to the Bible)?

I got all this from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCP5rKr5SOM

start watching from 10m: 25 sec., since they give announcements and stuff before that.

You can go read the Bible and double check all that, but those people are very reliable with their facts.

[ponchi101]

Satan only kills Lot's family (if I remember well).
Most of the killing takes place in the Old Testament.

Ah, back to the Astro-Photography thread...
(you're going to get us banned, Vlad...)

[dryrunguy]

Satan only kills Lot's family (if I remember well).
Most of the killing takes place in the Old Testament.

Ah, back to the Astro-Photography thread...
(you're going to get us banned, Vlad...)

No, God killed Lot's wife, too. Turned her into a pillar of salt. After killing all of Sodom and Gomorrah because they were inhospitable. Lot got to live because he offered his daughters as the city's sex slaves. You gotta know how things get done in the big OT! It's all about the virgins!

But Satan DID get Job's family. But only kind of because he needed God's permission to kill them. And of course, God did because of the shits and giggles entertainment value with lots of really buttery popcorn already made!!!

P.S.--Whatever you do, never spill your seed. Just play it safe and keep banging the dead brother's wife.

[Vlad]

Satan only kills Lot's family (if I remember well).
Most of the killing takes place in the Old Testament.

Ah, back to the Astro-Photography thread...
(you're going to get us banned, Vlad...)

I believe yes, most of the killing is in the Torah. Still, it is the same God right? It really shouldn't make a difference unless that God had some sort of miraculous change from being the jealous and genocidal one to the nice and loving.... but it still is the same one, except that the Christian stories got nicer. And Jesus was his son. And Jesus was nice and awesome. So, the God must be nice and awesome right? Wrong.

Overall, I understand it probably is a bit insensitive to post something like that, given how many religious people out there... but then again, this is strictly about moral values of the Bible.. and if someone is getting their values strictly from the Bible, to me clearly says right now that:
1. They have not actually read the Bible
2. They are being very hypocritical (To put it mildly, they are picking and choosing stuff they like)

I think if we put it in today's terms, the description of the God would probably be of someone, who has just committed 54 murders, went home to rest and on the way, he slaughtered 16 puppies and 97 kittens just for the hell of it. When he got home, he felt so much better that he helped open the door for his elderly lady who lived next door and the rumor spread how nice of a being he is...

[dryrunguy]

Really neat article about the archaeological dig in Gath, a city in the region once occupied by the biblical Philistines, their culture how they potentially influenced Scripture, etc.
*****

TEL EL-SAFI, Israel — At the remains of an ancient metropolis in southern Israel, archaeologists are piecing together the history of a people remembered chiefly as the bad guys of the Hebrew Bible.
The city of Gath, where the annual digging season began this week, is helping scholars paint a more nuanced portrait of the Philistines, who appear in the biblical story as the perennial enemies of the Israelites.
Close to three millennia ago, Gath was on the frontier between the Philistines, who occupied the Mediterranean coastal plain, and the Israelites, who controlled the inland hills. The city's most famous resident, according to the Book of Samuel, was Goliath — the giant warrior improbably felled by the young shepherd David and his sling.
The Philistines "are the ultimate other, almost, in the biblical story," said Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan University, the archaeologist in charge of the excavation.
The latest summer excavation season began this past week, with 100 diggers from Canada, South Korea, the United States and elsewhere, adding to the wealth of relics found at the site since Maier's project began in 1996.

More at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43695120...nce/?gt1=43001

[suliso]

I believe yes, most of the killing is in the Torah. Still, it is the same God right? It really shouldn't make a difference unless that God had some sort of miraculous change from being the jealous and genocidal one to the nice and loving.... but it still is the same one, except that the Christian stories got nicer. And Jesus was his son. And Jesus was nice and awesome. So, the God must be nice and awesome right? Wrong.

Overall, I understand it probably is a bit insensitive to post something like that, given how many religious people out there... but then again, this is strictly about moral values of the Bible.. and if someone is getting their values strictly from the Bible, to me clearly says right now that:
1. They have not actually read the Bible
2. They are being very hypocritical (To put it mildly, they are picking and choosing stuff they like)

I think if we put it in today's terms, the description of the God would probably be of someone, who has just committed 54 murders, went home to rest and on the way, he slaughtered 16 puppies and 97 kittens just for the hell of it. When he got home, he felt so much better that he helped open the door for his elderly lady who lived next door and the rumor spread how nice of a being he is...

You are looking too much from a human perspective here, Vlad. Let me ask you why is killing those folks so bad? They merely get to join their creator a bit sooner and maybe even get to live in a paradise. Not a bad deal I say!

[Vlad]

You are looking too much from a human perspective here, Vlad. Let me ask you why is killing those folks so bad? They merely get to join their creator a bit sooner and maybe even get to live in a paradise. Not a bad deal I say!

That's interesting question... Sure, if we look at it from primitive perspective of ancient times, I think killing or sacrificing loved one in general is not such a big deal. But... there are millions of people out there today, who are taking these very primitive values to today's society and in fact voicing an opinion that ONLY values that in the Bible are worthy of highest values... which can not possibly be true... unless people pick specifically the 8 things that are good in the Bible.

As far as coming from human perspective.. I think in general, God of the Bible is described very very human like. I mean he is playing hide and seek with people in Genesis.. he created people in his own image... He gets tired and needs rest.. he has feet and fingers... he certainly exhibits character of a human being (he is jealous, angry, forgiving, etc.). To me, as far as description there is really not much as far as him being NOT human. Only the parts where he created everything and everyone and his miracles.. but that's a mythological part of the writing.

Now, as far as afterlife and how wonderful it could be there once we die, we don't really know.. because even the Bible does not describe that in any detail... so why would let's say parents of innocent children would want them to be sacrificed at the risk of not knowing of what's going to happen to them after they are dead?

[ponchi101]

That's interesting question...

As far as coming from human perspective.. I think in general, God of the Bible is described very very human like. I mean he is playing hide and seek with people in Genesis.. he created people in his own image... He gets tired and needs rest.. he has feet and fingers... he certainly exhibits character of a human being (he is jealous, angry, forgiving, etc.). ...

And if I am going to have such an anthropomorphic being for my god, I would rather have Zeus or Jupiter. At least that guy had some fun, becoming a bull or whatever and hanging out with the most gorgeous girl around.
(and then Hera or Juno would get really jealous and all hell would break lose. Much better literature, for my money).

[Vlad]

Dedicated Pastafarian!!

http://gizmodo.com/5820875/pastafari...a-strainer-hat

[Drop-shot]

Dedicated Pastafarian!!

http://gizmodo.com/5820875/pastafari...a-strainer-hat

[ponchi101]

We usually talk (in this thread) about the three main Judeo-Christian religions and I was even told that I seemed particularly vitriolic towards catholicism. I agree on both counts and I guess it is because that is the religion we are a bit more informed about.
However, in view of being fair, I would like to share some tidbits about Buddhism, of which I know a bit but recently learned a bit more. The source is Christopher Hitchens, whom I label as rather reliable.

1. The Dalai Lama stated once, regarding India becoming a nuclear power, that India was now a major contender (in world politics) and therefore it becoming a nuclear armed country was something that other countries should consider as an internal affair. In view that India has hosted him for ages, it is a Realpolitik statement, but one has to wonder if this is just a reaction to India traditionally being the southern deterrent to Chinese expansion (the traditional enemy of the Dalai).
2. Shoko Asahara, leader of the Supreme Cult that spread Sarin gas in the Tokyo subway, donated about 45 million Rupees (170 million Yen) to the Dalai, and was rewarded with several meetings with the divine one.
3. Stephen Segal, that most exalted of thespians, has been given the rank of “Tulku”, which means he is a reincarnated lama and a sacred vessel (go figure).
4. The Dalai is on record stating that “Sexual misconduct for men and women consists of oral and anal sex” (guess he has never enjoyed either and knows not what he is talking about). However, “to have sex with a prostitute paid by you and not a third person does not constitute improper behavior”. I guess he had just seen Pretty Woman and thought it was a documentary, therefore grating some leniency to his follower Richard Gere.
5. Lon Nol’s Cambodian Army was Buddhist at least in name.
6. Solomon Bandaranaike, the first elected leader of independent Sri Lanka was assassinated by Buddhist militants.
7. The Burmese SLORC, the brutal regime that rules Burma, does so as a nominally Buddhist junta.

Just a few items to balance our discussion regarding “religion”, which should actually be about the plural