Jake,

I’m back, with a few thoughts on free will and how it relates to your postings.

One, the Greek philosophers, in particular Aristotle, Epictetus, and the Stoics, discussed issues of free will vs. Determinism centuries before and separate from Judaism and Christianity, so one can hold to free will independent of Abrahamic religion.

And…[Read more]

Yes, had a friend from Atheist Ireland in Dublin who is Syrian and lived among a mostly Druze population, before the Civil War.  She was working towards her Masters on a research team that analyzed the brains of people who died from Alzheimer’s disease. I (stupidly) asked her if she got much push back for being an atheist (having wrongly assumed…[Read more]

Reg,

Druze are overrepresented in IDF. And it would not surprise me if Israel ends up either annexing Suwayda Province in Southern Syria, creating a humanitarian corridor so that Druze have an escape valve or simply making Syrian Druze Israeli citizens. Druze women in Israel take full advantage of the educational opportunities and in general are…[Read more]

Yes, the first massacre was only a few months ago when the violence was sparked by a falsified audio attributed to a Druze religious leader, sparking anger among Sunnis who are easily offended enough to murder people. Israel even carried out targeted airstrikes to “protect the Druze”. Some of the Druze even serve in the Israeli army.

FYI – Dru…[Read more]

Al Jazeera and the Muslim Brotherhood can snicker in satisfaction knowing how successful their infiltration and proselytization of westerners towards spreading Islamism and their ultimate objective of a caliphate.

She is an ignorant student who knows the lefty narratives and is probably more intellectually curious than most students. Also…[Read more]

Tal Oran and a Druze Israeli are live describing an ongoing slaughter of Druze in Syria that has been temporarily halted or ameliorated by the IAF. They are comparing it to October 7 with one particular nuance in the way that the Muslims are expressing their religion of peace. So apparently male Druze have this custom of growing out their…[Read more]