Nadezhda

Simon Paynton wrote:
It’s a bit puzzling why, traditionally, men are so scared of being called a gay sissy. I put it down to two reasons: 1) the enforcement of monogamous marriage as the only acceptable form of sexuality, through social and religious norms; 2) the fact that femaleness, and by extension, femaleness in men, was traditionally r…

[Read more]

@Dang. I agree that the child mortality rate was very high but that doesn’t account for slow population growth at a universal level. It does during times of heightened problems (extreme poverty, war, epidemics) or when several factors coincide…but it is not the case for all cultures outside of extreme times. The Vikings had next to no medical…[Read more]

Subjegation of females is not a universal phenomena. As Desmond Morris (the guy who wrote The Naked Ape) said, as civilization grows, there is a tendency towards exaggerated gender differences and an increase in types of sexuality (including sexual problems and perversion). There are many societies on Earth that are still matriarchal (notably in…[Read more]

I understand your argument and agree with everything except that line I critiqued.

The point is…it never made sense. Not then, not now.

Belle Rose wrote:That’s just what came to mind for now as a starting point to answer your question.

This is vague and I see no process in that text. What I can extract from it is that identifying wrong interpretations is also a subjective process.

In addition to that, having read most of the bible and listened to what some historians say the c…[Read more]

Dang Martin wrote:the anti-gay sentiments in the bible make sense, as well as the rules about “not spilling your seed.”

No they don’t. For two reasons. An out of control birthrate, especially in an area with limited resources or with a large disparity between wealthy and poor is NOT a good thing at all. Non reproductive sex is a GOOD thing in som…[Read more]

Belle Rose wrote:It’s definitely one of the reasons that most atheists are men.

Pure ignorance. The ratio of atheist men and women in most of Continental Europe is very close. And in China (where the majority of atheists live) the ratio is also very similar.

Belle Rose wrote:If there is no God then why have we evolved such that our mental health improves with involving an external agency?

As for why we had a strange of believing in rediculous strange things…you cannot develop a more complex mind and have a stronger understanding of your environment and natural phenomena and your relationship with…[Read more]

Belle Rose wrote:Yes exactly Davis. It comes down to one word. Dopamine.

It’s not just about dopamine. It’s a natural activity. Young babies and older people do it all the time without even trying to do it. Staring off into space for long chunks of time. Resting frequently. Becoming absent minded. And they aren’t praying to god when they do it…[Read more]

Ok. Whats the method for determining if an interpretation is wrong?

Belle Rose wrote:
So what I’m saying is that I don’t think Genesis is literal. My own personal opinion of that is what I meant  won’t change.

Okay, that makes sense. Having said that…when it comes to biblical passages, are there incorrect interpretations of these passages?

Belle Rose wrote:
It is subjective and it is about each individual person but at the same time there are some basic things that you can’t change

I’m not sure that my question has been answered here. When you say “it is subjective and it is about each individual person” it seems as though you are saying that there is no one true interpretation. A…[Read more]

Belle Rose wrote:
No, what I’m trying to point out is that the key to a correct understanding of any part of the Bible is to ascertain the intention of the author of the portion or book under discussion.

Quick question Belle. By correct understanding…do you mean a “correct understanding” for each person? It is, after all a highly s…

[Read more]