Lars

English speaking countries politics have fundamentally changed from a battle of ideas to a battle of watery-ideologies/personalities. In England newspapers used to dedicate long sections of newspapers to analyse new legislation and to cover at length important cabinet decisions.

Canadian newspapers used to print entire speeches made by the Prime…[Read more]

The minute emotional choices entered the political arena, logical discourse flew out of the window.  People are not debating issues, they’re debating people. The emotional attachment to ‘characters’ in politics is pretty new, and the result is logic-free opinions. I’m hoping it’s a kind of tidal movement, where eventually sense will prevai…[Read more]

_Robert_ wrote:
Damm-It, I was so brain-washed.  I loved the films, especially the Severus Snape character.

The Harry Potter films are utterly epic. Every two years or so we watch all 8 films over one weekend. There are so many humanist themes running through the work (despite the supernatural afterlife of wizards and a world where the laws of…[Read more]

Simon Paynton wrote:
I’ve named two metaphors which as far as I know are unique to Christianity – the living waters, and the mustard seed.

A concept can be expressed through an infinite amount of metaphors. Perhaps Jesus was the first to express the concept of the pressure to flourish with a mustard seed…but the only unique part of it was the…[Read more]

@simonpaynton You’re saying that we are fools to discard two petty metaphors that are actually irrelevant to the religion?  I’m still trying to understand where foolishness comes in and what I would lose, to my detriment, by discarding all religious speech as spouting nonsense.

You said we would be fools to ignore certain religious content.  Wha…[Read more]

1. Indeed @Robert . The concept of a lack of something as still somehow a kind of that something…isn’t hard to understand in just about any life example except with religion. Because…you know…religion…so they say…apparently.

1. I have a blue napkin

2. I have a red napkin

3. I have no napkin

1. Wait there a minute. Take it easy. What…[Read more]

@simonpaynton I am still waiting to hear what it is in religion that is so special and useful that I’d be a fool to throw it away.  That some religions mirror some aspects of morality is not a surprise, because humans carry that morality within them, and it will inevitably spill out into any religion they come up with.  But you have stated tha…[Read more]

Unseen wrote:
How do you apply The Golden Rule if you’re a masochist?

Well…you reincarnate yourself as a human…wait until you are 33…set yourself up for a thrashing fest and crucifixion festival…and then offer the same experience to anyone else who asks for it. i guess the consent part is important. You don’t want to reincarnate so…[Read more]

Simon Paynton wrote:
I’ve used the metaphor of the living waters and the mustard seed from Jesus, and the rock and the water from Daoism; “love God, and love your neighbour as yourself” from Jesus, “He is not a believer who eats his fill while his neighbour remains hungry by his side.” from the Prophet Mohammed.  I’m sure there are a lot of other…

[Read more]

So if I don’t know about a mustard seed as an analogy for something, that makes me a fool?  That I cannot be wise without a rock in some water?  I’ve already told you the Golden rule has nothing to do with religion, other than being claimed by an assortment of them.

Love god?  What the fuck has that got to do with wisdom?

Again, @simonpaynton, wh…[Read more]