Chickenpox Lollipops

[Dr Strangelove]

What in the Sam Hill happened to this thread?

[Elok]

Kidicious. Kidicious happened to this thread.

[Kidlicious]

I'm the scapegoat now.

[Elok]

Think of yourself as a "Christ figure," if you prefer.

[Kidlicious]

That dog wont hunt.

[Dr Strangelove]

We have ways of dealing with dogs that won't hunt, then we go out and buy new dogs.

[BlackCat]

I'm the scapegoat now.

Dammit, god gave me that holy sacrificial knife and now I can't find it

[Kidlicious]

'I assure you that when you haven't done it for the least of these, you haven't done it for me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment. But the righteous ones will go into eternal life.

Matt 25

[Elok]

Er, that verse doesn't seem at all relevant to anything that's been said recently in this thread. Care to elaborate, or will it remain a mystery?

[Kidlicious]

Re: Christ figure

[Imran Siddiqui]

It isn't a necessary prerequisite.

Doesn't matter if its necessary or not.

The Assyrians, Egyptians, Moabites, etc, would disagree (all those supposedly smote by the angry God of the Old Testament).

In modern times (and indeed if we go a little further back) God neglected to smite the likes of Genghis Khan, Timur Lenk, and so forth, no matter how many observant Christians (or Jews) they killed. Perhaps in the many conflicts of Christian versus Christian it may have been harder for God to pick a side more deserving- Torquemada or Cromwell ? Gustavus Adolphus or the Cardinal Infante ?

The whole smiting thing is exactly what I'm getting at re: Our understanding of God evolving.

And yet Matthew's Gospel is full of extreme pacifism- certainly in comparison even with the Essenes (who carried weapons for self-protection only).

This evolution of our understand of God thing seems lost on you.

I'd rather attempt a rational explanation for what is organically and clinically possible (and has been demonstrated to have occurred through human intervention), than have to invoke supernatural causes. Occam's razor, and all that.

That's great and all, but such modernist attempts to explain everything through reason ain't going to make a dent in those of us who aren't even modernist Christians (well, Kid may be in his attempts to explain everything, but Elok is Orthodox and JM seems to be, like me, more postmodern in our faith - therefore we don't think everything can be or necessarily is good to be explained fully [ie, mystery is not only the way of things, but good]).

[molly bloom]

You can't claim Occam's Razor or rationality if you can't even explain your beliefs. How do you have free will? Are you a self? etc... If you can't explain these things you aren't being rational.

How do I have 'free will' ?

Well, I have intelligence, a mind, and an evolved brain. They seem to do quite well in conceiving of the idea of free will, and the absence of any impersonal nebulous force such as destiny, kismet or the goddess of fortune- or indeed any Judaeo-Christian deity directing events like the Wizard of Oz or Calvinistically determining who will be saved and who won't be.

I can indeed claim Occam's Razor, and have I believe recently done so. I'm afraid irrationality comes easier to those who believe in supernatural beings and their own exclusive rights to determining the meaning of ordinary English words....

[molly bloom]

I'll take that as a no.

Do whatever you like. I dont care a tittle or a jot.

[molly bloom]

This evolution of our understand of God thing seems lost on you.

Not lost, just not terribly interesting or relevant to me.

That's great and all, but such modernist attempts to explain everything through reason ain't going to make a dent in those of us who aren't even modernist Christians.

I'm not trying to persuade anyone, least of all 'believers'. I'm not a missionary for atheism and don't go about proseltyzing or invoking Darwin, Dawkins or Huxley.

therefore we don't think everything can be or necessarily is good to be explained fully

I prefer to shed a little light upon the shadows of unreason and ignorance. Better to light a candle than complain of the darkness... ;

[Kidlicious]

How do I have 'free will' ?

Well, I have intelligence, a mind, and an evolved brain. They seem to do quite well in conceiving of the idea of free will, and the absence of any impersonal nebulous force such as destiny, kismet or the goddess of fortune- or indeed any Judaeo-Christian deity directing events like the Wizard of Oz or Calvinistically determining who will be saved and who won't be.

I can indeed claim Occam's Razor, and have I believe recently done so. I'm afraid irrationality comes easier to those who believe in supernatural beings and their own exclusive rights to determining the meaning of ordinary English words....

:sigh:

Intelligence wouldn't mean anything even if you had it.

I recall that you belief in the theory of evolution. According to that theory the human brain evolved just as the rest of the body, in a way that helped the species to survive. No doubt the human brain is intelligent you simpleton. Try again. Can you think how you want, or is your thinking determined bysomething like nature?