Profile for Drew
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Drew |
| Member number | 4233 |
| Title | By Committee |
| Postcount | 2242 |
| Homepage | |
| Registered | Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
Recent posts
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| Author | Recent posts |
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| Social Degradation and Religious Decay (Split from "Life on Europa") in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Thursday, July 12 2007 04:24
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When context has such influence on doctrinal interpretation, isn't it then the case that the religion is actually changing to accommodate the mores of the wider society/culture? I could see where they wouldn't necessarily be independent, but it seems as though churches lag a little behind before ultimately accepting what has become the status quo. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Europa, God, and you, or Where it all fits. in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Wednesday, July 11 2007 10:37
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I had thought that an atheist is a person who believes there is no god as opposed to not believing in a god, but that may merely be a distinction between "hard" and "soft" atheism that I've heard tell about. I merely don't know whether god(s) exist or not, and I don't think that anyone else really can either. I think that makes me an agnostic. I do, however, hope in my heart that there is a benevolent god out there who will love us and take care of us all when we die, because that would be pretty cool. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Social Degradation and Religious Decay (Split from "Life on Europa") in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Wednesday, July 11 2007 10:29
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Okay. But it's amazing how much of a sticking point that "wives obey their husbands" bit can be - I've been to many "Put Jesus in Your Bed"-style weddings, and that always seems to show up. It does seem pretty antiquated to me, though, and I know that my wife would have some choice words for me should I try to invoke that bit of scripture. How about yours, SoT? ;) Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Social Degradation and Religious Decay (Split from "Life on Europa") in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Wednesday, July 11 2007 09:43
Profile
Well, the Southern Baptist Convention has swung pretty decidedly in the direction of a patriarchal outlook. Also, I would say that while there are some female Anglican bishops out there, how long had the church been around before this took place? And again, did it arrive at that decision from its own doctrine, or as a result of wider societal forces? I think while it may result from a combination of the two, it's predominantly been a result of the latter. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Social Degradation and Religious Decay (Split from "Life on Europa") in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Wednesday, July 11 2007 08:55
Profile
"I now kill people in the name of Drew." That's well and good, except that I'm here to deny that I support such behavior, as well as sue you for defamation. Christ, however, is not around to refute such a statement made in his name, and how do you even know what he backs? "Well, the Bible says this, and I KNOW in my heart..., etc., etc." That's great. There are thousands of people who claim to be Christians and know the will of God, and who have thousands and thousands of interpretations that vary in whole or in part from yours. The authority is not clear. For all you know, Christ could have been okay with, say, the War in Iraq and the deaths of all the innocent Muslims. Prove to me that he wasn't. After all, the President, a good God-Fearing Man, believes that Christ is with him on that one. Further, lots of people choose to be peaceable without doing so for the sake of being Christ-like. Christ does not hold the monopoly on peace. The patriarchy issue I think my analogy was pretty apt. You identified that God values woman for their usefulness to the family; not necessarily as individuals. That's pretty denegrating. So is Paul's instruction that wives should obey their husbands. You aren't going to argue your way out of the fact that the Bible and the Christian religion aren't inherently patriarchal - there's a whole seminary of believers on Lexington Road in Louisville, Kentucky that I grew up a block-and-a-half away from that would say otherwise, fervently, and many, many books on the topic. The Women's Movement wasn't made out of whole cloth, you know. Stillness, Christian morality is nothing other than a rehashing and rebranding of older, fairly universal moral ideas with a patriarchal bent and the intent essentially that a body of priests, be it in the form of the Catholic Church, or charismatic Pastor Billy Joe Bob of Salvation Mega Bible Church can call the shots. You may prefer that, but I call it a tyranny of the arbitrary, and I'll have none of it. Historically, they've done a pretty poor job of calling the shots, too - see, e.g., the Crusades, justifying slavery, opposing interracial marriage, homosexuality, gay marriage, etc. Sure, the church has adjusted its benighted views in several of these instances, but it has always done so not as a result of further consultation with the scriptures (though if they would just adhere to the "loving your neighbor" bit to a greater degree, they might get there), but from the external influence of reason and respect for liberty, the notion that we are each free to live as we choose, provided that we do not unnecessarily infringe on the liberty of another. Really, it's all about how morals are imposed that's important to me, and I think the Christian spin on this is bankrupt, because it's authoritarian and (I believe) predicated on fiction. No Christian God = no authority, and therefore no incentive to obey. The Constitution, on the other hand, has much more authority in my eyes, because it's predicated on notions of equity and liberty, and was decided on more or less democratically. Furthermore, though it's difficult to, it can be changed if the need arises, and that sits better with me than just having to swallow whatever poison pill of wisdom my particular sect of Christianity decides to call the Word of God. That's ceding a bit too much control over my personal liberty for my comfort. For the record, I'm a secular humanist; skeptic; agnostic; and dynamite dancer. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Social Degradation and Religious Decay (Split from "Life on Europa") in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Wednesday, July 11 2007 06:22
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Lawrence v. Texas is fairly recent - I believe 2003. Nevertheless, it does represent a pretty profound sea change, at least with regard to challenging the basis for laws whose sole justification is morality, which I think is a good thing. [ Wednesday, July 11, 2007 06:28: Message edited by: Drew ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Social Degradation and Religious Decay (Split from "Life on Europa") in General | |
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By Committee
Member # 4233
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written Wednesday, July 11 2007 05:27
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Here's my prior lengthy post that didn't make it in before the cutoff: quote: Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Life on Europa in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Wednesday, July 11 2007 04:49
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quote:If that's the case, than anyone's claim to being Christian isn't meaningful for your purposes. By that rationale, pretty much no one would be Christian. But that hasn't prevented heinous actions being carried out in Christ's name with the full sanction of those dictating what the scriptures really mean. Indeed, the church itself has waged wars. In that sense, Christianity - the religion - is quite responsible for waging wars. Oh, but I forgot - that's all different now. quote:Your second assertion belies your first, and so addresses the confusion you exhibit in the third. In asserting that a woman's role is vital in the family arrangement, you are marginalizing them. It's like saying "I put a high value on my car. It is vital for taking me to and from where I need to go." I meant nothing more than what I asserted - that it would be best for a child to have both loving parents in his life. That doesn't mean that he necessarily have a "traditional family," with mom barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, obeying her husband like a good wife should per 2 Corinthians. Give me a break. The Bible and especially the church are inherently patriarchal institutions. quote:[/b] This has already been addressed above quite well, but I would like to point out that your "positive-negative" treatment is just splitting hairs. The fundamental moral underpinnings are the same. As for the second point, it's flawed, because unlike water, you can't prove to me or anyone else - whatever they may choose to believe - that God is vital for life. As far as I'm concerned, you're believing in a fiction, no more real than Santa or that garage dragon that gets brought into these discussions periodically. As such, anything coming from that source lacks credibility with me. Of course, the notion that "all men are created equal," and endowed with natural rights is pretty fictitious in a sense as well. But our society has agreed to uphold them. The agreement is tangeable, and has a ready source that can be challenged. A preacher dictating the Word on behalf of the Almighty Santa, on the other hand, is not. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Life on Europa in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Tuesday, July 10 2007 12:28
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quote:The first follows from the second because a decrease in faith in the existence of a mythical being undercuts that being's authority to hold individuals accountable to the morality that religion espouses. I.e., once I knew that Santa Claus didn't exist, it undercut my worries about being naughty or nice. Although it may not be as absolute an authority (and therefore allow for more "flexibility"), I think that abiding by the morality espoused by what we've decided in forming our government is preferable to abiding by that espoused by what a sizable portion of the population doubts the truth of. Further, it's not as if faiths haven't relaxed their standards over time as well. Remember the prohibition against interracial marriage? Or less seriously, how about the SBC's boycott on Disney? Where are those hard and fast lines of Good Ole Time Religion? And please don't read any further into my words than what I said - that I agree that it's a good thing for a child to be raised by two loving parents. That does not equal "Drew agrees with everything that the Bible says about parenting." Further, what does the Bible even say about parenting? I know that the Christian tradition certainly has many things to say, and many of them are, among other things, hostile to the notion of women being equal to men. No thank you. Frankly, once you cut out reliance on the existence of a mythical deity, the Bible is no more authoritative than any other codex. "Do unto others..." is a pretty age-old sentiment, and Christianity certainly doesn't have the monopoly on it. There are cultures extant with moral systems not rooted in faith that seem pretty morally sound to me. The Bible even does much to contradict itself - are we to abide by OT prescriptions, or take Jesus' lessons from the Gospel to heart, or are we instead to abide by what Paul has to say, contradictory though it may be? Also, "I don't have to prove God you you, because you can tell a tree by the fruit it bears"? That's a pretty bold assertion! I'll spare you the enormous litany of the horrors that faith and Christianity in particular have wrought on the world, because I'm certain you're well aware of many of them. [ Tuesday, July 10, 2007 12:39: Message edited by: Drew ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Video Game Addiction in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Tuesday, July 10 2007 12:08
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Coke Zero is pretty close to the original, or at any rate, much closer than Diet Coke, which is probably why I drink so much of it. As for the weight gain, how does that old maxim go? You put the frog in a pot of room temperature water, and then slowly turn up the heat... Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Seperated from a loved one. in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Tuesday, July 10 2007 09:48
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One could argue that a long-term relationship is a fantasy until you've lived with a person, or married him/her. Believe me - there are substantive differences between these states. Ultimately, it probably just boils down to the amount of relationship one is comfortable with. For some, the constant physical presence might be necessary; for others, the telephone is great. Generally though, I think most people prefer physical closeness, largely for hormonal reasons. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Life on Europa in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Tuesday, July 10 2007 09:37
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If anything, the "decline in morals" exposes the flaw in reliance on religious doctrine as their source. Given that religion depends on belief in a mythological deity in order to inspire fear sufficient to reinforce "moral" behavior, is it surprising that an increasing lack of belief in the Church of Our Fathers would cause those individuals to question what the Church is saying? I think this underscores the importance of the role government/the social contract plays as the basis for morality. The difficulty is that unlike a mythical deity, the government is neither omnipotent nor omniscient. However, the upshot is that it's real. I have a big problem with arbitrary determinations of what "proper" guidance is. While I agree that having two loving parents around to raise a child is probably ideal, the rest of what you generally refer to as a "lowering of standards" is completely relative to your own religious worldview, which is just as arbitrary as mine until you can prove that the authority you rely on is capital-T True. In the mean time, I think that I will continue to abide by the laws we have more or less legitimately agreed to, and celebrate the U.S.'s continuous march toward true liberty and equality, which I think are perhaps the most important moral values of them all. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Life on Europa in General | |
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written Tuesday, July 10 2007 06:44
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There is a correlation between faith and morals, but I would posit that there's not a dependency. What is most important to a moral system is that there is some great authority that dictates what is what, whether that authority be a mythical deity or a man-made government. I prefer the latter, because at least in most cases there's a paper trail. EDIT: Also, on your reproductive argument, I imagine you'd have to consider what is intrinsic to the life form; a disease preventing reproduction would be an externality, and thus not a calculable consideration in determining that humans are alive. [ Tuesday, July 10, 2007 06:47: Message edited by: Drew ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| cussing in General | |
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written Tuesday, July 10 2007 05:02
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Weekend brunches are one of the more favored pastimes in the DC Metro area. How can you go wrong with All You Can Eat omelets to order in the same spread with turkey and mashed potatoes? They're especially delightful after a long run, and rest assured, can be quite obscene, depending on the company one keeps. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Life on Europa in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Tuesday, July 10 2007 04:50
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quote:Don't count faith out just yet. After all, if it can weather the discovery that the world is round and that it circles the sun, it surely can weather the discovery of extraterrestrial deep sea creatures under the icy surface of a moon. "Sure, there may be other bastards out there, but we're God's special bastards!" :D We're already fractured into hundreds of different faiths and sects - why should the introduction of additional life out there stir that up too much? As for life, my understanding was that it probably would have to be carbon-based and rely on oxygen to some extent, owing to all that Krebs cycle stuff I've mostly forgotten from 10th grade biology. Not that all organisms rely on ATP or whatever, but I assume that only particular molecules/atoms are suitable for the exchange of ions/anions and whatnot for everthing to stay "alive"/in motion. Am I way off the mark here? [ Tuesday, July 10, 2007 04:52: Message edited by: Drew ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Video Game Addiction in General | |
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written Tuesday, July 10 2007 04:40
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My main point was that I believe that we're all a lot less free-willed and mentally tough than we'd like to think, and that psychological addiction is real. I'm not about to say that video game addiction is on par with heroin, but it nevertheless could be a substantive addiction, and probably worthy of inclusion in the DSMIV (is that the current one?). What other explanation could there possibly be for the fact that I just purchased a Nintendo DS for the purpose of playing frakking Pokemon, for the love of Pete? As for Coca-Cola addiction, I probably drink upwards of 5-6 Coke Zeroes a day, and definitely keep it under the radar from my wife. :( To the fellow drinking 1.5L a day of the hard stuff, I'd advise that you at least switch to diet, or I guarantee you'll put on at least a stone within a year. [ Tuesday, July 10, 2007 04:42: Message edited by: Drew ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Final Fantasy in General | |
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written Tuesday, July 10 2007 04:33
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That's a shame. Final Fantasy Tactics (NOT Tactics Advanced) was one of the finest PS1 games I've ever played. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Final Fantasy in General | |
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written Monday, July 9 2007 11:20
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quote:Tyranicus mentioned those above. "Origins," as well as "Anthology" and "Chronicles" were just collections of previous titles. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Video Game Addiction in General | |
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written Monday, July 9 2007 10:14
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The main thrust of my argument, such as it was, is that a psychological addiction can be as real (though perhaps not as intense) as a physiological/chemical addiction, and I think to a certain extent the pervasiveness of advertising and frequent responses to it are evidence of how malleable, and therefore how "breakable" or "programmable" a human brain can be. --- SoT presented Coca-Cola as his example, but I think the obvious example of a product marketed as "cool" is tobacco. Consider the profound effect Joe Camel advertising had on teenage smoking prior to RJR pulling the ads as a part of various and sundry large settlements. Essentially all that was marketted in those ads was "cool," and yet kids under 18 either switched brands or started smoking Camels in droves as a result. --- Given the fact that advertising can effect our minds to such an extent, is it not the case that psychological addiction can be just as real/profound as chemical addiction? Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Seperated from a loved one. in General | |
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written Monday, July 9 2007 09:51
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True, but it does rehash the old "merits of the long distance relationship" topic, which has always been pretty interesting and not as inflamatory as other topics. I, of course, have always been anti-long distance relationships. [ Monday, July 09, 2007 09:53: Message edited by: Drew ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Video Game Addiction in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Monday, July 9 2007 04:31
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I think addiction is a pretty real affliction, because the truth is that we're all a lot less free-willed than we'd like to believe. After all, if we were completely free-willed, why on Earth would the forces of capitalism spend nearly as much money on advertising as they do? We're all pretty easily influence-able. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Final Fantasy in General | |
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written Monday, July 9 2007 04:27
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I have played all of them except XI. Also, he's forgotten Final Fantasy Legends 1-3, Final Fantast Adventure, and Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. And if you wanted to take it even further, there are a couple Chocobo's Dungeon titles out there... [ Monday, July 09, 2007 04:42: Message edited by: Drew ] Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Seperated from a loved one. in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Monday, July 9 2007 04:12
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quote:Get over it. There are lots of people out there to meet and form relationships with, especially since from the sound of it, you're pretty young. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Video Game Addiction in General | |
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Member # 4233
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written Tuesday, July 3 2007 08:28
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It certainly seems as though there are stronger incentives for becoming more social than less. If nothing else, being more socially agreeable is a good way to improve other things in life, like salaries, work you love doing, and meeting someone special if you want to. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |
| Message Board in General | |
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written Tuesday, July 3 2007 08:24
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Tobacco companies need new customers, too, but that doesn't mean they should get them. Posts: 2242 | Registered: Saturday, April 10 2004 07:00 |