All Things Religion Thread
Classic!!!!
… pretty sure god has a sense of humour
- he made this bloke !
;););)
https://m.
As with everything, it's about class structure. We stepped off of Africa, and straight away tribal power plays led to alphas and eventually warlords who wanted more of this lush delta, that fertile river, that Mediterranean hunting plain. And they made serfs of their peeps to fight, root, build, hunt and steal shit. Sucky set up.
Of course organised religion that preached equality and fairness took hold... socialism with groovy mystical stories. Notice most major religions were seeded where we first started developing 'civilisation'?
Sadly some people still need 'big answers' in their life..
Sorry Opti, not into religion-bashing, but in the US it is punching-up, and Carlin is a master
I thought this was interesting, the aboriginal people have finished their Memory mountain project.
Finally launched this easter.....2023
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-22/haasts-bluff-cross-monument-centr...
That's interesting... thanks for posting this Optimist.
I took a group of Victorian kids up to NT for a cultural exchange. The American missionary relics fascinated them - like Warlpiri mob saying 'porcupine' instead of echidna when speaking English. And the Anangu refusing to allow Parks to relocate feral camels around Uluru 'because they're in the Bible' : /
This quirky detritus from mid-1800s is obviously more benign than the smallpox and the ethnocide. Vast and complicated topic.
Objectively, the cross looks pretty cool. And if the community is happy with it, I couldn't be happier for them.
I have a vague memory of reading a critical article about an outback cross being constructed during covid lockdown and something about Morrison providing taxpayer money to a whitefulla who was dodgy who was trying to build it. Can't remember the detail and not sure this is the same cross. Not being disparaging, this article and this cross project present positively for all concerned, and the locals support it so that's what matters. It's not exactly Christ the Redeemer but if it creates economic and social opportunities where none exist then all good. I can imagine it would provide some great photos, particularly when lit up, against the backdrop of the outback landscape and star filled night sky. I'm sure believers will flock and it would be a great outback trip for them to go and see it. Not sure I would want to see them installed all over the place as it would devalue the point of this one and indigenous culture has little to do with Christianity, has it's own powerful symbols and pre-dates it by many thousands of years.
The aboriginal people wanted it. They asked their photographer friend Ken Duncan ( not dodgy) to help. …Ken Duncan said no…too hard…God told Ken yes organise it for them…all private people funded it plus some NT govt money….and finally there it is and coincidentally exactly 100 years to the day this Easter Sunday that four aboriginal evangelists stood in that same spot and taught the love and salvation of Jesus….the ABC video I posted of it is really quite spectacular…Good for them.
And thus he said unto them …
- wheneth upon you see and heareth one speaketh of the really quite spectacular, hear ye… hear ye ;)
https://m.
holy fuck.. that's hard to process at sparrow fart..
What the cross means to me in 2023....
Mine has been a long journey.
Over 65 years on earth and over 40 years with an acute awareness of God in my life.
Most of this walk has been nothing but pure joy because from the beginning I learnt that I didn’t need to be rich or important or materially successful, didn’t need all the things I was told I needed from youth. Sometimes a wild ride, often tough but never dull.
I just needed to be Gods son or daughter, His friend and partaker in His covenant. He would supply all I needed.
Then, because I was adopted as a son or daughter, everything I had would belong to God and everything God has would also belong to me. That’s how a covenant works, especially a blood covenant.
Being a sinner like everyone else on earth, sometimes I would drift. Tempted by things that on the day looked appealing and maybe even a bit refreshing or mind numbing, which would just take you down a side road and a feeling you had lost your way again.
So, you go back to square one, back to the cross, because it is not about us, it is about Jesus. It is about what He did on that cross for us.
His life paid for my sin, death was required, it’s a universal thing, so the Creator of all things substitutes for the created.
Sometimes when I think about the day He was beaten with the cat of nine, stripped, mocked, spat on, nailed to a tree and crucified, I get a horrified feeling but also an intense sense of gratitude.
He knew what was coming, He wasn’t happy about it, but quietly went through with it anyway.
His response to it all….
Father Forgive them…. for they don’t know what they are doing….and…..It Is Finished!
I can’t think of any level of forgiveness that matches that….and the mission…it was done.
We got off easy because it cost God so much. Don’t throw that away…Talk to Him.
Three days later after His spirit left Him He was back…the first of a new being…a resurrected human.
A preview for us of our new eternal bodies designed for a new era with God.
The cross to me in 2023 is a constant. A reference point that humanity can rely on.
It means freedom, a future and a hope in a creator reaching out to us.
Have a Happy thoughtful and blessed Easter with your friends and family.
Optimist.
Magical time of year Optimist. May the road rise up to meet you brother, hope it is a restful and reflective time for you and yours.
basesix wrote:Magical time of year Optimist. May the road rise up to meet you brother, hope it is a restful and reflective time for you and yours.
Magical alright.
basesix wrote:Magical time of year Optimist. May the road rise up to meet you brother, hope it is a restful and reflective time for you and yours.
Basesix. ‘Magical time of the year’, yeah right. Magic (definition)- ‘the power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural forces’, complete tripe straight off the bat.
I’ve commented in the past that i think Optimist is actually a religious ‘stand up’ comedian, he’s been toying with us for a few years now, but i think I need to revisit those primary thoughts. He’s a good recruiter and of late has managed to persuade a few others (that’s generally the theme with religious organisations) to join in on the “All Things Religion Thread”.
I’ve clearly misjudged his and his new followers vocation’s, I genuinely think he (Optimist) and Basesix work for their local council, over time they’ve become good friends. See, the City of Greater Nazareth is having a growth spurt beyond comprehension, new housing estates abound, many new churches and as a result of this urban sprawl, traffic has become horrendous and young Christians are hooning around in their cars, periodically rubbing their metallic crosses whilst driving (highly illegal, 2 demerit points loss for that and a fine) at very dangerous speeds. The Council has stepped in and authorised the immediate installation of ‘speed humps’. Both Opti & Basesix form part of the road building team. The site foreman directed each guy to start their work at opposing ends of a planned new road, because ‘May the road rise up to meet you brother’ What complete crap. All a bit of fun but really. AW
Hooo, shit yeah. Magic.. Down south it is anyhoo..
The Upwelling that links life between southern Australia's two K.I.s draws to a close, and so does its joyous summer zoo/phyto-driven feeding frenzy..
some serious swells start to lift their eyes from beneath their brows, preparing to roar from the deep 40s..
On land, snakes, lizards, small mammals and insects find cosy dry spots to hunker down, sometimes pissing off the few big mammals who are trying to celebrate ramadan, easter or passover (while looking sadly at their pathetic woodpile, or simpy going to the shops en masse in frantic terror of the shops being shut on a friday).
Food isn't summery anymore, fuck the fruit salad, but it's not meat-and-3 winter stodge.. its nuts and berries, and slow-cook chorizo chasseur while you're having a surf, pumpkin and pinenuts, mushrooms and bacon, quince and apple, pancakes and maple syrup, and smashed avo toast (#cancelbernardsalt)..
Mornings are misty, bonfires can be lit, days can be pissing down or sunny and fresh..
Take the waco out of the hilux, and chuck in the brazier..
Even the upside-down pagan allegory, new-life, resurrection, eggs, bunnies, so often scorned in the southern-hemisphere for it’s irrelevant northern-hemisphere springtime origins, makes sense to me:
My bush-block has been dead grass, flies, snakes, bees searching in vain for water like the wombats and roos..
In Autumn it comes alive with native grass, donkey orchids, moss and lichens.. Magical AW!! Happy Easter mate!
A LOT CAN HAPPEN IN THREE DAYS
Faith in The Meaning Behind Easter by Phillip Fusco – Vision Christian Media.
When asked to reflect on the meaning of Easter (to me personally as a Christian) naturally one thinks of the iconic images of Jesus hanging on the cross, and the significance of His mission this historic event represents, sacrificing Himself for our salvation and atonement.
Then the mind reflects on how this seismic epoch has been distorted over time to change the true focus and meaning of Easter. Manoeuvring its symbolism from the cross to a bunny. And its significance from salvation of souls to consumption of chocolate. Quite extraordinary is this transition, considering western civilisation’s prosperity has been defined and built on these Judeo-Christian events and principles, as found in both the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible. So why do we ignore this? In time we will only go backward, back into chaos, and have to learn all the principles all over again.
I think what else is impressed upon me from this Biblical story, is the enormous transition that took place surrounding the events at the time. The initial betrayal from Judas, the subsequent vitriol from the Pharisees, Pontius Pilate’s cruel inept judgment, and then the final moment of perceived failure and fear by the disciples as Christ made His way to Golgotha and was nailed on the cross.
Amongst all this confusion and despondency something quite miraculous happened. Three days later Jesus rose from the dead. The ‘original sin’ and judgment of death had been ransomed, and the final sacrifice for the forgiveness of all sins (for everyone’s salvation and atonement) had been done once and for all.
Jesus’ Holy Royal mission over a 3-year ministry; of discipling followers, teaching timeless values, and the fulfilment of centuries-old prophecy. Followed by this traumatic climax of personal sacrifice, physical pain and humility. And then in one great act on the cross – it’s all complete and His work was finished. Gifting us the hope of salvation.
Despite all the manoeuvring of Satan (through various characters) the victory in the end was Christ’s, and can be ours also, if we only recognise the revelation of the Easter message and believe on Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
So, no matter what you are facing at the moment, no matter how you may be feeling right now, things can change, if you hold and have faith in the true meaning and significance of Easter (the grace of God’s greatest Passover in the history of civilisation) – the saving of lost souls!
So please, always remember – a lot can happen in three days.
And to the quiet people, the ones who read swellnet and don't post comments. To the peace lovers and the ones who love unconditionally their families and friends. To the meek and the mild and those who are seeking God while enjoying the gift of the sea. To those that love the natural order unswayed by the Godless indulgent trends of the times.
Yes you can feel Him out there, while sitting on your board. When you feel the warm sun on your face and the gentle breeze behind you as you sit in the clear water anticipating your next ride.
When you watch the birds dive and feed while the labradors of the sea swim past.
When you see the great whales jump for joy, its there you can feel His presence and He is there with you as well, just on the left side and just out of view.
The mockers and haters of God will never understand, for their God is their belly and their proud mouths boast against Him. They see the majesty of creation, but an accident in space is all they can comprehend.
Violence and mockery and no moral code as they follow their prophet Darwin to destruction.
But you, who can see and feel it in the air, keep looking and you will find Him, because He loves you and saves all who come to Him in spirit and in truth.
Have a blessed and happy resurrection day...God bless you in Jesus name....
Optimist.
God gave Moses extensive instructions on how and when to sacrifice animals to be offered to him.
So for a long time God waited eagerly for goats and bulls to have their throats slit and blood spilt as an offering.
If he liked to eat goats and bulls and needed food it would make sense.
Otherwise it seems little primitive and macabre for a supreme being in command of the universe, the creator of galaxies, innumerable stars and black holes, to think knives being stuck in squealing goats throats in his name was important.
Great but petty often seems the way.
Another mystery for us all to ponder.
From the flopti void of planet peanut :
‘the mind reflects on how this seismic epoch has been distorted over time to change the true focus and meaning of Easter’…
Well - the true focus and meaning of ‘easter’ now is the religious theft of a pagan festival ;)
We all get a public holiday which was originally a pagan celebration of the changing of seasons to honour the worship of the goddess ‘eostre’.
This was representative of ‘fertility’ and new crops to be planted…
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/what-are-the-pagan-roots-of-e...
- you can keep giving your imaginary personal interpretations flopti, but don’t leave out the facts of how christianity has repackaged and resold something and claimed it as its own ;)
These days it’s called plagiarism.
How divine ;)
A lot can happen in three days if it’s a magical fairytale without actual proof !
… A lot ;)
‘ “All the fun things about Easter are pagan. Bunnies are a leftover from the pagan festival of Eostre.” Hot cross buns are related to “Israelites baking sweet buns for an idol, and religious leaders trying to put a stop to it.” Eventually, “defiant cake-baking pagan women” were successful and a cross was added to the buns to Christianize them.’
…’“Easter” is only a name, adopted and transformed over centuries to become a Christ-centered reference until recent generations where many young people no longer recognize the name of Jesus as anything more than an expletive.
However, using the name Easter “is not a problem” because “the origin of the word does not mean that the word is bad.” If we want to “be consistent and avoid using [pagan] words,” Christians will also have to find new names for the planets and the days of the week.‘
Happy eostre !! ;)
Beautiful time of year to indulge in reading a Good Book, one that isn’t arrogant, doesn’t yell. One that seeps in with meaning like gentle Autumn rain. One that searches for answers without needing to find them.
Ignore the Bibles, Richard Dawkins and Graham Hancock… they are all the same; they arrogantly think we can truly comprehend some sort of ‘big picture’, and they all want Russell-Brand-style proprietorship of ‘the truth’.
Christians, read some Stephen Jay Gould - non-nonsense for beginners.. poking into some of life’s secrets with wonder and humility. (‘Panda’s Thumb’, or ‘Bully for Brontosaurus’ are as good a place as any to start).
Jared Diamond is perhaps the most engaging of the studiers of humanity. Start with ‘The Third Chimpanzee’, or maybe ‘Guns Germs and Steel’ if you prefer modern history (the last 10,000 years). ‘Collapse’ is essential reading for those with an environmental bent.
Toilet readers, have a crack at Bill Bryson’s ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’. But lay off the psyllium husks for a couple of weeks, there’s some nice longer passages (no pun intended) in it.
My kids and I are reading Bren Smith’s ‘Eat Like a Fish’ this long weekend, we bought 3 copies. Don’t know if it is a Good Book yet, but it grittily documents one man’s explorations in to the environmental benefits of DIY vertical sea-farming.
(now, imagine the facelift-foetus, Brian Cox saying this bit..) Doesn’t matter what you read, I like science fiction, Vonnegut, PK Dick.. but it’s a great time of year to curl up with a book and a cuppa and feed your head. Whatever you read will be flawed… language, writing, books… they are all new. And we have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. And isn’t that wonderful..
basesix wrote:Beautiful time of year to indulge in reading a Good Book, one that isn’t arrogant, doesn’t yell. One that seeps in with meaning like gentle Autumn rain. One that searches for answers without needing to find them.
Ignore the Bibles, Richard Dawkins and Graham Hancock… they are all the same; they arrogantly think we can truly comprehend some sort of ‘big picture’, and they all want Russell-Brand-style proprietorship of ‘the truth’.
... but it’s a great time of year to curl up with a book and a cuppa and feed your head. Whatever you read will be flawed… language, writing, books… they are all new. And we have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. And isn’t that wonderful..
Nicely put. Feed your head, read a book, ignore the guff.
Parable of the 4 men.
Four men were booked on a one way flight in a small plane.
It was a long journey and all along the way people were offering them parachutes for free.
The four men would arrogantly laugh at the offers of a free parachute and even abuse the people trying to give them one.
We will be right they would yell, we are not carrying that bloody thing and planes never crash anyway so F off.
They boarded their flight and the plane reached 10,000 feet.
What they didn’t realise is that death was the pilot and he opened the passenger cabin door.
He made the men to sit on the edge with their legs dangling in the open air staring down into the dark cloudy void.
Time to jump death said, this is as far as you go.
The four men stared down into the void and were terrified,
We don’t want to jump without a parachute they all cried.
Too late said death, there are no parachutes on this plane and my friend Life asked lots of different people many times over to give you a free parachute and you all abused them.
It was time , death tilted the plane and the four men dropped into the abyss …
….with no parachute.
haha, denouncing and denigrating non-believers is part of your easter message ??.
Never go full fire and brimstone.
Peace and goodwill to all mankind, without exception.
“You can go home anytime you want”
https://youtube.com/shorts/FFR6x_zRFn4?feature=share
Optimist wrote:Parable of the 4 men.
Four men were booked on a one way flight in a small plane.
It was a long journey and all along the way people were offering them parachutes for free.
The four men would arrogantly laugh at the offers of a free parachute and even abuse the people trying to give them one.
We will be right they would yell, we are not carrying that bloody thing and planes never crash anyway so F off.
They boarded their flight and the plane reached 10,000 feet.
What they didn’t realise is that death was the pilot and he opened the passenger cabin door.
He made the men to sit on the edge with their legs dangling in the open air staring down into the dark cloudy void.
Time to jump death said, this is as far as you go.
The four men stared down into the void and were terrified,
We don’t want to jump without a parachute they all cried.
Too late said death, there are no parachutes on this plane and my friend Life asked lots of different people many times over to give you a free parachute and you all abused them.
It was time , death tilted the plane and the four men dropped into the abyss …
….with no parachute.
and then it came to pass that the man with the parachute had never really seen what was in his backpack.
As he sat looking into the abyss he began to have doubts.
He realised he was only convinced it was a parachute because somebody told him it was so who had heard from someone who had also never opened the bag but also believed it to be a parachute because someone had told him he believed it to be one.
Have faith they said.
Then he looked back into the plane and realised there were many other backpacks under seats that looked somewhat like parachutes.
Maybe they were all empty or maybe he had chosen the wrong one? he wondered frantically.
Then, as the four men plunged towards the ground, the faces of the three without backpacks became calm.
They looked around in wonder at the earth as it raced towards them and to the far horizons where mountains met the shimmering sea.
The beauty of the earth astounded them.
The clarity of a final end where their struggles were over allowed them to peacefully accept their fate.
Nearby the man with the backpack struggled and screamed looking for a rip cord that was not there.
The false promise of being saved made his predicament unbearable.
His last moments were filled with rage at having been so foolish in trusting those who only pretended to know something about parachutes based on hearsay.
Death and dust became their fate in equal measure.
frog wrote:Optimist wrote:Parable of the 4 men.
Four men were booked on a one way flight in a small plane.
It was a long journey and all along the way people were offering them parachutes for free.
The four men would arrogantly laugh at the offers of a free parachute and even abuse the people trying to give them one.
We will be right they would yell, we are not carrying that bloody thing and planes never crash anyway so F off.
They boarded their flight and the plane reached 10,000 feet.
What they didn’t realise is that death was the pilot and he opened the passenger cabin door.
He made the men to sit on the edge with their legs dangling in the open air staring down into the dark cloudy void.
Time to jump death said, this is as far as you go.
The four men stared down into the void and were terrified,
We don’t want to jump without a parachute they all cried.
Too late said death, there are no parachutes on this plane and my friend Life asked lots of different people many times over to give you a free parachute and you all abused them.
It was time , death tilted the plane and the four men dropped into the abyss …
….with no parachute.and then it came to pass that the man with the parachute had never really seen what was in his backpack.
As he sat looking into the abyss he began to have doubts.
He realised he was only convinced it was a parachute because somebody told him it was so who had heard from someone who had also never opened the bag but also believed it to be a parachute because someone had told him he believed it to be one.
Have faith they said.
Then he looked back into the plane and realised there were many other backpacks under seats that looked somewhat like parachutes.
Maybe they were all empty or maybe he had chosen the wrong one? he wondered frantically.
Then, as the four men plunged towards the ground, the faces of the three without backpacks became calm.
They looked around in wonder at the earth as it raced towards them and to the far horizons where mountains met the shimmering sea.
The beauty of the earth astounded them.
The clarity of a final end where their struggles were over allowed them to peacefully accept their fate.
Nearby the man with the backpack struggled and screamed looking for a rip cord that was not there.
The false promise of being saved made his predicament unbearable.
His last moments were filled with rage at having been so foolish in trusting those who only pretended to know something about parachutes based on hearsay.
Death and dust became their fate in equal measure.
Well said Frog....
nice.
Awesome story Frog, it was a very boring story till you gave it some meaning : )
Can't stand analogies/parables/metaphors for real life - 'life is like a house, faith is like a parachute, patience is like a donkey', or whatever.
It is a lazy way of exploring an idea, and it can be used to suck simpletons into dangerous ones.
Flopti have you noticed yet that it’s not a very christian trait to be bitter and twisted ? ;)
Passive aggressive storytelling and making stuff up by creating false and irrational analogies to suit your own agenda is childish and arrogant.
How exactly does it fit under the banner ‘all things religion’ ? ;)
Where is the love and peace and forgiveness that jesus preached ? Not sure any of his teachings encouraged forcing your imagined theoretical ideas on others and reacting in a dismissive and patronising tone ;)
Does this really bring people together in harmony and promote goodwill ?
Do you regard projecting your eternal misery and doom and gloom on others as an act generosity ? Is this really you doing gods work or just an excuse to be a dickhead ?? ;);)
Have you considered your version of religious belief may not be the only way? How petty and small minded to assume your interpretation is the only truth …
And are you that selfish and ignorant that you truly believe everyone else has got it wrong except for you ?
- ‘he’ must be so proud of you ;)
… frogs parable hit the spot tho
And flopti…
This lady is offering some theories and probabilities.
She’s explaining things. Also recommending things…
- Trying to create possibilities even.
Bottom line is there is NO certainty. There is no one way.
What you choose is up to you and what anyone actually tells you means nothing.
Her words are ideas and information - no different to your stuff - the advice might work and it also might not.
The common shared reality is…
she doesn’t actually know for sure about the end result.
And neither do you ;)
Jelly Flater wrote:From the flopti void of planet peanut :
‘the mind reflects on how this seismic epoch has been distorted over time to change the true focus and meaning of Easter’…
Well - the true focus and meaning of ‘easter’ now is the religious theft of a pagan festival ;)
We all get a public holiday which was originally a pagan celebration of the changing of seasons to honour the worship of the goddess ‘eostre’.
This was representative of ‘fertility’ and new crops to be planted…https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/what-are-the-pagan-roots-of-e...
- you can keep giving your imaginary personal interpretations flopti, but don’t leave out the facts of how christianity has repackaged and resold something and claimed it as its own ;)
These days it’s called plagiarism.
How divine ;)A lot can happen in three days if it’s a magical fairytale without actual proof !
… A lot ;)‘ “All the fun things about Easter are pagan. Bunnies are a leftover from the pagan festival of Eostre.” Hot cross buns are related to “Israelites baking sweet buns for an idol, and religious leaders trying to put a stop to it.” Eventually, “defiant cake-baking pagan women” were successful and a cross was added to the buns to Christianize them.’
…’“Easter” is only a name, adopted and transformed over centuries to become a Christ-centered reference until recent generations where many young people no longer recognize the name of Jesus as anything more than an expletive.
However, using the name Easter “is not a problem” because “the origin of the word does not mean that the word is bad.” If we want to “be consistent and avoid using [pagan] words,” Christians will also have to find new names for the planets and the days of the week.‘
Happy eostre !! ;)
You got it, but it is actually cultural appropriation, and invasion of and extinguishing of indigenous European religious beliefs... clever ancestors, they hid a lot of the former religion in the latter one, though!
It was a fertility festival. The European climate selects for planning skills and creation of surplus to survive the long cold. Spring becomes a flourishing time of life, in the fields, forests, animals and people. It's celebrated by the celestial movements... May Day is up next, look for the May Poles, same reason, fertility, new life, new children. Look for the Obby Oss as well!
It goes together quite well - today is the day of the Resurrection of Christ, and the re-birth of new fast growing life is celebrated.
Just brilliant. Some people are so talented pic.twitter.com/gLJRAOIFL6
— The Sage (@SarkySage) April 10, 2023
Here's a history of some of the religious dispossession and murder:
https://wulfing75.wixsite.com/dorset/post/why-did-our-ancestors-convert
basesix wrote:Beautiful time of year to indulge in reading a Good Book, one that isn’t arrogant, doesn’t yell. One that seeps in with meaning like gentle Autumn rain. One that searches for answers without needing to find
Ignore the Bibles, Richard Dawkins and Graham Hancock… they are all the same; they arrogantly think we can truly comprehend some sort of ‘big picture’, and they all want Russell-Brand-style proprietorship of ‘the truth’.Christians, read some Stephen Jay Gould - non-nonsense for beginners.. poking into some of life’s secrets with wonder and humility. (‘Panda’s Thumb’, or ‘Bully for Brontosaurus’ are as good a place as any to start).
Jared Diamond is perhaps the most engaging of the studiers of humanity. Start with ‘The Third Chimpanzee’, or maybe ‘Guns Germs and Steel’ if you prefer modern history (the last 10,000 years). ‘Collapse’ is essential reading for those with an environmental bent.
Toilet readers, have a crack at Bill Bryson’s ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’. But lay off the psyllium husks for a couple of weeks, there’s some nice longer passages (no pun intended) in it.My kids and I are reading Bren Smith’s ‘Eat Like a Fish’ this long weekend, we bought 3 copies. Don’t know if it is a Good Book yet, but it grittily documents one man’s explorations in to the environmental benefits of DIY vertical sea-farming.
(now, imagine the facelift-foetus, Brian Cox saying this bit..) Doesn’t matter what you read, I like science fiction, Vonnegut, PK Dick.. but it’s a great time of year to curl up with a book and a cuppa and feed your head. Whatever you read will be flawed… language, writing, books… they are all new. And we have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go. And isn’t that wonderful..
Basesix. Good post. The more we read the better we are as humans. You are a great parent taking the time to read ‘with’ your children.
I’ve read all of Stephen Jay Goulds books, a great evolutionary biologist sadly missed by all of us who know his great work. AW.
Hilarious SF, good find, or should I say 'great' find.
A lot of your posts on SN are "GREAT" too tubeshooter(not taking the piss).
heres a post i saw on facey some of you may have already seen-
https://thepremierdaily.com/stephen-hawking-on-god/?uxgf=J6gDjZ
and one reply to a religious person, with this poster being spot on-
Carol Cooper-
"Anthony Gordon
Each to their own !
No one knows, as no one ever returns to confirm anyones religious beliefs.
People believe in-whatever brings them comfort
It Doesn’t matter what anyone thinks -
of another man’s belief..
we’re all going anyway, so enjoy your time here"..
People say it is arrogant to be an atheist and most atheists mock religion but it goes the other way too.
'My god is the only god not yours!"
"Well lets fight a war over whos god is the best god" bla bla bla...
That said some things seem so damn perfectly designed like perfect sandbanks, perfect surf, perfect looking faces, cute animals, sharks that hunt for weeks from miles away,intuition and everything else amazing..it would seem natural to believe in God or religion with or without science- to me anyway..Just seems like some people designed jobs and businesses to make money for themselves out of making out they knew everything about the origins of life and universe.
So personally choose to live like if there is a god, he will like 70-80% of the nice stuff i did..Rarely tried to rip anyone off but in doing so got looked at by scam artists as a easy target and ripped off by even friends or distant family..But if there is a god he would know, even as an atheist/agnostic i only ever did a few minor bad things like a small crop of "chillies".. that for some stupid reason are illegal..so if there is a god i probably wont go to hell.
Ponder endlessly over the 783,137 words in the bible looking for meaning and guidance, fearing judgement of an almighty or, remember just 5 words:
You reap what you sow
I choose option two.
Cheers Groundswell for the high praise. I'm not worthy.
I'm not into bashing religion either. I have friends and family who are believers , and very rarely do anyone of them force it on me and they never try to belittle me for not believing. And vice versa.
I do get annoyed with the whole 'you'll burn in hell if you don't not only believe but beg for forgiveness before you die' type spiel when it comes up here though.
As far as optimists plane analogy goes, the people who didn't get a parachute could have been Nobel Prize winning doctors and scientists who have spent their entire lifetimes selflessly working on things that have greatly benefited mankind , including optimist and his family. But some murdering rapist can receive a parachute 5 minutes before take-off if he 'accepts God as his salvation'. Give me a fucken break.
It's not only an insult to me it's very likely an insult to the big fella himself.
The main point in the clip below begins around the 5min mark and pretty much goes to the quote I posted by Marcus Aurelius.
No worries tubeshooter sometimes i feel a little anxious about what to reply and then forget to reply at all as i fell asleep or something..But then feel like im seeming like a snob..I should have also put an "IM" in front of "not taking the piss" too, to prevent confusion.
Anyway enjoy this thread not too much hate or vitriol but lots of good points, including optimist who i respect for being solo in this thread against everyone but really think posts like "frog's" parachute reply owned this whole debate almost entirely..
What a good point frog made- so many different types and brands of parachutes all with different promises and designs and policies, which one is the right one to choose?, only one will work..hahaha
God sees the heart and the call is out to all humanity. He knows who is genuine and who is not.
Satan has set up side road religions to take people off track for Millenia including false copy branches of Christianity itself….
Versions of these other religions mostly come from way back in Babylon.
There is only one creator and His son Jesus the visible one.
There is only one way to the father and that is through the son.
Otherwise Easter or “Passover “ and the cross happened for nothing.
Watching “The Chosen “ the free series from Angel studios helps you set the historical scene for New Testament bible reading.
When reading the bible (one of the most historically accurate documents on earth) in different points of history you need to place yourself in that era so the context of the words is clear as this “book of books” dates back to the early civilisations of man and they were sometimes pretty tough times when you look back over 4500 of these particular brief unsanitised history writings and that’s only the stuff that’s written down.
The Jewish people wrote things down and treasured culture and history, had schools and taught kids in an era when not many people could even write. They also taught food prep and hygiene , morality, etc etc with God constantly trying to keep them busy so they didn’t end up like the wild neighbouring tribes like the philistines, the Amorite's , moabites and Hittite's to name a few.
There are bible commentaries available from great people to help set the historical context of the eras involved and you can google them.
There were some wild societies back then and now the world seems to be reverting back to violence , killing babies for convenience, and all the other seven deadly sins. As the world gives up on Jesus the world crumbles again.
As well now , the truth is a lie and a lie the truth and personal opinion frowned upon even persecuted in the courts these days.
Freedom to choose is disappearing.
Currently half a billion people are watching THE CHOSEN.
This is one of the great phenomenons of our time.
The prince of peace is portrayed very much as in scripture and it’s a pleasure to watch not only for Christian comfort but excellent historical value.
If your interested that is.
Thanks for still being here Optimist, this thread was intended as a safe space for you, and any who would like to respectfully discuss these things. I'd enjoy if you included Hinduism and the Veda when discussing your views on non-Christian religions. And the various animisms come to that. I assume you feel colonists and child stealers did right by Aboriginals? At least in their intentions?
It is fascinating, the way religion is created to suit the needs and times, popularised and spread, it tells us a lot about 'us'. Jesus has has an awesome evolution to become a man's-man:
https://www.facebook.com/TimelineWH/videos/the-image-of-jesus-the-dark-a...
I have always liked the mother and child iconography, I think it reminds us that, societies may have been (or are) patriarchal, but if we are lucky and life rolls as it should, we are raised by women. I have certainly aspired to have my Mother's kindness, morals and values in every decision I make and every interaction I have. So I do quite like the Horas and Isis version of Christian propaganda.. certainly more than the macabre stuff with thorns, blood, sacred hearts and the like. But what imagery and iconography (and parables and passages) a Believer identifies with and quotes to people certainly tells you a lot about their inner-self.
I watched Noah with Russel Crowe the other night. Those lava monsters were pretty kewl! They helped him (600years old at the time) build the ark. Did they really exist or were they just make-believe?
https://amp.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2014/apr/10/reel-history-noah-...
Nope ,no lava monsters in the bible. I used to like Russel until I saw the worst movie in history….and the mother goddess and sun god worship ( mother and child) is actually the basis of most pagan religions and what God calls the great whore in revelation so He’s not real keen on it. Probably because it perverts truth and sets another side road I spoke of earlier.
Nope ,no lava monsters in the bible. I used to like Russel until I saw the worst movie in history….and the mother goddess and sun god worship ( mother and child) is actually the basis of most pagan religions and what God calls the great whore in revelation so He’s not real keen on it. Probably because it perverts truth and sets another side road I spoke of earlier.
I think mosaics were wonderful in the Late Antiquity period.
The 'soft, feminine, delicate Christ with child-bearing hips' is lovely. And a good reminder for insecure men who hide behind a more Zeus styled Christ, what early Christians were worshipping and hoping for in a savior.
And then the flopti proclaimed with great certainty :
‘When reading the bible (one of the most historically accurate documents on earth)…’
;);) really ??
- Genesis 2:1-3
“Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”
And…
- Exodus 31:17
“It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed."
Um.
- is this the kind of information that you actually perceive as historically accurate ?
Are you really on planet earth or are you just the captain of planet flopti ;)
- And a christian video being watched by a bunch of numbnuts is, according to flopti, ‘one of the great phenomenons of our time’.
Really ;);)
…Really ??
Can you differentiate between fact and fiction…
- ‘The truth is a lie and a lie the truth’ ???
& ‘freedom to choose is disappearing’ ???
Certainly seems that way if there is ‘only one way’ and ‘only one creator’ !
Wtf are you babbling on about ? ;);)
Mindless dribble.
Fear mongering finger pointing.
Maybe time to heed words of wisdom that are directly applicable, and entirely accurate, relative to the flopti version of absolute delusion…
- the prophetic words of slayer :
‘In the depths of a mind insane…
Fantasy and reality are the same’
;);)
Hey JF, yep, it is all mental, quoting the Bible with a stern look..
but it is an amazing time-capsule of where-people-were-at 2000/3000 years ago. Because it has had fairly minimal corruptions, and those are well known (like the KJ version) and poured over by some pretty weird but clever people, we have some good historic literature there. Since the Alexandria library was dispersed (or burned if you like sensationalism in your history) in this period, historical artifacts are pretty precious things.
Tubeshooter: (slow clap)... bravo, awesome clip you linked, my kids and I watched it, and smiled at an internet world so calm, reasonable, rational and beautiful, that someone bothered to create a thing like that! The end credits showing a Gaia Galaxy Map has inspired us to dig deeper, we'll mix a bit of this in with their homework I reckon
https://www.space.com/40406-gaia-release-color-milky-way-map.html
Fascinating stuff..
.... and the creator of this:
is also very concerned about whether you believe in him and what you do with your doodle.
Thought he might be a little beyond that by now.
One of the things that stood out most to me in Ian McCormacks original testimony
( available on you tube) was after he had died from the 5 box jelly’s and after his spirit had descended into the earth to wait, it’s when he was plucked up and was sailing through the tunnel to the light ,..there were waves of light like pulses coming down the tunnel from the light source.
As these pulses hit him he was overcome with intense rapturous feelings of love and joy……The rest of his story is truly amazing but those thoughts stayed with me….Light, Love and Joy.
I have met him in person…a great guy and his face actually shines when you speak to him…he certainly shines like someone who has met Jesus face to face.
Reminds me of when Moses face was really shining after receiving the Ten Commandments.
Optimist wrote:One of the things that stood out most to me in Ian McCormacks original testimony
( available on you tube) was after he had died from the 5 box jelly’s and after his spirit had descended into the earth to wait, it’s when he was plucked up and was sailing through the tunnel to the light ,..there were waves of light like pulses coming down the tunnel from the light source.
As these pulses hit him he was overcome with intense rapturous feelings of love and joy……The rest of his story is truly amazing but those thoughts stayed with me….Light, Love and Joy.
I have met him in person…a great guy and his face actually shines when you speak to him…he certainly shines like someone who has met Jesus face to face.
Reminds me of when Moses face was really shining after receiving the Ten Commandments.
Similar experiences with NDE from all religions, not just Christianity. Also from what I am told a big hit of DMT will have you talking to God??
Maybe something going on, but not necessarily the Yahweh from Bible is involved.
Here you go optimist
Not sure my motivation...my instinctive need to stick up for the underdog...my secret desire to be one day honoured rightfully with the role of Forum moderator (expecting a call any day)...
But anyway I couldn't help but read your troubles on another thread...unfortunately I found myself siding with everyone's posts...other than your own...except for the part where you were told you can't post here!
So I put my low IQ mind to coming up with a solution that suits all...and here it is...a safe place if you like
You can post anything you like about your beliefs...and no one has to read it unless they want! Easy peasy...
maybe you could even get Jesus, fat Buddha, Mohammed, and friends to converse in adult conversation here
Solving the world problems, one at a time...call it taking a shovel as a way of moving that mountain
All the best...brother
PS...I actually was born again once, but I grew up, and grew a brain of my own...and realised it was all a load of shit!