RevBogovac

Forgive me. I have to ask: do you mean like "V" (in the 80's)?

Welcome back, again!

That example was referring more to the “social” part of Kingfisher’s remark...

Well, didn't want to throw in the Godwin like that... but, basically: yes. Both from my personal experience in Yugoslavia as well as my research into a couple of job offers I had in the middle east. It looks social and all from the first (superficial) view. But if you "zoom in" a bit: local residents in the emirates don't have anything materialistic to complain about, but god forbid (again: pun intended) if they "think" a bit differently (Khashoggi! Not coughing, but recent example) and if you look how they treat expats (not even talking about women)...

Isn't that more of an Islamic national-socialism in practice...?

Hi there!

Hey! That hurts!!!

Yes, indeed it would be... In this example the bible would, from the very first page, stay consistent to that universal truth. And not some lope-holes like; oh yeah, the old testament said it's okay to have slaves and kill homosexuals but now Jesus came along and we all of a sudden think differently... (@Dan: no need for another jump here, I really cannot take you serious any more.)

Must.Agree.Wholeheartedly.

I thought you'd (both, you too cuchulain) would like the (intended) pun...

And it's your god-given right to do so. But do consider that people live in social structures. Rarely do people operate completely self sufficient. So it would be nice to respect other people's freedom; your freedom stops where other people's freedom starts. If you choose to put more belief into an age-old collection of books over the believe of empiric evidence, so be it. But don't bother other people by demanding certain privileges by doing so.

now I must ask: which one?!?

Please do not turn things around. That is actually proven fact. We have instruments that can actually prove brain damage. And brain damage has been statistically linked to religious fundamentalism. Facts. (Excuse me, but you are the one babbling from a book...). Now, how significant that link is, and if there is any causal connection is something for future scientists to prove or disprove, but it is still based on sound, scientific, empiric (so anyone can reproduce the facts and thus) evidence. But by all means, you just keep on "believing"...

I'll happily leave the interpretation to the scientists, they're much better at that... but interesting indeed...

A link is a correlation, and not all correlations are causal, but there's (obviously...) a correlation. Am wondering if it's significant (and eventually... causal).

Doesn't surprise me, but it's always nice when something is scientifically proven...

Is that something like the alarming rate "we" share fake news... 🙄

And again an insulting and deliberately hurting post from you Dan; Not only do I consider myself christian, I actually am part of the (Serbian) Orthodox Church (being a direct descendant of a line going back at least 600+ years of warrior-priests described in the book Poreklo Bogavaca i Njihove Seoba) even my very (last) name means "Gods' servant". Only I have evolved (read up on that notion too, while you're at it) and understand the Bible (OT & NT) in it's context. I certainly do not take it literal like you. For the rest: no contradictions and jumping through hoops in your "explanation" whatsoever, right...

As a matter of fact: yes, I have... And in the field of information and communication technology it has all-ready lead to some wild discoveries (instant communication through quantum entanglement). Really wild stuff... 😎

And I respect you for it, Jonathan. I personally would add a couple of things though: I believe in purpose, that purpose has been "build in" by (our) nature: survival and hedonism. If you have "purpose" that gives you "satisfaction", but not much more than that. And I believe in "something bigger"; in that I think humility is not a bad thing, people are not the "all-mighty". But I do not see any evidence of that "all-mighty" being sentient in any way. It's "just" nature and natural laws (which are objectively provable). For the rest, I concur.

I definitely agree with your basic philosophy, no argument (or fun) there... 😉 But re: this matter (pun intended) you're not entirely right; matter can disappear (and appear, out of "nowhere"!) entirely (energy can not), as long as you put in (or extract) enough energy...

You're welcome. You would be surprised how far social and medical sciences have advanced. This is my summary on the matter, but please feel free to (re-)search further (and more accurately): we [life flora & fauna] are made up out of matter and energy. As matter dies, energy does not. Energy (law of nature) can not end, it only can change form. So as we die, our energy changes form. If someone wants to see that as a "soul" so be it. But that soul does not "keep" our person(-al memories and all). That is "stored" in the synapses of our brains. And that is matter... (which dies).

Thank you so much!!! I already was at odds, as I consider myself a Christian and I needed advice in some matters in the Bible, which I would also like to know how to follow those rules? Because everything that has to be followed in the Bible is obviously beyond dispute. 1. Leviticus 25:44 says that I may possess slaves, both male and female, but only if they are purchased from neighboring countries. Does this only apply to Germany and Belgium (as I'm from the Netherlands)? A friend says that England is excluded, because the North Sea is between, but I would really like to own a Brit! 2. I want to sell one of my daughters as slaves, as permitted by Exodus 21: 7. According to Leviticus 27: 4, a woman is worth thirty grams of silver, but under twenty years she is worth only ten grams of silver. If my daughter is already full-grown, but not yet twenty, what is a reasonable price in this current economy? 3. A friend is faced with the following problem: according to Leviticus 15: 19-24, a man may not have contact with a woman who is unclean in her menstrual period. That is a bit difficult to see. How can a man avoid this? Just asking is not so good nowadays, most women take offense here. 4. If I burn a bull on the altar for sacrifice, it creates a fragrance that pleases God, says Leviticus 1: 9. However, I get complaints from the neighborhood when I do this. They do not like the smell. Can I smite them now? 5. In my street are several people who keep on working on Sunday, Sabbath. In Exodus 35: 2 it is clear that I must kill them. Am I morally responsible to kill them myself, or may I ask the police to do this for me? 6. Pork (Leviticus 11: 7) and oysters and mussels (Leviticus 11:10) are unclean animals and may not be eaten or touched, and whoever touches them is also unclean. In my choir there is a butcher and a fishmonger, can I still touch them when I wear gloves? Oh, and how about touching a football made from pig skin? 7. According to Leviticus 21:20 I can not approach God's altar if I have a deviation in my sight. I have to admit that I wear glasses, but with my glasses I do see sharp ... is there any room for negotiation here? 8. A priest must marry a virgin, Leviticus 21:13 says. So Catholics already have a problem, how are Protestants approaching this? 9. Almost all men and many women in my area have their hair cut, including the hair at their temples. This is explicitly forbidden in Leviticus 19:27. How should they be put to death? 10. An uncle of mine has a sinful farm, because he plants two types of crops in one field. With that he violates Leviticus 19:19. His children are also sinful according to the same Bible verse, because they wear clothing made of more than one type of fabric: their coats are made of cotton and polyester. Even more difficult: his wife, I heard cursing and she blasphemed the name of the Lord. Now it's quite a hassle to get the whole village together to stone her, as Leviticus 24: 10-16 prescribes. Can we not simply burn them at the stake in a private family gathering, as we do with men who lay in with their mother-in-law, as prescribed in Leviticus 20:14? 11. My colleagues read the horoscope in the newspaper. According to Leviticus 19:26 you can not engage in divination. How long do I have to consider them unclean? Dear responders, you have studied the Bible much longer and more intensively than I have, so can you please help me with this. Help me to get the wisdom to deal with this ... although I'm still not sure if it is wise to get that wisdom (Proverbs 3: 13-18, blissfully he finds that wisdom) or not (Proverbs 3: 13-18) Ecclesiastes 1:18, much wisdom is much grief). Thank you once again for clearly pointing out that if it is in the Bible, it must be pursued! PS I really would really like to own a Brit ...

Oh no no no... Not a book: my beliefs are based on scientific, provable empirically repeatable experimentation... But to see you and Dan jump through hoops to make "sense" of a book is just plain boring (and a waste of precious time) by now. I agree with Jonathan and cuchulain (and nature['s laws] for that matter)...