It's not so much that god commands it, but rather that it pleases him because it is in line with some intangible moral perfection that exists high in ...
The big bang happened folks. It was undeniably the heat event that is responsible for the cosmos at large. "Beginning", "Everything", "Infinite", thes...
It's alarming that you think that list of atrocities applies uniformly to Islam, as if the whole 1.5 billion something Muslims would stand behind thos...
I'm trying to understand if you actually have a position to defend, and if so what it is. If you are a staunch hard-atheist and an anti-theist then I ...
I'm just trying to understand the source of your motivation for continuously restating contentious platitudes without any attempt at providing critica...
I am an atheist, so that would be a bit hypocritical of me (agnostic soft-atheist). What do you support though? Anti-religious sentiment in general? A...
Lacking central authority and already being so diverse in practice and culture across different regions makes it unlikely that major changes to doctri...
It's quite interesting indeed. As a somewhat experienced and net-savvy atheist I'm keenly aware of the varying levels of anti-theism that spans the se...
Whether or not the verse is about Jews, or meant to apply only to Jews, makes no difference. What matters is how people choose to interpret it. If I c...
In discussions where the moral abhorrence of rape and murder is already a given, we need not add the clause "which is of course very terrible" every-t...
If we're talking only about Sunni Islam then I've already laid out some of the mechanisms through which it can indeed reform. Presently Islamic schola...
Why does turn the other cheek necessarily come up before the idea that Eve brought original sin and death into the world? Or that husbands should rule...
The question isn't "who was/is more violent?", it's "which religion is more violent?". It's about the inherent nature of the religion and it's range o...
If corporate organization and action is indeed a main driver of overall human success, how badly would we be hamstringing their ability to exist and b...
I don't know which gang-rapers tom was referring to though, so I cannot actually give a good response, let alone try and understand any context. He ju...
That all sounds awful! I reckon we could raise an army and make it to Jerusalem by, let's say, 1099? As your liege lord I demand the use of your healt...
Start with something that you personally cannot deny, and go from there. Imagine dropping a heavy television onto your fleshy and exposed toes. Ouch. ...
I see the dance from the opposite angle: Christianity does have fundamentally violent (and peaceful) messages, and throughout it's history Christians ...
"Cultural appropriation" is such an irritating idea... How exactly does it cause harm? I guess the only possible sane answer is that theft of intellec...
Same as in other religions for the most part: pomp and circumstance. It takes well educated, well spoken, and well positioned apologists who know enou...
You make it sound as if religion suddenly reared reared it's ugly head, but what caused it to do so? What do you know about OPEC? The oil embargo of 7...
What should I say if they reply "As a true Christian it's my duty to fight back against Islam which is seeking to destroy my religion and way of life....
By reacting with modern day sensibility I'm trying to highlight the doctrinal extremes of Christianity which might be similar to those of Islam. Maybe...
The prevailing message is love and peace, peppered with threats of eternal damnation, and followed by death and destruction for the unbelievers when J...
Something tells me that a large chunk of these inmates "convert" to "Islam" while in a high security prison because it affords you gang like protectio...
That's in interesting perspective considering how much attention is given to the most extreme and shocking violent events and groups of the Islamic wo...
Primarily I think it's a function of certain technological and social landscapes. Broadly, I think dictatorship can be "best" if it can bring to heel ...
If you have a hoard of neanderthals who can only be persuaded to abide rules via head-injury, then a brutal dictator seems well warranted. Dictatorshi...
Do something about it !? Like what, cryogenically freeze myself for millennia until the triviality of modern civilization has melted away? Only proble...
One question that gets under my skin is whether or not the universe is infinite. In part because I want to know if the universe is, thermodynamically ...
It seems like the junior leagues are the only place that a struggle between "modernism" and "post-modernism" is actually relevant. Who else is it that...
I guess a post-modernist just can't take themselves (and their truth) very seriously :) . I think I know the bit of sophistry you're referring to, it ...
If you want the last word, then just directly and meticulously respond to everything your opponent says with unyielding persistence. I guess the whole...
The most important thing is myself if I'm being honest: my conscious experience, my ideas, beliefs, and well-being. Everything in my life are a means ...
Not until they can stir enough public awareness of their plight to incite the public to pressure politicians and lawmakers to mandate both fresh and s...
Just a random thought I had. What if Trump were to resign? I mean, we all know Trump likes winning, but it also seems like he would be a much happier ...
Here are the games I play currently. Real games... Space Station 13 (Survival, Sci-Fi-Horror, round-based-role-play, atmospheric/medical simulation, P...
I have no problem calling global warming a catastrophe, but what I was referring to is an actual event resulting from global warming which would actua...
Fertilization boosts efficiency but it's not necessary. Through additional land use and crop diversification we could still manage soil health and mai...
The poor bears... We really should get some pelts for posterity while supplies last! I don't exactly see it as a sure thing that the population is goi...
Your sense of goodness and right/wrong being grounded in your life experience seems like another way of saying that the reality and facts of the world...
Climate change is definitely occurring... Climate change (a warming trend) is definitely being accelerated by human emissions and land use (see: "gree...
Hard science and logic are not useful as a foundation of moral basics (not unless the will to live is somehow scientific), but they are highly useful ...
What is a moral fact except something that is in accordance with or derived form a moral value? Can anyone give me an example of a universal moral val...
Indeed. In theory though you could have a trillion super-massive windmills (theory) and actually start to see some negative environmental ramification...
It's certainly true though that we would need so many windmills to have some kind of effect in this manner that what we're talking about is potentiall...
Good question, here's the short: An acre of solar panels probably absorbs and stores more light and heat than an acre of rain-forest. We will never de...
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