OT: religion

[scaredyclassic]

[quote=svelte][quote=scaredyclassic][quote=CA renter]
…I’ve known many Christians and atheists, and both groups have their good, bad, and neutral. I’ve seen no difference in the level of obnoxiousness where the extreme ones are concerned.[/quote]

perhaps. but the obnoxious superior atheist is a relatively new phenomenon. the obnoxious and dangerous religious viewpoint is pretty old.

im wondering how tht came about. when i was a kid, i dont recall religious people being so in your face, so proseyletizing, so demanding of public presence. kind of lik e veterans, they were proud and in the background.

as religiions got pushier and more needy, maybe atheists repsonded with “back the hell off?’ Im talking about the last 40 years in the usa only….[/quote]

It has seemed that way to me too, scaredy.

I’ve attributed it to one of two reasons (have no idea if either is right):

– I’m getting older and less willing to have religious zealots inject themselves into my life so it feels to me like they’ve become more intense

– The internet has let groups of people with minority viewpoints to interact and use the power of forming a group get their viewpoint better heard. In this case, the atheists.

It is my opinion, btw, that the internet allows for more anonymous interaction (like right now, for example) so topics can be thoroughly discussed and analyzed in a freer fashion. In my opinion, this will accelerate the decline of religion. That statement, of course, is for people who don’t believe an all-knowing, omnipotent object and immaculate conception are really possible. :-)[/quote]

yes. the internet has greatly affected the mormons. there has been so much mormon chat on who Joseph Smith really was, and the gritty details of mormon history, that the Church itself has changed its stance on Jospeh Smiths early life on its website. this kind of truth spreading could be damaging for some, who believed the old version the church served up, which wasnt technicaly true, and has caused some to flee the church. but it is probably in the long run just one of those accomodations religions have to make to changing times.

go mormons!

[all]

PUSD accidentally made the calendar of Christian* and Jewish holidays public about a year ago. I emailed them and asked why I should care, they said it was an accident. The calendar is an internal document and it is designed to help teachers with scheduling, so they don’t schedule tests or field trips on religious holidays. I received no reply when I asked about the omission of Islamic holidays.

* Some Christian churches established on the territory of Eastern Roman Empire never accepted 1582 papal bull and they never switched to Gregorian calendar. If you are Russian Orthodox your church is observing holidays based on Julian calendar. Your Christmas is on 12/25, but your calendar does not align with Gregorian, so based on the ‘western’ calendar you are observing Christmas on 1/7.

[FlyerInHi]

all, the calendar issues you bring up are interesting. January 1, as the beginning the year, is just arbitrary.
Are there dates in the Bible or other religious texts that don’t match up with the Gregorian calendar as we know it?

This is all very complex. I have a headache thinking of all the dates now.
since the Gregorian calendar was implemented in America in 1752 and there were 11 lost days, dates on documents prior to that would need to be converted.
http://www.hermetic.ch/cal_stud/cal_art.html

[NotCranky]

http://www.creationsd.org/museum_history.html

Right in Santee. 800 scientists support creation science or whatever it is called.
http://www.creationsd.org/creation-scientists.html

[scaredyclassic]

Back on topic to OP philanthropy may be addictive and triggers same neural pleasure pathways as drygs. It’s only our frontal cortex that stops us from giving. I was reading about some stroke victims who are unable to stop giving away money and property. Intwresting. Giving may not be the selfless good moral behavior society assumes it to be. We are wired to get off on it. Biologists have theories. Or it might be because giving pleases the almighty

[scaredyclassic]

Back on topic to OP philanthropy may be addictive and triggers same neural pleasure pathways as drygs. It’s only our frontal cortex that stops us from giving. I was reading about some stroke victims who are unable to stop giving away money and property. Intwresting. Giving may not be the selfless good moral behavior society assumes it to be. We are wired to get off on it. Biologists have theories. Or it might be because giving pleases the almighty

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/05/the-man-who-couldnt-stop-giving/389531/

[FlyerInHi]

Makes perfect sense, scaredy. That explains why people love to give through churches and churches raise so much money.

[svelte]

Only 70% of Americans call themselves Christian, down from 78% in 2007.

That…is an astounding drop!

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/12/living/pew-religion-study/index.html

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=svelte]Only 70% of Americans call themselves Christian, down from 78% in 2007.

That…is an astounding drop!

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/12/living/pew-religion-study/index.html
[/quote]

Yea, I saw that. Seem like intermarriages among faiths and denominations dilutes religiosity.

[scaredyclassic]

Also old people dying …

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=scaredyclassic]of course, this was understood when we took our kids to church. i said under no circumstances could they ever be alone with any priest, deacon or other relgiious official type person, male or female. my wife agreed. i would not have permitted that, regardless of the type of church or synagogue. i would assume that any religious official type person is significantly more likely than an average person to ahve an abnormal sexual interest in children. or to be gay, or have some other different sexual orientation.[/quote]

What about sports coaches?

When I first started hearing of Dennis Hastert’s indictment, I figured it had to be sex. What else?

Makes you wonder about coaches who are left alone with students.

[NotCranky]

My 8 year old popped the question directly to me while taking him to school the other day.

Now it’s official all my kids know that I do not believe in a supernatural G-D.
We had just finished watching a Discovery video the night before, “Who Was Jesus?”. Great flick, review for grown-ups, but well done. We discussed what we all thought of the Jesus story. I didn’t really pressure them, the came up with interesting theories of where Jesus’ body went from the tomb and none were with his father in heaven. The rich guy who owned the tomb took it. The diciples took it ,the Romans did etc. Not sure which theory is the best. Maybe the Jewish priests did? Has it ever been solved? Any one have the guts to solve it?

Edit, There is a wiki-page on the whole stolen body topic. Not resolved.

[scaredyclassic]

[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=scaredyclassic]of course, this was understood when we took our kids to church. i said under no circumstances could they ever be alone with any priest, deacon or other relgiious official type person, male or female. my wife agreed. i would not have permitted that, regardless of the type of church or synagogue. i would assume that any religious official type person is significantly more likely than an average person to ahve an abnormal sexual interest in children. or to be gay, or have some other different sexual orientation.[/quote]

What about sports coaches?

When I first started hearing of Dennis Hastert’s indictment, I figured it had to be sex. What else?

Makes you wonder about coaches who are left alone with students.

I wouldn’t trust anyone who wants to be with kids.

[NotCranky]

Volunteering with kids is very important , being alone with them is nuts. I know it is very impractical for single men and does come with some risk for anyone. I volunteer in my kid’s classes for some things. Never will I let the teacher leave me alone with them. I did the screening and coached soccer. I made the parents stay at the field, or have a old enough sibling stay there so that I wouldn’t get stuck with a kid waiting for the parent to come pick them up after practice. Some of the parents griped about it but the league will support you on this.

On field trips I stay very close to a trustworthy woman.
My kid wanted me to go to a swimming field trip with his 5th grade class, I won’t go near that. Maybe you have to pick and chose, but dropping out isn’t cool. Kid’s need us, it is very affirming to my kids to see me pitch in. It’s great to for them to see the life skills and responsibilities and commitment to community up close. It helps them receive respect from their peers.

Once a week this year and twice a week last year, I have worked with the lagging readers in my youngest kid’s class, he isn’t one of them. I have the heart and interest to help out these kids and the teacher, but I also know that its up there with the best things I have ever done for my kid to demonstrate this in front of him. You can see him beaming with pride over it. He never wants me to miss and reminds me of every volunteer day. It has helped boost his own desire to be a good student and good citizen, not that he needs much help with that, of course..

[Coronita]

[quote=Blogstar]Volunteering with kids is very important , being alone with them is nuts. I know it is very impractical for single men and does come with some risk for anyone. I volunteer in my kid’s classes for some things. Never will I let the teacher leave me alone with them. I did the screening and coached soccer. I made the parents stay at the field, or have a old enough sibling stay there so that I wouldn’t get stuck with a kid waiting for the parent to come pick them up after practice. Some of the parents griped about it but the league will support you on this.

On field trips I stay very close to a trustworthy woman. [/quote]

Holy sheet. So I’m not the only one that does the same thing? I was thinking just the same thing….

If I’m coaching a team sport and I’m the only one there, I make the parent stays until someone shows up…..

[Author]

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