How can you tell if you're stuck in a conversation with a boring person? Pay attention and watch for the tell-tale phrases!
"I'm spiritual, not religious."
(What does spiritual mean? What does religious mean? So you've experienced something you can't explain, probably because you haven't tried, but you really don't want to think about it because it might affect... Read More
1. I don't think Jesus introduced the whole concept of hell into the picture. The idea at the very least goes back to the Greek Hades, a word that is sometimes used in the New Testament to supposely refer to hell. There's also the Jewish concept of Gehenna, and then you also have various mythologies, like the Egyptian mythos, who are a lot older than Christianity and do contain some kind of hell analogue.
2. Are you this aggressive in real life? Because it seems to me that what you're complaining here about is the fact that people don't want to have an argument with you. And it really depends on the social context that you're in whether having an argument is appropiate or not. Since you only vaguely refer to "people" here, I'm guessing that you're whining about strangers that you meet in some kind of shared social happening...thing. And they don't tend to follow the logical end of their train of thought because they don't want to question their beliefs. This probably is because they're not looking for an argument in the first case, and all the vague metaphysical shit is just a marker of what "kind" of person they are, a bit like saying "I'm gay and from Colorado. What about you?". Fact is, a lot of shit is talked about during conversations with other people, and this is because emphasis is put on the talking bit, the style so to speak, rather than the content. This is called "small talk".
Moreover, things can become complicated if you do choose to have an argument. Let's take the Jesus example. You imply that he was not a very nice person because he introduced the concept of hell. They ask you why, and you give an example; I don't know, the bit where Jesus says such and such evil evildoer will burn in flames. And then the discussion will turn on the meaning of the example you've given, whether is supposed to be metaphorical or just a straight up condemnation. That kind of argument sounds stupid, but it's valid because often the whole point of the stuff that you read in the Bible is that they're parables, stories meant to illustrate some innate moral truth through some imaginative story. Another question can also be brought up: did Jesus really say that? Because the idea of a historical Jesus is quite fuzzy, and different writers of the Bible had different conceptions of the man. The Jesus in the Matthew gospels is not necessarily the same as the one in John. The Testaments are anything but consistent.
...so everything turns into this immense theological discussion, and the point I'm trying to make here is: do you really want to go there? I sure as fuck can't remember the last time I had a theological battle with some random person I met at a party. So I think the problem here is that people don't want to explain their beliefs to you because they're think you're weird and they don't trust you. The fact that you don't say whether you ever had an answer back says it all really. I say live and let live, which doesn't mean you shouldn't question what people say. Just be aware that people only open up under certain circumstances. The ridiculous generalizations they put out may reveal themselves to be something more complex if they feel comfortable enough for that kind of debate. I get the impression you're the kind of guy that is very quiet and listens, but doesn't say much about himself. *shrug*
Finally got around to canceling phone and cable. Now I'm just paying for Internet.
It was funny, if a bit sad, listening to the woman on the line try to convince me to keep these outdated services.
"911 links your address to your home phone, your cell phone won't do that!"
How many scenarios are there where I will be able to dial 911 but... Read More
Conceive of a hippopotamus than which nothing more universe-creatingy can be conceived. Because a hippopotamus that actually did create the universe is more universe-creatingy than a hippopotamus that is merely believed to have created the universe, we can conclude that there must be a hippopotamus that created the universe. This hippopotamus, we call Herbert.
One day in the future, I will have lots of money and spare time. When I do, I'm going to buy a bulldog or a rottweiler and I will name him Huxley. This just seems like the perfect name for a dog like this, and not just because Thomas Huxley was Darwin's Bulldog and all that.
I do miss dog ownership, in some ways. But... Read More
Say I know a girl. I don't expect much long-term compatibility between us, but she interests me and she's hot. But I expect personality clashes, and have no expectation that it would last very long. So, sure, to one extent you could say I'm using her for her body (she's hot, after all), but the primary motivator in... Read More
All the boys are monsters,
and all the girls are whores.
So if you lose the one you love,
there's always plenty more.
-Squirrel Nut Zippers
Also, keep in mind that we are all complex self-replicating proteins crawling around on a rock hurtling through space, constantly falling into a barely significant nuclear furnace but missing.
We are all so infintesimal that we barely exist in the big picture. Round it just one decimal point and we don't exist at all.
Yet at the same time we are each to ourselves the entire universe.
"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
-Shakespeare
I disagree about the body thing, but I can't be with a girl that isn't smart. Or at least I can't fully respect her. Same way with guys. Except I don't sleep with guys.
Don't listen too much to my advice, I'm just about to start talking in circles.
Sometime this Summer, you will want to thank me. "How can we possibly hope to repay him for what he's done?" they will ask. Fear not, I need no repayment. Like Batman, I do what I do because it is right.
And no, you aren't supposed to know what I'm talking about, and nor will I be any more specific. And anyone who... Read More
Quite some time ago, motorfirebox, who is not a theist but was taking their side in this argument, came the closest I've seen to solving the problem of evil.
He suggested to me that, from God's perspective, the apparent tragedies endured by people are insignificant. Essentially, in a very Buddhist way, that our suffering is illusory and, once the test is passed, we would... Read More