I don’t think you’re taking this very seriously.
/S
Well, you’ve certainly just posted the most interesting question I’ve found in this thread! (Although admittedly maybe because that happens to me all the time.)
Oh, thank you for that!
According to the Xians, that only works if you sincerely and honestly believe in the redemption of the crucifixion. Jesus can tell if you are doing it just because it might work, and he’s not very tolerant sometimes.
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Well, the other ones don’t kill you for deconverting…
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Do you have any evidence that god is not an invisible teapot that circles the sun and commands you to crush anthills?
This is the whole arguing a negative/burden of proof 101 that Internet Atheists are so fond of reminding people about, but holy shit does it evaporate quick when they have a pet conspiracy theory.
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That is also a flaw in Pascal’s wager, assuming sincere belief in a god is something you can just choose based on a cost/benefit calculation.
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Yeah, most Muslims don’t either… but keep on with those Islamophobic talking points, dude.
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Well, given that this is neither a court of law nor a Lincoln Douglas debate, we are all able to speculate here. It’s kind of a large part of what the forum is. However, as was just pointed out in the MAGAbomber thread, forum rules prohibit speculating about the mental state of a person, something I had neither remembered nor considered in this thread because such speculation is actually in the OP by Pesco when he labels Shuhada’ Davitt as “the troubled Irish singer”. However, now that I’m reminded of the forum rules and consider that they could be seen to apply here I’m not going to comment on this issue going forward.
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In his defense, in his time and place it was very difficult not to believe in JHVH/Yahweh/Allah, what with all the lifelong conditioning at work. Most people could probably honestly believe just by having a couple of beers and relaxing.
I always figured anyone wanting to try Pascal’s wager should extend the conceit and see how many non-conflicting religions they could adopt simultaneously. I don’t think I ever came up with more than four or five (you can definitely be a UU, a reform some flavor of Jew, and a Bhuddist all at the same time, because I know people doing it.)
EDIT: It occurs to me that I’m not sure the family practices reform Judaism, I may be misremembering which synagogue they attend.
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Pretty hard with Christianity which tends to be an exclusivist religion. You can’t even believe in most different sects of Christianity simultaneously - which is another flaw in Pascal’s wager, since it dodges how one decides which branch of Christianity to place one’s bet on, which was kind of important back in the time when people were burned alive for being the wrong kind of Christian.
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I was bummed to see her refer to herself as “an ugly old hag”. I hope she realizes that she has value and deserves to be happy. I might not agree with some of her life choices but I do know that hearing her sing “Mandinka” gets my head bopping every time.
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Whatever floats your spaghetti monster…
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R’amen!
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Well, yeah, most Muslims I meet and are likely to come across are not at all supportive of this. They are better than the demands of their religion. That’s quite common among religions – the practitioners smooth out the rough bits. American Catholics are generally fine with birth control. Modern Christians are generally not okay with slavery.
The death sentence for apostasy nonetheless has non-negligible support among many groups of Muslims. This is not a fringe position or interpretation, but quite common in many countries.
Apostasy in Islam - Wikipedia has a nice summary table.
The crime and punishment is literally in the constitutions of several countries.
It is sane to be afraid of large groups advocating for the death penalty for things I think shouldn’t even be crimes.
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Didn’t realize you were a theologian… carry on making broad generalizations, and ignoring the larger geo-political context…
Um… yeah. I think you need to look at our own criminal justice system, which rather regularly executes people who are later exonerated… we have very little room for moralizing when it comes to the rest of the world, especially when we’re killing our own citizens for being the “wrong” religion.
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Wacky timing - I’ve been roving old vids on youtube about Ms Shuhada as of late.
I think peak Sinead O’Connor occurred in the mid 90s, though evidence indicates she could still belt it out as recently as 2012.
Check this out:
Anyways - hope she finds peace, even if it involves religion.
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Sometimes I agree. Other times I think it’s money, and religion is just the tool/justification.
I’ve noticed people don’t need religion to be dicks.
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I’d argue it’s power and any of the above can become tools of reinforcement…
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Probably true. Though the quest for power or money is often indistinguishable.
If everybody who read religious books read Douglas Adams instead (or as well) the world would be a better place.
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Sadly, I think even reading great books isn’t a complete panacea for bad behavior or seeking to oppress others. Although, everyone should read Adams, as he had some important things to say about the human condition.
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Ditto for Terry Pratchett, RIP.
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