Search options (Page 38 of 58)

I don't believe anyone argued against that. Take care. Vern

I didn't say your advice was paranoia and you didn't tell me anything I didn't already know about their tactics. But to live a life in fear of any crowded event such as the Boston Marathon because some idiot might do something verges on paranoia imo. How many thousands/millions of events go off without a bombing or assault rifle attack, etc.? Yes, I, or someone I cherish, could ultimately get caught in some mishap, but considering the 300 million or so people in the US vs the number killed by terrorists, the odds are in my favor and yours of not being a victim. My odds of being killed in a car wreck or struck by lightning or most any other cause of death are much greater than being killed in terrorist attack. I'm not paranoid about any of those either. So I will not live in a paranoid world where common sense loses out to fear; to do so would be to declare the perpetrators victorious by default. Take care. Vern

Edited for PS: Yes, you were correct in your educated observation that I would mention the odds of being struck by lightning, etc.

First off, let me make it clear I am not defending Islam against Christianity or vice versa.  Both the Bible and Quran have been used to persecute and murder since their beginnings. Both sides are guilty of atrocities in the name of their chosen God, which in fact is the same God of Abraham giving rise to Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.

Just as the Bible was written over time to help control the masses, so Mohammad, seeing the Jews were united behind the Bible, originally wrote the Quran to unite the Muslim tribes to fight against the Jews instead of among themselves. It worked until his death anyway. 

What is the law. The law at the time Jesus made the statement quoted was all the laws of the Old Testament which were followed by the Jewish community for which the statement was made. The Ten Commandments are only a sub-set taken from the hundreds of others - typically 613 - to make it a bit easier for the less studious to abide by the law. So, no, theologians don't dismiss the other laws of the Old Testament and Jews don't either, and certainly didn't at the time the statement was made. You, of course, are free to interpret the words any way you wish as is the common practice of leaders when they wish to persuade their followers to accept their viewpoint. Therein lies the root of the problem.

Actually, you are wrong about no evidence Jesus killed anyone. It isn't in the "canonized" version of the Bible which was only accepted hundreds of years after Jesus' death, but is found in books deliberately left out of the Bible by the powers that be. One story - The Infancy Gospel of Thomas 4:1 -  has a crippled boy bump into Jesus with this result:

*** Jesus was provoked and said unto him, "Thou shalt not finish thy course." And immediately he fell down and died. ***

One might argue it doesn't count because it isn't in the "real" Bible, but all those books were chosen for political and personal preference under the direction of Constantine. There are other stories in other books outside the Bible, just as ancient and authentic, which also place Jesus in a less than perfect light, especially as a child.

Of course people use the words against their original intent. That goes as much for the Quran as the Bible when you look at the entire context and don't pick out passages to incite followers to a corrupted cause. Our founding fathers for the most part were leery of the power of the church and took great steps to prevent the government from establishing a preferred or protected religion. Thomas Jefferson went so far as to have a secret Bible where he cut and pasted only the words of Jesus without the external narrative of the virgin birth, resurrection, and such. So, yes, if you take the words as they were meant, then you have a much different interpretation than those who interpret them to their own ends.

The Bible doesn’t call for killing infidels? Give me a break. Let’s take a small sampling:
***
Deuteronomy 17
If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant; 17:3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 17:4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel; 17:5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.

Or Deuteronomy 13:6
If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, 7 gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), 8 do not yield to them or listen to them. Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them. 9 You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. 10 Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.
12 If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in 13 that troublemakers have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known), 14 then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you, 15 you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely, both its people and its livestock. 16 You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. That town is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt.

Or Numbers 31, where God commands the Israelites to attack Midian and kill all the men, all the married women and all the male children but to keep the virgin females as the spoils of war and distribute them among the soldiers. The reason offered for that barbarism? Two Midianite women had allegedly “tempted” two Israelite men to worship other gods.
**
There is plenty of ammo in the Bible as well as the Quran for those who wish to sabotage the words to exploit the fear, greed, intolerance, prejudice, etc. of those gullible masses to take up arms or stones or malicious words and actions against those who don’t adhere to the views of the Almighty God being cited.

As for the admonition to "Stay alert" I always do that regardless of the crowd mix, but not to the point of paranoia. Take care. Vern

As long as narrow minded people think their god gives them the right to do anything they wish in the name of religion, there will be atrocities committed in the name of and under the direction of God. This applies especially to the history of Islam and Christianity and the fanatic followers of such, but no organized religion by its very nature can claim complete innocence. Take care. Vern

I left you a quickee, but the "upgrade" button simple takes me to another page to auto-renew with no way to do so. A bit frustrating. Thanks for any help. Take care. Vern
PS: No, I didn't downgrade, the membership simply expired while I was gone for a week.

So, I wonder if she is still giving a critique on the first three chapters as part of the prize package (she's still listed there). Verrry Interrresting. Take care. Vern

Egads -- the horror of it.

The Donald

https://newrepublic.com/article/122047/ … l-satirist

Got Tang

Virtually every thread which is fortunate enough to last more than a few comments takes turns and twists along the way. I can almost guarantee any new one will do the same at some point unless someone moderates by deleting unrelated items. I'm not posting this on the new thread so as not to speed the expected result. Take care. Vern

But if she's telling/showing the reader as stated that the character(s) rip their clothes and beat their breasts, then in this fantasy world the reader should understand that it is at least a somewhat normal practice under the circumstances -- or conversely it could be taken as a dramatic and unique expression of the mourner in question. If the author goes further to say that it was done in the tradition of whatever famous person from the past within the storyline as suggested, then it would serve to make the tradition a fact to be accepted within the fantasy world created. Or, barring further information, the reader should be able to assume whichever fits their traditional/non-traditional cup of tea so to speak. The author need not draw out a detailed historical basis for the actions when the reader can do that for themselves should they desire to paint the picture with a certain hue. Either letting the action stand alone or offering some small reference to it being tradition should serve the purpose with only a slight nuance in the way it should be perceived. That's the way I see it. Take care. Vern

Not that it matters to the story in question, but just because you said PLEASE, you might try the link below which shows a portrait of a female between two male flagellants and the text further supports the practice by both men and women. Take care. Vern
http://history.ucsc.edu/undergraduate/u … _Beard.pdf