The Religion Thread

[Mr.B]

... FWIW, it could've been a whale shark, which is one very large fish, but not a whale at all. Although a filter feeder and no threat to humans, it's mouth fully opens to a width of 4.9 feet which could easily swallow a human....

That's just it's mouth.

Can only swallow small prey because its throat is very narrow, often compared to the size of a quarter.

"easily swallow a human" is impossible.

Lots of things are "impossible"....

[O Really]

Lots of things get lost in multiple translations of ancient language. I think it was probably an ancestor of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster.

[Mr.B]

Breastfeed babies if you want, pope tells mothers in Sistine Chapel
"Francis said in an interview last month that mothers should not feel uncomfortable breastfeeding during his ceremonies."

[bannination]

Breastfeed babies if you want, pope tells mothers in Sistine Chapel
"Francis said in an interview last month that mothers should not feel uncomfortable breastfeeding during his ceremonies."

I guess that begs the question, why do men have nipples?

[JTA]

Breastfeed babies if you want, pope tells mothers in Sistine Chapel
"Francis said in an interview last month that mothers should not feel uncomfortable breastfeeding during his ceremonies."

To deny a man the right to breastfeed his baby is sexism.

[JTA]

Lots of things get lost in multiple translations of ancient language. I think it was probably an ancestor of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster.

Yep, exactly. Oftentimes in texts translated from other languages there will be an asterisk next to a word with a big long explanation to give you an idea what the word means in the original language because there are no exact English equivalents. The English word used in the translated text is just an approximation, not an exact translation. Translations of Heidegger straight up leave the German words as-is because you really can't translate them without totally screwing up the meaning behind the concept. You just have to learn the concept that the word denotes.

I think this is could also be a major problem with the heaps of different translations of the bible. How much of the original meaning has been lost? I think even Heidegger or somebody said something about much of the problems of modern philosophy come from a misunderstanding/mistranslated of certain Greek concepts/words or something like that. Can't remember where I read it, it's been a while.

[O Really]

I don't care if it was fish or fowl, nobody can survive digestive acid for three days even if the "three days" is really a little over 24 hours (11:59 Tuesday to 12:01 Thursday). On the other hand, I don't expect everything written in the Bible (or any other document from that time period) to be factually accurate. Consider that the population was largely illiterate, and would need some simplification to have a chance at understanding complex metaphysical concepts. So if you're explaining something like the formation of the universe, it's not unreasonable to break it down to seven days of work. And that's where religious people often step on their own tails, focusing on what specific words were written and not on what were the concepts expressed.

[neoplacebo]

I don't care if it was fish or fowl, nobody can survive digestive acid for three days even if the "three days" is really a little over 24 hours (11:59 Tuesday to 12:01 Thursday). On the other hand, I don't expect everything written in the Bible (or any other document from that time period) to be factually accurate. Consider that the population was largely illiterate, and would need some simplification to have a chance at understanding complex metaphysical concepts. So if you're explaining something like the formation of the universe, it's not unreasonable to break it down to seven days of work. And that's where religious people often step on their own tails, focusing on what specific words were written and not on what were the concepts expressed.

Exactly; back then the only people who could read or write were priests or those in the employ of the church. And back then the "church" was all powerful; it was very risky to challenge anything the "church" said. Even the scientists back then suppressed their thoughts and ideas and findings out of fear of the "church." The "church" was very much against any advancement in knowledge because that would, by definition, diminish the authority of the "church." The clerics could have come out with any sort of nonsense no matter how ridiculous and you either went along with it or were killed. That is what is meant by faith; believe it or esle.

[bannination]

I don't care if it was fish or fowl, nobody can survive digestive acid for three days even if the "three days" is really a little over 24 hours (11:59 Tuesday to 12:01 Thursday). On the other hand, I don't expect everything written in the Bible (or any other document from that time period) to be factually accurate. Consider that the population was largely illiterate, and would need some simplification to have a chance at understanding complex metaphysical concepts. So if you're explaining something like the formation of the universe, it's not unreasonable to break it down to seven days of work. And that's where religious people often step on their own tails, focusing on what specific words were written and not on what were the concepts expressed.

Exactly; back then the only people who could read or write were priests or those in the employ of the church. And back then the "church" was all powerful; it was very risky to challenge anything the "church" said. Even the scientists back then suppressed their thoughts and ideas and findings out of fear of the "church." The "church" was very much against any advancement in knowledge because that would, by definition, diminish the authority of the "church." The clerics could have come out with any sort of nonsense no matter how ridiculous and you either went along with it or were killed. That is what is meant by faith; believe it or esle.

... and the church even ditched the stories that were too ridiculous for even them to buy into. That's saying something.

[neoplacebo]

Religion used to be a significant aspect of life....in the "old world," and in the "new world" once this country was invaded and taken over by intrepid folks from the old world. In the roughly five hundred years since then, religion has become less and less significant as time has passed. I consider this to be evolution in reverse, or the devolution of religion. The only place it is on the rise is among people who want to go back to the way things were a thousand years ago. Hominy don't play that.

[rstrong]

If the Bible says that Jonah was swallowed and lived three days, and Jesus confirmed it, I'm satisfied with that.

Even before Galileo the Christian was burning people at the stake for contradicting the Biblical doctrine that the Earth was the center of a rather limited universe. So I guess you're satisfied with that.

[rstrong]

Lots of things get lost in multiple translations of ancient language. I think it was probably an ancestor of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster.

Granted, the Loch Ness Monster is just as much part of Christian mythology as Jonah's whale. The earliest known reference was when Saint Columba converted the Picts to Christianity by ordering Nessie to bugger off.

[rstrong]

... and the church even ditched the stories that were too ridiculous for even them to buy into. That's saying something.

Hundreds of years after Christ, the church edited out entire books and entire philosophies of Christianity. And that's after the evolution from Christ's Jewish doomsday cult to a separate religion a century after his death.

I just watched an interesting documentary on the evidence that the destruction of Pompeii in 79AD played a major role in the rise of Christianity in Rome, and in the writing of the Book of Revelation about the same time.

[billy.pilgrim]

omg - bb really believes someone lived in a fish - next he'll be telling us that a little rain can flood the tallest mountains


no wonder fox has such an easy time manipulating the morons

[Mr.B]

'If the Bible says that Jonah was swallowed and lived three days, and Jesus confirmed it, I'm satisfied with that."

"Even before Galileo the Christian was burning people at the stake for contradicting the Biblical doctrine that the Earth was the center of a rather limited universe. So I guess you're satisfied with that."........
Would that happen to be St. Galileo or Galileo the Apostle? Don't recall ever reading his writings or accomplishments in the Bible; so I guess my satisfaction is in the air over that one.

"Granted, the Loch Ness Monster is just as much part of Christian mythology as Jonah's whale. The earliest known reference was when Saint Columba converted the Picts to Christianity by ordering Nessie to bugger off."
Also, I've never read of the Loch Ness monster or of this Saint Columba in the Bible. What Bible are you reading all this in? Do y'all have different Bibles in Canada?

[O Really]

Here's an interesting take on what it means to follow Jesus as a Christian... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christian ... lp00000592

[Mr.B]

"Male lactation in zoology means production of milk from mammary glands in the presence of physiological stimuli connected with nursing infants. It is well documented in the Dayak fruit bat...."

Fruit bat....! Ain't touching that one!

[Mr.B]

"omg - bb really believes someone lived in a fish - next he'll be telling us that a little rain can flood the tallest mountains....no wonder fox has such an easy time manipulating the morons"

So...you're a Fox news fan? That explains you.

[JTA]

"omg - bb really believes someone lived in a fish - next he'll be telling us that a little rain can flood the tallest mountains....no wonder fox has such an easy time manipulating the morons"

So...you're a Fox news fan? That explains you.

Fox News is my goto station when I watch TV, I've been watching it since I was a teenager.

[Mr.B]

"I don't care if it was fish or fowl, nobody can survive digestive acid for three days even if the "three days" is really a little over 24 hours"

"I'm disgusted......I mentioned being crushed..."

Matthew 19:26

"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."

"And that's where religious people often step on their own tails...."
"Religious people" never had tails...only the non-religious had tails.