Posts by Village Idiot

Those aliens might seem beautiful because they fall into the range of slightly altered humans. Real aliens would make Abiather's skin crawl. In fact closely related species like Homo Erectus would have a most ugly face by our standards.

43

Why are extraterrestrials pictured in ugly form in movies?

by abiather in

humans have produced many movies on extraterrestrials.

yet all of them are shown in ugly form.

why cant we depict an et more beautiful/handsome than humans.

Village Idiot

@ Abiather:

"Why can’t we depict an ET more beautiful/handsome than humans. With our infinite potential for imagination, we are still UNABLE even to depict something better than humans just in physical appearance!"

We can't do it because our concept of beauty is limited to a certain range of forms that define our specific species. Our egocentric concept of beauty does not determine the possibility of aliens who themselves might find us ugly.

15

Sketches of Revelation, this and that

by TerryWalstrom in

i've been rummaging around on bart ehrman's blog and such and managed to distill six cogent views about.

the book of revelation, i thought i share for whatever it is worth.

1. parts of the book of revelation could scarcely be explained if it were written by jesus own disciple, john.

Village Idiot

Interesting how Muslims accord a role of high honor to Jesus.

18

Definition of "Active Publisher" depends on the context

by Simon in

i don't know what the current definitive rule is that determines whether someone is viewed as an "active publisher" or not.

i've seen comments suggesting that it is reporting a certain minimum number of hours per month which seems reasonable.. what is interesting is how they change the definition of what an active publisher is based on the context.

normally, you are never doing enough, however much you are doing, and too little or some missed reporting will get you a talking to.. but note how they class 'active' in one of the latest body of elders letters:.

Village Idiot

Just have all the Witnesses stick a JW.org pin on and go to work.

3

Such a helpful book, "The subtle power of spiritual Abuse"

by Jay Elle in

this book was suggested to me.

i couldn't put it down.

it isn't aimed at any religion but it does peg the abuse factor within them all.

Village Idiot

The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse

"...they cannot balk since it isn't apostate."

They will approach it with at least a deep suspicion. It's a book that's from "Christendom" or "Babylon the Great". As we all know any religious book not published by the Watchtower is strongly discouraged if not condemned as it can lead to apostasy.

39

The Real History of Mormonism - Outstanding Lecture

by cofty in

if you think the mormon church is off-the-scale crazy you probably don't know the half of it.. the historical information in this talk by david fitzgerald is fascinating.

the good news is that, just like the watchtower, their growth is being stunted by the internet.. grab a coffee and be amazed at just how gullible millions of people can be.. lucy harris has become my new heroine.

don't miss the section from 8:50.

Village Idiot

@ Cold Steel:

"But as an atheist, you lack a moral dimension about such things because you don't see the harm in it."

I haven't been following this thread but that statement caught my attention. It's a false, arrogant statement and an insult to atheists. In the moral dimension atheists are no more, no less moral than their theistic counterparts. Morality and ethics are to one extent or another intrinsic to human nature. Some have it, some don't, others have a small amount. It's something that has evolved in us as a social creature in other to get along with each others.

"I brought up this rationalization problem and shifting ethics that change to accommodate society. It shifts because it's not grounded in a firm and moral foundation."

Christians have done a lot of shifting throughout the past 2,000 years.

11

Climbing out of a hole.

by Defianttruth in

a few months ago, i was in a downward spin.

i was sad and having panic attacks.

i finally went to the doctor.

Village Idiot

How long does the testosterone effect last? Do you get angrier while on it?

42

Please Focus on the Bible

by terrypike in

hi people, may i firstly thank those who have responded to to my intro article, i am replying to you all as a new topic because the direct messaging is not working for me at the moment so i can clarify my perspective on bible study.

yes there are many arguments that are put forward to demonstrate for example that the bible has been composed of numerous preexisting creation story's ect, my focus is to give the bible the same opportunity to defend itself as anyone reasonably expects if charged with some crime they are not guilty of.. i find for example the account of jesus response when questioned about the divorce certificate 'but it was not so in the beginning' confirms that moses allowed changes to be made to the original, that said consider also the religious traditions moses people had been exposed to, the story of the god enki who seduced even his own grandchildren and the well known incest of the egyptian royalty, given the genetic cost, are such practices any more right now than they were then?

communities that practice close relative marriages today are well documented for there higher risk of numerous health problems so how would you find moses on that basis, guilty or not guilty as jesus did because he understood why moses took the creation story's of other cultures and gave his people there own creation story that taught them to avoid the general pagan practice of incest.before looking any deeper at moses creation story may i also ask the question why does jesus knowing that god promised he would never again destroy the world by a flood as he did in noah's day say 'as in the days of noah ..the flood came and took them all away' so what did jesus actually mean mt 24:.

Village Idiot

HowTheBibleWasCreated, there is the book of Esther which had several chapters more than the texts we now use. What are we supposed to believe? Were we missing some of God's inspired scriptures for centuries?