Posts by schnell

32

Intelligent design thought.

by Crazyguy in

ok god designed this planet and then most everything on it intelligently yet 97% of the water on the earth is un drinkable.

schnell

Don't think I'm attacking you either, prologos. This is an interesting discussion.

32

Intelligent design thought.

by Crazyguy in

ok god designed this planet and then most everything on it intelligently yet 97% of the water on the earth is un drinkable.

schnell

I suppose that juries have convicted men for simply having the right conditions to commit the charged crime, but juries have also demanded more evidence, and even reassessed cases like this.

Who says efficiency is really the driving force? Does it have to be? It's true that nature is extravagant, but isn't it enough to appreciate a garden without also having to believe there fairies at the bottom of it?

Are natural laws the product of an intelligent force, or an effect themselves? If you have two apples, and I give you two more apples, you will then have a number of apples equal to the sum of 2 and 2 which we call 4 but could have been called anything. The names and observations might be laid down by an intelligent person, but the effect being observed, hardly so.

How is man's cruelty proof of God?

"Limited use design seems to be a feature of the past." I don't know what you mean by the last line or how it relates to the discussion, but Lao-Tze was talking about seeing other uses for things a long time ago.

32

Intelligent design thought.

by Crazyguy in

ok god designed this planet and then most everything on it intelligently yet 97% of the water on the earth is un drinkable.

schnell

@Brokeback, ehh, the infinite universe thing where there are infinite you's and me's is more philosophy than science. If you rewound the clock on evolution, would it come out the same way? If it doesn't, then how are there infinite you's and me's?

32

Intelligent design thought.

by Crazyguy in

ok god designed this planet and then most everything on it intelligently yet 97% of the water on the earth is un drinkable.

schnell

Does it argue for a creator, or does it argue for a cause?

2

Invisible Pink Unicorns and Ferris Bueller

by schnell in

i've been reading a few articles about parodic religions.

the warning about parodic religions is that they might actually get organized and be taken too seriously.

it might actually become an "ism.

schnell

I've been reading a few articles about parodic religions. The warning about parodic religions is that they might actually get organized and be taken too seriously. It might actually become an "ism." So the first commandment, then, is don't take this too seriously. As Saint Ferris Bueller said, "Isms are inherently not good."

In the beginning last Thursday, as far as you know, there was a big bang.

In the ensuing chaos, the Invisible Pink Unicorn made an ordered mess out of things, from whence came our flat Earth and everything between its outer Ice Wall.

A great battle waged in heaven as the Invisible Pink Unicorn split in two over the course of the last week, with the Invisible Pink Unicorn on one side, and Devil Unicorn on the other.

This battle popped a hole in the Earth Bubble and caused a big flood. It was on CNN the other day, was pretty bad.

Things went down in their heavenly loft apartment when Devil Unicorn accused the Invisible Pink Unicorn of holding out on him and hurled a small teapot out into space, and it has orbited between Earth and Mars undetected to this day.

Seeing the danger that Devil Unicorn posed, the Invisible Pink Unicorn then came down to Earth as a woman of noble privilege who sold real estate in Illinois, and in this form bore a son, a savior.

But unbeknownst to the Invisible Pink Unicorn, Devil Unicorn saw her plan and also took the form of a man of noble privilege in Illinois, and married her and fathered her children.

Thus were born the Great Saints, Saint Ferris Bueller, and his sister, whats-her-face.

Yada yada yada, here you are.

Here are some commandments now.

1. Don't take this too seriously. Especially yourself, because other people probably don't either.

2. Don't be a dick.

3. With great power comes great opportunity to be a dick. So at least be responsible.

4. Don't covet your neighbor's gods.

5. Don't preach this, lest ye take this seriously and become a huge dick.

666. Don't be afraid of math or symbols or any such thing, lest ye covet your neighbor's gods.

7. If you cannot easily, succinctly, and rationally explain your beliefs, you should get on that before next Thursday.

8. Question the source of all sacred texts, and you will find nothing above scrutiny.

9. ...

10. Profit!!!

Other known saints include Spider-Man, Homer Simpson, Bertrand Russell, and Utnapishtim.

32

Intelligent design thought.

by Crazyguy in

ok god designed this planet and then most everything on it intelligently yet 97% of the water on the earth is un drinkable.

schnell

And furthermore, the idea of a creator implies an infinite regress: Who created the creator? Who created that creator? Who created that creator? And so on and so on, like a flat Earth on a stack of turtles.

(I tried to edit this addition into my previous reply, but the forum seems to be wonky about edits at times. Apologies if anyone sees it twice.)

32

Intelligent design thought.

by Crazyguy in

ok god designed this planet and then most everything on it intelligently yet 97% of the water on the earth is un drinkable.

schnell

That's circular reasoning, prologos. I have to first accept the premise that there is a creator, and that is highly improbable. If there is a creator, at what point does it step in and create? And furthermore, the idea of a creator implies an infinite regress: Who created the creator? Who created that creator? Who created that creator? And so on and so on, like a flat Earth on a stack of turtles.

17

HLC and privacy rights

by StarTrekAngel in

some time ago i used to work at a hospital.

when my family members would receive treatment at this place, often times they would ask me if i could look up information for them regarding their health.

i always had to tell them that privacy laws did not allow me to bypass the hospital's administration.

schnell

I know of one case in which a young woman "was found to have had" an abortion, and apparently a sister who worked at the hospital is the one who found out. Now this thread has me even more suspicious of what happened there.

32

Intelligent design thought.

by Crazyguy in

ok god designed this planet and then most everything on it intelligently yet 97% of the water on the earth is un drinkable.

schnell

Yes, but that doesn't mean fill the gaps with God. I'm okay with a myth if it's not taken as a dogmatic fact, but don't make me believe it's either true or any less interesting than science.

This is why I sort of go back and forth about the Brahman idea of Hinduism and Buddhism. It's an interesting concept, considering we're made of stardust and the most common elements in the universe, but I don't have to be super serious about it.

12

What does Trump Win mean for JWs?

by anointed1 in

trump’s son-in-law buys watchtower hq, has big, beautiful plans for it.

http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/39/33/dtg-kushner-watchtower-deal-2016-08-12-bk.html.

schnell

A Trump win will create a split whenever it comes up and perhaps multiple local needs or public talks about neutrality. Many JWs don't like Trump, but many watch Fox News and would likely vote Republican if they could.

It certainly woke me up a little when I heard how brothers in service talked about Prop 8 in California. One said, "I hope they pass that law." (A yes vote on Prop 8 favored redefining marriage as between a man and a woman in the state of California's constitution.) "How odd," I thought. "I know it's about gay marriage, but isn't that stance anything neutral?"