- The trial and execution of Socrates took place in 399 BC. Socrates was tried on two charges: corrupting the youth and impiety (in Greek, asebeia). More specifically, Socrates' accusers cited two "impious" acts: "failing to acknowledge the gods that the city acknowledges" and "introducing new deities".Socrates was found guilty by a vote of 280 to 220.The philosopher initially offered the sarcastic recommendation that he be rewarded for his actions. When pressed for a realistic punishment, he proposed that he be fined a modest sum of money. Faced with the two choices, the jury selected death for Socrates.
"When Crito heard, he signaled to the slave who was standing by. The boy went out, and returned after a few moments with the man who was to administer the poison which he brought ready mixed in a cup. When Socrates saw him, he said, 'Now, good sir, you understand these things. What must I do?'
'Just drink it and walk around until your legs begin to feel heavy, then lie down. It will soon act.' With that he offered Socrates the cup.
The latter took it quite cheerfully without a tremor, with no change of color or expression. He just gave the man his stolid look, and asked, 'How say you, is it permissible to pledge this drink to anyone? May I?'
The answer came, 'We allow reasonable time in which to drink it.'
'I understand', he said, 'we can and must pray to the gods that our sojourn on earth will continue happy beyond the grave. This is my prayer, and may it come to pass.' With these words, he stoically drank the potion, quite readily and cheerfully. Up till this moment most of us were able with some decency to hold back our tears, but when we saw him drinking the poison to the last drop, we could restrain ourselves no longer. In spite of myself, the tears came in floods, so that I covered my face and wept - not for him, but at my own misfortune at losing such a man as my friend. Crito, even before me, rose and went out when he could check his tears no longer.
Apollodorus was already steadily weeping, and by drying his eyes, crying again and sobbing, he affected everyone present except for Socrates himself.
He said, 'You are strange fellows; what is wrong with you? I sent the women away for this very purpose, to stop their creating such a scene. I have heard that one should die in silence. So please be quiet and keep control of yourselves.' These words made us ashamed, and we stopped crying.
Socrates walked around until he said that his legs were becoming heavy, when he lay on his back, as the attendant instructed. This fellow felt him, and then a moment later examined his feet and legs again. Squeezing a foot hard, he asked him if he felt anything. Socrates said that he did not. He did the same to his calves and, going higher, showed us that he was becoming cold and stiff. Then he felt him a last time and said that when the poison reached the heart he would be gone.
Jacques-Louis David, 1787 The Death of Socrates
As the chill sensation got to his waist, Socrates uncovered his head (he had put something over it) and said his last words: 'Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius. Do pay it. Don't forget.'
'Of course', said Crito. 'Do you want to say anything else?'
'There was no reply to this question, but after a while he gave a slight stir, and the attendant uncovered him and examined his eyes. Then Crito saw that he was dead, he closed his mouth and eyelids.
This was the end of our friend, the best, wisest and most upright man of any that I have ever known"
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/socrates.htm
TerryWalstrom
JoinedPosts by TerryWalstrom
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PROPERLY and HISTORICALLY understanding the way the term ATHEIST is used
by TerryWalstrom inin martyrdom of polycarp (written following polycarps death in the 160s ce) we find the explicit charge of atheism.
the angry crowds shout out away with the atheists!
in reference to the christians.
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TerryWalstrom
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PROPERLY and HISTORICALLY understanding the way the term ATHEIST is used
by TerryWalstrom inin martyrdom of polycarp (written following polycarps death in the 160s ce) we find the explicit charge of atheism.
the angry crowds shout out away with the atheists!
in reference to the christians.
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TerryWalstrom
In Martyrdom of Polycarp (written following Polycarp’s death in the 160s CE) we find the explicit charge of atheism. The angry crowds shout out “away with the atheists!” in reference to the Christians. And, when Polycarp is brought before the Roman governor (proconsul) of Asia for final trial, Polycarp turns the accusation on his accusers (something more than “I know you are but what am I” is going on):
“Therefore, when he was brought before him, the proconsul asked if he were Polycarp. And when he confessed that he was, the proconsul tried to persuade him to recant saying, ‘Have respect for your age,’ and other such thngs as they are accustomed to say: ‘Swear by the Genius [guardian spirit] of Caesar; repent, say, ‘Away with the atheists!’ So Polycarp solemnly looked at the whole crowd of lawless heathen who were in the stadium, motioned toward them with his hand, and then (groaning as he looked up to heaven) said, ‘Away with the atheists!’”
What determines orthodoxy but the consensus of majority?
If all gods are acceptable and you believe in none but the one--your own--what do you expect?
On the other hand, as Ricky Gervais has said about being called 'atheist', "Of all the thousands of Gods we no longer believe in, I just don't believe in one more than you."
Poseidon, Thor, Athena, Zeus, etc. are NOT believed to exist in our own day and time.
We are A-THEIST (without those gods) by disbelieving or nonbelieving them to be real.
Yet, there is no social stigma connected to this.
Logically, the greater the claim, the greater the proof necessary to substantiate it. The burden is on those who would convince rather than upon those failing to be convinced, right? Well, not entirely!
A rather poor instructor might fail to teach algebra, and that doesn't mean algebra has failed:)
For those who believe Christianity is for SAVING THE LIVES of humans at odd with the divine, surely the only possible emotion for atheists is one of great pity, lamentation, and empathy for their plight as lost souls.
Nonesuch anysuch no such thing, however!
A great deal of disagreeable animus is forthcoming. Historically, the Catholic Church took a policy of torture as remedy for recalcitrant hold-outs! In Islam, beheading is a fit response to non belief in Allah. Of course, the old stand-by, HELL, is always waiting in the wings as well.
Perhaps I should offer my own views at this point.
What is the PRAGMATIC demonstration held out for non-believers as to evidence of brotherhood, acceptance, and love awaiting conversion? Isn't the choice offered a gun to the head, in effect, MY WAY OR DIE?
God offers to protect us from. . . HIMSELF!
At least, that's the distilled take-away offered by Christian evangelicals, is it not?
God will kill you, so, better get on His good side.
In Islam, God is seen as less of a fluffy, huggable, knowable character. To fear God is to cover yo' ass!
Submission TO THE WILL of Allah, is avoidance of consequences rather than a communion of familial
warmth and eternal comraderie.
Judaim doesn't seek converts, Christianity is starved for converts, Islam is armed to the teeth and on the hunt for NON-converts.
Are these the best of all possible strategies?
Let's rethink the automatic, knee-jerk disdain and contempt for ATHEISTS, why don't we? After all--everybody is an atheist toward the majority of gods. Aren't we?
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'Tracing All Things With Accuracy' - How the Watchtower Society's Writing Department never makes a mistake
by jwleaks infrom the 2011 yearbook of jehovah's witnesses.. source: 'tracing all things with accuracy'.
tracing all things with accuracy.
jesus said that the faithful slave would be discreet in giving the domestics their food at the proper time.
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TerryWalstrom
This is propaganda.
It is preparing plausible deniability.
I like the part about all the libraries used for deep research, but
I must have missed the part about the UNITED NATIONS library!
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Q-tips and Coffee Filters helped me learn TTATT
by RedPillPopper inwell they didn't fully teach me ttatt but helped me on the way.............. first thing i do in the morning after waking up is grinding some nice coffee beans and getting the brew started while i take a hot shower.
after the shower i like to clean out all the nasty wax out of my ears with a q-tip (or cotton swab for those not familiar with that term).. while cleaning out my ears i would think about how nice it is we have things like q-tips and coffee filters that make life more enjoyable but at the same time realize that somebody somewhere is in a factory making these.. i can't imagine a child saying "when i grow up i want to work in a factory making coffee filters".
the people who end up really doing that as adults did not set that to be a life goal.
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TerryWalstrom
The Utopian 'paradise earth' imagined by glorified factory bosses in the GB tower really amounts to consigning the faithful to live as ants in a colony; an eternal and indefatigable, labor-intensive crucible of mindless toil and a pasted-on smile.
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what type of faith do you REALLY want?
by atheist_R_stupid ini find that when talking people who say they "used to be a jehovah's witness" they say words that show they have in fact, never been one.
it's like a man that worked for the post office for 30 years in a main major urban hub like chicago or new york... and you ask him, "in your last position, what was your rdo?
" and the man says "whats an rdo?".
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TerryWalstrom
HOPE is a state of mind which says, 'Things are going to turn out just fine even though they sometimes don't." It is a positive outlook tempered by the understanding that real life doesn't always go our way.
FAITH is a state of mind which says, 'I am absolutely sure of this without a doubt.' It is an unrealistic and rigid refusal to prepare for contingency or consequences.
INTELLECTUAL HONESTY is the willingness to be wrong when viewing all the evidence, as well as the courage to change even the most treasured of one's deeply held 'truths.'
PRAGMATISM is measuring the truth of theories and beliefs by assessing the results of their application to real life. Results are what matter most.
In view of the above, I would endeavor to be an intellectually honest pragmatist.
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Watchtower Accused of Intellectual Dishonesty
by wannaexit inwatchtower never learns.. i applaud dr. singh for speaking out and his open letter to watchtower.
http://jwalumni.org/2015/01/17/rama-singh-awake/.
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TerryWalstrom
Intellectual honesty is the willingness to be wrong when evidence disproves your opinion or belief.
Intellectual dishonesty is unwillingness to allow complete evidence to come to light.
The dark, dark pathway is the road taken by the GB and their feckless writing staff.
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rama singh WHAT HE REALLY SAID, so you men can stop lying
by atheist_R_stupid in"there have been repeated scientific challenges to the.
theory of evolution in the past, and the nonbelievers of evo-.
lution cite them as support for their case.
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TerryWalstrom
Who exactly is this? "...people like you..." -
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CANDACE CONTI - MIXED EMOTIONS
by The Searcher inwhatever the outcome of the appeal, i fear that most of us are going to be very disappointed.. a) obviously if the org wins.. b) if the org loses, they will put their plan 'b' into action - damage limitation - which will iinvolve confidentiality agreements being signed by pending/future victims, thereby settling the majority of cases out of court, and winning in several ways;.
there are probably other benefits, but these are the principal ones, and for these reasons i reckon the floodgates will never be allowed to be opened!!!
they've seen how other establishments have responded to their pedophile cases, and have picked up some good tips on how to minimise the effects.
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TerryWalstrom
I'd rather celebrate victory than dread. -
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The lame HARP of GOD of Joe Rutherford as seen looking back to his silly lies
by TerryWalstrom inproject gutenberg is an online library of books.
it caters to e-book readers although any of its volumes is easily accessible as html and plain text..
the harp of god by j.f.
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TerryWalstrom
Project Gutenberg is an online library of books. It caters to e-book readers although any of its volumes is easily accessible as HTML and plain text.
THE HARP of GOD by J.F. Rutherford was first published as an edition of 510,000. Now let’s just stop right there and think about that. A quick look at the following website demonstrates the literary competition for reader interest in that same year. http://www.goodreads.com/book/popular_by_date/1921
The Watchtower’s publishing business had the distinct advantage of free distribution by volunteers. No doubt, at least half a million people were soon reading the bold and utterly false words contained in THE HARP of GOD. Such as?
Proof Conclusive that
Millions now Living will never DieJ.F. Rutherford, as the second President of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, writes confidently, persuasively, and with extraordinary authority. In all of this, we are now reminded, he could not have been more misled in this sense of divine guidance and election!
[443]Suppose we admit, for the sake of the argument that no man knows the day nor hour of the Lord's appearing. What difference does that make? The hour and the day have already passed. He is here! And let all truly consecrated Christians rejoice. "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you," says St. Paul. (1 Thessalonians 5:1) The times and seasons are clearly established by the overwhelming proof that the Lord is now present."
Now how silly is that line of reasoning?
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What do YOU desperately need, but you've been putting it off?
by TerryWalstrom ini don't know why, but i put off getting a haircut way longer than i should.. i might go as long as 5 or 6 months between haircuts.. i desperately need a haircut.. what do you desperately need, but you've been putting it off?.
(disclaimer: minimus is going to be jealous.
this sort of question is his tradmark :).
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TerryWalstrom
Thinking of maybe an orange Mohican, what do you think?
Try an orange Mojito first, you'll be able to think more clearly then!
(mo·ji·to
mōˈhēdō/noun- a cocktail consisting of white rum, lime or lemon juice, sugar, mint, ice, and sparkling water or club soda. )
