MayheM wrote:Noodles wrote:Kodox wrote: I'm guilty of not making up my own mind sometimes, but at least I read the bible, listen to politicians, and decide for myself what I believe, who I'm voting for, etc. I can't say the same for the majority of the youth these days.
Why do you need to read the bible for any of those things? It's not like it has any concievable notion of what a democracy IS let alone how to vote for one. The first half is a bunch of rules for a desert tribe who wanted to be bigger and stronger than the rest (and have something to justify the immoral methods they used) and the second half has been revised and rewritten so many times to fit in with the first half that it doesn't matter if any of the accounts are even true in the first place. It's so detached from any possible reality it's like someone wrote a historical account of the 'pilgrims' landing in America and it's ended up as Lord of the Rings.
So what, exactly, do you need the book for?
And as a warning, don't say ANYTHING about morality. Don't. Even. Go. There.
EDIT: Would like to state that I do respect the other things Kodox has written, I just don't like the way the bible has been thrown in with things that youth do not do these days.
For the same reason people read any other books; to expand your horizons. Why is it so hard for people to except that some of us believe in a higher power. Reading the bible to help find direction in life is not bad. In fact there is not a single bad lesson you can learn from reading the bible. However, the interpretation of the bible can be skewed and cause people to act in unchristian ways, even though they believe themselves to be acting in a christian manner.
Anyway to get slightly off topic but to expand upon my point above. Why is it so hard for people to believe the God created everything from nothing when the alternative is the Nothing made everything...
Kodox made some really good points and because he reads the bible and makes up his own mind about what he believes in no way takes away from that.
I'm gonna start by clarifying my position on Kodox - the fact that he reads the bible and makes up his own mind is something that I respect, indeed applaud. What I simply ask is a) how is the bible relevant to the example he used, and once a) has been answered (assuming admittance that the bible is irrelevant in modern American politics - any other answer would suprise me and require some justification) then b) why not just go one step further and not use the bible? That's all I ask.
My second and third points are to you.
1 - I can accept that you believe in a higher power, and I will not do you the diservice of denying that I personally find that concept disagrees with me in many ways. What I mean here is that I disagree that you ought to believe in a higher power, however I will respect your rights to do so. I cannot bring myself to respect that belief, nor the fact that you believe, myself as I find it - personally - obnoxious, depressing, and a retard to human progress and civilization.
To reiterate - I do not intend any of the above as a personal insult in any way, I am simply stating my stance.Further, I must pull you up on the bible. It can and indeed is used to find direction in life. It does not mean that it is the correct one. And I'm curious - what exactly is the destination? I would be very suprised if you knew.
Lastly, the bible is full of bad lessons, they may have been good for the times, but our morality is based on a social level and is shaped by our interaction with others. A moral codex can clearly be outdated when compared to the morals of a considerably more intelligent, insightful, communicative and tolerant people.
2 - On origins. I shall simply ask this. Assuming our current hypotheses on the origins of our universe were proved wrong, what exactly makes the existence of a deity correct? You really on that being the only alternative, sir, which is preposterous and delusional.
I apologise for the long post, and I do hope to get answers.
To anyone thinking that this is off topic, I would like to say that the topic is "Why is the current generation so messed up?" to which I think the answer "Lack of understanding" is applicable. In this post I am simply asking questions so that, through the answers of others, I - we - may gain understanding and hope to bring up the next generation to seek out answers and gain - if not knowledge - then a little understanding!
'English as tuppence, changing yet changeless as canal water, nestling in green nowhere, armoured and effete, bold flag-bearer, lotus-fed Miss Havershambling, opsimath and eremite, feudal, still reactionary Rawlinson End.'
I win!
