My dear Orlion, what can you do when someone reduces all intelligent discussion to "You believe in fairy tales"? There is only so much you can say to such people. As long as they know next-to-nothing of the long history of my faith, in detail, there is nothing I can say to them. If they b...

Thanks, Andy. I don't thank you as often as I should. PS - both my son and two of my closest friends bear that name - and St Andrew (OK, the apostle Andrew to you) is an awesome saint) Well, I don't thank ever. I figure its easy to know which posts people would thank anyway, and if it can't be figu...

A pedophile doesn't molest children because of a worldview ... he isn't trying to live in a consistent way with a belief. In fact, many pedophiles will admit that they know what they're doing is wrong, but do it anyway. The Dugard girl (in the news recently) who was kidnapped, held prisoner and for...

Not the easiest thing to do!! Only a certain number of characters. Gotta move the cursor over, say, the ABC2 image, and hit the button the appropriate number of times. Try typing "monomial"!! I've only seen them in stores - we never bought them for our kids - but it sure as heck didn't lo...

Yes dukkha, you're exactly right. That's why Jesus said the world will hate you. But wait, Jesus preached such good things right? If you follow Him, why would the world hate you? Simple - b/c you would then believe they are all wrong. Not just about some little fact that is irrelevant, but about th...

Yes dukkha, you're exactly right. That's why Jesus said the world will hate you. But wait, Jesus preached such good things right? If you follow Him, why would the world hate you? Simple - b/c you would then believe they are all wrong. Not just about some little fact that is irrelevant, but about th...

And another thread which has nothing to do with Orthodox Christianity devolves into a defense of Orthodox Christianity. :roll: Simple - b/c you would then believe they are all wrong. Not just about some little fact that is irrelevant, but about their world view, how they imagine the world "wor...

Fist and Faith wrote:rus said that about the demons. Second page of the Sold My Soul... thread. (Can't quote it while on my son's PSP. heh)

You're posting from your son's PSP???

In short, there is universal agreement in said historical record with my general position that pretty much all societies everywhere have always seen it as something unnatural... This is also somewhat of a stretch, deriving 'universal agreement' from the historical records you are selecting, balance...

Odd...I'm pretty sure advancement is built on the bones of dissidents. Advancement is a word that needs a lot of qualification - in what direction? Of what quality? Yet (if we leave out the complete lack of philosophical advancement since the Endarkenment) if we take advancement in the natural scie...

The key is you say "has to be", implying a 100% probability of necessity. What about a 98% probability? If practically everybody throughout history has agreed upon the morality of an issue, then the odds are overwhelmingly against the lone dissident being right. If by 'practically everybo...

Hoping I haven't derailed Murrin's question, which is a good one, and recognizing all of this is way off-topic (sorry, Z :oops: ): I would like to go on record to say that Santa has done just as much for me as Jesus. And all Santa wanted was cookies and milk- not fingers in my wallet. :thumbsup: Ru...

That would be because not accepting other views is part of the worldview they hold. You're not going to change things by chiding them for it. (And by this I don't mean to suggest that changing things is necessarily something to strive towards, as that itself can be disrespectful.) I do than you for...

The fundamental values that we hold and do not actually question are the hint that this is the case. Who here actually questions diversity, tolerance, multiculturalism, a right to happiness (or even it's pursuit), the supremacy of the individual? And I mean real thought, not quick answers. Of cours...

I like everyone's definition of indoctrination - learning something you don't agree with. Of course, we never indoctrinate others ourselves, b/c we're only telling them the truth. Its everyone else saying something different that indoctrinates. I find it a bulletproof concept, and I'll take it and ...

The key is you say "has to be", implying a 100% probability of necessity. What about a 98% probability? If practically everybody throughout history has agreed upon the morality of an issue, then the odds are overwhelmingly against the lone dissident being right. Odd...I'm pretty sure adva...

My second question didn't have anything to do with Santa. Read it again: "Is there a difference to you between Muhammad and the Buddha? Why not?" My point was that a Christian wouldn't see much of a difference at all between Muhammad and Buddha -- they're founders of religions that he or ...

Yep, still unbelievable. To keep it simple, no one actually believes Santa is real, lives in the north pole, and flies around delivering presents. But a virgin birth, turning water into wine, walking on water, controlling the weather, bringing others back from the dead, healing the sick with a touc...

Zarathustra wrote: Kids are better able to tell their limits than you are.

I'll let this amazing quote speak for itself to the general audience of parents.

Edit: on second thought, I'll clarify. Sure, kids know that they are tired or thirsty before we do. But what is morally good for them?

There has to be some kind of "true north" to the moral compass, Av, or else we have no idea what each other is talking about when we use the word "morality". If my good is your bad and vice-versa, then I will be talking Greek to you, and you Chinese to me. Isn't that exactly wha...