Kxmode wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 18:25:
please refer to section 1, 3, and 4 of http://pastebin.com/f5DEykKE.

This page is no longer available. It has either expired, been removed by its creator, or removed by one of the Pastebin staff.

edit: Actually it looks like you just accidentally included the period in the url... remove that and it works fine.

I prejudge every human as able and willing to destroy nature, until I'm convinced otherwise. Sorry.

Beamer wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 11:33:

Mr. Tact wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 11:06:

Beamer wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 09:54:
2) Having the absolute worst, most biased, most inaccurate translation of the Bible

Is there a good, accurate translation?

Yeah. Because we're talking translation, not content, haha.

The Bible JWs use intentionally deceives by adding in references to their practices and beliefs not found in the original text.

So, if you think the Bible is bad, theirs is worse.

It is very easy to ignorantly prejudge a person based on their association with a group. However, to prevent yourself from descending further into baseless bigotry, please refer to section 1, 3, and 4 of http://pastebin.com/f5DEykKE . Remember, education is the cornerstone of wisdom, and it would benefit you to learn more about my particular background. Thanks.

Edit: Fixed. Thanks, Sepharo. Unaware periods are included in links.

This comment was edited on Mar 8, 2017, 00:07.

Agent-Zero wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 06:40:

jdreyer wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 05:27:
Why is "We don't know" such a hard thing to accept?

in simplist terms, that which is unknown is frightening for many people.. you cant make any predictions based on prior knowledge, so you cant prepare for it, you cant associate with it, you cant account for it, etc.

this is actually a human problem that affects everyone, not just religious fanatics although that is the most common example

plenty of atheists are just replacing a belief system of a "man in the skies" with the belief system of a "cold dead machine" or whatever

the point is not knowing, and no one is any better for saying "I know for a fact that the entire universe is just due to random occurences".. no, you dont fucking know - you dont know shit, thats the point

its all about replacing the fear of the unknown with the comfort of belief .. its like filling in the blanks - it creates an illusion of completion, stability, control, power, safety, etc.

"Where there is great doubt, there will be great awakening; small doubt, small awakening, no doubt, no awakening." ~ Zen proverb

Yeah. My comment was more rhetorical, but great comment, esp about atheism. And great final line, as Buddhism, esp Zen, has letting go of the desire to know the answers as a key precept.

Mr. Tact wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 11:06:

Beamer wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 09:54:
2) Having the absolute worst, most biased, most inaccurate translation of the Bible

Is there a good, accurate translation?

Yeah. Because we're talking translation, not content, haha.

The Bible JWs use intentionally deceives by adding in references to their practices and beliefs not found in the original text.

So, if you think the Bible is bad, theirs is worse.

Beamer wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 09:54:
2) Having the absolute worst, most biased, most inaccurate translation of the Bible

Is there a good, accurate translation?

RedEye9 wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 09:20:

PHJF wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 07:38:
His is a religion of proselytization, which is the absolute worst kind. He thinks he's doing good by his deity trying to convert The Internet to his nonsensical view, probably so he can get more virgins after death. That's Christianity, right?

I thought it was a cross between mormons and scientologists, except with less celebrities, smattered with Jim Jones "Disciples of Christ" and a liberal sprinkling of Heavens Gate. And that's all I'll say on that matter.

He's a Jehovah's Witness, right? They're famous for two things:

1) Going door to door trying to ask if you've heard the good word, which I think they do less now that we have more guns (which you'd think pro-gun advocates would bring up far more often, as we all agree this is a good thing)

2) Having the absolute worst, most biased, most inaccurate translation of the Bible

PHJF wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 07:38:
His is a religion of proselytization, which is the absolute worst kind. He thinks he's doing good by his deity trying to convert The Internet to his nonsensical view, probably so he can get more virgins after death. That's Christianity, right?

I thought it was a cross between mormons and scientologists, except with less celebrities, smattered with Jim Jones "Disciples of Christ" and a liberal sprinkling of Heavens Gate. And that's all I'll say on that matter.

Kxmode wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 02:35:
Basically, in the past, if the sun had deviated or varied in any way beyond the defined parameters, most life could not exist. This includes microbes, humans, plants, and insects. It's worth noting how many MILLIONS of creatures depend on specific aspects of the sun's ray. For example, people specifically need ultraviolet B rays to produce vitamin D. Plants, on the hand, use the sun's rays for photosynthesis.

Uh, nice try. It is cause and effect. Because this planet is in the Goldilocks Zone, we have liquid water. Which as a nearly universal solvent is very critical in developing the kind of life you mention. And because the ultraviolet B rays are present, life is able to evolve dependent on it.

Basically, the sun is a very special star in the observable cosmos for good reason. That's as far as I'll take this.

I'll grant it is special to humans, because without it we wouldn't exist. But from an astrophysicist's point of view, it is a very common, average star.

As an aside, this fascinating article delves into the sun's past purely from a scientific standpoint. It's worth noting scientists believe the sun started off at or near its present size based on earthly evidence. However, they continue to use experimental models to test different variables to come to more defined conclusions.

Is this the "heating up" you were talking about? Or is there something else? Again interesting, however simply a modification or enhancement to our knowledge of how stars work -- hardly stunning evidence of God's hand. As I said before, I don't pretend our current level of scientific knowledge can provide all the answers. I do hold science will find more answers than you'll ever find in the Bible.

You want to bring up our moon now? Now THAT is, as far as we know to date, a uncommon situation and was/is critical to the evolution of life as we know it on this planet.

kxmode has been here for 14 years. Only in the past 6 months has he become extremely prominent, in part by constantly arguing (albeit good-naturedly), with almost anything anyone posts. In the past 3 months, he's been posting almost exclusively about the Bible, while swearing he wouldn't post about the Bible.

What gives?

His is a religion of prostelyzation, which is the absolute worst kind. He thinks he's doing good by his deity trying to convert The Internet to his nonsensical view, probably so he can get more virgins after death. That's Christianity, right?

jdreyer wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 05:27:
Why is "We don't know" such a hard thing to accept?

in simplist terms, that which is unknown is frightening for many people.. you cant make any predictions based on prior knowledge, so you cant prepare for it, you cant associate with it, you cant account for it, etc.

this is actually a human problem that affects everyone, not just religious fanatics although that is the most common example

plenty of atheists are just replacing a belief system of a "man in the skies" with the belief system of a "cold dead machine" or whatever

the point is not knowing, and no one is any better for saying "I know for a fact that the entire universe is just due to random occurences".. no, you dont fucking know - you dont know shit, thats the point

its all about replacing the fear of the unknown with the comfort of belief .. its like filling in the blanks - it creates an illusion of completion, stability, control, power, safety, etc.

"Where there is great doubt, there will be great awakening; small doubt, small awakening, no doubt, no awakening." ~ Zen proverb

Kxmode wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 02:35:

From the beginning, the sun, more than any other star in the cosmos (and this is observable), serves a very particular purpose: Life on earth. I think we can all agree on that scientific conclusion.*

You see, it's statements like this that get you into trouble. Yes, there are certain ways that our solar system has settled that have made it conducive for life: the way Jupiter sucks up most of the deadly asteroids, the perfect alignment of Jupiter's orbit to Saturn's, the size, location, and orbit of our moon, etc. But to say this was intentional or that some intelligence was behind it is pure conjecture. We just discovered that a system a mere 40 light years away may also be conducive to life. And that says nothing about the billions of other systems in each of the billions of other galaxies about which we know nothing.

Why is "We don't know" such a hard thing to accept?

Kxmode wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 01:17:

jdreyer wrote on Mar 6, 2017, 19:24:

Cutter wrote on Mar 6, 2017, 17:05:
So talking about Indian food I was in town today close to my fave Indian resto so I always make a point to stop by when I'm around because there food if so good - and I always eat vegetarian there. So I got - and brought home - some Daal, Chana Masala, curried pumpkin, sweet eggplant, and a lovely veggie biryani, as well as some roti and tamarind samosas. Mmmmm, so good! Man, I love Indian food!

On Friday I had vegetable korma and chickpea chana masala with garlic naan. Sooo good.

Have you ever had a Shawarma? I hear they're delicious. I'm not going to go by the Avenger's reaction. I'd rather get real people's feedback.

You may recall that I'm a vegetarian.

Agent-Zero wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 00:03:

jdreyer wrote on Mar 6, 2017, 19:24:
On Friday I had vegetable korma

one of my favorites... i can make it myself pretty well at this point - also been making naan in my cast iron skillet, and thats been working great as well

my #1 favorite is malai kofta tho.. thats the bomb diggity

Huh, naan in a cast iron skillet? I've never heard of that. Do you do it something like this?

As for vegetable korma, I got it from my local Indian place, but have been looking at various recipes. This is the recipe I was thinking of trying next weekend, although it looks a bit involved.

Kxmode wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 02:58:

Agent-Zero wrote on Mar 6, 2017, 18:45:
No this is wrong and its because you lack the proper psychological context of what gods and theism and "worship" actually meant in ancient times. Religion began as the distilled essence of national identity, (or more specifically tribal identity transplanted within "civilization") and therefore it was much more basic and taken for granted, than "life lessons" or "fables" or some modernist bullshit like that. It was politics, it was ethics, it was the law - it was how you are commanded to live so that you will die properly without wasting your life. It wasnt "just a good idea", it was the original form of "patriotism" and being part of something larger than life itself.

*** rest snipped for brevity ***

Interesting observation. Some of your wording is blunt and harsh but fascinating. Thanks for sharing. It helps me have insight into what others think.

its highly paraphrased so yeh - its gonna lack nuance

and other than the personal opinions, its all just coming from the same widely publicized historical research on these matters

the written records and research speak for themselves

Agent-Zero wrote on Mar 6, 2017, 18:45:
No this is wrong and its because you lack the proper psychological context of what gods and theism and "worship" actually meant in ancient times. Religion began as the distilled essence of national identity, (or more specifically tribal identity transplanted within "civilization") and therefore it was much more basic and taken for granted, than "life lessons" or "fables" or some modernist bullshit like that. It was politics, it was ethics, it was the law - it was how you are commanded to live so that you will die properly without wasting your life. It wasnt "just a good idea", it was the original form of "patriotism" and being part of something larger than life itself.

*** rest snipped for brevity ***

Interesting observation. Some of your wording is blunt and harsh but fascinating. Thanks for sharing. It helps me have insight into what others think.

Mr. Tact wrote on Mar 6, 2017, 22:14:
I did find an article on space.com with the headline of, "Entire Solar System Is Heating Up! Scientists Blame Solar Warming". In that article there is this statement,

"The warming of the entire solar system has been supported by some scientists. One dramatic shift that is taking place is the strength of the sun’s electromagnetic field. According to a study by Dr. Mike at Lockwood Rutherford Appleton National Laboratories, in California, the sun’s magnetic field has increased by 230 percent within the last 100 years. "

Which is somewhat interesting. I'd like to know how the electromagnetic field of the sun has been measured for the last 100 years. Is that based off the frequency of northern lights or what? However I think the key is "supported by some scientists", I read that as fairly weak support. Basically it sounds like Dr. Mike said, "Hmm, well maybe this is going on. We have some circumstantial evidence for it." And either no one is willing to slap it down yet, or the author didn't bother asking anyone else. *shrug*

And even if the electromagnetic field of the sun HAS increased 230 percent within the last 100 years. Without further information it is pretty meaningless. Maybe the field fluctuates by large amounts on a semi-regular basis. We already know the magnetic field of Earth has reversed multiple times throughout the geologic record.

From the beginning, the sun, more than any other star in the cosmos (and this is observable), serves a very particular purpose: Life on earth. I think we can all agree on that scientific conclusion.* The sun is an extreme example of the Goldilocks principle in Science. Basically, in the past, if the sun had deviated or varied in any way beyond the defined parameters, most life could not exist. This includes microbes, humans, plants, and insects. It's worth noting how many MILLIONS of creatures depend on specific aspects of the sun's ray. For example, people specifically need ultraviolet B rays to produce vitamin D. Plants, on the hand, use the sun's rays for photosynthesis. Except for deep-sea microbes, all life on earth would die off within a year if the sun vanished.

Basically, the sun is a very special star in the observable cosmos for good reason. That's as far as I'll take this.

*As an aside, this fascinating article delves into the sun's past purely from a scientific standpoint. It's worth noting scientists believe the sun started off at or near its present size based on earthly evidence. However, they continue to use experimental models to test different variables to come to more defined conclusions.

Kxmode wrote on Mar 6, 2017, 12:08:

Cutter wrote on Mar 6, 2017, 10:09:
Holy shit! Look at that map for how much Lyme has spread in the last 14 years. Thanks Obama/Bush! And now with the GOP completely gutting healthcare and social spending this is going to become and epidemic.

Most of this was predicted. Below and hidden for obvious reasons:

(Luke 21:7,10,11)

7 Then (Jesus disciples) questioned (Jesus), saying: "Teacher, when will these things actually be, and what will be the sign when these things are to occur?"

10 Then (Jesus) said to (his disciples): "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and in one place after another food shortages and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and from heaven great signs.

What's fascinating about this prophecy isn't so much that he said there would be "pestilences" (fatal epidemic diseases) today because anyone can say "diseases have been with humanity since the beginning of time." I would agree with this conclusion. However, what Jesus was implying, and this is worth noting, is that he said pestilences would exist "in one place after another" (even prosperous countries like the U.S.). This situation would exist notwithstanding all the advances in medicine and medical science. In other words, Jesus predicted diseases would appear and spread at a rate faster than our modern medicine would be able to keep up. Many of them even baffle medical doctors as they note disease strains that are resistance to the strongest antibodies. It's not an accident; this is prophecy slowly unfolding since 1914.

That "prediction" is so generic it's really just a basic description of every single moment of humanities constant struggle. I doubt there has been a single year where humankind has not had conflict in one part of the world while there also being some kind of epidemic in another.

This religious scripture BS is just an excuse people use to justify their apathy.


How about we look at cause and effect instead. The cause of most of the environmental problems are because of animal agriculture (as the root cause).

The sooner people stop buying animal products, the fewer crops we'll need (to feed 80+ billion cows/pigs/sheep etc), and the sooner it'll enable us to recover the lost habitats that are needed for larger predators, which will put these mice and other pest populations back into equilibrium.

Stopping eating animal products is the most impactful (and easy!) thing each one of us can do to help the environment, which keeps us alive.

Kxmode wrote on Mar 7, 2017, 01:17:

jdreyer wrote on Mar 6, 2017, 19:24:

Cutter wrote on Mar 6, 2017, 17:05:
So talking about Indian food I was in town today close to my fave Indian resto so I always make a point to stop by when I'm around because there food if so good - and I always eat vegetarian there. So I got - and brought home - some Daal, Chana Masala, curried pumpkin, sweet eggplant, and a lovely veggie biryani, as well as some roti and tamarind samosas. Mmmmm, so good! Man, I love Indian food!

On Friday I had vegetable korma and chickpea chana masala with garlic naan. Sooo good.

Have you ever had a Shawarma? I hear they're delicious. I'm not going to go by the Avenger's reaction. I'd rather get real people's feedback.

its brown people food - you wouldnt like it

jdreyer wrote on Mar 6, 2017, 19:24:

Cutter wrote on Mar 6, 2017, 17:05:
So talking about Indian food I was in town today close to my fave Indian resto so I always make a point to stop by when I'm around because there food if so good - and I always eat vegetarian there. So I got - and brought home - some Daal, Chana Masala, curried pumpkin, sweet eggplant, and a lovely veggie biryani, as well as some roti and tamarind samosas. Mmmmm, so good! Man, I love Indian food!

On Friday I had vegetable korma and chickpea chana masala with garlic naan. Sooo good.

Have you ever had a Shawarma? I hear they're delicious. I'm not going to go by the Avenger's reaction. I'd rather get real people's feedback.