Yeah I think they aren’t to bad for a 7 year old to watch. There’s not much gore, but there are a lot of dead bodies and dismemberment and stuff like that, but I wouldn’t say it’s over the top, so it should be ok. I think I first watched Lotr when I was around that age
Yeah, it’s a tough call. All three of my kids have been different in that regard. I’ve almost always taken a conservative approach to exposing them to media, and I have not really regretted that for the most part. There was at least one instance where I took one of my kids to see The Force Awakens when he was 8; he was less bothered by the action and violence but really bothered that Ben Solo killed his dad. I felt like that one was a parenting fail on my part.
While this meme is substandard, the question is great and one I’ve never actually asked a theist before to get their shocked pikachu face. Probably because I already know the answer which you laid out so cleanly. What is the theist answer to this though? What mental gymnastics do they play to avoid the obvious answer?
I mean, I guess, but for someone who considers themselves a "young atheist" like OP I think it's the perfect book to get them thinking deeper about their skepticism. I read it at a similar point in my deconversion and it helped me understand my way forward way better than I would have without it.
I don’t know, I had a good discussion with a theist on one of these posts just yesterday. I doubt they are actually engaging in good faith or are only claiming they engaged to earn street cred with their echo chamber. We really aren’t as scary as they claim.
well that's just the ot, for the nt we just have to derive the meaning we think is correct as most people believe the nt to be infallible but not innerant, so there is a good meaning to be understood from everything but you need to search for it in some cases
Well the word used is less like slaves and more like servants, but if you put it context it speaks about being free in Christ, and how Christians should live, and after that it tells slaves that the way they live should not be dictated by their masters but by god, but i have yet to think deeply about Peter yet so maybe in a week i would tell you something completely different
You strike me as a good person. I would not recommend putting yourself in the position of defending slavery by trying to minimize the seriousness of it. It’s okay to say that that part of the Bible is wrong.
Don't talk about the Canaanites. It's the only genocide they have apologetics for. The Midianites were murdered for interfaith romance. The Amalekites were murdered for what their ancestors did. Then there was the general order to genocide anyone found already living in the "promised land." No other reason is given for them.
He drives around with a massive cross sticking out of his car. That doesn’t exactly suggest normal cognitive function, but I’m sure he is every bit as nice as you claim. Regardless, I have no interest in talking to him.
One of my favorite arguments ever but then they never listen and just come back with "no the sin was disobeying a direct order from god" like no, he didn't JUST tell them not to eat that fruit, he lied to them and said they would die if they ate it to scare them away.
Not to mention that you can’t have free will if you don’t know the difference between good and evil, so god was effectively trying to prevent mankind from having free will. Eve granted mankind free will.
If it were a mature conversation it would work. But I’ve said this kind of thing to him before. The response is usually something like “god works in mysterious ways” or “god loves you anyway and I hope you see it someday”
You have my sympathies, friend. I figured you probably had discussed these deeper and didn’t just stop at the first sign of resistance. It’s probably not worth it to bother continuing the conversation. I’d probably just try changing the topic when it comes up and go about living my life.
This is a great point. Whenever I start a debate, usually with family, the passages in their bible differ from what I look up online and I inevitably end up asking them why their version of the Bible is the right one and all the other versions are wrong. This is especially fun to play with the anti-gay passages, because homosexual wasn’t added to the Bible until the Red Scare era in America.
I never try to convince anyone that a god does not exist, because it’s a null hypothesis. It’s like trying to prove to an antivaxxer that vaccines don’t cause autism. The best we can do is say there is no evidence for the positive claim and therefore no reason to believe it without evidence.
When I people like this, I ask them why they are a Christian. Most of them have never stopped to think about it and this very simple question is usually jarring to them because they can’t understand why anyone would even ask it or why someone else wouldn’t be a Christian, but you can just dig in a little on each of their answers and the bullshit crumbles pretty quick. This is not the way to win friends and influence people though
Honestly that war was fucked up. Sad to realize that the US were the bad guys. Kind of ruined our international image, Bush should be charged for war crimes
We weren’t the bad guys, but we weren’t the good guys either. That war was fucked up and I feel a great deal of empathy for all the innocent people who were caught between an invading foreign military and a brutal insurgency that drew in countless foreign terrorists and served as a focal point for global jihad.
The caption is supposedly not accurate:
June 2022. I love how old misinformation never dies.
Who is making these stupid things? I’m so sick of my brain-dead relatives sharing this AI garbage
Yeah I think they aren’t to bad for a 7 year old to watch. There’s not much gore, but there are a lot of dead bodies and dismemberment and stuff like that, but I wouldn’t say it’s over the top, so it should be ok. I think I first watched Lotr when I was around that age
I think most of it is probably fine, but there are definitely parts that make me pause, like the severed orc head stuck to a spear.
Yeah, it’s a tough call. All three of my kids have been different in that regard. I’ve almost always taken a conservative approach to exposing them to media, and I have not really regretted that for the most part. There was at least one instance where I took one of my kids to see The Force Awakens when he was 8; he was less bothered by the action and violence but really bothered that Ben Solo killed his dad. I felt like that one was a parenting fail on my part.
Sensible advice. Thank you
If he kills Satan god will become useless to humans. With Satan(the bad guy) around, people will rush to god(the good guy)
While this meme is substandard, the question is great and one I’ve never actually asked a theist before to get their shocked pikachu face. Probably because I already know the answer which you laid out so cleanly. What is the theist answer to this though? What mental gymnastics do they play to avoid the obvious answer?
I think many theists struggle with the fact that our worldview isn't wrapped up in one single thing.
If it did, it would be religion
Finally a decent meme on here. Take my upvote
Bravo
Carl Sagan's Demon-Haunted World is fantastic.
I love Carl Sagan, and I thought Demon Haunted World was overrated. I don’t think the audience is people who are already skeptics.
I mean, I guess, but for someone who considers themselves a "young atheist" like OP I think it's the perfect book to get them thinking deeper about their skepticism. I read it at a similar point in my deconversion and it helped me understand my way forward way better than I would have without it.
Fair point
It's an offshoot of the Moonie cult...
Thanks for the info
They're panicking. They know that the future of church is spiralling down the drain and they're drowning, desperately grabbing at anyone close enough.
Dying dogs bite the hardest
Well done!
I don’t know, I had a good discussion with a theist on one of these posts just yesterday. I doubt they are actually engaging in good faith or are only claiming they engaged to earn street cred with their echo chamber. We really aren’t as scary as they claim.
Luniepookie
Two sides of the same delusional coin
well that's just the ot, for the nt we just have to derive the meaning we think is correct as most people believe the nt to be infallible but not innerant, so there is a good meaning to be understood from everything but you need to search for it in some cases
1 Peter 2:18 reads,
Well the word used is less like slaves and more like servants, but if you put it context it speaks about being free in Christ, and how Christians should live, and after that it tells slaves that the way they live should not be dictated by their masters but by god, but i have yet to think deeply about Peter yet so maybe in a week i would tell you something completely different
You strike me as a good person. I would not recommend putting yourself in the position of defending slavery by trying to minimize the seriousness of it. It’s okay to say that that part of the Bible is wrong.
Don't talk about the Canaanites. It's the only genocide they have apologetics for. The Midianites were murdered for interfaith romance. The Amalekites were murdered for what their ancestors did. Then there was the general order to genocide anyone found already living in the "promised land." No other reason is given for them.
Do you have some of these specific passages? I’d love to start using them.
Midianite Numbers 31. Verses 15-18 are the most relevant bits.
You’re the real mvp. Thanks, man!
If you ever bothered to actually talk to him, you'd know he's a really nice dude
I’m sure he’s great. I feel about as much interest in talking to him as I do any other random stranger I see on a daily basis.
"Im sure he's great" but you go around calling him a mental health case. Weird
He drives around with a massive cross sticking out of his car. That doesn’t exactly suggest normal cognitive function, but I’m sure he is every bit as nice as you claim. Regardless, I have no interest in talking to him.
One of my favorite arguments ever but then they never listen and just come back with "no the sin was disobeying a direct order from god" like no, he didn't JUST tell them not to eat that fruit, he lied to them and said they would die if they ate it to scare them away.
Not to mention that you can’t have free will if you don’t know the difference between good and evil, so god was effectively trying to prevent mankind from having free will. Eve granted mankind free will.
I’ve made this argument so many times
I have those same awful metal closet doors in my house 😖
I had a friend who joined a cult and while trying to de-brainwash him, I asked, “What if god asked you to kill me?”
Probably not worth the time, but all of these are easily countered by just asking deeper questions.
If it were a mature conversation it would work. But I’ve said this kind of thing to him before. The response is usually something like “god works in mysterious ways” or “god loves you anyway and I hope you see it someday”
You have my sympathies, friend. I figured you probably had discussed these deeper and didn’t just stop at the first sign of resistance. It’s probably not worth it to bother continuing the conversation. I’d probably just try changing the topic when it comes up and go about living my life.
the whol-ee bible, king james version, 1611 ad.
This is a great point. Whenever I start a debate, usually with family, the passages in their bible differ from what I look up online and I inevitably end up asking them why their version of the Bible is the right one and all the other versions are wrong. This is especially fun to play with the anti-gay passages, because homosexual wasn’t added to the Bible until the Red Scare era in America.
"Atheist" is an ambiguous term. Some atheists simply see no evidence that there are any gods. They have taken on no burden of proof.
I never try to convince anyone that a god does not exist, because it’s a null hypothesis. It’s like trying to prove to an antivaxxer that vaccines don’t cause autism. The best we can do is say there is no evidence for the positive claim and therefore no reason to believe it without evidence.
When I people like this, I ask them why they are a Christian. Most of them have never stopped to think about it and this very simple question is usually jarring to them because they can’t understand why anyone would even ask it or why someone else wouldn’t be a Christian, but you can just dig in a little on each of their answers and the bullshit crumbles pretty quick. This is not the way to win friends and influence people though
I spent almost two years in Fallujah during the Iraq War
Honestly that war was fucked up. Sad to realize that the US were the bad guys. Kind of ruined our international image, Bush should be charged for war crimes
We weren’t the bad guys, but we weren’t the good guys either. That war was fucked up and I feel a great deal of empathy for all the innocent people who were caught between an invading foreign military and a brutal insurgency that drew in countless foreign terrorists and served as a focal point for global jihad.
It’s almost like it’s a collection of writings by countless authors spread over multiple centuries.