Posts by Lilith __
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Capture: EQNZ Remembrance, in reply to Islander,
a chance for an Otautahi/ChChCh meet-up?
Personal circumstances permitting, I'd be delighted to meet up anytime, Islander!
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Capture: EQNZ Remembrance, in reply to Islander,
Through people’s OWN efforts & work-
So many important and wonderful things have been done here by ordinary people with initiative.
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Legal Beagle: A matter of conscience, in reply to Chris Waugh,
stopped him and provided an alternative sacrifice just before the knife was plunged in, the whole point being to test Abraham’s faith and total obedience.
But that's what I find so execrable. Being prepared to kill your child because of anyone's say-so is a vastly immoral position to be in.
Westerners generally approach the a/theism debate from a very Western Judaeochristian point of view, even confirmed atheists.
Although my parents were nonconforming in many ways, I was taken to church, sunday school, and later went to a church school. This stuff is part of my culture and still floating around in my head, atheist though I now am.
And I was replying to Ben's point about how God approves of things because they are right, not the reverse. The Old Testament seems to be full of God approving of things that are indefensibly wrong .
Could think of more examples, but have a baby to take care of…
But I know you've got your priorities right! And it's always interesting talking with you. :-)
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Legal Beagle: A matter of conscience, in reply to BenWilson,
“Is it pious because the gods love it, or do the gods love it because it is pious?”, to which Euthyphro concedes that it is the latter. Most people would tend to agree with this – they find it inconceivable that God would love immoral things, that he might, for instance, fully endorse sexual violence against children. If he did endorse that, it would not make sexual violence against children right, therefore his endorsement is not the source of the rightness.
Unfortunately the Old Testament is littered with examples of people doing stuff because God tells them to. Abraham is prepared to kill his son, and he is held up as an example of piety.
Not to mention the terrible things the OT God does to people.
Poor old Job, who was tortured in every way possible to test his faith. He endures the gratuitous killing of his wives and children but keeps his relationship with God, which is obviously the most important thing.
For this any many other reasons, I find the Old Testament scary and horrible and impossible to reconcile with the New Testament.
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Legal Beagle: A matter of conscience, in reply to Sacha,
Child poverty sure seems like a moral matter
Not really...sometimes it's the kids' own fault.
/sarcasm -
There were at least 2 petitions being circulated at the street party. I don't think any of us can forget the complexity of the situation here, even for a moment. We're not all in the same circumstances, but we're aware we are a community, perhaps more than we've ever been.
Which isn't to say there aren't massive divisions and inequalities. But absolutely nobody is unaffected.
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Another nice idea from crafty Cantabrians.
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OnPoint: Student Loans are Loans (Duh.), in reply to Lucy Stewart,
If you want an example, the best I can think of offhand is mitochondria. Lynn Margulis – actually a professor at my university until her death a few months ago – worked out that they are the remnants of a symbiosis between bacteria and eukaryotes, bacteria that moved into larger cells and never moved out. (So are chloroplasts in photosynthetic eukaryotes.)
That is such an amazing discovery. And such a strange reality!
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Capture: Two Tales of a City, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
Lilith, if you had a watermark like Gudren, could we have more from you, now or in the future? { ;)
Oh Sofie, I'm trying to work this stuff out in my head! Along with what I'm doing with my life in general. :-)
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Capture: Two Tales of a City, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
“Nothing left to give” protester
I find that image particularly haunting. And the sense of quiet determination in all those faces. People who’ve been through so much, still fighting.