I have created a brand new tag just for Mormonism! There are more entries on the topic than I had thought.
mormonism
Entry focuses on the LDS church.
( Read more... )Mood:  good |
I haven't posted in a long while. I have to be in the right mood with sufficient inspiration before I can jot down a screed. Recently, I've been more inspired to draw horribly. I've also been busy with a "social" life. I think it counts as a social life. Anyway, there's no wall of text yet, but here's a tealdeer for you, anyway:
 Mood:  calm |
Am I really as violent as I am gluttonous?
The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Sixth Level of Hell - The City of Dis!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:
Take the Dante Inferno Hell TestMood:  okay |
I spend a great deal of time on the internet, and it's possible that it's a negative thing and that I am addicted. All I need to do is compare my life before the internet with my life now: Before the internet, I had no real-life friends, I hated physical activity, and I lived in a world of imagination. Now, I have one or two real life friends I've made on the internet and I still hate physical activity. For some people, the internet is a detrimental thing that interferes with their life. For others, especially those with social disabilities, it's a way to interact with a world that they wouldn't otherwise interact with anyway. I actually have more opportunity to make real-life friends online than I ever would without the internet, and I have more friends online than I ever expected to have as a child, even though people have this bizarre idea that you can't be a person's real friend unless you've been in their physical presence. The notion that you can't be a person's real lover unless you've actually touched them has some merit, but I don't understand the same reasoning for friendship.
I might be addicted to the internet, but at least my addiction isn't interfering with things like children, real-life friends, soul mate, or a demanding job. I think that the internet is a very important outlet and resource in my life, and I probably wouldn't have a much less sedentary or asocial lifestyle without it. Yes, I'm making typical addict excuses.Mood:  dorky |
It's hard to tell, but most of us narrow it down to a few common reasons. If there's one thing it's difficult to feel empathic about, it's why people believe what they do when it's so different. There's generally just tolerance (hopefully) rather than understanding. I know, I have trouble, too. Since it is difficult to understand, our biases will lead us to arrogant assumptions.
Why people believe differently from us when we know we have the Ultimate Truth:
1. They're just stupid. Since my beliefs are the only ones with a logical foundation and evidence, there's no way to describe dissenters other than "stupid", "moronic", and/or "idiotic".
This is the easiest, laziest excuse to use when you encounter someone whose beliefs and opinions differ from your own. It's taken for granted that most everyone is stupid (except for yourself), but realize that it's not necessarily true (for everyone who dissents). Also, if you use the other's stupidity to dismiss them in debate, you're committing the ad hominem fallacy. If you're feeling more charitable, you can go with:
2. The poor souls are ignorant. They must not have access to the resources I have, and haven't had the experiences I've had that prove that my beliefs are true and opinions are sound. More likely, though, they have access to resources but refuse to utilize them out of stubbornness or laziness.
It's true, most people don't read things that they don't agree with. A proud liberal is unlikely to buy a book written by a far-right conservative, because s/he knows that it's full of crap; s/he's heard all the arguments before, probably. The hypocrisy lies in telling people that they're being stubborn because they refuse to read a book that argues for your position, and then when asked if you'd read a book arguing for their position, you respond. "Why would I? I already know it's all flapdoodle."
3. Most likely, though, the evidence and logic I've provided has penetrated your mind, but you refuse to acknowledge it because it threatens your sinful lifestyle, existential security blanket, and/or most importantly, your pride. I mean, who likes being proven wrong?
Possibly even more condescending than implying that someone is stupid or ignorant is assuming that they're just too stubborn to abandon their own beliefs in favor of the Truth because it requires more discipline or a subduing of their pride. Does this happen? Sure, but not nearly as often as people would like it to. The "sinful lifestyle" is especially asinine. Why would even a stubborn, lazy sinner risk eternal torment for temporary pleasures unless they really do think you're full of it?
4. While many people are genuinely unsure or confused about their beliefs or opinions, most are just as secure in theirs as I am with mine. There may just be differences in peoples' minds that incline them to believe in one thing and avoid another.
This is probably the best, but probably most uncommon assumption to make. It doesn't mean that debate is useless and never changes any minds. So many people are just impossible to convince, but not everyone has a mind set in stone; many are more open and plastic. Debate is a healthy thing that keeps ideas flowing, but #4 is important for understanding others, avoiding arrogance and condescension, and possibly even keeping our own minds open to new ideas.Mood: okay |
Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."
He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?"
For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God" -- then he need not honor his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites!
(Matthew 15:1-7)
Do you think that Jesus would approve of people updating the meaning of Biblical verses and discarding others to keep the Bible up to date with the modern era? You'd better watch your back during the second coming, or start killing your children.Mood:  horny |
Dear Atheists, Agnostics, Freethinkers, etc:
It’s not too late to Believe in something!
I know you have trouble Believing in a Higher Power – we all have these doubts from time to time. You just need to have Faith.
Once not too long ago, I was like you all - Lost, with no direction or hope. Then I had a Vision and He changed my life. I am talking of course of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Let me ask you something: After a large meal of Pasta, do you feel more at peace? Scientists will confirm that after such a meal, endorphins and other “brain chemicals” are firing overtime. His Noodlyness at work!
I know many of you are academics and base your decisions on observation; before joining our Church, you’ll need a flawless argument. Consider this: the Flying Spaghetti Monster alters our perception of reality such that we can’t see or measure His influence. Thus, lack of observable evidence of His existence is, itself, evidence of His existence. After all, what else but an all powerful God could manage such a feat as this.
You’re all welcome to join our team on Kiva. We are over 500 strong and have raised nearly $80k of our $100k goal. Our kiva team link: www.kiva.org/team/fsm
Every Friday is a religious holiday for Pastafarians, you’ll be entitled to take these off from work.
For more about our religion feel free to view our website: www.venganza.org
Thank you for your time and may the FSM Touch each and every one of you with His Noodly Appendage.
RAmen,
Bobby HendersonMood: touched |
Religion is like fiction (well, it is fiction), every plot hole gets a convenient explanation. For example, why didn't the wizarding world in Harry Potter use their time-turners? They apparently only issue these magical devices to children who need to be in two classes at once; nevermind wizard time cops who could have stopped Voldemort from ruining lives. One explanation is that all of the time-turners were broken when a bunch of wizards got rowdy in the Department of Mysteries, where the entire world's supply of time-turners were kept. This happened before all of the big battles started, battles where time travel would have been helpful. How convenient. Any excuse you make is going to be flimsy, though, because the powerful time-turner was only intended to be used as a plot-device once by Rowling, and you can only respond to people explaining inconsistencies away with a sarcastic "how convenient".
Religion uses similar fluff to repair its "plot holes". Mormonism in particular is really damn full of them. Consider the Golden Plates. Why aren't they still around, in a sacred vault at Temple Square? Somewhere where their authenticity can be confirmed? It's really odd, isn't it, that religions that are just so certain of their own truthes leave artifacts and other evidence out of reach of secular validation (and perhaps instead rely on uncritically faithful and relatively uneducated "witnesses" with dubious accounts). No, the Golden Plates had to be taken up to Heaven by the angel Moroni, because how could they be left in the hands of humanity, even though humanity is the reason why they exist anyway? Couldn't God have just kept the "sealed" parts on planet Kolob and let humanity have this important artifact? How convenient.
You can say that leaving the authentic "Reformed Egyptian" tablets in the hands of the Earthly Mormons, thus proving the history behind LDS beliefs, would deprive people of their faith, since it would have been proven to them. First of all, it would only prove the historicity of Mormonism, and would be as much proof of the accuracy of Mormon beliefs as the Dead Sea Scrolls are proof of the accuracy of Christianity in general, so it wouldn't deprive people of their faith in God. Second, that might be an argument for Christian denominations that believe in Hell for nonbelievers (because if there's one thing God hates, it's people who don't believe things for no reason other than their own personal feelings), but in Mormonism, if you don't convert to the True Faith on Earth, you just have it proven to you after you die and are free to convert at the last minute. Thus, isn't it retarded to keep evidence away from religious seekers on Earth when they'll just get the proof they need in the Spirit Prison?
I've never gotten why God would insist on making it as difficult as possible for people to find the One True Faith. People always end up going with either their childhood faith or whichever faith appeals to them.Mood:  bored |
- BUG: They screwed up on the outfit system. You're apparently supposed to be able to have more than one saved outfit for any given sim, but the second always overwrites the first.
- BUG: In some neighborhoods, music randomly stops forever. Apparently due to there being too many radios on in the neighborhood, taking up all the channels. This was obviously designed retardedly.
- BUG: The undo button in Create-a-Sim often fucks up the program and forces you to have to close CAS and lose everyone you made. Avoid using the undo button as it sometimes makes ALL buttons stop responding.
- You can do the CTRL+5 through 0 to save a camera position. But, the position is the same for EVERY family. In EVERY neighborhood.
- WOW, the fishing line is ugly. It looks like it came out of Second Life. Instead of a single shiny white line from point A to point B, you get several white lines flowing more or less toward your bobber.
- Okay, I've come to the conclusion that the rabbitholes are way corny. I'd hope that they open them up in expansion packs. I'm sure everyone would be more than thrilled to see what's going on in the catacombs.
- No, that's not going to happen.
- I know I mentioned this in a previous post, one I made before getting the game, but animations are pretty limited. The biggest culprit is getting in and out of vehicles. They just disappear and then reappear in the car. Another one is the lack of baby animations. There is no changing table; sims just spin their baby around to change it.
- Toddlers are just as limited in The Sims 3 as they were in The Sims 2. I always expected that there would eventually be more interactions between toddlers, say, having a conversation if they've learned how to talk. No, the studio has very little imagination.
- There are two bathrooms on community lots, but they're always both unisex because there are no sex-specific doors.
- I can't believe that we still can't change the color of objects that the sims pick up (telephones are always black, but you can design the hook).
- It's much harder to make basements. It's difficult to lower the land to the right point, and you can't build basements after the house above has been built without a lot of moving objects around. In The Sims 2, you just had to replace floors.
- You can indeed move small houses to bigger lots, but they will always be in the center when placed.
- Paintings don't have designable frames but photos do.
- It's a small thing, but the small things add up: Why, when you have your sim "hold hands", does the other sim initiate it?
- In Create-a-Style, textures take FOREVER to load.
- Dim Sum is a style of serving, not a dish. Also there are no Mexican dishes.
- I finally got Bob and Betty Newbie (from Riverview) together, but I can't make Bob's head bald enough or his beard long enough.
That is the Newbie household I made from the original game. I installed The Sims and copied down the floor plan. When I was playing The Sims, nostalgia aside, it reminded me that I couldn't possibly play it seriously again. That's what The Sims 2 did to it. The Sims 3 does not give you the "I could not possibly go back to The Sims 2" sensation. Create-a-Style and open (unalterable; yes, it's worth noting every single time) neighborhood almost do it, but not quite.Mood:  cynical |
There is indeed more disappointment. Still, it's a fun game, mostly. The thing about the transition from The Sims to The Sims 2 is that base game to base game, there was nothing but improvement. The Sims 2 added very important features nobody knew how they played without such as sim aging and spawning, and most importantly, the ability to actually sculpt a character rather than match a head to a body. Plus, you get three new neighborhoods with different themes and grassy OR desert neighborhood ground covering. The Sims 3 is not nothing but improvement. It removes features that made The Sims 2 distinct from its predecessor, like moving lots in the neighborhood, and creating your own neighborhoods (albeit with another game you have to purchase; it was a typical marketing thing). The big features added in The Sims 3 are the open (unalterable) neighborhood, the create-a-style (for most things), and the (mostly superficial) trait system. They're not nearly as impressive as genetics.
The fact that The Sims 3 sold better than any other game or expansion pack in The Sims trilogy is a very sad testimonial to the fact that hype and marketing are much more important than the product.
- Favorite color doesn't do anything. It's probably a vestigial feature that was supposed to create moodlets or something, but just like other rushed details in the game, it is unfinished.
- I may be in the minority, but I grew attached to the premade sims in The Sims 1 and 2 and their continuity. The Sims 2 featured many of the sims from the original game and still had room for new ones. The Sims 3's Sunset Valley features a total of ONE family returning from the original game (the Goths, of course). There are only two families from The Sims 2, both of which are fairly inconsequential: Kaylynn Langerak's (the maid whom Daniel Pleasant was cheating on his wife with) and Malcolm Landgraab IV's (the single guy living in Bluewater Village, introduced with Open for Business). Both of these families make no sense to the continuity, because Kaylynn is older than Mortimer even though he's elderly while she's a younger adult in The Sims 2, and it's difficult to tell how the TS3 Landgraab family is related in any way to the TS2 one. It seems like there is no resemblance whatsoever between the TS1/TS2 characters and the TS3 counterparts beyond name and skin/haircolor.
- It's worth noting that Riverview added more canon characters: Don Lothario, the Newbies, and the Brokes. Still, overall, they made an extremely half-assed attempt to appease those who wanted returning characters.
- There is one video game sims are able to play, and it's football-themed. At least the snowboarding in The Sims 2 didn't make my stomach turn, and you could purchase new games.
- Interests, a crucial part of sim social interaction throughout The Sims 1 and 2, are non-existent. This along with the lack of memories (see previous post). I guess the addition of traits made them think it was okay to make the sims two-dimensional in every other way.
- Babies are still featureless when they first come out of the mommy chute, except now they're in little maggot costumes so developers don't have to worry about baby animations. It's not like it'd be hard, they ripped off most of their animations (and furniture) from The Sims 2 already.
- They made progress with gay sims, allowing sims of the same sex get married rather than joined in a union, but I still can't get Iliana Langerak and her son in a relationship. So much for progress. I'm not holding my breath for more progress when this game's pets expansion is released.
- I also won't be expecting big dogs, horses, or llamas in this one's pets expansion. EA Games would disapprove of so many features in one expansion pack. I'm not expecting anything special from any of the expansion packs.
- I like the llama references in Maxis games, but The Sims 3 seems to try too hard to fit llamas everywhere. Maybe it's just me. It seems like someone on the development team went "oh, they like the llama inside joke, let's put it everywhere. Then lunch, and then we go home early. Marketing is taking care of all the sales, anyway."
Mood: disappointed |
Luckily, they had enough pre-release hype and already-hooked sheeple (who would buy horse manure if it had a green plumbob on it) to still get millions of people to buy their product within the first week.
I'm taking time out of my busy job-hunting and life-living schedule to tell you about my opinion of The Sims 3. First, I'll tell you that the game is actually pretty fun, and they did a pretty good job at the base of things. When we get into the details, however, it seems they handed control over to some slacking monkeys. Either that, or EA Games told them to hurry it up at all costs because the executives have no clue about the development or playing of PC games. Either way, here are some monkey-brained faults with the game, in no particular order:
- Absolutely the most moronic bug is the simple option to turn off "story progression mode" (a mode in which your sims randomly have babies and move out of the neighborhood when you're not playing them) in gameplay options does not DO ANYTHING.
- In Create-a-Sim, there are rings and bracelets, but for some reason they are limited to the left hand.
- There is no piano, and that might be forgiven since guitars took its place as the base game musical instrument, but children have nothing to play. Why not two musical instruments? The Sims 3 should be a step up from The Sims 2. Less forgivable is the missing hot tub and diving board for the pool. Objects that appeared in the original Sims base game are not included. What the Hell?
- The Create-a-Style is fairly fun, but you can't change the scale of textures, and you can't style the fence, stairs, or chimney, even though you can style pillars. You also can't change the colors of flowers as you could in The Sims 2.
- The neighborhood may be pretty, but they sacrificed user customization. Adding a new non-customizable neighborhood available via download in no way makes up for this. You are going to get tired of the one neighborhood that you didn't even create.
- You still can't change maternity clothing. I have no idea why they insist on that game after game.
- Moodlets often don't seem well thought out. Becoming engaged gives a bigger happiness boost than a sim's wedding day, and sims who hate children love being pregnant. Every woman loves being pregnant.
- The Sims 2 had memories, but not The Sims 3, even though memories would make even more sense since your sims are out doing whatever they please in story mode, and you have no way of knowing what happened while you were gone.
- Ghosts are so annoying and beyond the superficial, The Sims developers have never been more untrue to the original creatures. Sure, vampires could reproduce, and robots needed to have fun, but ghosts need to eat, go to the bathroom, and bathe, and they can also age and have babies. Ghost babies are kind of cool but it makes no sense. Annoyingness includes everyone responding with disgust (or fear if they're a coward) whenever a ghost is around, making them drop things from their action queue. Ghosts also have a constant need to scare people. It also seems really hard to make a playable ghost, so I've just been using a hack (see links below).
- Files are encrypted and custom content is discouraged (except content "made" with the create-a-style) so that they can sell you their crap at the Sims 3 Store. Luckily, Mod the Sims and More Awesome Than You have already made delicious hacks and patterns. I'm still hoping for custom meshes, though. It's already seeming more like a sandbox.
There are no doubt more disappointments to be found! My conclusion is that it is a fun game, but they could have tried harder to make it well-rounded in the details.Mood: disappointed |
Unfortunately, my enthusiasm has dropped a bit thanks to these buzzkills at MATY. I'm now not sure if I should get the game. The very fact that the neighborhood is fixed and unalterable almost made me not want it to begin with, but with all this crap, I just don't know. Fun screenshots, though:
For those who don't know, the arrow is pointing toward "moodlets"; green ones are things that are putting your Sim in a good mood, and red ones put them in a bad mood. I can see why this Sim is in a bad mood.
Anyway, The Sims wiki was full of crap (I am stupid, yes). Only FIVE original families are shipping with The Sims 3 (two of which are just Mortimer and Bella's, and one of which is Kaylynn Langerak's family, yet no sign of the Pleasants). If I want to play Chris and Melissa, I'll need to create them myself, but there's no way I'm making every single old Sim to try and make the neighborhood match the continuity of previous games.
The fact that they took objects out of the game just so that they could sell them on The Sims 3 Store is also just ridiculously greedy and simply adds insult to injury. I hate how my opinions of games flip-flop like this.Mood: pissed off |
Did you know that there are a full 21 chapters of the Old Testament Book of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon?
Some cynics might say that Joseph Smith simply needed filler for his piece of crap book, the same reason why he constantly repeats himself and begins every other passage with "and it came to pass". Obviously, that's not why. The book was written by many authors who just happen to share this "and it came to pass" writing quirk.
The truth is that Joseph Smith was surprised while translating his Reformed Egyptian plates with his magical stones to find that he was translating various chapters of Isaiah word-for-word in the books of Nephi. Fortunately, the magical stones translate Reformed Egyptian to English in exactly the way Christian monks did from Greek and Hebrew.
Thousands of years ago, Nephi, an important figure on the Mormon bizarro-timeline, was inspired by God to write down several chapters of Isaiah. Perhaps God was just giving him busy work, but Mormon apologists suggest[citation needed] that God was having Nephi copy from Isaiah because those chapters would one day be lost. Some time in the Latter Days™, some organization of Christians who hate certain chapters in Isaiah for some reason will conspire to go around to the billions of other Christians of hundreds of different sects, and rip those chapters out of all of the billions of Bibles in the entire world. They will also steal the administrative passwords of Bible sites like BibleGateway and edit out those chapters. So you see, it was important for Nephi to plagiarize Isaiah. Now the Mormons will go "ha-ha, we told you so. Now we're the only people with those Isaiah verses."
I always thought Leviticus and perhaps the entire Old Testament would be a better candidate for removal from the Bible in modern times. On the other hand, no matter how outdated and barbaric a book of the Bible becomes, they can't remove it because it's the Word of God. I'm pleased with this.Mood:  contemplative |
Catlick News: On Friday in Tel-Aviv, Pope Ratzinger blamed the Holocaust on a "godless regime".
Well, we can see there was at least a little bit of God. Obviously, by "Gott mit uns" they actually meant "Mich mit mir selbst, den ich verehre, anstatt Gottes."
Speaking of a higher power, why aren't there people who feel the need to believe in a lesser power? Instead of a big, vague ruler of the universe who controls every aspect of their lives, they could believe in little invisible people who worship their every move. It could be called "Megalomanimism", and its churches could be filled with glorious thrones for all of its adherents, listening to a preacher telling them all how much the invisible people love them.
See Also: DepresbyterianismMood: tired |
The Sims 3 is scheduled for release the Tuesday after next, and don't worry about this hysteria overwhelming my journal for much longer. After I actually get something, the obsession wears off. I only want what I don't have.
I thought that Maxis had forgotten about the Roomies family, a couple of Sim women named Chris and Melissa who debuted in the original game release in February 2000. They didn't return in The Sims 2, but they'll be making an appearance in the third incarnation as children in non-standard families (Melissa being raised by a single grandmother, and Chris being raised by a single father and living with a step-sister).
These two are the best of friends. I've got to say, I had always made them lesbians any time I had installed The Sims. Now, it wasn't misogynistic at all; I didn't do it to get a [sad, sad] boner because I'm sexually aroused by little sketchy computer lesbians (I am not aroused by lesbians at all). It just seemed to make sense. They're a couple of women living together and claiming to be roommates. How often are women like that actually roommates? I've always figured that they were intended to be gay by whomever created them, but hid that fact by calling them "roomies". Them using the short, masculine name "Chris" further convinced me. In any case, I can't wait to make them lez out again. I hope The Sims 3 has plenty of pairs of same-sex "roommates".
WARNING: The above picture may contain adult content. But probably not. I mean seriously, look at it. They don't even have nipples.Mood:  amused |
FAITH PARABOLA
After emotional investment, the doctrine of faith is probably the main thing that prevents Christians and similar believers from exploring other belief systems. It's kind of like this banal parable:
Joe: Remember how you said that there's a man-eating turtle in my closet? I've believed it all these years..but I'm starting to have doubts. I really don't think it's there.
Mom: What did I tell you about doubting its existence? That's exactly what it WANTS! When you don't believe in it, that's the perfect time for a sneak attack.
Joe: I've been vulnerable thousands of times, when I'm asleep. What does my belief in it have to do with anything?
Mom: Well, the turtle will only eat you if you're bad or disobedient. Not believing in it is the worst thing you can do!
Joe: I've been studying science at school. It's physically impossible for the man-eating turtle in my closet to exist. If there's something there, light, and my hand, can't just pass through him.
Mom: Come on, Joey. Science is a very rigid discipline. It refuses to acknowledge anything beyond human senses and understanding. The man-eating turtle is part of another reality we can't comprehend.
Joe: It's beyond human understanding, but you know exactly what it wants. If it's beyond human comprehension, how do people know so much about it?
Mom: You know, the man-eating turtle likes to eat little boys who ask too many stupid questions.
Joe: Mom, I'm 16, and I think this man-eating turtle thing is a little childish.
Mom: What turned you against the man-eating turtle? Is it your friends? The internet? Why so cynical? Do you really want to risk getting eaten? It's safer just to believe he's there. He'll even do things that you want if you believe in him and love him! I mean, if it's part of his turtley will. One time I asked him for it to stop raining, and lo and behold, the sky was clear in just three days!
Joe: What would really be impressive is this magical turtle doing something that could ONLY be caused by supernatural intervention.
Mom: He could if he wanted, but if he gave undeniable proof of his existence, that would take away our ability to base our belief in him on blind faith.
Joe: Why is belief for no rational reason a virtue and a gift? You could believe in ANYTHING and justify it with "faith".
Mom: Because feelings are better than cold logic. Just keep silent. I believe in the man-eating turtle, your grandparents do...you're not even old enough to be asking these skeptical questions. You're 16!
Joe: You know what, just believe what you want to believe. This BS is ridiculous. Screw the man-eating turtle, I'm becoming a Christian. At least it's based on logic. C.S. Lewis was a logician, so that proves it's logical.
Mom: NOOO! Well, it's your choice. I hope you enjoy being eaten by the man-eating turtle.
Joe: And have fun in Hell.
NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES
The article is long as Hell, but you might at least read the conclusion, which describes that it is the dualists, not the "dogmatic materialists" who need to desperately explain inconsistencies away.
This is a summary. For details on the following, click the link:
- People will embellish their experiences, whether purposefully or not.
- In many OBEs, people fail to correctly report things that were happening outside of their body during the experience.
- NDE researchers with a bias toward belief in the afterlife will put false memories into peoples' heads with their questioning, similar to how hypnotists may put the false memory of being molested into a client's memories.
- Only a small percentage of people will have an NDE or OBE; do some people not have souls?
- Those who do have NDEs are also prone to fantasy and hallucination.
- Brain chemistry and situation affect what sort of NDE a person will have.
- Actually being close to death does not trigger an NDE, but fear that one is going to die does. People will hallucinate a tunnel with a light at the end of it even if they are in no way in danger of dying, but only expect death.
- People have felt pain and other sensations in their physical bodies while their souls were supposedly separated from them and heading toward the light.
- People have met those who are still living in their NDEs, especially children, who generally have little experience with death.
- People will experience something different from a Christian afterlife when having an NDE, if the cultural context is different. Indian and Thai people often hallucinate a god of death or its messangers. Japanese NDErs often see natural landscapes.
- Those who hallucinate Christian imagery often see Christ as he is depicted in popular culture, and with scars in the palms rather than the wrists, where one must be nailed in order to be successfully crucified. Meeting religious figures in Western NDEs is more uncommon than meeting loved ones, however.
- In "life reviews", where an NDEr recalls memories from their life, the memories are often random and fragmented, rather than significant in any way.
You might think, "hey, why are you trying to destroy the hopes and dreams of so many people who rely on their belief in the afterlife for peace of mind?" That's an easy question. My reason is that people who have already convinced themselves that NDEs are evidence of the afterlife will not change their minds in the face of contrary evidence, so I needn't feel any guilt. That doesn't mean that there aren't any open-minded people around.
DID JESUS EXIST?
The historicity of Jesus is taken for granted so much so that even prominent skeptic Richard Dawkins says that he "probably" existed in his book The God Delusion. It is such a given in western society, that anyone suggesting it is considered a desperate nut.
There are no writings directly from Jesus, nor are there writings from eye-witnesses, making every detail about the Christ hearsay. One could say that if you question the existence of at least a historical Jesus, you might as well question Aristotle's and Alexander the Great's existences in ancient Greece, or other historical figures. These historical figures have evidence, though. I don't know why we compare Jesus to historical figures; if you Google "man with magical powers who was the son of a god and a mortal woman", you'll come up with Greek myths (which, go figure, were treated as historical fact in classical Greece, but are no longer), not historical figures.
EDIT: This section had a link too: http://www.nobeliefs.com/exist.htm
BONUS EJACULATION
Believers in the supernatural will say that the universe and nature are too perfect for them to have not been designed and to currently be maintained by a supernatural force. Yet most of these people, like the majority of the US, have a very limited grasp of science and mathematics.
It's like someone who knows nothing about the mechanics of stage magic watching a professional magician apparently make a dove appear out of thin air, and coming to the conclusion that there is no rational explanation, and that it must have been real magic.Mood: horny |
In just 2 weeks, The Sims 3 will be released and I should have the money to purchase it. Word has it that the game has already been leaked and is available in torrents. I might download it, but it would take two weeks for me anyway. So, again, I have not attempted to download this program via torrent at all, and these following screenshots from 4chan's /v/ are not mine, but they do contain the sorts of Sims I would make:
Those latter screenshots look obviously doctored, but what a great feature that would be!
Further, EA Games wasn't lying when it said it would be boosting its marketing. Take the creation of a Sims 3/Star Trek Movie crossover:
{At the Creator's Camp, February}
Content Creator: Hey, can we put elf ears on our Sims?
Maxoid A: Um..no. We didn't include elf ears.
Content Creator: Why not?
Maxoid A: Look, it's not very significant.
Content Creator: Why not? All you have to do is add a slider for pointy ears! The character creation process should be about creativity and imagination, so you shouldn't discourage non-human and outlandish characters.
Maxoid A: Look, this game is fun enough without pointy ears. It's a modern times simulator, not a Middle-Earth RPG. Can't you just appreciate the other new features?
{At headquarters, May}
EA Marketer: Okay, we need to further entice people to play our super great game.
Maxoid A: How about we help associate the game with pop culture by creating an online teaser video featuring Star Trek characters!
EA Marketer: Great idea!
Later...
Maxoid B: How do I make Mr. Spock's ears?
Maxoid A: Fuck.
Maxoid B: I'll just make them enormous. That's close enough.
[Fake conversations]
Even if you don't give a flying llama shit about The Sims, you can appreciate people shooting themselves in the foot.Mood: annoyed |
There are only about 20 days until The Sims 3 is released for reals! I'm betting my enthusiasm is a total turn-off, but so is everything else about me, so I might as well embrace it. Going to eat corn dogs until I throw up, dig up some deep-mined boogers, and constantly pull my pants up to my nipples, all in public!
Soon, I will post some more cerebral splurges to help further turn you off and make your world even more frigid!Mood: crappy |
Four years ago, I sent an email to myself four years from now. This is how our conversation through time went:
From: kevinmca106[at]yahoo[dot]com (2005)
To: kevinmca106[at]yahoo[dot]com (2009)
Dear Kevin,
Are you still alone?
From: kevinmca106[at]yahoo[dot]com (2009)
To: kevinmca106[at]yahoo[dot]com (2005)
I am very happy with a very special significant other. One day when I was slacking off in my room, moping, some guy came in and started fondling my manboobs and saying that he appreciates my tired jokes, blatant laziness, pseudointellectualism that alienates 90% or more of the population, and constant self-pity, attention whoring and clinginess.
No, what do you think?
Love, Future Kevin
From: kevinmca106[at]yahoo[dot]com (2005)
To: kevinmca106[at]yahoo[dot]com (2009)
Yes...I guess I was expecting that answer but I thought that I might get lucky.
From: kevinmca106[at]yahoo[dot]com (2009)
To: kevinmca106[at]yahoo[dot]com (2005)
Oh yeah, waiting to get lucky has always worked for the past 18 years of your life. A helpful hint: always remember that love is bullshit, especially gay love.
From: kevinmca106[at]yahoo[dot]com (2005)
To: kevinmca106[at]yahoo[dot]com (2009)
You sure seem bitter. So, as long as I'm talking to my future self, is the world okay? Any more terrorist attacks?
From: kevinmca106[at]yahoo[dot]com (2009)
To: kevinmca106[at]yahoo[dot]com (2005)
Nope, no terrorist attacks...from humans. Currently, there's a lethal disease going around the world killing everyone. It's said to have been brung by the aliens who we have made contact with and who turn out to want to kill us. Half of my neighborhood is destroyed. I guess I should have mentioned that in my first email. Enjoy your life while you can, because the human race will be wiped out in 2009. Also a black man is president.
From: kevinmca106[at]yahoo[dot]com (2005)
To: kevinmca106[at]yahoo[dot]com (2009)
OMG crazy! So everyone's gonna die anyway? I guess I'll just eat whatever I want now, not worry about college or interpersonal relationships, and have fun. Fascinating.
From: kevinmca106[at]yahoo[dot]com (2009)
To: kevinmca106[at]yahoo[dot]com (2005)
Exactly. Also remember never to bathe.
Your message could not be delivered, the rip in time-space has been repaired.
Sucker.Mood: amused |
It's easy to see how Abrahamoids can come up with excuses for just about everything; they've got every base covered. When bad things happen to bad people, it's divine retribution. When bad things happen to good people, it's simply God testing their faith in him, a la Job. It's kind of like when your dad puts your hand to a hot burner just to see if you'll still love him afterward. Except people think that's outrageously dysfunctional because your dad isn't a metaphysical construct.
If he claims to be omniscient and asks you to accept on faith that he always does what's right, then it's okay. Actually, I don't know the rules. What does it take before someone can blindly accept something completely without any reservation at all?
If you liked this for some reason, you may also like:
Christian's Faith-During-A-Tragedy Guide
The Prince of Insufficient Light
St. Hospital
The Devil's AdvocateMood:  bouncy |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
monodelamuerte's journal