2280: Share If You Agree

[Keith]

Don't worry. No need.

[Mark Sandiego]

The link between cold and colds is vasoconstriction of the vessels in the nose and respiratory tract. That is, the narrowing of blood vessels such as those in the nose, leads to dryness. This is even worse with air conditioning which replaces humid air with dry air. Without moisture our respiratory tract is limited in its ability to fight off infection.

With extreme cold comes mouth breathing which further limits the filtration that occurs in the nose. Additionally, when it's cold out we spend more time indoors which increases exposure to common surfaces and direct exposure to other people. Stay hydrated, stay rested, wash your hands often, don't touch your face (or at least use the back of your hand), and sneeze into your sleeve not your hands (or if you don't wear sleeves, use your arm?).

[Mattman]

It's always tricky commenting on a religious discussion on these forums because people generally comment their own strong view and tend to disrespect other's .... but here goes.

That lady was a total nutjob, and as stated in the thread didn't even understand how hypocritical she was acting. There was quite a lot of violence and judgement in the Old Testament. The New Testament (supposedly) recounts Jesus's attempts to stop this and says man should not judge man etc. Most nutjobs quote old testament passages to justify their bigotry.

The people who do not understand what their religion is trying to teach them, and instead rely on a literal version of the words or a deliberately skewed and manipulative version taught by their Priest, Rabbi, Mullah etc., usually ends up with dumb, radical, divisive and potentially dangerous extremist viewpoint - prejudice, hate-crimes, religious terrorism etc.

Whether the atheist are right or not about the existence of a higher being(s) it may be better to get rid of religions altogether and take away one reason for us to hate each-other.

[Lanfear]

Originally Posted by Mattman

It's always tricky commenting on a religious discussion on these forums because people generally comment their own strong view and tend to disrespect other's .... but here goes.

That lady was a total nutjob, and as stated in the thread didn't even understand how hypocritical she was acting. There was quite a lot of violence and judgement in the Old Testament. The New Testament (supposedly) recounts Jesus's attempts to stop this and says man should not judge man etc. Most nutjobs quote old testament passages to justify their bigotry.

The people who do not understand what their religion is trying to teach them, and instead rely on a literal version of the words or a deliberately skewed and manipulative version taught by their Priest, Rabbi, Mullah etc., usually ends up with dumb, radical, divisive and potentially dangerous extremist viewpoint - prejudice, hate-crimes, religious terrorism etc.

Whether the atheist are right or not about the existence of a higher being(s) it may be better to get rid of religions altogether and take away one reason for us to hate each-other.

So what do you think about it? Are you ignoring everything in the Old Testament? I think there are branches of Christianity that claim they do that?

But I think you said you are Catholic right? They use both Testaments as far as I know

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by Mattman

It's always tricky commenting on a religious discussion on these forums because people generally comment their own strong view and tend to disrespect other's .... but here goes.

...

Whether the atheist are right or not about the existence of a higher being(s) it may be better to get rid of religions altogether and take away one reason for us to hate each-other.

two things:

1) it's not tricky at all when you put forward a very popular opinion like ridding religion from our cultures.

b) humans are gross. any attempt to squash one reason for us to kill each other off will become a reason to do just that. we're genetically built to compete. and, it would be a fruitless effort. it will either die out on its own or it won't. having faith is like someone's ability to reproduce: ethically, you can't and don't get to stop them. the methods to pull something like that off against its natural decline and on a large scale are all undignified and impossible. sorry.

[Mattman]

True Sparrow. Mankind is tribal and inherently competitive. I would like to see religion as a positive way of scratching the itch of tribalism, but instead I see it fanning the fires of violence and hatred.

For me and my family our religion gives my children a tangible set of positive community values and reminds me of the value of humility over selfishness. It's a shame that the positive experience I enjoy is so frequently not shared and that religion is seen by many as an evil rather that a good force for
humankind.

[Sparrow]

i walked away from the church having had a very positive experience growing up in it. it pains me to see sincere peoples' beliefs be exploited for…well…anything, even more so economic conquering. but, that's what people do with this kind of stuff.

down here, if you're holding a Bible, it's like Christ himself is speaking no matter what comes out.

[Mattman]

Originally Posted by Lanfear

But I think you said you are Catholic right? They use both Testaments as far as I know

Yes, I became a Catholic in my 30's. As part of my conversion, I had a lot of time to study the texts (my church in Hong Kong didn't just allow you to receive communion without Catechism) and discuss with theologians.

The Old Testament is still used, but the New Testament provides a lot of interpretation of these ancient stories, or fables. Jesus, as a Rabbi, used the Old Testament as a basis for his preaching, but was clearly trying to update peoples' understanding of the teachings.

These radical Christians typically rant OT slogans like "an eye for an eye" and ignore that the NT updates this attitude to "turn the other cheek". In Jesus's time the law allowed for this type of retribution based on Mosaic teachings. 2000 years ago Jesus tried to change this primitive thinking, and still now there are those who have not got the message.

[Lanfear]

Originally Posted by Mattman

Yes, I became a Catholic in my 30's. As part of my conversion, I had a lot of time to study the texts (my church in Hong Kong didn't just allow you to receive communion without Catechism) and discuss with theologians.

The Old Testament is still used, but the New Testament provides a lot of interpretation of these ancient stories, or fables. Jesus, as a Rabbi, used the Old Testament as a basis for his preaching, but was clearly trying to update peoples' understanding of the teachings.

These radical Christians typically rant OT slogans like "an eye for an eye" and ignore that the NT updates this attitude to "turn the other cheek". In Jesus's time the law allowed for this type of retribution based on Mosaic teachings. 2000 years ago Jesus tried to change this primitive thinking, and still now there are those who have not got the message.

I do get that point in theory but in practice I think specifically because you picked religion later in life and then decided to pick specifically Catholicism I just don't get the thought process behind it.

Catholics have the pope that has the official authority to change and update doctrine but he doesn't.
So you decided to pick this church but then also decided naaahhhhh some of what they say is silly and I'll privately ignore it but it'll teach my children right from wrong.
I hope you talk to your kinds about your more critical thought processes, they look old enough to be able to have discussions like this.

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by Lanfear

So you decided to pick this church but then also decided naaahhhhh some of what they say is silly and I'll privately ignore it but it'll teach my children right from wrong.

i'm ok with this b/c as a general rule, living 100% pure by any -ism is insane. if pieces of catholicism speak to you, use those and dump the rest. i know, for me, the mindfulness of symbolic ritual is comforting. not being afraid to fold in from other places if it makes your personal system jive is something to strive for--it combats legalism. we /all/ do this. we create our value system piecemeal from the sum of our experiences. i'm less apt to crucify the religious for doing the same. i think it's healthy to recognize and reject unhealthy practices on a regular basis; it's how change gets made.