S05.E02: Snoopin' Around and the Wonder Twins of Atheism

[proserpina65]

18 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Any belief system and/or religious text can be warped and misinterpreted, including "pagan religions".

And BTW, the whole premise of the book of Genesis is all about free will so I don't know where @Keywestclubkid got the idea that the bible says there is no free will.  Again, another interpretation, and not mine.

I was talking about the actual stories in the Bible, not the interpretation of them.  They're pretty damned fucked up; that book has some of the most violent, sexist and downright weird things in it, including child sacrifice at God's order.  Not that Greek mythology doesn't or other belief systems either, but it still pretty insane stuff.  And the whole free will thing gets twisted into pretzel shapes by various Christian denominations.  Trust me, the various Baptists who used to come to my door and try and convert me definitely had a very different definition of free will than Merriam-Webster's does.

[Yeah No]

21 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I was talking about the actual stories in the Bible, not the interpretation of them.  They're pretty damned fucked up; that book has some of the most violent, sexist and downright weird things in it, including child sacrifice at God's order.  Not that Greek mythology doesn't or other belief systems either, but it still pretty insane stuff. 

Saying that the stories in other religious texts or mythologies are messed up is one thing, but saying that the stories in the bible made you appreciate pagan religions gave a different impression.

I also think that imposing a modern day outlook on texts that are thousands of years old is difficult and often not entirely appropriate.  We can't possibly see them in the context that they were written in, nor share some of the values of the people that wrote them.  Which is one reason I prefer to take them in a less literal sense and focus on finding a deeper message.

[proserpina65]

On 4/15/2022 at 9:03 AM, Yeah No said:

Saying that the stories in other religious texts or mythologies are messed up is one thing, but saying that the stories in the bible made you appreciate pagan religions gave a different impression.

I also think that imposing a modern day outlook on texts that are thousands of years old is difficult and often not entirely appropriate.  We can't possibly see them in the context that they were written in, nor share some of the values of the people that wrote them.  Which is one reason I prefer to take them in a less literal sense and focus on finding a deeper message.

We'll just have to agree to disagree on this.  And since we've strayed from the actual show, I'll leave it there.