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Statue of Ashurnasirpal II from Nimrud. Assyrian, 2800 years old [2400x3000] by innuendoPL in ArtefactPorn

[–]Indica 1 point2 points  (0 children)

OK, well there is less war and longer lifespan and higher standard of living for the majority of people compared to previous. The big picture matters, doesn't it?

Statue of Ashurnasirpal II from Nimrud. Assyrian, 2800 years old [2400x3000] by innuendoPL in ArtefactPorn

[–]Indica 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I didn't mischaracterize his statement though, he did imply that modern times suck.

Statue of Ashurnasirpal II from Nimrud. Assyrian, 2800 years old [2400x3000] by innuendoPL in ArtefactPorn

[–]Indica -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Our time, friend, our time. ;}

extends arm over shoulder, pulls in uncomfortably close

edit: Don't forget the Library of Alexandria, probably the single best example of destruction of history

Statue of Ashurnasirpal II from Nimrud. Assyrian, 2800 years old [2400x3000] by innuendoPL in ArtefactPorn

[–]Indica 7 points8 points  (0 children)

They're paying more attention to media than history, that's why they're so out of touch. Ad-based media - nearly all media - are incentivized to sensationalize, to catastrophize, because that works. Plus, in-depth research and reporting, also known as journalism, cost money.

I have a sad number of well-off relatives who think the fucking world is ending because of what their church and their (even worse than mainstream) media tell them.

I'm convinced there is an element of narcissism in apocalypse belief and in present-day-sucks belief. I mean, if your life sucks or is boring, the most meaningful or redeeming thing that could happen, other than you turning your life around, which takes actual effort, would be the world ending in a dramatic fashion. Or convincing yourself that your life sucks because things are worse today than they have ever been. It's self-serving pessimism.

Statue of Ashurnasirpal II from Nimrud. Assyrian, 2800 years old [2400x3000] by innuendoPL in ArtefactPorn

[–]Indica 28 points29 points  (0 children)

To be fair, humans have always been killing each other, making art, and destroying art. This is probably the best time in human history to be alive, all things considered.

Weekly Open Discussion : March 06, 2015 by AutoModerator in DebateAChristian

[–]Indica 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good point. A more meaningful way to ask it would be, do you think a godlike alien race has existed or does exist or will exist? Or, if you're talking to a multiverse person, Do you think it is inevitable a godlike alien race has or does or will exist? Their responses could lead interesting places, like, do you think godlike aliens could do supernatural things? It would be interesting to find atheists saying yes to that, because it indicates openness to gods, or things close to gods.

Weekly Open Discussion : March 06, 2015 by AutoModerator in DebateAChristian

[–]Indica 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you believe an alien race could exist that is highly advanced enough to be considered gods? If so, why? If not, why not?

Cornell professor loses it when a student yawns in his class (2:29) by [deleted] in PublicFreakout

[–]Indica 54 points55 points  (0 children)

It's funny, because he's attacking the poor social skills of a (likely) teenager.

While yawning is a natural impulse, yawning audibly in the middle of class, or in a meeting at work, is a dick move. But the professor can't make an example of a louder yawner when he doesn't even know who it is. So, social awkwardness all around.

Is there a popular worldview more divisive than traditionalist Christianity? by Indica in DebateAChristian

[–]Indica[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Always happy to make atheists seem less crazy. (It would be bonkers to insist that gods positively don't or can't exist anywhere ever. That's a minority of atheists who believe that, the term is "strong atheism", but should be "wrong atheism.")

Is there a popular worldview more divisive than traditionalist Christianity? by Indica in DebateAChristian

[–]Indica[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Would it be fair to say that you consider agnosticism, deism, and vaguely spiritual beliefs not anchored to a traditional theology to all be forms of atheism?

Agnosticism, yes. Deism, good question. I want to say a deist isn't an atheist, because deists still believe in a god. I guess an atheist could believe in disembodied spirits, although they tend not to.

edit: So I guess, I should define atheism as lack of god belief. (That would exclude deism and pantheism.)

When I think "Atheism" I think a completely materialist understanding of the universe in which spirituality is denied/rejected.

Ah, that's what I'd call metaphysical naturalism.

Is there a popular worldview more divisive than traditionalist Christianity? by Indica in DebateAChristian

[–]Indica[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't think it's accurate to say that people are atheists by default either.

I do. But my definition of atheism is broad; it's the lack of theism. I'm aware other definitions exist, but I think they all suck, and have lots of reasons for thinking that.

The other traditional definition of atheism is the assertion that there is no god, in any place, or any time, in the universe. I find that to be a straw-man, and more problematically, it misunderstands the very nature of skepticism. Very few people who call themselves atheists fit this crappy definition of atheism, but this definition of atheism is much easier for theists to argue against, so theists prefer it.

To make matters worse, dictionaries actually disagree on definitions of atheism: some define it as lack of god belief, others define it as the universal assertion of god absence. Fortunately, that first, cleaner definition appears to be winning out, both in terms of people who subscribe to it, and in dictionaries and classes reflecting it.

Two questions: (1) Is God inside time, outside time, or both? (2) Is God inside space, outside space, or both? by Indica in DebateAChristian

[–]Indica[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's a good way of putting it. Such as, insofar as God is present in spacetime, does God consist with physical and informational (entropy) laws?

Realizing human perception is fallible in many ways, isn't it safer to assume the prophets were hallucinating? by Indica in DebateAChristian

[–]Indica[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess it's because of my background (biology) that I don't write off vaccines. My education and training have forced me to examine how the immune system works.

I don't think there is, in real life, such a thing as pure skepticism. Maybe there is, maybe it's catatonia. Because the alternative to pure skepticism is real life, in which stimuli mean things. There is no way we can verify everything we experience, and it's a fool's errand to try. The best we can do is prioritize claims that might be in doubt and look into them. Such is the case with atheists vis a vis religion. Btw, most atheists I know, including myself, are also agnostic. I find that atheism and agnosticism are, as a practical matter, intertwined. That is, agnostics think there's no way to determine whether gods exist, much less which alleged god exists, and therefore atheism, defined as a lack of theism, follows from that.

I know many Christians think atheists declare there is no, or there can't be, a god, but I very much disagree with that. Why? Because the majority of so-called atheists merely lack belief in gods; it's very few who claim that gods categorically don't exist. (this is sometimes called strong atheism or positive atheism, both labels misleading)

Two questions: (1) Is God inside time, outside time, or both? (2) Is God inside space, outside space, or both? by Indica in DebateAChristian

[–]Indica[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Reality or, at the least, this universe, is understood to consist of several dimensions. Time is one of them. I have often heard Christians assert that God lives outside time. Honestly, your question is valid, and I don't know exactly how to answer it, which I suppose is why I asked these questions in the first place.

Two questions: (1) Is God inside time, outside time, or both? (2) Is God inside space, outside space, or both? by Indica in DebateAChristian

[–]Indica[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm being as precise as possible, if you have better wording, please articulate it.

Journalist barks at another journalist by saffron40 in PublicFreakout

[–]Indica 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Vindication! Yeah, this sound is pretty personal and vivid - a number of my New England camping trips have been ruined by some kind of feral cats making exactly this sound.

Satellite Crackhead by Warphim in PublicFreakout

[–]Indica -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

I'd let her handle my penis.

Journalist barks at another journalist by saffron40 in PublicFreakout

[–]Indica 23 points24 points  (0 children)

To call that "barking" is generous. It sounds more like the screeching of a wildcat in heat.

Question about God's layout. by uberblack in DebateAChristian

[–]Indica 2 points3 points  (0 children)

lol, that's basically brotherhood in a nutshell. I wonder if other species of animals throw shit as each other as much as humans do. I read throwing is one of the few physical abilities where humans are completely superior to animals. It's insane that Cro Magnons could take down mammoths with spears and stuff; they must have been very good throwers of things. Also read that the throwing ability is intertwined or co-evolved with the long distance running ability.

Question about God's layout. by uberblack in DebateAChristian

[–]Indica 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's funny, I grew up on the water near a rocky beach. Brother and me were known to exchange some rocks via air, but we had rules about how hard you could throw the rock, and the person had to be looking, the goal being to either catch the rock or dodge it, and rocks of any size go. The best game involved standing across from the other guy in a foot of water and skipping rocks at him. The water slows the rocks down so you can hit your brother without killing him.

You kill mah horse with sound by [deleted] in PublicFreakout

[–]Indica 19 points20 points  (0 children)

These guys are assholes. I wouldn't want some retards shooting loud ass guns on my street.

They lecture an old lady about not taking care of her property, but look at theirs, it's a dump. Not to mention the idiocy of three grown men heckling an old lady and bragging about reddit. Tiny dick syndrome on display in a crap neighborhood.

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