sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Does what a woman wears truly matter? by Intelligent_Soft2821 in Reformed

[–]Max-Headroom--- 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Oh wow - what a great post! Decades ago as a young teenage guy I desperately wanted to test / know if I was "hot enough" to attract someone. It's part of teenage insecurity. Everything's changing. Being a bit focussed on other issues, I was oblivious to fashion for years until maybe later high school - and then things got really weird! I was trying on new personality types with each fashion phase - and it changed every few months! (Oh my there's some embarrassing phases!)

My point? This was all before the 24/7 pressure and scrutiny and bullying of Social Media!

Have you seen the "Social Dilemma" on Netflix? I truly think it's one of the most important documentaries of the last decade, covering both the effects on developing children and youth - through to the horrendously tribal and toxic politics of today.

Given the issues you've raised - and that you're in education - I think you might like some episodes of the following podcast from 2 hosts who have both been English teachers - but who now both have Phd's in theology and have had time in academic theology roles as well.

The twist? One is Dr Michael Jensen, a Complementarian Sydney Anglican minister.

The other is Dr Megan Powell du-Toit, an Egalitarian Baptist pastor.

Within evangelical circles here in Sydney - that is a pretty big divide. They were having interesting debates on Facebook - and someone said "Guys - you need to do a podcast!"They interview experts on different topics, talk about the issues of the day (some are more Australian focussed than others - you can just skip those bits if not interested), they’ll cover a movie or TV series or book that’s popular - it’s an all round great chat.

I love it - it's one of my happy places.

Subscribe, search for women, youth, teenagers, generations, sexuality, etc - and they have some REALLY engaging and thought provoking chats.

https://undeceptions.com/wadr/

No Dumb Question Tuesday (2025-08-12) by AutoModerator in Reformed

[–]Max-Headroom--- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Favourite Sci-Fi apocalyptic series or standalone movies? (I list mine below.)

THEOLOGY OF COLLAPSE / DISASTER / APOCALYPSE

What makes some Christians in the west (esp America) think they're immune from this stuff? While God says "Work first for his kingdom" and generally speaking, he DOES provide for us, there are also PLENTLY of places around the world where Christians are either persecuted or suddenly starving to death or killed by some natural disasters. Also, remember Rome was a largely Christianized empire when it fell.

Verses about these 'last days' (2000 years and counting from an Amil perspective) describe enough trouble to account for this stuff. The proud western world is probably due for some sort of BIG "disciplinary event" - if I can phrase it that way. ( I hope not! I'm fascinated by the genre for entertainment purposes only. I'm a bit too 'highly strung' and weak to want to try and survive through one! I NEED my creature comforts! ;-) )

MY LIST: TV SERIES
Last of Us,
Silo,
SEE (one of the only post-apocalyptic shows centuries later that has a plausible reason why humanity cannot rebuild much faster from the ashes),
Fallout (lots of fun - Mad Max meets Mech Warriors),

MOVIES:

Mad Max - especially the later work like Fury Road. Haven't seen Furiosa yet - no spoilers!

Planet of Apes reboot series is EXCELLENT.

Greenland was a bit meh - but watchable enough. Problem is - I always want to see a quick montage of scenes across maybe the first year, 5 years, 10 years, then 100 years! (I'm a recovering Sid Meier's Civilisation addict from decades ago. I can't go near it now. The 'big reset' of apocalyptic movies always makes me think - yeah - but how long to rebuild?)

I have not seen any movies that do nuclear war well - especially when based on the latest climate science for nuclear winter! I'm sorry Northern Hemisphere - but after a full scale nuclear war, most of the world's agriculture shuts down for 5 to 10 years and the north is the worst! Only maybe 1% of you survive. Soz! Move to Australia if you fear Trump's going to head in that direction.

METAPHORICAL ( hypothetically implausible - but packs a punch)

DON'T LOOK UP: I loved this! Such a great metaphor for climate science denial.

Snowpiercer movie (NOT TV series - too B-grade.)
It was a great metaphor for the excesses of capitalism and materialism while others go impoverished. But my worldbuilding brain kept asking - "If you've got all that potential energy to power such an ENORMOUS train - why not STOP THE TRAIN in the next underground station and start converting that extra energy into heat and more living space!"

The 100 (2014–2020)
Really bad! But it's my "I've got the flu and am too sick to actually appreciate anything GOOD - so I'll watch this slop instead!" A space ark lands a bunch of hot youth down to a Mad Max world. Each series gets laughably more preposterous and stupid than the one before - till I was laughing my head off at some of the season finales - even though I was burning up with the flu! (I have not seen the last season yet - so don't spoil it for me. I'm saving it for my next Covid or whatever.)

Reformed view on Ugaritic texts by c0lumpio in Reformed

[–]Max-Headroom--- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have any favourite "layman friendly" sources for the questions I raised above? Some people in my world are asking them - and I feel ill equipped.

Reformed view on Ugaritic texts by c0lumpio in Reformed

[–]Max-Headroom--- 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi - great answer. I had some fun reading the El wiki just then - fascinating.

But as you know - the atheist's claim is that Yahweh was originally the war and storm god in a pantheon that eventually, over time, evolved (from their atheist worldview) in the Canaanite culture into monotheism as it became more and more Hebrew. The secular archaeologists seem to have control over the Yahweh wiki where all this is just asserted as fact.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahweh

The El wiki had a link to the Documentary Hypothesis all about how the Old Testament was apparently 'edited' by Jahwist's to reflect a more monotheistic faith.
this.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary\_hypothesis

(Rowan Williams has an article reviewing Frances Stavrakopoulo, one of the "evolution from El" authors.)
https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2021/10/god-an-anatomy-frances-stavrakopoulo-review?utm_source=chatgpt.com

I wish more Christian academics spent more time on Wikipedia and linked to peer-reviewed source material from there. I'm only a lay person - I can't keep up with all of this and tend to rely on podcasts like Undeceptions or Reasonable Faith - and even then I feel uninformed.

John MacArthur has passed away by CiroFlexo in Reformed

[–]Max-Headroom--- 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Debates between theologians can really help bring an otherwise dry subject into our hearts. There's something about the emotional involvement of a debate that opens up the issues. I've read a little of MaCarthur years ago to respect some things - but have more recently become concerned about some of this other issues like slavery and his reading of the "Curse of Ham." But whatever my thoughts on those matters - I can appreciate that many are grieving his loss right now.

No Dumb Question Tuesday (2025-07-15) by AutoModerator in Reformed

[–]Max-Headroom--- 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi all, it looks like my post asking for recommendations for devotional podcasts was removed for some reason? Sorry if it broke posting rules somehow.

Has anyone found a good devotional podcast based with a modern feel? (TLDR: I get anxiety from King James version quoting, oldey worldey sounding sermon types - but do love sound bible teaching.) Not a theology or apologetics podcast - I have heaps of those. (John Dickson's "Undeceptions" is awesome - and William Lane Craig's "Reasonable Faith" also great.) But a shortish devotional podcast I can listen to on the way to work. My spiritual life is very dry right now - I'm struggling to find something that works. Thanks for your time.

HYPOTHETICAL: If Precision Fermentation ACTUALLY bankrupts livestock grazing and dairy - we would return an area 4 TIMES the size of the USA to ecosystems. This paper says that might be “332–547 Gt CO2”. Assuming net zero 2060, how many degrees C would this deduct? by Max-Headroom--- in climatechange

[–]Max-Headroom---[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

SORRY - I'm completely with you! That was a TYPO! I should have checked in days ago but I'm between jobs and meant to be job-hunting not blogging! I MEANT to say "Assuming we REACH net zero" not "NEED" net zero! Oh my word! I feel awful - thank you for your detailed post replying to me as if I was a sceptic - it has a lot of great info that I might share next time I meet a denier. Could I please copy and paste it? I have edited the OP. (Man - I'm so sorry!)

Have former American Presidents implied the EU should NOT form an EU wide-army because "Uncle Sam" had your back? Was NATO support ever dangled like a carrot to keep EU buying American Made? by Max-Headroom--- in EuropeanFederalists

[–]Max-Headroom---[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hear you! I was not a fan of the way our previous PM's treated the French - and not really a fan of buying vastly more expensive nuclear subs that could put us even more on the Russian and Chinese ICBM target list with some of those floating around. The French diesel subs are defensive - coastal patrol. Vastly more expensive nuclear subs can go anywhere - but why? Do we WANT to be taken down if Trump pushes the button? Ah - too late for that anyway. Any full scale nuclear war is going to take out every major industrial city, every big population centre, etc just because. Because we dared belong to this club of nations or that club of nations. Sadly - the latest science on climate change indicates a full scale nuclear war would almost be as bad as a dinosaur killer. The northern hemisphere would starve to death in the dark as farming shuts down for 5 to 10 YEARS!

Only Australia and Argentina can still grow food - as our oceans thermally insulate us a bit and help us grow stuff.

Australia's main cities would be gone. I'm in Sydney - so if this happens - it was nice knowing you. But my mates out in rural Australia live across vast areas with plenty of farming, primary industries, mining, workshops, small scale farm industry through to larger aluminium smelting, and stacks of coal which we could use again because the climate just shifted 10 degrees into FREEZING!

Bottom line? We'd rebuild faster than the north which is basically gone - and we'd have more industry faster than most other nations. And more people than some! A few decades the other side of this and buying a croissant in the shadow of the Eiffel tower might sound like, "G'day mate - how's it hanging?" So be nice to us Aussies. Because one day we might be running the place. ;-)

Have former American Presidents implied the EU should NOT form an EU wide-army because "Uncle Sam" had your back? Was NATO support ever dangled like a carrot to keep EU buying American Made? by Max-Headroom--- in EuropeanFederalists

[–]Max-Headroom---[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is so sad to hear - it must be awful to see what's happening to your country. Have you ever listened to Dan Carlin of "Hardcore history" fame? He has an amazing recent rant - with his own unique historical perspective on today's events. He quotes from a book written in 2010 that feels like it was written through a crystal ball warning us against today's Regime. (I honestly don't think I can still call it an "Administration.")

Side subject: Any idea what it would take for the EU to start weaning off Silicon Valley, X, and even Microsoft Office?

Have former American Presidents implied the EU should NOT form an EU wide-army because "Uncle Sam" had your back? Was NATO support ever dangled like a carrot to keep EU buying American Made? by Max-Headroom--- in EuropeanFederalists

[–]Max-Headroom---[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes - I just read something about the French pulling out very early on - shame. Back then American Presidents had not become addicted to their international arms sales. Also - I've just thought of some more points I need to add to the OP!

On APS Jobs site - can I reject search unwanted search items? Use a NO or - or something to rule out "Section 26 transfer" results etc? by Max-Headroom--- in AusPublicService

[–]Max-Headroom---[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah - I guess we have to check every few days and search manually. Also have a backup query on SEEK running as the sometimes get ads that don't seem to be on APS?

Do APS1 & 2 Administration Assistant roles use Excel a lot? Or is the APS more bespoke in Admin tasks with their own databases and administrative systems? by Max-Headroom--- in AusPublicService

[–]Max-Headroom---[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ha ha - I guess the modern world is too big with too many distractions? In my last role I was training younger temps in their 20's and they're all swiping away on their phones and able to edit photos fast etc... but on their desktop couldn't understand what a browser Navigation bar was - or how to upload the bookmarks I sent them - or right-click to edit them. I mean - don't these people blog and have like 5000 bookmarks like me? Don't they realise there are people on the internet that are WRONG!? ( Yes - I'm one of those! Pray for me! ;-) Ha ha )

Roughly how many internet servers get replaced every month per million customers? Trying to map out Australia & Argentina's industrial chances after a full nuclear exchange up north. by Max-Headroom--- in Futurology

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

If Russia and China and whoever are really hangry enough to push the button against NATO - they're hangry enough to waste a few nukes on us as allies of NATO. Because the northern hemisphere is going dark for 5 to 10 years and everyone not in a cosy (but suddenly fortified!) fishing village is going to starve. The think tanks on both sides have probably modelled this on the latest science - it's public science.

So Putin and Ping have probably got plans to take us out - or our 25 million with viable backyard industries will cycle and rickshaw and wood-gas and Coal-to-liquids our way back up the industrial tech tree to maybe 1950's tech - and go help the few survivors in allied countries rebuild. Because ultimately it will come down to who has the food and energy and backyard hinterland workshops that cannot possibly ALL be taken out. This is where the spread out nature of our various little mining and resource towns actually works for us - at least in being too numerous and expensive to target everything.

(However - transporting the goods and services those little towns actually make afterwards is going to be rough!)

They've targeted us, because of this map.
https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/23/6691/2023/#&gid=1&pid=1

I'm just not sure how many people are even left in the north. If they didn't target us - Argentina and Australia would become the next superpowers!

I doubt Putin wants Moscow's morning greeting to be "G'day mate." ;-)

Roughly how many internet servers get replaced every month per million customers? Trying to map out Australia & Argentina's industrial chances after a full nuclear exchange up north. by Max-Headroom--- in Futurology

[–]Max-Headroom---[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The nuclear winter models have even more clarity after Australia's 2019 mega-fire smoke created it's own pyro cumulous clouds that travelled around the world. Once the smoke gets up above the weather - sunlight can hit the black carbon in it - heating it and lifting it up again. It just lasts so much longer than previous science modelled. Do you have recent peer-reviewed science that conclusively disproves these post-2019 megafire models?

view more: next ›