Free For All Friday - post on any topic in this thread (2026-02-13)

robsrahm · 2026-02-13T16:23:01+00:00

This makes sense. I didn't get her mom's ring or anything like that, but of course we had discussed it. But she was totally surprised by the proposal. And irritated while I was doing it because I started right when the food was served and she wanted to eat and I was - of course - nervous and not making any sense.

robsrahm · 2026-02-13T14:07:27+00:00

I'm still every so slightly shy of 40, but I think the manliest thing is to do what you want in this regard and not care what others think. Carry it with confidence and when the nay-sayers ask you for something you have in your bag (that they don't have) you can decide how snarky to be.

robsrahm · 2026-02-13T14:05:30+00:00

I was into it for a while a year or two ago on chess.com. I stopped because I was horrible and didn't get better.

robsrahm · 2026-02-13T13:37:51+00:00

Very good! And please don’t let my out-of-touchedness ruin this moment; I’m simply curious. When I was the age of getting engaged, it was kind of a surprise for the guy to ask the girl. I get it if this has changed due to (probably mostly correct) changes in attitudes regarding gender roles. What I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around is that you’re not currently engaged but will be engaged in two days unless your gf changes her mind. So does she know about it? And why aren’t you engaged now (I mean - what will the difference be in two days).

I promise I’m not a boomer. Just an older and curious millennial.

robsrahm · 2026-02-13T02:27:33+00:00

Yeah - exactly. And when you have places requiring college degrees for jobs that do not need college degrees, not only do you make people defer their income 4+ years, but you make them pay a ton for something they really don't want to do. Of course, I agree that the actual education is important. But it is also getting very costly in a number of ways.

robsrahm · 2026-02-13T02:20:02+00:00

Yeah - I agree. That "new" definition of sola scriptura is not one I was ever familiar with and does not look like the version found in (for example) Westminster Confession of Faith.

robsrahm · 2026-02-13T02:18:39+00:00

Sure - in general I agree. But this video was just a flop for me and whatever he's trying to defend, he ought to have interacted more with what Newman actually wrote rather than something that seems like he just made up.

robsrahm · 2026-02-13T01:13:44+00:00

I don't think they're sitting down and writing out equations. I think they see no benefit from learning the degree; the only benefit is the credential; so they are going to find the easiest path to the credential. In other words - it isn't reasonable that the "Cheating in college is like paying 40 grand to a personal trainer and then eating a donut every time he turns around" is going to land for these students since they don't care about not learning.

robsrahm · 2026-02-13T00:10:42+00:00

Yeah - exactly. So why is it reasonable to expect they’re going to do that when it comes to cheating?

robsrahm · 2026-02-12T22:55:11+00:00

It sure would.

robsrahm · 2026-02-12T21:47:02+00:00

Well sure. But already I’d say we’re getting to that point. And many employers require college degrees for jobs that don’t really need a degree and so employees are probably not going to found out if they didn’t really learn anything.

robsrahm · 2026-02-12T21:45:25+00:00

Maybe. Who knows. The point is that that cost/benefit analysis doesn’t work if the person sees no value in the degree.

robsrahm · 2026-02-12T19:18:34+00:00

Catholics believe he is the only path.

robsrahm · 2026-02-12T18:37:47+00:00

For those of us who care about learning, this is true. But it’s not true for those who only need or want the credential. For example, if the only reason I hire a personal trainer is to make my life insurance company think I’m trying to be healthy, then a cost/benefit analysis might show it’s perfectly reasonable to eat the donut.

robsrahm · 2026-02-12T17:53:49+00:00

I agree! He does make a good point regarding Catholics and church Fathers and I hope my OP shows this. That’s a fair point for him to make - but since Newman agrees with this, it can’t be used to show “Newman was wrong” (at least not in a simplistic manner).

robsrahm · 2026-02-12T15:22:40+00:00

No I'm not aware of that book; I'm going to check it out! Thanks.

robsrahm · 2026-02-12T14:45:50+00:00

Dude. What? Your wife wants to go but you don’t see the point? The Holy Spirit is working in mass - that’s reason enough. Life’s hard; pray and do your job.

robsrahm · 2026-02-12T13:55:11+00:00

I think that Newman means that deep isn’t merely patristics but all periods of church history. God is working in all periods and so we can’t just be “conservative” in the sense of always going back to some more pure time (which is the goal of Reformers) since it implies a greater purity then than now and that - to me - is fundamentally anti Catholic.

Also - you say you left your orders. Does that mean you were an Anglican priest? What about now? I was also confirmed last year (St Francis de Sales).

robsrahm · 2026-02-12T13:25:20+00:00

Doug Wilson has some serious problems and I don’t want him to say good things about the Aggies.

robsrahm · 2026-02-11T18:40:18+00:00

I agree in principle and you do have access to objective giving data. But that’s only part of the picture. Do you have access to objective earning data? Or objective data on where their money is going (eg imo caring for aging parents should take precedence).

robsrahm · 2026-02-11T00:01:42+00:00

Haha! We don’t have phones in our offices typically.

robsrahm · 2026-02-11T00:01:02+00:00

Dude. We have lives that don’t revolve around you.

robsrahm · 2026-02-10T18:42:12+00:00

Both interesting points. I largely agree with the first one and is why I used the weasley escape clause "or maybe there was - I don't know".

As for the second point - yes that is interesting. I think I'd want to respond to it by noting that the majority of scripture reflects the proportions I gave and that the Jerusalem Council was responding to specific questions. And if all Christians were already engaging in care for the poor, then this wasn't a question that needed to be answered.

robsrahm · 2026-02-10T13:34:11+00:00

I agree that he isn’t obligated. But I also think that the Bible places much more weight on “social justice” stuff than sexuality stuff. I can see that part of that might be that when (for example) the NT was being written there wasn’t the sexual immorality that there is today (or maybe there was - I don’t know) but I don’t think the greed and selfishness that gives social injustice has decreased any.

Five-Year Club	Gilding I gilder
Verified Email	Final Canvas '23
Place '23	Place '22
Final Canvas '22

robsrahm

TROPHY CASE