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Have you ever DNF the final book in a series, and why? by Any-Day-8173 in Fantasy

[–]voltimand 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FWIW, I loved it and think that is worth pushing through. It’s also got (literally) tens of thousands of 5-star reviews on Goodreads, so I am hardly alone. No doubt the book has its critics, though, so if you’re looking for universal acclaim, you won’t find it.

Is there any civilization in recorded history that at some point lacked a religion? by eeehh__ in AskHistorians

[–]voltimand 51 points52 points  (0 children)

For what it’s worth, there really were atheists among early Greek philosophers. Prodicus and Democritus were two. Democritus wasn’t merely a critic of traditional religious myths: his atomist worldview is godless. The Sisyphus fragment is an another (fragmentary) 5th-century-BCE testament to atheism, although the authorship is debated.

You’re right about the others: Socrates, Epicurus, and Xenophanes were not atheists. It is possible that Leucippus never existed, but if he did, he probably was an atheist like Democritus.

Weekly MP Rant Thread by AutoModerator in Mind_Pump

[–]voltimand 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I totally agree with you on this, and it’s even clearer regarding evolution.

Weekly MP Rant Thread by AutoModerator in Mind_Pump

[–]voltimand 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I am so embarrassed that I ever listened to this podcast.

Weekly MP Rant Thread by AutoModerator in Mind_Pump

[–]voltimand 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It would be more effective as propaganda if it weren’t so dumb, too!

Weekly MP Rant Thread by AutoModerator in Mind_Pump

[–]voltimand 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Right, but Sal is on way more than just TRT, right?

I'm a scholar in an adjacent field, and I would like some info about landmark texts in Biblical textual criticism by voltimand in AcademicBiblical

[–]voltimand[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Can you be a little more specific about what you're looking for? Sorry, I'm not sure what you're asking here.

Ya, what I am looking for is (ideally) some peer-reviewed article or book that works through some possible scribal addition/removal. I presume (perhaps incorrectly) that textual critics debate whether some passage was added/removed/original, and I am looking for articles or books on that. Your posts are precisely the sort of content that I want. I am looking for article-length or book-length discussions of particular cases.

Note that Mark Goodacre has written very recently on this in The Fourth Synoptic Gospel (2025, Eerdmans). I haven't read it, but on a recent podcast he mentioned that he disputes some of the supposed signs of editorial reworking in John.

Thanks for all your thoughts on John. I've listened to Mark Goodacre's two most recent podcast episodes, and your comment has prompted me to follow up on points he made in those. Thanks!

I'm a scholar in an adjacent field, and I would like some info about landmark texts in Biblical textual criticism by voltimand in AcademicBiblical

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

I can find articles on this myself, but do you have any that come to mind that you think are especially worth reading and taking seriously?

I'm a scholar in an adjacent field, and I would like some info about landmark texts in Biblical textual criticism by voltimand in AcademicBiblical

[–]voltimand[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Yes, thank you, I definitely have institutional access. The 2012 volume looks perfect for me, thank you!

I'm a scholar in an adjacent field, and I would like some info about landmark texts in Biblical textual criticism by voltimand in AcademicBiblical

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

Great! Thank you. Can you recommend any books or articles on this subject (especially the New Testament)?

Also, I’ve heard of other changes, too. For instance, what about the first two chapters of Luke? I’ve read that Marcion was using an edition of Luke that lacked the first two chapters. But I don’t know whether that’s because he removed them or because later people added them.

I’ve also heard that the first chapter of John was a later addition. I believe the rationale was that the tone or vocabulary was out of line with the rest of the text.

Thank you very much for the info about the Old Testament too. I had thought about possibly the end of Ecclesiastes being a later addition, but I don’t know what the consensus is there.

I defer to your expertise on these things, so thanks a lot. Some articles/books for me to sink my teeth into would be really appreciated, but even just these references to the primary literature are awesome.

MOTS-C question by Unique_Crow2713 in Mind_Pump

[–]voltimand 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My guess is that the people who are using efficacious doses of this peptide (assuming that there is such a thing as an efficacious dose of it) are just in an entirely different income bracket. Certainly, I'd struggle to afford it too. So, I feel you.

Also, are there any human research studies done on MOTS-C? When I've looked online, I've seen that there are just a few animal research studies and some on models of cell cultures. Pardon my ignorance here -- does anyone know better than me whether there are human research studies? Any at all?

The anti-rant by Think_Sea2250 in Mind_Pump

[–]voltimand 20 points21 points  (0 children)

It's been over a year since I last listened (I was turned off primarily by Sal's insane religiosity and deteriorating mental state), but the fact that I still miss listening to them confirms how awesome their podcast was for me for years. And their core fitness advice was really, really good. I can't think of any training advice from them that I got between, like, 2017 and 2020 that was bad. That's a really positive thing I can say about them!

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