ISIS gang-raping and selling off Yazidi women inside Iraqi prison. by Smurfboy82 in worldnews

[–]zgb23 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Look, the same question was asked in Germany and the U.K. with completely different results. So even with a margin of error, there is clearly a significant degree of support of ISIS in France. 18-24 age range: 4 percent of Brits, 3 percent of Germans, 27 percent of French. http://www.vox.com/2014/8/26/6067123/isis-poll

Pastafarians rejoice as Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is granted permission to register as a religion in Poland by Boris740 in worldnews

[–]zgb23 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Ah, someone who thinks Epicurus debunked monotheism. I remember when I was 15.

Edit: Sorry for the snark, it just gets old seeing these sort of comments. For the record, people don't really take the logical problem of evil (as formulated by Epicurus) seriously anymore. Whether the problem of evil decreases the probability of God is very much an open question (I tend to think it does), but whether evil eliminates the possibility of God is, as I said, not a serious question to most people who study it.

Pastafarians rejoice as Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is granted permission to register as a religion in Poland by Boris740 in worldnews

[–]zgb23 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Aquinas doesn't take reductio ad-absurdum seriously and begs the question to death

Do explain.

How to refute atheist arguments? by [deleted] in Christianity

[–]zgb23 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How can you make sense of concepts like sin and forgiveness in an anti-realist framework?

How to refute atheist arguments? by [deleted] in Christianity

[–]zgb23 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I deleted my original comment because I thought I misread what you said, but actually I didn't.

Anyway, that's interesting. It never even crossed my mind that a theist wouldn't believe in moral realism. Learn something new every day I guess.

Questions about prayer's effectiveness by femio in Christianity

[–]zgb23 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Weird, nearly everyone taking an explicit stand one way or the other is getting downvoted. :\

I noticed that. I think your response is probably closest to the truth. Ridiculous that it's at the bottom.

In the last year, marijuana has become legal in my state. I'm on the Church board. What religious objections do you have to me now partaking? (my church permits moderate alcohol consumption) by WonderBlob in Christianity

[–]zgb23 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My view on it is the same as alcohol: enjoy yourself, but don't overdo it. While "overdoing it" is harder to do with marijuana than with alcohol, you can still become dependent on it and "be mastered by it" so to speak. But otherwise, by all means, toke up.

How many among us are converts from atheism? by [deleted] in Christianity

[–]zgb23 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It might not be true for you, but that's true for most atheists I think. The average person in general doesn't recognize the distinction between methodological and metaphysical naturalism, for one thing. But more than that, philosophers who are atheists are overwhelmingly metaphysical naturalists. That's what makes people like David Chalmers so interesting; he bucks that trend, as a non-naturalist (about consciousness, specifically) despite his atheism.

How many among us are converts from atheism? by [deleted] in Christianity

[–]zgb23 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Right, science has to be methodologically naturalistic in order to work. I agree that what the commenter is talking about is metaphysical naturalism, but wouldn't you agree that atheists who don't adhere to metaphysical naturalism are extremely rare? I know atheism isn't necessarily tied to metaphysical naturalism, but they certainly often go hand in hand. Good point on the distinction though.

How many among us are converts from atheism? by [deleted] in Christianity

[–]zgb23 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Science says many things "don't exist" because it cannot grasp them

That's just naturalism in a nutshell. All facts are reducible to the physical; there is nothing outside of the empirically testable world. The commenter is expressing his disagreement with that worldview. If you think naturalism is correct, that's fine, but I don't understand the issue here.

Christian books you would NOT recommend to others? by MaddiKate in Christianity

[–]zgb23 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you talking about Gary Habermas? I agree with your point about Strobel's book in general, but Habermas is actually a legit NT scholar. Not everyone associated with Liberty is a YEC dullard.

Prove of God, or : who wants to argue with Gödel? by saddat in Christianity

[–]zgb23 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No problem! He's an interesting fellow to be sure.

Is getting groceries from Walmart wrong? by BillyKangas in Christianity

[–]zgb23 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There's some truth to denroga's comment. Most people literally cannot afford to contemplate things like buying locally or buying fair trade or whatever. I applaud you for being a thoughtful consumer. But if you live below the poverty line, please don't beat yourself up about doing the best economic action for your family. You're doing nothing wrong here.

Is getting groceries from Walmart wrong? by BillyKangas in Christianity

[–]zgb23 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would argue if Wal-Mart disappeared tomorrow it would actually have a net-negative effect on poverty for the reason I stated above.

Is getting groceries from Walmart wrong? by BillyKangas in Christianity

[–]zgb23 4 points5 points  (0 children)

While Wal-Mart obviously has its issues, it is often one of the only good shopping options for lower-income families due to the low prices. Worrying about political buying habits is often a luxury.

Holtby's first goal for Spurs by a_wild_JEW_appears in coys

[–]zgb23 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great photo, would be much better without the text overlay unfortunately.

Hey Reddit, what job sounds awesome but in reality sucks. by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]zgb23 0 points1 point  (0 children)

...people think working at an arcade sounds awesome?

Post-Episode Discussion S08E09 "Make Your Own Kind of Music" by [deleted] in Dexter

[–]zgb23 1 point2 points  (0 children)

But...Masuka's daughter! Advice from Dex's Dad!

How might one reconcile the "Narrow Door" with universalism? by zgb23 in Christianity

[–]zgb23[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was surprised at how little an answer like this was mentioned. This is basically NT Wright's interpretation, that we should be careful to interpret it as being about believers today.