JackC
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Everything posted by JackC
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We should but debate is thin on the ground in here. Unfortunately, SC suffers from more than it's fair share of McCarthyism so I wouldn't hold your breath. We can't and here's why: I "know" God exists and that His Word is true. I am solid in my belief. Nothing will ever change that. ~ Pajarito If you present valid evidence that you're right, I'll happily change my tune but apparently nothing can change yours so any debate, evidence, logic or proof I may set forward will be swept aside in favour of a C&P from AiG. So it wouldn't be a debate so much as a proselytizing session. Such is the way of things. Edit: My original post wasn't aimed at you per se, more at the general idea that religion deserves special respect and should be exempt from certain types of criticism. It shouldn't.
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Maybe we can but this is SC! Seriously though, some beliefs are so mind bogglingly bizarre and devoid of reason that reductio ad absurdum is the most effective tool to use. It's a legitimate debate tactic and not one designed to spare your feelings. I'm sorry but I don't think we should deal with an assault on rationality by patting the chap on the head and making politically correct noises at him till he goes away. Religion deserves no special treatment.
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Objecting to a belief being called stupid doesn't mean that it's not. Any other stupid belief would be ripe for ridicule but religion must be respected? Why? Why should I respect a stupid belief just because someone calls it a religion?
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So, about the so-called right to self defense in Britain
JackC replied to birdlike's topic in Speakers Corner
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If you like that percussive style, try some Thomas Leeb or some Eric Roche. Edit: ooh ohh Seasick Steve. 3 string wonder.
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So long as he's not in the UK, I don't care. That said, I doubt he's too popular in the middle east and his track record on peace is a bit shakey having commited British troops to action five times in six years.
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Not according to the dictionary. If you don't believe in god, you're an atheist. You don't necessarily have to actively believe there is no god, if you simply don't put any faith in a god then you're an atheist by definition. Main Entry: athe·ism Pronunciation: 'A-thE-"i-z&m Function: noun Etymology: Middle French athéisme, from athée atheist, from Greek atheos godless, from a- + theos god 1 archaic : UNGODLINESS, WICKEDNESS 2 a : a disbelief in the existence of deity 2 b : the doctrine that there is no deity
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No, it's quite simple: there are some folks going around saying there's a god. I don't believe them. It's as simple as that. If that is a religion, then not believing in the infinite number of things that you don't believe in is also a religion. If you don't believe in a chocolate teapot orbiting Alpha Centauri then you're a fully fledged member of the "no-chocolate-teapot-orbitting-Alpha-Centauri" religion. If you think Hilary Clinton would be a shit president than you're a "no-clintons-in-the-Whitehouse-ist". Any position you can think of is a bloody religion one way or the other.
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If you change the word religion to belief system, it's not hard to do. Ism: A doctrine, system, theory, or practise. How can not believing something be a belief system? It's like saying not collecting stamps is a hobby or that bald is a hair colour. It's bonkers.
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So what am I if I simply don't believe in god? If I don't make any claims about the non-existence of a god and I don't make any claims about not being able to know if there is or isn't a god, I just plain old don't believe, what am I?
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So if atheism is a religion and theism obviously is, what position must I take to have no religion?
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Eh? How can atheism be called a religion? What's religious about not believing something?
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Most people realise that there is a chance that their parachutes wont open, that's why we jump with reserves (which also have a small chance that they wont open). There is also a small chance that an AAD will misfire or just plain not work. This is partly why there is constant concern over complacency and gadget reliant jumpers. Faith is a pretty dangerous concept in skydiving.
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Hmm... Blessed are the meek, not the whiney. Religious folk sure seem to enjoy a good victim complex.
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Maybe, but religion provides a nice label don't you think? Those nice labels make it much easier for Iraqi Sunni and Shi'ite muslims to kill each other. The same goes for Irish Catholics vs Protestants or Kashmiri Sikhs vs Muslims etc. That's before we even consider the mutual feelings of "I'm right and you're wrong you fcuking heathern bastard" that seem to follow religious labels around.
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Don't give up your day job to become a statistician. If I have 10 coin tosses in a row and they all turn up heads, the probability of the next one coming up head is still 0.5. If I have 10 coin tosses the probability of at least one of them turning up heads is 1 - 0.5^10 = 0.999023 ie it's virtually inevitable.
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Right, but luckily we know there are billions of galaxies containing billions of stars existing for billions of years which gives plenty of time to organise zillions of molecules into every conceivable order. The odds of winning the lottery are about 1 in 14 million. If I buy a billion tickets at random, what are my chances of winning at least once? Coversely, what are the odds that an entity capable of creating a universe just happening to exist? They've got to be larger than the odds of the universe just happening to exist, haven't they?
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Who's the best captain, Kirk or Birdseye?
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Is this a Red Herring? No. It illustrates that faith in religion doesn't have the same consequences as "faith" in cosmology so Royd's point is of limited value. There is no proof, you already know that. But there is evidence and you know that too. But I think your more interested in word games than reading any of it.
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The bold characters are important because I remember a fatality (in Australia if I'm correct) where one of the causes was the installation of normal risers on a PdF container (made for reversed risers). I'd ask a rigger anyway before using that credit card Edit: found the incident thread here Actually, that incident was one of the things that made me ask. I wanted to know just how compatible modern stuff is. Thanks guys.
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How many people do you know who live their life according to the Drake equation? How many people try to force big bang morality onto others? Cosmology doesn't tell you your going to hell because you didn't suck up to the right theory. It only takes faith to believe in something if you don't have any evidence. Big bang cosmology and evolutionary biology both have evidence in the form of cold, hard, empirical facts, backed up by testable theories that make real, accurate predictions. Religion has a book.
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Yep, that's what I mean. I just wanted to make sure that there were no issues with buying for example, a main and a container and then finding out they won't fit together without modifications, or that a correctly sized main canopy X is known to malfunction in container Y. Basically that I don't need to be an expert rigger before I get the credit cards out.
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Erm no. You say there is a god, I say prove it. You say this is the only planet capable of supporting life, I say prove it. You're making the claims here.
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I'm thinking of putting together a rig from a combination of new and used parts. Is there anything I really need to look out for?
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I take it you think that any old line of bullshit is better than admitting you don't know?