1267 replies to this topic

[Mr. Roboto]

[PERM BANNED]

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[Mr. Roboto]

Are you telling me that the all loving, all knowing God is going to let people's beloved pets (the ones he created) starve to death? 

 

Confused me too. Jesus don't want my Lhasa? Please...

[freedom78]

If dogs go to heaven, do people who come from countries where you can eat dogs run around with fork and knife, or do they and dogs finally make peace?

[Zimbochick]

Bill Maher's Muslim Problem

[Mr. Roboto]

Ben was really obnoxious I thought. If you see the whole thing in its entirety. Sam Harris was making a very clear point,and he just talked all over him and acted like a doosh. Although Affleck seemed amped up the entire show, I asked the Missus what he was on at one point. 

[Zimbochick]

I'm not a big Affleck fan, but Maher's ongoing rampage against Muslims is just fucking stupid.

[Mr. Roboto]

All while taking tax subsidies to build this place...

 

Oct 8 (Reuters) - The developer of a Noah's Ark-based theme park in Kentucky said on Wednesday he would fight for his religious rights after state officials warned he could lose millions in potential tax credits if he hires only people who believe in the biblical flood.

 

Ark Encounter, which is slated to open in 2016 in Williamston, Kentucky, is not hiring anyone yet, but its parent company Answers in Genesis asks employees to sign a faith statement including a belief in creationism and the flood.

 

State officials and Ark Encounter lawyers have exchanged letters in which the state threatened not to proceed with tax incentives for the park if there was discriminatory hiring practices, a state official confirmed on Wednesday.

 

The letters between the parties came to light after the Louisville Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald-Leader obtained them through open records requests.

 

"We're hoping the state takes a hard look at their position, and changes their position so it doesn't go further than this," Ark Encounter's Executive President Mike Zovath told Reuters.

 

Zovath, who is also co-founder of Answers in Genesis, said that if tax incentives for the project are withdrawn because it does not give written assurances the state now seeks, it would violate the organization's First Amendment and state constitutional rights.

 

Plans for the park include a wooden replica of the ark during the $73-million first phase and other biblical-themed attractions will be added in phases. The project has been financed through donations and bonds, but Zavath said the state's incentives could help finance future phases.

 

In July, Ark Encounter, LLC, received preliminary approval to collect a rebate from a portion of the sales tax revenues generated at its park.

 

The tourism tax credit is potentially worth more than $18 million over a 10-year period.

 

Zovath said the state has added a requirement about hiring practices that is not part of the existing tourism tax credits law.

 

But a state official said on Wednesday that everybody knows laws regarding hiring practices and that the states doesn't need to elaborate them for companies seeking incentives.

 

"We expect all of the companies that get tax incentives to obey the law," Gil Lawson, communications director for the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, said. (Editing by Fiona Ortiz, Brendan O'Brien and Sandra Maler)

[Zimbochick]

I'm sure by now everyone has heard of Brittany Maynard. Can anyone explain to me why the fuck suffering is thought of as necessary in the over-religious crowd? It makes no sense to me.

 

Dying Cancer Victim Begs Brittany Maynard Not To End Her Life

[Mr. Roboto]

I was not aware of this story.

 

The horrors of cancer and the brutal treatment are very personal. If I'm terminally ill, and I want to check out, then I should have the right to do that. Why would I prolong the inevitable so I may suffer needlessly? Seems insane. We're all going to die. I'd imagine not all of us will be given a timeline of when. However in this case, she knows the time is soon. What she is doing is brave I believe. It's also the compassionate thing. She gets to leave on her terms, surrounded by people who love her.

 

I watched a documentary about this on Flix. The end of the film was a woman doing the same thing. She had her family with her. It was profound and I cried like a baby watching it. But again, she was in her home, with her husband. Her final words expressed relief. She was glad it was over, realizing as the medication kicked in that she had nothing to be scared of, and that she felt blissful (medication.) To me, that's the way to go. I've known people who died alone in hospital beds (my brother included) and I couldn't think of a worse way to go. We treat our pets better than this. 

[Zimbochick]

I was discussing this with a good friend online, an ex-Catholic, and this is what she wrote:

 

It's a "thing" with some fundamentalist-type Christians. And some old-school Catholics. They believe suffering is a blessing because Jesus suffered on the Cross and they can "share" it with him. I went one on one with someone about it. Can't remember who but they said their grandmother was especially blessed because she'd suffered horribly before she died. She also said, "Grandma was happy to suffer for God." I asked her if SHE had ever suffered and got no response.

As someone who has endured great pain..... it's a bunch of hooey, IMHO. My 20 hours of complete agony with a blocked intestine did NOT bring me closer to God. I would not have gone up to Heaven and said, "Thanks for that death, I really feel special!" There's a real martyr streak in a lot of fundamentalists.

Catholics have a lot of saints who died especially grisly deaths.At one time the type of death was considered when bestowing sainthood. Getting your head chopped off was a plus. If that head later spoke and said something like, "I suffer gladly for God" .... so much the better.

 

[Zimbochick]

I think some of this goes along with the anti-intellectual fad. That miniscule chance that doctors may be wrong despite seeking multiple opinions. The folklore of the "uncle's wife's cousin who had a neighbor" that was diagnosed as terminal and is now cured. In Brittany Maynard's case it's not as though she is healthy and fit and choosing this path for funzies. With a massive tumor of that size she must be experiencing a lot of pretty awful symptoms already. Having watched a loved one die slowly, I can't imagine anyone thinking there is any benefit whatsoever in extending life at that stage.

[Mr. Roboto]

Of course now ya got me reading about this, and here is a comment that is very similar to the rest: 

 

I would disagree that it takes courage to die. I think it takes more courage to live. 

 

 

 

 

Real easy to say behind a computer, and free of a brain cancer diagnosis, right?

 

And like your friend said about the fundies: 

 

Actually suffering is a part of sanctification.

 

“I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body that is the church”

 

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

 

If any man would come after me… let him take up his cross daily.

 

 

I find that the way the liberals are framing the debate is one false dilemma after another. This poor woman can live out her full days coherent and full of life. Yes, she will suffer pain (or discomfort as my doctor brother says) but how is pain the full measure of a life? We are here for God’s pleasure, He is not here for ours and we ourselves are not here for our own pleasure.

 

 

 

That's bonkers to me, totally nutso. 

 

And then of course the slippery slope argument:

 

 

If you want to know where this leads, look at the Netherlands today.

 

Doctors are “euthanizing” without review. Without even consulting with families or any patient declarations or wishes. More than 70% of babies born with Down’s or similar conditions are being “terminated” in the name of “quality of life.”

 

 

[Mr. Roboto]

[freedom78]

I still don't get art.