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Re: Speaking of Santa, Dan Dennett- teach all religion
Thanks Monk,
I watched this and a few of the other TED things.
It is so good to get the chance listen to intelligent discourse.
Of course the believers will "have a cow" on this one -
Re: Speaking of Santa, Dan Dennett- teach all religion
there is a video you will love, called the Four Horsemen- it's Dennett, Hitchens, Dawkins, and one other whose name escapes me presently. I'm going to post it soon.
I'm hoping for a little more input on the Logical Problem of Evil post first.Comment
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Re: Speaking of Santa, Dan Dennett- teach all religion
Thanks for the Four Horsemen.
I watched a bit of it today and can't wait until I have the time to listen to the whole thing.
I did notice that Hitch and one of the others had an ample glass of scotch in front of them and one what looks like a margarita glass.
Tongue lubricants I would imagine.
Monk,
I also came across this today
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Re: Speaking of Santa, Dan Dennett- teach all religion
you realize he is a notorious drinker lol...also a staunch republican.
i like 4 horsemen because you can tell he is on his A game and is less fluff.
i hope he pulls through his medical issues.Comment
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Re: Speaking of Santa, Dan Dennett- teach all religion
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: monk</div><div class="ubbcode-body">you realize he is a notorious drinker lol...also a staunch republican.
i like 4 horsemen because you can tell he is on his A game and is less fluff.
i hope he pulls through his medical issues. </div></div>
monk,
Yes Hitch has killed himself with his drinking and cigarette smoking which combined are prime agents in esophageal cancer.
Last I heard , he's lost his voice and I heard him say in a previous video interview that what he has, the stage it is in gives him just a 5% chance of surviving.
He's asking that people not pray for him.
What a loss.
In another 20 years or so and they could probably cure him and most if not all cancer.
I had NO idea he was a Republican.
I'll have to look into his reasoning on that big change but maybe his conversion was after his death was certain and he was making sure that he would not be consigned to a theist heaven.
Theist Heaven= Hitchens' idea of HellComment
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Re: Speaking of Santa, Dan Dennett- teach all religion
monk, from a brief websearch:
Convinced republican that I am, and foe of the prince who talks to plants and wants to be crowned "head of all faiths" as well as the etiolated Church of England, I find myself pierced by a pang of sympathy...Christopher Hitchens in Beware the In-Laws--Does Kate Middleton really want to marry into a family like this?
Of course when I read republican in your post I though Republican.
He's a small "r" republican which is okay if only one could find a working and truly representative republic.Comment
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Re: Speaking of Santa, Dan Dennett- teach all religion
he's actually a bit more than a lower case r.
he was pretty staunch in his support of Bush to oust Hussein and the war on terror was important to him. IS, rather.
but to show he still was possessed of his reason he severely rebuked McCain basically due to his choice of running mate, lol. I believe he actually did use the word, "REBUKE", and then announced he was voting for Obama.
his wit is always on point, if not his judgements lol.
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Re: Speaking of Santa, Dan Dennett- teach all religion
mon,
I went through a number of sites that said he was an equal opportunity attacker of both the Dems and Republicans but I find it disappointing that he would vote for Obama given his radical days when he was at college.
I guess this is that "mellowing" that I would call selling out that occurs as people age, get tied into their job, the system and lose their perspective.
He has the added persuasion of becoming a U.S citizen and might feel the obligation to really sign on to what are U.S standards and acceptance of a third rate governing form.
Ah well, none of us is perfect.
I guessComment
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Re: Speaking of Santa, Dan Dennett- teach all religion
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: johnnycakes</div><div class="ubbcode-body">mon,
I went through a number of sites that said he was an equal opportunity attacker of both the Dems and Republicans but I find it disappointing that he would vote for Obama given his radical days when he was at college.
I guess this is that "mellowing" that I would call selling out that occurs as people age, get tied into their job, the system and lose their perspective.
He has the added persuasion of becoming a U.S citizen and might feel the obligation to really sign on to what are U.S standards and acceptance of a third rate governing form.
Ah well, none of us is perfect.
I guess </div></div>
yeah, I mean, I consider him to be fairly on the money with 90% of what he opinionates about, but I disagree completely with his stance on Iraq having been a necessary war or just, despite it's outcomes. he has said he is a single issue voter.
don't get too upset with his obama vote, it was a protest against Palin. Utterly. He hit the circuit lambasting McCain and Palin, and basically said no thinking Republican or thinking person for that matter, could vote for them in good conscience lol.Comment
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Re: Speaking of Santa, Dan Dennett- teach all religion
monk,
I just find it so difficult to reconcile Hitchens' brilliance with his vote for what, given his propensity for accuracy and research into such subjects, he had to know was to be more of the same.
Abstention is also a way of voting.
The country is down to 50% of the electorate bothering to vote for one reason or the other.
I believe this is mostly due to apathy but there are a reasonable number of people who just don't see any benefit in casting a vote for the (always) lesser of two evils.
But even apathy is often just a long time feeling of one's vote not meaning anything whether that means a single vote is a drop in the ocean of votes or again that it really doesn't make a difference given the similarity of the two candidates.
Then there is the question of what would happen IF that 50% of non-voters were to suddenly smarten up and choose a third party candidate of the LEFT and win.
Would the powers that be allow a (real) leftist to take the oath of office ?
Hell, they'd shoot KUCINICH if he were elected.Comment
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Daniel Dennett - Clergy who do not believe...
I read this story a little while back. It is a research study conducted by Daniel Dennett about preachers who do not believe yet continue to serve as pastors but keep their personal 'heretical views' to themselves while maintaining face. It is worth a quick read. Is your pastor one of them?
Wes - Methodist minister
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He says he is happy in ministry, knowing that it provides a flexible and comfortable lifestyle and an opportunity to positively influence people’s lives. .. “My colleagues here are very educated, very well read, and do not believe the significance of Christianity lies in whether it’s literally true. They do believe that it is metaphorically describing something that is real. Something spiritual that we cannot get at, that is a presence in this universe
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