Friday/Saturday/Sunday morning preaching.

This is the Ethos, Mones and Monastica version of the chat threads, where the membership of Total War Center is invited to discuss any topic concerning the domains of religion and philosophy. Of course, despite what the title may suggest, the subjects of conversation are not limited to Abrahamic creeds and what an imam, rabbi and chaplain may preach inside a mosque, synagogue and church respectively, but, on the contrary, touch almost everything, from Rousseau's view towards secularism to the Messianic nature of prophet Manes. As usual, all topics can be brought up in the most leisure fashion, but, of course, please don't forget to obey the sacrosanct commands of TWC.

Let the thread bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: Catholics, Buddhists, Shiites and Atheists according to their kinds. And it was so.

Once more we are on the runup to Christmas and quickly followed by another year so the question is, What kind of year did you have?

What if I'm a scientologist and it's a thursday? Am I still allowed to post here?

I am sure you look lovely in your admirals suit

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

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Is it allowed to laugh at these people?

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Harnessing* the extreme case, does anyone here argue that (all) religious beliefs are respectable per se? I think not, at all, but it is bad taste to laugh at people's beliefs. Except extreme cases. Well, no, I'm not sure really.

*Learned a new word today.

To be honest I don't really think any religious belief is respectable but that's just me.

That being said though, respect and mockery are two different things.

That being said, I don't really have any issues with mocking religion either so

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Originally Posted by mishkin

Harnessing* the extreme case, does anyone here argue that (all) religious beliefs are respectable per se? I think not, at all, but it is bad taste to laugh at people's beliefs. Except extreme cases. Well, no, I'm not sure really.

*Learned a new word today.

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Is it bad taste to laugh at people who deluded themselves into thinking they have no religious beliefs?

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Originally Posted by Cookiegod

Is it bad taste to laugh at people who deluded themselves into thinking they have no religious beliefs?

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Define religious belief.

Belief in religion.

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Originally Posted by Akar

Belief in religion.

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Do you know what a definition is?

Definition: To define

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Originally Posted by Akar

Definition: To define

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Repeating the term really shows your ability to define something.

Repetition is the soul of wit

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Originally Posted by Cookiegod

Is it bad taste to laugh at people who deluded themselves into thinking they have no religious beliefs?

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Perhaps those people "who delude themselves into thinking they have no religion" define religion differently than how you define 8r, and by their own definition they have no religion. Then it would be wrong to mock them because of imposing you own definition on them that they themselves don't agree with.

So how do you define the word "religion"?

Parable of the Good Samaritan

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Luke 10:25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii [a denarius was a day's wage for a laborer] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

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Matthew Henry's Bible Commentary

If we speak of eternal life, and the way to it, in a careless manner, we take the name of God in vain. No one will ever love God and his neighbour with any measure of pure, spiritual love, who is not made a partaker of converting grace. But the proud heart of man strives hard against these convictions. Christ gave an instance of a poor Jew in distress, relieved by a good Samaritan. This poor man fell among thieves, who left him about to die of his wounds. He was slighted by those who should have been his friends, and was cared for by a stranger, a Samaritan, of the nation which the Jews most despised and detested, and would have no dealings with. It is lamentable to observe how selfishness governs all ranks; how many excuses men will make to avoid trouble or expense in relieving others. But the true Christian has the law of love written in his heart. The Spirit of Christ dwells in him; Christ's image is renewed in his soul. The parable is a beautiful explanation of the law of loving our neighbour as ourselves, without regard to nation, party, or any other distinction.

It also sets forth the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward sinful, miserable men. We were like this poor, distressed traveller. Satan, our enemy, has robbed us, and wounded us: such is the mischief sin has done us. The blessed Jesus had compassion on us. The believer considers that Jesus loved him, and gave his life for him, when an enemy and a rebel; and having shown him mercy, he bids him go and do likewise. It is the duty of us all, in our places, and according to our ability, to succour, help, and relieve all that are in distress and necessity.

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Hm, the sweet smell of Christian hypocrisy. If they only tried to follow what they preach minimally, the western world would have ceased to be a manure for centuries.

What does that even have to do with anything? That's literally just a copy paste of a bible verse. Watch, I can do it too:

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Originally Posted by Ezekiel 20:17-21

¹⁷ Then the Babylonians came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust. ¹⁸ When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her naked body, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister. ¹⁹ Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. ²⁰ There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. ²¹ So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled.

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Any other atheists in here who enjoy watching Tridentine masses?

What would my divine punishment be for saying 'good god' in vain frequently over the course of my life?

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Originally Posted by mishkin

Hm, the sweet smell of Christian hypocrisy. If they only tried to follow what they preach minimally, the western world would have ceased to be a manure for centuries.

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If the Western world is a manure, then the rest of the world must be a toxic waste dump. Bad as it is, the Western world is still better off than any other part of the world.

The Western world did try to follow what they preach, very minimally, which is why international organizations like the Red Cross, arose in the West, not in the East or other parts of the world. I can't think of a single international charitable organization that dealt with everyone, not just their own ethnic group or religion, that did not arise in the west. Can you? Not a lot, but better than nothing. Even a tiny smidgen is better than nothing at all.

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Originally Posted by Diamat

Any other atheists in here who enjoy watching Tridentine masses?

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The traditional Latin Catholic mass? I would think only Latin major atheistist would enjoy a Latin mass.