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Would People Prefer Religion to Be Empirically Proven?

Pixel42 said:
My favourite Dave Allen story was the one about him attending his first funeral as a small child and seeing a priest cross himself for the first time. He spent the rest of his childhood thinking what they were saying was "In the name of the father and the son, and into the hole he goes".
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My mother and I both liked Dave Allen and we went to a live performance, and we literally were holding our sides in pain by the time he finished because we had laughed so much. If you thought he was funny on TV dial that up to 10 for his live performances.
 
TragicMonkey said:
It's a bit confusing because Catholicism isn't against alcohol. There's no prohibition against drinking for the faithful or for those in holy orders, and it's not a sin. It's some Protestant denominations that think alcohol is sinful.
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Including maintaining that the communion uses unfermented "grape juice" rather than wine. While nonsense of course......
 
Steve said:
  • "The Pope and an atheist are having a discussion...and it slowly gets more and more heated until eventually the Pope can't take it anymore and he says to the atheist - "You are like a man who is blindfolded, in a dark room who is looking for a black cat that isn't there." The atheist laughs and says - "With all due respect, we sound awfully similar. You are like a man who is blindfolded, in a dark room who is looking for a black cat that isn't there but the difference is you've found it." - Dave Allen, Irish Comedian


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IIRC "a man who is blindfolded, in a dark room who is looking for a black cat that isn't there" was originally Thomas Huxley, although I think it was a darkened coal cellar for extra blackness. I remember quoting it once to a girl who was going to Oxford to study theology, she went off in huff.
 
TragicMonkey said:
It's a bit confusing because Catholicism isn't against alcohol. There's no prohibition against drinking for the faithful or for those in holy orders, and it's not a sin. It's some Protestant denominations that think alcohol is sinful.
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Sinful - it's the root of all evil! (As is sex, as is gambling, as is dancing, as is being a Roman Catholic, as is.... it is amazing the number of roots evil has.)
 
TragicMonkey said:
It's a bit confusing because Catholicism isn't against alcohol. There's no prohibition against drinking for the faithful or for those in holy orders, and it's not a sin. It's some Protestant denominations that think alcohol is sinful.
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I grew up in a Grape Juice protestant church. The reasoning, loosely, was that you drink to get drunk, or at least get a little buzz on, and it was considered trying to abuse drugs with an excuse. For Communion, they figured that kids and teatotalers shouldn't be made to do shots as part of their religious observances.

My pastor grandfather (who was pretty progressive) thought that wine was more appropriate. In making wine from grapes, the grapes are crushed till the impurities are separated, like a scum that is released while purifying. He thought that was symbolic of the Christians work done to seperate themselves from sin and be more pure.

Then again, maybe he just really wanted a drink?

My wife's Catholic priest, straight from Ireland, could be seen in his off hours at the race track, smoking cigarettes and drinking. He was a cool guy.
 
Thermal said:
I grew up in a Grape Juice protestant church. The reasoning, loosely, was that you drink to get drunk, or at least get a little buzz on, and it was considered trying to abuse drugs with an excuse. For Communion, they figured that kids and teatotalers shouldn't be made to do shots as part of their religious observances.

My pastor grandfather (who was pretty progressive) thought that wine was more appropriate. In making wine from grapes, the grapes are crushed till the impurities are separated, like a scum that is released while purifying. He thought that was symbolic of the Christians work done to seperate themselves from sin and be more pure.

Then again, maybe he just really wanted a drink?

My wife's Catholic priest, straight from Ireland, could be seen in his off hours at the race track, smoking cigarettes and drinking. He was a cool guy.
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Ted or Jack?
 
P.J. Denyer said:
IIRC "a man who is blindfolded, in a dark room who is looking for a black cat that isn't there" was originally Thomas Huxley, although I think it was a darkened coal cellar for extra blackness. I remember quoting it once to a girl who was going to Oxford to study theology, she went off in huff.
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Well yeah, the whole thing was not original. I don't think though that Huxley said "you found it:.
 
P.J. Denyer said:
If you've missed Father Ted, you should really give it a go.
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Heard of it, but the TV is my mortal enemy, sucking my soul out one canned laugh at a time. No boobs, no watch.

Eta: I mean, as it is, I am going to have to sit before the Throne of Judgement (no, really, I will) and have to listen to "...and you spent how many years of your life on that freaking skeptics forum?"
 
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Gubiosak said:
Credit where credit is due: it’s been fascinating to watch Thermal transition from standard forum knee-jerk skepticism to genuine, rigorous epistemological inquiry. Pointing out the double standard of accepting the incomprehensible as long as the word 'God' isn't attached to it and halting unwarranted logical leaps is a masterclass in actual critical thinking. Good to see someone on here prioritizing intellectual honesty over tribal dogma
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Credit where credit is due, I've watched you grow from an idiot nonsense peddler into an idiot nonsense peddler with no conception of what you're talking about.
 
TragicMonkey said:
It's a bit confusing because Catholicism isn't against alcohol. There's no prohibition against drinking for the faithful or for those in holy orders, and it's not a sin. It's some Protestant denominations that think alcohol is sinful.
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Certain sections of it are. Wait until you meet the pioneers, Matt Talbot's crowd.
 
Gulliver Foyle said:
Credit where credit is due, I've watched you grow from an idiot nonsense peddler into an idiot nonsense peddler with no conception of what you're talking about.
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Interesting. I praised someone for moving beyond reflexive skepticism toward genuine epistemological inquiry, and your contribution was to demonstrate reflexive hostility. Perhaps the contrast speaks for itself
 
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