Jeremy Pallant

To be honest, I expected an answer I could understand.

Amos

Come on Jeremy. An answer like 72 virgins?

Do you realize that that is just an answer made for the gullible who will believe anything?

It is like a slap in the face and an insult to our intelligence.

ChrisJGQ

Anyone know any other beliefs that statement could apply to?

DigitalDruid

Amos>>>>> Well I saw that and wondered why you had brought in all of the changing Church ethics etc.

Well I wonder why you wondered! Let me try again. You mentioned that certain Greek philosophical precepts and doctrines lie behind the Christian rejection of homosexuality. "The bible just provided the thou shall not". I don’t think that’s true. Sure, theologians borrowed elements of Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy to buttress the framework of Christian theology in a broad sense. (Just as carefully they avoided many elements; for example, Aristotelian God is nothing like that of Bible’s). But as far as sexual ethics goes, much of church’s sexual ethics is shaped by personal sexual experiences and torments of its prominent theologians. (Aquinas: "Give me chastity, but not yet".) Also the rise of the monasteries and nunneries affected church’s view of sexuality. So the factors that shaped church’s sexual ethics has little to do with the views of the man from Nazareth or the God on mount Sinai or high-falutin’ ancient Greek philosophy. And so church's sexual ethics is not only fickle, it also does not have a sound basis.

Amos>>>> My 80-20 division is apporoximate but true just the same.

"True" even though you committed the fallacy of Composition as I pointed out? You can not deduce what’s true for a part from what’s true for the whole.

Amos>>>>As for changing ethics? When you are in charge of your own destiny and you get to call the shots why not make the game a challenge for its contestants. Your end up with more and better people in heaven that way because remember that sensorship is the key to success.

I hope church ethics is not as deceptive and inhumane as you (perhaps unknowingly) imply here. So ethics for the church is just a challenging game for its contestants? Looks like church ethics ranks pretty low in terms of honesty and forthrightness. And if censorship is the "key to success" in church ethics, what about the "poor Catholics" you gush about? Don’t they deserve a little openness and honesty?

Jeremy Pallant

Really? You feeling particularly insulted at the moment?

Amos

Do you really think that Muslims believe in the 72 virgin reward?

Jeremy Pallant

I really don't know. However if I were to guess I say there are about as many Muslims that believe that as there are Christians who believe that whatever they ask of god in Jesus name will be granted.

Amos

Well I wonder what female suicide bombers are going to do with virgins.

I never had the 'Christian" mindset so I really do not know what they believe but I do know that in some religious circles it is believed that we get our own mansion in heaven and that whomever we bring to Christ will be in our mansion and so the more people we lead to Christ the greater our mansion will be. When I try to visualize that I see mansions within mansions within mansions and so on. I wonder if they ever thought about that.

Jeremy Pallant

Well Islam, like Christianity, is in its scriptures a male dominant religion, so I guess either they become lesbians, or more likely Islamic paradise is only for men.

Not my idea of paradise, frankly...and therein lies the problem. What might be your idea of paradise, might not be mine.

Bible Humper

Haha, good answer, and true!

Amos, from what I have seen from your metaphysics, you view the bible to be some sort of Jungian mystical psychology text.

So paradise requires a brain? What is your interpretation of transmigration, Amos?

Amos, I notice a lot of times that threads continue without anyone pausing to address your own post because of the way you write. You write as if you are addressing fellow peudo-catholics who all know what you are referring to no matter how esoteric the concept you are describing is.

You have done so again in the quote above, you really need to elaborate on that particular concept so we all know what you mean, good buddy!

Your usual answer is some kind of Jungian symbolism but since we are talking about the afterlife now, you need to offer an explanation for the survival of consciousness after death with elaboration of any obscure points which nonbelievers wouldn't know about

A universal subconscious?

[ September 26, 2002: Message edited by: Bible Humper ]</p>