Walsingham

You can't judge a faith based on the actions of people who are directly contravening the faith. That's like saying "Some white supremacists are OK about black people". May I be cursed sideways into a snake filled hole, but I actually spent ten minutes reading up on your professor, Hector Avalos. His treatise on fighting religions essentially says uses scarce resource theory to explain religious violence. He says that by inventing a scarce resource (righteousness) religion magics new reasons to fight into being. therefore, so he says, religion be evil EEEEVVVIIIIL! Which makes sense as far as it goes, but blissfully ignores the fact that we don't need religion to make 'righteousness' a scarce resource. In war studies it has been long accepted that any form of government and society constitutes a challenge to any divergent form and can form a casus belli by fomenting unrest. Moreover, I'd quite cheerfully go to war with you right now, and neither of us are religious.

*Walsingham reads above. Twice.* My vision is blurry, my brow is sweaty and I'm experiencing a very strange feeling throughout my body.

And I'm saying that you're as qualified to render that judgement as I am to render a judgement on life on Mars. I can flannel on with what I've heard second hand, but I've practically no information, and certainly wouldn't be regarded as an expert by anyone remotely up on the subject. Sound familiar? Or have you been secretly doing some kind of PhD on the subject without telling us? I'm sorry to call you out on this, but since you won't shut up about how terrible you think Christians are I think it's about time you told us what authority you have.

Not a song to find yourself muttering along to. I laughed like crazy.

He's freelance judgemental. not being a Christian he has no problem judging others. It was Christ after all who said "Let he among you is without sin cast the first stone". Exactly. When I judge others at least I am not being hypocritical about it. I look at 2000 odd years of Christian history, both on the Protestant and Catholic side on the coin, and I see more evil done in God's name than good. As Volo points out, you are being hypocritical because you're saying judgemental behaviour is bad, and judging other for displaying it. As for your no doubt huge, scholarly, and widely cited sociological review of Christian history... my response is difficult to spell, so imagine the noise made by a large and warty hippopotamus, covered in flies, falling thirty feet into a septic tank.

That's not even necroposting. That's practically geology.

No girlfriends, no wives, man. You need to put the kaibosh on this proper.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechn...-interview.html I've not played it, but I gather it's quite good. I'd consider buying a director's cut. Will anyone else buy it, and what other titles deserve a director's cut?

He's freelance judgemental. not being a Christian he has no problem judging others. It was Christ after all who said "Let he among you is without sin cast the first stone".

I spent a good deal of the weekend on taxes and tidying the house. I absolutely hate tidying the house because it always makes me feel better mentally. And I don't want to be one of those boring **** who march about telling everyone to tidy up. I have to type up teh accounts for all my personal travel receipts today, and I'm not looking forward to it. It's an absolutely GORGEOUS day. Clear blue sky and piercing sunshine. It's like being in Switzerland.

Are you saying that a person who volunteers to serve their country and ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for the good of his or her country has no more value than a welfare mom with 8 kids, bleeding her country's resources dry? Are you saying that a heart surgeon who saves three people a day is worthless compared to me? Or that Einstein was worthless compared to you? I know plenty of great military types and plenty of **** career ****. but that doesn't make any difference. As well you know. BUt you're pretending you don't for the sake of the case.

Um... that kind of assumes that only people who've been in the military have any value. That's clearly bollocks.

Christ on a donkey! Does anyone know his email? Can we send him a davy crockett hat or something?

I can't deny that's incredible.

I have to agree with Blank. Love the sinner, hate the sinner. Not set fire to the sinner. Unless the sin is being a zombie.

I agree with the fat dog man.

When I was young and pretty such things happened to me too. The only thing to do is to a) become old and fat b) talk about nothing but military history c) get involved with someone else. At least it worked for me. And by worked I mean 'prvoked a fiery and destructive jealousy which nearly got me ejected from a friendly nation'.

But you don't even have an avatar. Lightweight.

If you ask me, God's sliding. He didn't even break 100. Africa gets worse treatment than that and they haven't even DONE anything.

I've had an idea for the test. I'm thinking it has to be pretty freeform. Simply place the candidate in a room with a table, and on the table is an egg, and a hammer. Observe.

Well, you tried, Cal. Can't ask for more than that. Regarding my girlfriend, one of my oldest friends came to me in a dream last night and we ate barbecue and talked BS. I feel much better this morning. I also have a tray of koeksisters, a fork, and a huge mug of tea. Love, it seems, may hurt, but self-love... wait a minute.

No not at all. I won't have internet service not even dialup, since I won't have a phone line. I'm going to assume you're going into hiding to escape a killer mongoose from the fuuuutuuuuure. That or you're being parachuted into a Pakistani tribal province carrying enough submachineguns to massage an elephant. Failing that you're coming to England so we can be married.

Bad hangover today compounded an ongoing spat with my girlfriend. I didn't text her for three days and as a consequence she's emailed me saying I'm a total bastard and proof that all men are same. Naturally her instruction to write a proper letter rather than text has nothing to do with it. I honestly thought women were going to get less confusing as I got older. Naive fool. Now I'm effectively hiding out of comms. I emailed her to try and explain but I've this horrible 'worst of all possible worlds' feeling that she's going to dump my sorry ass. I blame the parrot. P.S> I just remembered farting in the parrot's face. I am unreasonably cheered by this. PPS In other good news I had the penultimate version of some software I commissioned ages ago sent to me. Professional stuff based on original research by me. I'm going to send off freebies as soon as we complete the last debug.

If you're going to bring in the legions I suppose it's worth pointing out that the legionaries frequently took a more direct approach to political appointment. I understand that the praetorians occasionally auctioned off the imperial throne.

It better HAD be temporary. I think DR's leaving us for another forum.