Senior free labour provider dies whilst mowing a church lawn

[Marcus]

Mods are abused but since Shades is amused, no one can cry foul.

I haven't been on the board in days. About what am I amused?

It was referring to a state of mind not a state of singular what, beyond that, context is obvious.

[Dr. Shades]

I haven't been on the board in days. About what am I amused?

It was referring to a state of mind not a state of singular what, beyond that, context is obvious.

I don't recall being of a state of mind wherein I enjoy moderators being abused.

[Limnor]

Can someone translate this joke for me?

FibberMike is an 85 year old HoundDog who knows sock puppets aren't allowed.
Mods are abused but since Shades is amused, no one can cry foul.
Also, Penguin Jokes are inscrutable.

Oh. Wow lol

Good couplet

[Gadianton]

Hi Sledge,

A bit of clarification to an investigator seems reasonable. I’d request an explanation for how the “omnis” are limited in scope and don’t reconcile “turtles all the way down.”

I don't think it matters. As a first intension, "God" is very similar for Mormons, born again nutcases, mystics, and tribes people who have never had contact with civilization. There's a sense of a higher power or greater force, a supreme goodness and they assume whatever that is, they're tapping into it with their prayers. Unfortunately, they assume that anybody they don't like is tapping into another force, and there's only one other option.

While I point out Mormonism fails to even try to answer the big questions that they advertise they answer, the attempts that have happened under the umbrella of Christianity are ultimately wrong, they just appreciate certain aspects of the problem that Mormons don't consider. Take Dan as a perfect example of somebody who has never seriously tried.

I think for the average believer, definitions of God are meaningless, you can't say any typical believer is more rational than another. Any education is tacked on to the Santa belief as an aside rather than as a serious aspect of their worldview. And a deep intellectual who primarily thinks in theological terms I would guess is irrelevant to God. If there is a God, I highly doubt that it matters if people come into a rational systemic understanding of who he is.

Further, I’ve learned something about LDS thought regarding eternal intelligences, thank you. I see a contrast between this understanding of eternal uncreated intelligences (marking complete freedom from God?) and the biblical idea of union with God — God’s Spirit dwelling in you.

I think this is an important observation, Sledge. Making intelligences separate from God adds additional steps to Mormons answering big questions like, "where did I come from?" This is crazy, because in the pedestrian UFO worldview, Mormons reason something like this: "if there isn't a pre-existence like Mormons believe, there isn't a place where we came before at all!" So for Mormons, the Christian answer proclaims we didn't come from anywhere, because there was no pre-existence. But this is exactly the superficial misreading that leads to a Hardy Boys answer, which is initially satisfying until you realize that you've just described a similar room to the one we already occupy, and now that room needs an explanation. So Christianity that proclaims we were created by God for X purpose actually answers the question in the right way.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

I mean, if Sledge is leaving Mormonism behind, but he needs a new belief system through which he can make sense of the world I can offer one up. I’m being serious! I think the Three Body Problem offered up a perfectly rational explanation for preexistences, wars in Heaven, the Fall, and salvation. I’ll toss in a bit of Electric Universe, and I think we’re on our way to a much more meaningful spiritual experience than being a God with Servants because Learning is Eternal or WhateverTM.

In fact, I’ll mix in some Hinduism. Just this morning I listened to Ganesh and Saraswati mantras to unblock obstacles because I have a fun personal project going on that requires things to fall in place.

- Doc

[Hound of Heaven]

I think this is an important observation, Sledge. Making intelligences separate from God adds additional steps to Mormons answering big questions like, "where did I come from?

Mormons provide a more comprehensive explanation of our origins than perhaps any other faith. The way it was conveyed to me is that we are all forms of intelligence and have been for eternity. Through our heavenly father, we have been granted a spirit body. We subsequently acquired a mortal body. We are here to face challenges, and if we succeed, we will gain divine qualities and advance for all time. That encapsulates Mormonism quite well, don't you think?

Mormonism centers on the idea that everything is eternal; matter itself is eternal. This implies that the materials used to create our planet existed long before God utilized them to form the earth. This concept is quite straightforward for those who have genuinely engaged with the study of Mormonism.

[Gadianton]

The way it was conveyed to me is that we are all forms of intelligence and have been for eternity.

Right, Sledge and I have both mentioned this. It doesn't answer the question of where we came from. It says we didn't come from anywhere. We weren't created for any purpose. We just happen to exist. Now God also wasn't created, but God is defined as what's necessary. It's going to be quite a rework of the cosmological argument to make room for an infinite number of necessary causal agents.

If Mormons wish to endorse an atheistic universe where we abandon the big questions, I'm open for that. But MG can't brag both about believing in a Big God who created everything and gave us purpose and also believe that we are uncreated beings at the same time.

[I Have Questions]

But MG can't brag both about believing in a Big God who created everything and gave us purpose and also believe that we are uncreated beings at the same time.

I beg to differ. He can, and he will.

[Everybody Wang Chung]

Sledge,

Let’s be honest—the idea that we just happen to exist is the philosophical equivalent of shrugging your shoulders and walking away from a difficult puzzle. It's a remarkably lazy answer to the most profound question, especially from a religion that claims to have all the answers - like Mormonism.

And while defining God as a necessary causal agent is all well and good, trying to make room for an infinite number of necessary causal agents sounds less like a theology and more like trying to fit an infinite number of clowns into an already crowded cosmic clown car.

I bet you’re glad you’re no longer Mormon, or were you lying about that too?

[Everybody Wang Chung]

The way it was conveyed to me is that we are all forms of intelligence and have been for eternity.

Right, Sledge and I have both mentioned this. It doesn't answer the question of where we came from. It says we didn't come from anywhere. We weren't created for any purpose. We just happen to exist. Now God also wasn't created, but God is defined as what's necessary. It's going to be quite a rework of the cosmological argument to make room for an infinite number of necessary causal agents.

If Mormons wish to endorse an atheistic universe where we abandon the big questions, I'm open for that. But MG can't brag both about believing in a Big God who created everything and gave us purpose and also believe that we are uncreated beings at the same time.