The distance between Christianity and the 4 Gospels

[Marcus]

Might I suggest that we all drop any references to each others' putative mental states, and discuss ideas rather than people or personalities, or supposed emotions.

...This post of mine you are referencing to was a ‘one off’.

not even close to a one off. I've been reading long enough to see it's your typicalapproach, but honorentheos said it best

....5) Engage in tit-for-tats until your emotions are triggered enough you let the mask of civility drop. Usually when this happens it's almost cartoonish. You admit to being here fighting secular and liberal evils and attempting to halt their spread like a modern-day crusader....

6) Repeat.

That's you exactly! For that reason, I don't take personally anything that you say. (No one does. )

[MG 2.0]

Dawkins describes evolution as a tangled bush rather than a tree. Interestingly enough 99% of all species that have ever lived are extinct. That is some really fine tuned processes.

And yet, here we are. All the messiness resulting in US.

That IS finely tuned.

Through all the static we find sentient beings that are able to reason out whether or not they are going to believe in a creator and/or higher power. Who would've thought?

Creator God? God of Chance?

We live in a PERFECT world for choice. I can’t imagine it being any more finely tuned than that. You and I can, with a certain amount of confidence, make choices that totally contradict each other and at the end of the day sleep when the wind blows and believe.

It’s amazing, in a way, to live in a non binary world where logic and reason can take so many twists and turns.

Regards,
MG

[Morley]

We live in a PERFECT world for choice.

Would you develop this a little more? How the hell is this a PERFECT world for choice?

[MG 2.0]

I have my own style of posting.

Vacuous is a posting style now?

No lunch with Honor. That’s a disappointment.

Regards,
MG

There's certainly a way to remedy that, and I believe it's a more excellent way to borrow a phrase. Just take some time to actually internalize knowledge about a subject before posting, including knowledge of direct challenges to the source you found, and avoid the appeal-to-authority postings. Fortunately for you, style is cosmetic. Form is fundamental.

You continue to do you, and I’ll continue to do me.

My suggestion to you is that you not engage me at all if you can see that I’m not competent in your eyes to have a discussion at/on the level of discourse that dovetails into what you perceive as being worthy of engagement. If you’re right, others will see things for what they are and as the saying goes, “No worries”.

You seem concerned that my “vacuous” comments and supportive links are going to somehow influence the opinions and thoughts of others and infect them with God belief, or at the very least cause them to doubt their doubts. If what I’m contributing or linking to is so obviously incompetent and lacking you should have little or no concern of this occurring.

As it is, you can also simply call out folks you don’t agree with as being incompetent. James Tour, for example. Case closed.

Funny thing is, I enjoy the alternative views you express and I learn from you. A bit on the arrogant side, yes. But worth listening to? Yes again.

Put me on ignore. After all, I’m a moronic Mormon, right? You have better things to do than waste your time with me.

Regards,
MG

[MG 2.0]

We live in a PERFECT world for choice.

Would you develop this a little more? How the hell is this a PERFECT world for choice?

Give it a bit more thought.

Off to my meetings.

Regards,
MG

[Marcus]

Dawkins describes evolution as a tangled bush rather than a tree. Interestingly enough 99% of all species that have ever lived are extinct. That is some really fine tuned processes.

And yet, here we are. All the messiness resulting in US.

That IS finely tuned.

Through all the static we find sentient beings that are able to reason out whether or not they are going to believe in a creator and/or higher power.

Don't stop there! There are millions of imaginary things to wonder whether you should believe in them. Some humans grow out of that, like kiddies believing in the tooth fairy, the easter bunny, and Santa, but hey. You do you. It's particularly helpful if you need someone to lay out a life map for you so you don't have to think things through for yourself, which you mentioned earlier, right? That's okay. Some people need that, there's no shame.

(did I get your condescending tone right? I tried, but you're so much better at it than anyone else. )

ETA: someone asked you a question about your comment and you told them to "give it a bit more thought. I'm off." You are a PRO at this condescension! Although I get the sense you rely on it when you're backed into a corner more than anything else.

[Morley]

Would you develop this a little more? How the hell is this a PERFECT world for choice?

Give it a bit more thought.

Yes, please do.

[Morley]

MG 2.0: The clouds are literally made of cotton candy.

Morley (stupidly): What the hell? How is that possible?

MG 2.0: Give it some thought. Whoops, got to go! Bye, now!

[Morley]

Would you develop this a little more? How the hell is this a PERFECT world for choice?

Give it a bit more thought.

MG 2.0: Thank you for the advice to “give it a bit more thought.” On reflection, I believe that you’re right. This is the PERFECT world for choice.

We get to pick where we’re born and how we die. We get to pick our race, our parents, our country of origin. We get to select our social-economic status. We choose how smart we are or aren’t. We choose how we’re treated in childhood, and whether others rape, abuse, torture, or torment us throughout life.

We select our sexual preference and are given a menu to pick from as to whether to be born with a club foot or a cleft palate. Some of us get to select to be brain damaged or have poorly functioning heart valves. Some of us pick to be blonde.

I know I got to select my skin tone, my height, and the rate at which I would grow bald. Indeed, every part of my life and that of others has been all about being able to choose. This is indeed the PERFECT world for choice.

I do sometimes wonder why some people choose to be victims of the Rohingya genocide--but then, with a panglossian flip of my curls, I just push it out of my mind. Thoughts like this have no place in my head. I chose my life and they chose theirs. How could they have chosen to be so stupid?

Certainly, this overwhelming evidence that this is the PERFECT world for choice is the ultimate proof of intelligent design.

[Bret Ripley]

Admirably put, Morley.

... panglossian flip of my curls ...

I absolutely love this phrase. (And not just because I learned a new word.)

Speaking of 'flips' and things, it seems that MG may have pirouetted from a sort of "strong anthropic principle" to a "not even wrong anthropic principle," which is a rather marvelous feat for any type of gymnast. And now -- no small thanks to the 'Beatles' thread in Spirit Paradise -- whenever I see one of his posts my mental jukebox plays "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!"