From this life to the next

Mack says:

08:37am | 28/12/12

@Tedd, you are correct. There is no ‘eternity’ - this life is it. Enjoy it as best you can without hurting other people.

acotrel says:

09:42am | 28/12/12

@Mack
‘you are correct. There is no ‘eternity’ - this life is it. ’
Especially with the LNP around in opposition ?

Al says:

01:37pm | 28/12/12

acotrel - are you capable of discussing anything without bringing politics (and your own prejudice regarding politics) into it?

I am what I say I am says:

10:29am | 28/12/12

” May she die a lonely, death and move onto a hate-filled eternity.”

Yes, I see a real kind person in there somewhere.
NOT

Elphaba says:

11:31am | 28/12/12

If you can remember the context in which I actually said that, I will be flabbergasted.

You will also prove beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you’re in love with me.  It’s flattering.  A little (lot) pathetic, but flattering.

Its good nite from him says:

07:46am | 28/12/12

I agree Kim, Steve’s comment re the Facebook cryptic attention seeking posts is pure gold and so true… (oh how I hate it when Fakebook wankers do that!!)

But I drifted off as soon as it became a sermon of sorts….Zzzzzzzzzzz

OverIt says:

07:58am | 28/12/12

ramases, I always smile to myself when I hear Christians of all denominations refer to the fact that they have ‘better morals’ than non church goers.  You’ve probably met them, those people who go to church on Sundays, perhaps attend bible study classes, then behave like a***holes the rest of the week. And what is it with bible study classes?  Wouldn’t the time be better spent providing practical help to all those in the community who need it, rather than studying the words of a book that was written 600 years after the events allegedly took place?  All my non-religious friends do just that, whenever they can.  Give me a decent heathen any day - they have better values!

acotrel says:

08:12am | 28/12/12

People who are brought up under an authoritarian regime complete with lashings of guilt, are often the worst kind of liars, even if it is a sin to tell porkies.

acotrel says:

08:22am | 28/12/12

The Bible is not the most up-to-date publication on modern life.  Within it there are only two references to risk management. One is the ‘build my house on a rock’ statement , the other is a religous law about sleeping on roofs without parapets.  As a result up until 1992, we had people w ho placed their trust in God, rather than doing essential risk assessments and controlling the risk appropriately. God must have forgotten to include some important stuff, or perhaps he thought we might figure it out for ourselves ? He works in wondrous ways his miracles to perform ?

ramases says:

10:58am | 28/12/12

Over it, your right. I live in a small country town and the prevailing thing here is religion in all its forms, Church on Sunday, religious study Wednesdays and the list goes on. But and a big but the other prevailing thing here is gossiping about those who miss the service, don’t turn up for Bible study and those who happen to be different which makes our place in the community somewhat different as we arent religious, are nudists and speak our minds contrary to popular held beliefs. Interesting to say the least but great fun baiting the bastards.

marley says:

07:53am | 28/12/12

I think that’s a bit harsh. Whether you’re a believer or not, the principles young Mr. Edwards resolved to live his life by are good ones.  I doubt there’s an afterlife, but if I could look back at the end of this one and say I’d lived according to these rules, I think I’d be at peace with myself. And I don’t see why taking time to be a decent person means you’re going to wreak havoc on the environment or otherwise fail future generations.

acotrel says:

08:27am | 28/12/12

@marley
’ I doubt there’s an afterlife, but if I could look back at the end of this one and say I’d lived according to these rules, I think I’d be at peace with myself.’

I agree. I’ve been close to death a few times, and I am at peace with myself. Sometimes we should think about what we are leaving behind us - what have we achieved which was not self-centred or cynical?

Rose says:

09:02am | 28/12/12

How was it irresponsible and how is it going to affect any other concerns, environmental or otherwise? Why does it matter whether his intention to live a good life comes from a belief in an afterlife or comes from the belief that this is all there is? The most important message here is that he is promoting the idea of living a good life, a fulfilling life and a life which may be free of many of the deathbed regrets of those who have gone before.
We need more people to be good people, it doesn’t matter one bit why the choose to be good, as long as they do!!

acotrel says:

10:18am | 28/12/12

@Rose
It makes a difference when it comes to commitment to improve how things are.  When it comes to having a vision about how things could be , if we have goals and work towards them managing the risks along the way.  If God predetermines everything , why bother to make an effort ?  Of course there is always the escape clause ‘God helps those who help themselves ’ - a recipe for ending up in jail ?

Rose says:

04:15pm | 28/12/12

Acotrel you have no idea what you’re talking about. I was raised a Catholic, educated in 3 different Catholic schools. Not once was I ever taught that things were pre-determined, I was taught that God had given people free will, i.e. people are free to make their own choices.
As to vision, a vision according to Catholic teachings would see people doing their best to protect the environment and to ensure that all of “God’s creatures” were treated respectfully and equitably.
Whether or not some people have distorted Christian teachings to serve their own ends is one thing (and many definitely have), but if some one wanted to live literally by the teachings of Jesus, they would be doing their best to be a good and decent person, and that would include ensuring that their vision for the future would make things better for generations to come.

acotrel says:

08:29am | 28/12/12

@vox
‘This rubbish has about as much relevance to today’s society as Fred Flintstone had to the space age.’

Do you mean Fred Nile ?

P. Darvio says:

08:47am | 28/12/12

Quote: (He would love the Vatican today. Another temple turned into a bank. A BIG bank!).

Not True – Fictional Jesus Person (FJP) hated Banks and Bankers because according to the Christian Bible FJP bashed up bankers who were merely going about their banking business – no wonder people today hate banks so much – Christianity has taught them to hate people including bankers…..I can only imagine that when Christians have a problem with their bank or bank account they go down to their local bank branch, FJP Whip in hand, and beat their bank manger into submission – I mean FJP did it – so it must be OK,  – mustn’t it….???

St. Michael says:

12:03pm | 28/12/12

“Fictional Jesus Person (FJP) hated Banks and Bankers because according to the Christian Bible FJP bashed up bankers who were merely going about their banking business”

If you’re going to have fun with literal readings of the Bible, Pee, at least get the literal reading right.

Mark 11:15 “On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.”

Matthew 21: 12-13: “And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all of them who sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”

John 2: 14-16: “In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.  So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.  But he said to those who sold doves, ‘Get these out of here! Do not make My Father’s house a house of trade!’”

Luke 19:45: “Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling.”

So, not bankers.  (And no assaults, either).  Merchants and moneychangers, i.e. currency traders, and salesmen.  Jewish theological law as set out by Moses required certain offerings to the Temple for certain occasions.  However, the Temple obligation brought people from around the world and merchants took advantage of them.  The timing of this event is dated at around Passover, which all but necessitated pilgrimages back to Jerusalem from Jews abroad.  Trouble was, you could not use Roman money because it was a graven image, so you had to convert it to local currency.  Money exchangers had high markups, which destroyed the value of your own money for what was meant to be a devotional, religious exercise.

The thing about doves was because they were a last resort offering for the poor: if you couldn’t afford any other offering, you had to give two doves.

In all cases the theme is consistent, and consistent with Jesus’s teachings across the Gospels: don’t profit off religion, and particularly don’t profit from a religious act which is fundamental to people’s beliefs.  The Protestant Reformation occurred for similar-ish reasons.  It’s a lesson most organised religions have to be taught at some stage in their development, in some cases repeatedly.

Oh, and vox? If you like hindsight hilarity, then in the science field I thoroughly recommend to you the works of Sir Cyril Burt, the great pioneer of Western educational psychology who fabricated pretty well all of his data but still held sway over educational thought in the West right through until his death in the 1970s.  Or the works of those wonderful scientists who happily massaged their data to establish that brain size was racially correlated with intellect—in other words, eugenics, which was a highly popular concept until around 1939 or so.  They’re all twentieth-century eminent thinkers rather than second century ones, perhaps the humour will translate better.  Don’t think that science is any more honest a system of discovery than other fields of human endeavour.

vox says:

12:28pm | 28/12/12

P Darvio. I was kinda writing about the Vatican, and Jeebus liking it, with my tongue firmly embedded in my cheek.
Acotrel, I meant my Fred not yours, because although my Fred didn’t exist he’s still a better contributor to the Planet than Nile. But I reckon that you probably know that to be so.
I get a bit disturbed when folk write on the subject of allowing everybody to have their own beliefs and then decry my right to do so by calling me a “leftie”, or a “commie” or suchlike. At least my beliefs are based, even if wrongly so, on the words of real people not on the “voices” of imaginary beings floating around in the minds of paganistic ritualists who cannot stand on their own two feet.

marley says:

01:19pm | 28/12/12

@vox “I get a bit disturbed when folk write on the subject of allowing everybody to have their own beliefs and then decry my right to do so by calling me a “leftie”, or a “commie” or suchlike.”

I’m just wondering why it is that think you can trash other peoples’ beliefs but expect your own beliefs to be treated with respect. You have every right to your own views, just as religious people do, but you have no more right than they do to expect an exemption from criticism or even derision.

Al says:

01:47pm | 28/12/12

Maybe (as Dolly below sugests) ywe can treat it like commercial TV and take the article (i.e. the show we are watching) and simply ignore the advert as being irrelevent to the main content.
BTW I for one do not believe in any theistic or supernatural entity watching over us, not because I don’t like the idea, I would realy like to be able to believe, but unfortunately the evidence just doesn’t exist.

TChong says:

10:33am | 28/12/12

Agree Bob
“Proposals” = “non core”
Neither side , with this current line- ups are capable, or deserve to lead this nation.

Shane From Melbourne says:

12:51pm | 28/12/12

That’s right- the Coalition aren’t putting their gold plated maternity scheme on the credit card, they’re putting a whopping tax upon business….....

Troy Flynn says:

01:09pm | 28/12/12

Sadly, I won’t be holding my breath on this one. As much as I hope you’re right, the protectionism of this filth runs very deep.
I wonder what Fred Nile or George Pell will do if people they know personally get exposed by this commission? I suspect they will go back to their old staple of being apologists.

St. Michael says:

01:24pm | 28/12/12

Let’s hope it includes all the cases of forced circumcisions conducted on Aboriginal children, hey, Pee? http://www.noharmm.org/aborigine.htm

And let’s also hope it includes all the cases of child brides taken in Aboriginal culture, too, hey, Pee? http://www.isx.org.au/forums/read.php?18,310,310,quote=1

Looking forward to your comments denouncing these cultural practices you have endorsed in previous posts by endorsing Aboriginal culture as a basis for Aboriginal land rights, while at the same time stamping your feet and demanding that religions give up any such right or any legal protections at all.

Ken Oath says:

03:45pm | 28/12/12

Hey St. Michael,

When you point your finger at others, there are three fingers pointing straight back at you.. . .

St. Michael says:

04:14pm | 28/12/12

So when I point you out as a legend, Ken, that makes me three times the legend you are.

Ken Oath says:

03:46pm | 28/12/12

Amen to that Ravi!

St. Michael says:

04:20pm | 28/12/12

On the other hand, Billy Connolly has also said: “I don’t believe in angels and I have trouble with the whole God thing. I don’t want to say I don’t believe in God, but I don’t think I do. But I believe in people who do.”