Apparently you guys haven't watched Prometheus yet? 
Apparently you guys haven't watched Prometheus yet?
Otto Maddox wrote: In reply to mad_machine: Buddhist? Sweet. They don't have those here in Alabama.
Probably not enough wrath or smoting.
Otto Maddox wrote: I hope you guys realize that the fundamentalists don't speak for other Christians. Even the Catholics don't believe in creationism anymore. Fundamentalists are particularly dogmatic, loud, and easy to pick on, so they get most of the press.
Of course we do. Just like fundamentalist ANYTHINGS don't speak for the majority. We understand, even if we disagree with the basic belief.
I view religion as kind of like the stance movement: at its best, it is benignly silly and brings joy to those who practice it; at its worst, it's actively destructive and dangerous to everyone and everything around it.
I think one thing we call get behind be it atheist or believer is that the Westborro Baptist Church suck big fat rancid donkey poop.
RossD wrote: Apparently you guys haven't watched Prometheus yet?
Is it just me, or did the movie completely bypass/ignore/ect. AVP? If so, good.
Otto Maddox wrote: I actually know lots of people who buy into this stuff, otherwise intelligent people who always say "you just have to have faith" and/or "all things are possible for god" when presented with the scientific evidence that proves them wrong.
I'm not a young earth creationist myself - I personally see this as a bit of a hang-up on whether "days" should be translated as literal 24 hour periods or not. (And I've had some rather interesting discussions with them about how they would have defined a day when there isn't a sun, in a passage written before using clocks for long measures of time was widespread.) But if you start with the premise that the Bible is literally true and everything else must be interpreted in light of that - if you want to argue about things like that, you would need to start with that premise ("Is that part of the Bible intended in a modern literal context or metaphorical? How would a reader at the time it was written interpret it?") and not scientific evidence.
People are actually still looking for the remains of Noah's Ark. I have friends that are 100% convinced that the whole Noah's Ark story is literally true. You can't argue with them.
In the grand scheme of odd things one can do in the name of religion, that's a fairly reasonable thing to do. Even for someone with no religious background, "Eccentric guy builds a big boat, finds a bunch of animals, a flood starts, and he stuffs the animals in the boat and thinks the whole world is underwater" may be unlikely, but not impossible.
Proving something like that didn't happen is pretty tough as negative proof is hard to come by. In this case, even the most literal fundamentalist may not expect to find positive proof - the ark could have been chopped up to make houses, burned, rotted, or otherwise not have survived, so failure to find one isn't proof that it didn't happen. While if someone did manage to find a big wrecked boat in the middle of Turkey, it would strengthen their case (Not necessarily prove it - it could have been Utnapishtam's boat from the Epic of Gilgamesh, or something totally unrelated, but it would imply there's at least something to the story). And everyone thought the Trojan War was a myth until someone went and found Troy.
At worst (and most likely, even for a true believer), trying to find Noah's Ark would be likely to be a harmless waste of time. There have been a lot of worse things done in the name of religion, or science.
In reply to MadScientistMatt:
Well, with Noah's Ark, the sediment and fossil records don't support the whole worldwide flood thing. If you want to argue it was a localized flood or something of that nature, you might be right, but that would suggest the bible isn't literal. If you want to argue that parts of the bible are metaphorical, well, great.
neon4891 wrote:RossD wrote: Apparently you guys haven't watched Prometheus yet?Is it just me, or did the movie completely bypass/ignore/ect. AVP? If so, good.
From what I see in the trailers, Prometheus explains where the critters who built the alien ship the crew found in the first movie came from. As in the big critter sitting in the 'gun mount'.
As an atheist, I'm staying the hell out of the fundamentalist conversation. Already said m'piece more than once. 
Otto Maddox wrote: I hope you guys realize that the fundamentalists don't speak for other Christians. Even the Catholics don't believe in creationism anymore. Fundamentalists are particularly dogmatic, loud, and easy to pick on, so they get most of the press.
Just as a quick clarification for anyone who might be interested:
Catholics believe that God created the universe out of nothing, but the mechanics of how Man appeared in that universe is irrelevant. What's far more important to us is WHY Man came to be as he is. That is, we're free to believe that Adam being shaped out of the dust of the earth is a biblical image of evolution.
I wonder how fundamentalists feel about that interpretation of Gen 2...
In reply to scardeal:
What I like about Catholics is they have an official answer for everything and they post it all right on the internet. Sure, I disagree with a lot of it, but at least they've thought it all through really carefully. I go on the Catholic website regularly just to see what they think about stuff.
neon4891 wrote:RossD wrote: Apparently you guys haven't watched Prometheus yet?Is it just me, or did the movie completely bypass/ignore/ect. AVP? If so, good.
I think AvP is still cannon, haha. Or are they just going to pick and choose what they want now, kind of like with the bible, hehe.
In reply to Otto Maddox:
Once again, this is why this is one of the best forums on the internet.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:Johnboyjjb wrote: I purport that neither evolution nor creation can be proven nor dis-proven and belief in either takes faith.purport /pərˈpôrt/ Verb: Appear or claim to be or do something, esp. falsely; profess.
It's a good word. My original claim was that nothing can be proven or dis-proven. But I don't believe that is entirely true. A good fundamentalist would argue that when you die, you will know the truth. But that doesn't help this discussion.
friedgreencorrado wrote:Johnboyjjb wrote: “Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it” You can apply that where you see fit.I'm hoping you will research the original source of that quote.
I know full well the source of that quote. Knowledge of the source lays a certain amount of gravity to the effects of a well told lie.
This discussion really lit up over night.
I don't have an issue with diversity of opinion - believe what you want. The trouble starts with intolerance of differing views.
oldtin wrote: I don't have an issue with diversity of opinion - believe what you want. The trouble starts with intolerance of differing views.
The problem for me begins with propagating nonsense as fact in a publicly funded education system. If people want to raise their kids to believe that science is completely wrong in air conditioned rooms with computers, televisions and fluorescent lighting down there in LA, they are allowed to wallow in their own ironic little pool of misinformed kids. Build your own moron enclave if you like... but don't ask the people in the thinkin' parts of LA to fund it.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: don't ask the people in the thinkin' parts of LA to fund it.
Oxymoron right there.
pinchvalve wrote: My inlaws have a great kids book that explains how dinosaurs were on the Ark. They were small at the time because they were young and hadn't grown to full size yet. I forget what happened to them after the flood, I think I laughed so hard I peed myself. But that's just me.
So America is making our children dumb as well as turning them into Bob Costas. Fantastic.
93EXCivic wrote:Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: don't ask the people in the thinkin' parts of LA to fund it.Oxymoron right there.
I'm from Louisiana...
scardeal wrote:93EXCivic wrote:I'm from Louisiana...Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: don't ask the people in the thinkin' parts of LA to fund it.Oxymoron right there.
My fiance is from Louisiana too. Being in Alabama I have to make jokes about other states to make me feel a little better about AL.
scardeal wrote:93EXCivic wrote:I'm from Louisiana...Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: don't ask the people in the thinkin' parts of LA to fund it.Oxymoron right there.
I'm fairly certain LA here is Los Angeles, not Louisiana, but having been both places multiple times, the follow up joke stands up to either!
Javelin wrote: I'm fairly certain LA here is *Los Angeles*, not *Louisiana*, but having been both places multiple times, the follow up joke stands up to either!
Ehh... I shouldn't take it personally. It is the interwebs, after all. Anyway, the OP article is about a group in Louisiana.
In reply to scardeal:
No, take it personally and go on a troll-fest. It'll be entertaining.
N Sperlo wrote: In reply to scardeal: No, take it personally and go on a troll-fest. It'll be entertaining.
Maybe I should flounder instead? I'm not from Trollhättan.
Javelin wrote:scardeal wrote:I'm fairly certain LA here is *Los Angeles*, not *Louisiana*, but having been both places multiple times, the follow up joke stands up to either!93EXCivic wrote:I'm from Louisiana...Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: don't ask the people in the thinkin' parts of LA to fund it.Oxymoron right there.
People in Alabama actually say LA for Lower Alabama, typically the coastal area. They really do. I promise.
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