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  1. Politesse

    Video of man harassing woman for wearing Puerto Rico t-shirt

    I am certain that this man would not approve of a Navajo Nation flag on a shirt. These types only consider majority-"white" states to be legitimate.
  2. Politesse

    I Think We Misunderstood Jesus

    I think that Jesus saves whomever he wills. I personally believe that this means everyone, given his other teachings, but even if you aren't a universalist, I've never understood any perspective which says salvation is only for members of a Super Special Club. If salvation is purely by the will...
  3. Politesse

    Video of man harassing woman for wearing Puerto Rico t-shirt

    He was presenting a physical threat. If I were her, I'd have made the same request, followed by, "...before I do"
  4. Politesse

    Infancy Gospel of Thomas

    They are different books. The Gospel of Thomas was a book of wisdom sayings attributed to Christ, written around the same time as the canonical gospels. It contains very little narrative, aside from exchanges between Jesus and the Disciples, like the conversation about Mary cited in the above...
  5. Politesse

    Infancy Gospel of Thomas

    You are confusing the Gospel of Thomas with the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, two works very different in tone and composition.
  6. Politesse

    Fox or a raven

    Raven! They're smarter and more sarcastic.
  7. Politesse

    Do You Bow Your Head?

    Doing so strikes me as a basic, fundamental gesture of respect. If someone is a guest in my house, I expect them to make an effort to follow our rules and practices and would find it rude if they did not. So unless I am in my own house, I "do as the Romans do" in all cases.
  8. Politesse

    How should a beginner approach the old testament?

    Some general thoughts: Do not try to rush through. The Hebrew Scriptures are complex, and played a number of roles for their parent society. Some are books of law, and you will need a lot of political and historical background to see why they might look as they do. Others are meditative; a psalm...
  9. Politesse

    Being Atheist

    Who said it was?
  10. Politesse

    Excusing the "Immature" Morals of the Past

    They were their masters property. They had no inherent right to live with their spouse and children. The law punished them disproportionately for misdemeanors, "a lash for a drachma". They could not testify for themselves in court, unless it was the indirect testimony of a court torturer...
  11. Politesse

    Being Atheist

    Not really in the same way, though, is it? I don't see why the threat of annihilation would be necessary to make those things valuable. Of course I wish to be a good person. That's good for its own sake.
  12. Politesse

    Christians, Why Worship Jesus?

    Bad students?
  13. Politesse

    It is very natural to believe

    I don't think that is so at all. We are incapable of "believing" anything when life begins; life and sustenance are gifts freely given regardless of belief.
  14. Politesse

    Christians, Why Worship Jesus?

    Quite the opposite. He taught that honor and might as human society accords it is meaningless; we are judged by how we treat the least respected of our number, not how well we kow-tow to those who imagine themselves mighty because they are wealthy or well-blooded. This was the moral of many...
  15. Politesse

    Being Atheist

    It seems to me that an atheist would be very worried about the proximate future. You've only got, at most, as much time to impact the world as you have mortal breaths in a single life, and a lack of planning will restrict even that number as mortality will find you that much sooner. My atheist...
  16. Politesse

    God's Take On Nudity

    I can't answer for God, but if you look at ancient near eastern literature in general, not just the Bible, the same theme emerges. I think for people of that region clothing, though more optional socially for they than for us, was a major symbol of the particularly human. "Wild" men are always...
  17. Politesse

    Favourite New Testament Gospel

    When I was a youth, it was Luke, and I still love many Lucan passages greatly. When I was studying Koine, I fell in love with Mark, and now rather prefer its direct, subtly poetic approach. It is, I find, best when read aloud.
  18. Politesse

    Is Postmodernism a Disease?

    When you say, "post-modernist", who exactly are you referencing? If I had to pick a statement to summarize all approaches to post-modernism, it would have been "A critique of modernist assumptions." One needn't advocate some sort of lawless, science-less society to be skeptical toward Western...
  19. Politesse

    Is there a "Universal Moral Conscience"?

    "Beyond understanding"? No, of course not. Obviously, if everyone had converted to Christianity by time of writing, western perspectives on individual guilt and punishment weren't "beyond understanding". Generally speaking, all humans can understand the philosophies of all other cultures, with...
  20. Politesse

    Overpopulation

    Indeed. Usually by finding a way to blame our problems on an external scapegoat, even if it makes no sense to do so.
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