>> ^dystopianfuturetoday:
If Zeus apparated tomorrow and shot some lightning bolts, all agnostics would be instantly converted to religion, but as of right now, none of them believe in Zeus. If you can't say 'yes, I believe in God', then you don't believe in God, regardless of how open you might be to the concept?

If some entity appeared that matched the exact descriptions of the mythological Zeus, I would suspect mortal shenanigans, not drop to my knees and worship Zeus as divine.

If I found that there were coded mathematical messages deep in the digits of pi (as there were in the novel Contact), I would probably start feeling certain that the universe was indeed manufactured by an intelligence who wants us to know about it's existence.

In the grand scheme of things, does it really matter how agnostics fit their beliefs into this yes/no dichotomy? Prolly not. Oh well.

I agree -- I don't even think I like the "theist" label GeeSussFreeK slapped on me is right. I often think too much is made about deism vs. theism. If I write a really good program, it can corral people into interacting with it in ways I approve of without me personally having to watch over every user of it. Same with a deist God.

Usually I'm fully against the idea of theism, mostly on the basis that I think communication/negotiation with the creating power of the universe isn't possible, or at least would require big fancy machines.

^That's true, if Zeus stepped down to us lightning bolt in hand and everything, I would certainly accept it after some testing. I can't imagine any atheist that wouldn't, since most are not based on faith, but on evidence - and a real live Zeus would be one mother of an evidence.

Agnostics don't believe there is a God -> choose no. (Or that would be my way of thinking anyway.) The poll is about the active belief, not the active disbelief. (Are you an atheist? would be that question.)

If Zeus apparated tomorrow and shot some lightning bolts, all agnostics would be instantly converted to religion, but as of right now, none of them believe in Zeus. If you can't say 'yes, I believe in God', then you don't believe in God, regardless of how open you might be to the concept?

PS: I'm not sure why I hit the submit button on this comment. It doesn't seem an important enough point to be enunciated. In the grand scheme of things, does it really matter how agnostics fit their beliefs into this yes/no dichotomy? Prolly not. Oh well.

>> ^GeeSussFreeK:
How in the world is he so clam after words?


I hear he has a beard. Think about it.

Your video, Lightning Bolt - Whoa that was close!, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

>> ^GeeSussFreeK:
How in the world is he so clam after words?


I can only guess he isn't aware that lightning is dangerous.

I imagine him joining the army just for the chance to stand around in mortar barrages and admire the pretty 'splosions.

*dupeof=http://www.videosift.com/video/Lightning-Bolt-Whoa-that-was-close

This video has been declared a duplicate; transferring votes to the original video and killing this dupe - dupeof declared by gwiz665.

*dupeof=http://www.videosift.com/video/Lightning-Bolt-Whoa-that-was-close

Dupe found: http://www.videosift.com/video/Lightning-Bolt-Whoa-that-was-close

they were next to each other in Top 15 Videos Expiring Soon!

Zeus (if you really ARE the king of the gods and lightning bolts), do you not see the problem with quoting material from the Corby's own site?

My views on marijuana legalisation and the horrid manner in which Schapelle is being detained aside... it's pretty hard to overlook the fairly convincing evidence that she was knowingly attempting to traffik an illegal substance.

Ofcourse, I don't have all the facts and would happily consider any new information. But looking at your personal queue, I somehow get the feeling that you might not be one open to unbiased consideration of the facts.

The audio is a representation of radio frequency signals measured at Saturn. The RF signals are described as 'kilometric' - which means wavelengths around a kilometer. This means they have a frequency around 300 kHz (on the lower side of AM radio) - since the speed of light is 300,000 km/s - i.e. a 1 km wave goes by at a frequency of 300,000 times per second. To let us hear the patterns in the signal, they shifted these RF signals down by a factor of 30 or so, and converted them to sound - around 10 kHz.

These RF signals are due to the motions of charged particles (electrons and protons) trapped in the magnetic field of Saturn. As the particles cycle back and forth along the magnetic fields, they move at different speeds and spread out, with different frequencies coming at different times. Converted to sound, it becomes these eerie tones.

The giant planets have very large magnetic fields. The charged particles come from the Sun, and also interact with the moons and rings. Jupiter has an even more powerful magnetic field, and radio bursts indicate that lightning bolts jump the space between Jupiter and the inner moons.

Here is a video that shows a model of Saturn's magnetic field.
The video must be correct, since the narrator has a british accent.
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/hsw/23337-saturn-composition-and-magnetic-fields-video.htm

I can't agree with you at all.
I'm tired of people feeling like society needs to respect them or understand their differences. Should we all be this way? Kind and understanding? YES. But wake up and smell the sh t cause it's not smelling any better.
When you place yourself in the public eye you are asking for the world to judge you, whether you want it that way or not. And I apply this to all schools of thought not just about people with certain mental disabilities. Hell I hate it when people make fun of people who go LARPing (Ex: Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt!) because that actually looks like FUN to me. But do I complain about it? No!
My friend told me the other day he was at a BDSM expo and they had a Burlesque show where anyone could sign up and dance. He told me the majority of women that signed up were plus sized women. This falls into the same bracket. If you are ok with the fact that you are plus sized, mentally challenged, developmentally disabled, whatever, that is GREAT. I love the fact that people can see what society says about them and give them (society) the middle finger and not care.
But you also have to respect the fact that society ISN'T going to change its views just because you think highly of yourself. When you step up onto the stage of life (which arguably is YouTube right now) to give your "burlesque show" (internet video), the majority of that audience is just going to see something to make fun of.


I do understand the point you are making, but i think as reasonable people we ought to differentiate between the case of someone overly confident of themselves (the fat dancing women) and someone who has a scientifically diagnosed mental illness.

Laughing at the fat women dancing may deter them from doing it in the future from the shame they feel, but i doubt our ridicule is doing this fellow a favour. He reminds me of someone in elementary school, kids laughted at her antics and yet she continued to do her antics in the future because she just couldn't make the link that the other kid's laughing was AT her and her antics were socially unacceptable.

>> ^osama1234:
I tried downvoting this, unfortunatley i'm not a bronze member.
I feel terrible at the fact that people are making fun of this, just watching the video i could tell this man clearly has a mental illness. Upon further reading the comments, it seems that my suspicions were true.
Come on seriously, dont vote this up and stop the jokes. You're making fun of someone's disability, it's just not right.


I can't agree with you at all.

I'm tired of people feeling like society needs to respect them or understand their differences. Should we all be this way? Kind and understanding? YES. But wake up and smell the sh*t cause it's not smelling any better.

When you place yourself in the public eye you are asking for the world to judge you, whether you want it that way or not. And I apply this to all schools of thought not just about people with certain mental disabilities. Hell I hate it when people make fun of people who go LARPing (Ex: Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt!) because that actually looks like FUN to me. But do I complain about it? No!

My friend told me the other day he was at a BDSM expo and they had a Burlesque show where anyone could sign up and dance. He told me the majority of women that signed up were plus sized women. This falls into the same bracket. If you are ok with the fact that you are plus sized, mentally challenged, developmentally disabled, whatever, that is GREAT. I love the fact that people can see what society says about them and give them (society) the middle finger and not care.

But you also have to respect the fact that society ISN'T going to change its views just because you think highly of yourself. When you step up onto the stage of life (which arguably is YouTube right now) to give your "burlesque show" (internet video), the majority of that audience is just going to see something to make fun of.

You are showing classic signs of being indoctrinated into thinking that all Chistians believe the doctrines that you just described. You are oversimplifying, and there is more than one way to interpret scripture. The reason that we have need for a Savior is because we have been given agency and will make mistakes. This agency provides us an opportunity to learn and grow because we are free to make mistakes. (We lived with God before we were given mortal bodies, but we were like children, and God wished to see us progress. This life is a stage in our progression.) God provided a Savior so that we could return to live with him, because no unclean thing can dwell in his presence. We are not born on the path to hell. We are born innocent and perfect and are not held accountable for Adam's sin. Only our own. God does require something of us. I'm sorry if you find that offensive. I believe that the faith, repentance, good works, and morality he requires not only lead us back to him, but they make us happy in this life. If God provided proof of his existence, faith and sacrifice (which test us and make us better) would not be necessary.

Many people do not understand the doctrine of the Law of Moses. Some of the commandments given in the Old Testament (sacrifice, dietary guidelines, etc.) were part of the Law of Moses. This law was meant to prepare the people to receive Jesus, thus the sacrifices (symbolic of the sacrifice of the Savior). This was replaced by a higher law after Jesus came. The Old Testament is a record of believers who never knew Jesus Christ. Christ taught the Jews the true nature of God, demonstrating through his teaching and service that he is not vengeful and jealous, but perfectly just and kind. But, yes, he gets mad when we're disobedient. No lightning bolts or anything, though. Similarly, some people understand that the Bible is not only a sacred book but a product of its time. Some of the opinions of the prophets are just that: Opinions. They are pretty easily distinguishable from doctrine. I don't believe that the Bible is a perfect book. It has been mistranslated many times. In the first place, it was written by imperfect beings. It is a record of sacred things kept by them. It may not always be literal, but it provides understanding, inspiration, and guidance. God is consistent and unchanging, but he understands that we are not.

I believe that Christ is the Son of God, not God himself. For more on this topic, read this:
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=f318118dd536c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=00d51b3e50cf5110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hi
deNav=1
Jesus Christ suffered for our sins. The "Atonement" or "Passion," as some call it, did not occur solely on the cross. In the garden of Gethsemane prior to his crucifiction he endured pain of mind, body, and soul which was beyond what anyone but the son of God could have endured. This satisfied the demands of justice for a perfectly just god as well as a perfectly merciful one. Christ paid our debt, which is why we are indebted to him and why he requires our love and obedience.

This is not meant to convince you of anything. I'm just pointing out that your ideas about Christianity may be influenced by your underexposure to a number of Christian faiths which do not believe what evangelicals and Catholics believe. Your understanding of Christian doctrine is not perfect (as is the case with most people, including me), so I don't think you're qualified to say that the doctrine is absurd.

>> ^MaxWilder:
If the bible simply described Jesus coming to the world and offering advice on how to live a great life and offered some direction on what God had in mind for us, then I might consider it seriously. But as it was written, Jesus said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." In essence, the Word is "You better believe me, otherwise you go to hell." Why would we go to hell without Jesus? Because without Jesus, we are not saved. Why do we need to be saved? Because of original sin. We are born into this world on the path to hell. Well, gee, thanks for that God.

So all we have to do is put our complete trust in the text of a book that tells the story of a jealous and vengeful God, who at some point decides he wants to be a nicer guy so he sends his only son to allow us a slim chance of escaping eternal damnation. All you have to do is believe with all your heart something that was written in a book many centuries ago. You have to follow all its rules, except for the ones you really don't agree with, you can call those archaic.

Oh and how does Jesus save us? "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jesus was a sacrifice. He took our sins onto himself, that we need not pay the ultimate price if we simply accept him into our hearts. ...Wait a minute, how is Jesus a sacrifice? Jesus is God, right? He came down, said some stuff, died and went back to heaven. Where is the sacrifice in that? What was the point? It only makes sense to a culture that regularly made sacrifices to gods. A sacrifice is giving up something that is valuable to you. Jesus was not really a sacrifice on anybody's behalf, because God can't die.

It's fundamental absurdities like this that make Christianity so transparently false. They might have worked on people centuries ago, who had a worldview that included baseless guilt, vengeful gods, and meaningless sacrifices. But it doesn't work today. We have the ability to see things a little more clearly, if we choose to do so.

So to sum up, if there is a higher intelligence who wanted to tell us something, it would be internally consistent, and not dependent on the culture of a specific time and place. It would be impossible to be an atheist because it would be inherently obvious to anybody who saw it, and there would not be a single person on the planet who would fail to have the opportunity to learn about it. Christianity fails on every level.