Not too sure whether this teacher "bashed religion".
He seems to me rather a teacher who tries to encourage independent thinking. Obviously he has strong opinions. However this is no reason for an outcry "this has to stop". People not agreeing with him should rather be more self-asserted. If...
I do not quite understand the development of the discussion with respect to the first question: Why people doubt that Jesus existed?
The answer is quite clear. From a modern understanding of history, multiple lines of evidence are needed but are lacking: The canonical gospels are not...
The Nazi-connections of Husseini are known, but what's the point of this? To prove that all Arabs are Nazis?
"England my..." you seem to think there are only two sides, black and white. However the truth is sometimes a bit more complex.
Nothing is gained by likening either side in the...
I can confirm that scientologists will refuse to discuss these questions. When I was a teenager, a relative became a scientologist and tried to proselytise. I challenged the concept of transmigration of souls as understood by scientology by the argument of logarithmic growth of the human...
I take the point that a lot of dogmatism in Christianity takes St Paul for a justification.
To a lot of liberal minded Christians, or people who grew up in the Christian tradition but became distant to it, St Paul seems to be some type of arch-villain.
But I am wondering, aren't both...
@Ba'al:
There is no reason accusing me of nonsense, please let's stay respectful.
I have said that under proper supervision the risks are probably managable.
It was not clear from what you said whether you were aware of the MAO issue.
Apart from that, taking a compound that induces vomiting...
Hmm, Crowley.
Where I had a chance to dip superficially in his wrtitings, I found them pompous and boring.
They only work on the assumption that he possesses some secret code. Then it's layers over layeres of arcane symbols on top of it, always interspersed with statements that those who...
If I may leave a last (shorter) post:
I agree with Hevenly Heathen that drugs are very much overrated. They lead to spectacular effects, but control is difficult, and even if undertaken with serious intentions, most of the trip will be just hallucinations.
I know quite a few people who have...
If I may comment on this, be really careful. There is a lot of rubbish around in the "spiritual workshop" field.
Traditionally, these ways were not taught in courses or programs. Which does not necessarily mean that it is categorically wrong to change the ways these techniques are taught...
You can confirm the information I gave, and which I explain further down in some detail, from sources that are not anti-drug, e.g. erowid.
As what regards cases, I don't have access to such data. But hospitalisations exist.
The question to backup my"claims" can be reversed: where's the...
I personally have a number of reservations to the New Age movement, but at the same time hesitate to make sweeping statements.
First, the New Age movement owes a lot to "underground" streams of Westen thought such as occultism and theosophy. These movements, however, were mostly initiated by a...
The Jews in Germany did not do anything wrong, nor were they in any sense dominant.
The anti-semitism of the Nazis was entirely fear mongering. The Nazis successfully appealed to "traditional" (i.e. religious) anti-semitism in order to use this for their ends. Thus, they tried to connect...
You could also have said "in stupidity"
1) Doesn't make sense at all. Do you believe OR know ?
2) Sorry to have to disappoint you anti-semitic preconceptions, but monotheism isn't a Jewish invention, but Egytian in origin.
3) I doubt you are aware. You're just having hateful fantasies of...
Jesus in the gospel of John is very different from Jesus in the other three gospels, called the synoptic gospels.
That John is the odd one out has been recognised by theologians from the early middle ages on. People from the mainstream denominations often criticise non-canonical documents, e.g...
It is quite unlikely that Jesus claimed to be God, because given his background, i.e. an observant Jew, anybody saying that would have been taken for a madman. Accordingly, the unifying theme of the gospels is that the disciples do not realise that Jesus is the son of God, while of course the...
Definitely has a potential for abuse. Some people smoking it everyday need it and will be quite nervous when they are out of stash.
Best used not more than once a week. But still it wears off. Goes from amazing to dopey.
Taken in excess, it loses effect, to hardcore tokers a spliff that...
1) Here in the UK there are more new HIV infections amongst straight people than gay people. However, as there are more straight people, the statistic risk is higher for gays.
2) The risk of catching HIV depends on the sexual practice and on the number of partners, not the sexual orientation...
I thought satanists would strive to be rational.
Where is the logic in hating a group for crimes allegedly done by members of the same group in another historical era?
And anyway, what crimes by jews and muslims are you talking about?
And how many languages do you speak except your first if one...
Very important subject, thanks for posting the informative links.
I am a male white European, late 40s, and have come in contact with the sweat lodge in the 1980s. It was very important in really difficult times, it has taught me the power of prayer.
Now, I hesitate to mention the sweat...
The problem is not the genetic code but the whole machinery of the cell. The genetic code could look different, but would then still work. But it needs the whole cellular context to make any sense. However simple one imagines an ancestral cell, this needs a myriad of processes linked into...