Story here. I put this in political debates rather than religious news because I want to ask where should Western society draw the line in 'respecting other cultures?' The story above in not a rare occurrence across the Western world, though as no one desires to touch the issue it is relegated...
1. As it stands for Americans only candidates from those parties are "serious choices". Voting for someone else is "throwing away your vote". Generally speaking their media will only cover said candidates. The only publicity independents get is during public forums during the campaigns and even...
My mother is Catholic and I was baptized that. Father is Lutheran. Both of them are lenient believers who I'd describe as Christian Deists than either of the above, so I was never really 'forced' into anything, though they did take me to Church (both a Catholic and Lutheran one) throughout some...
I haven't noticed much of a change. Some women have no issues with the way they look while others are incredibly self-conscious. The great thing about the 'net is that groups of like minded people can easily get together which is what I would amount that to. It's hardly to the point of Europe in...
You do realize there are other forms of Christianity other than the trinity variety, right? Granted many were declared heresy (such as Arianism) and persecuted relentlessly in the grand theater that was the Church power struggles -- but that was political and all about power. You can always...
Perhaps you missed all those revolts involving their recent "election"? It's a police state theocracy masquerading as a democracy. They've tried protesting. Barring violent revolution I doubt the Iranians are going to gain what they wish.
While the Western justice system has many problems I have yet to see our societies order body mutilation as justice, so I feel we can still judge barbarity as barbarity. Iran is a backwards mess of a nation right now anyway.
Forbidden fruit is the most delicious of all? Some men might see it as the "unattainable conquest". I suppose getting a lesbian into bed would be the ultimate trophy or something.
Nah, that only came about due to Muslim conquest. Those still in their homelands could continue to practice (and still do) though it became illegal for anyone to convert to it (and still is). For the refugees who fled to India they were only allowed in if they didn't convert people. They simply...
God is acting through those people then? Ah, that old argument. You know the infinite master of the multiverse could do something more tangible than taking credit for the engineers, countless volunteers, search and rescue squads ready to plunge into danger, the trapped workers themselves, and...
Are you talking about the theory or the fact? The theory is an explanation of the fact. I doubt anyone can argue the fact of gravity. Theories are always open to debate, new discoveries, and reformation. That's what science is. Of course some people see that as "OMGZ CAN'T BE TRUEZ!11!" and then...
Since your thought experiment ignores variables willingly (that others have mentioned) such as if one considers life to have intrinsic value your thought experiment is a poor one. You need a more strict setting, but I see two from what you've given.
1) Life has no value. Because life (and by...
Historically speaking the reason was because Jesus was killed due to the Jews in Palestine. The Romans probably didn't care one way or the other but since he was (apparently) causing a lot of inflammation in the populace they just decided to off him to keep the Jewish leaders happy so they...
And every dictionary, legal system, and ethical code in the world disagrees with you. It is still violence... black is still black even if you believe it to be white. The person was harmed, because, as stated by someone else oxygen deprivation leads to cellular death, particularly in the brain...
Atheism is atheism. You are either "Weak" or "Strong". Weak Atheism is what the original post stated while allowing for the possibility of the supernatural being there, it still operates as though it isn't. Strong Atheism simply forgoes that possibility. Agnosticism is the statement that it is...
Calculators lack organic brain functions high enough or sufficient construction / programming (Artificial Intelligence) to become self-aware of its own existence that such questions are not even valid to its existence. It is a calculator. It does not think. It is no more an atheist than it is a...
Even then you can't do anything about it. People in those positions get paid extremely well because not many people are willing to do it. Factor in Hazards pay and it is a small fortune.