Rocky

I figured that had been your point.

I posit that they are well able to do both. Of course, using a figure of speech, that's exactly what you did too.

My point is poignantly (hopefully well) made in my comment two comments up from this one. (2nd from last on the previous page).

Well, except the children one has the sacred responsibility to raise.

As far as a parent leading a child in the way s/he should go, it now occurs to me that may reasonably really mean by setting a powerful example of what it is and what it takes to love one another. Authoritarian domination of children is evil... hopefully a child so subjected can grow into being a person who loves God and others genuinely.

Well, it certainly is NOT critical thinking or analysis. But it does seem to reflect magical thinking. As if God's going to automatically supply everything a parent needs. Which leaves room only for blaming a lack of believing when it doesn't happen. That, IMO, is complete horsespit. More appropriately, parents have responsibility to care for a child or children. I was so damn naive when I was in twi.

Primarily, modcat5 and modgellan. They carry the heavy load of moderating. Their qualifications? Primarily their temperament. They've done well through the decades.

Did you report the post/thread so a moderator will consider doing so?

Because, of course, The Word (according to Victor) takes the place of the absent Christ.

9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[a]” 12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[b]” [So, we see that even the debbil can quote scripture...] Even the Bard knew this centuries ago... “The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness Is like a villain with a smiling cheek, A goodly apple rotten at the heart. O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!” ― William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

I'm more interested in the ideas than the people who express them. I was neither missing nor making your point. Apparently, we were discussing the same thing from a different angle.

Very true.

It appears that you got my point before I made it.

The question is not whether your words make sense to me or not. I explained some of how and why what makes sense to me. The question is what makes sense to you. We don't "cling to BC as opposed to BCE" because of the need for a leap year. We -- as a culture and society -- cling to it because the force and energy necessary to overcome inertia and make the change is not important enough for culture and society to muster it at this moment. It seems survival of culture and society for our grandchildren beyond six generations is far more important at this time. It matters not to me whether you or anyone else uses BC or BCE as long as I can recognize to what your or they are referring, similar to AD or CE.

Really? Using the word "religion" in this context seems to mix an individual's personal belief with a cultural phenomenon. If you parse those concepts rather than mixing them up, it makes sense to me. It's not so easy to overcome inertia when trying to change culture.

Wax on, wax off, my dudes!

How true. Of course, my immediate thought was that TWI should take a lesson and publish the names of its clergy who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse. But it's really a problem in any and likely every organization with the kind of structure that promotes obedience to those in charge without giving followers adequate rights to confront. That's how and why Wierwille and Martindale and who knows how many others got away with it.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — More than 8,000 members of the Southern Baptist Convention met in Anaheim, Calif., [click this link to read the entire news story for no charge bcuz I subscribe] on Tuesday and responded to the shocking findings of an independent investigation into the handling of sex abuse cases by passing a recommendation to create a database to track sex abusers and a formal group to handle sex abuse accusations going forward. Members of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination also elected rural Texas pastor Bart Barber the next president of the convention. In May, Southern Baptist leaders published a report detailing a years-long coverup of sex abuse within their denomination. For 15 years, the report alleged, leaders said they were not able to compile a database of sex abuse offenders — while they were secretly keeping a list of their own. The same week they released their report, they also released the list, which consisted of hundreds of names of alleged abusers, including many convicted of sex abuse crimes. [...] Rachael Denhollander, an attorney, survivor and advocate who is advising the SBC on its abuse reform measures, said Tuesday the denomination has made progress but still has a long way to go. [Denhollander is the former Michigan State gymnast who first contacted newspaper reporters about the team doctor who had been abusing female athletes for years. That former physician is in prison, and to the best of my knowledge, the warden has forever misplaced the keys to his cell] “It’s 10 years behind everyone else on its understanding of abuse, of best standards,” she said. “I am seeing shifts but I don’t want to downplay the reality that they’re a decade behind.”

Otherwise known as "It's ALL Bull$hit!"

No basis? You seem to be taking Wierwille's interpretation as something every Christian church believed and taught. That's just not the case. Yes, they imagine something that they think has basis in what they understand of Christianity. I'm not arguing for or against Wierwille's interpretation. "There is absolutely no basis in fact for creating such an idea, and there is no proof people will be reunited with their pets someday." Be that as it may, that there may be "no basis in fact for creating such an idea" is unrelated to how cultures and societies develop ideas. Never has been and never will be. Logic is a domain of philosophy (that's which university departments teach logic), not of the Humanities or Social Sciences.

Today's what? Do you mean today's American culture and society? With that specified I'd agree with you. Culture and society never has been about logic. However, I could direct you to numerous books to shed light on the subject, if you'd like. Just let me know. Regardless, I realize it's incredibly frustrating to come to awareness that facts and reality play such a small role in American culture. Btw, I have a t-shirt which declares "Truth Matters: Go Fact Yourself."

Not that you can't figure it out, or Bolshevik, or even Stayed too Long... On the off chance that people come here and actually wonder... Those are actually cultural expressions meant to blunt the pain of losing someone to death. Narratives when rational explanations provide no comfort. You knew that, right?

Indeed. And creates a larger perspective than each individual was able to have on their own.