Originally posted by JimL
View Post
Announcement
Collapse
Civics 101 Guidelines
Want to argue about politics? Healthcare reform? Taxes? Governments? You've come to the right place!
Try to keep it civil though. The rules still apply here.
Try to keep it civil though. The rules still apply here.
See more
See less
O�Rourke: Churches Should Lose Tax-exempt Status
Collapse
X
-
Originally posted by JimL View PostThe government doesn't play favorites, it isn't partisan, Tea. Whatever subsidies you are speaking of would apply to all candidates.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot
"Forgiveness is the way of love." Gary Chapman
My Personal Blog
My Novella blog (Current Novella Begins on 7/25/14)
Quill Sword
Comment
-
Originally posted by JimL View PostI don't think Tass is arguing that there is no wisdom to live by therein, Jim. I'm sure there is like wisdom in the Koran as well, but that doesn't make the reality of neither the one, nor the other story, historic in nature, or the revealed word of god.
JimMy brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. James 2:1
If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless James 1:26
This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; James 1:19
Comment
-
Originally posted by oxmixmudd View PostI was adressing the implication that the wisdom and meaning derived from the scripture is purely arbitrary, that it is 'whatever Christian's want it to be'. That just isnt an accurate conclusion to draw from the differences in understanding that exist regarding the specific argument he and CP were discussing.
JimThe first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.
Comment
-
Originally posted by oxmixmudd View PostI was adressing the implication that the wisdom and meaning derived from the scripture is purely arbitrary, that it is 'whatever Christian's want it to be'. That just isnt an accurate conclusion to draw from the differences in understanding that exist regarding the specific argument he and CP were discussing.
Jim
So, in real life, the Bible is used for whatever some people (wrongly) prefer it to be about. I have heard it said that the current use of the Bible among Trump supporting white Evangelical has caused more harm on Scripture than any atheist could have ever done. I agree that is the case in practical terms. However, I believe their interpretation is wrong and so it does not really say much about what the Bible is really about.
Comment
-
Originally posted by Starlight View PostSee Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock for SCOTUS confirming that a religious tax exemption amounts to a subsidy that other tax-payers have to pay and striking down a Texas law giving tax exemptions to religious publications.
Originally posted by Starlight View PostThis argument sounds like it has plausible logic...
...right up until you actually start to look at the empirical evidence. The least religious countries in the world, who are majority atheist, tend to be the ones who are doing the best (in terms of almost any international comparison you care to pick - e.g. happiness, low murder rate, lack of corruption, life expectancy, general multi-variate comparisons etc.)
A list of the top-10 least religious countries in the world, is pretty much a list of wonderful countries to live in (Australia, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Denmark, Canada, France, Austria). That is certainly NOT a list of countries that are "going to hell in a hand-basket" or who are falling apart as a result of abandoning their Christian roots.
A list of the top-10 most religious countries in the world is pretty much a list of atrociously awful countries to live in. (Algeria, Chad, Ghana, Mali, Qatar, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Zambia, Cambodia, Cameroon) With the possible exception of Qatar, religion doesn't seem to be making these countries great.
Indeed, I notice a correlation in those lists: The countries in the first group (the "good" ones) are all countries where the majority of the population is white. The countries in the second group (the "bad" ones) are all countries where the majority of the population isn't white. It seems one can take the data you presented and, with just as much backing, assert it proves the superiority of the white race.
I am, of course, not asserting that it is race that is the reason. Merely that one can draw that conclusion just as well as what you appear to be asserting.
Comment
-
Originally posted by Cow Poke View PostYes, I'm well aware of that, but your blanket statement "The government doesn't play favorites, it isn't partisan" is preposterous, Jim. Money is the mother's milk of politics, as they say.
Both sides, when in power, will do nearly anything to keep themselves in power. Your blind trust in "the government" is, in my opinion, seriously misguided.
Comment
-
Has anybody else caught that even the Friendly Atheist blog (which isn't friendly at all) thinks Beto was wrong on this one? I can't link because of Hemant's language, but his point of focus is on the idea of legislating thought."I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill
Comment
-
Originally posted by JimL View PostThe blanket statement was meant to cover the non partisan rules of government concerning political campaigns. You took the blanket statement out of context.The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.
Comment
-
Originally posted by JimL View PostOr all christians, with respect to biblical interpretation, which I believe was his point.The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.
Comment
-
Originally posted by Terraceth View PostI have a hard time considering a list to be accurate if it puts Germany on a list of "least religious" countries but omits North Korea.
."I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill
Comment
-
Originally posted by JimL View PostHow bout you stop being a tweb "nanny."The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.
Comment
-
Originally posted by Cow Poke View PostAnybody who thinks our government is nonpartisan in this day and age must live in a cave, regardless of what "the rules" say.
Comment
Related Threads
Collapse
Topics | Statistics | Last Post | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Started by seer, Yesterday, 11:40 AM
|
2 responses
33 views
0 likes
|
Last Post
by Diogenes
Yesterday, 03:28 PM
|
||
Started by CivilDiscourse, Yesterday, 06:30 AM
|
15 responses
81 views
0 likes
|
Last Post
by seanD
Yesterday, 04:20 PM
|
||
Started by Cow Poke, 06-03-2024, 11:24 AM
|
25 responses
146 views
0 likes
|
Last Post
by Cow Poke
Yesterday, 04:13 PM
|
||
Started by carpedm9587, 06-03-2024, 09:13 AM
|
51 responses
275 views
0 likes
|
Last Post
by Diogenes
Today, 02:36 AM
|
||
Started by Cow Poke, 06-02-2024, 09:15 AM
|
31 responses
151 views
0 likes
|
Last Post
by rogue06
Yesterday, 08:12 PM
|
Comment