SaggyBalls

"I am confident that those who believe in belief are wrong. That is, we no more need to preserve the myth of God in order to preserve a just and stable society than we needed to cling to the Gold Standard to keep our currency sound." Dennett seems to be using his logic to try to 'prove' his point...poorly. the Gold Standard is sorely needed in these times. "Can you imagine anything "so important that it must not be subjected to the risks of disconfirmation or serious criticism"? Intellectually, most of us would say not. But, in fact, we often act as though the answer is yes." Baggini - We need more people like this guy writing for major outfits. What a crucial concept to accept. "I don't believe in belief. Beliefs about metaphysical issues, including the existence of God, are inconsequential. In the aggregate, religious believers are no better or worse than atheists and, historically, societies that have embodied strong religious commitments are no better or worse than those committed to atheism." What a refreshing example of Atheism and the bigger picture. Thorgnor: thanks for the read.

(which voices?)

How will that work with the billions of people on the planet, especially in regards to the demand on services and infrastructure. That's a nice place in the photo but how will that solve the problems that we face, aside from using more resources/materials in the building process?? The issue with 'poison boxes' as you've so put it is that there are healthy solutions for a more conventional home, but few people are aware or wealthy enough to demand their home be built to spec. How do we have a more passive existence with the societal and physical constructs that we are faced with?

I'm talking about more direct impact than merely commenting about an issue. I'm not suggesting a particular action be taken, but all too often people think that words are enough to make things happen, when words only influence people to take action. Why don't you brainstorm some solutions if you're so concerned, hamilton?

Lived to the age of 92. Passed away today. Impressive man.

in Canada, as long as you can somehow prove that you wrote the song you have the copyright. Legitimate way? Send a copy to yourself via. registered mail. realistically, this isn't even encessary. be thorough with your file labelling on your computer, date written documents, put your work up online. Give it a presence and you'll have clout. SOCAN helps you get paid for your work being played on radio, television, in bars, or other public places. If you're writing pop music and someone else writes the lyrics, get it published in Sweden. There it's all about the discernible melody. Here though, you have the copyright as soon as it's written. If you have to take it to court then the little details as mentioned above will certainly help. Working/licensing in the USA? Smithsonian Institute. I get the feeling that you're trying to keep your intellectual property.

yurts?

HAHA! WHAT WOULDN'T JESUS DO! I never said that a non-modern faith is 'in the dark ages' but I was more going with the concept of modernity as Dr. Evil Mouse suggested in regards to religion. 'Modernism'? I wouldn't really say that it fits as it's not really art. Impressive and beautiful, but that's a bit of a stretch. The 're-branded' religion has been rebranded to suit modern times while Islam has not really embraced our western philosophy/"globalism" of the past 200 years. Is that so bad? I don't think so.

Airship cities? Giant boats? Underwater cities? What are you proposing?

Which voices of criticism?

How is that at all unclear? If you want to be directly effective, then you're gonna have to do something other than point out racialized actions and attitudes and the fact that it can be intellectualized as violence. If you're happy hoping other people will do that work for you then keep on keepin' on.

Would it be easier to rebuild piece by piece as we need it or just build entirely new, ultra-modern communities?

It's not absolutely wrong, but from the perspective you're approaching the statement with it is. I wasn't talking about muslims, I was talking about what I see in Islam/what gets pushed via. the multi-faceted media and what I've found online. Islam doesn't really seem to need to 'sell' people on that way of life like Christianity seems to. How is Dubai a gauge of religion first and foremost?? Dubai and Islam It's certainly a gauge of wealth, proceeds from commerce, and our ingenuity, but Islam?? It's far more realistic to assert that Islam happens to not be particularly modern, and Muslim societies that loosen their religious grip have more opportunity to be 'modern'.

I'd much rather go and see TMNS than check out the Dead. the Guitar/Guitar/Synth guitar combo up front did more for me than keys ever have in recent Dead memory.

Mouse - the WORDS are doing the action in that approach, not the speaker. They trigger the other person to act. Change the world or get it to change itself? The question was about the former. Solving problems isn't just identifying them, it BEGINS with identifying them So to be fair to Thorgnor, he's starting things off so that other people can change things. Not that I'm entirely dismissive of that, but while it takes the understanding that identification itself does nothing to specifically create change but is certainly crucial in the process.

never had a chance to get into it. thanks for the link.

Smash our cities?

You're probably right. Can I exclude the USA? Anyhow, about 'God'...to me 'God' is the Tao. "Trees and animals, humans and insects, flowers and birds: these are active images of the subtle energies that flow from the stars throughout the universe. Meeting and combining with each other and the elements of the Earth, they give rise to all living things. The superior person understands this, and understands that her own energies play a part in it. Understanding these things, she respects the Earth as her mother, the heavens as her father, and all living things as her brothers and sisters." "Those who want to know the truth of the universe should practice...reverence for all life; this manifests as unconditional love and respect for oneself and all other beings." -- LAO TZU (translated by Brian Walker) Hence my 'to bad politicians aren't into God' appeal.

When one expresses what s/he sees the action is expression, not implementation. While there may be some sort of effect, the act of change is not pushed or even begun by the act of expression. It takes the other party to move towards the change. So really one can't actually change the world sees itself through expression alone. It will probably take your expression of what you see and an expression of what you WANT with someone that you could work with to act towards some tangible results. Sharing that kind of information demands someone accept what you're offering, which isn't really befitting of the essence of 'sharing' to me, unless it doesn't come of as criticism. Still confused, Dr. Mouse?

I love the store layout at zulu. great place. It made me want to move to kits just to chill there often.

has he put up a gate? rent a car and get the insurance and drive right through the motherfucker.

Why do people put things like 'jedi' on their census under religion? Perhaps the convenient clever ties to world religions/philosophies and science (miticloriants/mitochondria(the key to multi-cellular life)), and most peoples abhorrence for modern organized religion. Just look at the fastest growing religion in the world - Islam. It's definitely not modern and a lot of people gain a great deal of insight from *gasp* monotheism.

How does that change the way the world sees itself? That just expresses how you see the world, T. That's a very different thing than doing something to change or even challenge perceptions.

I don't want some guy in a pointy hat to tell me how to think and act either. That's the aim with the church and state separation, but whatever else came with it was probably unintended and isn't really all that great. I don't think that the arguments against religion classes in schools are substantial or well-founded. It would help q lot of miscommunication and resentments work their ways out. Religion is definitely a huge aspect of Social Studies that is being ignored by our educational system that makes a huge case for and against homeschooling. Armstrong's Mythos/Logos point is well made, well put, and well-needed.

No Dave, it's nothing to do with God, but with religious or political dogma. If they really had a sense of God they wouldn't have people killed for oil or power. "Where i think we continually wind up frustrated is when we try to reason with the unreasonable and as a result denounce religion in its entirety because of its intangibility. And in doing so participate in the same kinds of things we accuse religions of - lack of understanding, hostility towards each other, closed-mindedness. " You're definitely not alone there, Birdy. Secularism is one of the things that has been of huge detriment to the Developed world. Separation of CHURCH and state, yes - but not with the separation of Man and God. That happens all too often. The realization of a 'higher power' - be it Vishnu, Christ, metaphysics, or something else is one of the most powerful realizations that (although should be unnecessary) society will wind up having. The 'oh yeah...how come we didn't catch onto this before' moment: Our kids' kids will probably have that.