Theologicamol Questions

[oilcantim]

Wow, I never thought I'd be reading a 15 page thread on theology on the Friends Of Tom board.  This is fucking excellent.

I swore in a theology thread!  The Internet is a wonderful thing.

[Pastor Josh]

Wow, I never thought I'd be reading a 15 page thread on theology on the Friends Of Tom board.  This is fucking excellent.

I swore in a theology thread!  The Internet is a wonderful thing.

Ain't it, though?  And it's sixteen now.

[Phantom Hugger]

make some popcorn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iMmvu9eMrg&feature=player_embedded

[buffcoat]

I won't watch that video, but I will imagine the line of dialogue:

"Which is scarier, Regular Old Bogie, or Negative Old Bogie?"  Long pause. "If you said Negative Old Bogie, you have the God gene that scientists have been looking for."  Audience boos.

[Pastor Josh]

Sorry, but I have a pretty low daily bandwidth limit and can't watch an hour of video.  I saw the blurb on Pharyngula, however, and I'm intrigued by the hypothesis (even as it was presented so fair-mindedly by Prof. Myers).  Is the text of his speech posted somewhere?

[chrysta]

Wow, I never thought I'd be reading a 15 page thread on theology on the Friends Of Tom board.  This is fucking excellent.

I swore in a theology thread!  The Internet is a wonderful thing.

Um, amen? But seriously, as a nonreligious type with a general thirst for knowledge, it's refreshing* to see an open, respectful, non-proselytizing discussion.

*Yuck, I didn't intend to follow up "thirst" with "refreshing" but I guess that's how it goes.

[JonFromMaplewood]

Pastor Josh,

I sometimes hear my very religious mother-in-law use the expression "The fruit grows sweeter in the valley" when someone is acting all high and mighty. I cannot seem to find any evidence of it on the internet. Is this a variation on a bible quotation?

[Pastor Josh]

Pastor Josh,

I sometimes hear my very religious mother-in-law use the expression "The fruit grows sweeter in the valley" when someone is acting all high and mighty. I cannot seem to find any evidence of it on the internet. Is this a variation on a bible quotation?

Not that I can find.  I just checked, and the word "valley" appears 140 times in the NRSV, and unless I scanned too quickly, it's not biblical.  Sorry.

[dave from knoxville]

Pastor Josh,

I sometimes hear my very religious mother-in-law use the expression "The fruit grows sweeter in the valley" when someone is acting all high and mighty. I cannot seem to find any evidence of it on the internet. Is this a variation on a bible quotation?

Not that I can find.  I just checked, and the word "valley" appears 140 times in the NRSV, and unless I scanned too quickly, it's not biblical.  Sorry.

Isn't this a variation on the old "The grass is always sweeter in the other bong"?

[fonpr]

There are tons of people, I'm sure many who post on this board, who believe that all religious texts are basically telling the same story and that all gods are one in the same. So, a pastor who is a Christian and Muslim isn't that crazy to me and I'm actually kind of amazed that there isn't a church with a large following that combines all of the elements of the major religions.

Sounds like your talking about Unitarian-Universalist "Church". 

Is 200,000 members a large following?  Jefferson Theoreu, Emerson...


Joseph Priestly.

[colonel panic]

Hi, one or more things. Why did they replace the organs with folk singers? Also, what do you think of Christian musicians that try to sound and look like real musicians? What do you think of Christianity as a brand? Do you ever go to mass and feel like you are at the mall, or vice versa? Why is all of the beauty disappearing from the world? Should I join a cult, since I like to be a follower? Are cults really bad?

I'm not a big fan of contemporary Christian music, mainly though because I don't like crappy music.  As I've said earlier, the only Christian musician I like right now is Sufjan Stevens.  I think any time a musician limits him- or herself to one topic, whether it's Jesus or love or rockin', the get pretty stale pretty quick.  I prefer more traditional worship, myself, lots of liturgy and older hymns, but the sad thing is that there aren't many organists left.  It's a really difficult instrument to learn, and there aren't many applications for it.  Organs are also really, really expensive to maintain, so even big churches are starting to get rid of them.  It's sad, but some of the newer electric organs don't sound terrible.  Also, though, "contemporary Christian" music is one way that some churches think is a good way to reach out to the unchurched, but it's an idea on it's way out.  Too many Jimmy Buffet wannabees driving off people who actually like music.

I have been to churches that felt more like malls, and I hate them.  It bugs me when churches conform to the culture rather than oppose it.  Don't get me started on flags.

Please, please stay away form Scientology.  Jehovah's Witnesses are usually really great people, although personally I'd miss Christmas.  A religion is just a cult plus time, but I guess it depends on what the cult is asking you to do.  Anything that demands you sever ties with anyone not a member of th cult (and lots of Christian congregations do this, actually), is probably a bad idea.  So is handing over everything you own.  But if you're interested in being a follower, you can do that in an old-fashioned cult, like a church. 

As to why all the beauty is disappearing from the world, I think it's just that beauty gets tired of being in the same places all the time.  We just have to look for it in new places.

Amen.

[Pastor Josh]

I missed this thread, so when I came across this bit by Patton oswalt, I thought it would  agood opportunity to get it started again, maybe.  I think he's pretty much one hundred percent right.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55h1FO8V_3w&feature=player_embedded#t=194[/youtube]

[Pastor Josh]

My only problem with this, in retrospect, that religions in general have no problem with rape.  Killing males is bad, but rape, hey sometimes it's necessary.  (Obviously, however, 95% of contemporary religious people have a problem with rape.  But it wasn't a reason for the birth of religion.)