Religion and Ethics Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Walter on April 30, 2019, 12:14:10 PM
-
is this the end of the line for the forum ?
-
Don't tell him, Pike!
-
Here's one you prepared earlier.
http://www.religionethics.co.uk/index.php?topic=13557.msg664603#msg664603
-
Here's one you prepared earlier.
http://www.religionethics.co.uk/index.php?topic=13557.msg664603#msg664603
wow! have a look , 60 guests and 5 users at time of typing . c'mon you can do it !
-
a message to 'lurkers'
why not sign up and join in the fun ? free psychological help to the first three care of NS
-
a message to 'lurkers'
why not sign up and join in the fun ? free psychological help to the first three care of NS
And if you join up on that offer, you definitely need psychological help!
-
wow! have a look , 60 guests and 5 users at time of typing . c'mon you can do it !
I fear the guests are bots in the main
-
Things change for all sorts of reasons, don't they? People join and leave groups for sometimes quite unexpected reasons. You think so-and-so probably hasn't attended because ..., but he/she will come back and it will turn out to have beem for a completely different reason.
-
Things change for all sorts of reasons, don't they? People join and leave groups for sometimes quite unexpected reasons. You think so-and-so probably hasn't attended because ..., but he/she will come back and it will turn out to have beem for a completely different reason.
And you never know, Sriram may be right and they're returning from the dead ...
-
I've felt for a while that we've seen fewer and fewer people posting, with quite a number leaving or being thrown out and hardly any newbies. This is a shame as, in my opinion, the MB is nothing like as vibrant as it used to be.
Not sure there is anything that can be done unfortunately.
-
Being one of those who now 'lurks' - I 'lurk' because the topics have degraded into, for me, a seriously boring sameness.
1 - Christians V Atheists - virtually every religious post descends into this state in about ten posts.
2 - The passing of various celebrities
3 - The smattering of smart-arse sarcastic one liners
4 - those who remain are so well-known to each other that the response to virtually every OP can be accurately predicted.
5 - Nit picking in the matter of definitions - sometimes referred to as OTT and unecessary (in my opiniuon) pedantry,
6 - Wind-up-merchants and stirrers.
Summation - the place has become boring!
Without new blood, I reluctatly regret to say, I think this Forum, is, most definitely on itsd last legs! I seriosly wish it wasn't but . . . .
-
It is a dying form of communication. How many young people do you think are here. I would wager very few under the age of 50.
People are using different methods of expressing themselves, this method is past its sell by date for many.
Sad, but there it is.
-
We could move to more whizzy tech - have pictures, gifs, sound, etc, but I suspect some of us ancients might feel that would actually spoil the place. At some stage it will die but it will have been what it was, filled with the gibberings of the mad, and the wisdom of fools. We've had threads like this since about 5 years ago. I'm astounded that we have lasted this long. I agree with a lot of Owlswing's points but I don't see it matters, and some of them are part of the charm. Things change. Things end. Things die.
-
I have put the word out on another forum and hope more people might join R&E.
-
I tend to think of this place as somewhere a bunch of old codgers get together to chew the fat, where both the fat and the codgers mostly stay the same, and it really doesn't matter all that much anyway. There is a habitual element too, along with a sense of familiarity - maybe that is why it has survived the last 8 years. Mind you - I've learned a great deal from here, interacted with people I wouldn't otherwise have encountered and found personal friends that I now can't imagine not knowing.
I don't see the need to actively pull the plug just yet - but when nobody turns up for days on end I suppose it will quietly fade. In any event somebody has to ensure that 'Searching for God' has a home for a while yet!
-
I think when the last post has happened we need to get Searching for God loaded onto a memory stick and pay for it to be sent on some exploring spacecraft.
-
I think when the last post has happened we need to get Searching for God loaded onto a memory stick and pay for it to be sent on some exploring spacecraft.
In which case it will still be searching in a trillion years time. ;D
-
In which case it will still be searching in a trillion years time. ;D
And it will have consumed all the atoms in the visible Universe by then.
-
I used to think that SfG had no chance of reaching the size of the Noah's Ark thread on the BBC boards, but it's now got 20,000 MORE posts on it than that did. Admittedly many of them seem to be almost the exactly the same as others on it.
-
I used to think that SfG had no chance of reaching the size of the Noah's Ark thread on the BBC boards, but it's now got 20,000 MORE posts on it than that did. Admittedly many of them seem to be almost the exactly the same as others on it.
SofG could get into the Guinness Book of Record for the number of posts which are repeating others.
-
I used to think that SfG had no chance of reaching the size of the Noah's Ark thread on the BBC boards, but it's now got 20,000 MORE posts on it than that did. Admittedly many of them seem to be almost the exactly the same as others on it.
If I recall correctly, the Ark thread was closed by the mods?
Otherwise it may well have run until the BBC closed the boards!
-
AWW! Mr Owl
I'm so disappointed now .Those smart-arse sarcastic one liners were all for your benefit and amusement . Please don't tell me you didn't enjoy them .
btw is it still cold, dark and damp in your part of the forest?
-
Being one of those who now 'lurks' - I 'lurk' because the topics have degraded into, for me, a seriously boring sameness.
1 - Christians V Atheists - virtually every religious post descends into this state in about ten posts.
2 - The passing of various celebrities
3 - The smattering of smart-arse sarcastic one liners
4 - those who remain are so well-known to each other that the response to virtually every OP can be accurately predicted.
5 - Nit picking in the matter of definitions - sometimes referred to as OTT and unecessary (in my opiniuon) pedantry,
6 - Wind-up-merchants and stirrers.
Summation - the place has become boring!
Without new blood, I reluctatly regret to say, I think this Forum, is, most definitely on itsd last legs! I seriosly wish it wasn't but . . . .
You know you are allowed to start topics. If you don’t like the ones that are here, create some new ones.
-
How about an amnesty, let back those previously banned (assuming there any that want to rejoin)?
-
How about an amnesty, let back those previously banned (assuming there any that want to rejoin)?
There was probably a very good reason for banning former posters.
-
So?
Why should that prevent some kind of amnesty?
-
So?
Why should that prevent some kind of amnesty?
I'd like to see some of the religious ones allowed back , they provided hours of fun in many ways .
-
Hi Walter,
I'd like to see some of the religious ones allowed back , they provided hours of fun in many ways .
Maybe the theists who come here have finally realised that they've backed the wrong horses all along, converted to atheism, and run out of things to say?
-
Hi Walter,
Maybe the theists who come here have finally realised that they've backed the wrong horses all along, converted to atheism, and run out of things to say?
job done eh?
I doubt it , they're probably too bruised from a constant battering each time they attempt to proselytise their faith which is rapped up in a question or baseless argument
-
Probably fed up having the same arguments every time. We need a miracle?
-
Joking aside I've said several times that I'd genuinely like to hear from theists who aren't fibbers, trolls or simpletons. Clearly religion is a huge cultural phenomenon, and many who subscribe to it must I'm sure have better arguments than the hopeless ones we see here. What they might be though is anyone's guess, which is a shame I think.
Those of you who remember the old BBC board may recall a Father Patrick who was thoughtful and nuanced, but sadly others of his ilk don't seem to have found their way here.
-
Moderator:
Just to say that while we appreciate the suggestion that an amnesty might increase numbers we're very clear that those banned permanently had reached the end of the road here for various (and not always obvious) reasons - to the extent we were no longer prepared to moderate them: as such there will be no amnesty.
-
Gordon,
Moderator:
Just to say that while we appreciate the suggestion that an amnesty might increase numbers we're very clear that those banned permanently had reached the end of the road here for various (and not always obvious) reasons - to the extent we were no longer prepared to moderate them: as such there will be no amnesty.
Fair enough. Just wondering though whether there's a thriving anti-R&E somewhere populated only by banned former members of this one - kind of an undetectable dark message board?
Spooky eh?
-
Moderator:
Just to say that while we appreciate the suggestion that an amnesty might increase numbers we're very clear that those banned permanently had reached the end of the road here for various (and not always obvious) reasons - to the extent we were no longer prepared to moderate them: as such there will be no amnesty.
for them there is no resurrection . They are damned to Hull for all eternity
the Moderator has spoken
-
I would just like to point out that this forum must not close untilI have given up doing the DT Cryptic crossword which is not likely for a good while yet!
-
I would just like to point out that this forum must not close untilI have given up doing the DT Cryptic crossword which is not likely for a good while yet!
So it will have to stay open for 100 years +. ;D
-
Gordon,
Fair enough. Just wondering though whether there's a thriving anti-R&E somewhere populated only by banned former members of this one - kind of an undetectable dark message board?
Spooky eh?
At one time a few of the ex member showed up on NGL returns - but that, like the famous parrot has been deceased for sometime now.
-
How about an amnesty, let back those previously banned (assuming there any that want to rejoin)?
I would be in favour of that, but I will defer to the moderator's decision. I was not involved in any of the exchanges between the moderators and banned members, so my view is based on an incomplete picture.
-
You know you are allowed to start topics. If you don’t like the ones that are here, create some new ones.
I have tried that - most don't seem interested.
-
Hello Everyone,
I’ve been lurking on your forum for years and after a few failed attempts to join, I finally spotted the admin email address. Thanks for sorting it out, Gordon.
I feel like I know many of you a little bit already. A few things about me: I’ve read J S Mill, Bertrand Russell and Thomas Paine on religion and found their arguments convincing. The thing is, I do think there’s something weird going on that I don’t understand, so I looked around the internet for interesting discussions that might spark some ideas. Sadly, so far, no luck re the supernatural but I’ve learned a lot about clear thinking and philosophy.
I think forums like this are valuable - I’ve read and understood things I might not have otherwise. I wanted to show my support. I might not post often, as I rarely have a thought that someone else hasn’t already expressed better than I could, but rest assured, you are being read :)
Christine
-
Welcome Christine.
We are having a bit of a fallow patch at present, but who knows with an infusion of new posts we may leap off again.
Don't worry about posting things that have been said before, I've been doing it for years!
-
WOT TV said... Just wait till the next Westminster stushie heats up and the forum will be in meltdown as per usual.
-
Lovely to meet you Christine & what Trent and Anchor said.
-
Hello Everyone,
I’ve been lurking on your forum for years and after a few failed attempts to join, I finally spotted the admin email address. Thanks for sorting it out, Gordon.
I feel like I know many of you a little bit already. A few things about me: I’ve read J S Mill, Bertrand Russell and Thomas Paine on religion and found their arguments convincing. The thing is, I do think there’s something weird going on that I don’t understand, so I looked around the internet for interesting discussions that might spark some ideas. Sadly, so far, no luck re the supernatural but I’ve learned a lot about clear thinking and philosophy.
I think forums like this are valuable - I’ve read and understood things I might not have otherwise. I wanted to show my support. I might not post often, as I rarely have a thought that someone else hasn’t already expressed better than I could, but rest assured, you are being read :)
Christine
well hello lurker , you've made it through to the next round .
we're all waiting to see what you've got for us Christine , the stage is yours .
-
Looking forward to hearing your views, Christine.
You don't have to be mad to post here ... but it helps. ::)
-
Hello Everyone,
I’ve been lurking on your forum for years and after a few failed attempts to join, I finally spotted the admin email address. Thanks for sorting it out, Gordon.
I feel like I know many of you a little bit already. A few things about me: I’ve read J S Mill, Bertrand Russell and Thomas Paine on religion and found their arguments convincing. The thing is, I do think there’s something weird going on that I don’t understand, so I looked around the internet for interesting discussions that might spark some ideas. Sadly, so far, no luck re the supernatural but I’ve learned a lot about clear thinking and philosophy.
I would be interested to know why you say, 'sadly, no luck with the supernatural'. Can you elaborate on this please?
I think forums like this are valuable - I’ve read and understood things I might not have otherwise. I wanted to show my support. I might not post often, as I rarely have a thought that someone else hasn’t already expressed better than I could, but rest assured, you are being read :)
Christine
Definitelyk agree about forums being places from which we can learn, such as definitions of words such as objective and subjective; clear references to reasons for total lack of evidence for anything supernatural; etc. :)
Are you by any chance a crossword solver? I took this up about 16 months ago and bluehillside, a crossword expert, has been an enormous help.
-
Thanks for the welcome.
Susan Doris, I said ‘sadly’ because I have Christian friends who sometimes try to get me onside. The arguments and reasons they present for their beliefs are unconvincing (to me), whether from good-hearted Anglican liberals or creationists. The literature recommended by both I find facile at best (including C S Lewis) and at the science-denying end of the spectrum, offensive. I hoped there might be some rationale, since evidence seems way too much to ask, that might give some insight into reality that I hadn’t previously cottoned onto. Sadly :) it seems I had the best of it with the deeply unsatisfactory apologetics of C S Lewis.
While I have no objections to Deism, as expressed by Thomas Paine, it seems pointless, adding nothing of value beyond atheism, unless for a person who needs to believe in a ‘higher power’ before trying to behave ethically.
I’m not saying it makes me sad, just that the quality of the apologetics is a bit depressing given how many people believe. I don’t know a lot about religions other than Christianity. I’m a short way into What The Buddha Taught, and it’s good - no hint of the supernatural so far - but it’s not exactly a page-turner.
Thanks for asking :) I feel like a proper forum member now.
I used to have a go at The Guardian crossword in my youth. I doubt I’d be much use now though.
-
Thanks for the welcome.
Susan Doris, I said ‘sadly’ because I have Christian friends who sometimes try to get me onside. The arguments and reasons they present for their beliefs are unconvincing (to me), whether from good-hearted Anglican liberals or creationists. The literature recommended by both I find facile at best (including C S Lewis) and at the science-denying end of the spectrum, offensive. I hoped there might be some rationale, since evidence seems way too much to ask, that might give some insight into reality that I hadn’t previously cottoned onto. Sadly :) it seems I had the best of it with the deeply unsatisfactory apologetics of C S Lewis.
While I have no objections to Deism, as expressed by Thomas Paine, it seems pointless, adding nothing of value beyond atheism, unless for a person who needs to believe in a ‘higher power’ before trying to behave ethically.
I’m not saying it makes me sad, just that the quality of the apologetics is a bit depressing given how many people believe. I don’t know a lot about religions other than Christianity. I’m a short way into What The Buddha Taught, and it’s good - no hint of the supernatural so far - but it’s not exactly a page-turner.
Thanks for asking :) I feel like a proper forum member now.
Sounds good to me! We're definitely on the same wavelength here! I read quite a few of the C S Lewis books, e.g. the Narnia series, when I was still teaching and even then the cloying biblical parallels were making me suck in my teeth! I was in fact just about to realise that the voice battering on the door of the small corner where it remained trapped somewhere in my brain, shouting ‘There’s No God! Wake up and LET ME Out!!; :D finally was freed and my vestiges of belief simply evaporated.
I used to have a go at The Guardian crossword in my youth. I doubt I’d be much use now though.
I find it an activity which, I hope, involves keeping the brain working and I like the Saturday one because the answers are not available until nine days later!
-
Welcome to R&E Christine, I hope you will be a regular poster.
-
You know you are allowed to start topics. If you don’t like the ones that are here, create some new ones.
I have and most die a quick death as it seems what interests me interests no-one else. This is certainly true of posts to answer questions like "What do you believe in then?"
In passing - did anyone on here, now, ever post to the Glitter Room thread on the Beeb?
-
In passing - did anyone on here, now, ever post to the Glitter Room thread on the Beeb?
Don't remember that one: would it work here?
-
Don't remember that one: would it work here?
I don't remember it either.
-
Don't remember that one: would it work here?
I very much, unfortunately, doubt it.
It was a joke that started with one comment about a poster, 'Fluffy Pink Dragon', entering a classroom 'thread'as the teacher who would dismiss 'naughty' children to the cupboard in which the Art supplies (glitter etc) were kept to tidy it up.
Thinking further I seriously doubt wether any here would have seen it as it dwelt on the Pagan Board, but the last post to it was made on the last possible day, by which time the cupboard had grown to a huge castle with a wine cellar that stretched into N-space so that if you needed Napoleon Brandy for a party you could get it from the hand of the man himself!
The kind of totally meaningless nonsense thst would probably never be tolerated here!
-
I very much, unfortunately, doubt it.
It was a joke that started with one comment about a poster, 'Fluffy Pink Dragon', entering a classroom 'thread'as the teacher who would dismiss 'naughty' children to the cupboard in which the Art supplies (glitter etc) were kept to tidy it up.
Thinking further I seriously doubt wether any here would have seen it as it dwelt on the Pagan Board, but the last post to it was made on the last possible day, by which time the cupboard had grown to a huge castle with a wine vellasr that stretched into N-space so that if you needed Napoleon Brandy for a party you could get it from the hand of the man himself!
The kind of totally meaningless nonsense thst would probably never be tolerated here!
Oh I dunno, see SfG
-
I very much, unfortunately, doubt it.
It was a joke that started with one comment about a poster, 'Fluffy Pink Dragon', entering a classroom 'thread'as the teacher who would dismiss 'naughty' children to the cupboard in which the Art supplies (glitter etc) were kept to tidy it up.
Thinking further I seriously doubt wether any here would have seen it as it dwelt on the Pagan Board, but the last post to it was made on the last possible day, by which time the cupboard had grown to a huge castle with a wine vellasr that stretched into N-space so that if you needed Napoleon Brandy for a party you could get it from the hand of the man himself!
The kind of totally meaningless nonsense thst would probably never be tolerated here!
I'd say we do quite a good line in meaningless nonsense here: some of it can be quite entertaining, and especially so when the purveyor of said meaningless nonsense thinks they are making a telling point.
As NS notes, SfG is a treasure-trove of meaningless nonsense.
-
I very much, unfortunately, doubt it.
It was a joke that started with one comment about a poster, 'Fluffy Pink Dragon', entering a classroom 'thread'as the teacher who would dismiss 'naughty' children to the cupboard in which the Art supplies (glitter etc) were kept to tidy it up.
Thinking further I seriously doubt wether any here would have seen it as it dwelt on the Pagan Board, but the last post to it was made on the last possible day, by which time the cupboard had grown to a huge castle with a wine vellasr that stretched into N-space so that if you needed Napoleon Brandy for a party you could get it from the hand of the man himself!
The kind of totally meaningless nonsense thst would probably never be tolerated here!
Didn’t there use to be a secret thread that eventually everybody was in except Sassy?
-
Didn’t there use to be a secret thread that eventually everybody was in except Sassy?
Really?
-
OK - this MB is officially dead.
Apart from this post the only other posts today are about crossword clues :(
-
OK - this MB is officially dead.
Apart from this post the only other posts today are about crossword clues :(
:'( :'( :'(
-
We can only hope for a miraculous resurrection.
-
Don't worry - she'll be back in a week or so.
-
Don't worry - she'll be back in a week or so.
who, Steve H , Who?
-
I find myself having to spend more time keeping up my braille practice reading the current book, which is 'Tea at the Sunflower Café' which, the Librarian at the NLB told me, when I said I would like something lighter and funny, is something called 'chick lit'!! I'm on to the second braille volume, but whether I shall manage to follow the story through is another question!
-
who, Steve H , Who?
Who do you think? She who starts lots of threads, but left recently after being accused of deception.
-
Who do you think? She who starts lots of threads, but left recently after being accused of deception.
I'm not a mind reader Steve H ::)
-
My theory is that the theists here finally realised they've been barking up the wrong tree all along so have left to tend their allotments instead.
-
My theory is that the theists here finally realised they've been barking up the wrong tree all along so have left to tend their allotments instead.
blue
just like their arguments their resolve is weak .
In fact I've just been out and about in the countryside and heard two blokes singing 'we plow the fields and scatter.....' bless'em!
-
I figured everyone was reading the 600 page link about Matthew writing before Mark.
Or it may be that I'm the only one who's reading it (which is why I'm not posting much).
-
I figured everyone was reading the 600 page link about Matthew writing before Mark.
Or it may be that I'm the only one who's reading it (which is why I'm not posting much).
you're wasting your time Spud , it doesn't matter , no one but you cares .
You'd be better off discussing EastEnders VS Coronation street , at least it has more relevance .
Or you could spend your time more profitably reading 'Teach Yourself Quantum Mechanics' and then you would more understand how the universe works rather than how you believe it works .
Good luck!
-
My guess is that a few folk have wandered off to play on the swings for a while: hopefully they'll return to join those of us who decided to remain on the roundabout.
-
My guess is that a few folk have wandered off to play on the swings for a while: hopefully they'll return to join those of us who decided to remain on the roundabout.
'roundabout' Ha! you're not wrong there G
-
Well, I had been getting the missing server message since late last week until yesterday. SusanDoris warned me about it but I didn't make a note of the workaround because it never happened to me...
-
Well, I had been getting the missing server message since late last week until yesterday. SusanDoris warned me about it but I didn't make a note of the workaround because it never happened to me...
nice to see you Christine , got anything juicy for us?
-
you're wasting your time Spud , it doesn't matter , no one but you cares .
You'd be better off discussing EastEnders VS Coronation street , at least it has more relevance .
Or you could spend your time more profitably reading 'Teach Yourself Quantum Mechanics' and then you would more understand how the universe works rather than how you believe it works .
Good luck!
He is wasting his time. Right near the beginning of the thread I posted a list of the reasons why the majority of modern scholars disagree with his thesis. He hasn't even attempted to counter any of them.
-
I'm not a mind reader Steve H ::)
He means a lady who is named after a small, thorny flower for whom SteveH didn't particularly care.
I haven't been able to access the forum for what seems like ages but my nephew has just done something which has enabled me to once again be here. DNS problem or something like that.
Anyway I am glad to be here again and will now have a look around.
-
Well, I haven't been here for what seems like ages (probably about 10 days).
Whenever I tried to access the forum Google informed me that the IP address of the server was unknown. I emailed admin and NS suggested I use a proxy site.
So here I am - thank you very much NS. I'm spending so much time reading all the threads I have missed that it may be some time before I make a serious contribution ...