Well, the Tenth Doctor could be said to be that, but the story was a bit of a Morality Kitchen Sink, especially if you take Fridge Logic into account. Which is of course something no-one should ever do when watching Doctor Who.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.Btw, there is nothing obtuse about my statement, it's short, it's direct, it delivers the message and if you're bothered by my method of debating then that's entirely your problem.
Although you do have a point with what you said there above.
I can picture Hugh Laurie saying that. Just a little bit more... dickish.
edited 5th Dec '13 11:54:53 AM by NoNameGiven
"That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death itself may die."@The Handle I think ethics is largely based on two things. Empathy and reason. The golden rule would condemn pedophilia, it would condemn misogynie it would condemn slavery. They just used excuses and othering (women/blacks/children/the guys from the other village/animals are fundamentally different and thus empathy is canceled out). The human mind excels in macking fallacious excuses for why we can oppress others but not vice versa. But fallacious they remain nonetheless.
I think polyamory, veganism and the non-proliferation of weapons are all very valid points.
I think we should be judged for this things. (Non-vegan diets get a pass if circumstances don't allow for it.)
My point is, they didn't know they were doing that. A lot of the time, moral problems are ignored until someone notices and points them out. Or they are obfuscated and disguised as "okay" and "righteous". Have you ever read anything by Ayn Rand or by the Chicago school of economics? How about this piece
?
Do you see where I'm going with this?
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.I would make difference in condemnig an action in the past and the people from the past. Slavery was always wrong. However, an ancient roman conducting it is less at fault than someone today holding someone as a slave. Simply because the information that slavery is bad for those involved wasn't as easily available and most people tend to follow the herd in thinking what's good and evil.
And I'm not sure what you want to say with the example.
...Are you serious? Are you guys serious? Everyone? What is so hard to understand about what I said? Co-exist means exactly what you think it means. What is it so hard to understand?
The world will never come to an agreement in terms of religion.
edited 5th Dec '13 12:29:14 PM by NoNameGiven
"That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death itself may die."Your statement is perfectly understandable.
You have provided no evidence to back it up, and it goes directly contrary to my personal experience (that atheists and religious people can coexist peacefully quite well, thank you).
And what on Earth is a 'therm'?
edited 5th Dec '13 12:27:45 PM by imadinosaur
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Yeah, as long as they don't talk about religion.
Will the whole world ever stop fighting about religion? Will they ever come to an agreement and the fights based on religion stop? That's what I meant.
edited 5th Dec '13 12:28:49 PM by NoNameGiven
"That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death itself may die."Once you've defined things in such a broad way as "worldwide", you could say that of anything. The whole world won't co-exist peacefully full stop. Even if we somehow manage to eliminate nations, there'll still be someone who murders their spouse for infidelity, or someone who manages to find an ideological gloss to apply to their own sociopathy.
Schild und Schwert der ParteiPersonally, I find that statement very hard to agree with.
It might be possible to reach a point where these disagreements will never go beyond words, and in which public policy and social rules are based on nonreligious discourses. If you add a system where everyone gets taught about multiple religions as a matter of history and culture (rather than as statements of fact, which is how denominational religious education tends to work,) the ensuing cultures should be able to have a diversity of religious (and nonreligious) views without conflict.
Sure, that's a high goal; but there was a time when people thought people of different races, or people who speak different languages, could never coexist; yet there have, throughout history, been regions where such diverse groups have actually been able to coexist, to some (IMO impressive) extent.
My prediction is that there will come a point where religion is almost entirely a matter of cultural history - where all religious buildings will be used for something else (hopefully many of them will become museums.) I don't expect this to happen any time soon, though.
There might still be groups that hold religious beliefs, but I suspect that they will be seen the same way as new age enthusiasts are seen now - as a fringe group that loves to pour surprising amounts of money on the target of their obsession, thus ensuring the survival of that market; but ultimately unable to expand with lasting success to the mainstream.
Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.You probably come from a parallel world. Do tell us how you've established a communication channel.
As for my example, I'm not too sure myself. I've actually met doctors who've expressed this emotion (to me in private, not to their patients) and I was trying to summarize, and represent an "aggressiveness" that isn't about mocking religion or sneering at it, but about stating facts and valuing human endeavour.
Though, honestly, I didn't expect him to come off as a jerk. In my head he was wearing a warm expression and a kind, soft-yet-impassioned voice throughout. I suppose I need to improve my writing skills.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.They won't be "purged", man, that's Kira thinking. They'll calm down and come around. I had a jerk phase as well, back when I had just a-verted, and looked back and thought that others could be saved right now when they were needlessly hurting themselves and others. This has caused me to be impatient and harsh. Experience dissuaded me from being too hasty or straightforward about this.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.I didn't see anything offensive about your doctor, either. If I were a doctor (or working for an organisation that delivers humanitarian aid or some such) and someone thanked God for my work I would be mildly offended, as well. I wouldn't refuse them service the next time they came asking, but I can't guarantee that I would be able to maintain a smile for the duration of the help I'm giving them, and I would almost certainly complain to my coworkers.
If the patient asked me if I considered the aid I had given them a miracle from God I would ask them if they had considered praying, instead of seeking medical help, in further emergencies. Of course I'd tell them that they should continue to seek professional medical help, rather than relying on prayer, but I might encourage them to figure out why I want to advice them to seek professional medical help rather than merely praying for a miracle.
Some patients might be upset but if they want to establish a standard that it's OK to shove their religion in my face immediately after I've helped them I wouldn't feel too bad if I stooped to their level.
Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.

EDIT: I do believe one can be cheerfully Carl-Sagan-ny about atheism while being aggressive, or at least very assertive. Example: a patient says to a doctor "Thank God I was cured." The Doctor actually displays his mild annoyance; "Excuse me? Who spent five hours mending your guts and curing your ailments? That was me, wasn't it? If it had been left to God to decide, like in the middle ages, you would have died for sure. And what about all the nurses and experts that helped me perform the operation? What about all the doctors and scientists who built up on each other's research to even devise the cure I used on you? What about all the people that sustain us and make our research and practice possible? Do not thank God, dear patient, thank us, thank humanity for coming forward with ways of extending your life with what could be decades, decades where there is more to do than can ever be done, more to see than can ever be seen! Or don't! Just live, dear patient; this new life that we have given you, live it out fully and proudly. That, dear patient, is all the thanks that are needed."
Why did that sound with David Tennant's voice in my head?
edited 5th Dec '13 11:37:22 AM by TheHandle
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.