Recovery Board  : RfM
Recovery from Mormonism (RfM) discussion forum. 

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2 years ago
touchstone
Can you give an example of theism changing without notice? All the examples I can think of regarding theism changing seem to involve social and philosophical pressures, discussed and explored within the religious community in question.
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2 years ago
touchstone
It only looks that way from the outside: "Here's what we know about Tyrannosaurus Rex" Then, scientists keep working: "Hold on. Were they social? Here's some new evidence..." "Hold on. Did they move more horizontally? We hadn't thought through tail positions..." "Hang on, what's your methodology here? What just got found at the dig last summer? Hav
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3 years ago
touchstone
schrodingerscat Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > A large part of the problem is the word, "god", > which Collins doesn't bother defining. ... > I do think science has something to say about the > existence of god. So, to be a bit more precise, you think science has something to say about the existence of a particular version of &q
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3 years ago
touchstone
Just finished "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Next up is "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander, unless I decide I really need some brain-candy as a palate cleanser.
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3 years ago
touchstone
I think the CES letter hits a sweet spot of thoroughness and concision. I looks to me like there's no fat to trim from the document; it makes a point, provides compelling evidence, then moves on. But it goes to the trouble to make point after point, and provide that crucial evidence so that they're not mere assertions. Well constructed, powerful document it is.
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3 years ago
touchstone
Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything That's how the light gets in. Anthem-- Leonard Cohen
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3 years ago
touchstone
Off-topic, but I didn't know another way to contact Tevai. Tevai, I've started a thread on reddit in the /r/Christianity channel, "If you've never discussed theology with a religious Jew..." You're a knowledgeable Jew with whom I often have mild disagreements; I think your input on that thread would be valuable for the curious Christians. Do please come and play if you'd like.
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4 years ago
touchstone
This is new territory for all of us. We're trying to respond effectively, and some folks feels "Better to overreact than underreact." For me, there are two different categories of reaction-- one being hoarding and the like, the other being all the "I don't want to get infected/infect others." Hoarding is somewhat-understandable panic selfishness. Efforts not to be infected
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4 years ago
touchstone
I don't think there's any way to know Jesus' sexual orientation or even marital status. But you wouldn't be the first to have noticed that "the beloved disciple" did seem to be regarded by the other disciples as a whole lot closer to Jesus than the rest of them were.
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4 years ago
touchstone
Quoting from the video: "Kung Fu is not for fighting, but for our own inner meditation. Kung Fu, I would say, it's an art which is not designed only for men." Unfortunately, many women live within rape-culture contexts. Physical competence which improves capacity for self-defense and perhaps functions simply as a deterrent is nothing stupid. A meditative practice which involves sk
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4 years ago
touchstone
The subject is more complicated and multifaceted than many are comfortable with. For resources to think more carefully on some of these questions, I would recommend Robin Scroggs' "New Testament and Homosexuality." In a nutshell, his analysis is that "arsenokai" and "malakoi" of first-century Palestine were in relationships rather a long way from modern egalitaria
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4 years ago
touchstone
Odds are decent she'll say something worth considering that one hadn't previously thought about. One cannot guarantee either way, but that's part of my point.
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4 years ago
touchstone
"I know all about topic X, so I've no need to hear what a highly accomplished scholar might say on the topic"? Hmmm. Now, "I have studied as much as I think I need to know on the subject and have little interest in pursuing it further" sounds entirely valid to me. Still, I think we should be careful to hold ourselves to the same standards of curiosity and openness to new
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4 years ago
touchstone
Don Imus' comment strikes my ears as racist.
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4 years ago
touchstone
Next time I talk to some missionaries, I'd like to ask them "How accurate is the translation of the Book of Mormon?" Followed up by "How would you know?" A little later I'd ask about "horses" in America. Anyone care to predict how their answers might run?
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4 years ago
touchstone
I feel similarly about Scientology. It's possibly been in decline for over 20 years, and news outlets stopped fearing it about eleven years ago. The beasts are bleeding and dying slowly. Unfortunately, they still can cause more of the same kind of harm before going down for good.
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4 years ago
touchstone
Tevai Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > (I assume > there is at least one shul in Provo Closest seems to be "Kol Ami" in SLC.
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4 years ago
touchstone
"If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, who am I?" -- Hillel, a guy who believed the "love your neighbor as yourself" was a commandment from God. "Love your neighbor as yourself" raises a lot of questions about what it even means. Hillel is also famous for having said "That which is hateful to you, do not do to another. This
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4 years ago
touchstone
The Gospel requote of Ps 22 is "My God, my God, why..." so your misquote as "father" is a misstep.
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4 years ago
touchstone
Dr. No Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > > When speaking of "religion," I refer to a > structure with rigid rules, hierarchy, and belief > as how it differentiates itself from competing > religions to its adherents. And I'm suggesting this way of defining "religion" has a bias, wherein the central examples of &quo
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4 years ago
touchstone
There are a couple of ways to go about "finding what life is all about and meaning." One way is to try to figure out everything from first principles, all on one's own. Of course, one might benefit from being in conversation with others who have also tried to figure out everything from first principles. Maybe there's even an informal "canon" on the subject, starting, say, w
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4 years ago
touchstone
I found an article covering the story which included a video: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201902240022.html It sounds like the android recites the Heart Sutra and gives sermons. As such, it's maybe being venerated but not worshiped. This does look to me like a Zen temple from the start of start of the Tokugawa Shogunate trying something new to bring in them young kids, you know.
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4 years ago
touchstone
To the extent that I understand Buddhism and Zen in particular, the article's title is misleading. Buddhism is not at its core a theistic religion, Zen even less so. Sure, the mythology includes some stuff about 'divine' beings (which basically posits that humans are not the universe's acme of sentience), but they are not really worshipped, and neither is Sakyamuni Buddha.
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4 years ago
touchstone
News. https://www.ibtimes.com/scientists-create-worlds-first-human-monkey-hybrid-chinese-lab-2810545 More news. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614052/scientists-are-making-human-monkey-hybrids-in-china/ Other news. https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2019/08/01/Researchers-create-human-monkey-chimeras-in-China/5811564688116/ So, please kindly show me how these various f
Forum: Recovery Board
4 years ago
touchstone
Moral agreements and priorities have, in fact, stopped or at least severely slowed down numerous forms of technological/scientific advancements, for better and for worse. Here are some examples which spring to mind: Chemical warfare research after the Geneva Conventions. Stem-cell research in the USA. Proliferation of nuclear weapon technology. Perfect stops? Maybe not. Significant delays
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4 years ago
touchstone
Original poster referenced the Guardian article. Which is more than some counter-claimants have done. I am less skeptical of the claim because I have heard elsewhere of unethical biology experiments in China, and have learned a bit about chimeras. I've also learned a bit about CRISPR, so what counts as "possible" has increased dramatically in recent years.
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4 years ago
touchstone
How is this supposedly "fake news"? Do you have a local biologist who has debunked this? (I live in a country where a very powerful guy shouts "fake news" at whatever thing he finds inconvenient, so I've learned to be suspicious of the claim.)
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4 years ago
touchstone
Judaism's angelology is different from Christianity's. I'm not a deep expert on this stuff, but here are some observations I have (to which an expert might find counter-examples). In Judaism, angels don't have free-will; they are simply God's executive assistants with specific functions. Consequently, "the Satan" is not a rebel cast out of heaven, but a valid member of the celesti
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4 years ago
touchstone
Kidnapping.
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4 years ago
touchstone
My synagogue has a P.O. box as a safety measure since some rather nasty stuff used to show up at the mailing address. Also, we now have a doorbell to get in. I think there's a grant with Homeland Security in the works to get bullet-resistant glass.
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