Religious Typology Quiz

[Commander Dutch]

God is a white guy sitting on a thrown just above the clouds, and a burning bush, your uncle Bill, and a tree.

You’ve obviously you’ve never seen “Dogma”. God is Alanis Morissette.

 

[Commander Dutch]

His response to me by IMMEDIATELY going straight to "violent atheist" was unsettling. Just like YOU and your attempt to call me an antisemite. It is not appreciated. But it shows a deeper set of problems. You two are of a kind. Both completely incapable of dealing with anyone even modestly disagreeing with you.

When I accidentally insulted you by using the word "unicorn" you will note I apologized. That is my ethos. That is my morality. I note that you don't apologize after calling me an antisemite and listing off all the people you said I "hated".

You are far more like Doc Dutch than you probably feel comfortable about. Which is why this thread has become a two-man circle jerk while I try to speak in the background.

You’re not only whining like a 20something college-dropout again, but you are lying.

Quote the post where you claim I “IMMEDIATELY” went to “violent atheist” and lets deconstruct the sequence of events. Heck, I’ll even make a wager on it. My favorite is a 12B bet, but if you like money, betting a $10 donation to JPP is an easy way to both protect our mutual identities and support the forum.

 

[Commander Dutch]

The Pew Foundation is established to promote religion. They do polls and surveys, but usually to promote religion.

Do you have evidence or is this something the Whimsies told you?

 

[Jarod]

You’ve obviously you’ve never seen “Dogma”. God is Alanis Morissette.

Yes and her as well, also Oprah.

 

[Commander Dutch]

He is just as belligerent to fundamentalist christians as he is to hardcore atheists. Read some of his responses to PMP.

I feel like holy roller fundys and hardcore atheists always have a chip on their shoulder and are quick to treat this topic as a team sport.

I view Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Daoism the same way I view Stoicism, Epicureanism, Transcendentalism, Existentialism --> Philosophies and systems of thought and ethics that exist as historical and cultural realities whether or not any divine beings exist.

True. I’m a believer of meeting belligerence with belligerence no matter who the fuck it is or what they are pushing….well, almost everyone. I’m fond of evince and admire her spirit even though she’s too far left for my tastes. LOL

Agreed about those with chips on their shoulders. I confess to liking knocking those chips off…which really tends to piss off every single one of them off.

 

[Commander Dutch]

I told Dutch there were no violent atheists on this thread, and I apologized if I offended you, but would like an explanation for why you are relentlessly negative on the Hebrew Bible and are fixated on a few quotes that Jews don't even pay attention to, while ignoring all the quotes that practicing Jews actually do try to put into deed and action.

…and I respectfully disagreed.

Perhaps we should define “violent”. As pointed out earlier, I consider Trump to be a violent politician even though all he did was advocate violence, not actually do it himself.

 

[Cancel 1 2023]

I feel like if you haven't read the Midrash, you shouldn't announce that you know what the Hebrew bible means in bits and pieces of cherry picked quotes.

This feels very much like how Christians announce that one cannot understand the Bible without first "believing" in it.

Why are all the holy books incomprehensible unless one agrees with the faithful on what it says?

 

[Cancel 1 2023]

You’re not only whining like a 20something college-dropout again, but you are lying.

Quote the post where you claim I “IMMEDIATELY” went to “violent atheist” and lets deconstruct the sequence of events. Heck, I’ll even make a wager on it. My favorite is a 12B bet, but if you like money, betting a $10 donation to JPP is an easy way to both protect our mutual identities and support the forum.

You know what you did. I don't need to explain it to you. Your game on here is not really my thing.

 

[Cancel 1 2023]

Do you have evidence or is this something the Whimsies told you?

While I, personally, assume that the Pew is relatively even handed, they do focus on religious demographic research and they are partially funded by the Templeton Foundation. Templeton's interest in the intersection of science with religion has caused some to suggest that Templeton Foundation is pushing religion quite a bit, especially Christianity. But they clearly also award many in a wide variety of religions across the globe.

I doubt that the data coming out of the Pew is in any way compromised by bias of any real sort, though.

 

[Commander Dutch]

You know what you did. I don't need to explain it to you. Your game on here is not really my thing.

Translation: Dutch, I’m just going to keep lying about you since I have no evidence except my exceptional butthurt.

No worries, Jank. You create your own credibility with the maturity and intelligence of your posts over time.

FWIW, IMHO, you are backsliding into silliness.

 

[Commander Dutch]

While I, personally, assume that the Pew is relatively even handed, they do focus on religious demographic research and they are partially funded by the Templeton Foundation. Templeton's interest in the intersection of science with religion has caused some to suggest that Templeton Foundation is pushing religion quite a bit, especially Christianity. But they clearly also award many in a wide variety of religions across the globe.

I doubt that the data coming out of the Pew is in any way compromised by bias of any real sort, though.

Agreed on the honesty and thoroughness of Pew, regardless of funding.

The observation about religion is interesting. It might be because this is America where religion is both diverse and, in politics, divisive. Despite all the screams by the Alt-Right Prosperity Christians, about 44% of Democrats are religious and 40% are Christian….just not the flakey kind who worship money.

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/party-affiliation/

 

[Cypress]

This feels very much like how Christians announce that one cannot understand the Bible without first "believing" in it.

Why are all the holy books incomprehensible unless one agrees with the faithful on what it says?

The cherry pick quote you keep fixating on are from TaNaKh books comprising the Deuteronomistic history.

I leave it to Jews and Jewish scholars to sort out the history of the Hebrews recorded in the Deuteronomistic collection of books.

The social ethics and social justice modern Reform Judaism focuses on are from the books major and minor prophets

If you truly believe a divine commandment to be genocidal is part of the Jewish religion, I would really be interested in seeing your list of the genocides Jews have committed.
history are

 

[Cypress]

…and I respectfully disagreed.

Perhaps we should define “violent”. As pointed out earlier, I consider Trump to be a violent politician even though all he did was advocate violence, not actually do it himself.

It's a stretch to say anyone on this thread is violent, or even promoting violence.

I think on message boards there tend to be two teams that form: the holy rollers and the atheists, and they are mutually belligerent but not necessarily violent.

A lot of other message boarders don't play on either team, and are free to see Judaism, Christianity, and Buddhism as systems of thought and ethical frameworks which exist as historical and cultural realities, irrespective of whether any divine beings exist.

As a cultural and historical reality, I feel like I can treat Christianity, Marxism, and Transcendentalism from the same detached historical perspective.

 

[Cancel 1 2023]

I leave it to Jews and Jewish scholars to sort out the history of the Hebrews recorded in the Deuteronomistic collection of books.

So perhaps you can explain the various verses in the Pentateuch which explicitly call for the slaughter of innocents? Is there a special phrase book in which the words no longer mean what they say?

If you truly believe a divine commandment to be genocidal is part of the Jewish religion

I didn't write the Pentateuch.

, I would really be interested in seeing your list of the genocides Jews have committed.
history are

It appears that your gambit is to suggest that while the AUTHORS of the Pentateuch may have been Jews writing at a much later time but that any discussion of what they wrote about was about the people BEFORE they were Jews. Even though the books are written by Jews about their history (such as it is in the OT) and would presumably explain why the books of the Pentateuch treat the Jews as the cohesive nation favored by Jahweh God for eternity from the moment the nation is founded in Genesis.

I must note that this doesn't make a lot of sense.

For the record: I don't think every bit of the "history" in the OT is accurate or even close. As such I honestly doubt some of the slaughters they write so glowingly about in the book of Joshua for instance were quite the slaughters they write about. It is possible for people to make up a more glorious history for themselves than was real. But CLEARLY TO THE AUTHORS OF THE BOOKS (once again, presumably written by actual Jews) has a vengeful and murderous God who offers up towns to the Israelites to have them put everyone to the sword.

That kind of sounds like it was part of their religious/national identity.

ALSO: Lest you wish to call me an antisemite again, note I don't think it is currently a part of their faith. Anymore than the Crusades and the Inquisition are a part of Christianity. The religion has moved way away from that. But, if one is actually a Christian today, one is required to accept that the Old Testament is part and parcel of the full description of God.

 

[Cancel 1 2023]

Translation: Dutch, I’m just going to keep lying about you since I have no evidence except my exceptional butthurt.

No worries, Jank. You create your own credibility with the maturity and intelligence of your posts over time.

FWIW, IMHO, you are backsliding into silliness.

Sorry Dutch, I know you're fishin' but I'm not quite in the bitin' mood. Keep chumming, though. Sooner or late you might get a bite.

 

[Cypress]

So perhaps you can explain the various verses in the Pentateuch which explicitly call for the slaughter of innocents? Is there a special phrase book in which the words no longer mean what they say?



I didn't write the Pentateuch.



It appears that your gambit is to suggest that while the AUTHORS of the Pentateuch may have been Jews writing at a much later time but that any discussion of what they wrote about was about the people BEFORE they were Jews. Even though the books are written by Jews about their history (such as it is in the OT) and would presumably explain why the books of the Pentateuch treat the Jews as the cohesive nation favored by Jahweh God for eternity from the moment the nation is founded in Genesis.

I must note that this doesn't make a lot of sense.

For the record: I don't think every bit of the "history" in the OT is accurate or even close. As such I honestly doubt some of the slaughters they write so glowingly about in the book of Joshua for instance were quite the slaughters they write about. It is possible for people to make up a more glorious history for themselves than was real. But CLEARLY TO THE AUTHORS OF THE BOOKS (once again, presumably written by actual Jews) has a vengeful and murderous God who offers up towns to the Israelites to have them put everyone to the sword.

That kind of sounds like it was part of their religious/national identity.

ALSO: Lest you wish to call me an antisemite again, note I don't think it is currently a part of their faith. Anymore than the Crusades and the Inquisition are a part of Christianity. The religion has moved way away from that. But, if one is actually a Christian today, one is required to accept that the Old Testament is part and parcel of the full description of God.

Now we're getting somewhere.

Even though you held out that cherry picked quote as being of major significance and importance, you were unable to provide a list of genocides committed by Jews.

I take that to mean committing genocide is not something Jews understand as a divine commandment in their religion.

 

[Cancel 1 2023]

Now we're getting somewhere.

Even though you held out that cherry picked quote as being of major significance and importance, you were unable to provide a list of genocides committed by Jews.

I take that to mean committing genocide is not something Jews understand as a divine commandment in their religion.

What about the destruction of the Amalekites? Every man, woman, child and farm animal was supposed to be slaughtered by Saul. When Saul failed to murder everyone of Amalek God turned his back on Saul.

What about the countless slaughters of entire towns written about in Joshua? Were you unfamiliar with those? Have you read the bible?

Please don't be disingenuous now and say that the people depicted in Joshua and 1 Samuel weren't Jews as we know them today! No, they were characters in stories written by Jews long after the fact to outline their nation's history and given that they were a theocracy their nation and their god were very much intertwined.

So apparently the Jews who wrote the Pentateuch felt it was history worth noting and, dare I say, a god worth taking pride in. Note that in 1 Samuel the people did not turn on Samuel and stone him to death for suggesting that God wanted Saul to commit genocide.

 

[Cypress]

What about the destruction of the Amalekites? Every man, woman, child and farm animal was supposed to be slaughtered by Saul. When Saul failed to murder everyone of Amalek God turned his back on Saul.

What about the countless slaughters of entire towns written about in Joshua? Were you unfamiliar with those? Have you read the bible?

Please don't be disingenuous now and say that the people depicted in Joshua and 1 Samuel weren't Jews as we know them today! No, they were characters in stories written by Jews long after the fact to outline their nation's history and given that they were a theocracy their nation and their god were very much intertwined.

So apparently the Jews who wrote the Pentateuch felt it was history worth noting and, dare I say, a god worth taking pride in. Note that in 1 Samuel the people did not turn on Samuel and stone him to death for suggesting that God wanted Saul to commit genocide.

3000 years ago?? The ancient Near East was rife with war and slaughter, I am surprised you hold the Hebrew tribes to a different standard. That was even before a recognizable religion of Judaism existed.

Despite repeatedly being asked, you have failed to provide a list of genocides Jews have committed in the last two thousand years.

I am left to conclude that you are in serious error that a divine commandment to commit genocide is a part of the Jewish religion

 

[Cancel 1 2023]

3000 years ago?? The ancient Near East was rife with war and slaughter, I am surprised you hold the Hebrews to a different standard. That was even before a recognizable religion of Judaism existed.

This is not an issue related to JEWS. It's an issue related to RELIGION. Remember? This wasn't just about the Jews. YOU insisted on this being focused on the Jews. Christians also use this same holy book. Worship this same god.

Despite repeatedly being asked, you have failed to provide a list of genocides Jews have committed in the last two thousand years.

Now you are moving the goal posts. I will READILY agree that apart from the horrors the current state of Israel have been doing to the Palestinians (not always without justification), the Jews are a very peaceful people overall and have not committed genocides presumably since the nation of Israel took over Caanan in the Bible.

BUT THAT WAS NEVER THE POINT.

I am left to conclude that you are in serious error that a divine commandment to commit genocide is a part of the Jewish religion

So you deny the book of First Samuel? It isn't part of the Bible?

I honestly wish you would read my posts rather than imagine what you think I'm saying. But apparently that is far too much to ask.

 

[Cypress]

This is not an issue related to JEWS. It's an issue related to RELIGION. Remember? This wasn't just about the Jews. YOU insisted on this being focused on the Jews. Christians also use this same holy book. Worship this same god.



Now you are moving the goal posts. I will READILY agree that apart from the horrors the current state of Israel have been doing to the Palestinians (not always without justification), the Jews are a very peaceful people overall and have not committed genocides presumably since the nation of Israel took over Caanan in the Bible.

BUT THAT WAS NEVER THE POINT.



So you deny the book of First Samuel? It isn't part of the Bible?

I honestly wish you would read my posts rather than imagine what you think I'm saying. But apparently that is far too much to ask.

If you want to believe the Jewish God is genocidal, that's fine. But a recognizable Jewish religion didn't exist at the time of Exodus and Judges.

All the points I made in this thread about the nature of innate human ideas and ethics were strictly based on historical and cultural realities that exist, whether or not any dieties or genocidal gods exist.

God is beside the point.
I'm not here to deal with anyone's pent up hostility towards the Jewish God.