I'm amazed!

[Isaac]

Must apologise, ignorance is no excuse; I clicked new posts and didn't realise this Water-cooled place is dedicated for off topic conversation. I will go stand in the corner and give my self a good telling off. . Still puzzled alittle why you would have such a place in a forum though or how the forum would benefit from it but each to their own...

People need to learn how to openly discuss religion and politics without it being such a "big deal", so taboo....as if it must be secreted off to sealed box and nobody must ever act out the rather obvious reality that it's part of life.

Jon is unique for allowing it, but I like that.

Just re-calibrate the expectation:
The website doesn't promise not to be about anything else.

The ability to talk civilly about these things without sealing them off into a place and 'must never discuss anywhere else' or at least something like that, is something I really like about British.

Perhaps that's exactly why I like AWF
I'm a human being who cares about technical solutions, religion & politics.
There! I said it out loud and the sky hasn't fallen on us yet

 

[AccessBlaster]

This is a unique space for every opinion that's why "certain" people hate it, their first impulse is to shut it down or cancel it. This is not a true echo chamber, anyone can sound off about anything within reason. We should support free speech, it is a precious commodity on the web.

'Every Opinion Has A Millennial Offended' - Kid Rock

 

[Jon]

There was a well known case in the African continent - I forget which country - where a woman was gang raped by 6 men. She was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. I can't remember the final outcome of it all, but it doesn't age well.

 

[conception_native_0123]

SHE was? WOW.

 

[Jon]

I'm not sure if it is this case, or another one:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/nov/03/somalia-ra**-amnesty

Basically, a 13 year old was stoned to death for being raped by 3 men.

 

[conception_native_0123]

The link is broken John.

And a girl being stoned to death is pretty harsh punishment for something that's not her fault I hope

 

[Isaac]

The link is broken John.

And a girl being stoned to death is pretty harsh punishment for something that's not her fault I hope

I'm guessing we might have to replace the asterisks with the letters p & e

 

[Isaac]

I'm not sure if it is this case, or another one:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/nov/03/somalia-ra**-amnesty

Basically, a 13 year old was stoned to death for being raped by 3 men.

Wow.....that was very hard to read.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Just as a reminder to all (and perhaps new information for @Jason Lee Hayes) - Jon allows multiple viewpoints in the Watercooler and asks us to just limit moderator-initiated bans to short term outages - a day or two up to a week. His official policy has been stated to be permissive for the most part. Jon even allowed a Hare Krisna to post - until the guy became abusive including sexually or scatologically explicit suggestions of what to do and when and to whom it was to be done. That was one of the few cases where Jon allowed an immediate ban and removal of the post.

 

[Jon]

The link is broken John.

And a girl being stoned to death is pretty harsh punishment for something that's not her fault I hope

Thanks for letting me know. I can't get by my own censoring! @Isaac was spot on.

 

[Jon]

Just as a reminder to all (and perhaps new information for @Jason Lee Hayes) - Jon allows multiple viewpoints in the Watercooler and asks us to just limit moderator-initiated bans to short term outages - a day or two up to a week. His official policy has been stated to be permissive for the most part. Jon even allowed a Hare Krisna to post - until the guy became abusive including sexually or scatologically explicit suggestions of what to do and when and to whom it was to be done. That was one of the few cases where Jon allowed an immediate ban and removal of the post.

Doc is right. I like people to be able to air their views. In very rare cases, they get the boot.

 

[Isaac]

Religious freedom advocates ask Biden to put Nigeria back on watchlist for anti-Christian violence

A broad array of religious freedom advocates has banded together in asking President Biden to put Nigeria back on the State Department's list of countries of particular concern (CPC) on religious freedom, citing the ongoing violence, killing and displacement of Christians at the hands of Boko...

www.foxnews.com

 

[oleronesoftwares]

Whether he was actually a drug user is hard to say, but some of his seizures might have been psycho-medically induced

Lets refrain from such statements, i am a christian,but will never speak bad of any other religion.

 

[NauticalGent]

There was a British documentary called "death of a princess" about a young princess and how she was stoned to death.

So far, the 6th video is the best...

 

[Isaac]

Lets refrain from such statements, i am a christian,but will never speak bad of any other religion.

Out of curiosity, why?
Or what do you mean by bad?

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Lets refrain from such statements, i am a christian,but will never speak bad of any other religion.

I respect that you wish to avoid even the semblance of conflict, but I invite you to consider Matthew 10:34-36 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” This is generally understood to mean that one must take up the sword to fight evil, but put aside the sword in worship because one cannot fight with God, one can only submit or not submit. So... if you don't want to take up the sword against a religion that kills Christians - sometimes on sight - then what kind of Christian are you? Or consider John 15:18, which basically says that those who hate Christians do so because they hate Christ. This is the sword referenced by Jesus.

I will leave it to you to work through the irony that an atheist is explaining scripture to you, and if you bother to look up discussions on the subject, you will find that my statements are WELL within orthodoxy. You know that struggle - the jihad - that Muslims so often reference? It is the same struggle that Jesus suggested by bringing a sword.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

No interpretation of Matthew 10:34-36 that I have read sees it as jihad.

My searches merely found that Jesus said that spreading the word would be a struggle due to resistance from those who do not follow the way. I was using the literal meaning of "jihad" - struggle - to show a parallel, not an identical interpretation.

The Christians DID think of it as armed conflict, not just a figurative struggle, if you look at the Crusades from a few ceturies ago or if you consider the Kosovo "ethnic cleansing" of a more recent time. And also if you consider the Church's response to the Albigensian Heresy, which involved burning of some villages and slaughter of peasants.

 

[oleronesoftwares]

I think you are misinterpreting the scripture.

Here's the quote in context. It is at 10:34
Matthew 10 ESV - The Twelve Apostles - And he called to - Bible Gateway

Jesus isn't telling us to go to war. He's telling us that his preaching's will be divisive. He was sure right about that.

I think Jesus was saying, as a believer in the process of pleasing him/obeying him, we might have to make enemies, even loved ones,like spouses or parents.

 

[Isaac]

I pretty much always interpreted that as, following Christ will not always necessarily bring peace, but often division.

 

[Isaac]

I think Jesus was saying, as a believer in the process of pleasing him/obeying him, we might have to make enemies, even loved ones,like spouses or parents.

Agree, and the surrounding context confirms it