All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!

[Kirby101]

The point I was making is that atheists assume that all religious people take the Bible literally, so if they just prove that the Bible couldn't possibly be literally true, then that will convince everyone that God doesn't exist. But what atheists don't get is that most of us know that the Bible is not meant to be taken literally. I read it the same way I read Aesop's Fables. They're good stories that use fantastic elements to illustrate morals that we should all live by.

That is simply not true. Atheist fully understand the full spectrum of religious belief. But as I said, believers usually think at least part of the Bible is literally true.
Some believe in Adam and Eve, Noah and the Flood. Some believe in Moses and the Exodus. Others believe Jesus was born from a virgin, performed miracles and his actual words are written in the Bible.
All those beliefs are questioned by atheists.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

PA race tighter-than-tight; Dem claims win, GOP hangs in

Conor Lamb (D) to CNN:

"There was a lot of foolishness in this election and a lot of really cartoonish campaigning, and I think by the time of the president's visit...there was just a little bit of burnout on that type of campaigning."

[WestPhillyPunisher]

The things you find on Facebook, like this humorous take on Dr. Seuss:

I do not like president 45,
I do not like his orange beehive.
I do not like his passing blame,
his shouts of FAKE NEWS are so lame.
I do not like his Russian spies,
his speeches of inflated size.
I do not like his cabinet of crooks,
or the current way our country looks.
I do not like his racist rants,
or how he grabs a woman's pants.
I do not like it, not at all,
I'm watching as the poll numbers fall.
I do not want 4 years to pass,
we're sick of waiting, IMPEACH THE ASS!

[BeastieRunner]

Gowdy has broken with the GOP findings.

The knives are out.

[Iron Maiden]

He doesn't read, remember?

He'll just look at the pictures

[TheInvisibleMan]

oh lordt, this story *kisses fingers like an Italian chef*

white nationalist leader has resigned from the Traditionalist Worker Party after he was cuckolded — and then beaten up — by the head of the group he co-founded.

TWP spokesman Matt Parrott called police about 1 a.m. Tuesday from a Walmart parking lot in southern Indiana, where he told officers that TWP president Matthew Heimbach had attacked him and his wife, reported the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The 36-year-old Parrott recently learned Heimbach and his wife had been having an affair, which they insisted was over.

Parrott’s wife and stepdaughter lured Heimbach to a setup at their Paoli trailer to see if he would agree to continue the affair, and Parrott and the stepdaughter waited outside and watched through a window.

All four adults involved in the incident told police their occupation was “white nationalist.”

uhhh that's not a real job

[InformationGeek]

Among the protesting by students today, even Nickelodeon is going off the air for 17 minutes. The cartoon tv network has more courage than a lot of congressmen.

Also, I'm getting PragerU ads now on YouTube. What have I done to deserve that crap?

[kidfresh512]

Among the protesting by students today, even Nickelodeon is going off the air for 17 minutes. The cartoon tv network has more courage than a lot of congressmen.

Also, I'm getting PragerU ads now on YouTube. What have I done to deserve that crap?

All of Viacom's stations are doing the 17 minute freeze to support the Parkland victims/walkout. BET, MTV etc. Pretty decent

[TheInvisibleMan]

17 minutes less of BET in this world is a blessing

[Mister Mets]

That is simply not true. Atheist fully understand the full spectrum of religious belief. But as I said, believers usually think at least part of the Bible is literally true.
Some believe in Adam and Eve, Noah and the Flood. Some believe in Moses and the Exodus. Others believe Jesus was born from a virgin, performed miracles and his actual words are written in the Bible.
All those beliefs are questioned by atheists.

Wasn't the initial discussion about people who think every part of the Bible or a given religious text is literally true? It wasn't about hypothetical Christians who believe nothing in the Bible is true

[Malvolio]

That is simply not true. Atheist fully understand the full spectrum of religious belief. But as I said, believers usually think at least part of the Bible is literally true.
Some believe in Adam and Eve, Noah and the Flood. Some believe in Moses and the Exodus. Others believe Jesus was born from a virgin, performed miracles and his actual words are written in the Bible.
All those beliefs are questioned by atheists.

There are some atheists who read the Bible, roll their eyes and say, "Oh right! Like that really happened!" Well, of course it didn't really happen. But that's not the point of the story. The point is to teach a moral just as the point of any of Aesop's Fables.

[Kirby101]

Wasn't the initial discussion about people who think every part of the Bible or a given religious text is literally true? It wasn't about hypothetical Christians who believe nothing in the Bible is true

Yes, he said only atheists and fundamentalist. I said that is not true of atheists and that most (all?) believers do take some part of the Bible literally.
I think his statement was a bit of a strawman. Do we dismiss bible criticism because some don't believe every word? We can still discuss those things that a believer think are literally true. Even if they are not a fundamentalist.

[Kirby101]

There are some atheists who read the Bible, roll their eyes and say, "Oh right! Like that really happened!" Well, of course it didn't really happen. But that's not the point of the story. The point is to teach a moral just as the point of any of Aesop's Fables.

If you go to the Bible thread on this board, you will find many that do believe all of it is true.
And as I said almost all believers do think some of it was literally true.
But atheists are as can be as varied as believers, the only thing atheists have in common is their nonbelief.

And BTW, there are some really screwed up morals taught by God in the early books, including genocide and slavery.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Teacher, reserve cop accidentally fires gun in class, police say

A teacher accidentally fired a gun inside a classroom here on Tuesday afternoon and a student was slightly hurt, authorities said. Dennis Alexander was teaching public safety for his Administration of Justice class in Seaside High School when a shot went off around 1:20 p.m., reports CBS Monterey, California affiliate KION-TV.

Alexander is also a reserve police officer for Sand City Police, authorities said.

Alexander "accidentally discharged his firearm into the ceiling," said Seaside Police Chief Abdul Pridgen.

Though the gun didn't shoot anyone directly, "Fragments from the bullet struck a student in the neck," Pridgen said.

The Monterey Peninsula Unified School District put him on administrative leave.

Oh, yes! By all means, let's arm teachers! That way, kids will be safe....NOT!!!!

[Tendrin]

If you go to the Bible thread on this board, you will find many that do believe all of it is true.
And as I said almost all believers do think some of it was literally true.
But atheists are as can be as varied as believers, the only thing atheists have in common is their nonbelief.

And BTW, there are some really screwed up morals taught by God in the early books, including genocide and slavery.

Definitely! Just ask an Amalekite. Oh wait.

And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”