Predator Drones

[Regulus]

Everything is a generalization. Just look at my last post, the post above this post, and this post itself.

It is impossible not to make generalizations, because that is simply how the human mind comprehends the universe.

[Azdgari]

But we can aspire to be more accurate in our generalizations, make them less general. Americans are fat. Europeans are economically irresponsible socialists. People with green names are stupid. All of those are generalizations with true instances... but that doesn't make them intelligent.

I digress: All I'm saying is, and I'm sure you agree, that making broad generalizations isn't a good thing to be in the habit of. Particularly, it bothers me when people lump all Christians together, particularly with things like "Christians don't believe in birth control", "Christians are responsible for so much violence", "Christians oppress homosexuals", when in reality those statements do not apply to all Christians. The same way "Muslims are terrorists" is an awful thing to say, because while some Muslims are terrorists, certainly not all of them are.

Das' all I'm sayin'.

[Regulus]

What would be more accurate?

"As many as 30% of Christians don't believe in birth control?"

But even then, what defines a Christian? What defines oppression of homosexuals? Even words themselves are generalizations, so it's unavoidable.

[DGFone]

[quote="Azdgari"]
I digress...[/quote]

Looks at topic name. Looks at past 5 pages. Looks at the topic name again... Looks at past 5 pages, just to make sure... Looks at topic name again...

DID I MISS SOMETHING?

[Woeler]

[quote="TheLionPrince"]Bleh, let's see if I make sense of all of this:

[quote="Woeler"]But you people are searching way too deep into the bible. The cruelty is right before you nose. What father tortures his children for ever?[/quote]

It seems you are referring to hell. Well, God does give his children free will and a lifetime of a chance to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It's like taking a test in school: your teacher tells you two weeks beforehand there will be a test, and study for it. If I could choose to waste that time doing meaningless instead of studying to get a well-earned A, then, I practically chose to fail when test time comes around, and I have to face the consequences of getting a F. It's the same way with God: it's their choice if they wish to accept or squander his passport to heaven. Like in the natural world, there are consequences for our actions.[/quote]

Implying what? A life without religion is a wasted one? Things are meaningless unless they are in the name of God? He who does not live for God lives for nothing? Nobody ever asked to be born, nobody ever asked to be created, which means that this is just an evil game. Why not accept Jesus and kill yourself? One way ticket to heaven.

Your metaphor of the test is quite ironic. A test requires studying, examining, learning and questioning. Faith is exactly not that.

[quote="TheLionPrince"]And I am fully aware that in areas of the world, the Bible is not being preached. Well, Jesus said before he left, he will not return to the Earth until all areas of the Earth has heard the Gospel (Matthew 24:14 says "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."). So, God is giving us a chance right now to get right with him before the Rapture occurs so everyone will get a chance to hear of him. And we certainly can't force them to believe, and I know you certainly hate the government pushing Christian beliefs onto the people. So, if they choose not to take heed when given the chance, there's nothing but consequences they have to face.[/quote]

No, Jesus probably didn't say that. The people who translated the falsely translated middle-age Latin, which was translated from the almost-complete-makeover Roman bible that was modified (a lot) to make it fit their empire, which was again translated from an to Latin, which was translated from Hebrew, which is a very complicated and difficult language, which got their accounts from the people who knew the people who knew the people who knew the people who claimed to have known Jesus said Jesus said that.

So you can either say I believe that, or you can say well I choose to follow the laws of nature, and those laws prove that resurrections and virgin births are impossible.

[quote="TheLionPrince"]As for what happens when children die, there is the concept of the "age of accountability" that teaches those who die before reaching the age of accountability (13 according to the Jews) are automatically saved, by God’s grace and mercy and can enter heaven. [/quote]

Why does God allow children to die in the first place? To do nothing is to consent.

[quote="TheLionPrince"][quote="Woeler"]What father crucifies his child?[/quote]

God did it to redeem us from our sins. Beforehand, God's children had to sacrifice lambs. Something (or someone) had to atone for the mountains and mountains of sins done over since the days of Adam and Eve. [/quote]

That is irrelevant. The story clearly implies the Abraham would have killed his son. Plus Jesus was destined to die.

[quote="TheLionPrince"][quote="Woeler"]What father causes famine, disease and natural disasters?[/quote]

God didn't create (or cause) famine and disease; those were the results of sin entering mankind after Adam and Eve were tempted to eat the fruit. Natural disasters fall into the same category; God placed man to live in a garden of paradise, but after man fell, all of that went away, and now we have to live in a world that has been cursed by sin. [/quote]

Irrelevant. God could have foreseen what would happen. After all he is omnipotent and omniscient. God does nothing to stop natural disasters and thus he is not all-loving, there is not twist that can get around this. Someone who can prevent death, but doesn't do it is evil.

[quote="TheLionPrince"][quote="Woeler"]What idiot would be so stupid to create man?[/quote]

God originally created man to be without sin (therefore perfect), and again, Adam and Eve made the wrong choice of eating the forbidden fruit. Over the course of human history, men have grown more wicker and wicker; again, this is a result of our own doing.[/quote][/quote]

God could have foreseen this. God is a paradox, and paradoxes do not exist in reality.

We are born in sin. We are born with a debt. We are born wrong, and then, on the pain of eternal torture ordered to be well again. That is evil.

[Azdgari]

[quote="DGFone"][quote="Azdgari"]
I digress...[/quote]

Looks at topic name. Looks at past 5 pages. Looks at the topic name again... Looks at past 5 pages, just to make sure... Looks at topic name again...

DID I MISS SOMETHING? [/quote]
Hahaha, I know right! Religion always finds a way to squirm in...

SO HOW BOUT THOSE DRONES?

[TheLionPrince]

In the wake of DGFone's common sense, I'll transfer my argument onto Woeler's Q&A thread.

Even though this is a little old news, but there was a news report that the Pentagon will award the Distinguished Warfare Medal to drone operatives that would outrank the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, which is given to service members killed or wounded in battle. Let's debate this.

[Azdgari]

Boots on the ground and on the front lines represent dedication and valor in a way that those behind computer screens do not. Their medals should be more prestigious unless something really spectacular is done by a drone operator.

[Regulus]

If online FPS games are any indication of how things are in real life, then medals should be eliminated entirely.

[Azdgari]

Double Kill!
Triple Kill!
Overkill!
Killtacular!
Killtrocity!
Killimanjaro!
Killtastrophe!
Killpocalypse!
Killionaire!