Bay 12 Games Forum

I'd probably go back and try to witness actual divine intervention or failing that, Jesus's ascendance into Heaven. I think it'd clear a lot of things up.

Aqizzar made a political thread? I know what I'm reading tonight! I know bugger all about pretty much anything, so I'll just post this for the updates.

This was a hell of a year for me. Next year's going to be amazing, because I am going to hold it down and beat it over the head till this is so.

At least Toonyman doesn't wash his dirty laundry in front of your face whilst elaborating on its dirtiness.

I'm the best cousin ever.

Oh right, yes. I may be up a little early, guess why!

I had a white Christmas last year and it was lovely but I forgot how much I missed an Aussie Christmas. Merry Christmas everyone, and ripper bloody beauty bonza mates and so on and so forth. It's been a hell of a year and I can't wait for the next one.

Quote from: Janet on December 22, 2011, 11:36:45 pm

As far as I know most Athiests don't actually inherently value anything religious less.

Though this board would have me fooled.

I find the ones who do are often far louder than the ones who don't. Just like most of the religious people who irreligious people find intolerable are far louder. There is no person on earth who cannot be embarrassed by people who share their own views, in my opinion.

That's very apt and I agree. I don't value anything religious less due to its, uh, religiosity? Is that a word? Wordcheck thinks it is. In fact, I find it really wrong on a personal level when somebody destroys a holy book, although that's probably a product of growing up in such a religious environment. That said, I don't see burning a church as inherently worse than burning a house or a community centre, they're pretty equally bad.

Quote from: Fenrir on December 22, 2011, 11:44:17 pm

In my opinion, I would say that preserving a place that one person lives is more important than one-hundred people gather — but, as I have no intention of committing any arson of any kind, it probably was not worth my furthering this particular deviation of topic.

Like I said before: Burning a house hurts 1 family. Burning a church like that hurts an entire race, community and the desire for equality and liberation from oppression. It is an important symbolic distinction. Just as important as the distinction between putting up a tent in you backyard and putting a tent up in the middle of wall street.

I have to disagree simply because of Matthew 18:20.
"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
A church may be destroyed, but the actual church is in its congregation and as a gathering place, the church is just a building. There can be other gathering places. Never forget that even if you lose the Host (I'll admit I'm working from a Catholic perspective here because I don't know that much about the Protestant one) and the Altar and the Tabernacle and all the religious paraphernalia, that hasn't killed your religion. And if it has, was it ever really faith to begin with? Symbolism isn't as important as belief.

I guess what I'm trying to say in a rambling sort of way is that I can completely understand how much of a punch to the gut it would be to lose a church and it's totally understandable that you'd want to string the bastard up, more-so than usual, but justice can't work like that. It has to be equal. A church is, at the end of the day, just another community centre. The most important part of it is the community. If somebody burned that, well, that's kind of more serious.

Tangential Topic: Does anyone else get really nervous posting in this thread? I can't shake the distinct impression that every time I post I'm completely missing the point, because everybody seems so much smarter than me. I hope that didn't happen this time.