Mo, your views on Christianity are tragic. You mention that you are a college student in Religious Studies.....it makes sense now. You've been given a few pieces of knowledge during your latest class, and now you feel the power of this knowledge puts you above and beyond everyone else.....sort of like someone who watches CSI thinking they are now a qualified medical pathologist now.

Don't worry, next semester you will have different professors, and some of the things they say will contradict what your current ones are feeding you. Boy, then you'll be confused.

Question: You're studying Religion correct? Are you only studying the Christian one, or are you taking any classes on other Religions? I would recommend taking some classes on other faiths. Not to convert you or anything, but rather to give you an understanding of what they are and what they mean. Knowledge leads to wisdom my friend.

By the way, how does the church feel about me masturbating and thinking about the guy down the blocks wife while I do it?

You simply do not need ten. The list of ten commandments was artificially and deliberately inflated to get it up to ten. Here's what happened:

About 5,000 years ago a bunch of religious and political hustlers got together to try to figure out how to control people and keep them in line. They knew people were basically stupid and would believe anything they were told, so they announced that God had given them some commandments, up on a mountain, when no one was around.

Well let me ask you this- when they were making this sh*t up, why did they pick 10? Why not 9 or 11? I'll tell you why- because 10 sound official. Ten sounds important! Ten is the basis for the decimal system, it's a decade, it's a psychologically satisfying number (the top ten, the ten most wanted, the ten best dressed). So having ten commandments was really a marketing decision! It is clearly a bullsh*t list. It's a political document artificially inflated to sell better. I will now show you how you can reduce the number of commandments and come up with a list that's a little more workable and logical. I am going to use the Roman Catholic version because those were the ones I was taught as a little boy.

Let's start with the first three:

I AM THE LORD THY GOD

THOU SHALT NOT HAVE STRANGE GODS BEFORE ME

THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN

THOU SHALT KEEP HOLY THE SABBATH

Right off the bat the first three are pure bullsh*t. Sabbath day? Lord's name? strange gods? Spooky language! Designed to scare and control primitive people. In no way does superstitious nonsense like this apply to the lives of intelligent civilized humans in the 21st century. So now we're down to 7. Next:

HONOR THY FATHER AND MOTHER

Obedience, respect for authority. Just another name for controlling people. The truth is that obedience and respect shouldn't be automatic. They should be earned and based on the parent's performance. Some parents deserve respect, but most of them don't, period. You're down to six.

Now in the interest of logic, something religion is very uncomfortable with, we're going to jump around the list a little bit.

THOU SHALT NOT STEAL

THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS

Stealing and lying. Well actually, these two both prohibit the same kind of behavior- dishonesty. So you don't really need two you combine them and call the commandment "thou shalt not be dishonest". And suddenly you're down to 5.

And as long as we're combining I have two others that belong together:

THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTRY

THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR'S WIFE

Once again, these two prohibit the same type of behavior. In this case it is marital infidelity. The difference is- coveting takes place in the mind. But I don't think you should outlaw fantasizing about someone else's wife because what is a guy gonna think about when he's waxing his carrot? But, marital fidelity is a good idea so we're gonna keep this one and call it "thou shalt not be unfaithful". And suddenly we're down to four.

But when you think about it, honesty and fidelity are really part of the same overall value so, in truth, you could combine the two honesty commandments with the two fidelity commandments and give them simpler language, positive language instead of negative language and call the whole thing "thou shalt always be honest and faithful" and we're down to 3.

THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR"S GOODS

This one is just plain ***ing stupid. Coveting your neighbor's goods is what keeps the economy going! Your neighbor gets a vibrator that plays "o come all ye faithful", and you want one too! Coveting creates jobs, so leave it alone. You throw out coveting and you're down to 2 now- the big honesty and fidelity commandment and the one we haven't talked about yet:

THOU SHALT NOT KILL

Murder. But when you think about it, religion has never really had a big problem with murder. More people have been killed in the name of god than for any other reason. All you have to do is look at Northern Ireland, Kashmir, the Inquisition, the Crusades, and the World Trade Center to see how seriously the religious folks take thou shalt not kill. The more devout they are, the more they see murder as being negotiable. It depends on who's doin the killin' and who's gettin' killed. So, with all of this in mind, I give you my revised list of the two commandments:

THOU SHALT ALWAYS BE HONEST AND FAITHFUL TO THE PROVIDER OF THY NOOKIE

AND

THOU SHALT TRY REAL HARD NOT TO KILL ANYONE, UNLESS OF COURSE THEY PRAY TO A DIFFERENT INVISIBLE MAN THAN YOU.

Two is all you need; Moses could have carried them down the hill in his pocket. I wouldn't mind those folks in Alabama posting them on the courthouse wall, as long as they provided one additional commandment:

THOU SHALT KEEP THY RELIGION TO THYSELF.

-GC-

Religious zealot or not, if you have a sense of humor, that right there is funny.

Mo, your views on Christianity are tragic. You mention that you are a college student in Religious Studies.....it makes sense now. You've been given a few pieces of knowledge during your latest class, and now you feel the power of this knowledge puts you above and beyond everyone else.....sort of like someone who watches CSI thinking they are now a qualified medical pathologist now.

Ah yes.......despising sholarship. I understand. I was ignorant once. You are making character judgements again. Ad hmominem attacks only go to show the true character of you and your ability to mean anyting.

adroomi says.......

Don't worry, next semester you will have different professors, and some of the things they say will contradict what your current ones are feeding you. Boy, then you'll be confused.

Doubtful. Good try though. I notice you can rpedict the future. Could you tell me if it will rain here tonight?

adroomi asks.......

Question: You're studying Religion correct? Are you only studying the Christian one, or are you taking any classes on other Religions? I would recommend taking some classes on other faiths. Not to convert you or anything, but rather to give you an understanding of what they are and what they mean. Knowledge leads to wisdom my friend.

Wait.......knowledge leads to wisdom in this sentence, but a few sentences ago you were chastising me for what knowledge I had acquired. You can't go ten sentences without walking on your own ****.

adroomi.......

By the way, how does the church feel about me masturbating and thinking about the guy down the blocks wife while I do it?

Lusting anothers wife is a sin. You should know that, being an exprt and all.

you can't discuss anything without making nasty remarks to snyone.

i don't know anything about you except what i read in your posts.'

i read someone who has some idea about life and who when challanged will respond with somethig personally nasty.

i kind of enjoyed talking to you, but i don't abide snottyness from children regardless of their age.

Now who sounds like the Mr. Know it all? Just because you've been to school doesn't mean you're smart. And just because you're smart, that doesn't mean you're wise.

Just a thought for you to ponder... even though it has nothing to do with the current debate.

well said.

you can't discuss anything without making nasty remarks to snyone.

Hmmm......kettle pot scenario?

Rick says.......

i kind of enjoyed talking to you, but i don't abide snottyness from children regardless of their age.

Hypocrite. I never took you seriously. You're a threat to decency and the common good. How old am I?

MAC says.......

Hey mo'sman - Adroomi and I frequently disagree... but you said "despise scholarship?" Now who sounds like the Mr. Know it all? Just because you've been to school doesn't mean you're smart. And just because you're smart, that doesn't mean you're wise.

I actually said earlier I didn't know ti all. How I "sound to you" is your problem. I suppose I could walk around thinking that somebody with a PhD is dummer than a first grader, but I know better.

You continue to show your true colors with these analogies. Fact is, because you're going to college you think you are smarter than the rest of us, some of whom have already graduated from college and been living in the real world for years. I'll bet my 16 year old son could teach you a thing or two.

He's got a 4.17 GPA and is taking mainly AP classes in 10th grade. Because my GPA was lower, that makes him smarter than me, doesn't it?

Get real.

So ignorant, that he bought a cow to ride on.

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Well done is better than well said.

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To err is human, to repent divine; to persist devilish.

-----Ben Franklin-----

Some of those ranch hands do have a lot of common sence.

John

When I graduated with my MS, I felt I had a better understanding of it all.

The day my share professor who I researched under for 3 years welcomed me to the world of those that can be called "Doctor" he looked me in the eye, shook my hand and said to me......"Now you can go out and learn."

What does that mean. A PhD does not make you smart. It gives you the wisdom to realize how very little you know and how very little you will ever know. It also gives you the tools and inspiration to seek the wisdom you desire.

Seek wisdom my friend, and question everything. Those are my monikers.