RileyG said:

In this case, the instructor was transgender, so he was very biased against this student. sigh

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And the "demonic" part would have been especially hurtful to the transgender/non-binary instructor reading the essay.

RileyG said:

That’s fair. I think when it comes to controversy, both sides of the issue must be presented in an unbiased, non-emotional manner. If I’m making any sense.

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If an instructor is going to give students an assignment to read and write about a controversial topic, then, yes, the focus needs to be on how to construct an argument and clearly lay it out in writing. If the topic is so emotionally charged that students and instructors aren't going to be able to set aside their emotions long enough to construct and evaluate arguments, then maybe pick a different topic for the assignment.

ThatRobGuy said:

I would disagree, there is that period of time where you put College instructors on a pedestal and feel like they're the "smartest people you've ever met", and that creates an inclination to want to mimic them in ways that aren't affiliated with their area of subject matter expertise.

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I have never met anybody who felt that way, or at least who expressed it to me. Not in my multiple passes through school. Not among all my friends and co-workers who frequently talk about college (I've worked with a few different groups of people who went to school with each other). Not among my friends and neighbors who teach or otherwise work at universities. Not among my wife's faculty and grad students at her university jobs. Not among all the folks who've come through my different churches that have been within walking distance of elite universities. I've only ever seen that kind of thing on TV.

Actually, that's not true. I also see it among fans of certain media personalities. But I've never seen it directed at a professor. I'm sure it's happened, but IME, it's quite rare.

To be more specific, Democrats have become the party that embodies the HR department of the office environment.

You go into meetings involving the top brass, there's some very cut-throat republican economic thinking, or have an environment where it's "just the boys", there's a lot of that "locker room talk" if you catch my drift.

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Not just the HR dept, though they're definitely included.

I, as a white collar professional, look at the Democratic party and I see something familiar. I see a range of people, mostly trying to accomplish certain things, mostly trying to figure out the right ways to do it, mostly trying to not be jerks about it, often shooting themselves in the foot in one way or another, but mostly well-meaning and trying to head in the right direction. They're largely mission-oriented, or at least they believe themselves to be.

Then I look at the Republicans and I'm genuinely puzzled. I don't even know why anybody finds their whole affect appealing. Romney, McCain, and the other old school guys, I get. I can even understand the appeal of a Ted Cruz or a Rand Paul, even if I think they're full of it.
The whole MAGA culture, though, is about leaning hard into being a sycophantic jerk. Maybe that would fly in upper management, but among the rank and file, it's just bizarre.

For most people, college is only 4 years. That's a fairly small amount of time; and for that short amount of time, most folks are focused on getting through their major so they can get a job. Most people's perspective on the world isn't shaped entirely there. It's shaped while they're working, in jobs. Most of the people polled in that survey were not in college. If the survey was representative of the whole population, then they would have mostly been out of college for a long time.

Republican culture, especially MAGA culture doesn't fly at all in jobs that require a college degree. I think that's the bigger driver in why college educated folks have turned away from them.

He won the primary because they had a bunch of people up there and the "sanity" vote was split between a dozen other people.

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That's not really true - or at least, it's certainly not a given. Trump did very well from the beginning. Cruz and Rubio were the #2 and #3 for most of the race, with the lion's share of the remaining votes; and there were a number of states where he beat their combined tally. And even in the states where he didn't beat their combined score, there were a bunch where he wasn't that far back. They'd often get something like 45-50% while he got 35-40%. If Rubio had dropped out, Cruz would've picked up some of his voters, but not all of them. He might have been able to squeak out a win, but it would've been close. After Rubio dropped out, Cruz did well in a handful of mid-western and mountain states, but then got stomped the rest of the way.

Basically, what I think is happening is a cultural/ideological capture of what's perceived to be "intelligent", with regards to the modern college environment.

The people who hold the keys to knowledge can shape other people (and societal perceptions) by having a system in which people have to enter their preferred bubble/echo chamber for an extended period of time in order to be the benefactor of a "knowledge hand-off". And after a certain period of time, people start to associate that ideology with intelligence.

It's not unlike the early church. There was a time when the only access for learning to read, getting access to certain books, or attaining other forms of knowledge was isolated to those entering the seminary to become members of the clergy. That was no accident.

If "the smartest guy in the room" is (99% of the time) someone from a particular ideological framework, it's only a matter of time before large parts of the general public associates that ideology with intelligence, and gaining knowledge comes saddled with sitting through years of their overall sales pitch, and like with anything, there is a percentage of people who are susceptible to sales pitches.

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I agree that there's a capture of the perception of intelligence. I disagree on why/how.

Frankly, what you described is, IME, how dumb people treat intelligence. That "keys to knowledge" phenomenon is what I witnessed in fans of certain media personalities like Rush Limbaugh and Dave Ramsey. I'm sure it applies to some younger streamers now, but I don't keep up with them. I don't see intelligent people seeing a single person or group of people as having the keys to anything. Intelligent people might have preferred sources or commentators, but they don't treat these folks as some sort of oracle on whose every word they hang.

If college taught us anything, it wasn't that "the smartest guy in the room" was always a lib. What it taught us was the process for learning and discovering knowledge. How to find and evaluate information; how to construct an argument; how to develop a plan to achieve a goal; etc. And for the last decade+, the only party that has embraced that ethos at all has been the Dems.

Dems have captured the "intelligence" vote because the Republicans have abdicated it.

What was the last real policy idea developed by Republicans? Ignoring the wars, W had No Child Left Behind and Medicare Part D. Those may have had mixed results, but I'll give him an A for effort. Since then, what? (I'm ignoring both parties' responses to crises like the 2008 crash and COVID, since they weren't planned) They were almost exclusively obstructionist throughout Obama's presidency; didn't do anything during Trump1 except tax cuts based on an economic idea that had debunked for ages. They were mostly obstructionist again during Biden; and now in Trump2, they've turned into a personality cult that appoints incompetent drunkards and sycophants to cabinet positions.

If they'd wanted to appeal to the intelligence vote, they would've done something like come up with a health care plan. Modified the transition to electrification so that things could actually get built. Done something about the explosion of tuition costs. Tried to appoint people with expertise. Instead, they just keep leaning on tired old stuff that the "intelligent" people know isn't going to fix anything, like more tax cuts, more fossil fuel extraction, and hiring your drunk buddies. Oh, and tariffs, too. They've destroyed a bunch of stuff without so much as a concept of a plan to rebuild it. Including the East Wing.

There is a way to do stronger border enforcement that would appeal to "intelligent" people. There were ways to handle trans issues that would appeal to "intelligent" people. But they're not doing that. Instead, they're blatantly disregarding the rule of law and being as hateful and as cruel as they can get away with. They're leaning into all the bad things that people used to think about them. That's not how you attract intelligent people.

prodromos said:

How exactly is it a mockery of Christ?

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I wouldn't call it a mockery more like a copying a bit like the LGBT who copied the rainbow for their logo.
It's Satan doing what he does best 'COPYING'.

The Barbarian said:

The acacia trees that were being eaten gave off a warning gas (specifically, ethylene) that signaled to neighboring trees of the same species that a crisis was at hand. Right away, all the forewarned trees also pumped toxins into their leaves to prepare themselves.
...
Suzanne Simard of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver has discovered that they also warn each other using chemical signals sent through the fungal networks around their root tips, which operate no matter what the weather. Surprisingly, news bulletins are sent via the roots not only by means of chemical compounds but also by means of electrical impulses that travel at the speed of a third of an inch per second. In comparison with our bodies, it is, admittedly, extremely slow. However, there are species in the animal kingdom, such as jellyfish and worms, whose nervous systems conduct impulses at a similar speed.

Tree roots extend a long way, more than twice the spread of the crown. So the root systems of neighbouring trees inevitably intersect and grow into one another-though there are always some exceptions. Even in a forest, there are loners, would-be hermits who want little to do with others. Can such antisocial trees block alarm calls simply by not participating? Luckily, they can’t. For usually there are fungi present that act as intermediaries to guarantee quick dissemination of news.

Trees and Insects: An Unseen Communication Network

Scientists observed that giraffes on the African savannah adapt their feeding behavior in response to acacia trees releasing toxins and warning gases when threatened. Trees communicate through chem…

thinkingbeyondscience.in

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I'd be curious to find out what instrument was used to detect the ethylene molecules in the air, and how long that occurs.

...Most of the article's I've read on the subject make big claims without showing the testing - usually I presume, to maintain funding from their donors with "news" every once in a while, and a few name drops.

samaus123456789 said:

I summarized the whole book. Maybe read it again or listen on audiobook on 2 times speed or ask chat gpt for a summary or better ask chat gpt to explain how ezekiel 38, 39 happened in esther.

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The book of Ester does not mention Gog or Magog. You can do a word search for Gog. And a word search for Magog. At the KJV online bible site.

prodromos said:

The problem you have is that the 'lost diary' was brought to your attention by Dean Odle which in your mind gives it an automatic pass since you appear to consider him to be nearly infallible.

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I already knew about the lost diaries, in fact I had already purchased the book before Dean had even mentioned it, Dean is not always first to be in the know about stuff.

This does show that we both think on the same lines so he can't be all that wrong

Hentenza said:

“All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness;”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness | New American Standard Bible - NASB (NASB2020) | Download The Bible App Now

All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness

bible.com

If scripture is inspired by God then it is infallible. All extra biblical material is not God breathed and therefore fallible. The OP is correct.

Click to expand...

If historical-cultural context are consulted, God-breathed has nothing to do with inspiration. It's expiration that is in view, which is why it is useful...because God makes the text alive.

The OP seems to promote at least 2 traditions that developed in the late middle ages in sola scriptura and the sui generis nature of the Bible such that it can be called the Word of God in its own right rather than functioning as an icon.

Hentenza said:

It doesn’t.

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Then why bring it up?

Hentenza said:

After the war the ones that escaped and were captured were put on trial. During the war most top nazi’s were either killed or took their own lives.

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The suicides are irrelevant. As far as I know, only Heydrich (of the major Nazi figures) was killed during the war (in 1942).

Douggg said:

What chapter and verse in Esther are you referring to ?

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I summarized the whole book. Maybe read it again or listen on audiobook on 2 times speed or ask chat gpt for a summary or better ask chat gpt to explain how ezekiel 38, 39 happened in esther.

h

Guojing said:

Do you notice the order stated in Luke and Acts? Begin at Jerusalem, then Judea/Samaria, then the whole world.

The 12 + James never left Jerusalem in their lifetime, because the nation of Israel never accepted Christ as their Messiah. Cornelius was a one off incident and he was saved under the same program that Israel had.

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yeh. on pentecost 3000 converted and would of gone back to all those countries listed, and started churches and yes paul was unkown to judean churches it said somewhere so for years it was only Judean christians but eventually by pauls time gentiles start converting and colossians 1 23 says the gospel has been preached to the whole world and that was 62 ad so by then tons of greco romans had become christians.

The books (and movies) are not explicitly religious, but they do explore the question of power and control, and I think that's an important ethical area for Christians to think about.

As to the value of life, I'd say the books speak especially of the value of lives in poorer districts -- folks like farm workers and Appalachian coal miners. That's a point worth making. The books also speak uncomfortably of a population that's willing to go along with the hunger games -- why? Because the viewers are entertained? Because the stability of Panem's authoritarian government makes their lives more comfortable? Because they're too afraid to say anything? All interesting, and very human, motivations to explore.

The Barbarian said:

I'm thinking that Trump was supposing that the democrats would never stoop so low as to Gerrymander states they controlled.

It's a truism that grifters are themselves quite gullible.

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I may not have the highest opinion of Trump's intelligence, but I expect he's aware that Democrats can and will gerrymander, given that plenty of Democratic-controlled states have done so. For just one example, take Illinois's notorious congressional district map (source):


More plausibly, he (or whoever was the one who suggested it to him) thought that the Democrats had already gerrymandered so much in their states that they really couldn't gerrymander harder enough to make up for the gains the Republicans hope they'd with their Texas gerrymander, but overlooked the way California could increase it, or thought it unlikely that its citizenry would embrace gerrymandering so much as to actually deliberately vote for it.

Landon Caeli said:

Chemical signaling between different plants is an unprovable statement, just like morphic resonance.

Click to expand...

The acacia trees that were being eaten gave off a warning gas (specifically, ethylene) that signaled to neighboring trees of the same species that a crisis was at hand. Right away, all the forewarned trees also pumped toxins into their leaves to prepare themselves.
...
Suzanne Simard of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver has discovered that they also warn each other using chemical signals sent through the fungal networks around their root tips, which operate no matter what the weather. Surprisingly, news bulletins are sent via the roots not only by means of chemical compounds but also by means of electrical impulses that travel at the speed of a third of an inch per second. In comparison with our bodies, it is, admittedly, extremely slow. However, there are species in the animal kingdom, such as jellyfish and worms, whose nervous systems conduct impulses at a similar speed.

Tree roots extend a long way, more than twice the spread of the crown. So the root systems of neighbouring trees inevitably intersect and grow into one another-though there are always some exceptions. Even in a forest, there are loners, would-be hermits who want little to do with others. Can such antisocial trees block alarm calls simply by not participating? Luckily, they can’t. For usually there are fungi present that act as intermediaries to guarantee quick dissemination of news.

Trees and Insects: An Unseen Communication Network

Scientists observed that giraffes on the African savannah adapt their feeding behavior in response to acacia trees releasing toxins and warning gases when threatened. Trees communicate through chem…

thinkingbeyondscience.in

Thanks for the thoughtful replies about the KJV. I wasn't thinking about that version of the bible but I can now see how I shouldn't have entitled this thread "KJV".

What I meant to bring up is how some people actually speak, or try to speak, in King James English. And the to the best of my knowledge King James style speaking is around 700 years old. What's the reason for using it?

eleos1954 said:

Hard to say what the "real truth" is

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Comes down to evidence. And they just got caught.

concretecamper said:

If 2Tim3:16 said only Scripture is inspired by God, you'd have a point, but it doesn't, ugh, hypocrites.

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It does say exactly that. Nothing else is included in the verse. Anything else you would be adding to the verse.

Hypocrites? Do you think that is a nice thing to call fellow Christians?

BPPLEE said:

How in the world would you know that these people are just poor fishermen?

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The families of some of the people killed have spoken up. And, just logically speaking, that's who you'd want to hire for a job like this. They know how to operate a boat, they know the waters, they're willing to work for cheap, and if they're caught, they can't reveal anything of substance because they don't know anything. I'm not going to claim that every person on those boats was a poor fisherman (or someone similarly divorced from the actual cartel structure), but I'd bet most of them were.

And, again, the point is that it doesn't really make a difference who they were, precisely.

Aryeh Jay said:

The only real truth comes from God.

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Cant we expect “some” truth from our president? Not that we expect it any more. I am not a Democrat nor lefty. Just a guy who hopes to see character in those who represent us and holds them accountable when they fail.

samaus123456789 said:

I explained exactly when it happened in esther. you believe myths rather than sound doctrine. repent of your false teachings.

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What chapter and verse in Esther are you referring to ?

Hentenza said:

“All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness;”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness | New American Standard Bible - NASB (NASB2020) | Download The Bible App Now

All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness

bible.com

If scripture is inspired by God then it is infallible. All extra biblical material is not God breathed and therefore fallible. The OP is correct.

Click to expand...

If 2Tim3:16 said only Scripture is inspired by God, you'd have a point, but it doesn't, ugh, hypocrites.