UncertainSloth wrote:lines...

Keep It Real wrote:

zulumoose wrote:I would add that if I were a believer, no matter how quickly I believed divine intervention was coming, I would still think it wise to act as though we were the appointed caretakers of the world, not just users. An atheist believes we are responsible for our own actions, but if a Christian believes he is appointed by God, shouldn't his motivation be even greater?

I think the message conveyed in your post zulu could perhaps be more accessibly and expediently conveyed by saying:

"99.9% of the time we know the right thing to do, as the Holy Spirit guides us, and that guidance need be followed at all times unless we are to be burdened with feelings of guilt and remorse, let alone any devine retribution which may strike like lightning if we do not follow the moral compass."

That seems to cover the bases for theists and atheists alike. Well worth adding to the txt I reckon.

Fallible wrote:That would be rescuing.

Sendraks wrote:

Keep It Real wrote:

zulumoose wrote:I would add that if I were a believer, no matter how quickly I believed divine intervention was coming, I would still think it wise to act as though we were the appointed caretakers of the world, not just users. An atheist believes we are responsible for our own actions, but if a Christian believes he is appointed by God, shouldn't his motivation be even greater?

I think the message conveyed in your post zulu could perhaps be more accessibly and expediently conveyed by saying:

"99.9% of the time we know the right thing to do, as the Holy Spirit guides us, and that guidance need be followed at all times unless we are to be burdened with feelings of guilt and remorse, let alone any devine retribution which may strike like lightning if we do not follow the moral compass."

That seems to cover the bases for theists and atheists alike. Well worth adding to the txt I reckon.

It only covers the bases for theists.

KIRFBBUSLFZ wrote:

Keep It Real wrote:

Fallible wrote:That would be rescuing.

It's not about me; it's about THE WORK!

Keep It Real wrote:"99.9% of the time we know the right thing to do, as the Holy Spirit guides us, and that guidance need be followed at all times unless we are to be burdened with feelings of guilt and remorse, let alone any devine retribution which may strike like lightning if we do not follow the moral compass."

Keep It Real wrote:

Keep It Real wrote:

Fallible wrote:That would be rescuing.

It's not about me; it's about THE WORK!

Did I say me? I should have said you two...who/what's the central character in said scenario...the rescuers or the rescued..hmmmmmmm..I reckon it's Microsoft or Tim Berners Lee actually innit? Where are the trousers...there's only one pair

We engaged in a conversation which meandered around for a while

Keep It Real wrote:I have been asked to disclose something at this juncture. I am not the author of the OP.

SafeAsMilk wrote:If I was to provide a critique, I'd point out that brevity is the soul of wit. For example, you talk about the age and sex of the two JW's in the first paragraph, which turns out to be completely irrelevant to the rest of it. Just take it out.

SafeAsMilk wrote:Then there's convoluted language like this:

We engaged in a conversation which meandered around for a while

Total fluff. Just say "We talked for awhile".

Keep It Real wrote:

Sendraks wrote:

Keep It Real wrote:

zulumoose wrote:I would add that if I were a believer, no matter how quickly I believed divine intervention was coming, I would still think it wise to act as though we were the appointed caretakers of the world, not just users. An atheist believes we are responsible for our own actions, but if a Christian believes he is appointed by God, shouldn't his motivation be even greater?

I think the message conveyed in your post zulu could perhaps be more accessibly and expediently conveyed by saying:

"99.9% of the time we know the right thing to do, as the Holy Spirit guides us, and that guidance need be followed at all times unless we are to be burdened with feelings of guilt and remorse, let alone any devine retribution which may strike like lightning if we do not follow the moral compass."

That seems to cover the bases for theists and atheists alike. Well worth adding to the txt I reckon.

It only covers the bases for theists.

I disagree - all the woo terms earlier in the sentence are ameliarated and negated (if the reader is so inclined) by those last two words.

Fallible wrote:It doesn't have to be perfect, as long as it says what you want it to and is understandable.

KIR et al wrote:Approximately eighteen months ago a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on my door: one woman in her twenties and one man in his forties. We engaged in a conversation which flipped around for a while and then I said, roughly: "one of my problems with some people's take on Christianity is that they tend to dismiss science a lot of the time. A good example of this is denying the reality of man-made global warming, about which the scientific community is pretty well unanimous. These so called Christians then make no attempt to help with that problem." The male Jehovah's Witness then replied: “That's the beauty of it: we haven't got to worry about that kind of thing because God will take care of it!”

Although of course this is not a Jehovah's Witness congregation it is apparent that the same problem exists across all denominations of Christianity, as seen most clearly in the US Republican Party's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Change Accord. Incidentally, the USA is the only country in the world to have withdrawn from that treaty. Donald Trump and his party are, of course, overwhelmingly deeply Christian, Christian in name anyway, even reinstating weekly Bible study groups in the White House for the President and his senior staff for the first time since the colonial era. Protestant Christianity is the dominant Christian flavour in the US, not Jehovah's Witness.

I believe these so called Christians, who sit idly by smiling at the sky without a care in the world thinking they can just recline and relax in God's arms, are in error. What disappointing creatures we would be to God if we didn't try to do right by our fellow humans and, indeed, animals and the planet as a whole. I think it's pretty obvious how Jesus would lead by example on this issue, as with any other, tirelessly and selflessly labouring to alleviate the suffering of others and basically attempting to improve the situation in general. Who could possibly say that Jesus was lazy. 99.9% of the time we know the right thing to do without even having to think, as the Holy Spirit guides us, and that guidance need be followed at all times unless we are to be burdened with feelings of guilt and remorse, let alone any divine retribution which may strike like lightning if we do not follow the moral compass.

Man-made climate change, also known as anthropogenic global warming (AGW for short), is one of the two most terrifyingly powerful threats to the wellbeing of mankind according to the late great Professor Stephen Hawking, as he wrote shortly before his passing. The other threat he identified is strong artificial intelligence, but that's off topic. Personally, a part of me would like to own a car and fly around visiting foreign countries, but the carbon emissions from such transport methods just don't sit well with me. Jet air plane travel, which dumps huge amounts of damaging emissions straight into the upper atmosphere is particularly damaging, as my university environmental economics professor taught us. The carbon emissions resulting from the manufacturing processes necessary in order to make cars and planes in the first place are also very substantial and damaging.

As some of you may know, I am technically an atheist although I see many very fine and praiseworthy things in Christianity which is part of the reason that Sarah, Dave and their colleagues make me feel so welcome here, I think. There is no reason to think that atheists are the only people who should act to counter the spectre of man-made climate change however. In fact, nothing could or should be further from the truth if the teachings of Jesus are followed accurately as decent Christians know him. Thanks for listening, there are printouts of this text available in the lobby. Feel free to take as many copies as you like. In fact, the more the better!