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Recent content by Spiribala

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    Pretend I'm an atheist. How would you convert me?

    Evangelizing on an atheist message board isn't likely to have any affect. A lot of people join message boards like that to reinforce their own views. And if a Christian posts something they think that's a great opportunity to pounce and how the superiority of their own line of thinking. That's...
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    Your stance on SF Forty Niners QB Colin Kaepernick's stance...

    True, but I think that would be because sitting down during a national anthem is almost always going to be over a matter that's easily politicized. If he sat down to bring attention to the plight many of those in Louisiana are going through with flooding, perhaps that would be politicized but...
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    Your stance on SF Forty Niners QB Colin Kaepernick's stance...

    Free speech and patriotism are being used as proxy weapons for political gain in the Kaepernick controversy. It's not actually about free speech or patriotism at all. You can say what you want, but if you work for a private organization, you can be punished for that speech. So it's entirely...
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    Without a moral foundation, you're only left with dysfunction

    I think our conversation is a good example of the difficulty I mention in the opening post - that two people who look at things through very different moral lenses, have difficulty understanding each other. This misunderstanding can often grow into hostility, especially where politics are...
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    Without a moral foundation, you're only left with dysfunction

    I think it's just much easier to find groups that confirm your own biases today. As I've mentioned before, it's true demographically. People generally move to areas with people more like them. And of course technology has accelerated this trend. If you believe the earth is flat their is an...
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    Without a moral foundation, you're only left with dysfunction

    I'd nominate tribalism for that third factor. People join groups, form a common group identity and if that group identity is strong enough, form friendships and make enemies based on that identity. If you're especially reasonable, or especially individualistic or are part of a more important (to...
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    Without a moral foundation, you're only left with dysfunction

    A moral foundation is a set of beliefs about what it means to live ethically. An example of such a belief that was very common in the 1950's and is now divides the country is that the nuclear family as an ideal. In the 1950's most children were raised in traditional two parent families. It was...
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    Without a moral foundation, you're only left with dysfunction

    This is going to be short, since I'm pressed for time at the moment. There are many factors at play for the recent trend of polarization and for for less polarization between 1994-2004. I believe it was more stable between 1994-2004 for a few reasons. First, the American economy was quite good...
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    Without a moral foundation, you're only left with dysfunction

    It seems as if you're missing my point and misrepresenting what I actually said. It's not that having most people be Christians would help more people agree on policies. But I believe it would allow people to disagree, even disagree strongly while still respecting the people on the other side of...
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    Without a moral foundation, you're only left with dysfunction

    I agree that finding common ground on a core social value would also suffice as something that gives a common moral grounding. But it can be a religious belief as well, and think that was the case in fairly recently in American history. Maybe I'm giving Christianity a bit too much credit...
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    Without a moral foundation, you're only left with dysfunction

    Well, I'm a Christian, so I think it should be Christianity, but it's not really relevant for the purposes of the thread. What I'm saying is that in a democracy, if it's working properly, the people of a nation come together to (though their elected representatives) decide what the government's...
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    Advice Needed

    It sounds like you're torn. On one hand your children have found a community they're comfortable with. On the other, the church blatantly disregards the traditional Christian ethic. In my opinion, you should definitely leave. It's definitely a drawback that you would have to leave a community...
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    Two types of respect...

    I like the distinction and think it can be useful. More people should keep it in mind. That said, some issues are left unresolved. Going off your example, if someone does not believe in evolution, that person can try and convince others of his viewpoint. Even if his view is false and convinces...
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    The pie should be cut equitably

    Defining how to equitably slice the pie is hard. Economics isn't like hard sciences when you get most experts agreeing on the basics. Also, what's the purpose(s) and how do you weigh them? I would say that Jesus did not say much of value in terms of macroeconomic theory. For one it wasn't...
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    From Modern Liturgy to Moral Rot

    One pervasive mistake people make in the modern age is how we think about our actions. Most people think we learn intellectual knowledge, and through that we make decisions about how to act. I would argue this is a relatively minor part of the story. The more comprehensive view is that our...
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