Akratus
Bleep bloop.
Sounds like exactly my cup of tea.
Favorite books / What are you reading?
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BigBoss
Your Local Scrub
Just bought a new stash of Batman comics...
Enjoyed all of them. Though I'm going to stop buying the Batman: Dark Knight series (not the Legends of the Dark Knight series) because in every comic, a DC character that isn't part of the Batman universe/world (like Superman or Flash) appears in the comic.
The Legends of the Dark Knight comic was pretty dark.
Enjoyed all of them. Though I'm going to stop buying the Batman: Dark Knight series (not the Legends of the Dark Knight series) because in every comic, a DC character that isn't part of the Batman universe/world (like Superman or Flash) appears in the comic.
The Legends of the Dark Knight comic was pretty dark.
Shows an old Bruce Wayne who has given up the Batman persona in a crime-free Gotham. He's struggling to cope with life without Batman after he's defeated virtually all crime in Gotham, and ends up slitting his throat in suicide after visitng Alfred's grave and apologizing that he "couldn't live without Batman". Also has a second story which shows him attempting to develop new methods after WayneTech takes a financial down turn and he is forced to stop using expensive gadgets, which was really cool, except it was a "to be continued..." story.
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Byzantine
Sink me in the ocean.
I read that book in a day; I couldn't put it down! It sent chills down my spine, though, that's for sure.
What's it like? Worth reading? Ayn Rand doesn't have the best reputation as a writer, so I've been told.
At the moment, I'm reading a book called The Sparrow (1996) by Maria Doria Russell. It's set in 2019, and the main storyline involves a group of missionaries and scientists from the Society of Jesus taking part in an expedition to a faraway planet known as Rakhat in order to make contact with its inhabitants. I like to think of it as Star Trek, but with Christians.
Gizmojunk
Antediluvian as Feck
I suppose you either love it or you hate it; that goes for those that would tell someone else to avoid it. I liked it and will move on to Atlas Shrugged, after 'Do Androids Dream'. Tell me this... could you love watching Metropolis? How about did you love 1984? (These aren't the same as Fountainhead at all, but all three might appeal to the same person ~as they do with me.)
It's not as hellishly addictive as Shōgun, but then what is?
*Orwell and Rand pull the same exposition trick in the later half of their respective stories; nothing wrong with it, but it was curious... makes you wonder about the censorship of the day [1940's].
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Byzantine
Sink me in the ocean.
I read 1984 a long time ago (and enjoyed it immensely), but I've always preferred Animal Farm. As for Metropolis, I've yet to watch the movie, much as I'd like to. I'm sure I could get it at any video rental place, I suppose.
Back on the subject of The Fountainhead, there's a copy of the film adaption at my university library. I might just have to take a look at it, eventually. Personally, I wouldn't mind giving Ayn Rand's lengthy books a go, but it's not on the top of my to do list at the moment.
Back on the subject of The Fountainhead, there's a copy of the film adaption at my university library. I might just have to take a look at it, eventually. Personally, I wouldn't mind giving Ayn Rand's lengthy books a go, but it's not on the top of my to do list at the moment.
I'm currently reading What if? by Randall Munroe of xkcd fame. It's quite enjoyable even if some of the questions (and answers) are simply ridiculous, but I do feel that he could have done something more with his illustrations. The book basically looks like any other popular science book out there.
Akratus
Bleep bloop.
I'm reading The Last Wish right now, and am really enjoying it. Although the english might be inferior to polish, I've heard that fans have expertly crafted some translations of the as of yet not officially translated books. I'm looking forward to the subsequent books.
Reading slowly through the Old Testament. Quite an interesting experience.
I did that when I was 16 or so. God is like the biggest asshole ever in that book. Have you read Job yet? That's just wrong. Everything in that story makes you go: "What the fuck God?" Genesis gets really crazy as well, especially the parts about Onan and Er.
I've read both the OT and the NT, and I've also read the Holy Qur'an, a gift from one of my students. Of these three, the NT is by far the most humane story. Sure, Matthew doesn't exactly paint the nicest picture of Jesus and the same people as usual (e.g. homosexuals) get damned for all eternity in some of the texts, but all in all, it contains the least violence of those three books. And the Gospels contain the least of all, although Jesus does condemn more wicked people than you got taught at school.
Personally, I like the Holy Qur'an the best. There is much wisdom in the words of Allah, and we should all be very thankful that He dictated His wisdom to Muhammed, the great Prophet-Warrior. You have to love a book which can and should be used as a manual on how to live and how to think. The clarity, brevity and authority of the words of Islam are liberating. To give you guys just one example: I used to think I was a misogynist, hell, people even told me I was a misogynist, but after I read the Holy Qur'an, it immediately became clear to me that I was a (moderate) feminist rather than a misogynist. The Qur'an told me to stop that nonsense at once. Fortunately, I live in a Turkish neighbourhood and here, amongst Erdogan's people, I feel right at home. There are no pointless debates in this part of town. We all have a role and life is simple and good.
I've read both the OT and the NT, and I've also read the Holy Qur'an, a gift from one of my students. Of these three, the NT is by far the most humane story. Sure, Matthew doesn't exactly paint the nicest picture of Jesus and the same people as usual (e.g. homosexuals) get damned for all eternity in some of the texts, but all in all, it contains the least violence of those three books. And the Gospels contain the least of all, although Jesus does condemn more wicked people than you got taught at school.
Personally, I like the Holy Qur'an the best. There is much wisdom in the words of Allah, and we should all be very thankful that He dictated His wisdom to Muhammed, the great Prophet-Warrior. You have to love a book which can and should be used as a manual on how to live and how to think. The clarity, brevity and authority of the words of Islam are liberating. To give you guys just one example: I used to think I was a misogynist, hell, people even told me I was a misogynist, but after I read the Holy Qur'an, it immediately became clear to me that I was a (moderate) feminist rather than a misogynist. The Qur'an told me to stop that nonsense at once. Fortunately, I live in a Turkish neighbourhood and here, amongst Erdogan's people, I feel right at home. There are no pointless debates in this part of town. We all have a role and life is simple and good.
Akratus
Bleep bloop.
I read the impressions of an atheist who sat down and read the quran once. He said that it was shocking how often the book talks about what one should do with infidels, and how much it speaks of aggressive action. Is that true?
But anyway, yeah, there's a reason I'm an atheist. Religion schmeligion.
But anyway, yeah, there's a reason I'm an atheist. Religion schmeligion.
BigBoss
Your Local Scrub
Yeah, that's completely true. I read through about half that book, and most of it is either just "Remember when's" or what you should do in a particular case. If you read through it carefully, it seems like a bunch of insane rambling (no offense). For example, at least the Bible is structured. The Quran (or at least the first half of it) is just random phrase after random phrase that you would think wouldn't have anything to do with eachother. For example, it will start talking about what Mohammed did, and then all of a sudden cut to "Remember when Moses did this!" in the next line. Yeah I still have my Quran. I remember the guy who gave it to me told me not to keep it near the floor or read it in the bathroom. I did ok on that first part, but not so good on the latter.
Also, I'm not an atheist (atheism is also considered a religion, though). When I was in my early teenage years I studied all the religions and ended up filling up a few notebooks on my own beliefs after studying them all. I still follow it today. Personally, I think each religion (well, there are one or two I'm not 100% sure about) is just a different path to the same thing. Whatever you want to call it, Nirvana (ending the cycle of Samsara), Heaven, etc. But I don't believe that "Heaven" is a physical plane like Christians, Jews, and Muslims think. I think it is more of an ethereal plane, where we are reconnected with our source (God, if you will), and live out eternity in an eternal rest and peace. I believe that we come here, and through our lives gain new experiences which mature us. Then when we die, we take those experiences we gained back to God which equally benefits both spirits. (this is a similar belief in Native American Shamanism). Also, my Native American heritage plays into my religion a lot also. I believe however that we must first obtain enlightenment before we can go to our eternal rest. Otherwise we are trapped in a cycle of reincarnation (Samsara).
Anyways, like I said I have like four notebooks full of my own beliefs I've written down.
Favorite religions:
• Zoroastrianism
• Baha'i Faith
• Taoism (philosophical branch, before they started mixing it with Buddhism)
• Confucianism
• Mohism (now defunct)
• Hinduism (monotheistic branch)
• Buddhism (Theravada)
Also, I'm not an atheist (atheism is also considered a religion, though). When I was in my early teenage years I studied all the religions and ended up filling up a few notebooks on my own beliefs after studying them all. I still follow it today. Personally, I think each religion (well, there are one or two I'm not 100% sure about) is just a different path to the same thing. Whatever you want to call it, Nirvana (ending the cycle of Samsara), Heaven, etc. But I don't believe that "Heaven" is a physical plane like Christians, Jews, and Muslims think. I think it is more of an ethereal plane, where we are reconnected with our source (God, if you will), and live out eternity in an eternal rest and peace. I believe that we come here, and through our lives gain new experiences which mature us. Then when we die, we take those experiences we gained back to God which equally benefits both spirits. (this is a similar belief in Native American Shamanism). Also, my Native American heritage plays into my religion a lot also. I believe however that we must first obtain enlightenment before we can go to our eternal rest. Otherwise we are trapped in a cycle of reincarnation (Samsara).
Anyways, like I said I have like four notebooks full of my own beliefs I've written down.
Favorite religions:
• Zoroastrianism
• Baha'i Faith
• Taoism (philosophical branch, before they started mixing it with Buddhism)
• Confucianism
• Mohism (now defunct)
• Hinduism (monotheistic branch)
• Buddhism (Theravada)
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I still haven't got to Job, I've just finished the Book of Judges. But yeah, God is a douchebag. A very human-like, sadistic douchebag at that. He has some good moments, though.
Israelites are the one who astounded me in a very comical way - for fuck's sake, if God has told you to NOT worship false gods or else he will get pissed off and go all genocidal on you, how many times does he actually have to get pissed off and kill half of you for you to get it?
I like the fact that God is an asshole though. The book would be way more boring if that wasn't the case.
Jokes aside though, it's an interesting read. Tedious at moments, but thinking about its influence throughout the centuries and how these ancient words and rites of various prophets are still influencing and causing havoc throughout the globe makes up an interesting, if depressing, picture in my head while I am reading it.
The ancient Hebrew language does seem to rely heavily on verbs, rather than nouns, and there is a lot of emphasis on those when looking at the structuring of sentences. This is an observation of layman, for the most part (not to mention that it's the translation I'm reading) but it does make up for an reading that is highly open for interpretation. I imagine that's one of the reasons why this book caused such a mess...
As far as Qur'an goes, I'd like to read that one too, but after finishing the Bible. The problem is though, unlike the Bible, Qur'an is really expensive. And not easy to get, since Muslims aren't really the most welcome bunch in these parts, let alone their writings. I could acquire one, but for a book that I have a (mostly) passive interest in, price of 30 euros or higher is too much.
@BigBoss
That's an interesting approach, I really applaud your effort.
I've been building up my own syncretic view of the world for some time now, but I've nowhere gone as deep as you have. I have been thinking about putting my own beliefs down on paper, but I don't think it's the right moment.
Establishing some basic groundwork that makes sense to me (so far) has been an accomplishment on its own, given all that I have been taking into account, but there's still a long way to go and there's a lot more room to expand. My main goal is for the view of the world to be simple in nature, yet functioning one (wow, that's a unique thought right there!), with some space for expansion. However, I'd distance myself from marking it a "religion", even if there are plenty of religious influences there.
In any case, it's a work in progress. Not much point in discussing it. I do find a certain sense of joy in it, which is what matters I guess. A peculiar hobby.
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Akratus
Bleep bloop.
wut
T
TorontoReign
Guest
I'm not a fan of religion, but I believe in some sort of higher power. Kinda like Captain Planet. 
UniversalWolf
eaten by a grue.
I've enjoyed reading the opinions of jews and christians written by the classical pagans. Their insights are, as with most things, illuminating and poignant. Tacitus is extremely critical of the jews, for example, but it's not like the blind hatred so common in the modern world. He thought their religion was dour and anti-humanist, and celebrated death rather than life because it was based on post-mortem rewards offered for suffering in life. I think there's a lot of truth in that, which I one reason I reject any religion founded on depriving yourself of the enjoyment of life - doubly so if it's coupled with the threat of some eternal punishment if you don't follow the rules. Any god who could create a system like that is inherently evil, not good.
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire showed me I was interested in the early history of Christianity and its interaction with ancient polytheism. I didn't think I was before I read it. It gave me a great framework for things I'd heard in church when I was a kid, but didn't necessarily understand, like the Nicean Creed. Now every time I hear the Nicean Creed at a funeral or a wedding or whatever, I know it was sanctioned by the emperor Constantine the Great (who was himself a colossal a-hole) to resolve decades of bloody massacres between the orthodox majority of Christians and the minority Arian heretics. I encourage anyone who wants to know to examine the issue they were murdering each other over, because it's one of the stupidest, most pointless reasons I can imagine.
What was most intersesting was the very earliest history of Christianity though, when it was just a bunch of passionate converts before the whole thing got corrupted. Originially it was a strictly pacifistic religion. One of the reasons the Romans were so harsh toward what they regarded as a jewish cult, was that there were often incidents of soldiers throwing down their arms and proclaiming they wouldn't kill for the emperor anymore. Those who did that were promptly crucified, of course.
The other reason was that they were going around saying that all the pagan gods and spirits were actually demons, so in that regard the religion hasn't changed all that much in a couple thousand years. It's compelling that the western empire finally collapsed almost immediately after the new Christian majority in Rome pulled down the statue of the Goddess of Victory where it had stood for a thousand years.
I also learned that my favorite Byzantine emperor is Julian the Apostate. The last true Roman, I would say.
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire showed me I was interested in the early history of Christianity and its interaction with ancient polytheism. I didn't think I was before I read it. It gave me a great framework for things I'd heard in church when I was a kid, but didn't necessarily understand, like the Nicean Creed. Now every time I hear the Nicean Creed at a funeral or a wedding or whatever, I know it was sanctioned by the emperor Constantine the Great (who was himself a colossal a-hole) to resolve decades of bloody massacres between the orthodox majority of Christians and the minority Arian heretics. I encourage anyone who wants to know to examine the issue they were murdering each other over, because it's one of the stupidest, most pointless reasons I can imagine.
What was most intersesting was the very earliest history of Christianity though, when it was just a bunch of passionate converts before the whole thing got corrupted. Originially it was a strictly pacifistic religion. One of the reasons the Romans were so harsh toward what they regarded as a jewish cult, was that there were often incidents of soldiers throwing down their arms and proclaiming they wouldn't kill for the emperor anymore. Those who did that were promptly crucified, of course.
The other reason was that they were going around saying that all the pagan gods and spirits were actually demons, so in that regard the religion hasn't changed all that much in a couple thousand years. It's compelling that the western empire finally collapsed almost immediately after the new Christian majority in Rome pulled down the statue of the Goddess of Victory where it had stood for a thousand years.
I also learned that my favorite Byzantine emperor is Julian the Apostate. The last true Roman, I would say.
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T
TorontoReign
Guest
Which is why I found studying all religions and where they came from very enlightening. There is a great amount of wisdom in the Bible and other holy books. The justification of killing others because they worship "other Gods" has really turned me away from the Bible though. The more you dig deep into the history of such things, you really start to doubt that any God would condone such acts, unless he/she was a heartless bastard. The Old Testament is the prime example of a vengeful and cruel creator who condoned sex slaves, genocide, and torture of his most devoted followers. If the New Testament wasn't around I don't think Christianity would be as popular as it is today. I'm surprised it is as popular as it is. How many wars have been fought over utter bullshit?
I have a book - which I can't remember the title of at the moment and I don't know where it's at - that lists every major conflict throughout history up until around 2003. It's astonishing how many people kill each other for believing in different Gods. God doesn't give a shit over such things even if he/she does exist. God would be so detached from humanity that he/she would almost be "unknowable". Impossible to relate to really. Guess that is why Jesus came about, but even then are we supposed to relate to a "perfect" man? Most of the "great" men in the Bible fucked around on their wives, turned from God, and stabbed each other in the back. Doesn't speak too highly of the prophets really.
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Nas92
It Wandered In From the Wastes
He means the militant trilby-wearing (or fedora, or whatever) atheism. Many people consider that a religion.
Anyhow, I just read Dan Abnett's The Armour of Contempt and Only in Death. I love Dan Abnett, but I always notice huge continuity errors, but I guess that's partly the fault of WH40k's ever changing lore.
BigBoss
Your Local Scrub
Yeah see, for me it didn't start out so much as a hobby as it did simply a path to find myself and seek Enlightenment. To me, enlightenment is simply learning the truth, and acting on it. Some may take their whole lifetime to achieve it, others may do it in days.
Anyways, I'd always be happy to share some quotes from my notebooks with you. For example, I based my own religion off what I call the Five Great Realizations:
• While god exists, your primary objective is not to worship him, but treat your fellow man with love and humility. Worshiping god should be of secondary importance. (It is also not necessary to worship god, only follow the path of Dharma. Worshiping him simply speeds that path up).
• Our spirits were born from God, and our spirits will return to him in the end. We must seek Enlightenment in our time here on Earth to reach God or we will simply be stuck in a state of reincarnation until we do so.
• The world's major religions are simply different paths to the same thing, Enlightenment. This path is known as Dharma, and it is through Dharma that we achieve Enlightenment. (I sometimes include the Eightfold Path of Buddhism in this one).
Anyways thats three of the five.
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Akratus
Bleep bloop.
Well I disagree. I would say it's mere zealousness.
I really love 40k. I was reading the Horus Heresy, but even for someone who is in it purely for the lore, as I don't even play the game itself, I have my breaking point. The series simply goes on for too long, and the novels aren't interconnected enough. I'll jump back into it in the future, I think.