₦airaland Forum

Aah, where are the good old times of KRS-one, Grandmaster Flash and Public Enemy, Arrested Development, etc, when rap still had a message that went beyond bling bling

I'm getting old

Rottweiler,
Animism has nothing whatsoever to do with atheism. It is as different from atheism as Islam or Christianity.
Anyway, if your faith is unable to withstand skepticism, how weak must it be?

emmie4j:
[quote author=nferyn link=topic=13880.msg386408#msg386408 date=1148859019]Been together for almost 10 years and married for over 8 years. Still going strong. Get your prejudices out of your head, it clears the vision

Thats the problem with u liberal freaks.,,,,,,,,,when somebody disagrees with u, u label it prejudice,,,,,,,I actually think what is more offensive is u not respecting my choice not to be with an atheist. I don't hate atheists,,,,,,,but I also don't want to marry them,,,,,,,,,,thanks but NO!!!![/quote]1. It was meant as a friendly jab
2. You were the one implying that successful marriages between atheists and christians were not very likely to succeed with your Good luck reply
3. That insult was unnecessary. I am not a freak by any standard
4. Nowhere did I imply that you had to marry an atheist, I was only pointing out that such marriages do exist, can be successful and happy.
5. The idea that marriages between atheists and christians are doomed [b]is [/b]a prejudice, no matter how you put it

baby4u2:
did u want to say this nferyn. "i could start believing in God if i wanted to".

No, I meant exactly what I said. belief is something you cannot command. You don't choose to believe something, either you do or you don't

Nia:
Hmnn, to be honest, it's hard to say, especially if I'm really into the guy. I'd like to think I'm very tolerant but I'd want to know why the guy decided to be an atheist, since most people believe in something. Then we'll take it from there.

Why must you think that atheists don't believe in anything? Atheists believe in lots of things, only not in the existence of a supreme being. What you believe in is not really a choice, but rather a consequece of what your life's experiences. I couldn't start believing in a god if I wanted to.

emmie4j:
Good luck!!!!!

Been together for almost 10 years and married for over 8 years. Still going strong. Get your prejudices out of your head, it clears the vision

IAH:
By the way, Nferyn is an atheist married to a Christian. I would like to hear some practical views.

I think you already said everything that needs to be said. Tolerance is key. I do not mock her beliefs and she doesn't expect me to sing along either

There was a potential problem with the children, but that has been diffused as she is of the opinion that religion should not be forced upon the children. I have no problem with her taking the children to church (I actually like to come along every now and then for the atmosphere and the couleur locale) and she doesn't mind me talking about my beliefs to my children. When they reach a certain age, they'll be smart t enough to make up their own mind.

One thing I need to make clear though, if your children are not immersed in a theistic environment, chances are slim they will become believers. My wife thinks otherwise, but I explained to her that the chance of the children browing up to be believers are very remote.

otokx:
i believe in the creation story

Which one?

mrlawng:
@nferyn
Do you believe the islamice prophecies were accurate? Do you agree with ajia23?

I have no idea. I don't know Islam enough. If one could give me an example, I could judge.

goodguy:

KAG: This is a much clearer prophecy, "in December 2001, the minister for justice will be assassinated", or, a notable minister with the initials BI will be assassinated on the 23rd of December 2001.

I've never heard of prophecies that come this way. Prophecies are often delivered in a way that will make you figure it out yourself by the time it comes to pass. It'll then be like: "Ohh. . so this is what that man was talking about!". Geddit??

You mean prophecies are written in such a way that they approach a statistical probability of 1 to occur?

ajia23:
@ nferyn

The Da Vinci Code as a movie struck me as a mixture of fiction and symbolism mixed with some historical facts most people never realized. But to think it's entirely based on fact will be defeating the strong logic I have seen in most of your arguments. Much as I would have liked it to be true so that the divinity of Jesus would be shown to be concoted, I dare say Dan Brown really cannot back up the supposed "facts" in the book. I guess it only follows the trend of some of his other books like ANGELS & DEMONS, which I believe to be even more interesting than the Da VInci Code. The first five chapters of this book are online at www.danbrown.com/novels/angels_demons/excerpt1.htm. I also know that Robert Langdon seems to be ubiqitous in all his writings. He is a really nice character though-very likeable.

Obviously, there's a lot of fiction and speculation thrown in the mix of the Da Vinci Code. The thing is that, historically, the Da Vinci Code is as (un)reliable as the Bible. It remains an entertaining story and I wouldn't dislike it to be true (which I think it isn't) as it would humanise the figure of Jesus considerably.
When it comes to interesting fiction, Angels and Demons has a far better plot than the Da Vinci Code. Deception Point interests the Science Fiction fan in me the most though.

ajia23:
I think he is one smart dude who is employing demagoguery to sell his books and become a rich man. He is definitely succeeding judging from the reactions of people all over the world. t's attracting not just skeptical christians, but an anxious community of Jews, Hindus, Muslims and Budhists.

Well, he succeeds where Baigent and Leigh failed. He's definitely a skilled propagandist.

ajia23:
I actually watched the movie in a hall that had 75% of it's viewers being Hindu. The reverend is right however, it's not worth all the fuss. Like I said in another post, if I were christian, I wouldn't even lose sleep over it.

The Book is OK, the film is mediocre. Everyone that is up in arms against the Da Vinci Code is either a peanut brain or has unresolved emotional problems.

Says it all

Fact? How do you know?

How do you know it's false?

No comparison. Harry Potter is fun to watch and entertaining. The books are well writen and a worthwhile read, but both the films and the books do not compare to LOTR.
LOTR is an epic in the grand classical tradition, the phantasy world of LOTR is so convincing and full of details (Tolkien actually [i]invented [/i]several languages for Middle Earth) that it would be like comparing the latest Winnie The Pooh childrens book to Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.

funketobi:
@jagunlabi
for u to like d movie that means your not a christian. because most christians that watched the movie tot everything d movie said about Jesus was wrong.
am i right?

I really wonder what's so blasphemous in the portrayal of Jesus in the Da Vinci Code?

You can be both agnostic and atheist. Most so agnostics that deny their atheism are in fact atheists, as atheism/theism/deism reflect belief in a supreme being, not knoledge thereof.

I'm an agnostic atheist. I do not believe in God(s), but I cannot possibly have definite knowledge of his/her/their existence, though for all intents and purposes, the possibility that such a supreme being exists is so remote, that it does not have a serious impact on my thining and actions.

The Da Vinci Code (film) is a mediocre whodunnit, entertaining, but nothing more than that. the book is far better.

How to detect Soul and Spirit? I come to the preliminary conclusion that I have no such thing. Prove me wrong.

Belgium in General and Brussels in particular

Belgium has 2 main linguistic/ethnic subgroups, the Walloons (French speaking) and the Flemish (Dutch speaking). Although there is and has been a lot of intermixing and -marriage, those two groups have very distinct cultural identities.

Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is an odd case out. Geographically, it is situated in (or rather surrounded by) Flanders. Linguistically it is in majority french (about 70% french speaking, 10-15% Dutch speaking and another 15-20% speaking other languages). Culturally, the French speaking inhabitants of Brussels are a mixed lot as well, in majority, they are of Flemish descent, but switched to speaking French one or a few generations go, a minority has migrated from the Walloon part of Belgium and another minority is truly bilingual French-Dutch. Culturally, they orientate themselves as much to Paris as they do to Wallonia.

This very peculiar cultural/linguistic situation is tied into the history of Belgium as a nation-state. After the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, the powers that be in Europe thought that it would be a wise move to limit the powers of France and added the Southern Netherlands to the Netherlands proper. For several reasons (one of them imposing Dutch as the administrative language), this experiment failed and Belgium gained it's independence. In the centuries that the United Netherlands had been separated, the cultural divide between two parts of what once was the United netherlands had grown too large to bridge. The tutalage of Baron De Rothschild (who wasn't very fond of the Dutch ambitions) ensured the viability of the new nation.
During that period (early 19th century), the higher classes all over Europe were using french as a mother tongue to distinguish themselves from the common people. The drive of King William I of the Netherlands to ensure that the country was administred in Dutch did not receive much applause among the Belgian nobility. Even though in the north of the country, almost all common people spoke one or another Dutch dialect, Dutch had not been recognised as a cultural/civilised language by the authorities in the Southern United provinces (Belgium), not by the Spanish overlords, not by the Austrian overlords and certainly not by the French.
At the start of Belgium as a nation, it was clear that it would be organised in a unitarian, uni-lingual, French basis. The impact of the first and second wave of industrialisation on Belgium was enormous. At the end of the 19th century, Belgium was the industrial powerhouse of continental Europe, even though Germany was quickly catching up and overtaking Belgium.
This ensured that the need for adminstrative, white collar labour alse increased and, in view of the state-structure, this meant an increase in French speaking administrative professions. The population of Brussels grew considerably and what was once a Dutch (Flemish dialect) speaking city quickly became more and more french speaking. The introduction of universal free education untill 14 after the end of WWI ensured that this proces of 'frenchification' took up speed.
As a Dutch speaking citizen of Belgium, there was only one option to move up in society: assimilation in the top-layer French culture. This process was been stopped, but there are still cases of discrimination of Dutch speaking people in Brussels. Language is a very touchy subject in Belgium.

To be continued

chinani:
Thank you 1ofall, this is the sort of info I need & want. And Nferyn, I am patiently waiting.

Your patience will be rewarded (I hope)

chinani:
As for my goals, I'd like to learn a language well. Be exposed to art. I prefer cosmopolitan living and big cities though I know they are very expensive. I will be alone.

Brussels isn't exactly cosmpopolitan like Paris or London, but it is quite diverse for a city of only 1 million people. As far as European capitals go, Brussels is very cheap to live. Rent and average cost of living is far lower than e.g. London, Paris, Stockholm, Amsterdam, although fast moving consumer goods will definitely be more expensive than the US. This is the drawback of our expanded welfare system of (nearly) free healthcare, unemployment benefits, 1 month holidays, etc.

chinani:
My goals are to take to (a)learn a language (preferable French or Italian), (b)learn TONS about Europe while (c)making observations and doing research for a book I want to write.

Brussels is the perfect environent to learn languages. The presence of the EU, Nato, WEU, World Customs Union, loads of lobby groups and multi-national corporations make it a translators heaven.

chinani:
I know won't have an illustrious job b/c of labor laws, I don't have talents that are in high demand, and I'm not a member of the EU. I am comfortable with this.

The thing you need is to get in and get a labor/residence permit. Once you have that, you can aim for a job with one organisations attached to / involved with the big international organisations (mainly lobby groups). Brussels Airport is also constantly looking for people (which are hard to find for reasons I might explain later on) Do no aim any lower, otherwise you'll only find really shitty jobs.

chinani:
My target cities are Paris, Rome and Brussels in no particular order.

Paris: expensive, cultured and posh. If you don't speak French perfectly, you'll have a hard time
Rome: don't really know that much about Rome
Brussels/ I'll give some more in depth info later

chinani:
These are very expensive cities so if someone could mention some other habitual areas, I'd appreciate it.

Brussels isn't that expensive.

chinani:
Has anyone lived in Luxembourg? This city is no Paris but it seems peaceful and full of life.

It's peaceful, expensive (far more than Brussels), small (really small) and extremely dull, but close to Koeln, Brussels, Paris and Amsterdam (for an American at least)

chinani:
As someone mention, there is racism in Europe. This is why I'm trying to find diverse areas. Thank y'all again.

Oh yeah and of a quite nasty kind sometimes, but this also greatly depends on the kind of social environment you would turn up in. If you're content with low level jobs, you'll probably be confronted with a lot of racism. If you could get a higher profile job, especially in Brussels, you will meet very interesting and open people.

More to follow

gidig:
mlks_Baby

THe hounds are out.They have tasted blood! Maybe you should let this thing go.You are not getting anywhere with these guys!And if I may had,the topi itself is a trap to imvite people of the Christia faith I and see if they can come into an endless argument.

If you think it's a trap, go and see yourself. I've had a very relevant and insightful discussion with mlks_Baby.

gidig:
All these guys who are waxing philosophy know like all humans that there are things in life beyond the scope of their understanding and knowledge.

Obviously there's a lot of stuff like that. the question is how do you approach what you don't understand.

gidig:
In their heart is that thought 'what if, ? lingers.Daily,they drown it with arguments and presentations that tries to explain away a reality that they fear may exist.

You assume too much

gidig:
Anyone can pretend to have fun saying this but you never know what is in the heart of man.I have been there before and I can tell you the fear of everyone who scorns God!

Meaning?

gidig:
And I hope that this will be posted!

Your hopes have been fulfiled.

I'll give you some info on Brussels later this evening today (CET that is). All depends on what your goals are.