Sep

2

The NEW…New International Version

September 2, 2009 by Brandon | 5 Comments

The unchanging word of almighty God is getting some corrections. I saw this earlier today on Fark, and then a new Facebook atheist friend from the Texas area also posted it.

While at face value I think that it’s pretty funny, ultimately I’m never opposed to a better, more accurate translation of any scripture. The more I know about these things the better. But what’s interesting is that this new translation, apparently slated for release in 2011, is going to drop some gender specific terms, such as replacing “sons of God” with “children of God.”

While the literal translations are in fact “sons of God,” the editors of this new version have decided, on their own, that the writers really meant children.

An earlier attempt at revising with Bible to be more PC failed, when scholars and pastors thought they went too far by changing things like, “God created man” to “God created human beings.”

The whole idea is to keep as true to the translation as possible while making it easier to understand. The problem with that though is that when you dumb things down, subtle choices of words get lost in the translation.

So while I said I’m in favor of a more accurate translation of Biblical texts, I am not in favor of making it a picture book so it’s easier for people to grasp.



Aug

1

Been a little busy lately, so sorry for the lack of posts. My job just doesn’t allow me to post during the week, but weekends such as today are slow enough that I can search for some interesting stories such as the one below.

Just another “My god is better than your god” tit for tat. Well. Tit for tat if you want to say that the alleged “desecration” of a story book written by an illiterate child sex predator calls for the destruction of almost 50 homes and the deaths of 6 people. Classic.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) — Six people were killed in Pakistan on Saturday when Muslim demonstrators set fire to houses in a Christian enclave and fighting broke out, local police said.

Pakistani human rights activists in Lahore protest on Saturday the anti-Christian violence in Gojra village.

Pakistani human rights activists in Lahore protest on Saturday the anti-Christian violence in Gojra village.

Police said Muslims were enraged over an alleged desecration of pages in the Quran at a Christian wedding last Saturday, and held a rally to protest. The Quran is the Muslim sacred text.

The Muslims went to the Christian community in Gojra City, 160 kilometers (100 miles) southwest of Lahore, and burned 40 to 50 houses. Muslims and Christians exchanged gunfire.

Police said efforts to settle the concerns with dialogue so far have failed.

On Thursday, 15 Christian houses in the region were also torched.

Pakistan is predominantly Muslim but has a small Christian community.

Meanwhile, police in Islamabad reported Friday that an al Qaeda member thought to be involved in several attacks was arrested.

Bin Yamin, a senior police official in Islamabad, identified the suspect as Rao Shakir Ali.

Police believe he was involved in strikes on targets such as the Danish Embassy, a rally of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chauhdary, police, and a hotel.

The suspect is a resident of Sargodha, which is 165 kilometers (about 100 miles) northwest of Lahore and has a house in Rawalpindi that has been used to facilitate insurgent acts, police said.



Jul

16

So there really isn’t a whole lot to say about this other than the obvious, so I’m just going to quote the entire article since it’s so short.

MINEOLA, N.Y. – A Long Island bishop who is part of a Roman Catholic splinter group has been arrested on charges he sexually abused a teenager.

Dennis McCormack of Massapequa, who’s 41, pleaded not guilty Thursday at his arraignment on charges of committing a criminal sex act and endangering the welfare of a child. He was arrested Wednesday.

McCormack describes himself on a Web site as the founder of the Society of the Immaculata. He performs Mass at a local American Legion hall.

He was ordered held on $150,000 bond. He was represented by an attorney from Legal Aid, which has a policy of not commenting on pending cases.

Nassau County Police do not believe McCormack is affiliated with the Diocese of Rockville Centre. A diocesan spokesman did not immediately return a call for comment.

via NY bishop arrested on sex charges — Newsday.com.

If only there were some benevolent being that protected the children, that could see these things before they happened and have the power to stop it…



Jun

27

Religion Continues Its Descent

June 27, 2009 by Brandon | Leave a Comment

An extensive new survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life details the religious affiliation of the American public and explores the shifts taking place in the U.S. religious landscape. Based on interviews with more than 35,000 Americans age 18 and older, the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey finds that religious affiliation in the U.S. is both very diverse and extremely fluid.

via The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey Reveals a Fluid and Diverse Pattern of Faith – Pew Research Center.

Ok, that doesn’t sound too bad for religion, right? Well it is. The survey also concludes that 16.1% of adult US citizens claim no religious affiliation at all, which is double the claim of children with no religious affiliation. 4% of that share are people who say they are either atheist or ball-less agnostics, which is more than twice as many Jews in this country.

The survey also finds that Protestantism is on the decline in the United States, and among non-immigrants, Catholicism, too is on the decline. Protestantism only makes up for 51% of the population.

This survey is similar to one that I believe I wrote about before, as it also discusses the fluid nature of faith in America. People change their religions like they change their underwear. I know Christians will skip from church to church, really without realizing the ramifications of that. Not all Protestant churches share the same beliefs, but people are more concerned with finding a place where they simply feel comfortable attending than they really care about what’s being taught from the pulpit. To me, that signifies a downturn in religiosity, as the faith itself isn’t the important factor, but instead it’s the social factor and feeling of belonging.



Apr

28

Switching Religions Is Pervasive

April 28, 2009 by Brandon | 7 Comments

In America, a study has shown that about half of the adult population has changed their religious faith at least once in their lives.

The article discussing the study is pretty cut and dry, but it has some interesting statistics in there.



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What is Fractal Wrongness?

The state of being wrong at every conceivable scale of resolution. That is, from a distance, a fractally wrong person's worldview is incorrect; and furthermore, if you zoom in on any small part of that person's worldview, that part is just as wrong as the whole worldview.

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