board77

breaching, beaching, it works either way.

and...

1. I see 8 dolphins. No way I can find another.

2. "Think of the dolphins!" :mrgreen: Din, I never, never realised.

3. There is no doubt at all in my mind that the censorship aspect of the TOS at TORC exists is because of Jon and ...erm... ...damn I've forgotten the other fella's name...but anyway, because of their personal religious beliefs as committed christians - of the fervent -only-as-americans-can-believe-persuasion.

I believe that in any given instance, rather than asking ones' self, "Would a 13 year old be corrupted by this?" , one should actually be asking, "Would an adult born-again Christian/fundamentalist be offended by this?". It is not explicit; and I strongly suspect that Jon and TED! :mrgreen: Hey, I remembered his name! ...anyway, I believe they themselves don't see it; they can't see beyond their own paradigm (none of us can) and genuinely believe that they are doing their best to protect the innocence of the young.

Is this an appropriate topic? Have I broken protocol? I don't know what's been said before, elsewhere, ya see...and the fundamentalist christian outlook has always grated with me on TORC, but I've also always felt that people are more or less entitled to believe any way they want - if they also want to run their messageboard in accordance with their principles - well, it's their messageboard and I can't change their principles.

If it's explicit, I have no problems with it. I think, though, that it is not explicit. It is an undercurrent.

4. Heh heh! She said explicit.

Imp, hijacking is something that has a long and noble history among many of the posters here, and was brought with them to Board 77. Thus, you can pull off almost anything in almost any thread...with the exception of RP threads. Most of these posters are even more fervent RPers than hijackers...they'll defend their hallowed halls of creativity with the fierceness of rabid dogs...

Quote:

Think of the dolphins!" Din, I never, never realised.

Now look, you will shatter my reputation.

--You and me both.

Although to their credit, Jon and Ted were pretty fair about other religions, or most of them, showing up and hanging out. The witches and pagans guild was never harassed, for example.

Axordil wrote:

Although to their credit, Jon and Ted were pretty fair about other religions...

Yes, absolutely to their credit! As I said, I had no objection at any time that they wished to run the MB in such a way that their values were not compromised - they were above board in stating that and I respect that.

I admit, though, that as a non-Christian the missionary zeal which infuses so many of those who embrace the more fundamentalist Christian sects grates on me. I'm upfront about that. It's nothing to do with me what people believe as long as they don't want to paint the world in their colours.

[quote="Impenitent]It's nothing to do with me what people believe as long as they don't want to paint the world in their colours.[/quote]

Hear, hear Imp! I've never liked those who think it's their duty to tell others the way that they should live.

Yes, Eruname and that makes all the difference with people who believe like you and Rodia, and other people who try to convert... I respect, and sometimes even envy believe, but I get nuts when someone tries to tell me how I have to think.

And I feel so much better with it on this board than I ever felt on TORC(sorry just had to say it).

It has also allowed me to see more of some people and you, Eru, are one of them, and I'm happy about it.

End of love declaration to b77.

Well, it's always tough. As a Christian, seeing God removed from anything isn't a nice thing for me. The idea of removing God from the American Pledge, for example, while sensible, seems like a bad idea for me- because I believe that we all need God in our lives. (this is really simplifying.) On the other hand, I know not everyone believes....but I think they should. Know what I mean? I can't say to myself, yeah, I don't care that my best friend doesn't believe in God, or hates him, or whatever. I might not tell that friend, out of respect for his choice, but what I believe doesn't change. So...I'm saying, it's not always easy to appear tolerant and non-invasive when you're religious. It means a huge compromise most of the time.

That same way, I wouldn't mind at all if TORC was based on Christian ideas. How could I mind? I'm Christian!

But the trick here is, something doesn't have to be Christian to still fit in with Christianity's ideals. Many atheists I know are better examples of good Christians than I ever hope to be.

I mean, the basic rules of Christianity are what most people, religious or not, see as the basic rules of everyday life.

As long as you know where the line is drawn, of course.

Rabid zealot attempts at conversion have never helped the faith ( I'm a Christian also, though I'm a quite low-profile one for reasons I've posted on TORC recently ).

But Ro's right, the actual things the Christian life is by and large about living a good life, not a religious one. If I'm wording this right

Yep. Although it's not enough...well, if you declare yourself a Christian, you have to take some responsibility, damnit. It's twice as bad if I don't go to Church, than if someone who isn't even Christian doesn't.

Rodia wrote:

As a Christian, seeing God removed from anything isn't a nice thing for me.

I never knew that about you, Ro! I think it's a real testament to your persons that you haven't shoved it down anyone's throat nor made them feel bad about perhaps having different views.

I don't really want to say any more on this because it's something I don't really know how to explain or what my solution is, but I don't necessarily think that if people are Christians they should be quiet about it. I mean, it's like being a closet Christian. haha I guess I just find that a lot of religious people who talk about their beliefs a lot, seem to make others around them feel bad or alienated for not being part of the group. Sometimes I feel like that about the TORC folks because though I consider myself a Christian, I don't shove it down people's throats. I like to think it's because I am open-minded and tolerant, rather than a bad Christian.

The things I let offend me are mostly conflicting with my morals and sensibilities rather than religious beliefs. I mean, I'm not a feminist, but I find a lot of sexism in commercials and in what people say. I'm not an animal right's activist, but I can't stomach those videos that show animals being harmed. I am a Christian, but I swear and don't go to church and don't really stand up when someone has offended my religion. I understand why some people do stand up for their beliefs, whether its a religious one or a moral one, but I guess I am usually put off by the ones that do. I don't want to say that they should be quiet, it just seems that the loudest ones are the people trying to forcibly convert everyone else, and that is where I push back.

:ask:

I dunno. lol




*E*

Ro - ouchie! I don't go to church currently - my church used to be the political mouthpiece of the government, and it is now taking me a time to trust "formal" religion again.

I'm twice as bad as a atheist then, in your definition, and quite a bit worse than you

I take responsibility for living out the guidelines of my faith as best I can, but I just can't practice my religion formally. I don't fit in - I'm in my twenties and still single, and that equals being a leper in the Afrikaans church community

And I swear too, and love crass humour and sexual jokes and references. But I severely dislike having my God made the butt end of any jokes, and I don't say "OMG" for that reason.

As confused as *E* in other words

Griffon64 wrote:

I'm in my twenties and still single, and that equals being a leper in the Afrikaans church community

Note to self: avoid South Africa.




*E*

The English are a lot better, *E*, only the Afrikaans community still hold beliefs that you have to be married in order to be validated in society and to mean anything

It's probably not too bad - I already know I'm worthless. <--- lmao




*E*

Nonsense! How else could you keep putting your two cents in this thread?

Bumping an old thread with my story of the dolphins...

I'd heard about this picture too, and thought I'd experiment w/ my daughters. I told my hubby about it and showed it to him, he of course saw no dolphins. We decided we didn't want to show it to our 9-year old. (2 nights ago, I'm watching a Simpsons re-run w/ her and her 19-year old sister. Homer's doctor recommends they go to Florida, and holds up a map. Homer: "Florida?? Aw, that's America's wang!!" Jess laughs and so does Ellie. I asked her, "do you know what a wang is?" "No," she answered. She laughed because we did. I explained that it's slang for a man's "private part", then she really laughed.)

Anyhoo, I thought I'd test Rebecca. Called her up to look at it. She comes in and says, "Oh, look at the dolphins." Of course, I don't believe for a minute that she's so innocent, though she refuses to admit anything, so I was quite shocked! She's going to be 22! No way she sees dolphins!!

Turns out she'd heard me describe the picture to her dad and knew exactly what to say. Damn! I thought I'd had her.

I couldn't even find the dolphins until Steve showed me where they were

I can't even look at the picture long enough to see dolphins. It's like I have a mental censor in my head, and my eyes look away.

Probably something to do with my youth, and skinny-dipping often with family and neighbors in a creek. Nudity is NOT to be stared at- so my eyes automatically flick aside when I encounter it.

In other words, it would be bad manners for me to look at a nude person any longer than I would a clothed person- and 100 times worse to stare. And somehow, that translates to pictures, too.

Maybe that's it, I don't always understand me.
All I know is that to stare at that pic makes me uncomfortable, like I'm breaking a rule or something.

What Dolphins??

I can usually catch the alternate images in the double-images thingies... but this time:

What Dolphins?