Are you giving up anything for Lent?

[DemPGH]

Well no, but if I were religious I wouldn't. I live a healthy lifestyle, so there's no reason. Don't smoke, cut back on coffee, in the past cut out red meat completely, cut out soda completely, exercise daily, and so on. Read in Men's Health a while back that red wine in modest quantities, which is what I consume, is good for you too. If a person gives up anything it should be for health reasons - I mean a change in lifestyle - not because a Medieval pope whose concern was social control said it would be in one's best spiritual interest to do so.

[DemPGH]

Well no, but if I were religious I wouldn't. I live a healthy lifestyle, so there's no reason. Don't smoke, cut back on coffee, in the past cut out red meat completely, cut out soda completely, exercise daily, and so on. Read in Men's Health a while back that red wine in modest quantities, which is what I consume, is good for you too. If a person gives up anything it should be for health reasons - I mean a change in lifestyle - not because a Medieval pope whose concern was social control said it would be in one's best spiritual interest to do so.

You really need to get over yourself.

Breaking news: A stick of dynamite calls gunpowder explosive.

I would normally ignore this kind of thing, of course, because it's beneath intelligence, but sometimes the drama queen stuff goes on and on, spreading, and it gets hard to ignore when it's not contained to one spot, like the Forum Community board. You, for instance, troll, then calls others a troll. You demean with one-line, one-sentence remarks literally on a continuous basis, then tell others to get over themselves. It's really endless. And I'm going to just stop there. Maybe adult conversation and differing points of view are hard for you?

Whatever, man. Whatever. That's already far too much attention given to you.

[DemPGH]

Breaking news: A stick of dynamite calls gunpowder explosive.

I would normally ignore this kind of thing, of course, because it's beneath intelligence, but sometimes the drama queen stuff goes on and on, spreading, and it gets hard to ignore when it's not contained to one spot, like the Forum Community board. You, for instance, troll, then calls others a troll. You demean with one-line, one-sentence remarks literally on a continuous basis, then tell others to get over themselves. It's really endless. And I'm going to just stop there. Maybe adult conversation and differing points of view are hard for you?

Whatever, man. Whatever. That's already far too much attention given to you.

I actually have a(n) (un)healthily low opinion of myself, but whatever.

You're missing the point, as you have a habit of doing. Your post was self-satisfied drivel designed to demonstrate your 'rational' superiority over all those dimwits out there who find meaning in ritual, tradition and ceremony. It was arrogant and unpleasant. And pointless. A great big FYCK YOU DAD!!!!!!!!111 with no content whatsoever. You could have left things at 'well no' and, frankly, should have done.

That's all.

I apologise if the above post is even nastier than normal. I have had a ghastly day (for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with the latest forum tehdrama, I should note) and am in a bad mood. I just find that particular attitude so aggressively dull sometimes. That's all.

I'm sorry you blew this up, so I am done after this reply. 

Talk about missing the point, that's not what I said. I'll recap: I made a remark about the Medieval tradition of Lent being couched in social control after making the suggestion that it is not necessary to make "sacrifices" if there is no tangible benefit to doing so. If you find THAT offensive enough to warrant a tantrum despite how your day went, I might suggest the self-help section.

If faith or tradition cannot be challenged, and warrant your response when they are, on what philosophical grounds do faith and tradition then stand? (rhetorical question)

Now what I'd like for you to do in the future is just try to converse with people or refute what people say, but you needn't be obnoxious unless you're looking for a reason to be. You can always just present your own point of view, even if it differs. That's why many of us enjoy coming here. Otherwise, you only come off this way:

[DemPGH]

DemPGH, who is this supposed medieval pope who invented a tradition of Lenten fast that predates the medieval era, and is practiced by Asian and African churches that were never under the authority of the bishop of Rome?

Okay, I'll give you some information and a citation. And you're more than free to accept or reject, but it's fairly obvious that the problems that a few people have had and do have do not center on me being arrogant, self-worshiping, etc., but rather their own evident hyper sensitivity combined with cognitive dissonance and maybe some gaps in knowledge. Maybe maturity as well. Otherwise, they would quite simply just present an argument, because I know a number of conservative Protestants who are fully capable of an open conversation about religion without losing it or having a crisis. At any rate. . .

1) Lent is not in the Bible, and has clear Pagan origins
2) Lent as we have it was not established until the middle 4th century
3) Pope Gregory invented Ash Wednesday
4) Rules and traditions regarding Lent changed all through the middle ages as determined by whoever was pope and who got to make the rules under claims of "infallibility."
5) As a side note, Bart Ehrman says that the Bible as we have it now was not considered authoritative until around 370.  (The Lost Scriptures) This has allowed me to argue that Constantine and those after him invented the religion of Christianity. Not the original message, now, but rather the religion. I make a distinction there.

http://www.cogwriter.com/lent.htm

That's all I was referring to! Nothing really even controversial there. Definitely not worth having an epileptic over.