hmm they used to not have video ads... if you want to play, use their facebook app.

At 2/10/10 07:27 PM, Archon68 wrote:

At 2/10/10 07:12 PM, windowskiller wrote: I really don't know the difference between a Catholic and regular school.

Catholic School --> Preaches insane Catholic beliefs, forces kids into a dieing religion and/or beliefs that only their parents hold

Grammar school was a bit like that. Violent nuns and penance. High school really wasn't. Sure, we had 'religion' class, but it was more like a college theology course. Most, if not all of the teachers were normal people. The main difference was really school dress code. No piercings, facial hair or weird hair color/style... and wear your school uniform.

We still had all the fun stuff still. Alcohol, drugs, sex and school spirit.

Bonus? Every girl had to wear a catholic school girl uniform/skirt.

At 2/10/10 07:42 PM, Johnny wrote:

At 2/10/10 07:27 PM, Archon68 wrote:

At 2/10/10 07:12 PM, windowskiller wrote: I really don't know the difference between a Catholic and regular school.

Catholic School

I went to catholic school for a year, and I hated it. We had to go to our classes in lines, we had to wear annoying uniforms, religion class, mass. I hated it all.

and the worst part, if you forgot/didn't do your homework, you were sent to the office.

I find it utterly deplorable that parents have the ability to force their children into believing such things. My mom forced me to go to "Catechism" and to go to church when I was very young, and it was the absolute worst time of my life. It was only an hour every week, yet I hated it deeply and cannot even imagine the horrors of attending a full-time religious school.

Never in my entire life have I believed in the bullshit they attempted to brainwash me with. It is morally wrong to try and force such beliefs upon children, who are greatly underestimated and who actually do have opinions and beliefs and can think for themselves.

Just my two cents

Well, I hope no one flames me for this.

I'm a Muslim. I was born in Pakistan. I came to America at age 3. Almost every week Friday, I got to te mosque. Which is like church for Muslims. Ofcourse I agree with the religion. But it's not like my parents forced it down my throat. They taught me about it slowly and eventually it developed it into my head. I think when you don't have religion, you don't have a sense of direction. But let's have some less serious talk before we all get in a an argument.

FOUR LIONS

Four Lions is a film about 4 Muslim suicide bombers.

It is hilarious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdFnLGKID sE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdFnLGKID sE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdFnLGKID sE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdFnLGKID sE

Fuck the dirty Jihad!

Death to people who take religion srsly.

At 2/10/10 10:17 PM, Kirk-Cocaine wrote: FOUR LIONS

ISLAM IS FUNNY LOL

Well, if we're going to talk about movies themed on miserable countries, Wasim told me to watch City of God, and I have to say, it's great, even better than Pulp Fiction

I'm a tried and true Atheist, but I have great respect for the idea of religion as a whole. (I do have many big problems with religious establishments, but that's a different topic)

I've kind of found that although you don't need religion to be a good person (I consider myself a decent human) some people do greatly benefit from that kind of guidance, belief and/or upbringing.

Just like anything else, it's what you do with it. Some people use it for war. Some for direction. Some for piece of mind. Some for answers. Some for profit.

Depends on the person.

Even without being a member of an organized religion, I don't view religion as 'bullshit beliefs' because it really does help some people.

I'm Jewish. I used to believe that religion was more of a traditional thing(Especially in Judaism) like its just to honor your culture and beliefs of the past. I grew up very liberal surroundings so tradition was really all that religion was to me. I thought people actually taking this stuff dead seriously couldn't possibly be true and that religion was just tradition to people.
Fast forward 8 or so years and I couldn't be more wrong. ROFL

At 2/10/10 10:53 PM, Zyphonee wrote: even better than Pulp Fiction

I don't think that's even possible

Bashing religion in general is like bashing a movie or game or concept based on its fanbase for negative reasons. Or bashing a soccer (football) team's fans just because one part of that group of fans decides to riot and starts fire after a game. The same thing goes for a lot of groups out there. If people cared less about money and less about religion conversions I think more people would be more open minded about believing in deities or some higher life form/afterlife to live for.

I think nowadays people take it as seriously as Santa Claus in that adults tell children the rules based on some higher order of punishment later on. Then once they find out there's other factors that could possibly play into it, they start to doubt or disbelieve it.

Organized religion can be a good thing when you celebrate with other people. I don't mind going to church if I am not too busy (I was raised catholic so I go with family when I'm home) because looking around in the quiet church at everyone else, all the elderly people, and really thinking critically about what I want to do in life and achieve becomes all the more important. I've got a lot of critical thinking done while in church (even if i have no clue in hell what the gospel reading or homily is about by the end). And when I do pay attention to the homily, its almost like the priest reads my mind and talks about exactly what I'm having trouble with that week.

It's kinda weird because the priest will talk about real life scenarios etc, and give good advice, and then kind of slip on at the end about how praying to god is really important. Either way, getting advice and spending quiet time with others isn't so bad as long as you're not shoving it down others' throats. I can easily block out whatever I want and focus on the parts I think help the most.

At 2/10/10 11:27 PM, Magical-Zorse wrote:

At 2/10/10 10:53 PM, Zyphonee wrote: even better than Pulp Fiction

I don't think that's even possible

Wanna make a bet?

At 2/10/10 10:06 PM, SpamBurger wrote:

At 2/10/10 09:08 PM, windowskiller wrote: I think when you don't have religion, you don't have a sense of direction.

I don't wish to start a flame war, but I find that to be an extremely ignorant statement.

Screw both of you. It's pretty fucking obvious that from an external point view, life has no meaning at all. Any fool who doesn't try to pretend his life is significant know that. Significance is something you attribute to stuff in your life, by constructing an internally consistent system. ie: if I say that I have an imaginary world where all chicks want to go out with me, and I define everything in this world by my own standards, then I am the god of that world and everything is logically consistent with the rules. But the rules are only defined by me inside the world, so from an external point of view, none of those rules would apply.

Same thing with life. It's ok to say that scoring is good for me, because from a subjective standpoint, it helps me with my own goals. But talking about external meaning is completely meaningless (see wat i did there). The universe doesn't give a shit about us, he's got other stuff to do. But hey, what do you care about the universe anyway? He's just a jerk. If he doesn't want to be friends with you, you don't have to be friends with him.

Meaning doesn't exist. Sense of direction is complete bullshit. Religion is also complete bullshit, islam being no exception. In fact, it's one of the most fucked up religions imo, pretty much on par with christianity. You said you didn't want to start a flame war, but you pretty much know it's inevitable. Want me to respect your religion? Fuck you. No one has any respect for my interest in pornography, why would you ask me to respect your interest in circle-jerking with Allah and Mohammed? Screw everyone who has respect for religion. If some asshole comes to you and asks you to show your dick, you're gonna punch the motherfucker in the face. But if some theist comes up and tells you to reveal your dick to god, then suddenly you have respect for it because it's a belief that's widely accepted and respected in society (god knows fucking why)

And no, I'm not some retarded teenager who thinks it's cool to be a non-conformist. There's way too non-conformists nowadays, real non-conformism would be non-conformism to non-conformism, aka conformism. Fuck.

At 2/11/10 08:38 AM, Toast wrote: If some asshole comes to you and asks you to show your dick, you're gonna punch the motherfucker in the face. But if some theist comes up and tells you to reveal your dick to god, then suddenly you have respect for it because it's a belief that's widely accepted and respected in society (god knows fucking why)

I don't understand. What religion does that? If everyone in my church was chanting to me, 'show your dick, show your dick' i would walk out and drive home and never come back. I mean it may happen in those evangelical churches where they get all wound up in the holy spirit but I can have my own beliefs. Actually i'm pretty sure they'd be offended if someone streaked through the altar area while they were making blessings. it'd be pretty funny cus they'd want to call the cops but they wouldn't want to interrupt anything haha

terrorism, i agree is out of hand.

Just as I think it's wrong for people to push their belief systems on other people for whatever reason, I think it's equally wrong for people who don't believe to ridicule the people who do.

And the people who bitch about 'preachy people' are the ones who are generally most at fault for 'preaching' their personal beliefs to other people.

Religion is good for some people.

Insulting someone's belief system is just a dick thing to do, regardless of the particular faith or lack there of.

When it comes to religion, I will quote the great David Lynch film 'Lost Highway'...

"I like to remember things my own way".

That's it. No more. No less. No name calling.

PS.

Wasim is right about 'City of God' being an awesome movie. It is. I'm not really sure why anyone would compare it to Pulp Fiction though. They are really quite different.

At 2/10/10 07:27 PM, Archon68 wrote: Catholic School --> Preaches insane Catholic beliefs, forces kids into a dieing religion and/or beliefs that only their parents hold
Regular school --> Doesn't suck as much as Catholic school

I went to a catholic primary school, high school and sixth form college. I think I'm an atheist because of it, but they definitely didn't preach anything. In primary school they tell the stories of the bible, say how great Jesus was (in R.E., not just all the time), etc. In high school they teach about religion, but never preach and they don't expect you to believe it just because they're telling you it. In sixth form we had a class we had to take called Philosophy, Theology and Ethics - basically R.E., but more diverse. I can't name anyone who went to school with me that is a 'proper' christian (i.e. even considers going to church), most are agnostic or atheist. I think if my school did push religion on us, then maybe some people would have accepted it, but since they were so casual about it nobody really bothered.

You can't just say catholic schools < non-religious schools just because you're an atheist :/ religious schools regularly perform much better than non-religious schools in ofsted reports.. not that I'm saying that's because of them being religious, it's just a fact. The "being religious gives you morals" argument is utter rubbish - you choose what in the bible is morally just by using your own common sense, so how are you learning anything? You're born + brought up to know what is wrong and right, you don't need religion for that. And atheist people having no sense of direction in life? Ok, if you say so. What is there to do in life? Get a job, find a partner, have kids and mostly.. enjoy yourself. Where does religion come in to any of this..

---

Google Buzz? WHAT THE FUCK. That shit is awful >_<

Toast - may I point out the value of good anger music.

As for religion and direction - religion doesn't give you direction, it's a substitute. This is something Vatican heads admit to at occurrences - the Church is nothing but an ancient social service, to provide meaning to the lives of peasants with overdeveloped minds searching for meaning while they should just be working.
*Real* direction is ambition and curiosity. Once you have that, you can choose to discard religion.
This is also why you'll find me 'ungodily' efficient, from your point of view.

What I was hinting at with my previous statement is a federally funded and endorsed "real" charter school based in a virtual world that motivates and teaches kids using mechanics they're used to and embrace like buddies, virtual prizes, rankings, etc. rather than the current regime of lectures, schoolbooks, paper tests, etc.

It would be a "home school" where kids log into their world at the beginning of the day, complete some fun games that teach them stuff like history, science, math, writing, etc. Kind of sandwiched between some testing/assessment to track their progress. When their activities are completed, they're rewarded with the virtual prizes I mentioned above.

I agree with the social concerns, but more and more parents are turning to home-schooling because of the dangers of public schools, but there are ways to weave in some real-life social interaction even with a virtual school.

Anyway, would any of you have preferred that kind of school to the traditional public school or homeschool method? I guess it's kind of like the newer internet courses becoming more prevalent at the college level, but much more immersive, game-like, and comprehensive.

city of god is better than fulp piction... imo

Fulp Piction?

HEY YOU GUYS TOM FULP HAS MADE HIS OWN BRAND OF PICTIONARY.
IT IS AWESOME YOU GUYS.

Social interaction, deciding what lunch table I'm going to sit down at that day, whispering to friends in class while the teacher is talking, group work, casually talking with people in the hallways, after-school clubs and sports...and bus rides, oh man...I don't think I could have given that stuff up.

I agree though with critic in that online activities would help I think AFTER SCHOOL is out rather than as a substitute, so you can keep in touch with people and do work at the same time, rather than mixing AIM, facebook, telephone, and weird ways to show each other how to do problems like group study time at home (typing physics equations in AIM is a pain in the ass).

The dangers of public schools come with responsibility of the parents in my opinion, unless the travel to and from school or trespassers on school grounds are the dangers and not the kids.

I wish I was homeschooled but it would've been lonely probably - however I'd probably wouldn't have disliked it with a passion to the point I'd be putting a large effort to forget what I learned durring summer break.

I am thankful I never went to Catholic or any other school that worships outdated religions. However some of my schools had the odd really religious teacher who spout off God, Jesus, and Bible lectures... all of which if you'd at least read a third of the bible you'd realize this person spouting crap off most likely hasnt like 90% of Xains in the world these day. I'm not trying to bash christianity here... in fact I'll stop the subject now as I can only see myself going bad directions with this. I have a history with Christianity and personal experinces with some crazy poeple.

Religion I think now is only something that psychologically answers "Why?" in life - "Why are we here?" "Why is this all here?" "Why is it like this?" "Why isn't it like that?" "Why is there a point?" Why is a point important?" I'm not religious myself anymore. Young I believed in science and evolution over god. In my teens I was very religious and was a spiritualist for a couple of years after being a standard christian in elementary school, an atheist in middle school, and a Satanist in grade 10 and 11. lol Oh life....

Anyway I believe we have spirits and we have energies but I don't believe any religion out there I've seen - especially after researching the origins of the religions. The story with God and Jesus is taken from religions post-Christianity. A lot of religion is the same morals and epic inspirational stories told again and again with a different cover.

Religion and school shouldn't mix at all - like Police taught Drug Education for students.

What I find exciting is we live in the era of a globalized world - religion is mainstream, popular, good material for movies, books, art, culture, etc. Like a well moral and mannered world wide cult... and all in all - a fad for societies humanitarian hard on keeping people well behaved, giving them something to do, and all while doubling as a tax free scam to make money. The exciting thing I find in all this? Well when the Egyptians lived - a certain other religion held strong for over 3000 years before it vanished and eventually replaced by a new world religion. I'm excited to see what kind of batshit insane religion the next generations will cook up and have the planet praying or worshiping to within the next one to two thousand years...

Or maybe one day we'll just have a special government branch that does paper work and junk for religions, filing a new religion in every hour of every day. Thousands of growing religions in a the world - thousands of beliefs. The would put religion in a place where society may change their views on it and simply ask "Why not?".

At 2/11/10 02:11 PM, TheCriminalDuder wrote: I'm excited to see what kind of batshit insane religion the next generations will cook up

Scientology.

The idea that new religions can be created seams to defeat the point of any of them.

At 2/11/10 11:43 AM, Johnny wrote: Insulting someone's belief system is just a dick thing to do, regardless of the particular faith or lack there of.

I agree, one time I read a youtube video's comments, and it was all about a bunch of people circle jerking each other about how bad christianity is. Not that there's anything wrong with not believing in a religion, it's just that people take it a bit far. Like there was this one documentary completely based on shooting down christianity, not that there hasn't been a christian documentary based on shooting down evolution...

but I noticed that there is always one group that wants to be right. I think if we were just a bit more open minded, things would be A-Okay.

At 2/11/10 02:13 AM, Wasim wrote: city of god is better than fulp piction... imo

Bold statement :O

I'm thinking that the education system, at least in the US, is SO bad that an alternative is inevitable...I see Internet technology as the foundation for the revolution.

Many of the social experiences, at least for elementary school kids who live mostly in their own world, can be fairly well replicated with online avatars in a virtual environment...of course there is the problem of teaching kids how to use hardware and software to access those experiences, but even little kids are surprisingly good at using a computer now.

Responsible parents will also realize that getting their kids playing with other kids is easily accomplished outside of a rigid "real-life" school program, especially if their kid is able to accomplish his normal 7-8 hours of school learning in an online environment in a fraction of the time.

It all comes down to flexibility. In a brick an mortar school, everyone in the classroom is required to learn at the pace of the slowest student in the class. I could have learned everything in my 6 year elementary school education in 2 years tops if I had a custom-tailored program. What a waste of 4 years...yes, social development is important, but with true web 2.0 apps a lot of the interaction and collaboration can be done online, and the rest can be accomplished by responsible parents who get their kids involved in sports, play groups, clubs, siblings, etc.

The education revolution is coming!

The turning point for me was being in church and seeing the preist pull up in his mercedes and then noticing the massive amount of marble-work that went into building the church etc etc etc. It made me really annoyed when that donation basket came around.

At 2/11/10 04:51 PM, citricsquid wrote:

If you can replicate that, you're on to something. School isn't just about taking in information, unfortunately.

Agreed. I think technology, in a socially designed world, can provide person to person real-time teaching. But a teacher can be a lot more efficient (teaching way more kids than a 30 kid classroom), and networking lots of teachers provides lots of options for different learning styles and a ton of variety to keep you coming back, not to mention the peer<-->peer teaching in real-time to pick up the slack.