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What's going on with Epik and Rob Monster?

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I'm catching the tail end of this, seems to be some kind of controversy...

https://domaingang.com/domain-news/rob-monster-off-twitter-after-christchurch-massacre-controversy/

Must be something odd to evoke this type of a response from one of our members.

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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
Wow, spoken like a textbook Jesuit.

There is nothing allegorical about: "Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out." The Hebrew source text makes that clear.

There is nothing wrong with reading non-Canonical texts just like there is nothing wrong with the secular history of Josephus. I don't rely on it for doctrine but for historical data points. They are pieces of the puzzle.

As for the Canon, who set the Canon? Let's see after Constantine determined in 325 that he could no longer destroy Christianity, he paganized it and forced everyone to be Catholic.

And then the bookburning began, and went full psycho in the Dark Ages. The Catholics never stopped burning Bibles nor adulterating them with nonsense like Transubstantiation, Marian worship, induldgences and confession to human confessors -- a profession initially dominated by .... JESUITS.

Ironically it was the Council of Laodicea that gave us "66 books", which conveniently omitted Revelation which calls it the Laodicean church for being lukewarm and useless.

I am not a Jesuit. Nor a Catholic.

However, I am surprised that your Bible translation of choice it the King James Version (KJV) since you are into conspiracy theories and anti-establishment. KJV was commissioned by King James VI to be the official Bible of the Church of England. The translators had only a few hundred manuscripts available vs thousands that became available over the centuries since. Hence, KJV is one of the least accurate translations, written in English that is no longer used or understandable, Catholic, and as establishment as it gets.

Finally,

Let us know when you find one that breathes fire. They used to be on the earth.

Dinosaurs did not breathe fire. So are you now saying the there were dragons back then like in the Game of Thrones?

Wow.
 
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I am not a Jesuit. Nor a Catholic.

However, I am surprised that your Bible translation of choice is the King James Version (KJV)

The KJV 1611 is fine and has saved untold millions. However, if you know the history of the KJV translation, you know that Sir Francis Bacon, the international man of mystery, played a pivotal role there.

The essential truth of the Gospel is absolutely all there in the KJV, NIV, and many other translations. However, there is subtlety that is lost or obscured in some translations.

A good example is the word "Easter" which appears once in Acts 12:4 in the KJV but is actually Passover in the source text. KJV-only hardliners insist that the translators were inspired for which I am skeptical.

As for my go-to translation, I usually link to the BlueLetterBible.org site, which shows the paleo-Hebrew for the Masoretic OT, and the Greek Interlinear NT.



I am not a Jesuit. Nor a Catholic.

Dinosaurs did not breathe fire. So are you now saying the there were dragons back then like in the Game of Thrones?

Wow.

The word "dinosaurs" first appears in 1842 when it was coined by paleontologist Richard Owen. The term "Dinosaur" never existed before. That should tell you something right there.

I have more confidence in the existence of a fire-breathing Leviathan (Job 41) than I do in the artist rendering of dinosaurs.

You might ask why? Because the Bible is a witness. In a court of law, it would be a written testimony, regardless of whether someone believes it was God-inspired.

As for the paleontologists, and other professions, who digs up bones, stitch them together, and speculate as to what they represent, Chuck Missler explains it well here:

 
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The Namejet shill bidder scandal thread was 68 pages, people lost real money and this is one is already at 60 pages, and yet nobody lost any money.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/bidding-on-your-own-names-at-namejet.1030874/

True, but this thread has entertainment value and a decent amount of intellectually useful content for those who are trying to make sense of the world. As for "scandal", not so much.

Vice.com published a lovely hit piece today though:

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gy4yg9/the-far-right-has-found-a-web-host-savior

Clearly the mainstream media has not given up on vilifying Epik for protecting lawful expression as protected by the US constitution.

As it turns out, Vice.com just got $250 million from George Soros:

https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/vice-media-250-million-debt-funding-george-soros-1203205076/

That should fund a lot of convincing propaganda in the coming year and pay off a few folks for selling their souls in exchange for sacrificing journalistic integrity. So, be forewarned there: Vice.com has an agenda.
 
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True, but this thread has entertainment value and a decent amount of intellectually useful content for those who are trying to make sense of the world. As for "scandal", not so much.

So I see your links, glad they are actually discovering they cannot silence based on a mob. "Violent content"- yeah like what sort of garbage does Hollywood and Quentin Tarantino produce and sell? Violent trash media, films and movies.

"Epik’s CEO is a man named Rob Monster. When asked why the company hosts violent content, he told Motherboard in an email that the company is committed to protecting free speech."

I know you are having fun with it, it's free speech of course. I just find it intriguing people arguing over emotional issues versus logic issues. I 100% respect your right to believe in a God and Christianity and what you do to spread the word. Personally, and have no interest in debating emotional beliefs really with anyone other than those that have a base on logic. Logic states the USA was born on Judeo Christian concepts, which I respect and agree with. Other religions are free to be practiced in the USA as long as they do not trample on others (IE: Sharia). I am interested in secular intellectuals and their writing- like the late Christopher Hitchens- which you will not agree with, but he certainly is well studied about many topics.

Soros is a huge POS, his wealth was made on a game- not creating any products or services. So are the Clinton and Bush Crime families- they did very little productive to create their wealth. Kennedy's too, the entire clan was founded on illegal activity.

More power to you for being the only Registrar willing to protect free speech. I am glad that the idiocy of the deplatforming lynch mob will not prevail, until you sell your business- then perhaps nobody will.
 
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So I see your links, glad they are actually discovering they cannot silence based on a mob. "Violent content"- yeah like what sort of garbage does Hollywood and Quentin Tarantino produce and sell? Violent trash media, films and movies.

"Epik’s CEO is a man named Rob Monster. When asked why the company hosts violent content, he told Motherboard in an email that the company is committed to protecting free speech."

I know you are having fun with it, it's free speech of course. I just find it intriguing people arguing over emotional issues versus logic issues. I 100% respect your right to believe in a God and Christianity and what you do to spread the word. Personally, and have no interest in debating emotional beliefs really with anyone other than those that have a base on logic. Logic states the USA was born on Judeo Christian concepts, which I respect and agree with. Other religions are free to be practiced in the USA as long as they do not trample on others (IE: Sharia). I am interested in secular intellectuals and their writing- like the late Christopher Hitchens- which you will not agree with, but he certainly is well studied about many topics.

Soros is a huge POS, his wealth was made on a game- not creating any products or services. So are the Clinton and Bush Crime families- they did very little productive to create their wealth. Kennedy's too, the entire clan was founded on illegal activity.

More power to you for being the only Registrar willing to protect free speech. I am glad that the idiocy of the de-platforming lynch mob will not prevail, until you sell your business- then perhaps nobody will.

To be fair, when it comes to faith topics, I am not going to proselytize. I will simply illustrate where needed that people who believe the Bible to be true are not irrational fairy worshippers.

As for protecting free speech in the digital age, we are not the only one. That said, we might be the only one with strength of resolve.
 
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People have criticized me for defending Rob Monster – as if defending someone against particular accusations implies agreement with that person's position in its totality; as if defending someone against X were incompatible with criticizing them for Y; as if all we human beings are capable of is joining 1 of 2 opposing teams, pro-someone or anti-someone, and then choosing to believe only what portrays them as a hero or as a villain.

But a decent respect for the facts often requires defending people we disagree with. Take, for example, this sloppy smear:

really ???
I can't believe my eyes

you are citing Joseph Goebbels?
to prove you are right?

you are supporting right-wing propaganda
and citing Joseph Goebbels

but you are a true Christian
and you love everybody

For heaven's sake!

Once again, the insinuation is that Rob Monster is a Nazi. What is the "evidence" this time? The fact that Rob quoted Goebbels, who was Hitler's antisemitic Minister of Propaganda. But look at the actual post:

https://www.namepros.com/threads/wh...-and-rob-monster.1128748/page-59#post-7227111

As you can see, Rob simultaneously published 2 quotations – 1 from Goebbels, yes, but the other from Ronald Reagan's CIA Director. Both quotes, as presented, endorse the idea that the State does and should lie to the general public through an ongoing disinformation campaign. Based on the context as well as the content of the quotations themselves, it is OBVIOUS that Rob is presenting both Goebbels and the CIA Director as specimens of what he OPPOSES.

Certainly there are neo-Nazis who would quote Goebbels approvingly. But Rob clearly quoted Goebbels as an example of what the enemy is up to (from Rob's point of view), as proof that the State engages in widespread propaganda. From that, it is unreasonable and patently unfair to infer that Rob is a neo-Nazi. One mustn't be so deliberately obtuse as to see Rob quoting a Nazi and conclude as a knee-jerk reaction that Rob agrees with Nazism – nor to follow the fallacious syllogism that because (A) neo-Nazis are right-wing and (B) Rob Monster is right-wing, therefore (C) Rob Monster is a neo-Nazi.

Evidently, @frank-germany, who has boasted repeatedly that he doesn't bother to read these posts, is still only skimming. Either that or he acted in bad faith to deliberately invert the meaning of Rob's post and portray Rob as a Nazi.

If Rob were getting good advice, someone would warn him not to post quotes from Nazis – not even if he does so in order to present them as the enemy. Why not? Because there will be people like @frank-germany who are so eager to cast Rob as a neo-Nazi that they will – whether foolishly or purposely – misinterpret his intent. Out of context, this can appear in a news story phrased as follows: "Rob Monster, who quotes Goebbels to justify his worldview about the deep state, recently welcomed Gab.com, famous for its neo-Nazi members, to Epik." Literally true but utterly, utterly misleading.

Ever since Gab.com was transferred to Epik, Rob Monster has been vilified as everything from an antisemite to an outright Nazi. That distorted portrait is very convenient for the people who are opposed to Epik allowing Gab.com to remain registered because it reduces the complex issues of free speech, due process, de-platforming, and registrar neutrality to a simpleminded decision of pro-Nazi or anti-Nazi.

And that is why I defend Rob Monster. I'm defending Rob (as I'd defend anyone) from accusations that seem to be factually untrue. And I'm also defending Rob's decision (which I agree with) to stand up to extra-legal censorship pressure by allowing a domain name to continue to be registered as long as it is not unlawfully engaged. If no registrars stand up to pressure in that way, then the web ceases to be an open forum for communication.

At the same time, Rob and I have disagreed. In particular, I wanted Epik to remain a mainstream brand and behave as a purely neutral / agnostic registrar. So I objected to any promotion by Epik of controversial websites, recommended that Epik pursue a strategy that would not be aligned with any political ideology or cater to the needs of a minority of overtly polemical customers, and urged Rob personally to avoid controversial politics.

Though I personally have no love for alt-right websites like Gab or InfoWars (to put it mildly), it seems to me that registrars ought to treat domains equally and impartially, regardless of whether the registrar personnel like or loathe the content and the customer. Ideally, there would be no social trend driving controversial domains away from de-platforming elsewhere and toward Epik. As a society, we should have faith that bad ideas are defeated not through suppression but through communication. Valid arguments are naturally persuasive. If instead of attempting to persuade our opponents, we aim to shut them up or shut them down, then they will naturally (if erroneously) conclude that we lack valid arguments and that they, the persecuted, must therefore be right.

It is disappointing that yet another article in the mainstream press has chosen to pillory Epik instead of tempering criticism by doing justice to complex issues: de-platforming, free speech, and the role of domain registrars in supporting an open web. This time it's Vice:

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gy4yg9/the-far-right-has-found-a-web-host-savior

During the Trump era in which reputable journalism is attacked as "fake news", it's particularly vexing that I (a progressive) can't find a single example of a mainstream article written about Epik that is unbiased or well researched. Look at how the Vice author lazily throws around pejoratives: "a little-known domain registrar called Epik". Really? How many domain registrars can the author list? GoDaddy and ... crickets. Of course, there is the typical confusion between registrars and web hosts. Or look at how the author recycles an earlier hit piece by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which begins with a picture of Rob Monster against a menacing red background and only gets worse from there. Or consider how the author presents this quotation overtly hostile to Epik without any attempt to analyze or counterbalance or even comment:

"As a registrar, Epik plays an important role in the online infrastructure necessary to keep far right extremists online".

No kidding. All domain registrars, by definition, "play an important role in the online infrastructure necessary to keep [ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING] online". Any halfway credible journalist should be able to understand that Epik's role as a registrar is broader than "far right extremists". Those extremists just happen to be the canary in the coal mine. These days, they are the first to go when censorship replaces free speech as a goal. And the author ought to be self-aware enough to realize that the statement quoted above takes for granted, as an unquestioned axiom, that certain kinds of views – in this case, "far right extremists" – ought to be banished utterly from the web.

An objective journalist would attempt to present both sides of the argument. That doesn't mean portraying the conflict as Nazis versus nice people or "far right extremists" versus moderates and progressives. No, it means questioning that assumption. The real conflict here – and a much more challenging issue to cope with for journalists as for registrars – is between those who believe in censorship and those don't. The agenda implicit in the quotation above (and practiced by actual de-platforming campaigns) can be summarized as follows:
  • Certain opinions ought to be banished utterly from the web
  • Forums that permit those opinions also ought to be banished utterly from the web
  • Our online infrastructure itself – including payment providers, web hosts, and domain registrars – ought to be biased to exclude those opinions as well as publishers that permit those opinions
  • Companies that are part of this online infrastructure should be coerced or pressured to withhold service to any website that permits those opinions
Many people think so. I don't. While it may be fair to criticize Epik or Rob Monster, a real journalist would at least acknowledge that there is legitimate principled disagreement about the desirability of de-platforming.

Sadly, it seems that even mainstream journalists are more interested in condemning those they disagree with than examining the principles and questions involved in a controversial issue. In their haste to condemn Epik, they can't be bothered even to learn the difference between a domain registrar and a web host, just as @frank-germany couldn't be bothered to read 1 NamePros post thoroughly or fairly. Rather than present the most coherent case for both sides of a debate, they recycle old hit pieces and string together hostile or unflattering quotes.

Given Epik's status as a safe haven for domains under threat of de-platforming, there is a lot of ill will directed toward Epik by those who hate the content of those domains and who haven't yet grappled with the social consequences of censorship. Rob has done himself no favors by airing his own controversial opinions. Nor by chatting with extremists earlier. It is no slight to say that Rob is candid and ingenuous. He engages with others eagerly and speaks for himself. This trait has been exploited by unsympathetic writers such as the author of the SPLC article. And one hit piece becomes the basis of later lazier articles, which echo it and cite it. Even when Rob quotes Goebbels as an example of what he opposes, there are people ready and waiting to misread that as proof that Rob is a Nazi.

That's not to say that Rob can't benefit from some criticism. I'm not going to waste my time debating whether the earth is flat or whether Biblical prophets were the coevals of dinosaurs. Where my perspective already matches the consensus, any remark by me would be redundant. So I prefer to comment only when I'm in the minority or when nobody agrees with me.

One thing I would mention: The right-wing paranoia about George Soros being a sinister puppet master who controls the media and plots against mankind – that narrative has a rancid pedigree. It is a continuation of centuries-old antisemitism, which has invariably claimed that wealthy jews are secretly plotting to control the world. Rob alluded to Soros funding Vice magazine, which published the article about Epik that I just criticized. Does that mean that Rob is antisemitic? No. Clearly, Rob is an equal opportunity believer in conspiracies – doubting that Islamic terrorists were behind 9/11 and doubting the shape of the earth itself. In any case, like Hilary Clinton, George Soros is one of the favorite bogeymen of Fox News and the right-wing media generally. Roughly half the USA is terrified of his philanthropy. And, while there are certainly antisemitic undertones to the George Soros myth, it would hardly be fair to characterize half the country as antisemitic. No, this particular conspiracy theory spread widely through conduits carved by more explicitly antisemitic conspiracy theories long ago. Those who continue to spread it are not necessarily aware of its antisemitic underpinnings.

Nonetheless, if I were you, Rob, I would recommend not dilating overmuch on the evil influence of George Soros, customary though that topic is even on mainstream right-wing venues like Fox News. Given the hostility toward Epik and the prior accusations of antisemitism, there is no need to provide additional ammunition. If people want to complain about billionaires who control the media and who pull strings to influence world politics on a grand scale, they need look no further than Rupert Murdoch. In his case, there was no need for secret plots. He has operated in the open for decades.

Antisemitic and anti-muslim rhetoric leads to white-supremacist violence. It's a very real problem. At the same time, de-platforming is itself a very real issue that needs to be debated fairly. Both the impetus toward censorship and the bigotry people want to censor are symptoms of an increasingly polarized and dysfunctional society.
 
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No, Alex jones, none of us will sell you a powerful gun, because you've proven you're a lunatic

'Freedom' Warrior company: No he has right to own it, we will give it to him
If we don't give it to him, it would set a dangerous precedent, probably causing others who are less crazy to lose access to guns
And he may just go build his own powerful gun so might as well let him have this
If he is rejected by us all, he may become more radical than if you had just given him the damn gun
You are crazy authoritarians trying to keep guns out of lunatic hands for no good reason
We will stand up for what is right
 
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"By the way, I also think dragons were real'
 
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LOL. This thread is still going. HILARIOUS! This is great stuff!!!! I wish I had time to read it all and get involved. Dragons, flat earth, sir fancis bacon, KJV, jesuits...these are some of my favorite things...

@Rob Monster and I have had our disagreements but I gotta say he is dropping some 1.2 megaton truth bombs on you all, for fun. I don't agree with all but he is dropping them come what may. Gotta respect that. Not exactly good for business. Maybe he isn't just another opportunistic grifter.
 
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LOL. This thread is still going. HILARIOUS! This is great stuff!!!! I wish I had time to read it all and get involved. Dragons, flat earth, sir francis bacon, KJV, jesuits...these are some of my favorite things...

@Rob Monster and I have had our disagreements but I gotta say he is dropping some 1.2 megaton truth bombs on you all, for fun. I don't agree with all but he is dropping them come what may. Gotta respect that. Not exactly good for business. Maybe he isn't just another opportunistic grifter.

As for the business side of things, my personal treasures are in heaven. As much as I like some of the creature comforts that money can buy, spending eternity in the company of saved souls is a way better deal.

As for truth bombs, as stated elsewhere, I don't profess to have all the answers. I do have questions and am further along than most in seeking satisfactory answers. Besides, most folks won't spend the time.
 
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As for the business side of things, my personal treasures are in heaven. As much as I like some of the creature comforts that money can buy, spending eternity in the company of saved souls is a way better deal.

As for truth bombs, as stated elsewhere, I don't profess to have all the answers. I do have questions and am further along than most in seeking satisfactory answers. Besides, most folks won't spend the time.

Why do religious types always yearn for death and destruction so much? They want us all to die, for this world to come to an end - the absolute need for things to be over. The Rapture, Endtimes - Christian eschatology is full of this stuff. They seemingly love death more than we love life.
 
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Why do religious types always yearn for death and destruction so much? They want us all to die, for this world to come to an end - the absolute need for things to be over. They love death more than we love life.

Religion poisons everything.

I believe you are mistaken. You are describing nihilism. There are nihilists who claim to be Christians. However, if someone is truly misanthrope, I would question their "Christian" doctrine and spiritual maturity.

I spoke to one such guy for more than an hour this week via phone and reminded him very specifically that Christians are not antinomian, and are not anarchists. Per Romans 13, Christians are to respect the law and acknowledge that it is God who allows certain leaders to come into power. This guy, an Irish polyglot, apparently had a long history of meting out extra-judicial justice, something I would not condone. He made it clear that there were many more like him, although this person was particularly talented in armaments and means of destruction and was known to be on various government watch-lists.

Now, that being said, there is a time, quite possibly on the not-so-distant horizon, where prophecy will be fulfilled. With that fulfillment of prophecy, a lot of death is expected though more of this death from God's judgement than from wars or persecution of any particular group. We have all seen the impact of large tsunamis. This will be orders of magnitude more destructive.

There is ultimately a big difference between "Not fearing death" and "Wanting death". I don't fear death, but don't want death on anyone. I believe every life is precious, and I believe very few are beyond redemption, e.g. the murderous Saul of Tarsus, who went on to become Paul, the most productive Apostle of all time.

Free speech should never be treated as permission to be lawless. Nihilists and Anarchists are not Civil rights advocates -- they are virtue-signaling sociopaths.

Some related teaching here:

https://kenraggio.blogspot.com/2014...WVw-YNhWA-Nqs8mgE-t8_g_7NXhp7_fcpW6TgN9_HlQ6A
 
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There is ultimately a big difference between "Not fearing death" and "Wanting death". I don't fear death, but don't want death on anyone.

Well said.

Death holds no fear for me either and although that 'release' will lead to something much better, I am not ready to leave this planet/plane yet (otherwise I would not still be buying domains!).There are still more sunsets over the ocean to see and more In-n-Out burgers to consume. :xf.smile:
 
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Well said.

Death holds no fear for me either and although that 'release' will lead to something much better, I am not ready to leave this planet/plane yet (otherwise I would not still be buying domains!).There are still more sunsets over the ocean to see and more In-n-Out burgers to consume. :xf.smile:

But ultimately you're hopeful the rapture will come at some point? Which will essentially bring death and destruction on a scale unimaginable? Seems pretty evil...

And what of the humans that were around for the 188,000 years prior to the world's main religions? Do they get a free pass? Does Mr Caveman get damned, or will he be able to appeal on the grounds of procedual irregularities?
 
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But ultimately you're hopeful the rapture will come at some point?

Calm down...don't get over excited. I did a careful re-read of what I posted and although my vision is a bit strained due to being on the magic box (computer) all day, I fail to see where I mention 'rapture' or refer to it in any way.

Please take a moment and see if you can find what I can not.
 
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Calm down...don't get over excited. I did a careful re-read of what I posted and although my vision is a bit strained due to being on the magic box (computer) all day, I fail to see where I mention 'rapture' or refer to it in any way.

Please take a moment and see if you can find what I can not.

You didn't, but I was under the impression you followed a religion that taught that the rapture would eventually happen. Am I mistaken?

Although given the Bible supports slavery (both old and new testaments) the rapture is probably just one of many ethically dubious bits.
 
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture

"The rapture is an eschatological concept of certain Christians, particularly within branches of North American evangelicalism, consisting of an end time event when all Christian believers who are alive will rise along with the resurrected dead believers into Heaven and join Christ.[1][2] Some adherents believe this event is predicted and described in Paul's First Epistle to the Thessalonians in the Bible,[3] where he uses the Greek harpazo (ἁρπάζω), meaning to snatch away or seize."

It would take me hours, maybe days, to pull through the tangle that a word that does not appear in the Christian bible has caused.

What I believe is that we all are comprised of more than just the physical body that moves around on planet Earth. All life comes to an end and what happens to the energy/soul is the big question...I believe it moves on to another level of existence.

I've got no insight or extra understanding of what happens or will happen in the future, but I do believe the planet will come to an end...violently is more likely than not (war, asteroid strike, environmental destruction).

As far a my religion goes, I am a Christian but I do not put much mental effort into what/how/where/when the ultimate 'end' of life here will happen as I am relatively sure I will have moved on by then.
 
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture

"The rapture is an eschatological concept of certain Christians, particularly within branches of North American evangelicalism, consisting of an end time event when all Christian believers who are alive will rise along with the resurrected dead believers into Heaven and join Christ.[1][2] Some adherents believe this event is predicted and described in Paul's First Epistle to the Thessalonians in the Bible,[3] where he uses the Greek harpazo (ἁρπάζω), meaning to snatch away or seize."

It would take me hours, maybe days, to pull through the tangle that a word that does not appear in the Christian bible has caused.

What I believe is that we all are comprised of more than just the physical body that moves around on planet Earth. All life comes to an end and what happens to the energy/soul is the big question...I believe it moves on to another level of existence.

I've got no insight or extra understanding of what happens or will happen in the future, but I do believe the planet will come to an end...violently is more likely than not (war, asteroid strike, environmental destruction).

As far a my religion goes, I am a Christian but I do not put much mental effort into what/how/where/when the ultimate 'end' of life here will happen as I am relatively sure I will have moved on by then.

you are breathing

whatelse do you need to know?
 
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture

"The rapture is an eschatological concept of certain Christians, particularly within branches of North American evangelicalism, consisting of an end time event when all Christian believers who are alive will rise along with the resurrected dead believers into Heaven and join Christ.[1][2] Some adherents believe this event is predicted and described in Paul's First Epistle to the Thessalonians in the Bible,[3] where he uses the Greek harpazo (ἁρπάζω), meaning to snatch away or seize."

It would take me hours, maybe days, to pull through the tangle that a word that does not appear in the Christian bible has caused.

What I believe is that we all are comprised of more than just the physical body that moves around on planet Earth. All life comes to an end and what happens to the energy/soul is the big question...I believe it moves on to another level of existence.

I've got no insight or extra understanding of what happens or will happen in the future, but I do believe the planet will come to an end...violently is more likely than not (war, asteroid strike, environmental destruction).

As far a my religion goes, I am a Christian but I do not put much mental effort into what/how/where/when the ultimate 'end' of life here will happen as I am relatively sure I will have moved on by then.

It's mentioned loads in the bible, just not with the name Rapture.

Thessalonians 4:16-18
Corinthians 15:52-53
Revelation 14:4
Matthew 5:13-16

But since people seem to take an À la carte approach to their faith, I guess you can just ignore the awkward parts.

Thankfully there's a growing number of us atheists that have read the source material and call it out for its hypocrisy.

"We keep on being told that religion, whatever its imperfections, at least instills morality. On every side, there is conclusive evidence that the contrary is the case and that faith causes people to be more mean, more selfish, and perhaps above all, more stupid." - Christopher Hitchens
 
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It's mentioned loads in the bible, just not with the name Rapture.

Thessalonians 4:16-18
Corinthians 15:52-53
Revelation 14:4
Matthew 5:13-16

But since people seem to take an À la carte approach to their faith, I guess you can just ignore the awkward parts.

Thankfully there's a growing number of us atheists that have read the source material and call it out for its hypocrisy.

"We keep on being told that religion, whatever its imperfections, at least instills morality. On every side, there is conclusive evidence that the contrary is the case and that faith causes people to be more mean, more selfish, and perhaps above all, more stupid." - Christopher Hitchens

I would like to become a Hindu
they are the only religious people
who don't try to convince others

they don't care to be a missionary
I love that attitude

the reason is not that they are wiser then others
but they simply can't do it

as you are born as Hindu or not
nothing can be changed about it.

How great is that?

wish the Christians
and the Islamic people
would behave the same way

no more bad feelings about religion
how great is that?

as far as I know
 
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It's mentioned loads in the bible, just not with the name Rapture.

Thessalonians 4:16-18
Corinthians 15:52-53
Revelation 14:4
Matthew 5:13-16

But since people seem to take an À la carte approach to their faith, I guess you can just ignore the awkward parts.

Thankfully there's a growing number of us atheists that have read the source material and call it out for its hypocrisy.

"We keep on being told that religion, whatever its imperfections, at least instills morality. On every side, there is conclusive evidence that the contrary is the case and that faith causes people to be more mean, more selfish, and perhaps above all, more stupid." - Christopher Hitchens

There are tens of thousands of things 'mentioned' in the bible but there is but one key point. Some people get it, some don't. Some people have eternal souls, some don't. I just lump them all in the same group in my prayers and ask God to give them insight...maybe He will, maybe He won't.
 
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I would like to become a Hindu
they are the only religious people
who don't try to convince others

they don't care to be a missionary
I love that attitude

That's very naïve.

Some religions proselytize, while others don't. But dogmatism, repression, bigotry, and violence are permanent features of the human species everywhere. Hinduism is no exception:

https://www.hudson.org/research/4575-hinduism-and-terror

no more bad feelings about religion
how great is that?

During the 1947 partition of India, which separated Hindus and muslims to a large extent into India and Pakistan, between 200k and 2 million people died. Some 14 million people were displaced:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_India

It would be absurd to claim that Hindu intolerance of muslims was not a primary factor in that carnage. To someone who is murdered or banished under threat of violence, it is little comfort to reflect that, "Well, at least they didn't try to PERSUADE me."

People in the USA or Europe are habitually inclined to view religions of the Far East as inherently pacific, open-minded, and tolerant. Why? Wishful thinking. Because Americans and Europeans know from experience that their own religious traditions have been dogmatic, violent, and intolerant, they crave something exotic that will be better, more purely spiritual, based on tea and tranquil meditation.

Or else they point to a supposedly better religion from distant lands in order to present a comparison unflattering to the local religion, which annoys them. And because the West knows practically nothing about the East, it's easy to invent any pleasing daydream about those faraway religions.

Sometimes people say Hinduism is inherently tolerant. Sometimes they say the same of Buddhism. Never mind the 700,000 Rohingya muslims who are fleeing violence from Buddhists in Myanmar. That genocide began in 2017 and remains ongoing.

Sometimes people say that religion as such is inherently intolerant. As if secular states hadn't murdered millions in Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia or elsewhere. Or as if violence between tribes, clans, or ethnic groups from centuries ago didn't precede conversion to one of the later religions like Christianity.

My point isn't that any particular religion – Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity – is worse than another. My point is that human nature is the same everywhere. Regardless of the religion or lack of religion, people are equally likely to be bigoted, violent, intolerant, or hell bent on convincing those they disagree with.

And you know what? A tradition of proselytism – of trying to convert, persuade, convince someone who doesn't belong to one's group or worldview – is NOT a bad thing. Arguably, that is what led to our tradition of tolerance, persuasion, and free speech in modern secular societies.

people
who don't try to convince others

they don't care to be a missionary
I love that attitude

I would much rather have someone try to CONVINCE me than to have them belong to a group or religion or ideology that doesn't accept outsiders and which regards outsiders as an unconvertible, irreconcilably different class, which might need to be banished, caged, or purged.
 
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There are tens of thousands of things 'mentioned' in the bible but there is but one key point. Some people get it, some don't. Some people have eternal souls, some don't. I just lump them all in the same group in my prayers and ask God to give them insight...maybe He will, maybe He won't.

Agreed here with @Mister Funsky.

Biblical historicity confirms ongoing fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. One can endlessly debate whether this is nothing more than self-fulfilling prophecy, or whether the Bible was supernaturally authored through spirit-filled prophets and apostles inspired by an all-knowing God. I choose to believe the latter.

As for eschatology, i.e. the study of the end-times, the topic is fascinating, not from the standpoint of morbidity, but that the world will be run by God himself from the throne of David in Jerusalem. The so-called Anti-Christ appears first and briefly runs the world, introducing the so-called Mark of the Beast.

As for the rapture, I am one who believes that Christians will go through the tribulation rather than be raptured out of it before things go hot. I understand the very compelling arguments for the pre-tribulation rapture, but ultimately concluded that Noah going through the flood is a "type and shadow" for Christians.

As for where we are on the prophetic timeline, there are different interpretations. I am one who believes that the so-called Seals, Trumpets and Vials run in parallel, and will converge at the 7th seal, 7th trumpet and 7th vial. Here is one explanation:

upload_2019-5-19_14-27-36.png


I believe we are in the 5th Seal currently. There is a reasonable case to be made that the first 4 trumpets have sounded. One could debate whether and how the 5th trumpet has sounded. The vials will be poured out during the final 1260 days (42 months of 30 days).

The events that are unfolding in the Middle East are definitely worth watching closely. Based on prophecy, I expect a brief war and then a global peace covenant brokered by the Antichrist himself, leading to one world government, one world currency and one world religion based in Jerusalem.

When real disasters start happening, I hope even the most hardened atheist will consider that this is not "climate change" or "global warming",but fulfillment of prophesied judgement before the "Day of the Lord" which I believe comes at the 7th and final trumpet.

As for the Internet, it allows both ardent believers and hardened skeptics to connect and compare notes. Indeed, to a degree, that is happening here on this thread, and in a way that is accessible to everyone, not just attendees of a Christian Domainers breakfast at NamesCon, for example.
 
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