site banner
naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   3172 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for March 31, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

2
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Something you may find interesting: Even within LDS theology, alcohol is not considered evil per se. Right in our Doctrine and Covenants Section 89 (revelations received by Joseph Smith, similar in style somewhat to the Quran as opposed to the Book of Mormon which is a narrative), only "Strong Drink" is specifically called out. And at the time, this was not given by commandment but by suggestion - Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and others famously enjoyed and procured drink on occasion. I believe Brigham even operated a whiskey distillery (tsk tsk). Eventually, modern revelation has declared it verboten - BUT - we also know that Jesus drank wine. He didn't drink grape juice as the well-meaning primary teacher is oft to akwardly suggest, no, he drank wine and he was perfect. Therefore - alcohol is not some out and out evil.

The Word of Wisdom (section 89 as it's called) specifically says it's given in response to "evil designs of conspiring men in the last days" - and at least for me, I agree that even 300 years ago alcohol made sense. You made it yourself, you didn't have psychologists working on mass market ad campaigns to create the most compelling possible product, you didn't have stronger industrial made drinks at absurdly high price points, motor vehicles, social media...The world is different now.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats