site banner
PaperclipPerfector  2mo ago (text post)   2487 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for March 8, 2024

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.

1
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

Came across a philological-theological argument that the word for faith in the New Testament context (pistis) means embodied allegiance more than cognitive assent. This is interesting as it could indicate that the faith/works controversy comes from inappropriate translations and inadequate study of the original meaning for a first century audience. When I read this I immediately thought of the weird Centurion moment in the New Testament, where Jesus states that someone has the greatest faith (pistis) because he says —

“Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

I wonder if this anecdote was included in the New Testament specifically to illustrate the meaning of pistis. Because we see the cognitive trust that is typically thought of when we think of faith (say the word and it will be done), yet we also see an emphasis on fealty (not worthy) and, significantly, an even greater emphasis on obedience and allegiance to commands.

Some time ago I examined my modernity-shocked mind and came to the surprising conclusion that on most matters me and the local band of hardcore orthodox Christians see eye to eye. Apart from minor stuff such as male modesty (what?) and probably reproductive technology.

But faith is not for me, so I'm out of luck when it comes to finding a group I could imagine joining.

Why is male modesty not important to you but I assume from context female modesty is?

Male bodies are not sexy and I'm not budging on this so why wear too much clothing? As long as genitals are hidden, it's ok.

There are some male bodies that are sexy. Chris Hemsworth can absolutely provoke many women to lust by walking around shirtless.

Chris Hemsworth is a Hollywood star with a physique that's out of reach for almost anyone. Someone with his exact same physique but not his stardom also wouldn't turn nearly as many heads. "Look what they need to mimic just a fraction of our power" is a quotation that comes to mind.

He was an extreme example, but there are still a large amount of men who are sexy. Looking at dating app stats, the top 10% of most attractive men do have a pretty large amount of hook ups. It's not their words or ability to provide that convince women to have sex with them, it's what they look like.

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