RE: Is this the start of a Nuclear War?
It's just a typical dick measuring contest. No one wants to get their schlong stuck in a zipper by pulling back too soon, but they also dont want their balls shrunk by gamma rays.
RE: Is this the start of a Nuclear War? Message edited:
Will it go nuclear? Probably unlikely, but who knows? It's simply another example of the stupidity of which the human species is capable. Making it more absurd (though not unexpected) is that religious extremism seems to be the cause of this round of insanity. God wants us to kill each other, apparently. The sooner our species wipes itself out, assuming it doesn't take all advanced life with it, the sooner things can get back to normal for planet Earth.
RE: Is this the start of a Nuclear War?
Maybe highly intelligent life is inherently self-destructive, altruism is a construct advanced to mask intelligent manipulation, and religion is the same thing (a bunch of language). If I shared my anecdotes on Hinduism and Islam it would probably violate the site rules. Not all religions are equally successful at bringing about peace and advancing human rights.
I choose to rely on the one Religion I follow, allowing all others to do the same...or not to rely on any Religious beliefs at all...It's a choice we all make.
However, I do believe most people are born good
and loving...
For me, its more than words that have been taught, it's a way of life...
Though perfect I will never be, nor will anyone else be perfect...
It's the hope for a better future that allow most people to live with what's going on right now...
We have no choice but to look forward to the pleasure that will one day be ours..
RE: Is this the start of a Nuclear War?
As far as I know, there is no universally agreed upon definition of what constitutes intelligence, or for that matter, what constitutes stupidity.
So, when I say that people killing other people in the name of some deity is stupid, or people gaining pleasure from causing pain, harm and misery is stupid, it is my subjective opinion.
If someone chooses to rejoice in the murder of innocents, human or otherwise, and thinks that is a sign of intelligence, I have no objective authority to deny them their opinion.
However, I express my opinions in this forum according to my own personal values, as does everyone else. When we state something as fact, there is more of an onus to substantiate our claims.
It is a fact that humans are unquestionably the most destructive species, causing damage and misery to this planet and the billions of species of life on it, for no good reason. Therefore, it seems logical to me that Earth would be a better place without us.
If we are stupid (there goes that word again) enough to destroy ourselves, I say no great loss, objectively speaking. Personally, I'd like to hang around a little longer.
RE: Is this the start of a Nuclear War?
The more a species transforms a planet, the more it aids whatever species that follows it. There have been five previous extinction events, just as recorded in the Bible: "there was evening, and there was morning, the [next] day", building upon the ashes of the previous era.
Humans will be the first species that has a chance to reengineer themselves completely in a pretty short time window, if we don't blow ourselves up first. A thousand years from now, humanity might well be unrecognizable from its current form.
Eating and bioengineering other species? Yup we do that. Survival of the fittest.
Killing off other species? It happens. It has been happening for hundreds of millions of years. We have also created new species and we will soon be doing that at an accelerating pace that outpaces the species we are destroying.
Killing one another? Not so great, but if you take ethics out of it, it's just a species that is self-regulating and generally purging its weakest members.
This is the problem with mixing fatalism and science, or putting it at odds with religion. There is no good or bad in science.
"The more a species transforms a planet, the more it aids whatever species that follows it."
Ummmm... whatever follows will be whatever can survive under the transformation. Circular logic. Also, there's the (very real) possibility *nothing* will follow it.
"There have been five previous extinction events, just as recorded in the Bible: "there was evening, and there was morning, the [next] day", building upon the ashes of the previous era."
Wow. I must *really* be out of touch with biblical exegesis. I've never heard this interpretation before.
Given that (so the story goes) the first animal life wasn't created until day 4 and the last was created on day 6, where is your 5 days for the five extinction events?
Estimates of species that have become extinct directly due to human activity range between 10,000 and 1,000,000. You offset this with a handful of "new" species, most of which occurred naturally, not by human design.
Humans have destroyed around half of the world's forest area, threatening many more species with extinction.
I started to answer the other points in detail, but I just can't be bothered dealing with that level of denialism.
Who said anything about putting science up against religion? Science tells us what has happened in the past, what is happening around us, and what the likely consequences will be. Ethics tells us what we should do with that information. Neither is more important than the other, which leads us to...
"...if you take ethics out of it..."
I've noticed you seem very keen to do that in a lot of discussions. Why?
I'm always amazed when someone believes they know it all, especially when they don't...
This was just posted here...
"There was evening and there was morning the (next) day...building upon the ashes of the previous era"
I really have to smile, but then it shows how people can take words, and turn them around to meet their needs.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if you haven't check this already..but if you haven't, when you get time, please do this.
Go to the Bible and read Genesis chapter 1 starting at verse 5 and through verse 31...
The words used were not for some other era at all...it was setting a pattern for the days of creation...
For me, science is one thing, biblical scripture is something else...I prefer scripture...
I know you are not a religious person, and that has Never bothered me at all, but I just had to speak to what was said...People don't have to be Religious to be decent, and caring...I found that to be true a long time ago...
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