In today's news...

[dmronny]

Re: In today's news...

Yeah 1200 a month for rent is a little steep but then I don't live in a 3 bedroom condo, which probably sounds a lot higher class than it is. And well actually buying a tent and a new fishing rod sounds like a good idea to be honest with you, except that I'm a horrible fisherman.

Actually the church of Satan has always been like that. The best way to sum the church up is to say it follows the do unto others as you would have them do unto you credo. They actually have nothing to do with Satan as most people would think hearing the name, which is why I've always wondered where they came up with the name.

 

[ToxicShock]

Re: In today's news...

:/ Where I live, only the rattiest of crapholes is 800 a month. 1K a month is around average for starting with an apartment.

 

[dmronny]

Re: In today's news...

If I lived closer to Chicago than I already do it would be around a 1,000 for a shitty place. I don't think you'll have much chance of finding a rural area in Jersey though, as far as I've seen the whole state is pretty much city.

 

[ToxicShock]

Re: In today's news...

A lot of south jersey has plenty of space.

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: In today's news...

Actually the church of Satan has always been like that. The best way to sum the church up is to say it follows the do unto others as you would have them do unto you credo. They actually have nothing to do with Satan as most people would think hearing the name, which is why I've always wondered where they came up with the name.

Anton LaVey wrote the Satanic bible and helped found the Church of Satan (I wonder if the name church and temple are interchangeable or if they are two separate organizations) based upon LaVeyan Satanism (which Anton also founded). The book is actually fascinating, I read it a few years ago and still mean to pick it up some day. I think the Satan part comes from Satan's war against heaven, which could correlate with those who don't like the way the church does things.

 

[ToxicShock]

Re: In today's news...

It's quite a trip to imagine that, as the cause of more deaths in the bible, God is more the 'evil' being of the two and that Satan is the one who tried to fight for the race of man from the beginning. I don't know if that's the angle that Anton takes with the Satanic Bible, but would it mark the religion as technically counting as a maltheist view? I don't know if the definition is one that God is evil or that the being you worship is one of evil. Being 'theism,' I would assume it just means believing God exists and is evil.

 

[Unknown Squid]

Re: In today's news...

They actually have nothing to do with Satan as most people would think hearing the name, which is why I've always wondered where they came up with the name.

Well that's the thing actually. They didn't come up with the name. The catholic church gave it to them. The original "Satanists" were just an assorted bunch of people, mostly with no organised relation to each other. More or less, anyone who the church didn't like. The types of people who got locked up for pointing out things about the stars and such. It was a label placed on them to imply evil doings to the rest of the populace, and justify persecutions. Of course, persecution can push previously unrelated people together, and the name was adopted by some as a group identity. Certainly nothing at all to do with actual devil worship.

As far as I understand there never was any strong central leadership or heavy organisation, and it's unknown how many sects may have formed independently, or exactly how much they interacted.

I would have no idea whether these Satanic Church/Temple guys are directly related to any of that or not. There have probably been countless distinct groups claiming the title over the years. I haven't read any of Anton LaVey's "bible", so can't comment too much on his bunch. The way wikipedia mentions of rituals and taking inspiration for the book from H.P Lovecraft's works, does make me suspect it's deviated a bit towards playing on the image of the namesake.

 

[OAMP]

Re: In today's news...

My sister was talking about it the other day. She said it had something to do with admiring people who were nonconformists, and something about Satan not nessisarily being bad, but nonconformists... IDK...

Also Ronny lives near Chicago, or did I read that wrong? 0_o

 

[dmronny]

Re: In today's news...

I'm guessing south Jersey would be where the barrens are then, not sure if I want to live with the Jersey Devil even if it is just an owl. I guess he might be better than the Werewolf of Bray Road though, which is actually just a guy in a ghillie suit.

I think the church and temple are related to each other as well as LaVeyan Satanism and a multiude of others as well. Much as Squid pointed out they are pretty much the complete opposite of an organized religion. Even so there isn't much difference between the sects as far as I know. I've looked at my Mom's copy of the LaVey bible though I've not really read it, it didn't pique my interest. She's more of a Wiccan than a Satanist though there are quite a few similarities between the two I'm sure. She would probably be able to explain the name choice but I've never thought to ask her.

And yes I live near Chicago, I thought I had already mentioned it to you before. Just like you live relatively close to St. Louis or did at some point in time if I remember right.

 

[OAMP]

Re: In today's news...

Oh wait... WI side of the border? I just thought I would remember someone in the same state as me? x.x Though to be honest Ronny, my mental image is always you living in New Orleans for some reason

 

[Nunu]

Re: In today's news...

The basic tenants laid out in the satanic bible are that you can do whatever you want to do, as long as you don't infringe on other peoples right to do the same. This isn't "you can poke someones eye out and you have to let them poke yours out" its more like "don't poke someones eye out, they have a right to see, but feel free to poke your own out". It's not complicated and in general all sounds pretty sane.

 

[dmronny]

Re: In today's news...

Depends on which side of the town your on at the time but I'm on the Illinois side. And that's because in my heart I still live in my birthplace of New Orleans, even if it was the ugly ghetto side of New Orleans.

It does sound pretty sane but I just came to the realization that what they did at the Westboro grave site technically violates that tenant. Even if Westboro deserves it the Satanists are still infringing on their rights to believe what Westboro wants. In summary religion sucks.

 

[avatar99]

Re: In today's news...

I think they're more poking fun at Westboro's graveyard protests than anything else.

 

[XSI]

Re: In today's news...

Well that's the thing actually. They didn't come up with the name. The catholic church gave it to them. The original "Satanists" were just an assorted bunch of people, mostly with no organised relation to each other. More or less, anyone who the church didn't like. The types of people who got locked up for pointing out things about the stars and such. It was a label placed on them to imply evil doings to the rest of the populace, and justify persecutions. Of course, persecution can push previously unrelated people together, and the name was adopted by some as a group identity. Certainly nothing at all to do with actual devil worship.

As far as I understand there never was any strong central leadership or heavy organisation, and it's unknown how many sects may have formed independently, or exactly how much they interacted.

I would have no idea whether these Satanic Church/Temple guys are directly related to any of that or not. There have probably been countless distinct groups claiming the title over the years. I haven't read any of Anton LaVey's "bible", so can't comment too much on his bunch. The way wikipedia mentions of rituals and taking inspiration for the book from H.P Lovecraft's works, does make me suspect it's deviated a bit towards playing on the image of the namesake.

From my limited knowledge, there are several kinds of Satanists, and nearly all groups have their own set of rules and definitions. They do seem to mostly get along with eachother though. No calls for burning the heretics or anything. The ones I know claimed to be Satanists not because they dislike God, but because they believe in forgiveness, and to forgive Satan for his rebellion against God would be the highest form of forgiving, and as such one of the greatest acts of good.
There are also a few who do demon-related stuff, but most insist Satanism does not relate directly to that.

I could go into a whole essay on morality of God(s) in religion, especially the Abrahamic faiths deriving from Judaism, but ultimately I don't think it will be too interesting for people to read. (If you are interested, let me know and I'll whip up something)

As for some news
Welcome to the future.


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Stem cells could rejuvenate oldest humans to indefinite lifespan

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Researchers have found that by replacing aging cells with new stem cells, many age-related diseases can be stopped in their tracks; and as a bonus, patients receiving stem cell treatments experience an increase in energy, vigor and strength. The body and mind actually become biologically younger.
In addition, by 2020, experts predict that most of the world will shift towards preventative healthcare. Sensors will soon appear in clothing and inside bodies, detecting everything from cancer to an impending stroke or heart attack. This proactive approach will allow doctors to stop most diseases before they start.
Anti-aging guru Aubrey de Grey believes the first person to achieve a 1,000 year lifespan has already been born.

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Scientists Create Artificial Peroxisomes

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Peroxisomes are vital for cells which age, and being able to create more of it means a potential huge lifespan increase. Assuming everything works out fine without complications.

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New nerve and muscle interfaces aid wounded warrior amputees

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A team of researchers at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) demonstrated a type of peripheral interface called targeted muscle re-innervation (TMR). By rewiring nerves from amputated limbs, new interfaces allow for prosthetic control with existing muscles.

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: In today's news...

It does sound pretty sane but I just came to the realization that what they did at the Westboro grave site technically violates that tenant. Even if Westboro deserves it the Satanists are still infringing on their rights to believe what Westboro wants. In summary religion sucks.

It could also be allowed by their tenants as the Westboro's actively work against what they believe in, and they can't sit back and do nothing.

 

[dmronny]

Re: In today's news...

A douchebag by any other name is still just a douchebag, though.

 

[XSI]

Re: In today's news...

JP Morgan's gold vault just happened to be set on fire as people started checking on whether or not they actually have any.

The sources may appear biased, but nobody else is reporting it. They are also alarmist as these sites tend to be, so take it all with a grain of salt. You may remember a few months ago Germany was denied access to the vaults holding their gold.

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They are now assumed to be pretty much broke. This is bad because money is linked to gold. Paper money is little more than a note saying "This is worth so much in gold"
There not being any gold can be pretty bad for a bank whenever someone tries to cash out.

That's $59,372,200 worth of gold that they have on hand and $647,931,400 that they owe for last month's contracts alone.

The only thing they can do is desperately hope nobody tries to cash out.
Of course, this situation *appears* to be there because people have been cashing out for a while now, and they just ran out of gold to give after giving it to everyone who came to cash out.

Worse than this is that they've also been 'managing' the gold of other countries such as Germany. These countries will most likely not enjoy being told their gold is gone, which could be a serious hit to the economy.

Last week, a similar thing happened at a different bank

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[Hentaispider]

Re: In today's news...

Paper money is little more than a note saying "This is worth so much in gold"
There not being any gold can be pretty bad for a bank whenever someone tries to cash in.

That hasn't been true for a long while. Most currencies are either floating or have their value tied to another currency - including the Euro and the USD, both of which are floating.

 

[XSI]

Re: In today's news...

That hasn't been true for a long while. Most currencies are either floating or have their value tied to another currency - including the Euro and the USD, both of which are floating.

That is true, I was thinking about the classic style currencies. Today's western currency is no longer backed by gold.

And some more news I got linked

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Banks are getting their power limited, by adding rules about how and when they can speculate on physical goods. This will hopefully prevent banks from effecting markets

And of course, more news

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Aliens. Wikileaks reveals the US has been fighting UFOs near the south pole
Edit:
Posted by EU Times on Dec 13th, 2010
Looks like I missed that bit. Still amusing

 

[Newbie]

Re: In today's news...

That hasn't been true for a long while. Most currencies are either floating or have their value tied to another currency - including the Euro and the USD, both of which are floating.

At last check, the US Dollar was only backed by the full faith and support of the US government.