Joseph Smith's Personal Claim to Fame.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Jackass: The Sun sets in the North.

Rational Person: No it doesn't.

What direction does the sun set in the Northern hemisphere just south of latitude 60 degrees around June 21?

Damn it.

Jesus is real. :/

[_Chap]

Jackass: The Sun sets in the North.

Rational Person: No it doesn't.

What direction does the sun set in the Northern hemisphere just south of latitude 60 degrees around June 21?

Damn it.

Jesus is real. :/

Dr C is perhaps a city-dweller; if he is, he is in advance of most by having any idea at all about the regions of the horizon where the sun rises and sets.

HIs argument could, of course, be saved if he either:

(a) Added a phrase indicating that the argument is about what happens at the spring and autumn equinoxes, when the sun does rise due east and set due west for all observers.

(b) Changed his insistence on the sun setting exactly at 90 degrees to the north-south line to a more general claim that it always sets somewhere in the western half of the sky.

Of course there are problems in the polar regions, where for part of the year the sun may not set at all ...

[_brade]

There seems to be no open space/ground inside of your minds for seriously looking at alternate points of view that are in opposition to your die hard, negative stance on the church.

You're right, Mentalgymnast. I have no idea what it's like to actually believe in this stuff. It's not as if I've had only a year and a half or so of not believing, and my entire life prior to that point believing.

There's certainly no existential crisis in coming to terms with your entire concept of the universe being a myth. It has no real personal, familial, or social ramifications, either. We all just shrug it off, blithely dismissing contrary evidence in support of our pre-conceived skepticism. It's not at all because we've already been down this road and don't find these arguments particularly profound or persuasive. It has nothing to do with intellectual, emotional, evidentiary, and even spiritual experiences indicating that the faith-promoting narrative is a fairytale. It's just casual disregard and "dismissive denial." Indeed, forsaking the religion that has previously informed your entire existence is no more serious a matter than taking off a pair of socks.

Thank you for that.

[_Chap]

There seems to be no open space/ground inside of your minds for seriously looking at alternate points of view that are in opposition to your die hard, negative stance on the church.

You're right, Mentalgymnast. I have no idea what it's like to actually believe in this stuff. It's not as if I've had only a year and a half or so of not believing, and my entire life prior to that point believing.

There's certainly no existential crisis in coming to terms with your entire concept of the universe being a myth. It has no real personal, familial, or social ramifications, either. We all just shrug it off, blithely dismissing contrary evidence in support of our pre-conceived skepticism. It's not at all because we've already been down this road and don't find these arguments particularly profound or persuasive. It has nothing to do with intellectual, emotional, evidentiary, and even spiritual experiences indicating that the faith-promoting narrative is a fairytale. It's just casual disregard and "dismissive denial." Indeed, forsaking the religion that has previously informed your entire existence is no more serious a matter than taking off a pair of socks.

Thank you for that.

At least he didn't say that Darth J left because he wanted to sin. You can be grateful for that I suppose.

Again we see the classic pattern: an apologist confronts a former member who has thought deeply about his or her decision to leave, and is sticking to it.

Result, in effect: 'cannot compute ...'. Your very existence is a danger to the faith. Talk about something else, or (as is often the case on MAD) say that the person involved is in fact simply lying.

[_Yoda]

Jackass: The Sun sets in the North.

Rational Person: No it doesn't.

What direction does the sun set in the Northern hemisphere just south of latitude 60 degrees around June 21?

Damn it.

Jesus is real. :/

OK...THIS was funny! I LOL'd for real. ;-)