Recent comments in /f/todayilearned

KindAwareness3073 t1_jad0pka wrote

From Wikipedia:

"Whilst it is recognized that Masonry is not atheistic (Masons aligned with the United Grand Lodge of England are asked if they believe in God or another supreme being before joining and only accept candidates that do),[17] its use of the expression Supreme Architect of the Universe—a term attributed to the Protestant theologian John Calvin—is seen by some Christian critics as indicating Deism, the belief that God created the Universe but did not intervene in the world after this."

"Supreme Architect of the Universe" was a convenient dodge in the 18th century world where living people could still recall the Witch Trials.

6

GenXer3383 t1_jad0i77 wrote

The same people who want Jefferson struck from memory revere French gender theorists who signed a letter in support of men (ages 39-45) who were awaiting trial for statutory rape of 12 and 13 year old kids when the age of consent was 15 in France.

6

zebrastarz t1_jacyaf2 wrote

Hey, Ted Kaczynski was a brilliant mathematician whose work is still cited to this day, but obviously shouldn't be revered for other reasons. People are complex and lived in different times and circumstances than you and I. Knowing the truth is powerful and useful, but it is all about context. Facts about Jefferson's slave-owning have practically zero to do with his contributions to law and philosophy. Many great thinkers were not necessarily great people.

9

waiv t1_jacwb5i wrote

Yeah, that was the law in Mexico, foreigners who raised weapons against the Mexican nation should be treated as pirates and summarily executed. They captured a newcomer group in Copano and since they surrendered and didn't fight they were spared.

The law was repealed before the battle of San Jacinto, where the Americans shot people who surrendered under a white flag.

Mind you, Santa Anna's army treated civilians better than the American army in the Mexican American war, there were plenty of atrocities against civilians back then, including the rape and pillage of Huamantla.

0

zebrastarz t1_jacuxms wrote

Actually, this is a fascinating subject, and I think it has to do with the fear of the unknown that most people actually lean on religion to help them with. For those people, religion is probably necessarily supernatural to allow it to give moral prescriptions and provide explanations that the logical mind fails to provide for itself. The low stakes and "reality" of the miracles Jesus was described as performing hit a satisfying middle ground for this type of person, bleeding from reality into the fantastical to create just enough plausibility that the logical brain accepts the unknown as something that can be understood and possibly even used if you just follow the right lessons. For those same people, it is understandable that trying to impart religious morals and teachings without the supernatural aspects is arrogance because it suggests that anyone with logical thinking is capable of overcoming the fear of the unknown and understanding divinity, something that to them is seemingly impossible without instruction coming from an order higher than Man.

5

Melodic_Survey_4712 t1_jacscbk wrote

But you could kill a deer, say god lives in its heart, then eat the heart raw out of your hand. They aren’t being disrespectful of the sacrifice but it’s still weird and creepy

3