V. Illych L. posted:

congratulations, you're marginally less poo poo than us at our worst, at your best

considering how insanely lovely we are at our worst, this is not something to gloat about

the best part is, even with reprivatisation and cuts and wha'evz (which is honestly a country-by-country thing), our increasingly dilapidated health services are still way better than your overpriced bullshit

at my bleakest, most hopeless moments politically, i think to myself "at least i'm not an american, if i were i might actually kill myself"

R. Mute posted:

shut up, my parents.

DemeaninDemon posted:

I like the end of DS9.

Sisko comes back from space heaven and tells Jake goodbye and he'll be back. Avery Brooks demanded that instead of the original idea of a black man leaving his family.

euphronius posted:

this thread needs a star trek insurrection.

Nintendo Kid posted:

i love star trek, lightsabers and cylons are cool

euphronius posted:

this thread needs a star trek insurrection.

zoux posted:

Lol don't act like you aren't intimately familiar with every in and out of Star Trek lore

DemeaninDemon posted:

I like the end of DS9.

Sisko comes back from space heaven and tells Jake goodbye and he'll be back. Avery Brooks demanded that instead of the original idea of a black man leaving his family.

Nintendo Kid posted:

nah i actually am not. never got around to really watching the series.

i think ive seen like 1/10 of the original series, 1/5 of the next generation and random episodes out of the rest.

Baronjutter posted:

I was looking through some trek book at the book store and almost got it but they had a mention of Sisko "fathering a child he will never meet" and I got mad and put the book away. Brooks was so adamant about that not being the case, but this stupid guide book just had to add that little tid bit in.

Foppery posted:

Broad City is the best show on television

DemeaninDemon posted:

I like the end of DS9.

Sisko comes back from space heaven and tells Jake goodbye and he'll be back. Avery Brooks demanded that instead of the original idea of a black man leaving his family.

zoux posted:

What's your fandom fish-kun?

Sinnlos posted:

Baptists are the largest protestant denomination is the US, however, the Baptist belief in a personal relationship with God has lead to a dizzying array of factions all claiming to be the TRUE Baptists.

These factions do have a core set of beliefs however:

- There are two sacraments, which they call "ordinances".
- The first is baptism, you can only be baptized if you are old enough, and the only thing that qualifies is baptism by immersion. One individual can be baptized multiple times.
- The second is communion. Communion is symbolic for Baptists.
- Baptists also staunchly believe in the autonomy of congregations. Specific beliefs can vary greatly from congregation to congregation. Like-minded congregations can group themselves into associations, or conventions, however.

Speaking of which:

The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest of the Baptist conventions, with about 16 million members claimed. Southern Baptists are biblical literalists, believing that the Bible is without error, and everything in it is the direct inspired word of God. This anchors many of their other beliefs that cause them to diverge from other Baptists, namely that women may not teach, and that homosexuality is a grave sin. Southern Baptists also believe that salvation is only obtainable through accepting (Baptist) Jesus as Lord and Savior. Once saved, one cannot fall from grace. Everyone NOT saved burns in Hell for eternity. You can only accept Jesus by saying it out loud a whole bunch and having a personal relationship with him, so having a Pope to do all that for you doesn't count. Southern Baptists are Hardcore Conservatives and are generally terrible. They are (surprise) primarily concentrated in the south.

The northern cousin of the SBC is the American Baptist Church. They believe that the Bible is the divinely inspired word of God but maybe someone misheard once or something was lost in translation and maybe some of this is metaphorical guys. Even if you don't believe in Jesus you can be saved by embodying his spirit through how you live. Some member churches allow women to teach and gays to marry.

The National Baptist Convention is pretty much in line with the SBC on most things theologically, but tend to have better views on social issues. Still oppose gay marriage and abortion. Iffy on women preaching. The NBC accounts for about 50% of all African-Americans.

The National Baptist Convention of America broke off from the NBC in 1915 due to an argument over the publishing board. Third largest African-American denomination in the US. Pretty much the same as the NBC.

The National Missionary Baptist Convention of America spilt off from the NBCA in 1988, once again due to a publishing board fight.

You also have dozens of smaller Baptist conventions, including Primitive Baptists (secret Calvinists), Regular Baptists, Old Regular Baptists, Union Baptists (hate the Confederacy, they still exist), Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists, and United Baptists (hate conventions and treat the washing of feet as a sacrament).

Next up: Methodists

Miltank posted:

bloobloobloo

Baronjutter posted:

Brooks owns, DS9 owns. It had more social commentary that every other trek combined.

Also what is a publishing board fight?

Sinnlos posted:

Who gets to publish the literature for distribution to churches, Sunday schools, ect.

Sinnlos posted:

Who gets to publish the literature for distribution to churches, Sunday schools, ect.

Armani posted:

That's a pretty drat good post and it'd be a shame to see it get lost in the chat thread - do we have the help D&D Debate and Discuss thread still?

Nintendo Kid posted:

i love star trek, lightsabers and cylons are cool

spoon0042 posted:

R. Mute posted:

how the hell does that thread have 110 pages

Crain posted:

Are these the guys who run that scammy "Christian" education system that Prester John made a thread about? (The Southern Baptists I mean)

Armani posted:

That's a pretty drat good post and it'd be a shame to see it get lost in the chat thread - do we have the help D&D Debate and Discuss thread still?

Raskolnikov38 posted:

it's three and half years old

Badger of Basra posted:

lmao travis county has one of the highest vaccine exemption rates in the state

of course.

of course

The Warszawa posted:

idgi

The Warszawa posted:

The Warszawa posted:

Berke Negri posted:

bad news: let europol be your augur and give it time

back of the napkin predictions: Europe continues to fracture under increasing political discord between member nations. for much of ez services are cut to make debt payments. one after another periphery countries continue to drop out instead of face decades of dictum from the north, rending the EU some kind of unworkable mess with many of the countries reverting to local currencies and the powerhouse rentier nations spiral into deflation and low economic growth with a too strong euro. those countries not apart of the euro are reduced to perpetual third world status, relying on agreements with chinese state enterprises to secure ports of trade. while chinese investment is generous, development is carried out primarily with foreign import labor leaving unemployment and poverty high. domestic political power becomes radicalized and countries witness a revolving door of far right and left parties leaving confidence in these countries crippled, with chinese investors increasingly selecting for local oligarchs to empower as a sign of stability.

As darkness reigns in Europe, America increasingly gets on track to solve the pressing environmental and geopolitical issues of the day, leading the Americas and developing world into prosperity. At his inauguration speech on January 20, 2033, the first transgender President of the United States points to these positive developments at home and abroad and proudly ushers in the Second American Century.