http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/ Wed, 09 Sep 2026 08:09:08 +0000 en Recent Discussions — Ship of Fools http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/6999/modern-cosmology-biology-and-christianity Sun, 02 Aug 2026 11:32:40 +0000 Purgatory KarlLB 6999@/index.php?p=/discussions
We live in a universe which has developed along naturalistic lines for billions of years and shows no signs of not continuing to do so for billions more.

The universe consists of trillions of stars across millions of galaxies spread across millions of light years of space.

Human beings have existed for a hundred thousand years or so (depending on what you define as human)

People's personalities can be totally changed by chemical and physical changes in their brains.

However, Christian theology developed in a cosmology where the Earth was central and unique. Special. Human beings were the crown of a creation centered on that earth. Sun, moon and stars existed to give light and to show the times and seasons.

And those humans were physical beings embodying immortal souls. Our emotions, wants and desires, our wills and true selves were located in that soul.

So Christian theology developed assuming a cosmology and biology that doesn't match what we now know.

This gives me problems in some specific areas.

Exclusivity - humanity has existed for at least a hundred thousand years, depending on definitions. In that time we must have had more religious beliefs, gods and rituals than you can shake a stick at wax and wane. Is it really one of the major ones that happens to be current that is the true one? It seems a remarkable claim. This worryingly leads to an observation that I'm not the first to make - it's impossible for all religions to be true, but it's possible for them all to be false.

The Eschaton - a supernaturally created world created specifically for us a little before we arrived on it in a small universe centred upon it - it makes perfect sense that the God who created it will usher in a completely new creation on a human timescale.

But our universe has already a future. In billions of years time, our sun will become a red giant either swallowing or scorching the earth. Billions of years later the universe itself either dies a heat death or starts to collapse in a big crunch. Does Christ's return affect Earth only? Or does it herald the sudden supernatural ending of the entire current physical universe?

That's just the cosmological questions.]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/6988/a-question-about-candles Sun, 26 Jul 2026 16:33:46 +0000 Ecclesiantics Baptist Trainfan 6988@/index.php?p=/discussions
What intrigued me were the three stumpy candles on the Communion Table, which I've not seen before. Can anyone enlighten me?

See in the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIrryDNvHJQ - they show up very clearly from about 3:40.]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/6555/are-the-reform-party-actually-a-threat Thu, 21 Aug 2025 08:47:36 +0000 Purgatory Hugal 6555@/index.php?p=/discussions Do they have enough funds to stand enough candidates? After their disaster in local politics are we able to trust them nationally?
I have never seen Farage as charismatic. He is a rich idiot. ]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/315/today-i-consign-to-hell-the-all-saints-version Tue, 06 Mar 2018 19:13:05 +0000 All Saints Piglet 315@/index.php?p=/discussions Today I Consign To Hell, the All Saints version.

We've been tossing this idea round in the Hosts' lounge for a wee while now, so here it is.

If you have a grouse or a grump, or next door's cat is getting on your nerves, or even if you're just really hacked off about something, tell us here.

Just one topic per post, please, and while responses of support and advice are OK (this is AS after all), if a particular topic becomes a bit overwhelming, we may suggest it gets its own thread. Please remember, too, that All Saints rules apply, so no personal attacks on Shipmates.

Have at it! ]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/7014/christian-rock-pop-ccm-etc Tue, 11 Aug 2026 21:13:06 +0000 Heaven ChastMastr 7014@/index.php?p=/discussions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_Christian_music]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/5411/platform-9-and-4-4-a-new-railway-appreciation-thread Sat, 11 Nov 2023 12:29:51 +0000 Heaven Wesley J 5411@/index.php?p=/discussions
Ready for departure now. ]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/4080/wordle Wed, 12 Jan 2022 20:03:33 +0000 The Circus Piglet 4080@/index.php?p=/discussions Wordle?

I got into it when my nephew posted a link to it on our family Whats App group, and to be honest, it's just as well they only offer one per day, or I'd be doing nothing else!

I'm not sure quite how it'll fly here: I'm thinking of people posting about their successes and failures.

Just remember: try and avoid spoilers - bearing in mind that we're in several time zones.

For the church music geeks, someone on Farcebark has set up a spin-off called Byrdle.

I'm not usually one to boast, but I got the first Byrdle in one guess. ]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/6742/prayers-of-the-faithful-2026 Thu, 01 Jan 2026 14:23:10 +0000 All Saints Piglet 6742@/index.php?p=/discussions
Last year's thread for reference.]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/150/praise-thanksgiving Tue, 13 Feb 2018 05:07:24 +0000 All Saints Piglet 150@/index.php?p=/discussions http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/7043/should-former-pro-players-have-a-second-chance-in-ncaa-football-us Wed, 09 Sep 2026 01:49:55 +0000 Purgatory Gramps49 7043@/index.php?p=/discussions
The deal of it is, when college football athlete has five years to play four seasons.

But sometimes the pro leagues become very attractive, and a number of football players move on up before the five-year college eligibility expires.

There are several exceptions. Redshirt years, medical hardship waivers. Military service, religious missions,

It is now common to see players with six seasons in seven years of college.

This is not the first time pro players have been allowed on to formerly amateur teams.

There is the Olympic basketball and hockey teams.

In baseball players can be drafted by pro teams , play minor league baseball, but then return to college baseball if they do not sign a pro contract.

Soccer and Rugby also have options.

Other sports have already blurred the amateur/pro line.

Should football be allowed to do the same?

]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/6763/canadas-political-landscape-2026 Sun, 04 Jan 2026 23:12:43 +0000 Purgatory Marsupial 6763@/index.php?p=/discussions
Happy New Year everyone. Hope 2026 brings better things for Canada and for all of us. ]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/6839/trump-the-good-guy Tue, 17 Mar 2026 15:51:48 +0000 Purgatory Gramps49 6839@/index.php?p=/discussions
and

has yet to do so.

I will help him out.

Proposition: Trump has done more good than harm.

Discuss.

(Remember, purgatory is for serious debate).
]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/186/the-new-new-crews-quiz Sun, 25 Feb 2018 20:40:43 +0000 The Circus Ariston 186@/index.php?p=/discussions Guessometers ready?
Blasted Fillums are too hard
Dram of Highland Park.]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/6945/patriots Wed, 10 Jun 2026 13:09:22 +0000 Hell Alan Cresswell 6945@/index.php?p=/discussions ]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/7000/shipmeet-wells-9th-september Sun, 02 Aug 2026 18:37:42 +0000 All Saints Priscilla 7000@/index.php?p=/discussions http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/6726/the-trivial-round-the-common-task-the-british-thread-2026 Thu, 01 Jan 2026 04:31:12 +0000 All Saints Nenya 6726@/index.php?p=/discussions
What we're doing with our day, what we're having for tea - bring it on!]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/7039/we-should-talk-about-literature Wed, 02 Sep 2026 07:22:26 +0000 Purgatory Basketactortale 7039@/index.php?p=/discussions
I recently read Mortimer Adler and have been thinking about this idea of a "great book" corpus of ideas in Western thought.

There may be people here who are more in touch with the literature and humanities tradition, so there might be a range of things we could discuss here.

First I am interested to think about the blacklash against "wokeness" in studying humanities and in particular English Literature. I have seen some people complaining that Marxism is taking over.

Second I am interested to think about what makes "great literature" and why we should trust people like Adler to tell us what it is. Nothing against the man himself, he seems like a good person, but a corpus of books which are only written by white men? Madness.

If anyone has other points or questions or different angles then I would be interested to hear them. I can say some more about Adler and what I make of it, but my knowledge of the "great books" narrative itself is very limited.]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/7009/terrible-driving-recklessness-annoyance-and-pet-peeves Thu, 06 Aug 2026 16:23:46 +0000 Hell The_Riv 7009@/index.php?p=/discussions
How's the driving where you are? ]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/187/spring Sun, 25 Feb 2018 20:41:54 +0000 The Circus Ariston 187@/index.php?p=/discussions http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/6953/if-satan-opened-heck-a-not-quite-hellish-region-of-the-afterlife-what-would-it-be-like Thu, 18 Jun 2026 15:29:22 +0000 The Circus The_Riv 6953@/index.php?p=/discussions
Bored with run-o'-the-mill eternal torment, weeping and gnashing of teeth, Satan opens HECK, a new region of the afterlife that's not at all Heavenly, but not quite Hell. Our task is to develop its environs, parameters, population, etc.

So, what would it be like?! NOTE: this is not intended as a theological issue to be argued. I know there are as many ideas/positions about Satan and Hell on Ship as there are posters. This is a thought experiment Game, so please play along.

The simple baseline is that Heaven and Hell exist, and Heck has been dropped somewhere in between. Go! ]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/6020/donald-trump Tue, 29 Oct 2024 07:02:06 +0000 Hell ChastMastr 6020@/index.php?p=/discussions
The Madison Square Garden stuff seems like a new low.]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/7033/dream-a-little-dream Sat, 29 Aug 2026 16:44:01 +0000 Heaven Amanda B Reckondwyth 7033@/index.php?p=/discussions
Some themes common to my dreams:

• I'm still at school, and need one class to earn my degree -- but I've been forgetting to go to it.
• I'm in a play but have forgotten my lines.
• I'm on a train that is following a strange route.
• I'm waiting for a bus that never comes. I get on a different bus only to discover that the route doesn't take me where I want to go.
• I'm driving in a familiar city but don't recognize the route I'm taking.
• My father is treating me cruelly (he never did this in real life).
• I'm still working at my job, which was advertised as a temporary position that could end at any moment -- but it goes on indefinitely (again, this is contrary to what my job was in real life).
  
  There are other recurring themes as well, too numerous to list.
  
  What recurring themes appear in your dreams? Any of the above?

]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/6755/casey-at-the-bat-baseball-2026 Fri, 02 Jan 2026 17:12:54 +0000 The Circus Gramps49 6755@/index.php?p=/discussions Casey at The Bat written by Ernest Thayer, published in 1924. I remember learning it in sixth grade. I dedicated this thread to that poem.

Spring training yet to start. I hope the Mariners go all the way this year, but like Casey, they tend to strike out at the last moment.]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/7035/evangelism-evangelisation-capitalism-imperialism-and-can-we-avoid-isms Mon, 31 Aug 2026 15:06:07 +0000 Purgatory Gamma Gamaliel 7035@/index.php?p=/discussions
The issue of evangelism came up there and, I think, with broad agreement on how not to engage in it.

My thoughts on this one is how we can avoid 'the spirit of the age' as it were when it comes to evangelism, proclamation and indeed the broader evangelisation or Christianisation of society. We all, rightly, jump up and down at capitalist-style marketing models of evangelism and at top-down imperialist or colonial impositions - as per the British Empire, Tsarist Russia and so on.

As creaturely creatures embedded and embodied in our respective cultures and societies, I'm wondering to what extent we can be 'counter-cultural' in our approach to these things?

I've mentioned before that St Aidan and St Cuthbert couldn't have 'Christianised' Northumbria if they hadn't had the backing of the King and his thegns.

Likewise, Protestant missionaries in the South Pacific couldn't have functioned without the backing of tribal leaders.

We Orthodox can wax lyrical about how the Russian monks took up the cause of the Aleuts against the rapacity of the Russian fur traders, but I'm sure it wasn't all as laudable as that.

Life's messy. Societies are messy.

This is something that affects all of us. Christianity is a missionary faith, irrespective of what form of Christianity we inhabit or espouse.

We all operate in a late-capitalist, largely post-Christendom context. How do we engage and evangelise without adopting a sales-driven model or a top-down 'imperialist' one?]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/6727/hands-in-the-soil-head-in-the-sun-the-gardening-thread-2026-%F0%9F%AA%8F Thu, 01 Jan 2026 10:42:17 +0000 Heaven Boogie 6727@/index.php?p=/discussions
May Sarton]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/6663/ship-of-fools-book-club-2026 Thu, 20 Nov 2025 14:16:14 +0000 Heaven Caissa 6663@/index.php?p=/discussions
Once again this year, would it be possible to get 12 volunteers (1 for each month) to agree to facilitate a discussion? The volunteer would get to choose a book (keeping in mind availability). If we could have a complete schedule in place by the end of this year people could plan for acquiring copies for the months in which they want to join in the reading and discussion. ]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/162/aging-parents Sat, 24 Feb 2018 01:06:00 +0000 All Saints Lothlorien 162@/index.php?p=/discussions ideas and support.]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/7036/september-book-club-persuasion-by-jane-austen Tue, 01 Sep 2026 10:30:04 +0000 Heaven Sarasa 7036@/index.php?p=/discussions Persuasion by Jane Austen. Her last novel its the story of Anne Elliot who seven years previously rejected a proposal from Frederick Wentworth, an impecunious naval officer. He then returns to her orbit a wealthy man and ready to marry. I thoroughly enjoyed my re-read of it recently and look forward to discussing it on the 20th.
If you don't have time to read the book I thought this adaptation was true to the book and a good film in its own right.]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/5788/wild-life-near-you Fri, 07 Jun 2024 02:33:00 +0000 Heaven Gee D 5788@/index.php?p=/discussions
What is your local wildlife (neighbours children excepted)? Do you see much?

Angophora - https://www.google.com/search?q=angophora&oq=angophora&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQLhhA0gEINDgyM2owajGoAgiwAgE&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Sulphur-crested cockatoos - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulphur-crested_cockatoo]]> http://forums.shipoffools.com/index.php?p=/discussion/5108/uk-officially-fucks-trans-kids-over Mon, 19 Jun 2023 21:39:12 +0000 Epiphanies KarlLB 5108@/index.php?p=/discussions https://twitter.com/TabitaSurge/status/1670695396547481600

One take home from this - if kids or staff want to abuse trans kids by misgendering them, there's diddly-squat anyone can do about it.

Bullies please form an orderly line...]]>