Finally I am getting to a more typical philosophical debate!
The problem of evil is the term given to the question atheists pose to thiests: if God exists, why does he allow evil to exist is the world? Some theistic answers I have heard include ‘because without evil there is no good’ and that ‘I cannot understand God and His will and I cannot question it, I just have to accept it and have faith in His plan’. Beg your pardon? What kind of Godly plan involves evil? Surely that’s a pretty big contradiction in terms? Take Descartes’ ‘proof’ of God. Simply put, he states God had perfection as an innate quality; it is essential to His nature. Perfection is an existence; there is more perfection in existing that not existing. Therefore, God exists. Now then, God is also by definition all-loving. An all loving God would not allow evil to exist in the world. So…by this definition (and slight manipulation of an age old theory) God can’t exist.
How can you ever get over this criticism? God is an all-loving being. Evil exists in the world. God caused the world. God caused the evil. God is evil; this cannot be so since God is by definition and all-loving being. Therefore God cannot exist.
Right?
Sorry Descartes, your argument is slightly flawed (and open to manipulation by atheists!)
Anybody who argues that exams are getting easier is grossly misinformed a cunt. When I came out of my chemistry exam at GCSE I overheard a chemistry teacher saying that some of the questions on our papers she hadn’t even learned at degree level. If this is true (which it most likely is otherwise why say it?) how can anyone say that exams are easier than they used to be? Whenever the pass rates start rising the government says that exams are getting easier and that the exam boards like AQA and Edexcel etc must tighten up on the level of difficulty of the questions students are being asked. Why? Is it so hard to believe that maybe the pass rates are rising because teaching standards are getting better and the students are simply getting smarter as a result of this improved teaching? Why can’t anybody have faith in teenagers? You are the ones who raised us; you were our shining example.
Some of the systems of examinations are ridiculous. I begin my four hour philosophy synoptic paper exam for my A Levels on Monday and this system is one of the ridiculous examples. I got given my question about…five weeks ago? Maybe four, I’m not sure. After this I was told I had to write 3000-4000 words for my answer (which is a lie in itself as I wrote 4342 in my final draft and the teacher said they didn’t care about the word count…why bother giving me one then?). Anyway, I did a plan. I wrote the essay and then gave it to a teacher to check, I made all the amendments and now have my finished version that I think is perfect. Now I have to condense it down to 1000 words of “rough notes” to take into my four hour exam to work from as i re-write the perfect answer I have already slaved over constructing. Point being? Why can’t I just submit it as coursework? I have over 17 hours of A Level exams coming up. There is an unbearable amount of information to learn. We are not being taught to know, we are being taught to pass exams. Of course I am only moaning selfishly about the exact same thing millions of 17 and 18 year olds are experiencing as I type, I just feel it should be highlighted. I highly doubt any credible publication will ever side with the students.
I challenge anyone to take philosophy, psychology and history at A Level and not get serious stress.+
Try not to break down and cry. At college we talk about who had their breakdown the night before, we discuss who has and hasn’t had theirs yet, we compare the length of the trauma.
A 17 year old should not know this much stress, it’s too much to handle.
Think you lose sleep? Try my life.
Recently in the news was a Yale student who impregnated herself and then tried to bring on abortions by taking herbal abortive drugs.
I beg your pardon?
What?
That’s a lovely slap in the face to any women that has had a miscarriage or felt the turmoil of facing an abortion. Then of course there’s the millions of couples that want more than anything to become parents but can’t. How dare this dipshit take human life into her own hands and treat it so mildly?! I’m not against abortion by any means, if it is the best option for the parents and/or the child in question (for example if the child would have a bad standard of life or if the mother was raped) then so be it, but that doesn’t mean we can ‘get rid of’ babies on a whim. This is not art it’s fucking disgusting! If she did do what she claims I really hope she has damaged her body so badly she is unable to have children, a woman who cares so little for a baby’s life does not deserve to be a mother. She would be a terrible mother! This ‘art’ student is quoted as saying:
“Just as it is a myth that women are “meant” to be feminine and men masculine, that penises and vaginas are “meant” for penetrative heterosexual sex (or that mouths, anuses, breasts, feet or leather, silicone, vinyl, rubber, or metal implements are not “meant” for sex at all), it is a myth that ovaries and a uterus are “meant” to birth a child.”
Bollocks.
Of course ovaries and a uterus are meant to birth children, what else do we use them for? Twat.
If she was an accepting and diverse member of society she would realise that these myths she poses to us are not present in society. Not mine anyway. Gay or straight, it makes no difference, it’s who you are as a person that determines what people think. I know a guy that is a million times more feminine than me and that’s half the reason I love him so much if I’m perfectly honest. Women come as butch as men, everyone knows that, no one can change it, You can’t change who you are,
Clearly this woman is a fucktard.
And we can’t change that! It’s just who she is!
Why do bad drivers seek me out? Every single time I set off on the road I meet a twat with wheels. It isn’t always a car, could be a chav on a bike. If I am coming down the road, do not pull out infront of me, bad things will happen. Best Worst case scenario, I hit you. Your own damn fault. Otherwise I will brake, swerve and be very pissed off, you will regret it, I will become a twat just like you. If you pull out right in front of me you should be prepared for me to stay right up your arse until one of us turns. Sound good? Also, don’t brake for no reason right infront of me and don’t drive so slow. If the limit’s 30, do 30, speed if you want to just don’t do 20! It isn’t hard. How do these people pass their driving test?
It’s completely beyond me.
From when we are young we are encouraged to never fear what other people think, to never allow ourselves to be judged and to be our own person. It is said that life is an individual journey and that we shouldn’t crave the attention or blessing of another. Is this true? Isn’t life simply the strive for attention? For glory? for the approval of another? In our youth we are encouraged to make friends and play nicely, we are encouraged to make other children like us. As we enter into our teenage years we are bombarded with an inordinate amount of pressure. We must be an individual and not conform (which is a bit self defeating as not conforming seems to be the norm nowadays surely making it conformity?). We must have a close-knit circle of peers who will help us through our troubles. We must not drink. We must not smoke. We must not take drugs. We must go to school. The majority must go to college. We must do well. We must be examined. We must pass the exams. We must complete the coursework. We must go out and enjoy our younger years. We should probably get a job and take responsibilty for ourselves. We must maintain a professional manner at all times as we are this country’s next generation and we have to clean up the mess that was created by the generation above us…really? All this for little seventeen year old me? I have nearly 17 hours of exams coming up for my A Levels. There’s coursework on top of that, and work, and being a respectable member of society, and living up to my family’s expectations. I couldn’t possibly go out and celebrate a friend’s birthday, a good mark, pay day. Alright this is slightly off topic, but the basic principle is this: we are told day in, day out not to care what other people think, but then all our life we try to impress others. A cycnical view of marriage is that it is merely a way of being forever accepted by someone else. Caring what someone else thinks. We buy impressive cars and houses to seem respectable. We send our children to good schools to kick start this entire cycle again. We try to prove we are good enough. Please accept me to your university, please! If we are this country’s future shouldn’t you be impressing me? Cynical yes, unrealistic? Not necessarily.
Is it fair to put this much stress on a 17 year old? I’m not legally classes as an adult yet, let me live my childhood. Stop setting the bar too high and acting disgraced when I make a mistake.
I’m only human, I’m only a ‘child’.
Right?
