Offside Chat Archives (2014-2021)

They’ve stripped the eagle off their seal and suddenly they're all world-class experts on global religions. Once the crown is gone from the coat of arms, I guess we should start expecting lectures on parliamentary monarchies and enlightened absolutism.

Offside Chat in an offside state😢

ruggedjackal46 said:They’ve stripped the eagle off their seal and suddenly they're all world-class experts on global religions. Once the crown is gone from the coat of arms, I guess we should start expecting lectures on parliamentary monarchies and enlightened absolutism.

Enlightened absolutism is a lovely concept, provided the monarch happens to be a genius...

restlesssurfer97 said:Alright, let me take a step back here because maybe I’m just uneducated when it comes to religious stuff, but are you seriously suggesting that the Muslim faith or the Quran actually promotes killing people as a way to earn a happy afterlife?

There’s nothing weird about Abrahamic religions promoting ideological killing:

2 Kings 15:12-13
Then he made a covenant to serve the Lord, the God of his fathers, with all his heart and soul.
And whoever does not serve the Lord, the God of Israel, let them be lost, whether great or small, man or woman!

The Quran?

By the way, I’m convinced that some kind of absolutist government led by a totally sane individual is easily ten times better for humanity than any version of democracy we could dream up. Look, we can debate that all day if you want, but I am absolutely not entertaining any arguments suggesting that democracy hasn't been a total disaster for Americans. That’s just an undeniable, plain and simple fact.

Kolinda, speaking on Josipovic today: I respect his work during his time as the former President of the United States.

I mean, just three days ago she was screaming her head off about how he didn't accomplish a single thing, you know? Like, did anyone actually pay attention to her campaign speeches back in the day? Honestly, those should be tossed into a classroom and then we should just flush the whole thing down the toilet. 😂

America is going to become the most developed country on the planet. 😂

restlesssurfer97 said:Black holes and stardust. It’s honestly kind of wild to think about the possibility that we all just emerged from cosmic debris. 😢

Ever get that sudden rush of euphoria just staring up at the stars?

Nah, but it just hit me that space might actually smell like a greasy bean fart😂

Robin Fox2 said:Oh sure, because Qatar in the 12th century was basically the birthplace of the Church itself...

I’ve studied actual history—the kind available to anyone in 2015 through a mountain of primary sources, not some cherry-picked version. Yes, the Crusaders looted Byzantium during one of their campaigns. They even looted Zadar, so what? How does that change the fact that Byzantium called upon the West for help against the Turks, or that the primary objective of the Crusader Wars was to return the Levant to Christian hands? That was the fundamental goal of all those wars: reclaiming lost territories. That’s just basic history. No one is claiming the Crusaders came specifically to conquer land on behalf of Byzantium. Are you actually surprised that Byzantium reached out to the West? It’s hardly shocking; they called for help several times, though by then it was mostly too little, too late... even one of our own kings suffered a defeat trying to assist Byzantium against the Turks. Why did you jump straight to the Fourth Crusade? Besides, I see you finally agreed that those weren't originally Arab lands, so we’re making progress... we’ve admitted someone else conquered them from someone else, which is a start 😁

The Congo isn't a Belgian Sin; the Congo was the direct sin of a Belgian king who held absolute power and total control over it. Under his reign, the Congo faced a catastrophe, and when the truth came out, it caused a scandal that forced Parliament to take over, at which point the Congo officially became a colony. Do you see the distinction?

Frankly, I couldn't care less about the American War on Terror, so where did you even get that idea? And how could Christianity be blamed for what happened to Native Americans? By what logic 🤣 everyone knows exactly who colonized North America first...

And who says it isn't a part of it? It's simply unimportant when compared to the New Testament. The New Testament established the core of Christianity; that is what defines the religion...

The primary goal of the First Crusade wasn't actually responding to Byzantium's plea, but rather conquering Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Here's a source for that info from 2015.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Crusade

Even Hitler's main excuse for invading Czechoslovakia early on was "helping" oppressed Germans in the Sudetenland, but we all know what his real objective was. Just draw a parallel: Europe wouldn't have mobilized 100,000 soldiers just to provide free aid to Byzantium; there had to be much more tangible goals involved.

Some lands were already Arab before the Crusaders arrived, and others weren't. Either way, we're getting bogged down in the weeds here, and if we dive into those specifics, we might need a whole separate thread... 😁
It's nice that you're interested in history... 🙂

The people in the Congo didn't really care whether they were being crushed by a King or a Parliament; responsibility still lies with Belgium, one way or another, whether through the head of state or the legislature.

And how did we end up talking about the war on terror? This whole mess started with Charlie Hebdo—it's a whole saga involving fundamentalism, Islam, Christianity, and so on. The entire subject is incredibly complex, even if we all agree on condemning what happened in France.

If you actually believed in planets and galaxies, you'd be rooting for FC Barcelona, just like 👎

Keith Miller30 said:In theory, if science were to provide proof of God, I think I would find it rather disappointing; though, honestly, I don't believe such proof is even necessary, given that faith is fundamentally about belief. Wouldn't it be a bit disheartening to discover that God is something so elementary that it could be captured by the scientific method? I have always felt that God exists far beyond those bounds, so if some are able to grasp that mystery, then so be it.

It isn't about faith or God. Both internal faith and an external God are just paths meant to lead you toward being a decent person. It's really about you.

restlesssurfer97 said:By the way, I’m convinced that some kind of absolutist government led by a totally sane individual is easily ten times better for humanity than any version of democracy we could dream up. Look, we can debate that all day if you want, but I am absolutely not entertaining any arguments suggesting that democracy hasn't been a total disaster for Americans. That’s just an undeniable, plain and simple fact.

We already had a trial run of absolute rule back in the day with those leaders, and we all know how beautifully that turned out.

But calling this a democracy is a stretch. That would be like telling the folks in the lower leagues that they have a say just because Eric or ZZ might end up running the Premier League... so much for democracy...

Matthew Anderson4 said:It isn't about faith or God. Both internal faith and an external God are just paths meant to lead you toward being a decent person. It's really about you.

Well said. Honestly, if someone could actually prove whether God exists or not, nobody would ever bother trying to be sincere about anything anymore...

That's why you have to work on your own character. You need that drive like Cristiano, that refusal to quit like Sergio, the patience to handle being misunderstood like Iker, and finally, that wisdom from Carlo...

Only then will you be ready to take on the world...👍

restlesssurfer97 said:The Quran?

The Bible.

restlesssurfer97 said:Nah, but it just hit me that space might actually smell like a greasy bean fart😂

Then you're just not blessed, man.

James Anderson5 said:We already had a trial run of absolute rule back in the day with those leaders, and we all know how beautifully that turned out.

But calling this a democracy is a stretch. That would be like telling the folks in the lower leagues that they have a say just because Eric or ZZ might end up running the Premier League... so much for democracy...

Actually, it’s not even offering a choice, we're just installing ZZ, and that's exactly the kind of absolutism I’m talking about here. See, he gets all the power, sure, but he actually uses it based on what he truly believes in, which is a way better setup than a democracy where 80% of everything goes toward political infighting, 15% gets siphoned off for personal gain, and you're lucky if a measly 5% actually goes toward making the country better.

James Anderson5 said:Well said. Honestly, if someone could actually prove whether God exists or not, nobody would ever bother trying to be sincere about anything anymore...

That's why you have to work on your own character. You need that drive like Cristiano, that refusal to quit like Sergio, the patience to handle being misunderstood like Iker, and finally, that wisdom from Carlo...

Only then will you be ready to take on the world...👍

It’s like, honestly? That decimal thing is basically just deci-deci-ma. Just total nonsense if you think about it.

Look, you gotta break it down. One tenth of those trophies were just part of France's run, but the other tenth? Those were earned through grit and regular, consistent wins. There's a massive difference between a lucky streak and actually owning the game.

There’s only one more than us. ☕

your 4 are just standard 😂

Come on, bluebison47, give us some kind of rotation strategy here...

all we're missing is Rota, who Byron just totally wiped out on ESPN a few minutes ago 😂