What is your philosophy of life?

That's my point.

Even if you want to make an argument for atheism, etc., you can't really deny that Christianity when done right leads men to become better men (and leaders), leads women to become better mothers, and gives children a path to follow, a greater purpose to live for, and it teaches them to be selfless and altruistic.

What bothers me the most is people seem to think you can have it and not do it.
 
Sigh...

Here we go again...

Our nation was NOT founded on "Christian principles" - more like "universal principles". Indeed, the first people to come here were Christians fleeing other Christians. Christians didn't invent our principles, they mostly came from Plato and he didn't invent them either. And EVERYTHING is relative to something else, NOTHING is absolute - on this plane of existence at least.

I'll be the first to admit that I have significant problems with Christianity, some of its so-called "morals", parts of its theology, most of its doctrines, and virtually all of its dogma - just as I do with ANY form of monotheism. Being completely honest here, and not trying to put Chris, or anyone else, down. It gets tiresome when Christians claim they invented "everything" when they didn't, esp. after 2,000 years of bad history. The principles so often touted as "Christian" have been around since long before Jesus was a gleam in Joseph's eye - i.e. from the dawn of philosophy.

I certainly do NOT want to live in a "Christian Nation", I want to live in an ETHICAL Nation, and that concept flew the coop about 15 minutes after the constitution was signed unfortunately - its been chipped away at from all angles ever since.
 
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That's my point.

Even if you want to make an argument for atheism, etc., you can't really deny that Christianity when done right leads men to become better men (and leaders), leads women to become better mothers, and gives children a path to follow, a greater purpose to live for, and it teaches them to be selfless and altruistic.
As does ANY ethical worldview - its certainly not unique to Christianity.
 
That's my point.

Even if you want to make an argument for atheism, etc., you can't really deny that Christianity when done right leads men to become better men (and leaders), leads women to become better mothers, and gives children a path to follow, a greater purpose to live for, and it teaches them to be selfless and altruistic.

I think the bigger issue in modern day is how bastardized Christianity has become. Many people in this country love to tout themselves as good “christians” when their actions and beliefs are actually pretty atrocious.

For instance: the entire Republican Party.
 
Google “the millenial question “ it is an excerpt from an interview with author Simon Sinek- It will just about bring tears to your eyes and it is absolutely , incredibly intuitively accurate - about 16 minutes well spent if you manage these.

I recently had a friend who lost one just because he basically said “ don’t make the same mistake again” - Essentially the guy took it as a threat. What he was meaning was just don’t do it over and over-

I just watched the Simon Sinek video - thanks for that. Very compelling case for banning phones in conference rooms, and I'm mulling over putting up with the whining that will come with that rule to see if it helps our younger engineers build better relationships, as Mr. Sinek claims. We've already started sponsoring some social events to do that, and it does work. However, if banning phones in meetings gets them talking to each other, that's much less cost in time and money.
 
I just watched the Simon Sinek video - thanks for that. Very compelling case for banning phones in conference rooms, and I'm mulling over putting up with the whining that will come with that rule to see if it helps our younger engineers build better relationships, as Mr. Sinek claims. We've already started sponsoring some social events to do that, and it does work. However, if banning phones in meetings gets them talking to each other, that's much less cost in time and money.

I would be concerned of creating resentment by banning cell phones. There could be some unintended consequences. I think it may be a better solution to attempt persuading those young engineers that it is their idea to "voluntarily" leave those cell phones behind as a means of having better focus and a method of creating those better relationships. As usual, that is probably easier said than done, I'm sure. But the easier method of "banning" the phones may not be the best way of achieving the desired result.
 
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Probably late to the party, but here are some principals/beliefs I try to live by, which I learned from my dad.

Take care of family
Work as hard as you can
Be honest in all of your dealings
Don't think of yourself as better than anyone else
People are more valuable than things
Be aware of the privileges and opportunities afforded to you from this great country
Live a moral life
Be humble
Continue to learn until the day you die
Make and keep friends

My dad was an awesome guy. Grew up with an alcoholic dad and an absent mom. Left home at 15. Had every reason in the world to be bitter, angry and a failure. Instead, he used all those negative experiences growing up as fuel to become a better man. Wish he was still around.
 
I would be concerned of creating resentment by banning cell phones. There could be some unintended consequences. I think it may be a better solution to attempt persuading those young engineers that it is their idea to "voluntarily" leave those cell phones behind as a means of having better focus and a method of creating those better relationships. As usual, that is probably easier said than done, I'm sure. But the easier method of "banning" the phones may not be the best way of achieving the desired result.

His arguments for why to ban them make a lot of sense, and the concern you noted is why I'm mulling it over. I think that if we were to do so, it would take some explanation as to the reasons why. I don't think trying to get it done voluntarily is possible because, as he points out in the video, it is an addiction that is hard to break.
 
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I just watched the Simon Sinek video - thanks for that. Very compelling case for banning phones in conference rooms, and I'm mulling over putting up with the whining that will come with that rule to see if it helps our younger engineers build better relationships, as Mr. Sinek claims. We've already started sponsoring some social events to do that, and it does work. However, if banning phones in meetings gets them talking to each other, that's much less cost in time and money.

Well I guess one of the main things is when people have something to read they don’t listen to what is being said- That is why I when I used to hold dealer training meetings as a sales rep I did not hand out anything to read at the start

He’s just got a pretty good grip on how everything is playing into the behavior we should see it seems- neat guy- He certainly articulates it well

The real concern to me is how communication devices are becoming an impediment to good personal communication.
 
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As does ANY ethical worldview - its certainly not unique to Christianity.

Well the reason Christianity is being discussed in this case is because when this country was founded, it was deeply shaped by Christianity.
The dictionary lists the definition of ethics as such: a system of moral principles

Where do morals come from? Well that’s debatable. I would however say that religion paves the way for many of the morals we as human beings hold onto. Christianity is all around us in both the world and western culture. Returning to a nation based in Christianity would be a good thing.
 
I think the bigger issue in modern day is how bastardized Christianity has become. Many people in this country love to tout themselves as good “christians” when their actions and beliefs are actually pretty atrocious.

For instance: the entire Republican Party.

Yes, Matt Walsh wrote a fantastic book on this subject called Church of Cowards.

Too many pastors these days are afraid to speak the truth. They fear the possibility of offending others, even the Twitter mob.

If we are talking politicians, the worst offenders of all would be the Democrat Party. They adhere to a different type of religion, one that convenes in self-worship, nihilism, abject depravity, and moral corruption. A religion that seeks to destroy all that is good and true and replace it with morally pernicious ideas.

Suffice it to say that politicians and Christianity don’t even belong in the same sentence. The Democrat Party is useless and only bares the faint distinction of a slightly more palatable Republican Party.

I have great disdain for both parties. I’ve only aligned myself in recent years with the Republican Party because they are what I would call the lesser of two evils, albeit not by much.

In a perfect world, neither of these parties would be leading our country.
 
Well the reason Christianity is being discussed in this case is because when this country was founded, it was deeply shaped by Christianity.
The dictionary lists the definition of ethics as such: a system of moral principles

Where do morals come from? Well that’s debatable. I would however say that religion paves the way for many of the morals we as human beings hold onto. Christianity is all around us in both the world and western culture. Returning to a nation based in Christianity would be a good thing.
We're going to have to agree to disagree then - and that's OK. Your "returning" language doesn't hold water as we never were a "Christian" nation to begin with - our founders did their VERY best to keep our founding documents religion neutral/agnostic. That shows their ETHICS - not "morals", ETHICS - which are universal to most religions/belief systems/whatever. The founders were certainly mostly if not all Masons, who are also similarly religion neutral.

A nation "based in Christianity" is abhorrent to me, just like one based in Islam would be - we all know what goes on in those types of countries, the outward form of theocracy - MOST esp. a monotheistic theocracy - doesn't matter. I cannot think of a greater evil than theocracy - and that's what we have now with the Liberal "Religion". Trading that for another form of the same thing accomplishes nothing.
 
I'm sick of Republicans being corraled as all the same. I'm a pro gay, pro abortion, aethiest , Republican that makes it a point to say hello to every black person I come in contact with. I certainly wish they would be a little more like myself, but Republicans are not the same. I'm not going to say what I think about Democrats.
 
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Don't get me wrong - I've met and known MANY very good and ETHICAL Christians - I'm not here to bash such! But 2,000 years of bad history leaves me VERY wary of Christianity-as-an-institution. I listen to the Christianist (note the "ist") rhetoric, and it hasn't changed in 2,000 years. Do some research on the "Christianization of Europe" and the delightful pair of emperors Theodosius who outlawed non-Christian religions, and ushered in a dark age that lasted over 1,000 years.

This is a large part of the reason many Jews, despite being monotheists themselves, are also wary of Christianity, and Islam both - although they too were just as bad as any other type of monotheism if you believe their BOOK.
 
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His arguments for why to ban them make a lot of sense, and the concern you noted is why I'm mulling it over. I think that if we were to do so, it would take some explanation as to the reasons why. I don't think trying to get it done voluntarily is possible because, as he points out in the video, it is an addiction that is hard to break.

I watched the video also and I agree he has really good points that I very much agree with. I also believe you are correct, that it is an addiction that is hard to break, but much like other addictions, the addict has to want to quit. No matter how concerned or altruistic anyone else’s desires, no one can mandate that an addict quit an addiction. It simply results in resentment, sneaking around, or alienation. I’ve heard some speakers and read some literature on leading, and a common theme is that good leaders can get a lot accomplished by instituting rules and policies and ensuring their strict compliance, but a great leader inspires people to want to be great and strive for excellence. I’m not saying you would wrong to outright ban them, I also don’t think it would be easy to get them to voluntarily give them up, but I wonder if you were to be successful in getting them to do it voluntarily if it might yield a better result. Sort of the old adage of attracting more bees with honey than with vinegar.
 
Yes, Matt Walsh wrote a fantastic book on this subject called Church of Cowards.

Too many pastors these days are afraid to speak the truth. They fear the possibility of offending others, even the Twitter mob.

If we are talking politicians, the worst offenders of all would be the Democrat Party. They adhere to a different type of religion, one that convenes in self-worship, nihilism, abject depravity, and moral corruption. A religion that seeks to destroy all that is good and true and replace it with morally pernicious ideas.

Suffice it to say that politicians and Christianity don’t even belong in the same sentence. The Democrat Party is useless and only bares the faint distinction of a slightly more palatable Republican Party.

I have great disdain for both parties. I’ve only aligned myself in recent years with the Republican Party because they are what I would call the lesser of two evils, albeit not by much.

In a perfect world, neither of these parties would be leading our country.

Yeah sorry I wasn’t trying to turn this political, but that was the first example I think of as they seem to aligned themselves as the “Christian side” yet don’t really seem to resemble anything close to what Christ would do.
 
I'm sick of Republicans being corraled as all the same. I'm a pro gay, pro abortion, aethiest , Republican that makes it a point to say hello to every black person I come in contact with. I certainly wish they would be a little more like myself, but Republicans are not the same. I'm not going to say what I think about Democrats.
I hear you. I am none of the things you state - yet what I *am* for is for the FREEDOM for each person to make up their own minds about such things. Instead, we have the slavery on the Left, and the slavery on the Right. I want NEITHER. My "religion" is FREEDOM, my politics is FREEDOM. Most people don't want freedom - not for themselves and certainly not for others. They just want fair masters.

I don't pigeonhole easily. The only thing the GOP has going for it is that it isn't the Democrats. If people gave a damn about ethics or freedom, they'd vote Libertarian; but as it is, Libertarians are universally detested by both Left and Right because we don't buy into the slavery, games and bullshit of either. "Libertarian" is not necessarily congruent with the political party of the same name that has shifted left in recent years and also isn't really for a strong national defense.

On the other hand, it isn't any secret that I'm Pagan. I'm a square peg in a round hole there too as most Pagans are Left leaning all the way to communistic - which makes no sense whatsoever as the Left is mostly atheistic, which Pagans certainly are not.

The "balance" or "equilibrium" is waaaaaay off, and anyone in the middle is universally detested.
 
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I watched the video also and I agree he has really good points that I very much agree with. I also believe you are correct, that it is an addiction that is hard to break, but much like other addictions, the addict has to want to quit. No matter how concerned or altruistic anyone else’s desires, no one can mandate that an addict quit an addiction. It simply results in resentment, sneaking around, or alienation. I’ve heard some speakers and read some literature on leading, and a common theme is that good leaders can get a lot accomplished by instituting rules and policies and ensuring their strict compliance, but a great leader inspires people to want to be great and strive for excellence. I’m not saying you would wrong to outright ban them, I also don’t think it would be easy to get them to voluntarily give them up, but I wonder if you were to be successful in getting them to do it voluntarily if it might yield a better result. Sort of the old adage of attracting more bees with honey than with vinegar.

The best leader I ever worked for simply said “ just go out and work like you know you should”.

On the phones, what we simply need are manners-

If I go into a very important meeting I would not even consider looking at my phone unless it is at a critical time and I would let everybody in the room know ...”look guys I’ve got to watch this phone in case my sister calls me about my dad or this worker can’t get the power back on, etc-“- But otherwise it is not more important than somebody’s feelings.

I really do believe people will forget what you said that they’ll never forget how you made them feel.

I would venture to say that many of us can remember things that happened in second third fourth grade and how it made us feel-

It is very powerful, good or bad.

On the upside if you bring people up the become addicted to you to a degree. I think that’s a pretty big compliment.

Now to counter this a little bit I will bring my phone into a meeting and when a client shows me what they want to do to their house I will take notes on my phone and I’ll often send them an email right then that outlines the conversation and actions we both need to take.

I don’t do much of the “I’ll get back with you“ deal.

The majority of people will tell you the contractors they talk to don’t even follow up with a quote.

Even if someone reaches out to me and it’s a job that I’m not going to do I will send them a very courteous email, after looking at their concept drawing for example, of things they might want to think about and maybe going to a little bit more detail of why it isn’t right for us.


I get referrals from people we don’t even work for. The best work that you will ever do as a contractor is the work that you didn’t do- Because people will often think if you did it it would’ve been perfect, they just weren’t able to get you.
 
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Probably late to the party, but here are some principals/beliefs I try to live by, which I learned from my dad.

Take care of family
Work as hard as you can
Be honest in all of your dealings
Don't think of yourself as better than anyone else
People are more valuable than things
Be aware of the privileges and opportunities afforded to you from this great country
Live a moral life
Be humble
Continue to learn until the day you die
Make and keep friends

My dad was an awesome guy. Grew up with an alcoholic dad and an absent mom. Left home at 15. Had every reason in the world to be bitter, angry and a failure. Instead, he used all those negative experiences growing up as fuel to become a better man. Wish he was still around.
I know this guy well enough to say that he practices what he’s talking about. Whenever he acts things just get better.