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Corm, I realise you love this forum. But love can also be blind, can it not?
A "more structured tie-in" with the BHA goes hand-in-hand with a dilution of independence, as far as I’m concerned. Perhaps not immediately, but I can definitely see it go that way over time.
Why try and build TRF into something greater, when the way to do this appears to be aligning the forum with elements of the racing industry that many view as the core of the problem?
I have a very black-and-white view on this. TRF can either continue to be an independent voice, or it can be part of the racing ‘club’. It can’t be both, imo.
Vague notions have a habit of being ill-starred, Corm. Look no further than the Racing For Change programme, which has achieved precisely bugger-all, because no-one really knew what they wanted from it in the first place.
You might want to think about what it is you want to achieve by this proposed link-up, before you take the idea any further. You might also want to clarify to what extent the BHA will participate (daily/weekly/monthly interaction) in order that you can set some expectations.
I expect this is one of those ideas intended to elevate TRF beyond being a ‘mere’ message board? If so, it needs a lot more development, imo, if it is not to be a) a hopeless failure and/or b) detrimental to the ‘health’ of the forum.
I assume nothing, Grimes. If there is a God/Creator, and I find myself prostrate before him on Judgement Day, I will simply appeal to His alleged good nature, admit that I got it wrong, and ask for forgiveness.
I will offer the contradictory nature of His doctrine (that laid down in the Bible
and
preached from the pulpit) as evidence for my confusion. If He is as reasonable and compassionate as everyone suggests, I reckon I’m about a 4/9 chance to get into Heaven.
The down-side is that He frowns upon my Earthly lack of wisdom, and condemns me to a life of eternal pain and suffering because of it. But such a course of action would surely go against the grain of His own teaching, and pretty-much render Him no more than a fickle tyrant, wouldn’t it?
I really don’t think I’m clever enough to follow a lot of this thread, so please accept my apologies for the somewhat ‘brass tacks’ view I’m adopting. This is Christianity-based, but generally covers my argument against all religion.
Assuming all other things are equal, the only real difference between those that have faith, and those that don’t, is belief in an after-life.
Non-believers reckon that when you’re dead, you’re dead, and you only live on in the memories of those you encountered on the journey, or by the deeds you committed during your life.
Believers self-evidently believe that the soul is released upon death, and elevated to a different dimension/spiritual plane, and that – in some sense – we live on.
No evidence is offered to support this latter theory, beyond what is written in a book that is almost 2000 years old – a book whose final content was decided by Man, not God.
In terms of content, the Bible is like a ‘self-help’ manual; full of practical tips to live a good, honest, decent life. Unfortunately, it also offers eternality as a tantalising prize, if the rules of conduct laid down are followed to the letter. In answer to the question "How do you manage that then?", the only answer you get is "Just have faith that I am right". That, to me, is simply not a tenable argument.
Science and Technology don’t have
all
the answers, and probably never will. But they have provided a sh*t-load more answers than Religion has been able to muster over the last couple of millenia.
Like Wit, I don’t know for sure that the Sun is 93 million miles away from the Earth. But I have
faith
that Science/Tech has shown to a suffient degree of proof, that there are around 93 million of the units we call ‘miles’ between the Earth and the Sun.
This is my faith. It is based on knowledge I accumulate from sources I believe are both credible and trustworthy, and – importantly – who have no agenda to tell me anything other than the facts. What’s more, this accumulation/learning is a life-long journey, with no presumptions as to what the ultimate outcome may be, rendering this life more interesting.
Why read the back three pages first?
Wait till Jumps season comes in, cheap horses, boring silks, horrible weather, distances you could fall asleep half way through, enormous fatals list, injured jockey after injured jockey, same horses, same names, through the form book away, horses winning by 40l etc, no stud prospects, poor prize money etc.
I feel sick of it already, just the thought.
Bring on 2011 Guineas! proper stuff
Mincer.
It would appear that the God promoted by most religions is somewhat vindictive, and therefore doesn’t really warrant my support.
It’s all very well Him telling us to be compassionate, but it seems He will show you none himself when the moment comes, unless you have faith.
Is there a place in His kingdom for souls who have lived good lives in every other respect, but who don’t have faith?
Why should the rewards of Heaven be denied such goodly souls without faith, when the mass-murderer can get through the Pearly Gates (or whatever similar apperture applies) simply by recanting his sins?
His door policy could do with an overhaul, imo.
"Believe or Die" Bill Hicks c1988
Dave,
Do you have an opinion on:
– whether you have a soul – an essence or spirit by which you think, feel, will, are animated?
– whether its distinct from your body?
– whether it might live on after your body dies?
Compassion, love, empathy etc. Aren’t these senses merely the result of chemical reactions in the noddle?
There’s been some interesting research into sociopaths over the years, and there seems to be a reasonably conclusive link that sociapaths tend to have abnormal brain activity, with possible links to defective genes.
Presumably, if you believe in a God made in His own image, then the ‘soul’ starts out good, and then becomes bad (in the case of the sinner).
If the ‘soul’ starts out bad due to said chemical imbalances, is this evidence of there not being a God?
Or is evidence of abnormal brain activity – like that found in sociopaths – evidence only that God moves in mysterious ways?A moderately interesting thread this, but destined to end largely as predicted by Drone, I fear. When it comes to pass, will this constitute evidence that Drone is a God?
Good to know Sovies- the Racing Post site is the one for information like that.
I still remember him winning the Stayers Hurdle in ’94 before being disqualified, must have been tough on all concerned.1994 was my first time at the Festival, and I of course backed Avro Anson that day he was lobbed-out. Good to hear the old boy is still going strong.
Yvette Cooper, like the rest of the New Labour coterie, is no style, no substance. Evasive and patronising in equal measure, she somehow manages to come across as insincere, condescending and needy all at the same time, whenever interviewed. This is perhaps a reflection of her being a lifer politico, with little in common with the people she purports to represent.
Perfectly qualified to be a PM, in other words.
………..who has put political ambition and machinations before the good of the Labour Party.
An accusation that could never be levelled at Brother David, eh?
This is going to be the shiftiest looking Shadow Cabinet in history. I predict David Icke is hired as a special advisor before the next full moon, and that Ed Balls changes his name to Charles Manson soon after.
Had to download some Herb Alpert after watching Friday’s tremendous BBC4 documentary on him.
I clocked her at Cheltenham. She was grabbing a coffee, and I was standing outside the Mandarin.
She wanted me. You could just tell.
