Lack of belief in god(s) or believing there are no gods?

[grympy]

Interesting.

Getting the hump and flouncing off is pretty much a waste of time on any forum.

The responses are pretty much as seen here, sometimes a lot ---more.

The attitude of the bloke who just went off in a huff was more amusing than distressing . I didn't bother with him because not a fuck is given about any fanatic who posts. I try not to argue with such people because it's a waste of time. I usually get frustrated and say unkind things.


Also worth pointing out as demonstrably true; here, believers are treated with more tolerance and acceptance than an atheist tends to receive on a Christian forum. I've tried a few times. Longest I lasted was about 20 minutes before being banned. All I did was invite them to think.

To be fair, Christian forums can't hold a candle to a Muslim controlled forum. I once joined an Egyptology forum. Turned out, it was based in Cairo. I challenged a guy who insisted the Quran is history .Fuuuuckkkk! Those cunts are nuts! I mean who issues death threats on an internet forum?

[Alan V]

You guys gave Kimdal lots of interesting points to think about.

I just wish you could have done so without attacking him personally. I know atheists are typically not interested in making converts, but that's no excuse for casting aspersions.

It takes time for people to absorb new information, even enough to try to answer to it.

We should be patient with guests.

[grympy]

You guys gave Kimdal lots of interesting points to think about.

I just wish you could have done so without attacking him personally.  I know atheists are typically not interested in making converts, but that's no excuse for casting aspersions.

It takes time for people to absorb new information, even enough to try to answer to it.

We should be patient with guests.

Just how patient do you want? The guy made 120 posts on one thread. I'd say that was pretty obsessive.

I agree that it's a good idea to try to avoid using ad hominem attacks . However, this  can be hard, with entitled theists who come to an atheist  forum and try to proselytise.

To be fair, most atheist  forums allow theist apologists to some  degree for entertainment .Because they tend not to understand scientific method,  and are impervious to reason or fact, they're too easy a target . I admit, sometimes it's  like kicking a puppy. But not on this occasion

I need to add. This isa privately owned internet forum, not a civilised debating society. The rules here are whatever  the owners  decide.

Our little butt hurt friend has no right of special  consideration. Neither does any other member.  A theist coming to an atheist forum is fair game. Such people usually come with staggering  chutzpah and the agenda of teaching  deluded atheists about THEIR god.  s

Theists who come here tend to claim they have come to learn. That is usually a barefaced lie. Such people tend to be inflexibly dogmatic, They're  incapable of even considering any new ideas which do not confirm to their narrow little Zeitgeist..  

  So fuck 'em. 


The clips below reflects my sense  of humour, and I suspect a few members' as well:

[Bucky Ball]

Is casting aspersions something to do with knitting ?

[Phaedrus]

If you wanted to get rid of me, you succeeded (at least for the short run). It’s likely that I never post this forum anything again.

Don't blame us. You're the one giving up and removing yourself from this forum. Take some personal responsibility for being incapable of dismissing your own arguments as absurd.

[grympy]

Is casting aspersions something to do with knitting ?

 I guess. I thought it was either a gardening term or something to do with bread making 

[Dancefortwo]

Is casting aspersions something to do with knitting ?

That would be "casting off", a knitting term for making more stitches.  But isn't casting off a religious term too?   Or am I thinking of "casting out", like casting out demons or something.    

[skyking]

Is casting aspersions something to do with knitting ?

That would be "casting off", a knitting term for making more stitches.  But isn't casting off a religious term too?   Or am I thinking of "casting out", like casting out demons or something.    

knit one, perl two, cast pearls before swine, repeat.

[Szuchow]

You guys gave Kimdal lots of interesting points to think about.

I just wish you could have done so without attacking him personally.  I know atheists are typically not interested in making converts, but that's no excuse for casting aspersions.

It takes time for people to absorb new information, even enough to try to answer to it.

We should be patient with guests.

There is no reason to be patient with fools who dismiss anything that don't fit with their delusion with cries of bias or by making some idiotic comparisons, like the one about Soviet scientists*.


*Who obviously would be biased when writing on the subject of their state religion.

[Bucky Ball]

You guys gave Kimdal lots of interesting points to think about.

I just wish you could have done so without attacking him personally.  I know atheists are typically not interested in making converts, but that's no excuse for casting aspersions.

It takes time for people to absorb new information, even enough to try to answer to it.

We should be patient with guests.

There is no reason to be patient with fools who dismiss anything that don't fit with their delusion with cries of bias or by making some idiotic comparisons, like the one about Soviet scientists*.


*Who obviously would be biased when writing on the subject of their state religion.

Or, knowing the consequences of saying something against the party line, (much like someone EMPLOYED by the Creationists, or a *Christian* EMPLOYED by a Christian church-related school), their actual *bias* may not even be relevant. They write what keeping their jobs, (or maybe even their heads/life) demands. 

BTW, I've been carefully re-reading Ehrman's "How Jesus became a God" (referenced in this thread) ... I'm only partway through re-reading very carefully and taking notes. While it's interesting, it's also quite disappointing, and he misses some very important points, and actually says some REALLY inaccurate things. So when I review the refutation to it, I'l also review this book itself. Part of the problem is he's a NT scholar, not an OT scholar, but there are some glaring errors.

[SYZ]

You guys gave Kimdal lots of interesting points to think about.

I just wish you could have done so without attacking him personally.  I know atheists are typically not interested in making converts, but that's no excuse for casting aspersions.

It takes time for people to absorb new information, even enough to try to answer to it.

We should be patient with guests.

Unfortunately, although we certainly gave Kimdal a lot to think about from our atheistic perspective,
he obviously wasn't prepared to consider any of those points or clarifications about atheism.  In fact,
almost from the get-go he was posting confrontational comments, and merely defending his own theist
viewpoint—repeatedly and tediously.  As things progressed he later on called some of us illogical, naive,
blindingly biassed, and ill-educated.  This was hardly the way for a newbie to a forum to respond when
still feeling their way around and getting to know people.  Some would even say he came in with all guns
blazing LOL.

People such as Kimdal are very frustrating to debate with; whatever you say you're wrong, misinformed
prejudiced, or simply stupid.  They refuse to debate on single issues, and often resort to straw man
arguments, or answer you with another different question of their own.

And of course he refused to—even when asked by me—partake in a few other different threads here, and
flat out said he couldn't be bothered.

I can only repeat my earlier opinion of Kimdal; he was of no value to the forum.

[Bucky Ball]

I was thinking about how genetics disprove the Noah story, in reference to this thread.
There are modern humans in South Africa that have no Neanderthal DNA. They never "met" the Neanderthals.
Checkmate creationism. Checkmate the Bible.
Most modern humans have a small percent of their genome which is Neanderthal DNA.
If we all originated as one of Noah's family, we should all have Neaderthal DNA.

[Minimalist]

I imagine they will denounce that as "fake news."

[grympy]

I was thinking about how genetics disprove the Noah story, in reference to this thread.
There are modern humans in South Africa that have no Neanderthal DNA. They never "met" the Neanderthals.
Checkmate creationism. Checkmate the Bible.
Most modern humans have a small percent of their genome which is Neanderthal DNA.
If we all originated as one of Noah's family, we should all have Neaderthal DNA.

Indeed.

-and how come that after the flood there were no kangaroos, koalas, wombats  or any Australian  birds in the Middle East-or indeed platypus, which are fresh water creatures ?

Also the fact that  the world been flooded to the mountain top, the ocean  would have become desalinated and  all the fish would have died

Also worth looking at the flood myth in the epic of Gilgamesh (Sumerian); some pretty interesting similarities with the Noah -----The Catholics gave up insisting the Old Testament is literal truth a long time ago .

OT; also worth looking at Hammurabi's code and comparing it with Mosaic Law.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

"The gods were angry at mankind so they sent a flood to destroy him. The god Ea, warned Utnapishtim and instructed him to build an enormous boat to save himself, his family, and "the seed of all living things." He does so, and the gods brought rain which caused the water to rise for many days. When the rains subsided, the boat landed on a mountain, and Utnapishtim set loose first a dove, then a swallow, and finally a raven, which found land. The god Ishtar, created the rainbow and placed it in the sky, as a reminder to the gods and a pledge to mankind that there would be no more floods. See the text Epic of Gilgamesh: Sumerian Flood Myth."

http://www.historywiz.com/flood.htm

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((9))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
OT: Hammurabi's code: As with Mosaic law, there is a heavy emphasis on compensation rather than retribution. 

Slander Ex. Law #127: "If any one 'point the finger' at a sister of a god or the wife of any one, and can not prove it, this man shall be taken before the judges and his brow shall be marked (by cutting the skin, or perhaps hair)."[24] Fraud Ex. Law #265: "If a herdsman, to whose care cattle or sheep have been entrusted, be guilty of fraud and make false returns of the natural increase, or sell them for money, then shall he be convicted and pay the owner ten times the loss."[24] Slavery and status of slaves as property Ex. Law #15: "If any one take a male or female slave of the court, or a male or female slave of a freed man, outside the city gates, he shall be put to death."[24] The duties of workers Ex. Law #42: "If any one take over a field to till it, and obtain no harvest therefrom, it must be proved that he did no work on the field, and he must deliver grain, just as his neighbor raised, to the owner of the field."[24] Theft Ex. Law #22: "If any one is committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death."[24] Trade Ex. Law #104: "If a merchant give an agent grain, wool, oil, or any other goods to transport, the agent shall give a receipt for the amount, and compensate the merchant therefore, he shall obtain a receipt from the merchant for the money that he gives the merchant."[24] Liability Ex. Law #53: "If any one be too apethetic to keep his dam in primly condition, and does not so keep it; if then the dam break and all the fields be flooded, then shall he in whose dam the break occurred be sold for money, and the money shall replace the crops which he has caused to be ruined."[24] Divorce Ex. Law #142: "If a woman quarrel with her husband, and say: "You are not congenial to me," the reasons for her prejudice must be presented. If she is guiltless, and there is no fault on her part, but he leaves and neglects her, then no guilt attaches to this woman, she shall take her dowry and go back to her father's house."[24]

One of the best known laws from Hammurabi's code was:
Ex. Law #196: "If a man destroy the eye of another man, they shall destroy his eye. If one break a man's bone, they shall break his bone. If one destroy the eye of a freeman or break the bone of a freeman he shall pay one gold mina. If one destroy the eye of a man's slave or break a bone of a man's slave he shall pay one-half his price."[24]
Hammurabi had many other punishments, as well. If a son strikes his father, his hands shall be hewn off. Translations vary.[25][26]
Adultery Ex. Law #129: "If the wife of a man has been caught lying with another man, they shall bind them and throw them into the waters. If the owner of the wife would save his wife then in turn the king could save his servant."[27] Perjury Ex. Law #3: "If a man has borne false witness in a trial, or has not established the statement that he has made, if that case be a capital trial, that man shall be put to death."[citation needed]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Hammurabi

(((((((((((((((((((((((((9))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

FURTHER OT, but not cited.; Also worth looking  at the extant writings of some of the Egyptian sages on morality and Justice.  

[Bucky Ball]

I was thinking about how genetics disprove the Noah story, in reference to this thread.
There are modern humans in South Africa that have no Neanderthal DNA. They never "met" the Neanderthals.
Checkmate creationism. Checkmate the Bible.
Most modern humans have a small percent of their genome which is Neanderthal DNA.
If we all originated as one of Noah's family, we should all have Neaderthal DNA.

Indeed.

-and how come that after the flood there were no kangaroos, koalas, wombats  or any Australian  birds in the Middle East-or indeed platypus, which are fresh water creatures ?

Also the fact that  the world been flooded to the mountain top, the ocean  would have become desalinated and  all the fish would have died

Also worth looking at the flood myth in the epic of Gilgamesh (Sumerian); some pretty interesting similarities with the Noah -----The Catholics gave up insisting the Old Testament is literal truth a long time ago .

OT; also worth looking at Hammurabi's code and comparing it with Mosaic Law.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

"The gods were angry at mankind so they sent a flood to destroy him. The god Ea, warned Utnapishtim and instructed him to build an enormous boat to save himself, his family, and "the seed of all living things." He does so, and the gods brought rain which caused the water to rise for many days. When the rains subsided, the boat landed on a mountain, and Utnapishtim set loose first a dove, then a swallow, and finally a raven, which found land. The god Ishtar, created the rainbow and placed it in the sky, as a reminder to the gods and a pledge to mankind that there would be no more floods. See the text Epic of Gilgamesh: Sumerian Flood Myth."

http://www.historywiz.com/flood.htm

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((9))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
OT: Hammurabi's code: As with Mosaic law, there is a heavy emphasis on compensation rather than retribution. 

Slander Ex. Law #127: "If any one 'point the finger' at a sister of a god or the wife of any one, and can not prove it, this man shall be taken before the judges and his brow shall be marked (by cutting the skin, or perhaps hair)."[24] Fraud Ex. Law #265: "If a herdsman, to whose care cattle or sheep have been entrusted, be guilty of fraud and make false returns of the natural increase, or sell them for money, then shall he be convicted and pay the owner ten times the loss."[24] Slavery and status of slaves as property Ex. Law #15: "If any one take a male or female slave of the court, or a male or female slave of a freed man, outside the city gates, he shall be put to death."[24] The duties of workers Ex. Law #42: "If any one take over a field to till it, and obtain no harvest therefrom, it must be proved that he did no work on the field, and he must deliver grain, just as his neighbor raised, to the owner of the field."[24] Theft Ex. Law #22: "If any one is committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death."[24] Trade Ex. Law #104: "If a merchant give an agent grain, wool, oil, or any other goods to transport, the agent shall give a receipt for the amount, and compensate the merchant therefore, he shall obtain a receipt from the merchant for the money that he gives the merchant."[24] Liability Ex. Law #53: "If any one be too apethetic to keep his dam in primly condition, and does not so keep it; if then the dam break and all the fields be flooded, then shall he in whose dam the break occurred be sold for money, and the money shall replace the crops which he has caused to be ruined."[24] Divorce Ex. Law #142: "If a woman quarrel with her husband, and say: "You are not congenial to me," the reasons for her prejudice must be presented. If she is guiltless, and there is no fault on her part, but he leaves and neglects her, then no guilt attaches to this woman, she shall take her dowry and go back to her father's house."[24]

One of the best known laws from Hammurabi's code was:
Ex. Law #196: "If a man destroy the eye of another man, they shall destroy his eye. If one break a man's bone, they shall break his bone. If one destroy the eye of a freeman or break the bone of a freeman he shall pay one gold mina. If one destroy the eye of a man's slave or break a bone of a man's slave he shall pay one-half his price."[24]
Hammurabi had many other punishments, as well. If a son strikes his father, his hands shall be hewn off. Translations vary.[25][26]
Adultery Ex. Law #129: "If the wife of a man has been caught lying with another man, they shall bind them and throw them into the waters. If the owner of the wife would save his wife then in turn the king could save his servant."[27] Perjury Ex. Law #3: "If a man has borne false witness in a trial, or has not established the statement that he has made, if that case be a capital trial, that man shall be put to death."[citation needed]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Hammurabi

(((((((((((((((((((((((((9))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

FURTHER OT, but not cited.; Also worth looking  at the extant writings of some of the Egyptian sages on morality and Justice.  

There are many other similarities in Gilgamesh ... the dimensions of the boat are very similar. 
Since the 10 Commandments came from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, that also is interesting. 

"Hail to thee, great God, Lord of the Two Truths. I have come unto thee, my Lord, that thou mayest bring me to see thy beauty. I know thee, I know thy name, I know the names of the 42 Gods who are with thee in this broad hall of the Two Truths . . . Behold, I am come unto thee. I have brought thee truth; I have done away with sin for thee. I have not sinned against anyone. I have not mistreated people. I have not done evil instead of righteousness . . .
I have not reviled the God.
I have not laid violent hands on an orphan.
I have not done what the God abominates . . .
I have not killed; I have not turned anyone over to a killer.
I have not caused anyone's suffering . . . 
I have not copulated (illicitly); I have not been unchaste.
I have not increased nor diminished the measure, I have not diminished the palm; I have not encroached upon the fields.
I have not added to the balance weights; I have not tempered with the plumb bob of the balance.
I have not taken milk from a child's mouth; I have not driven small cattle from their herbage...
I have not stopped (the flow of) water in its seasons; I have not built a dam against flowing water.
I have not quenched a fire in its time . . .
I have not kept cattle away from the God's property.
I have not blocked the God at his processions. 5

[grympy]

I was thinking about how genetics disprove the Noah story, in reference to this thread.
There are modern humans in South Africa that have no Neanderthal DNA. They never "met" the Neanderthals.
Checkmate creationism. Checkmate the Bible.
Most modern humans have a small percent of their genome which is Neanderthal DNA.
If we all originated as one of Noah's family, we should all have Neaderthal DNA.

Indeed.

-and how come that after the flood there were no kangaroos, koalas, wombats  or any Australian  birds in the Middle East-or indeed platypus, which are fresh water creatures ?

Also the fact that  the world been flooded to the mountain top, the ocean  would have become desalinated and  all the fish would have died

Also worth looking at the flood myth in the epic of Gilgamesh (Sumerian); some pretty interesting similarities with the Noah -----The Catholics gave up insisting the Old Testament is literal truth a long time ago .

OT; also worth looking at Hammurabi's code and comparing it with Mosaic Law.

(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((0)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

"The gods were angry at mankind so they sent a flood to destroy him. The god Ea, warned Utnapishtim and instructed him to build an enormous boat to save himself, his family, and "the seed of all living things." He does so, and the gods brought rain which caused the water to rise for many days. When the rains subsided, the boat landed on a mountain, and Utnapishtim set loose first a dove, then a swallow, and finally a raven, which found land. The god Ishtar, created the rainbow and placed it in the sky, as a reminder to the gods and a pledge to mankind that there would be no more floods. See the text Epic of Gilgamesh: Sumerian Flood Myth."

http://www.historywiz.com/flood.htm

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((9))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
OT: Hammurabi's code: As with Mosaic law, there is a heavy emphasis on compensation rather than retribution. 

Slander Ex. Law #127: "If any one 'point the finger' at a sister of a god or the wife of any one, and can not prove it, this man shall be taken before the judges and his brow shall be marked (by cutting the skin, or perhaps hair)."[24] Fraud Ex. Law #265: "If a herdsman, to whose care cattle or sheep have been entrusted, be guilty of fraud and make false returns of the natural increase, or sell them for money, then shall he be convicted and pay the owner ten times the loss."[24] Slavery and status of slaves as property Ex. Law #15: "If any one take a male or female slave of the court, or a male or female slave of a freed man, outside the city gates, he shall be put to death."[24] The duties of workers Ex. Law #42: "If any one take over a field to till it, and obtain no harvest therefrom, it must be proved that he did no work on the field, and he must deliver grain, just as his neighbor raised, to the owner of the field."[24] Theft Ex. Law #22: "If any one is committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death."[24] Trade Ex. Law #104: "If a merchant give an agent grain, wool, oil, or any other goods to transport, the agent shall give a receipt for the amount, and compensate the merchant therefore, he shall obtain a receipt from the merchant for the money that he gives the merchant."[24] Liability Ex. Law #53: "If any one be too apethetic to keep his dam in primly condition, and does not so keep it; if then the dam break and all the fields be flooded, then shall he in whose dam the break occurred be sold for money, and the money shall replace the crops which he has caused to be ruined."[24] Divorce Ex. Law #142: "If a woman quarrel with her husband, and say: "You are not congenial to me," the reasons for her prejudice must be presented. If she is guiltless, and there is no fault on her part, but he leaves and neglects her, then no guilt attaches to this woman, she shall take her dowry and go back to her father's house."[24]

One of the best known laws from Hammurabi's code was:
Ex. Law #196: "If a man destroy the eye of another man, they shall destroy his eye. If one break a man's bone, they shall break his bone. If one destroy the eye of a freeman or break the bone of a freeman he shall pay one gold mina. If one destroy the eye of a man's slave or break a bone of a man's slave he shall pay one-half his price."[24]
Hammurabi had many other punishments, as well. If a son strikes his father, his hands shall be hewn off. Translations vary.[25][26]
Adultery Ex. Law #129: "If the wife of a man has been caught lying with another man, they shall bind them and throw them into the waters. If the owner of the wife would save his wife then in turn the king could save his servant."[27] Perjury Ex. Law #3: "If a man has borne false witness in a trial, or has not established the statement that he has made, if that case be a capital trial, that man shall be put to death."[citation needed]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Hammurabi

(((((((((((((((((((((((((9))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

FURTHER OT, but not cited.; Also worth looking  at the extant writings of some of the Egyptian sages on morality and Justice.  

There are many other similarities in Gilgamesh ... the dimensions of the boat are very similar. 
Since the 10 Commandments came from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, that also is interesting. 

"Hail to thee, great God, Lord of the Two Truths. I have come unto thee, my Lord, that thou mayest bring me to see thy beauty. I know thee, I know thy name, I know the names of the 42 Gods who are with thee in this broad hall of the Two Truths . . . Behold, I am come unto thee. I have brought thee truth; I have done away with sin for thee. I have not sinned against anyone. I have not mistreated people. I have not done evil instead of righteousness . . .
I have not reviled the God.
I have not laid violent hands on an orphan.
I have not done what the God abominates . . .
I have not killed; I have not turned anyone over to a killer.
I have not caused anyone's suffering . . . 
I have not copulated (illicitly); I have not been unchaste.
I have not increased nor diminished the measure, I have not diminished the palm; I have not encroached upon the fields.
I have not added to the balance weights; I have not tempered with the plumb bob of the balance.
I have not taken milk from a child's mouth; I have not driven small cattle from their herbage...
I have not stopped (the flow of) water in its seasons; I have not built a dam against flowing water.
I have not quenched a fire in its time . . .
I have not kept cattle away from the God's property.
I have not blocked the God at his processions. 5

 As far as I'm aware, "The Book Of  The the Dead" was not strictly speaking ,a book, but collections of rituals, which varied. 

Just yesterday  I watched a clip from curator at the British museum who said that a recent discovery shows that  the boat in the Babylonian flood myth may have been round. I also thought the boat in the Epic of Gilgamesh was a cube.Now I'm confused; am I getting myths mixed up?


I think care needs to be taken when looking at any material  not to conflate correlation and causation.  Moral admonitions against say murder, adultery and theft are common  in cultures such as India and China  .Not sure about Meso America,. That they are common in say ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and in Roman mores as well  as in the fertile crescent, suggests but in no way proves a  causal relationships.

I found the clip below, and others by this bloke  fascinating.

[Bucky Ball]

The boat described here is not round. It talks about the "sides of the top".
http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/meso.../tab11.htm

[Bucky Ball]

Ever get the feeling we did someone's homework assignment for them ?

[Dancefortwo]

The boat described here is not round. It talks about the "sides of the top".
http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/meso.../tab11.htm

If I recall correctly, in the Epic of Gilgamish the boat is round.  Irving Finkel is a great guy and such a character.  



He's a cuneiform expert. Here he is trying to teach the basics of cuneiform to someone.  



Finkle translated the oldest rule book for the ancient Game of Ur.  He's a wonderful guy and like something out of Lord of the Rings.  What a fun person.   Love this guy. 

[grympy]

The boat described here is not round. It talks about the "sides of the top".
http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/meso.../tab11.htm

If I recall correctly, in the Epic of Gilgamish the boat is round.  Irving Finkel is a great guy and such a character.  



He's a cuneiform expert. Here he is trying to teach the basics of cuneiform to someone.  



Finkle translated the oldest rule book for the ancient Game of Ur.  He's a wonderful guy and like something out of Lord of the Rings.  What a fun person.   Love this guy. 

OK, I stand corrected about the Sumerian arc, obviously misheard.

 Yeah, Finkel's  great.Only  discovered him recently. There are a couple of other curators who make videos too.Terrific to be able to trust something on Youtube. 

If you haven't seen  them, and  are interested in longer videos ,it's worth watching Mary Beard, another  individual. Her videos on daily life in ancient Rome and on Caligula are terrific . In her video about Caligula she doesn't simply rely on Suetonius , which is refreshing.

[grympy]

Ever get the feeling we did someone's homework assignment for them ?

No, can't say I have.  I do sometimes get the impression that someone is off their medication. 

 For high school homework,  a pretty good place to come I think .Many of the posts are at undergraduate level , and a few at a higher level. . 

I really appreciate the odd serious, competent scholar who doesn't lose his/her shit when a lesser mortal dares to disagree.