What's interesting is that that passage uses the Hebrew word "eretz", which gets translated as "earth" in all (English) translations I've seen. Now, "earth" in itself is a very generic term, and does not NECESSARILY mean "the planet Earth". And "eretz" could also be translated as "land", "country", "ground" etc.
So the choice is up to the translator, and if you have 2 millennia's worth of tradition (which was based on incomplete knowledge), it is quite hard to break free of the mould.
It is certainly possible that the Noah flood was a localized event, without invalidating the Scriptures (as seen in the original language).
I won't pretend to know that answer, but may I counter that with another question?
How could one have evening and morning if the sun had not yet been created ("day" 4, Gen 1:16)? Two possible explanations are:
evening and morning are metaphorical, perhaps separation between good/evil or more likely chaos/order (since separation is a recurring theme throughout Genesis), or
the physical sun existed even before "day" 1, and only became visible to an earth-bound observer on "day" 4 due to the clearing up of the atmosphere.
the account of the creation of the world in the Book of Genesis is completely correct...
The problem is not with the account, the problem is with some people's interpretation of the account. When I read the first 2 chapters of Genesis, it does not preclude evolution (yeah, go read it). It also does not demand a 7x24 hour creation period (since the Hebrew word for "day" has many meanings).
In fact, Genesis is NOT a scientific treatise on the origin of the world. The book is clearly about the origin and early history of Israel. The first 2 chapters only provide some context for Adam.
I suppose conquering, founding, taking by force etc. is about as much the "white man's way" as F'ing someone over and making a holiday out of it is the "christian way". In other words, don't become all defensive that people shouldn't "lay some trip" on you while at the same time trying to "lay a trip" on someone else who wasn't involved there either.
Popular Mechanics had a nice article the other day about this, which clears up some questions:
According to Fosset (the designated pilot for this mission) Dick Rutan (co-pilot of the previous circumnavigation together with Jeana Yeager, and older brother of designer Burt), they met at a party at Barron Hilton's in 1999 and Rutan told Fosset: "Steve, you could do me one better; you could do it solo."
The plane would have to carry a ratio of 83% fuel to body weight on takeoff. Mass (and structural safety margins) where cut seriously for this, consequently the plane will only fly once with full weight (a number of test flights have been done with less weight in fuel).
Fossett intends to fly route without sleep, but off the American West Coast would be a good place to nap (with autopilot on) to increase alertness for descent and landing. It seems that outside of takeoff and landing, the guy would not have much more to do than monitor dials and make the off adjustment.
The Fédération Aéronatique Internationale, which governs air sports records, requires a 22,858-mile minimum for the record attempt. So a simple equatorial circumnavigation will not do the trick, and Fossett will fly a huge turn south over the Eastern Pacific to add the required miles.
You might get this impression because open national pride like seen in other countries is often considered to be a bad thing. Many people fear to get associated with Nazis when they'd say I'm proud to be German. Having the German flag in your front yard like many americans do with their flag is really something that is almost imaginable here.
And about the grammatical stuff: you can express way more things in German (especially in rhymes) than in English, the German grammar is very complex and this can be used to play around a lot. The German language is not called die Sprache der Dichter und Denker (the language of poets and thinkers) for nothing.
Which I think goes to prove the point I tried to make:-)
I know quite a few Germans as well... which is because I'm German;-) I can tell you the vast majority of Germans nowadays really do hate Nazis and racism.
As an outsider (my grandparents emigrated from Germany in 1935), I always wonder why it is that that Germans nowadays not only hate the above-mentioned, but also practically everything German? By which I mean ethnically, culturally, liguistically and historically, amongst others. I don't have a problem with getting rid of the bad, but why should the good go with it?
In Germany one is hard-pressed to find a radio station that plays anything else than the American mass-produced pop crap. Germans nowadays use a lot of English words and grammatical constructs, as if the German language is incapable of expressing these things. Germans in general seem to be racist in a very "politically correct" sort of way. And while on the subject of racism, it seems almost like a fashion statement to have a life/love partner with a dark skin (other merits like personality seem to be distant secondary considerations).
These are just some (admittedly subjective) observations made while travelling Europe. Any Germans willing to discuss this with me in private?
The web sites for the bank I use, the medaid I use, and a local bookstore, all don't work (too well) with Moz, but they do wit IE (despite the ubiquitous "Best viewed with.... Netscape 4.0 or better" note.)
Now how do you convince the (non-technical) helpdeskmensch that just wants to get rid of you, that they are obliged to make their website work with the new Netscape (read: Mozilla)? They just give you the usual "Most people use MSIE, so use MSIE" tripe....:-(
My biggest frustration with my current managers is that they don't have the slightest clue what my work entails, from a technical perspective. While I do appreciate the need for people to shift papers around, keep clients off your back, etc. etc., it does not help if you have to cope with unrealistic expectations and don't get equipped (hardware, training,...) to properly cope with ever-changing job demands. My ideal boss would be one who moved up from a similar position than what I'm doing now.
But then again, as you yourself pointed out, not everybody wants to move from coding to admin - and I'd definitely also ask why he made the move. Might be interesting....
Yeah, I've got a couple of questions ready about my prospective bossed if (when - probably sooner than later) I ever sit in a job interview again and they get to the "you got any questions?" point.
Disclaimer: metric / southern hemisphere-centric. Please do your own conversion.
I started riding motorcycle 'bout 3 years ago. My first one was a BMW F650GS. Gave me about 4.2 liters / 100km (even with heay riding, maxing the speedo out at 160km/h). Dirty? Comes standard with a catalytic converter. Only dirty part was that chain, that needed to be lubed regularly. Noisy? Not really. Heck, in Europe even the Harleys are silent:-). Cold? Mind you, Johannesburg's winters may be not as harsh as other places, rarely goes below 0C, but those heated handlebars come in quite handy from May to Sept. The great thing: it's a real rush hour beater. My commute is about 40 km, and in Johannesburg's insane traffic, it still takes me no more than 45-50 minutes.
Then again, feet have proven quite sufficient for thousands of years:-p
That's an interesting stance: that the book that Christians claim as the source of their faith (the whole bible, including the old testament) should not be taken at face value, but as interpreted by theologians and clergy. No wonder there are so many divisions in Christianity.
I've just finished a biography on Luther. What struck me most is his logo "Sola Scriptura" and his insistence that the papacy prove him wrong (on his stance on the indulgences) from scripture. Their basic argument was that the papacy's dogma overrides scripture.
Having a scientific mind of sorts:-), this struck a cord with me. I like the premise of being able to go back to the basics and see if I arrive at the same conclusion as another, rather than being at the mercy of the opinions, whims and agendas of the "learned" men. (sarcasm: yes, because I've come across enough theologians and preachers who don't know their stuff). Basically, I don't like something that changes shape continuously - each time requiring you to buy a new upgrade.
Regarding the 4 qoutes: well, there are more. The more one reads that book, the more one comes across.
Why the need of the catholics to convert others to their religion? Is it to bolster the numbers of the church and its power and coffers? Where does it stop? Won't someone one day go and try to convert some of the more intelligent animals (dolphins, gorillas)?
If I understand the Bibel correctly, christian faith was supposed to be rather exclusive, leaving other nations/cultures to their own devices/deities:
Deuteronomy 4:19 And {beware} not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.
Micah 4:5 Though all the peoples walk each in the name of his god, as for us, we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.
Matthew 10:5-6 These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: "Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Matthew 15:24-26 But He answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" And He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."
Or am I mistaken? Of course, there was always room for exceptions (as in the last quote), but never any compulsion for anyone to accept the faith.
Research done here in South Africa by Prof. Vivian Alberts et al has turned up some more promising results. From another article (here, unfortunaltely not in English) some of the highlights:
Cu, In, Ga, Se and S are deposited via a vacuum & diffusion process
Can be deposited on plain glass (same stuff used for window panes)
1 micron of this stuff absorbs more sunlight than 350 microns of Si (about 99% of light - don't know how this translates to efficiency, though - article not too technical).
Panels like these would cost roughly a tenth of the price of those currently available.
Pilot plant for manufacturing was expected to begin manufacturing somewhere in April (this month), manufacturing panels 400mm x 500mm @ 20W
Pilot plant (100 sq m) to cost about US$ 2.3 - probably within reach for many developing countries.
Unfortunalty there's not much more detail or Web references....
This is another one of those legislative solutions to sociological problems that the current South African regime is so apt to dream up. The problem is that a sizeable part of the population (who incidentally also make up most of the voters for the party of the honorable comrade minister who initiated this) care not about walking to the closest rubbish bin to dump their stuff in it - I think somebody once mentioned something about stimulating the economy by creating jobs for janitors. Unfortunately, only the plastic bags are light enough to get blown into trees and into the countryside - tin cans, styrofoam trays and beer cartons are more likely to stay close to were they where left, until somebody comes around to clean it up, which can take anytime from a month to an eternity.
For my part, I refuse to carry around advertising for some or other store AND pay for it (stores all print their logos on both old and new bags). I usually ride motorcycle, and (as before) my rucksack comes in quite handy to carry groceries home in.
This Greek manufacturer is doing something similar - although the "trigger" is a bit more low-tech: A proximity sensor sensing distance between rider and bike (actually a steel cable hooked to your ride:-) ). See pictures here and here. Unfortunately the site is a bit low on textual info.
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What's interesting is that that passage uses the Hebrew word "eretz", which gets translated as "earth" in all (English) translations I've seen. Now, "earth" in itself is a very generic term, and does not NECESSARILY mean "the planet Earth". And "eretz" could also be translated as "land", "country", "ground" etc.
So the choice is up to the translator, and if you have 2 millennia's worth of tradition (which was based on incomplete knowledge), it is quite hard to break free of the mould.
It is certainly possible that the Noah flood was a localized event, without invalidating the Scriptures (as seen in the original language).
But wouldn't the cold from the cold war freeze the water?
(Ducks...)
Vapourware!!!
I won't pretend to know that answer, but may I counter that with another question?
How could one have evening and morning if the sun had not yet been created ("day" 4, Gen 1:16)? Two possible explanations are:
(Other interpretations doubtless exist.)
The problem is not with the account, the problem is with some people's interpretation of the account. When I read the first 2 chapters of Genesis, it does not preclude evolution (yeah, go read it). It also does not demand a 7x24 hour creation period (since the Hebrew word for "day" has many meanings).
In fact, Genesis is NOT a scientific treatise on the origin of the world. The book is clearly about the origin and early history of Israel. The first 2 chapters only provide some context for Adam.
Yeah, all those highly skilled, white bloody South Africans fleeing the ANC regime - and emigrating to Australia, New Zealand and Canada....
I suppose conquering, founding, taking by force etc. is about as much the "white man's way" as F'ing someone over and making a holiday out of it is the "christian way". In other words, don't become all defensive that people shouldn't "lay some trip" on you while at the same time trying to "lay a trip" on someone else who wasn't involved there either.
I'll rather wait until performance reaches the 3 brazillian Tree mark before I buy in...
And about the grammatical stuff: you can express way more things in German (especially in rhymes) than in English, the German grammar is very complex and this can be used to play around a lot. The German language is not called die Sprache der Dichter und Denker (the language of poets and thinkers) for nothing.
Which I think goes to prove the point I tried to make :-)
As an outsider (my grandparents emigrated from Germany in 1935), I always wonder why it is that that Germans nowadays not only hate the above-mentioned, but also practically everything German? By which I mean ethnically, culturally, liguistically and historically, amongst others. I don't have a problem with getting rid of the bad, but why should the good go with it?
In Germany one is hard-pressed to find a radio station that plays anything else than the American mass-produced pop crap. Germans nowadays use a lot of English words and grammatical constructs, as if the German language is incapable of expressing these things. Germans in general seem to be racist in a very "politically correct" sort of way. And while on the subject of racism, it seems almost like a fashion statement to have a life/love partner with a dark skin (other merits like personality seem to be distant secondary considerations).
These are just some (admittedly subjective) observations made while travelling Europe. Any Germans willing to discuss this with me in private?
Now if I only could find a team with such a tradition....
Isn't that the best part of TV???
Now how do you convince the (non-technical) helpdeskmensch that just wants to get rid of you, that they are obliged to make their website work with the new Netscape (read: Mozilla)? They just give you the usual "Most people use MSIE, so use MSIE" tripe.... :-(
My biggest frustration with my current managers is that they don't have the slightest clue what my work entails, from a technical perspective. While I do appreciate the need for people to shift papers around, keep clients off your back, etc. etc., it does not help if you have to cope with unrealistic expectations and don't get equipped (hardware, training,...) to properly cope with ever-changing job demands. My ideal boss would be one who moved up from a similar position than what I'm doing now.
But then again, as you yourself pointed out, not everybody wants to move from coding to admin - and I'd definitely also ask why he made the move. Might be interesting....
Yeah, I've got a couple of questions ready about my prospective bossed if (when - probably sooner than later) I ever sit in a job interview again and they get to the "you got any questions?" point.
I started riding motorcycle 'bout 3 years ago. My first one was a BMW F650GS. Gave me about 4.2 liters / 100km (even with heay riding, maxing the speedo out at 160km/h). Dirty? Comes standard with a catalytic converter. Only dirty part was that chain, that needed to be lubed regularly. Noisy? Not really. Heck, in Europe even the Harleys are silent :-). Cold? Mind you, Johannesburg's winters may be not as harsh as other places, rarely goes below 0C, but those heated handlebars come in quite handy from May to Sept. The great thing: it's a real rush hour beater. My commute is about 40 km, and in Johannesburg's insane traffic, it still takes me no more than 45-50 minutes.
Then again, feet have proven quite sufficient for thousands of years :-p
That's an interesting stance: that the book that Christians claim as the source of their faith (the whole bible, including the old testament) should not be taken at face value, but as interpreted by theologians and clergy. No wonder there are so many divisions in Christianity.
I've just finished a biography on Luther. What struck me most is his logo "Sola Scriptura" and his insistence that the papacy prove him wrong (on his stance on the indulgences) from scripture. Their basic argument was that the papacy's dogma overrides scripture.
Having a scientific mind of sorts :-), this struck a cord with me. I like the premise of being able to go back to the basics and see if I arrive at the same conclusion as another, rather than being at the mercy of the opinions, whims and agendas of the "learned" men. (sarcasm: yes, because I've come across enough theologians and preachers who don't know their stuff). Basically, I don't like something that changes shape continuously - each time requiring you to buy a new upgrade.
Regarding the 4 qoutes: well, there are more. The more one reads that book, the more one comes across.
Why the need of the catholics to convert others to their religion? Is it to bolster the numbers of the church and its power and coffers? Where does it stop? Won't someone one day go and try to convert some of the more intelligent animals (dolphins, gorillas)?
If I understand the Bibel correctly, christian faith was supposed to be rather exclusive, leaving other nations/cultures to their own devices/deities:
Or am I mistaken? Of course, there was always room for exceptions (as in the last quote), but never any compulsion for anyone to accept the faith.
- Cu, In, Ga, Se and S are deposited via a vacuum & diffusion process
- Can be deposited on plain glass (same stuff used for window panes)
- 1 micron of this stuff absorbs more sunlight than 350 microns of Si (about 99% of light - don't know how this translates to efficiency, though - article not too technical).
- Panels like these would cost roughly a tenth of the price of those currently available.
- Pilot plant for manufacturing was expected to begin manufacturing somewhere in April (this month), manufacturing panels 400mm x 500mm @ 20W
- Pilot plant (100 sq m) to cost about US$ 2.3 - probably within reach for many developing countries.
Unfortunalty there's not much more detail or Web references....Gives a whole new ring to: "Actually, I'm a poet. I just write software to pay the bills." Goodbye another pickup line.
This is another one of those legislative solutions to sociological problems that the current South African regime is so apt to dream up. The problem is that a sizeable part of the population (who incidentally also make up most of the voters for the party of the honorable comrade minister who initiated this) care not about walking to the closest rubbish bin to dump their stuff in it - I think somebody once mentioned something about stimulating the economy by creating jobs for janitors. Unfortunately, only the plastic bags are light enough to get blown into trees and into the countryside - tin cans, styrofoam trays and beer cartons are more likely to stay close to were they where left, until somebody comes around to clean it up, which can take anytime from a month to an eternity.
For my part, I refuse to carry around advertising for some or other store AND pay for it (stores all print their logos on both old and new bags). I usually ride motorcycle, and (as before) my rucksack comes in quite handy to carry groceries home in.
Time to make that career move to musician that I've always dreamt of... Seems that there's money to be made.
Sorry for replying to my own post...
I sure hope it's rechargeable, because there's bound to be a lot of guys who will forget to unhook on getting off, as is usual with new equipment....
This Greek manufacturer is doing something similar - although the "trigger" is a bit more low-tech: A proximity sensor sensing distance between rider and bike (actually a steel cable hooked to your ride :-) ). See pictures here and here. Unfortunately the site is a bit low on textual info.