I did not condemn science anymore than I would condemn shoestrings. That was your own embelishment of my remark.
My argument is straightforward: When some hack steps in and claims that 35,000 base pairs is the most anyone has ever sequenced, I responded with the fact that God has sequenced more base pairs than they ever will, and to better effect.
Respect and trust the LORD, and ask for the LORD's help, put the LORD first in all things, and never forget the fact that the LORD is the reason you can take in a breath of air, with or without theoretical science, the scientific method or medicine.
I'm not your average Christian; most of my ideas are the result of searching and asking the LORD, as well as scripture.
I never criticized the use of DNA. I criticized the fact that man had not given the LORD credit for the DNA they copied from his own creation. 35,000 base pairs is not the longest sequence, and that's a fact.
Have you ever seen a sunset in death valley? Every day the LORD paints a new one for you, if you'll go there. Have you ever seen an artists painting of a sunset in death valley? It's just a copy of the real thing, man. If the artist claims their painting is better than the one the LORD made... well... I must take issue with it. Nuff said.
>>> Who are you to assume the scientists involved in these projects don't know God?
Who are YOU to assume that I assume that the scientists involved in these projects don't know God? I was referring to the ones who did not. You know, the sort that claims a 35,000 base pair sequence is the longest sequence ever made.
Well there is something you have failed to accound for. When things are OBSERVED they behave differently from when they are UNobserved. Scientists could account for that if they recognize FAITH in the equation. Faith can move mountains. Ask and you will receive. What is asked in Jesus' name will be granted. With God all things are possible. (or is that just a placebo effect? a statistical abberation. just refactor the equation. perform more experiments to coerce the equation to align with the hypothesis.) Meanwhile you extol the wisdom of Heisenberg saying things like "you just can't know where the particle is". Yes. Very wise.
Just remember, science is philosophy's bitch. Kant limited the role of science for good when he established that all the world of experience is phenomenal, meaning that it is all filtered through sensory input, and the origin of that input is always ASSUMED. Kant limited the role of life sciences in one fell stroke, and "levelled the intellectual playing field" for those who are willing to think fairly and objectively.
Quote: "II. The Copernican Revolution in Theology
All three shifts left their mark on the day's theology. Emmanuel Kant's work proves most important. He taught that man is absolutely free and is the center of all things. Religious truth rests within man. For Kant, then, man's moral sense becomes his source of religious knowledge. Since reason can't prove God, He must be removed from reason and placed into another realm--an upper story realm called "faith."
Kant proceeded to develop a dualistic approach to knowledge. He conceived the phenomenal world, the world of sense experience. You can know this world through reason. Anything which does not come through the senses is unknowable. He also conceived of the noumenal world, a world which resides beyond sense experience and can be known only by faith. No one can prove or disprove this realm. He included here the "ding an sich" (things-in-themselves) but he denied a thing's real essence. Kant does say that given certain experiences it must follow that other things are true. "
Therefore, from the perspective of a person who has no faith in God, but rather faith in science, logic and philosophy, the results of scientifically gathered data are, at best, just assumptions, since they are based on assumptions of the noumenal world, and are therefore no stronger than faith.
When self-proclaimed scientists claim that science, itself, is a bunker for atheism, and deny the role of faith in life, they essentially pluck out their own eyes to the truth, the way, and the life. What a person tries to achieve with prayer and humility, can be achieved with God's blessing.
On the other hand, when man takes on the essentially arrogant role of replacing God, and doesn't even give the LORD His credit, and does NOT give thanks, or ask for the LORD's blessing, and is irreverant... what did I say? There IS going to be a day of reckoning, a rude awakening, and I know because MY day of awakening already came and went.
Just remember, when the demons come knocking, that Jesus did save you.
No, in fact, I DO have a good idea of what "obvious" means. But what was implemented at the time of "friendster" doesn't have anything to do with whether the current ideal "social networking" solution was obvious to those who had theretofore failed to implement it. There's what they'd made and what they'd like to have made. Just b/c they haven't made it yet doesn't mean that they WOULDN'T have made it, given the resources and/or the time. (Just as the inventor need not ever have built what's in their blueprint.)
Everyone has worked towards the same thing with regard to internet communication; so they finally came up with a "look and feel" that yielded fast results? So what?
Remember the LOOK AND FEEL lawsuit between microsoft and apple, regarding windows. Apple lost their case, even though they came up with "windowing" before microsoft.
The court ruled that the LOOK and FEEL were not patentable.
By the same token, hyperlinks to lists of friends or their email addresses (or things like "one click shopping") are not, and should not be, patentable.
Man who prays and asks the LORD for help can righteously overcome ANY obstacle. (famine, disease, pollution, exctinction, overcrowding, crime, you name it)
Ask and ye shall receive. Knock and it will be opened to you. Faith can move mountains. With God all things are possible.
Combine those things with OPTIMISM, and remember that Jesus Christ said ALWAYS forgive, NEVER retaliate; BLESS and PRAY for your enemy. LOVE your neighbor as yourself, LOVE your enemy, LOVE the LORD.
When you forgive, it results in YOUR being forgiven. When YOU give, YOU receive. WHEN YOU BLESS YOUR ENEMY, YOU YOURSELF ARE ALSO BLESSED!
And remember that Christ said that the love of money is the root of all evil. That means be wary of valuing money more than the welfare of your fellow man, or the planet that he lives on. Be prepared and willing to sacrifice of your own time, money and resources in order to make the world a better place.
Jesus also said keep the 10 Commandments. If we all kept the 10 Commandments we'd be in good shape, (but that's not enough.) Don't worship false gods, don't commit idolatry, work 6 days and keep the sabbath day holy (7th day = _saturday!_ Look, JESUS WAS A JEW. Jews keep the saturday sabbath! No excuses.), don't take the LORD's name in vain, don't kill or steal or commit adultery, don't bear false witniss, don't covet your neighbor's wife or possessions or servants, honor your parents.
AND don't have sex outside of marriage. That would keep std's in check and reduce the expansion of things like hiv.
Don't use witchcraft or sorcery, don't use omens or divination.
Learn to recognize when you're being tempted to sin, and pray for the strength to resist!
The most important virtue is love.
I've seen a heavenly sign. I saw a double rainbow, 360 degrees, 2 concentric rainbows ALL THE WAY AROUND THE SUN in San Francisco at high noon when there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Others witnissed the very same event. That was around 2001.
You want man to survive? Seek and ye shall find. Seek the LORD. Have FAITH!!!
Dang. Is it too late to patent "antisocial networking"?
Seriously though, there are already tons of websites doing that, right? Myspace, Hi5, every single chat engine in the world, online email services that allow you to remember your friends' email addresses.
To qualify for a patent they have to be able to demonstrate that their idea would not be obvious to the most people (or the average person?) in their field. In this case, the field has already demonstrated that the idea is obvious, since the entire field has already done it.
I've rode a plain, heavy, 18 speed steel mongoose hilltopper mountain bicycle up to 55 miles per hour on a freeway. I was going downhill north of houston, and I was skimming the updraft from huge convoys of 18 wheelers. It was SCARY, but I was definitely going 55.
The updraft was enough to rock my bike and pull it to the left (since I was on the hwy shoulder).
My last landlord "appropriated" the very same bike against my will. If I'd known I held the world record of human powered motion on that bike I would have been even angrier about it.
Anyhow, I guess that means I hold the world record, even if nobody else recognizes it.
It's good to address these things while we have the energy for it. =)
>>"Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful."
>"they can't be expected (by the coffee shop) to subscribe to the same philosophy of being merciful, so the coffee shop did have a responsibility to take some kind of action."
i.e., "we can't expect the customers to be merciful about a single parking space, so the coffee shop had to be merciless."
That is a non sequator, and based on false premises. The guy was in one single parking space, probably b/c he didn't know where else to go, and "bugging customers" was not mentioned in the article, so lets avoid bearing false witniss.
Even if his car had been consistently forcing a single customer to park on the street during peak hours, there's still no reason to throw him in jail. Have you ever SEEN the inside of a jail? We're talking about JAIL, here. It's not a matter-of-fact thing. JAIL!
Throwing your brother in jail for parking one car on a commercial lot with many open spaces [on the off chance that one of your customers will throw an extra buck into the till "since he didn't have to park on the street for an hour"] is unforgiving, unmerciful and unloving. It is completely antichristian, and it is downright snakeskinned cold callous. I understand wanting him to move, asking him to move, etc, but jailing IS basically state-sponsored kidknapping. Seriously. Consider that before saying somebody "belongs" in jail.
If the owner/manager of the cafe had prayed, and asked the LORD for a good response to the trespass, then it would have been provided for him. Of that, I'm certain. There's always a way: [Find him a better parking spot.] [Offer him a job.] [Find him a better cafe.] etc.
What is CLEAR is that EVERY trespass has specific details, and the details of this case [parking, wifi, ?customers?] are in no way special or unique.
JESUS did not put any conditions on the instruction to forgive. Consider the fact that every year we pay income taxes, we must also FORGIVE the IRS. [if they aren't paid, they threaten jail time, right?] If a *GANG* did that, [threatened us with kidknapping, and asked for a "preemptive ransom"] they'd be thrown into jail. But the IRS just keep on working, right? They didn't repent. Jesus said to forgive them. THEY didn't repent; we're supposed to forgive.
"FORGIVE, AND YE SHALL BE FORGIVEN."
Always pray and ask the LORD for the right answers.
>I disagree that turning the problem over to the police to deal with is evil.
I didn't say that it was evil; I said that arresting the man for illegal parking and piggybacker wifi was not consistent with Jesus' teachings. And I said that if a person does not follow Jesus' teachings then they are not Christians. That's from the Bible.
Jesus' teachings are greater than "civil society ideals". Jesus' teachings are stronger human laws. Well, you don't PRAY to "CEASAR", do you? There is a commandment against worshipping any god other than GOD. That means God's rules come first.
It is true that the guy who parked illegally probably broke city law, and he definitely trespassed, but arresting him on those grounds was contrary to the letter and to the spirit of what Jesus taught.
I would love to see a world that thrived in a manner consistent with Jesus' teachings: universal love, forgiveness, charity, a strong sense of the fact that the love of money is the root of all evil, with people who KEEP the 10 Commandments, etc.
AND here's the reply to the next thread:
"let him be that way" vs "treat him that way."
"let him be" = "leave him be." = "leave him alone" = "live and let live"
meanwhile, i've seen: "treat him" = "teach him a lesson he won't forget" = "muscle him out or abuse him" = "force him to suffer, or to change" = antichristian. -vs- "treat him" = "love is the best medicine there is" = "help him out as much as you can"
"Kill Microsoft, and games with be available on multiple platforms again (as they were in the Amiga/C64/ST/Console days."
That sounds ALOT like Lennin before the Bolshevik Revolution. LOL. Like bashing open a pinata. They got what they fought for, I guess, but it wasn't really what they wanted.
Like it or not (and chicken and egg or not), it's gonna take games to hoist the other operating systems into anything remotely mainstream, let alone "competetive" with MS, although I consider COMPETING with ms to be a moot point. Getting linux into mainstream should be a "blind" goal, with regard to MS. Why? For starters, Jesus said LOVE your enemy. Well? Love your enemy. Why kill em? No need. You like linux? Cool. Coexist. There's room for all. But if you want widespread linux adoption, get those games running. No excuses. Just get em running.
As for market share and chicken or egg, well, I'm an "easy" linux switchover. As many other people that I know, I have an old red hat 7.1 cd just waiting for the day that it's worth installing again. I love linux. Just show me the linux games and I'll reinstall the OS.
But for now I don't have anything to run on linux, so i dont' bother installing it. Windows 2000 suits most of my needs, 98 meets the rest, and installing linux onto my already dual boot system just doesn't "call out to me" as a must-do.
Anyhow, for the sake of nostalgia, here's a site that has some of the older dos/windows games free: (that you can still download: http://www.the-underdogs.info/)
In case anybody wants to help them, they are looking for a volunteer php developer. =)
The verse in question: Matthew 18:17 (King James Version)
17And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
First off, if your brother, whom you love, and whom you always forgive, were a pagan or a tax collector, and he used your wifi for free, does that mean you'd throw him in jail?
OK, now to the point: the King James version does not say _treat_ him as a pagan or tax collector, it says _"let him be unto thee"_ as a ~. The difference seems clear to me. In the latter case it says "let him be" as a pagan or tax collector. The way I read it, it means "if he insists, just let him be his evil way."
If there's any doubt, about translations, IMO, KJV is the standard Bible.
The NIV instruction to "treat your brother as a tax collector, or as a pagan" is against the greater set of instructions provided by Jesus, in terms of always forgiving, and loving your enemy, unless by "treat" them it means _forgive_ them their trespasses, which IS what Jesus said to do.
It seems as if you singled out passages that I only included for context, and took them as if they were the main points. You overlooked the most important passages:
"Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:"
"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."
That doesn't mean literally tally it up, it means ALWAYS forgive.
The parable which follows that, regarding the King, the debt, and his servants, tells you exactly how the LORD wants us to forgive. In the parable, the King (by analogy, the LORD) forgives his servant's (=worshipper's) debt (=sin) and then the servant goes out and DOES NOT FORGIVE the debt (=trespasses) of his debtor. Then the King (=LORD) HEARS that the servant did not forgive his own servant's debt (=trespass), and so the King (=LORD) tells him that HE MUST THEN REPAY ALL THE DEBT (=sin) HE EVER OWED.
That means forgiveness is all or nothing. We must forgive everything to be forgiven of everything. If you fail to forgive trespasses, your own trespasses/sin will not be forgiven. That's what Jesus said. If you DO forgive trespasses, debt, etc, your own will be forgiven. Therefore, always forgive, and LOVE your enemy.
1 Peter 3:8-19 specifies that we are not to return evil with evil. Rather return evil with kindness, prayer and blessings: "Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing;"
1 John 2 says if you're not following Jesus' teachings, then you're not on board. Basically it says if a person does not do what Jesus told us to do then they are not actually following Jesus. Since Jesus said LOVE YOUR ENEMY, ALWAYS FORGIVE and TURN THE OTHER CHEEK, I'm saying IF A PERSON DOES NOT LOVE THEIR ENEMY, DOES NOT ALWAYS FORGIVE, and DOES NOT TURN THE OTHER CHEEK, then THEY ARE NOT FOLLOWING JESUS. (Tell that to GW "WWJD" Bush, too, please.)
"For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing." That means it is better to suffer for righteousness' sake than to succeed at the expense of righteousness.
And I don't know how I overlooked this one when I was choosing verses to cite, but it sums it all up:
Matthew 5 (King James Version) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&ch apter=5&version=9
38Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
41And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
42Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
43Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
They overlooked computer games, and games are the MAIN reason to buy Microsoft OS.
Linux / Apple / Solaris, etc don't have much vs windows in the games department, and, even if they did, there's still a 15 year legacy of windows/dos game supremacy, and alot of those games still WORK with newer MS OS.
The funny/sad thing is that microsoft operating system "game supremacy" (in terms of overall game availability) has been evident for a very long time, yet none of the other operating system developers have done anything (with their knowledge of that fact) to boost their own OS sales. (unless i'm mistaken?) They could have opened game houses of their own, for instance.
Anyhow, it's silly to look at Microsoft as the enemy even if you don't like their prices or their policies. Like em or not, microsoft made a good, reliable operating system, and they maintained it, (unlike amiga, or next or be-os or any of the dead os's), and grew it over the years. You might complain about bloat, or pricing, or historical policies / unfair competition, but they've done alot of good things, and I believe that the fact MS is still around is GOOD for us, even if we don't use their OS. (which I DO use)
At least I can play Half Life 2 and WarCraft3 on Windows. Those are nice games, and there's no linux equivalent. Kill MS? Can you linux zealots spell "Don't shoot yourself in the foot"? Kill MS and you can't play half life.
Jesus said always forgive, and he specifically mentioned always forgive trespasses. Sometimes you have to let the LORD fight your battles. If you're being trespassed against, PRAY and ask the LORD to fight your battles.
Otherwise your position is not consistent with that of Jesus' teachings:
* Matthew 18 (King James Version) 21 - 35
Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
** Luke 6:36-38 (King James Version)
Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
*** Luke 17 1-4
Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, sa
There is, perhaps, a loophole in your assumptions. Step by step:
You don't have a problem with voluntarily donating organs, do you? (No?)
And what if the family volunteers the organs (heart, liver, etc) from a recently deceased relative, to save your life, or your child's life, is that ok, too? (Yes?)
And what if the family of the deceased fetus donates his/her/its organs (heart, liver, stem cells, etc) to save your life, or your child's life, is THAT ok, too? (Yes.)
HOW the fetus died is a seperate issue.
I can understand how you might say abortion should be illegal, and therefore fetal tissue from abortions would not be legally unavailable. However, fetal tissue could come from accidental miscarriages (although nobody WANTS miscarriage to happen), or from cloning the existing cells.
Is "Brewed Awakening" in for a rude awakening? Who's going to forgive THEIR trespasses if THEY don't even forgive those of a poor guy who lives in a van? "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."
Now, I can SEE why they'd be pissed off if he were using up scarce bandwidth, and their customers/employees were lacking, but I doubt he's using much bandwidth, and it's not COSTING them any extra. So, WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO GOOD OLD FASHIONED KINDNESS?! Every so often, life provides us with the opportunity to help one another out. In the long run, we're better off if we take those opportunities.
Consider that the poor guy's circumstances. He's living in a van, for heaven's sakes! AND he has a felony conviction on his record. How's THAT help for finding employment? Internet is almost a fact of life these days, and how on earth do you think he's gonna get net access? If he doesn't have a land address, and/or can't afford wireless access, then it seems to me it's just the right thing to do to tolerate his trespasses.
Worried about his criminal record? If it were a junior high school I'd be concerned, but it's a cafe, and he's not in prison NOW, and he doesn't have warrants, right? Last time I checked, that meant he's a FREE MAN WITH FULL CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.
I can imagine why they might not want that van always out front, but Jesus said "Love your neighbor as yourself," "Love your enemy," and be a good Samaritan.
Yes, I know,/. is full of athiests, but I'm sure they can appreciate the virtue of those ideals.
Lets ask Silverman about to look up "Dignity" in the dictionary.
Well, Goodness, it IS still in the dictionary. And not just the PETA dictionary, it's in the real life HUMANS dictionary. In case he's reading, I'll make it easy for him.
Slashdot Mirror
I did not condemn science anymore than I would condemn shoestrings. That was your own embelishment of my remark.
My argument is straightforward: When some hack steps in and claims that 35,000 base pairs is the most anyone has ever sequenced, I responded with the fact that God has sequenced more base pairs than they ever will, and to better effect.
Respect and trust the LORD, and ask for the LORD's help, put the LORD first in all things, and never forget the fact that the LORD is the reason you can take in a breath of air, with or without theoretical science, the scientific method or medicine.
I'm not your average Christian; most of my ideas are the result of searching and asking the LORD, as well as scripture.
I never criticized the use of DNA. I criticized the fact that man had not given the LORD credit for the DNA they copied from his own creation. 35,000 base pairs is not the longest sequence, and that's a fact.
Have you ever seen a sunset in death valley? Every day the LORD paints a new one for you, if you'll go there. Have you ever seen an artists painting of a sunset in death valley? It's just a copy of the real thing, man. If the artist claims their painting is better than the one the LORD made... well... I must take issue with it. Nuff said.
>>> Who are you to assume the scientists involved in these projects don't know God?
h tenment.html
Who are YOU to assume that I assume that the scientists involved in these projects don't know God? I was referring to the ones who did not. You know, the sort that claims a 35,000 base pair sequence is the longest sequence ever made.
Well there is something you have failed to accound for. When things are OBSERVED they behave differently from when they are UNobserved. Scientists could account for that if they recognize FAITH in the equation. Faith can move mountains. Ask and you will receive. What is asked in Jesus' name will be granted. With God all things are possible. (or is that just a placebo effect? a statistical abberation. just refactor the equation. perform more experiments to coerce the equation to align with the hypothesis.) Meanwhile you extol the wisdom of Heisenberg saying things like "you just can't know where the particle is". Yes. Very wise.
Just remember, science is philosophy's bitch. Kant limited the role of science for good when he established that all the world of experience is phenomenal, meaning that it is all filtered through sensory input, and the origin of that input is always ASSUMED. Kant limited the role of life sciences in one fell stroke, and "levelled the intellectual playing field" for those who are willing to think fairly and objectively.
Quote:
"II. The Copernican Revolution in Theology
All three shifts left their mark on the day's theology. Emmanuel Kant's work proves most important. He taught that man is absolutely free and is the center of all things. Religious truth rests within man. For Kant, then, man's moral sense becomes his source of religious knowledge. Since reason can't prove God, He must be removed from reason and placed into another realm--an upper story realm called "faith."
Kant proceeded to develop a dualistic approach to knowledge. He conceived the phenomenal world, the world of sense experience. You can know this world through reason. Anything which does not come through the senses is unknowable. He also conceived of the noumenal world, a world which resides beyond sense experience and can be known only by faith. No one can prove or disprove this realm. He included here the "ding an sich" (things-in-themselves) but he denied a thing's real essence. Kant does say that given certain experiences it must follow that other things are true. "
source:
http://www.christianchronicler.com/history1/enlig
Therefore, from the perspective of a person who has no faith in God, but rather faith in science, logic and philosophy, the results of scientifically gathered data are, at best, just assumptions, since they are based on assumptions of the noumenal world, and are therefore no stronger than faith.
When self-proclaimed scientists claim that science, itself, is a bunker for atheism, and deny the role of faith in life, they essentially pluck out their own eyes to the truth, the way, and the life. What a person tries to achieve with prayer and humility, can be achieved with God's blessing.
On the other hand, when man takes on the essentially arrogant role of replacing God, and doesn't even give the LORD His credit, and does NOT give thanks, or ask for the LORD's blessing, and is irreverant... what did I say? There IS going to be a day of reckoning, a rude awakening, and I know because MY day of awakening already came and went.
Just remember, when the demons come knocking, that Jesus did save you.
http://www.freewebs.com/vhome/
The longest piece of DNA was made by God, and I believe there's gonna be a rude awakening for those who PLAY God without KNOWING God.
No, in fact, I DO have a good idea of what "obvious" means. But what was implemented at the time of "friendster" doesn't have anything to do with whether the current ideal "social networking" solution was obvious to those who had theretofore failed to implement it. There's what they'd made and what they'd like to have made. Just b/c they haven't made it yet doesn't mean that they WOULDN'T have made it, given the resources and/or the time. (Just as the inventor need not ever have built what's in their blueprint.)
Everyone has worked towards the same thing with regard to internet communication; so they finally came up with a "look and feel" that yielded fast results? So what?
Remember the LOOK AND FEEL lawsuit between microsoft and apple, regarding windows. Apple lost their case, even though they came up with "windowing" before microsoft.
The court ruled that the LOOK and FEEL were not patentable.
By the same token, hyperlinks to lists of friends or their email addresses (or things like "one click shopping") are not, and should not be, patentable.
I know!! I know!!
Man who prays and asks the LORD for help can righteously overcome ANY obstacle. (famine, disease, pollution, exctinction, overcrowding, crime, you name it)
Ask and ye shall receive.
Knock and it will be opened to you.
Faith can move mountains.
With God all things are possible.
Combine those things with OPTIMISM, and remember that Jesus Christ said ALWAYS forgive, NEVER retaliate; BLESS and PRAY for your enemy. LOVE your neighbor as yourself, LOVE your enemy, LOVE the LORD.
When you forgive, it results in YOUR being forgiven. When YOU give, YOU receive. WHEN YOU BLESS YOUR ENEMY, YOU YOURSELF ARE ALSO BLESSED!
And remember that Christ said that the love of money is the root of all evil. That means be wary of valuing money more than the welfare of your fellow man, or the planet that he lives on. Be prepared and willing to sacrifice of your own time, money and resources in order to make the world a better place.
Jesus also said keep the 10 Commandments. If we all kept the 10 Commandments we'd be in good shape, (but that's not enough.) Don't worship false gods, don't commit idolatry, work 6 days and keep the sabbath day holy (7th day = _saturday!_ Look, JESUS WAS A JEW. Jews keep the saturday sabbath! No excuses.), don't take the LORD's name in vain, don't kill or steal or commit adultery, don't bear false witniss, don't covet your neighbor's wife or possessions or servants, honor your parents.
AND don't have sex outside of marriage. That would keep std's in check and reduce the expansion of things like hiv.
Don't use witchcraft or sorcery, don't use omens or divination.
Learn to recognize when you're being tempted to sin, and pray for the strength to resist!
The most important virtue is love.
I've seen a heavenly sign. I saw a double rainbow, 360 degrees, 2 concentric rainbows ALL THE WAY AROUND THE SUN in San Francisco at high noon when there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Others witnissed the very same event. That was around 2001.
You want man to survive? Seek and ye shall find. Seek the LORD. Have FAITH!!!
God Bless You, Stephen Hawking!
In retaliation, I'll patent "a large, centrally-organized flotilla of military ships and aircraft, and supporting infrastructure."
Dang. Is it too late to patent "antisocial networking"?
Seriously though, there are already tons of websites doing that, right? Myspace, Hi5, every single chat engine in the world, online email services that allow you to remember your friends' email addresses.
To qualify for a patent they have to be able to demonstrate that their idea would not be obvious to the most people (or the average person?) in their field. In this case, the field has already demonstrated that the idea is obvious, since the entire field has already done it.
Well then I recommend that they MAKE THEIR OWN DVR (one without fast forward) and see if anybody wants to buy it.
Oh well. Dang.
For just a day I was the fastest cyclist in the world. =\
It was still pretty darn fast.
=D
I beat that record in 1990.
I've rode a plain, heavy, 18 speed steel mongoose hilltopper mountain bicycle up to 55 miles per hour on a freeway. I was going downhill north of houston, and I was skimming the updraft from huge convoys of 18 wheelers. It was SCARY, but I was definitely going 55.
The updraft was enough to rock my bike and pull it to the left (since I was on the hwy shoulder).
My last landlord "appropriated" the very same bike against my will. If I'd known I held the world record of human powered motion on that bike I would have been even angrier about it.
Anyhow, I guess that means I hold the world record, even if nobody else recognizes it.
I'm going to reflect on that. =)
It's good to address these things while we have the energy for it. =)
>>"Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful."
>"they can't be expected (by the coffee shop) to subscribe to the same philosophy of being merciful, so the coffee shop did have a responsibility to take some kind of action."
i.e., "we can't expect the customers to be merciful about a single parking space, so the coffee shop had to be merciless."
That is a non sequator, and based on false premises. The guy was in one single parking space, probably b/c he didn't know where else to go, and "bugging customers" was not mentioned in the article, so lets avoid bearing false witniss.
Even if his car had been consistently forcing a single customer to park on the street during peak hours, there's still no reason to throw him in jail. Have you ever SEEN the inside of a jail? We're talking about JAIL, here. It's not a matter-of-fact thing. JAIL!
Throwing your brother in jail for parking one car on a commercial lot with many open spaces [on the off chance that one of your customers will throw an extra buck into the till "since he didn't have to park on the street for an hour"] is unforgiving, unmerciful and unloving. It is completely antichristian, and it is downright snakeskinned cold callous. I understand wanting him to move, asking him to move, etc, but jailing IS basically state-sponsored kidknapping. Seriously. Consider that before saying somebody "belongs" in jail.
If the owner/manager of the cafe had prayed, and asked the LORD for a good response to the trespass, then it would have been provided for him. Of that, I'm certain. There's always a way: [Find him a better parking spot.] [Offer him a job.] [Find him a better cafe.] etc.
What is CLEAR is that EVERY trespass has specific details, and the details of this case [parking, wifi, ?customers?] are in no way special or unique.
JESUS did not put any conditions on the instruction to forgive. Consider the fact that every year we pay income taxes, we must also FORGIVE the IRS. [if they aren't paid, they threaten jail time, right?] If a *GANG* did that, [threatened us with kidknapping, and asked for a "preemptive ransom"] they'd be thrown into jail. But the IRS just keep on working, right? They didn't repent. Jesus said to forgive them. THEY didn't repent; we're supposed to forgive.
"FORGIVE, AND YE SHALL BE FORGIVEN."
Always pray and ask the LORD for the right answers.
>I disagree that turning the problem over to the police to deal with is evil.
I didn't say that it was evil; I said that arresting the man for illegal parking and piggybacker wifi was not consistent with Jesus' teachings. And I said that if a person does not follow Jesus' teachings then they are not Christians. That's from the Bible.
Jesus' teachings are greater than "civil society ideals". Jesus' teachings are stronger human laws. Well, you don't PRAY to "CEASAR", do you? There is a commandment against worshipping any god other than GOD. That means God's rules come first.
It is true that the guy who parked illegally probably broke city law, and he definitely trespassed, but arresting him on those grounds was contrary to the letter and to the spirit of what Jesus taught.
I would love to see a world that thrived in a manner consistent with Jesus' teachings: universal love, forgiveness, charity, a strong sense of the fact that the love of money is the root of all evil, with people who KEEP the 10 Commandments, etc.
AND here's the reply to the next thread:
"let him be that way" vs "treat him that way."
"let him be" = "leave him be." = "leave him alone" = "live and let live"
meanwhile, i've seen:
"treat him" = "teach him a lesson he won't forget" = "muscle him out or abuse him" = "force him to suffer, or to change" = antichristian.
-vs-
"treat him" = "love is the best medicine there is" = "help him out as much as you can"
That's the differe
"Kill Microsoft, and games with be available on multiple platforms again (as they were in the Amiga/C64/ST/Console days."
That sounds ALOT like Lennin before the Bolshevik Revolution. LOL. Like bashing open a pinata. They got what they fought for, I guess, but it wasn't really what they wanted.
Like it or not (and chicken and egg or not), it's gonna take games to hoist the other operating systems into anything remotely mainstream, let alone "competetive" with MS, although I consider COMPETING with ms to be a moot point. Getting linux into mainstream should be a "blind" goal, with regard to MS. Why? For starters, Jesus said LOVE your enemy. Well? Love your enemy. Why kill em? No need. You like linux? Cool. Coexist. There's room for all. But if you want widespread linux adoption, get those games running. No excuses. Just get em running.
As for market share and chicken or egg, well, I'm an "easy" linux switchover. As many other people that I know, I have an old red hat 7.1 cd just waiting for the day that it's worth installing again. I love linux. Just show me the linux games and I'll reinstall the OS.
But for now I don't have anything to run on linux, so i dont' bother installing it. Windows 2000 suits most of my needs, 98 meets the rest, and installing linux onto my already dual boot system just doesn't "call out to me" as a must-do.
Anyhow, for the sake of nostalgia, here's a site that has some of the older dos/windows games free:
(that you can still download: http://www.the-underdogs.info/)
In case anybody wants to help them, they are looking for a volunteer php developer. =)
The verse in question: Matthew 18:17 (King James Version)
17And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
First off, if your brother, whom you love, and whom you always forgive, were a pagan or a tax collector, and he used your wifi for free, does that mean you'd throw him in jail?
OK, now to the point: the King James version does not say _treat_ him as a pagan or tax collector, it says _"let him be unto thee"_ as a ~. The difference seems clear to me. In the latter case it says "let him be" as a pagan or tax collector. The way I read it, it means "if he insists, just let him be his evil way."
If there's any doubt, about translations, IMO, KJV is the standard Bible.
The NIV instruction to "treat your brother as a tax collector, or as a pagan" is against the greater set of instructions provided by Jesus, in terms of always forgiving, and loving your enemy, unless by "treat" them it means _forgive_ them their trespasses, which IS what Jesus said to do.
It seems as if you singled out passages that I only included for context, and took them as if they were the main points. You overlooked the most important passages:
h apter=5&version=9
"Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:"
"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."
That doesn't mean literally tally it up, it means ALWAYS forgive.
The parable which follows that, regarding the King, the debt, and his servants, tells you exactly how the LORD wants us to forgive. In the parable, the King (by analogy, the LORD) forgives his servant's (=worshipper's) debt (=sin) and then the servant goes out and DOES NOT FORGIVE the debt (=trespasses) of his debtor. Then the King (=LORD) HEARS that the servant did not forgive his own servant's debt (=trespass), and so the King (=LORD) tells him that HE MUST THEN REPAY ALL THE DEBT (=sin) HE EVER OWED.
That means forgiveness is all or nothing. We must forgive everything to be forgiven of everything. If you fail to forgive trespasses, your own trespasses/sin will not be forgiven. That's what Jesus said. If you DO forgive trespasses, debt, etc, your own will be forgiven. Therefore, always forgive, and LOVE your enemy.
1 Peter 3:8-19 specifies that we are not to return evil with evil. Rather return evil with kindness, prayer and blessings: "Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing;"
1 John 2 says if you're not following Jesus' teachings, then you're not on board. Basically it says if a person does not do what Jesus told us to do then they are not actually following Jesus. Since Jesus said LOVE YOUR ENEMY, ALWAYS FORGIVE and TURN THE OTHER CHEEK, I'm saying IF A PERSON DOES NOT LOVE THEIR ENEMY, DOES NOT ALWAYS FORGIVE, and DOES NOT TURN THE OTHER CHEEK, then THEY ARE NOT FOLLOWING JESUS. (Tell that to GW "WWJD" Bush, too, please.)
"For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing." That means it is better to suffer for righteousness' sake than to succeed at the expense of righteousness.
And I don't know how I overlooked this one when I was choosing verses to cite, but it sums it all up:
Matthew 5 (King James Version)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&c
38Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
41And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
42Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
43Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
They overlooked computer games, and games are the MAIN reason to buy Microsoft OS.
Linux / Apple / Solaris, etc don't have much vs windows in the games department, and, even if they did, there's still a 15 year legacy of windows/dos game supremacy, and alot of those games still WORK with newer MS OS.
The funny/sad thing is that microsoft operating system "game supremacy" (in terms of overall game availability) has been evident for a very long time, yet none of the other operating system developers have done anything (with their knowledge of that fact) to boost their own OS sales. (unless i'm mistaken?) They could have opened game houses of their own, for instance.
Anyhow, it's silly to look at Microsoft as the enemy even if you don't like their prices or their policies. Like em or not, microsoft made a good, reliable operating system, and they maintained it, (unlike amiga, or next or be-os or any of the dead os's), and grew it over the years. You might complain about bloat, or pricing, or historical policies / unfair competition, but they've done alot of good things, and I believe that the fact MS is still around is GOOD for us, even if we don't use their OS. (which I DO use)
At least I can play Half Life 2 and WarCraft3 on Windows. Those are nice games, and there's no linux equivalent. Kill MS? Can you linux zealots spell "Don't shoot yourself in the foot"? Kill MS and you can't play half life.
Microsoft is large, it contains multitudes. =)
Jesus said always forgive, and he specifically mentioned always forgive trespasses. Sometimes you have to let the LORD fight your battles. If you're being trespassed against, PRAY and ask the LORD to fight your battles.
Otherwise your position is not consistent with that of Jesus' teachings:
* Matthew 18 (King James Version) 21 - 35
Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
** Luke 6:36-38 (King James Version)
Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.
*** Luke 17 1-4
Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, sa
There is, perhaps, a loophole in your assumptions. Step by step:
You don't have a problem with voluntarily donating organs, do you? (No?)
And what if the family volunteers the organs (heart, liver, etc) from a recently deceased relative, to save your life, or your child's life, is that ok, too? (Yes?)
And what if the family of the deceased fetus donates his/her/its organs (heart, liver, stem cells, etc) to save your life, or your child's life, is THAT ok, too? (Yes.)
HOW the fetus died is a seperate issue.
I can understand how you might say abortion should be illegal, and therefore fetal tissue from abortions would not be legally unavailable. However, fetal tissue could come from accidental miscarriages (although nobody WANTS miscarriage to happen), or from cloning the existing cells.
Or other ways?? Who knows.
Is "Brewed Awakening" in for a rude awakening? Who's going to forgive THEIR trespasses if THEY don't even forgive those of a poor guy who lives in a van? "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."
/. is full of athiests, but I'm sure they can appreciate the virtue of those ideals.
Now, I can SEE why they'd be pissed off if he were using up scarce bandwidth, and their customers/employees were lacking, but I doubt he's using much bandwidth, and it's not COSTING them any extra. So, WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO GOOD OLD FASHIONED KINDNESS?! Every so often, life provides us with the opportunity to help one another out. In the long run, we're better off if we take those opportunities.
Consider that the poor guy's circumstances. He's living in a van, for heaven's sakes! AND he has a felony conviction on his record. How's THAT help for finding employment? Internet is almost a fact of life these days, and how on earth do you think he's gonna get net access? If he doesn't have a land address, and/or can't afford wireless access, then it seems to me it's just the right thing to do to tolerate his trespasses.
Worried about his criminal record? If it were a junior high school I'd be concerned, but it's a cafe, and he's not in prison NOW, and he doesn't have warrants, right? Last time I checked, that meant he's a FREE MAN WITH FULL CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.
I can imagine why they might not want that van always out front, but Jesus said
"Love your neighbor as yourself,"
"Love your enemy,"
and be a good Samaritan.
Yes, I know,
Yea, all I searched for was "mea", but not "dmfc." The least expensive dmfc is indeed $69.50.
http://www.fuelcellstore.com/cgi-bin/fuelweb/view
here's the link, from the same website:
http://www.fuelcellstore.com/cgi-bin/fuelweb/view
and here's the search result that yielded it:
http://www.fuelcellstore.com/cgi-bin/fuelweb/view
how many watt-hours, at how many volts? and, just as important, is it rechargable?
anyhow, the bandaids were incidental. the "mea" part was $47.50. it's a heck of an expensive battery, even if IS a WONDER battery.
Here's one on ebay with a bb gun attached. Hunt down tape worms?
- with-real-BB-Pellet-Gun_W0QQitemZ6063745013QQihZ00 9QQcategoryZ1200QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/Radio-Controlled-Crawling-Bug
Lets ask Silverman about to look up "Dignity" in the dictionary.
Well, Goodness, it IS still in the dictionary. And not just the PETA dictionary, it's in the real life HUMANS dictionary. In case he's reading, I'll make it easy for him.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=dignity