People could provide their own service if they were allowed to. Forming a small cooperative to build out even copper wire could be done at minimal cost in many areas. A DSLAM can be bought on ebay for less than $600. I lived in a suburban area served by Sprint, and Sprint refused to build out high speed Internet. At the time, I had a couple of computers co located at a friendly ISP about11 miles away. Needless to say, I had broadband Internet at my home. I'm sure I fractured a few "laws" in providing my own Internet, but the phone or cable company refused to do it.
I place where we hold congregation meetings is in the house that belongs to an elderly lady. She was with Bell South and always ahd trouble with the phone line. There was static, buzzing, etc. I was on the phone company's side of the Demarcation point. She would always complain, and the telco would repair the problem only to have it occure again. When the Congregation installed cable internet for her, I brought in my Grandstream handytone 286 and plugged it into the router. After some configuration and a new account with Gizmo5, she now has crystal clear telephone service. Her cellphone is used to dial 911 in any case of emergency. Her new system is cheaper, works much better, and is much more reliable than Bell South. I was glad to disconnect the line from the demarcation point.
There are several ways of providing backup power.. I have added batteries to my uninterruptable power supply. I've wired them in parallel, and I put switches on each battery. When the batteries need to be charged, I allow the one built into the UPS to charge first, then I flip a switch to charge the next battery. I keep doing this until all the batteries are charged. My system remained operational for over a day and a half. However, like another poster suggested, there is more than one way to provide for power in a prolonged emergency. Routers, modems, VOIP phones, many FXO's, and laptop computers are low voltage devices that can be powered by the sun and wind without too high of a cost or installation effort. For cell phone, one can pick up solar powered cell phone chargers very cheaply.
We had a prolonged power outage (almost 48 hours) in my neighborhood. After about day and a half, the remote (POT's channel mux) went out, and both POTS and the Internet was unavailable. My prepaid phone saved the day. Since I was not "online" my VOIP routed my incoming calls to my cellphone. VOIP is good if you have the expertise readily available in case something goes wrong.
I also want to say that I do have super reliable service, and I have 3 pay as you go providers so that I can fall back on others should my promary provider go down. In addition, I have a pay as you go cellphone that I would use for 911. VOIP may not be for everyone, but it definitely meets my (and many of my clients) needs.
I have both POTs and VOIP. I use POTs because my telco is the only Internet game in town and in order to have 911 service. I use VOIP for cheap calls with no taxes for my business line. If it weren't for the fact that I have to have POTS in order to have Internet, I would have gone completely VOIP a long time ago. VOIP can be as reliable as your Internet service if you provide battery backup for your FXO (The thing you plug you analog phone into) and your DSL or CABLE modem (and router if you have it). You also have to provide battery backup for your computer if it serves as your phone system switch. With VOIP, you can also connect to many different phone networks (other that POTS). In addition, you can set up a very secure network where you can communicate with other offices in an organization without much fear of snooping or wiretapping. VOIP is definitely the way to go.
p2pnet news | RIAA News:- A long-time p2pnet reader and computer programmer says he's 99.9% certain he's unearthed the name of the company that may be running the RIAA's so called 'Settlement Center'.
See http://www.p2pnet.net/story/15512 for more information
This is just another hole in the hull of the RIAA rat ship.
There is very little chance that you will win against spammers in the court system unless you are a big company like American Online or Earthlink. As far a the government or courts are concerned, you are nothing but annoying little fly. Fortunately, there IS A WAY to deal with spammers that will hit them in their pocketbook. This way is called SpammerSkewer. You can visit SpammerSkewer's website by going to http://spammerskewer.sourceforge.net./
SpammerSkewer IS NOT A DENIAl OF SERVICE PROGRAM rather, it is a COMPLAINT program. It submits complaints to spamvertised websites much Like Ble Security's Blue Frog did. What sets this program apart from the Blue Frog program is the fact that its instruction files are distributed by peer to peer networking. Further, the instructions are cryptographically signed in order to prevent malicious tampering. I am trying to get as many people as possible to use this program so that there will be high costs to spammers. Pleas take a look at this open source program.
Actually, you can make quite a bit of money on an indie film that is freely distributed. If the film is relatively popular, an embedded advertisement such as a scene in a local restaurant, or someone using the advertised product can bring a film maker a lot of revenue (especially if he is the seller of the advertised product). You also stick it to the MPAA. The media cartel hates competition, but they can no longer do any thing about it. The garage studio is going to put the media cartel out of business. It is now only a matter of time.
The RIAA not only goes after innocent people, they also go after their children just to add fuel to the fire. An article on p2pnet.net shows just how much hatred the media cartel has generated for itself. The article is pretty informative, however, the comments are really telling!!!
And Christ said "render unto Ceasar what is Ceasar's"..
I would agree, however, the modern day Caesar also wants what is yours. If I remember the Bible correctly, it also says not to offer sacrifices to idols. Daniel would not offer sacrifices or bow down to the Babylonian idol.
But OK one can 86 this man if they want, but there are plenty of scientists who happen to agree with him. Another website called http://www.evolution-facts.org/ gives plenty of more scientific evidence against evolution. Some of the scientific evidence just happens to be in my area of expertise, and is valid.
I read the background on Wikipedia about Kent Hovind, and I admit that the article does not paint a good picture of him. However I'm not willing to shoot the messenger because of the message. His credentials are attacked as well as his run-ins with the government and court system. I also know of at least one thing said about Kent Hovind on Wikipedia that is incorrect. He NEVER said that we evolved from a banana. He NEVER said that Evolutionists believe that we evolved from a banana. However, he does point out that dogs, wolves, and other canines have LITTLE in common with a banana. He disputes that bananas and dogs evolved from the same source. I happen to agree that it is UNPROVEN that canines and bananas evolved from the same source.
As far as credentials are concerned, there are many un-credentialed people who have made GREAT contributions to science and technology. Some of these include Linus Torvalds. He is credentialed now, but he was not when he wrote the base Linux kernel. Another one is Bill Gates. Bill Gates may or may not have written a single line of code, but he has become one of the top earners of the country. Like it or not (I don't like Microsoft or many of its products) Microsoft has been tremendously helpful in bringing computing into the average home. If I'm not mistaken, the founder of Apple computers started out as garage hacker (un-credentialed). A 17 years old girl (again, un-credentialed) has invented a laser spectrograph that is affordable to many scientists. What this demonstrates is that people with few credentials or credentials that are not widely recognized make contributions to science and technology every day.
As far as trouble with the government is concerned, again, many people who have been in trouble with governments have made tremendous contributions to science. The unabomber (Theodore Kaczynski) just happens to be a brilliant mathematician. He also happens to have a degree from Harvard and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Michigan. While this man has contributed to science, he still wound up in prison. Another person with run-ins with government authorities (The Catholic Church at that time had tremendous power over people) was Galileo Galilei. Other people include Robert Stroud (The Bird Man of Alcatraz) was both a prison inmate and un-credentialed, yet he made significant contribution to avian pathology. Again legal status has little to do with scientific knowledge.
Like I said in other post, I do not necessarily agree with all or most of Kent Hovind's religious views. I also understand why he may have run into such legal trouble. Kent Hovind, and many of his likes believe that the U.S. government has overstepped its bounds (many here on Slashdot will have to agree with this statement). Like quite a few right wing Christians, he believes that the 16th amendment of the Constitution was not properly ratified because Kentucky made a few changes to the amendment before it ratified it (Without Kentucky ratifying the Amendment as written, there would have been less than 2/3 of states which ratified the amendment). Like some other right wing Christians, his conscience could also be against paying taxes that are used to support such organizations as Planned Parenthood because he believes that such expenditures are both immoral and unconstitutional. I don't know the man or why he does the things he does.
As far as where Hovind went to school or didn't go to school, I never look at his record. I know for a fact that one can learn just about anything one wants to learn without ever setting foot into a classroom. There are bookstores, libraries, the Internet, other people, and many other places from where one can obtain knowledge. I myself speak two different languages as well as write computer programs, and yet I never set foot in a college to learn how to do these things. Many people who have degrees from accredited colleges and universities are impressed with my knowledge and have asked for my advice in many differe
I don't know Kent Hovind, nor have I ever visited his museum. However, I do like his scientific rebuttal of Evolutionism. I have studied science myself for many, many years and have come to pretty much similar conclusions. However, I don't take his word for anything. I studied his information, and most appears to be on the level. The information I look at from him appears to be correct. I have found a misquote in one thing posted on his website, and I have sent him a correction. I also believe that you made a false assumption about me as well. You seem to assume that I am a Christian and I am of the same religion as Kent Hoving. I am not. You also said he may be a wolf in sheep's clothing. That I do not know. I have never met the man. I only looked at his rebuttals to Evolutionism.
I have no problem with people believing in Evolutionism, but I just don't want to be forced to pay for a religion that is disguised as science to be taught to school kids. I am just as upset at the Bush Administration trying to push faith based initiatives down our throats. The same goes for shool vouchers when these vouchers pay for religious education. While I believe that politicians and judges are allowed to pray as well as post the 10 Commandments in public buildings (freedom of religion), I do not believe that they have the right to force everyone else to pray or pay money to support their religious beliefs.
You claim that Evolution is a theory rather than a religion. However, many school textbooks say we are both wrong. They say that EVOLUTION IS A FACT. If I could see macro-evolution demonstrated in a lab, or if I could travel back in time 3000 B.C. and find the same conditions as today (except the stuff added by modern life), then I'd be convinced. IF you can prove macro-evolution, you ought to do it in front of a bunch of people with Dr. Hoving present. He says he will give you $250,000.00 if you prove macro-evolution. If you prove macro-evolution, and he does not come up with the money, then you will be able to out him as a liar.
Wrong Assumptions Yield Wrong Answers
Author: Bruce Malone
Time = Amount / Rate
Amount = Measured - Initial - Contamination
Rate = Average Rate Over the Whole Time
Search for the Truth This article is one of many found within Mr. Malone's excellent book, Search for the Truth.
It is hard to open a newspaper, book, or magazine without finding some implication to the earth being billions of years old. Given the overwhelming barrage of these statements, it is understandable why so many people have trouble considering the possibility that the earth might be only thousands of years old. Yet there is an intriguing possibility that the earth may be much younger than 'billions of years'.
Despite what people have been led to believe, there are no dating methods which give an absolute date for the formation of the earth. All dating methods are based on non-provable assumptions about some event in the past. Furthermore, there is a strong bias to reject any dating method which does not allow enough time for evolution to have happened. To understand the validity of any date, the reader must gain an understanding of how all dating methods work. The following illustration should help:
Suppose you were up at 6:00 a.m. and happened to see a friend who lives in a nearby town. You observe that he is walking along at 2 miles an hour and you know that he lives 16 miles away. You can easily use the formula at the top of the illustration to calculate that your friend left home 8 hours earlier. You have just performed a dating method of how long your friend has been on the road. However, something doesn't make sense. Why would your friend be up all night walking? Although you used the correct formula, your assumptions may not have been correct. Perhaps your friend stayed with someone in town and woke up just minutes before for a morning stroll. In this case, you have used the 'Wrong Initial Amount' in your calculation. Perhaps he took a shortcut which cut 12 miles of his walk. In this case there was 'CONTAMINATION' of the total amount. Perhaps since you last saw your friend, he has taken up marathon running and average 8 miles and hour (only having slowed down just before you saw him). In this case you have used the wrong 'Average Rate'. The point is, wrong assumptions lead to wrong answers.
In all (radioactive) dating methods the initial amount is an assumption, the estimate of contamination is an assumption, and the overall rate is an assumption. The only things which can be known for sure are the present amount and the present rate.
Unless you estimate the initial amount correctly, the average rate correctly, and the amount of contamination correctly, your answer will be wrong . And depending on your assumptions, it could be very, very wrong.
There are actually very few dating methods which seem to indicate that the earth is extremely old. On the other hand there are many dating methods which indicate that the earth is quite young, then evolution is obviously a myth and creation becomes the only logical alternative. Could this be the primary reason that only those methods which seem to indicate very old ages are acceptable?
"Evolution is a theory. A well backed theory with *lots* of evidence to point us in that direction. It could all be misunderstood, but no other explanation has one thousandth the facts behind it."
It also meets the common definition of religion:
Evolutionists claim to be the voice of reason that rises above the superstitions of the masses. Many Evolutionists claim that science backs up evolution. They also claim to have physical evidence that show their claims to be true. Most evolutionists claim that just about every mainstream scientist support their view. When a Christian tells an Evolutionist that the theory of evolution is a religion, that Christian is likely to get a hostile reply. Like the practicers of other religions, Evolutionists think that their way of thinking is the only correct way to believe. The writer of this book has found that most of the vocal supporters of Evolutionism are in many cases unwilling to listen to reason and resort to name calling when they begin to lose their argument. The Evolutionists tend to get angry when other interpetations of physical evidence they use (to support Evolutionism) point to other possibilities. Unfortunately Evolutionism is taught in many public school textbooks as if it were a fact. In spite of what Evolutionists would like people to believe, not all mainstream scientists support Evolutionism. In fact, there are many prominant scientists both past and present who support the Bible or at least believe in a Creator. Some these scientists will have their names listed in this book.
Evolutionism is a religion. Many dictionaries define religion as a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe often involving a moral code of conduct. Many also state that religion is a fundamental set of beliefs shared by a number of persons or sects. Most religions also have their scripture or writings that contain their teachings. Many religions also show a particular affinity or attachment to a specific geographic area. If one uses these definitions and qualifiers, then Evolutionism definitely qualifies as a religion. It is very important to understand the dogmas and belief systems of Evolutionism because Evolutionism is the state sponsored RELIGION of most Western countries. In other words, it is a RELIGION for which people are REQUIRED to PAY TAXES to SUPPORT in spite of what people believe.
Most religions have a book or set of books that contain their teachings. Evolutionism is no exception. One of the main scriptures of the Evolutionists is a book called, "The Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life." This book was written by a man named Charles Darwin. It is the same book that is refered to in science books which use the shorter form, "The Origin of Species." Many people who believe in Evolutionism also claim to be against racism and sexism. If one would only examine the title and the pages within, one will see that it is impossible to be a Darwinist and NOT be a racist. Evolutionism has other scriptures written by other people. However Charles Darwin is considered the most famous.
Evolutionism also contains a moral code, and that moral code is briefly stated here. Evolutionists believe that humankind are animals that have become powerful enough to take over and destroy the entire earth. Evolutionists believe that since humankind has become so able to adapt to so many different environments, there is severe danger of mankind destroying all life including itself. Most Evolutionists in essence, believe that humans are harmful organisms whose numbers need to be significantly reduced. They believe that people need to be removed from many different areas so that other species can survive. In other words, they believe that people are doing wrong simply because they are living, because
"Is it really so hard for some people to accept the fact that they had four-legged ancestors?"
It would probably be easier to accept as fact if it were in fact true. However it is not!!! Despite what some people think, Evolutionism is not based on fact. Evolutionism is a RELIGION.
1. It cannot be proven that the earth is millions or billions of years old.
2. The dogma of the geologic column is pure bunk. The order of fossils are mixed up in different layers, etc.
3. Fossils only prove that a certain critter died. They also give some indication of what the critter looked like. They do not prove that the critter had offspring, nor do they proved that the critter is the matriarch or patriarch of different types of life.
4. The dating of rock and fossils rely on circular reasoning. Scientists date the rock by the fossils contain within (they call these index fossils). They date the fossils by the rock (they call this index layers). Man-made object have been found in coal (coal is supposedly millions of years old)!
School textbooks should present evidence both pro and con when discussing evolution. Textbooks should also remove known false and incorrect information about Evolutionism. For more information Please look at the following video:
http://drdino.plaingospel.com/seminar4_300k.wmv
I'm not even a Christian, but I would love to prove this guy wrong. This guy said he would pay someone $250,000.00 to any one who can prove evolution via the scientific method. I could use the money. Until someone proves Evolutionism, get that religion out of my tax-funded public schools!!!
I have to agree with you. When anyone questions widely publicized "scientific" opinions, this type of behavior generally occurs. Politics is embedded as much (if not more) in the scientific community as anywhere else. It is getting so that dissenting evidence is overlooked in many different "scientific" publications. Unfortunately, I do not see changes in this trend within the near future.
I can always get my conte3nt through DSL. I see more entertainment on You Tube and other video sites in one hour than I do all week on cartel TV.
If the cartels get their technical standard shoved down our throats, it won't affect me. I will cancel my basic satellite subscription, and get other do do the same. Our votes at the polls on election days matter very little. However, our votes with our dollars matter greatly.
I used to buy plenty of CD's and DVD's before the **AA's started their lawsuits. Since then, I have bought very little and even cancelled all of the "premium" channels offer by my satellite provider.
Stupid idiots cannot be reason with , but I will try one more time:
"And you still haven't addressed the glaring contradiction between the bible's claims of cures for faithful and the complete absence of most types of miracle cures, other than those that would have happened anyway regardless of faith." I believe that I have. MOst people who go to church on Sunday live their lives other days withoutmuch regard to the teachings in scripture. Sure, they do a few things but they regard at least one very important thing. That thing is the Sabbath. Can you tell me what day the Bible sets aside for the Sabbath? When does it begin, and when does it end. This is not the only thing, but it is an important factor. I have seen miricles within the congregation I attend, and no, this is not some tent revival where all different kinds of people show up, "get healed" and never be seen again. When hurricanes blew through west Florida entire neighborhoods had their houses severely damaged or destroy. Among these homes was homes of members of another congregation of the same faith. NONE of these home sustained any major damage even though the home was not built any better than surrounding structures. The same thing does for the congregation in MO where an entire neigborhood save on house was severely damaged by tornadoes.
"Burn the daughters of priests to death if they sin? I doubt it..."
That is NOT what it says. If they commit idolitry they are to be burned (after being killed beforehand). We don't live as a nation under the covanant. Israel has long ago abandoned the covanant and is therefore divorced as a nation.
"Prevent women from teaching? You've probably had female teachers, and I doubt you're out campaigning for the PTA to bar female teachers. You're breaking God's law by not doing so."
Once again, you have taken a verse out of context. Women are supposed to teach. They teach their children (boys and girls) they teach their husbands, etc. But when it come to the actual service, it is the men's job to do the teaching.
"If your (hypothetical( daughter were raped, would you press charges? The bible COMMANDS you to accept money from him and force him to marry her -- regardless of what she thinks of this. You fucking tool -- you actually obey this retarded book?"
Yet another verse you have taken out of context, but that is not really your fault because of the way it was mis-translated. The rape here could more or less be considered by todays standard as statutory rape. Forcible rape calls for the death penalty for the rapist.
"You'd better be willing to murder your son if he doesn't obey you. Just in case you ever DO reproduce, I'm going to wish you luck in prison." More out of context quoting. This only applies to the very worst of the worst disobedience, and even then the father does not kill his son. His son is brought for trial in front of the nation. This is talking about the son who destroys the family, sqanders the familys resources on drug, woman, or whatever thrills him without regard to his family. Someone who makes a habit of doing stuff like this without reform shows that he does not love his parents, himself, or any other.
"This isn't actually advice, but I think it's important to note that your god is a god of war and death. He is pretty sure that you'll have to kill your family. You... ARE willing to kill your family, right?" This is a plain out and out lie. Not only are you a stupid idiot, you are also a liar.
Most of what you have quoted above has been taken out of context. The time that these commandments were given was a time when Israel was going through purification and was a quaranteen measure meant to protect the nation from widespread wrongdoing. In the United States thanks to people largely like you, we are overrun with drugs, violence, adultry, among many other things. It is no wonder that the divorce rate is over 50%. It is also no wonder that families have to live paycheck to paycheck. All of the taxes and government mandated expenses they pay goes to a very corrupt government.
You sound like Madeline Murray O'Hare your sister in belief, She too was a very bitter person.
STEALING is stealing. Copyright infringement is not stealing. If I buy a vine from a nursery and root a couple of cuttings from it, I am not stealing from the nursery.
With that said, the punishment should fit the crime. The guy should have had to pay for the cost of the unlicensed software and the cost of the audit. This cost should have been under $10000. Most likely, the guy didn't even know that the software was not in compliance. I personally do not run Microsoft products on my computers simply because I do not agree with their licensing terms. I do not want to give up my RIGHT to be free from unreasonable searches or be spied upon simply because I need to run a spreadsheet.
I prefer to run BSD and Linux simply because of freedom and not cost. Yes, Linux and BSD can be a real pain in the a$$ to set up, but once it is set up it lasts until the hardware finally conks out.
I happen to be conservative (not a neo-con, but a genuine conservative), and I too, am turned off by corn-produced ethanol. With that said, I do not necessarily believe that ethanol is a bad thing. Brazil uses sugar cane to meet its energy needs. A climate and land analysis might be in order to determine if sugar cane ethanol meet a substantial part of our energy needs as well. Other plants such as soy, beet, etc should also be investigated.
There are other ways where our dependence on crude oil can be mitigated as well. One of these is wind power for heating. In cold states such as Illinois, New York and others, the north wind can be used to drive a wind generator. The electrical energy from this wind generator can be fed into a purely resistive load which will give off supplimental heat to warm homes. Doing this will allow for the electrical energy to be directly utilized eliminate the need for batteries.
What about retrofitting sewage treatment plants so that they can came some of the raw methane produced by raw sewage? Cheaper solar cells would be a big part of the solution as well. My family converted all of the out light bulbs to flourescent bulbs and plant to switch to LED based bulbs as soon as their cost becomes more reasonable (I have made a single LED bulb that is used to light a bedroom). In places where summers are hot, retractable awnings and window tinting reduce cooling costs tremendously. One can also use a timer connected to a sprayer to cool metal based roofs. This techniques saves us about $30-$50 a month on cooling costs and is cheap and easy to install.
I am all for using off the shelf technology that is available right now to get the job done. What I am not for is yet more of our tax money going to subsidize massive corporations. Rather than rely on unstable energy sources coupled with expensive energy storage, more should be done to make hydrogen generators and fuel cells available to the mass market. If this were to ever happen, the U.S.A. will be well on its way to being energy independent.
"Israeli archaeologists actually go out and look for the remnants and signs of the events that occurred in the bible. Guess what? There's no evidence for any of them"
Actually, yes there is EVIDENCE. I have seen for myself the balls of sulfur from the vally Shinar (where Sedem and Amorrah were). Modern science has noexplaination of why these ball are found only in that area. I have also seen the crossing point over the Sea of Reeds where the Israelites crossed over to escape the Egyptions. Even Assyrian writings speak of many of the event listed in the Bible.
If and when a piece of evidence supporting the Bible is found great amount of time and effort are spent trying to prove that such evidence has been faked (yes a lot has). I am willing to bet that unless a piece of evidence that supposedly refutes the Bible is shown to be an obvious fake, it is accepted with no where near the same level of scruteny.
"The only thing that has ever helped was turning my back on God and putting my life into MY hands, putting faith in MYSELF, turning to my OWN skills and abilities for salvation. When you finally say "Fuck God" and start living for this life, you can actually accomplish things in the world; you can get out there and help yourself and those around you."
If that works for you, then by all means go ahead. I would not try to stop you, but don't impose your will on others. I have had a different experience. I have used my skills and depended on myself for many years . Every time I take a stepforward, something would occure that would knock me back. I even "went to Christian churches and prayed" for answers, and the same thing happened. However, when I started doing what it says to do in the Bible, things changed for the better. The Bible has advice on finances, planting, homebuilding, how to raise children, etc. After aout 6 months of actually trying to obey the Bible things have started toi change for the better. I quit my job because I couldn't get off on the Sabbath (I ended up with a much better paying and more enjoyable job). I refrained from financing things I wanted and waited until I save up money (Biblical Advice), and now I am almost complately debt free. I also own nearly 30 acres, and I aam able to work from home. Yes, my life is much better taking advice from the Bible. I believe in YHWH and use my skills and abilities to help others and build a life (which is in no contradiction to scripture). Sitting on one's ass and not doing anything to help ones self is against advice in the Bible.
BY the way, I'm not a theist. I do not worship Theos.
The Bible does not work for anyone unless they practice what it says to do, even when it is not immediately convenient to do so. Most people who "believe in the Bible" would not quit a job to keep from violating one of the teachings therein. The error of most people to "play church" is doing teachings that are convenient and ignoring or finding excuse not to do the rest. They then wonder why their faith is no good. The members of the congregation I attend have improve financially, spiritually and mentally.
I'm am telling you this not in the hopes of trying to "convert" or "save" you, but rather that there is more than one way to look at a situation. Like I said, if you enjoy "living without God," by all means DO SO. However you have no right to IMPOSE the same on others. The United States was founded on the principle of freedom of religion as well as frredom from religion. You only have to look at the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to see this. You are free to disbelieve certain things, and I do not have any right to force you to believe the things I believe. You also HAVE NO RIGHT to force your beliefs on me. Most anti-religious nutbags want to do that vary thing. Forcing Bible believing people to support things like abortion, man comes from monkeys, subsidising homosexual unions, etc is imposing "anti-God" thinking onto people and denying them the freedom of religion and conscience.
For your information, many scientists have statistically proven that prayer increases healing rates. I have personally known where prayer cured a woman of schizophrenia. I have known this woman for about 12 years, she was put on a prayer list and was cured within a week. This did not happen in an organized corporate church, but rather in a home congregation. Have your parents or government ever said no to you? Of course.
"There isn't a single example in all of Human history of ANYONE -- no matter how faithfully they or their family or their church prayed -- regrowing an amputated limb."
Like how would you know? You have been alive for less than 100 years. There have been outside writings verifying some of the miricles of the Messiah (whose name btw was not originally Jesus but rather Yeshua). Maybe if people rid themselve of vain traditions of man and actually do what scripture says, there may be more healing. Being faithful does not just mean going to church twice a week and saying prayers at nighttime. It means much much more. I am not even a Christian, and yet, I know that much.
"..........believing in the power of prayer (provably wrong, which simultaneously disproves the word of the bible completely), the mythology of the bible (there was provably no flood, no exodus, no wandering the desert, no series of wars to conquer Israel, and no king David). "
You might want to check the reliability of where you are getting your so-called "proof."
You are indeed one of these nutbags. I't is amazing how people like you take things so far out of context. What do you thing? You think that God is supposed to be you personal servant and be at your beck and call while you do exactly what you want to do and say to him, "Fuck you?" That is that attitude that many people like you and, unfortunately most Christian have. These include those who have the bumper stickers that say "God is my Co-pilot." If God is truly whom they want to serve, the sticker would read "God IS THE PILOT."
You blame god, the Bible or whatever as being a liar and false when you take things completely out of context. Try reading theparts of it where it says, if you hate my law and refuse to obey My commandments, your prayers will be an abominationto me. Or the conditions and proper state of mind that is required to have prayers answered.
A simple test: the bible says, and I quote,
"Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." -- Matthew 7:7, Do you even have an inkling of an idea what "it" is? You obviously do not!!!
Before you go calling Cchristians, "idiots or dimwits," maybe you ought to get some idea of what the f*** you are talking about. BTW, I am not a Christian, and I do not agree with many of their teachings, but I also wish that those who start calling people names to at least get some inking of an idea what they are talking about. When I use the term anti-religous nutbags, I was not talking about Atheists in general, but rather about the morons who can't stand those who believe differently or at least have some respect for other points of view. I am debating an Atheist in another thread, and he (or she) is at least respectful ofothers and makes intelligent posts.
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People could provide their own service if they were allowed to. Forming a small cooperative to build out even copper wire could be done at minimal cost in many areas. A DSLAM can be bought on ebay for less than $600. I lived in a suburban area served by Sprint, and Sprint refused to build out high speed Internet. At the time, I had a couple of computers co located at a friendly ISP about11 miles away. Needless to say, I had broadband Internet at my home. I'm sure I fractured a few "laws" in providing my own Internet, but the phone or cable company refused to do it.
I place where we hold congregation meetings is in the house that belongs to an elderly lady. She was with Bell South and always ahd trouble with the phone line. There was static, buzzing, etc. I was on the phone company's side of the Demarcation point. She would always complain, and the telco would repair the problem only to have it occure again. When the Congregation installed cable internet for her, I brought in my Grandstream handytone 286 and plugged it into the router. After some configuration and a new account with Gizmo5, she now has crystal clear telephone service. Her cellphone is used to dial 911 in any case of emergency. Her new system is cheaper, works much better, and is much more reliable than Bell South. I was glad to disconnect the line from the demarcation point.
In your case then, it is safest to stick with POTS and only use VOIP (if you have access to broadband) to handle long distance outgoing calls.
There are several ways of providing backup power.. I have added batteries to my uninterruptable power supply. I've wired them in parallel, and I put switches on each battery. When the batteries need to be charged, I allow the one built into the UPS to charge first, then I flip a switch to charge the next battery. I keep doing this until all the batteries are charged. My system remained operational for over a day and a half. However, like another poster suggested, there is more than one way to provide for power in a prolonged emergency. Routers, modems, VOIP phones, many FXO's, and laptop computers are low voltage devices that can be powered by the sun and wind without too high of a cost or installation effort. For cell phone, one can pick up solar powered cell phone chargers very cheaply.
We had a prolonged power outage (almost 48 hours) in my neighborhood. After about day and a half, the remote (POT's channel mux) went out, and both POTS and the Internet was unavailable. My prepaid phone saved the day. Since I was not "online" my VOIP routed my incoming calls to my cellphone. VOIP is good if you have the expertise readily available in case something goes wrong.
I also want to say that I do have super reliable service, and I have 3 pay as you go providers so that I can fall back on others should my promary provider go down. In addition, I have a pay as you go cellphone that I would use for 911. VOIP may not be for everyone, but it definitely meets my (and many of my clients) needs.
I have both POTs and VOIP. I use POTs because my telco is the only Internet game in town and in order to have 911 service. I use VOIP for cheap calls with no taxes for my business line. If it weren't for the fact that I have to have POTS in order to have Internet, I would have gone completely VOIP a long time ago. VOIP can be as reliable as your Internet service if you provide battery backup for your FXO (The thing you plug you analog phone into) and your DSL or CABLE modem (and router if you have it). You also have to provide battery backup for your computer if it serves as your phone system switch. With VOIP, you can also connect to many different phone networks (other that POTS). In addition, you can set up a very secure network where you can communicate with other offices in an organization without much fear of snooping or wiretapping. VOIP is definitely the way to go.
p2pnet news | RIAA News:- A long-time p2pnet reader and computer programmer says he's 99.9% certain he's unearthed the name of the company that may be running the RIAA's so called 'Settlement Center'. See http://www.p2pnet.net/story/15512 for more information This is just another hole in the hull of the RIAA rat ship.
You should see the Marvin Heemeyer Tank. It was built for the specific purpose of retaliating against unjust fines. :-)
There is very little chance that you will win against spammers in the court system unless you are a big company like American Online or Earthlink. As far a the government or courts are concerned, you are nothing but annoying little fly. Fortunately, there IS A WAY to deal with spammers that will hit them in their pocketbook. This way is called SpammerSkewer. You can visit SpammerSkewer's website by going to http://spammerskewer.sourceforge.net./
SpammerSkewer IS NOT A DENIAl OF SERVICE PROGRAM rather, it is a COMPLAINT program. It submits complaints to spamvertised websites much Like Ble Security's Blue Frog did. What sets this program apart from the Blue Frog program is the fact that its instruction files are distributed by peer to peer networking. Further, the instructions are cryptographically signed in order to prevent malicious tampering.
I am trying to get as many people as possible to use this program so that there will be high costs to spammers. Pleas take a look at this open source program.
Actually, you can make quite a bit of money on an indie film that is freely distributed. If the film is relatively popular, an embedded advertisement such as a scene in a local restaurant, or someone using the advertised product can bring a film maker a lot of revenue (especially if he is the seller of the advertised product). You also stick it to the MPAA. The media cartel hates competition, but they can no longer do any thing about it. The garage studio is going to put the media cartel out of business. It is now only a matter of time. The RIAA not only goes after innocent people, they also go after their children just to add fuel to the fire. An article on p2pnet.net shows just how much hatred the media cartel has generated for itself. The article is pretty informative, however, the comments are really telling!!!
http://p2pnet.net/story/11878
And Christ said "render unto Ceasar what is Ceasar's".. I would agree, however, the modern day Caesar also wants what is yours. If I remember the Bible correctly, it also says not to offer sacrifices to idols. Daniel would not offer sacrifices or bow down to the Babylonian idol. But OK one can 86 this man if they want, but there are plenty of scientists who happen to agree with him. Another website called http://www.evolution-facts.org/ gives plenty of more scientific evidence against evolution. Some of the scientific evidence just happens to be in my area of expertise, and is valid.
I read the background on Wikipedia about Kent Hovind, and I admit that the article does not paint a good picture of him. However I'm not willing to shoot the messenger because of the message. His credentials are attacked as well as his run-ins with the government and court system. I also know of at least one thing said about Kent Hovind on Wikipedia that is incorrect. He NEVER said that we evolved from a banana. He NEVER said that Evolutionists believe that we evolved from a banana. However, he does point out that dogs, wolves, and other canines have LITTLE in common with a banana. He disputes that bananas and dogs evolved from the same source. I happen to agree that it is UNPROVEN that canines and bananas evolved from the same source.
As far as credentials are concerned, there are many un-credentialed people who have made GREAT contributions to science and technology. Some of these include Linus Torvalds. He is credentialed now, but he was not when he wrote the base Linux kernel. Another one is Bill Gates. Bill Gates may or may not have written a single line of code, but he has become one of the top earners of the country. Like it or not (I don't like Microsoft or many of its products) Microsoft has been tremendously helpful in bringing computing into the average home. If I'm not mistaken, the founder of Apple computers started out as garage hacker (un-credentialed). A 17 years old girl (again, un-credentialed) has invented a laser spectrograph that is affordable to many scientists. What this demonstrates is that people with few credentials or credentials that are not widely recognized make contributions to science and technology every day.
As far as trouble with the government is concerned, again, many people who have been in trouble with governments have made tremendous contributions to science. The unabomber (Theodore Kaczynski) just happens to be a brilliant mathematician. He also happens to have a degree from Harvard and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Michigan. While this man has contributed to science, he still wound up in prison.
Another person with run-ins with government authorities (The Catholic Church at that time had tremendous power over people) was Galileo Galilei.
Other people include Robert Stroud (The Bird Man of Alcatraz) was both a prison inmate and un-credentialed, yet he made significant contribution to avian pathology. Again legal status has little to do with scientific knowledge.
Like I said in other post, I do not necessarily agree with all or most of Kent Hovind's religious views. I also understand why he may have run into such legal trouble. Kent Hovind, and many of his likes believe that the U.S. government has overstepped its bounds (many here on Slashdot will have to agree with this statement). Like quite a few right wing Christians, he believes that the 16th amendment of the Constitution was not properly ratified because Kentucky made a few changes to the amendment before it ratified it (Without Kentucky ratifying the Amendment as written, there would have been less than 2/3 of states which ratified the amendment). Like some other right wing Christians, his conscience could also be against paying taxes that are used to support such organizations as Planned Parenthood because he believes that such expenditures are both immoral and unconstitutional. I don't know the man or why he does the things he does.
As far as where Hovind went to school or didn't go to school, I never look at his record. I know for a fact that one can learn just about anything one wants to learn without ever setting foot into a classroom. There are bookstores, libraries, the Internet, other people, and many other places from where one can obtain knowledge. I myself speak two different languages as well as write computer programs, and yet I never set foot in a college to learn how to do these things. Many people who have degrees from accredited colleges and universities are impressed with my knowledge and have asked for my advice in many differe
I don't know Kent Hovind, nor have I ever visited his museum. However, I do like his scientific rebuttal of Evolutionism. I have studied science myself for many, many years and have come to pretty much similar conclusions. However, I don't take his word for anything. I studied his information, and most appears to be on the level. The information I look at from him appears to be correct. I have found a misquote in one thing posted on his website, and I have sent him a correction. I also believe that you made a false assumption about me as well. You seem to assume that I am a Christian and I am of the same religion as Kent Hoving. I am not. You also said he may be a wolf in sheep's clothing. That I do not know. I have never met the man. I only looked at his rebuttals to Evolutionism.
I have no problem with people believing in Evolutionism, but I just don't want to be forced to pay for a religion that is disguised as science to be taught to school kids. I am just as upset at the Bush Administration trying to push faith based initiatives down our throats. The same goes for shool vouchers when these vouchers pay for religious education. While I believe that politicians and judges are allowed to pray as well as post the 10 Commandments in public buildings (freedom of religion), I do not believe that they have the right to force everyone else to pray or pay money to support their religious beliefs.
You claim that Evolution is a theory rather than a religion. However, many school textbooks say we are both wrong. They say that EVOLUTION IS A FACT. If I could see macro-evolution demonstrated in a lab, or if I could travel back in time 3000 B.C. and find the same conditions as today (except the stuff added by modern life), then I'd be convinced. IF you can prove macro-evolution, you ought to do it in front of a bunch of people with Dr. Hoving present. He says he will give you $250,000.00 if you prove macro-evolution. If you prove macro-evolution, and he does not come up with the money, then you will be able to out him as a liar.
Wrong Assumptions Yield Wrong Answers Author: Bruce Malone Time = Amount / Rate Amount = Measured - Initial - Contamination Rate = Average Rate Over the Whole Time Search for the Truth This article is one of many found within Mr. Malone's excellent book, Search for the Truth. It is hard to open a newspaper, book, or magazine without finding some implication to the earth being billions of years old. Given the overwhelming barrage of these statements, it is understandable why so many people have trouble considering the possibility that the earth might be only thousands of years old. Yet there is an intriguing possibility that the earth may be much younger than 'billions of years'. Despite what people have been led to believe, there are no dating methods which give an absolute date for the formation of the earth. All dating methods are based on non-provable assumptions about some event in the past. Furthermore, there is a strong bias to reject any dating method which does not allow enough time for evolution to have happened. To understand the validity of any date, the reader must gain an understanding of how all dating methods work. The following illustration should help: Suppose you were up at 6:00 a.m. and happened to see a friend who lives in a nearby town. You observe that he is walking along at 2 miles an hour and you know that he lives 16 miles away. You can easily use the formula at the top of the illustration to calculate that your friend left home 8 hours earlier. You have just performed a dating method of how long your friend has been on the road. However, something doesn't make sense. Why would your friend be up all night walking? Although you used the correct formula, your assumptions may not have been correct. Perhaps your friend stayed with someone in town and woke up just minutes before for a morning stroll. In this case, you have used the 'Wrong Initial Amount' in your calculation. Perhaps he took a shortcut which cut 12 miles of his walk. In this case there was 'CONTAMINATION' of the total amount. Perhaps since you last saw your friend, he has taken up marathon running and average 8 miles and hour (only having slowed down just before you saw him). In this case you have used the wrong 'Average Rate'. The point is, wrong assumptions lead to wrong answers. In all (radioactive) dating methods the initial amount is an assumption, the estimate of contamination is an assumption, and the overall rate is an assumption. The only things which can be known for sure are the present amount and the present rate. Unless you estimate the initial amount correctly, the average rate correctly, and the amount of contamination correctly, your answer will be wrong . And depending on your assumptions, it could be very, very wrong. There are actually very few dating methods which seem to indicate that the earth is extremely old. On the other hand there are many dating methods which indicate that the earth is quite young, then evolution is obviously a myth and creation becomes the only logical alternative. Could this be the primary reason that only those methods which seem to indicate very old ages are acceptable?
"Evolution is a theory. A well backed theory with *lots* of evidence to point us in that direction. It could all be misunderstood, but no other explanation has one thousandth the facts behind it."
It also meets the common definition of religion:
Evolutionists claim to be the voice of reason that rises above the superstitions of the masses. Many Evolutionists claim that science backs up evolution. They also claim to have physical evidence that show their claims to be true. Most evolutionists claim that just about every mainstream scientist support their view. When a Christian tells an Evolutionist that the theory of evolution is a religion, that Christian is likely to get a hostile reply. Like the practicers of other religions, Evolutionists think that their way of thinking is the only correct way to believe. The writer of this book has found that most of the vocal supporters of Evolutionism are in many cases unwilling to listen to reason and resort to name calling when they begin to lose their argument. The Evolutionists tend to get angry when other interpetations of physical evidence they use (to support Evolutionism) point to other possibilities. Unfortunately Evolutionism is taught in many public school textbooks as if it were a fact. In spite of what Evolutionists would like people to believe, not all mainstream scientists support Evolutionism. In fact, there are many prominant scientists both past and present who support the Bible or at least believe in a Creator. Some these scientists will have their names listed in this book.
Evolutionism is a religion. Many dictionaries define religion as a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe often involving a moral code of conduct. Many also state that religion is a fundamental set of beliefs shared by a number of persons or sects. Most religions also have their scripture or writings that contain their teachings. Many religions also show a particular affinity or attachment to a specific geographic area. If one uses these definitions and qualifiers, then Evolutionism definitely qualifies as a religion. It is very important to understand the dogmas and belief systems of Evolutionism because Evolutionism is the state sponsored RELIGION of most Western countries. In other words, it is a RELIGION for which people are REQUIRED to PAY TAXES to SUPPORT in spite of what people believe.
Most religions have a book or set of books that contain their teachings. Evolutionism is no exception. One of the main scriptures of the Evolutionists is a book called, "The Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life." This book was written by a man named Charles Darwin. It is the same book that is refered to in science books which use the shorter form, "The Origin of Species." Many people who believe in Evolutionism also claim to be against racism and sexism. If one would only examine the title and the pages within, one will see that it is impossible to be a Darwinist and NOT be a racist. Evolutionism has other scriptures written by other people. However Charles Darwin is considered the most famous.
Evolutionism also contains a moral code, and that moral code is briefly stated here. Evolutionists believe that humankind are animals that have become powerful enough to take over and destroy the entire earth. Evolutionists believe that since humankind has become so able to adapt to so many different environments, there is severe danger of mankind destroying all life including itself. Most Evolutionists in essence, believe that humans are harmful organisms whose numbers need to be significantly reduced. They believe that people need to be removed from many different areas so that other species can survive. In other words, they believe that people are doing wrong simply because they are living, because
"Is it really so hard for some people to accept the fact that they had four-legged ancestors?" It would probably be easier to accept as fact if it were in fact true. However it is not!!! Despite what some people think, Evolutionism is not based on fact. Evolutionism is a RELIGION. 1. It cannot be proven that the earth is millions or billions of years old. 2. The dogma of the geologic column is pure bunk. The order of fossils are mixed up in different layers, etc. 3. Fossils only prove that a certain critter died. They also give some indication of what the critter looked like. They do not prove that the critter had offspring, nor do they proved that the critter is the matriarch or patriarch of different types of life. 4. The dating of rock and fossils rely on circular reasoning. Scientists date the rock by the fossils contain within (they call these index fossils). They date the fossils by the rock (they call this index layers). Man-made object have been found in coal (coal is supposedly millions of years old)! School textbooks should present evidence both pro and con when discussing evolution. Textbooks should also remove known false and incorrect information about Evolutionism. For more information Please look at the following video: http://drdino.plaingospel.com/seminar4_300k.wmv I'm not even a Christian, but I would love to prove this guy wrong. This guy said he would pay someone $250,000.00 to any one who can prove evolution via the scientific method. I could use the money. Until someone proves Evolutionism, get that religion out of my tax-funded public schools!!!
I have to agree with you. When anyone questions widely publicized "scientific" opinions, this type of behavior generally occurs. Politics is embedded as much (if not more) in the scientific community as anywhere else. It is getting so that dissenting evidence is overlooked in many different "scientific" publications. Unfortunately, I do not see changes in this trend within the near future.
I can always get my conte3nt through DSL. I see more entertainment on You Tube and other video sites in one hour than I do all week on cartel TV. If the cartels get their technical standard shoved down our throats, it won't affect me. I will cancel my basic satellite subscription, and get other do do the same. Our votes at the polls on election days matter very little. However, our votes with our dollars matter greatly. I used to buy plenty of CD's and DVD's before the **AA's started their lawsuits. Since then, I have bought very little and even cancelled all of the "premium" channels offer by my satellite provider.
Stupid idiots cannot be reason with , but I will try one more time:
... ARE willing to kill your family, right?"
"And you still haven't addressed the glaring contradiction between the bible's claims of cures for faithful and the complete absence of most types of miracle cures, other than those that would have happened anyway regardless of faith."
I believe that I have. MOst people who go to church on Sunday live their lives other days withoutmuch regard to the teachings in scripture. Sure, they do a few things but they regard at least one very important thing. That thing is the Sabbath. Can you tell me what day the Bible sets aside for the Sabbath? When does it begin, and when does it end. This is not the only thing, but it is an important factor. I have seen miricles within the congregation I attend, and no, this is not some tent revival where all different kinds of people show up, "get healed" and never be seen again. When hurricanes blew through west Florida entire neighborhoods had their houses severely damaged or destroy. Among these homes was homes of members of another congregation of the same faith. NONE of these home sustained any major damage even though the home was not built any better than surrounding structures. The same thing does for the congregation in MO where an entire neigborhood save on house was severely damaged by tornadoes.
"Burn the daughters of priests to death if they sin? I doubt it..."
That is NOT what it says. If they commit idolitry they are to be burned (after being killed beforehand). We don't live as a nation under the covanant. Israel has long ago abandoned the covanant and is therefore divorced as a nation.
"Prevent women from teaching? You've probably had female teachers, and I doubt you're out campaigning for the PTA to bar female teachers. You're breaking God's law by not doing so."
Once again, you have taken a verse out of context. Women are supposed to teach. They teach their children (boys and girls) they teach their husbands, etc. But when it come to the actual service, it is the men's job to do the teaching.
"If your (hypothetical( daughter were raped, would you press charges? The bible COMMANDS you to accept money from him and force him to marry her -- regardless of what she thinks of this. You fucking tool -- you actually obey this retarded book?"
Yet another verse you have taken out of context, but that is not really your fault because of the way it was mis-translated. The rape here could more or less be considered by todays standard as statutory rape. Forcible rape calls for the death penalty for the rapist.
"You'd better be willing to murder your son if he doesn't obey you. Just in case you ever DO reproduce, I'm going to wish you luck in prison."
More out of context quoting. This only applies to the very worst of the worst disobedience, and even then the father does not kill his son. His son is brought for trial in front of the nation. This is talking about the son who destroys the family, sqanders the familys resources on drug, woman, or whatever thrills him without regard to his family. Someone who makes a habit of doing stuff like this without reform shows that he does not love his parents, himself, or any other.
"This isn't actually advice, but I think it's important to note that your god is a god of war and death. He is pretty sure that you'll have to kill your family. You
This is a plain out and out lie. Not only are you a stupid idiot, you are also a liar.
Most of what you have quoted above has been taken out of context. The time that these commandments were given was a time when Israel was going through purification and was a quaranteen measure meant to protect the nation from widespread wrongdoing. In the United States thanks to people largely like you, we are overrun with drugs, violence, adultry, among many other things. It is no wonder that the divorce rate is over 50%. It is also no wonder that families have to live paycheck to paycheck. All of the taxes and government mandated expenses they pay goes to a very corrupt government.
You sound like Madeline Murray O'Hare your sister in belief, She too was a very bitter person.
END OF DISCUSSION.
STEALING is stealing. Copyright infringement is not stealing. If I buy a vine from a nursery and root a couple of cuttings from it, I am not stealing from the nursery. With that said, the punishment should fit the crime. The guy should have had to pay for the cost of the unlicensed software and the cost of the audit. This cost should have been under $10000. Most likely, the guy didn't even know that the software was not in compliance. I personally do not run Microsoft products on my computers simply because I do not agree with their licensing terms. I do not want to give up my RIGHT to be free from unreasonable searches or be spied upon simply because I need to run a spreadsheet. I prefer to run BSD and Linux simply because of freedom and not cost. Yes, Linux and BSD can be a real pain in the a$$ to set up, but once it is set up it lasts until the hardware finally conks out.
I happen to be conservative (not a neo-con, but a genuine conservative), and I too, am turned off by corn-produced ethanol. With that said, I do not necessarily believe that ethanol is a bad thing. Brazil uses sugar cane to meet its energy needs. A climate and land analysis might be in order to determine if sugar cane ethanol meet a substantial part of our energy needs as well. Other plants such as soy, beet, etc should also be investigated.
There are other ways where our dependence on crude oil can be mitigated as well. One of these is wind power for heating. In cold states such as Illinois, New York and others, the north wind can be used to drive a wind generator. The electrical energy from this wind generator can be fed into a purely resistive load which will give off supplimental heat to warm homes. Doing this will allow for the electrical energy to be directly utilized eliminate the need for batteries.
What about retrofitting sewage treatment plants so that they can came some of the raw methane produced by raw sewage? Cheaper solar cells would be a big part of the solution as well. My family converted all of the out light bulbs to flourescent bulbs and plant to switch to LED based bulbs as soon as their cost becomes more reasonable (I have made a single LED bulb that is used to light a bedroom). In places where summers are hot, retractable awnings and window tinting reduce cooling costs tremendously. One can also use a timer connected to a sprayer to cool metal based roofs. This techniques saves us about $30-$50 a month on cooling costs and is cheap and easy to install.
I am all for using off the shelf technology that is available right now to get the job done. What I am not for is yet more of our tax money going to subsidize massive corporations. Rather than rely on unstable energy sources coupled with expensive energy storage, more should be done to make hydrogen generators and fuel cells available to the mass market. If this were to ever happen, the U.S.A. will be well on its way to being energy independent.
"Israeli archaeologists actually go out and look for the remnants and signs of the events that occurred in the bible. Guess what? There's no evidence for any of them"
Actually, yes there is EVIDENCE. I have seen for myself the balls of sulfur from the vally Shinar (where Sedem and Amorrah were). Modern science has noexplaination of why these ball are found only in that area. I have also seen the crossing point over the Sea of Reeds where the Israelites crossed over to escape the Egyptions. Even Assyrian writings speak of many of the event listed in the Bible.
If and when a piece of evidence supporting the Bible is found great amount of time and effort are spent trying to prove that such evidence has been faked (yes a lot has). I am willing to bet that unless a piece of evidence that supposedly refutes the Bible is shown to be an obvious fake, it is accepted with no where near the same level of scruteny.
"The only thing that has ever helped was turning my back on God and putting my life into MY hands, putting faith in MYSELF, turning to my OWN skills and abilities for salvation. When you finally say "Fuck God" and start living for this life, you can actually accomplish things in the world; you can get out there and help yourself and those around you."
If that works for you, then by all means go ahead. I would not try to stop you, but don't impose your will on others. I have had a different experience. I have used my skills and depended on myself for many years . Every time I take a stepforward, something would occure that would knock me back. I even "went to Christian churches and prayed" for answers, and the same thing happened. However, when I started doing what it says to do in the Bible, things changed for the better. The Bible has advice on finances, planting, homebuilding, how to raise children, etc. After aout 6 months of actually trying to obey the Bible things have started toi change for the better. I quit my job because I couldn't get off on the Sabbath (I ended up with a much better paying and more enjoyable job). I refrained from financing things I wanted and waited until I save up money (Biblical Advice), and now I am almost complately debt free. I also own nearly 30 acres, and I aam able to work from home. Yes, my life is much better taking advice from the Bible. I believe in YHWH and use my skills and abilities to help others and build a life (which is in no contradiction to scripture). Sitting on one's ass and not doing anything to help ones self is against advice in the Bible.
BY the way, I'm not a theist. I do not worship Theos.
The Bible does not work for anyone unless they practice what it says to do, even when it is not immediately convenient to do so. Most people who "believe in the Bible" would not quit a job to keep from violating one of the teachings therein. The error of most people to "play church" is doing teachings that are convenient and ignoring or finding excuse not to do the rest. They then wonder why their faith is no good. The members of the congregation I attend have improve financially, spiritually and mentally.
I'm am telling you this not in the hopes of trying to "convert" or "save" you, but rather that there is more than one way to look at a situation. Like I said, if you enjoy "living without God," by all means DO SO. However you have no right to IMPOSE the same on others. The United States was founded on the principle of freedom of religion as well as frredom from religion. You only have to look at the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to see this. You are free to disbelieve certain things, and I do not have any right to force you to believe the things I believe. You also HAVE NO RIGHT to force your beliefs on me. Most anti-religious nutbags want to do that vary thing. Forcing Bible believing people to support things like abortion, man comes from monkeys, subsidising homosexual unions, etc is imposing "anti-God" thinking onto people and denying them the freedom of religion and conscience.
For your information, many scientists have statistically proven that prayer increases healing rates. I have personally known where prayer cured a woman of schizophrenia. I have known this woman for about 12 years, she was put on a prayer list and was cured within a week. This did not happen in an organized corporate church, but rather in a home congregation. Have your parents or government ever said no to you? Of course.
"There isn't a single example in all of Human history of ANYONE -- no matter how faithfully they or their family or their church prayed -- regrowing an amputated limb."
Like how would you know? You have been alive for less than 100 years. There have been outside writings verifying some of the miricles of the Messiah (whose name btw was not originally Jesus but rather Yeshua). Maybe if people rid themselve of vain traditions of man and actually do what scripture says, there may be more healing. Being faithful does not just mean going to church twice a week and saying prayers at nighttime. It means much much more. I am not even a Christian, and yet, I know that much.
"..........believing in the power of prayer (provably wrong, which simultaneously disproves the word of the bible completely), the mythology of the bible (there was provably no flood, no exodus, no wandering the desert, no series of wars to conquer Israel, and no king David). "
You might want to check the reliability of where you are getting your so-called "proof."
You are indeed one of these nutbags. I't is amazing how people like you take things so far out of context. What do you thing? You think that God is supposed to be you personal servant and be at your beck and call while you do exactly what you want to do and say to him, "Fuck you?" That is that attitude that many people like you and, unfortunately most Christian have. These include those who have the bumper stickers that say "God is my Co-pilot." If God is truly whom they want to serve, the sticker would read "God IS THE PILOT."
You blame god, the Bible or whatever as being a liar and false when you take things completely out of context. Try reading theparts of it where it says, if you hate my law and refuse to obey My commandments, your prayers will be an abominationto me. Or the conditions and proper state of mind that is required to have prayers answered.
A simple test: the bible says, and I quote,
"Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." -- Matthew 7:7,
Do you even have an inkling of an idea what "it" is? You obviously do not!!!
Before you go calling Cchristians, "idiots or dimwits," maybe you ought to get some idea of what the f*** you are talking about. BTW, I am not a Christian, and I do not agree with many of their teachings, but I also wish that those who start calling people names to at least get some inking of an idea what they are talking about. When I use the term anti-religous nutbags, I was not talking about Atheists in general, but rather about the morons who can't stand those who believe differently or at least have some respect for other points of view. I am debating an Atheist in another thread, and he (or she) is at least respectful ofothers and makes intelligent posts.