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That's some serious Engrish. What's the author's native language? Dutch, maybe? I can probably get somebody to help him out with the translation stuff.

I am a seeker. That's part of what being an agnostic means. Ah-nope. Just curious, as gbg said. Searching for something, I think. Whether it's Jesus or not I really don't know.

Not to rain on your parade, but this applies to Christianity as well. Other religions are just as convinced that they are the only way (including all those little splinter Christianity groups)- what makes your flavor of Christianity any more valid? I'm an agnostic, so I don't believe that any kind of religious belief can be proven one way or the other, but you can hardly promote your religion as cold, hard facts in the sense of being able to be proven or disproven- that's the point of faith, I thought? Speaking of which (to steal this from a friend of mine), I thought this was kind of neat: Eh? Eh? We adopting some things from the Hindu tradition here, or was John wrong? This passage has always confused me- if Buddha was a seeker he'll be rewarded, so I don't see how that meshes with the "without faith..." thing. It doesn't say "if you don't have faith, you're going to hell," it says "without faith it is impossible to please him." So claiming deification automatically makes your creed more legitimate? Odd. Where'd you get this tract, anyway? I'd google it, but I'm trying to write up something on Catch-22 and monitor the boards too. Prove it. And dude, what's with the odd fonts and colors? It's killing my eyes, here. I still don't get why you think yoga automatically implies a religious belief. I've had my back thoroughly cracked during a yoga class and never once felt any kind of religious or spiritual effect.

It's a combo, really, depending on which European power got there first (after killing of the natives, of course, who had their own names for the place). Early English settlers named some of the eastern states, like Virginia, Georgia, and Maryland, after powerful English monarchs (Elizabeth, George II and Henrietta Maria, respectively), while we acquired Louisiana from the French, so it's named after the French King Louis XIV (XV? I can never remember), and still others are Spanish (Colorado, ruddy or red; Florida, feast of flowers; Nevada, snowcapped) but a lot of the other names are taken from various Native American sources (Kansas, people of the south wind; Illinois, tribe of superior men; Missouri, town of large canoes). You can find the full list here: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0854966.html So where do Australian state names come from? I know there's been a push to use the original Aboriginal words for some stuff in recent years- any major changes?

Whoa. So much for the "judge not lest ye be judged" thing. Where I come from, them's fightin' words, ma'am. Also an unwarranted ad hominem, but fightin' words as well. And just so you don't misconstrue that, by "fightin' words" I mean disrespectful and unneccessarily hurtful. This is a bad thing? My experience with Christians who examine their own beliefs is that it makes them grow stronger and deeper in that belief- learning and discovery are not destructive acts. I love that woman. Cool. Where do I sign on? But what a world it would be........ sounds like heaven on earth to me. Sam Uh...aren't those the very people you should be witnessing to? Just a thought.

"Oops. Sorry. Forgive me?" "Yeah, sure. That's what I do." Done and done.

I didn't mention any of these - my argument was a priori... I stand corrected If you're put off by people who disagree - then how are you ever going to answer their arguments and hence: a) find out if your arguments are right, and b) preach to them ? WHAT?! We cannot have dissent, ScientificAtheist! Why, dissent makes you question things, which could lead to :gasp: progress!

Okay, we have to stop now. The Bible's copyrighted? Huh...

Heh...sorry, CaptainChurch, I saw your name and flashed back to Saturday morning cartoons. "I...am Captain Church!" We have to get you a cape. You're farther ahead than me. I couldn't even decipher what he was saying. Checked out those sites- they appear to be (IMHO) loony tunes apocalyptic with mostly the same guy posting rants.

Let's see...when I was one my holy-book rampage last summer, I kept a notebook with the ones I really liked. Here we are: Deuteronomy 10:19 "Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." Psalms 82:3-4 "Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked." Proverbs 3:3 & 13 "Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart...Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding." Ooh, and Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. I have a big ol' collage I made somewhere with that on it. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace." Beyond that, the entire Metta Sutta. "This is what should be done By one who is skilled in goodness, And who knows the path of peace: Let them be able and upright, Straightforward and gentle in speech. Humble and not conceited, Contented and easily satisfied Unburdened with duties and frugal in their ways. Peaceful and calm, and wise and skilful, Not proud and demanding in nature. Let them not do the slightest thing That the wise would later reprove. Wishing: in gladness and in safety, May all beings be at ease. Whatever living beings there may be; Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none, The great or the mighty, medium, short or small, The seen and the unseen, Those living near and far away, Those born and to-be-born -- May all beings be at ease! Let none deceive another, or despise any being in any way Let none through anger or ill-will Wish harm upon another. Even as a mother protects with her life Her child, her only child, So with a boundless heart Should one cherish all living beings; Radiating kindness over the entire world: Spreading upwards to the skies, And downwards to the depths; Outwards and unbounded, Freed from hatred and ill-will. Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down, Free from drowsiness, One should sustain this recollection. This is said to be the sublime abiding. By not holding to fixed views, The true-hearted one, having clarity of vision, Being freed from all sense desires, Is not born again into this world. " I kind of need a reminder sometimes to be patient with people, so I keep a copy in my wallet.

http://www.evidencebible.com/pdf/28_Psalms_1_to_25.pdf Using material written by others word for word is plagiarism unless you cite the author. Trust me, I've been called on this before.

The Population Reference Bureau (www.prb.org) puts the number at 106,456,367,669 (106 billion) while the University of Hawaii estimates 96,100,000,000 (96 billion), certainly not trillions of trillions of trillions, as Mr. Gehry claims. Besides, population is not a stable mathematical model where you can just plug in assumed numbers and come out with an answer. 43? Between 1300 and 1400 (the time of the black death) the average life expectancy of an aristocrat (given that he had reached the age of 21) was 24.4, while the life expectancy for a tenant was about ranged between 21.4 and 25.7. Large-scale catastrophes can also cause fluctuations such as the Flu Epidemic of 1918, the Black Death, World War I & II and others (20 million, 25 million, 15 million, and 55 million, respectively). If you do not adjust your calculations for these anomolies, you cannot possibly hope to come up with an accurate determination of all the people that have ever lived. Somehow (maybe it's the fact that he thinks bones do not decompose, I don't know) I don't think Mr. Gehry has. Works Cited: Field, Richard H. Leadership. 2002. Alberta School of Business. 31 Aug. 2004 <http://www.bus.ualberta.ca/rfield/LifeExpectancy.htm>. Haub, Carl. "How Many People Have Ever Lived on Earth?" Population Today (1995). 31 Aug. 2004 <http://www.prb.org/Content/ContentGroups/PTarticle/0ct-Dec02/How_Many_People_Have_Ever _Lived_on_Earth_.htm>. Lancaster, H O. Expectations Of Life: A Study in the Demography, Statistics, and History of World Mortality. N.p.: Springer-Verlag, 1990. Ramsey, Thomas. How many people have ever lived? 18 June 1999. University of Hawaii. 31 Aug. 2004 <http://www.math.hawaii.edu/~ramsey/People.html>.