DeaneRenata

Oh dear, mother believes that gambling is sinful....

"Social Networking Popular Across Globe Arab Publics Most Likely to Express Political Views Online Survey Report Social networking has spread around the world with remarkable speed. In countries such as Britain, the United States, Russia, the Czech Republic and Spain, about half of all adults now use Facebook and similar websites. These sites are also popular in many lower-income nations, where, once people have access to the internet, they tend to use it for social networking. Meanwhile, cell phones have become nearly ubiquitous throughout much of the world, and people are using them in a variety of ways, including texting and taking pictures. Smart phones are also increasingly common – roughly half in Britain, the U.S., and Japan have one. Globally, most smart phone users say they visit social networking sites on their phone, while many get job, consumer, and political information. Technologies like these are especially popular among the young and well educated. In almost every country polled, people under age 30 and those with a college education are more likely to engage in social networking and to use a smart phone. These are among the key findings from a 21-nation survey conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project from March 17-April 20. The survey also finds that global publics are sharing their views online about a variety of topics, especially popular culture. Across 20 of the nations polled (Pakistan is excluded from this calculation due to the small number of social networking users), a median of 67% of social networkers say they use these sites to share opinions about music and movies. Significant numbers also post their views on community issues, sports and politics. Fewer give their opinions about religion. Expressing opinions about politics, community issues and religion is particularly common in the Arab world. For instance, in Egypt and Tunisia, two nations at the heart of the Arab Spring, more than six-in-ten social networkers share their views about politics online. In contrast, across 20 of the nations surveyed, a median of only 34% post their political opinions. Similarly, in Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon and Jordan, more than seven-in-ten share views on community issues, compared with a cross-national median of just 46%. There is considerable interest in social networking in low- and middle-income nations. Once people in these countries are online, they generally become involved in social networks at high rates. For instance, the vast majority of internet users in Mexico, Brazil, Tunisia, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Russia and India are using social networking sites. Conversely, publics in some more economically developed nations seem less enthusiastic about interacting with others online – especially Japan and Germany, the only two countries where less than half of all internet users participate in social networks. And those Japanese and Germans who do go online for social networking use it less often than others around the world to express thoughts on culture, community, sports, politics and religion. Social Networking In 19 of 21 countries, about three-in-ten or more of those polled use sites such as Facebook, including about half in Britain (52%), the U.S. (50%), Russia (50%), Spain (49%), and the Czech Republic (49%). Only in India (6%) and Pakistan (4%) is the percentage of adults who use social networking sites in single digits.1 In every country polled, use of social networking sites varies by age. In 17 of 21 countries, there is a gap of 50 points or more in usage of social networking sites between those younger than 30 and those 50 or older. This gap is particularly pronounced in Italy, Poland, Britain and Greece, where at least 70 percentage points separate those in the younger group from those in the older group. Similarly, use of social networking sites varies by education level, with double-digit differences between those with a college degree and those without a college degree in 15 of 18 countries (this finding excludes Mexico, Brazil and Pakistan, where fewer than 100 respondents have a college degree). The widest gap is found in Egypt, where 81% of those with a college degree use social networking sites, compared with just 18% of those with less education. Among those who participate in social networks, sharing views about music and movies is a popular activity; majorities in 17 countries say they have done this. In China (86%), India (85%), Mexico (84%), Greece (83%), Turkey (78%), Tunisia (77%) and Italy (75%), at least three-quarters have shared their views about music and movies. Sports, on the other hand, is a less common topic, with half or more of users of social networking sites in only seven countries – India, Jordan, Tunisia, Turkey, Egypt, Brazil and China – saying they have shared their opinions about sports. In Arab countries such as Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, social networking sites are also a popular forum for expressing views on politics and community issues. More than seven-in-ten users of social networking sites in these countries have posted about community issues on these sites, and at least six-in-ten have shared their views about politics. Italy and Turkey are the only other countries surveyed where majorities of those who use social networking sites have expressed opinions about community issues (64% and 63%, respectively); most in Turkey also have shared their views on politics on these sites (57%). Users of social networking in Tunisia (63%), Egypt (63%) and Jordan (62%) are also more likely than those in other countries to say they have posted on religion. In fact, in no other nation surveyed has a majority of users of these sites shared views about religion. In 14 countries, only about a third or less have posted on this topic. Cell Phones Nearly Universal in Much of World Broad majorities around the world own a cell phone. Three-quarters or more in 18 of the 21 countries surveyed say they have a mobile phone, while at least half say the same in Mexico (63%), India (56%) and Pakistan (52%). In addition to making phone calls, most respondents say they regularly use their cell phone to send text messages. At least two-thirds of cell-phone owners in 17 countries say they frequently text, including 93% in Mexico and 90% in Lebanon. Turks (60%), Germans (58%), Indians (42%) and Pakistanis (36%) are less likely to send text messages. Taking pictures or videos with cell phones is somewhat less popular. The Japanese (79%), Mexicans (70%), Americans (67%) and Spanish (67%) are the most likely to regularly use their phones to take a picture or video, while roughly six-in-ten or fewer say the same in the other 17 countries surveyed. Pakistanis (13%) are the least likely to use their mobile phones for such a purpose. Few cell phone users access the internet on their phones. In 18 of the countries surveyed, fewer than four-in-ten say they regularly use their mobile phone to access the internet. The British (52%), Japanese (51%) and Americans (51%) are most likely to do so. Smart Phone Users Engaged on Social Networks Among smart phone users – defined here as those who own a cell phone and regularly use it to access the internet – social networking is very popular. In 12 countries, at least six-in-ten smart phone users access social networks with their phones. The practice is particularly common in Egypt (79%), Mexico (74%) and Greece (72%). The Japanese (45%) and Chinese (31%), on the other hand, are the least likely to use their phones for connecting with social networks. Respondents in the U.S., Japan and Europe are most likely to use their smart phones to get information about consumer products, their job or politics. At least four-in-ten in these countries say they use their phone regularly to get information about prices and availability of products or about issues related to their job. And more than a third say the same about accessing political news and information. Overall, smart phone users in the countries surveyed in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America are less likely to use their phones to gather information, although there are a few exceptions. A majority of smart phone users in India (60%), for example, rely on their mobile phones for information about their job. Egyptians (65%) are particularly likely to search for political news on their cell phones. And the Chinese (48%) are more likely to use their mobile phones to access information about politics than any of the other smart phone activities asked about. The young are considerably more engaged with their cell phones than their elders. There are double-digit age gaps in most countries for all cell phone activities except making calls. For example, in 19 of the 21 countries surveyed, 18-29 year olds are at least 10 percentage points more likely than those age 50 or older to use their cell phone to access the internet. The biggest differences occur in China (+63 points), Japan (+62), Russia (+62) and Britain (+61). The way people use their cell phones also varies considerably by education. For example, in 14 countries, respondents with a college education are at least 10 percentage points more likely than those without a college degree to access the internet on their mobile phones. The education gap is particularly large in China (+47), Turkey (+36), Egypt (+32) and Lebanon (+31)."

"Social Networking Popular Across Globe" -- http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/12/12/social-networking-popular-across-globe/ I find that the popularity of the internet and of social media is growing at an alarming rate. The sheer fact that some websites have millions (have you ever heard of Gaia? That place alone has more members on its forum than I can count) of members only proves my point: Social media has gotten out of control. If social media is not popular, then why are so many people signing up for it and making their own posts? The world has gotten social media fever. Everybody are turning into nerds these days. I go out in public now and I see teenagers connected to their phones, iPods, ipads, and other devices that let them have internet access. They text and it appears online. And yet no one is concerned that all this social media may be getting our children away from the real world in some way. Technology is bound to distort or smudge your view of reality in some way. Why? Because being online is NOT the real world. You gotta be offline to enjoy it.

Are you bored? Lonely? Wanting friends? Or is this all just a hobby? I know its sad, but those are all reasons I've gotten online before. 1. I was lonely and wanted someone to talk to. 2. I was just having fun and fooling around around. All I can say is that when you are feeling very much alone in the world, you start a topic and no one replies to it. It further makes me feel even more alone. Loneliness is a horrible feeling.

Ok, look, you guys don't need to be afraid to post and engage in the conversation: There are too many floaters and guests and not even enough users. I don't hide and float in the background because I'm not afraid of what other people think and say about me. I am actually petty courageous and will defend myself if physically attacked. I'm not even afraid of the moderators.

So what is prohibiting you from going? When I was a baby I had no choice in the matter, my parents put me into church with them and they forced me to go, but as I became the adult I am now today my parents don't make that decision for me -- I go to church because I want to.

http://allchurches.com/ Bible sermon by T.D. Jakes... I think he is OK to learn the Holy Bible from but my favorite preacher is still John Hagee: *** Edited to remove video's. All videos are to in the Video Fourms only and not in any other forum. ***

There are churches dotted all over the American landscape, but I am wondering if anyone besides me goes to church on Sundays. *** Edited to remove embedded videos and links. All video and link need to be placed in the Video Forum, and no other forums. Start a thread in the proper video forum. After they are approved, you can link to them from any thread. ***

I've been going to church all my life but it has taken these 26 years of my life for GOD to teach me the fruit of his spirit. He has never really filled my heart with His love until now. Love is one of the fruits of his spirit. Nothing comes overnight. Not when walking with GOD.

My dad is an experienced hunter (http://wildlife.state.co.us/HUNTING/HUNTEROUTREACH/Pages/HunterOutreach.aspx): He owns hunting guns. He goes every winter and fall to hunt Elk (https://www.google.com/search?q=elk&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=sOrdUoCqCYXroASCoYKwAg&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1688&bih=828) in the Cascade Mountains here in Washington State. He has been hunting since before I was born, and I'm 26 right now, so he's been hunting for more than 26 years. The other members of my family, Christina and my mom, go to shooting ranges now because they are learning how to use and fire their guns. They are still novices. But I don't think they are really experienced yet to learn how to use them expertly. o.o So let's leave the hunting to my dad. For now.

https://www.google.com/search?q=plants&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=8O7dUvSRGovuoASu3oGgAQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1688&bih=828 https://www.google.com/search?q=plants&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=8O7dUvSRGovuoASu3oGgAQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1688&bih=828#q=green+thumb&tbm=isch Plants are fascinating. And pretty. I have green thumb fever right now. I've been sitting here looking up all the worlds plants so I could choose one to plant in my yard. And I am hopelessly addicted...to plants. *Drools*

I was from the beginning as well. Its unfortunate that Hollywood is so infiltrated with liberalism, I don't think my conservative mother would be able to stand it. Wait a minute, that's right: she already can't stand Hollywood. There is so much liberal garbage up there any conservative would puke.

Let's just sit here and rest for a bit then...

I am. I'm Baptist. My church is God's Word Baptist Church. Visit our church website: http://www.gwbc.us/ http://www.gwbc.us/photo-gallery/index.php?pageType=folder&currDir=./AWANA http://www.gwbc.us/photo-gallery/index.php?pageType=folder&currDir=./Couples_Retreat_-_2010 http://www.gwbc.us/photo-gallery/index.php?pageType=folder&currDir=./Potlucks http://www.gwbc.us/photo-gallery/index.php?pageType=folder&currDir=./Sunday_School http://www.gwbc.us/photo-gallery/index.php?pageType=folder&currDir=./Nursery http://www.gwbc.us/photo-gallery/index.php?pageType=folder&currDir=./Church_Service http://www.gwbc.us/photo-gallery/index.php?pageType=folder&currDir=./4th_of_July_Parade That is probably the only reason I even joined this board. It was to find other Christians like me and fellowship with them. I was looking for a place where I new I would belong and fit right in and this was it. I am serious, you know. Some trolls get online and treat everything like it is a joke and I want to slap these people but I don't. My little sister is an independent web developer and she totally hates trolls. I don't blame her. I get online to actually have meaningful conversations with people, and trolls just get in the way of that. They are rightfully banned.

I am glad he came over to our side, too. This is one less sin God will hold against him.

Yup.

Is today's society too dis-connected from the great outdoors? I fear we live in an age where social media and video games are becoming more and more popular, people are on their computers more, and its getting us away from reality. We should all have a revival where we leave our computers and technologies behind for a day or two and just savor being outside. What do you think the world would be like if there was no technology on it?

My mom homeschooling me because not only was she a conservative christian (and she was against all the liberalism being promoted in public schools -- it did not agree with her views as she believes that the parents and not the government are supreme in the life of a child), but she wanted me to be saved from bullies at school. Mom believes that the government have no say in how a child should be raised. She believes that that is up to the child's parents alone. So I never attended a "public" school or a "private" school. I was home-schooled until I graduated in 2005. I grew up being taught Creationism by my parents. My mother was my teacher. I never even heard about evolution until I went to the library and saw book titles on it. But I still cling to my Creationism despite Charles Darwin.

I don't think that female angels are Biblical. I was always taught that they were male. I don't think my church had ever taught them ans genderless though.

Us Christians certainly are meeting the wrong people when we go to preach the gospel in different countries: http://www.christianpersecution.info/ http://www.christianpersecution.info/index.php?view=12724 http://www.jpost.com/International/Report-charting-persecution-of-Christians-worldwide-reveals-most-abuse-in-Muslim-countries-338682 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9640825/Christians-persecuted-throughout-the-world.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25426155 http://www.nationalreview.com/article/368796/us-and-christian-persecution-raymond-ibrahim#! Here in the USA it is illegal to persecute against us Christians, but the laws in other countries are different than in the united states of America, and some of the laws of other countries might allow non-Christians to persecute Christians. This act is widespread both in the middle east and in china. This disgusting act needs to stop. My church sometimes receives letters talking about christian persecution and furthermore, I sometimes hear about it on the news. At least the Pope is against Christian persecution, and I agree with him although I am not a Catholic: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/26/pope-francis-christian-persecution_n_4503734.html

One of the downsides to owning a computer, I believe, is stalking celebrities. There are so many websites out there that allow people to watch videos of the rich and the famous that it can lead to stalking, or even worse -- Internet predators. And that is unfortunate, because I have heard news stories that the wrong kind of people used the Internet to track down and kill the innocent: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2090695/Cyber-stalking-victims-constant-fear-tormentor-jailed-years.html http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/apr/08/cyberstalking-study-victims-men http://metronews.ca/news/toronto/865810/toronto-woman-haunted-by-unknown-online-stalker-who-threatens-to-rape-her/ http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_south_pinellas/st_petersburg/15-year-old-girl-arrested-on-stalking-charges-accused-of-cyber-bullying-peers http://www.haaretz.com/culture/books/a-mentor-tormented-by-his-iranian-cyber-stalker.premium-1.518187 http://www.hsuoracle.com/news/henderson-student-arrested-for-internet-stalking-of-a-child/article_b862c5e0-9bf0-11e2-a390-001a4bcf6878.html That is the wrong way to use computers, I believe. And yet, unfortunately, it does happen. The popularity of social media (might unfortunately bring the wrong kind of people to the table as well as the right kind of people) is also growing at an alarming rate. In case if you have not noticed, there are hundreds of users signed up on this message board alone. One message board I know of has over a million users. That is a whopping big community. And the people just keep on coming. And it just keeps on growing too. If I am on here doing what is now considered to be the popular thing, then it should be no surprise seeing me. I should just be treated as if I were any other user.

Using logical reasoning, I am going to assume that owning a computer is a popular thing since there are hundreds of users on here and that some websites get millions of visitors -- that logically means that there are hundreds of computers out there (if not, millions) accompanying them all, which, when using further reasoning, I have come to the conclusion then that some of these users must be computer owners (I am one of them). Although I don't know how many.

I have been sitting here at my computer for hours doing various bible study readings and I feel mentally exhausted. Maybe I should take a break. My brain always feels tired whenever I do a lot of reading. =P

https://www.google.com/search?q=holy+bible&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=8q3dUq6VDsjnoAT78IKQBg&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1688&bih=828 What is the first book of the Holy Bible? Answer: Genesis 1: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

What is the Holy Bible? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_bible The Bible (from Koine Greek τὰ βιβλία, tà biblía, "the books") is a canonical collection of texts considered sacred in Judaism as well as in Christianity. There is no single "Bible": many Bibles exist with varying contents.[1] The term Bible is shared between Judaism and Christianity, although the contents of each of their collections of canonical texts is not the same. Different religious groups include different books within their canons, in different orders, and sometimes divide or combine books, or incorporate additional material into canonical books. The Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, contains twenty-four books divided into three parts: the five books of the Torah ("teaching" or "law"), the Nevi'im ("prophets"), and the Ketuvim ("writings"). Christian Bibles range from the sixty-six books of the Protestant canon to the eighty-one books of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church canon. The first part of Christian Bibles is the Old Testament, which contains, at minimum, the twenty-four books of the Hebrew Bible divided into thirty-nine books and ordered differently than the Hebrew Bible. The Catholic Church and Eastern Christian churches also hold certain deuterocanonical books and passages to be part of the Old Testament canon. The second part is the New Testament, containing twenty-seven books: the four Canonical gospels, Acts of the Apostles, twenty-one Epistles or letters, and the Book of Revelation. By the 2nd century BCE Jewish groups had called the Bible books "holy," and Christians now commonly call the Old and New Testaments of the Christian Bible "The Holy Bible" (τὰ βιβλία τὰ ἅγια, tà biblía tà ágia) or "the Holy Scriptures" (η Αγία Γραφή, e Agía Graphḗ). Many Christians consider the whole canonical text of the Bible to be divinely inspired. The oldest surviving complete Christian Bibles are Greek manuscripts from the 4th century. The oldest Tanakh manuscript in Hebrew and Aramaic dates to the 10th century CE,[2] but an early 4th-century Septuagint translation is found in the Codex Vaticanus. The Bible was divided into chapters in the 13th century by Stephen Langton and into verses in the 16th century by French printer Robert Estienne[3] and is now usually cited by book, chapter, and verse. The Bible is widely considered to be the best selling book of all time,[4] has estimated annual sales of 100 million copies,[5][6] and has been a major influence on literature and history, especially in the West where it was the first mass-printed book.