Bread_of_Life

I think you mean the neo-darwinian synthesis. I wouldn't blame you for getting the name of the theory wrong, only I've told you it before. And the answer is theory and fact.

No matter how many times I post up the definition of what makes a "theory" in science, and how something can simultaneously be a theory and considered a fact, it doesn't seem to sink in. So I'll stop trying. Evolution is a theory and a fact. So is General Relativity. If anyone actually wants to know why, they can PM me, and I'll explain. More unfortunate, I expect very few PMs from this offer. People who are wilfully ignorant usually do not go out of their way to be educated.

hmmmm. Yes, I've heard similar things to this before also. I guess it depends on how liberal you want to be with this. The last great disaster to befall the earth was the K-T Boundary extinction, which was a combination of a flood basalt, a meteor impact, and possibly other disasters over a fairly short period (of a few hundred thousand years). This wiped out most lifeforms on earth. Does that count as void? I don't know. Put it this way, as far as we know, there hasn't been a time in the last 3.7 million years where the earth was totally devoid of life. The closest we know the earth has come was the end-Permian extinction that wiped out over 90% of all life on earth. The dinosaurs came after than extinction. Now, if you want to have it sooner than that, say using the last ice age as the void period, then you have a more difficult time. Evidence of human civilisation and culture predates this latest interglacial by a long time - and then of course there's the evidence for human evolution - a lineage stretching back millions of years. Did God create all our supposed ancestors, one after another, each progressively more human, only to wipe them all out and seperately create us? It would be an odd odd thing to do. But basically, I'd have to have more specific information on what you are proposing to come up with specific problems.

I agree with this minimal issue. But you've got to remember, Paul never met Jesus, he was essentially the first Christian theologian. The Pauline tradition, and his emphasis, is slightly different from the original gospels. But it is rather a question of emphasis. I'm not sure if this is a problem, although it depends on how you define "faith". Faith isn't just about belief. The demons believe in God, and in Jesus, and his sacrifice for us - but they do not have faith, not at least in the Christian sense of the word. Faith then is about more than simple intellectual belief or the assent of the mind. In my opinion, faith is about genuinely seeking Christ, in whatever sense - it could be about seeking truthfulness, seeking righteousness, seeking peace, seeking justice - all of these are the material of faith. So yes, in this sense, the fruits of faith will be obvious, they will be clearly seen in what you do. A good tree bears good fruit, a bad tree bears bad fruit. If a man steals from me, and tells me he is sorry, I will not believe him. If a man steals from me, and returns to pay for the goods, or to give them back, and apologises, and asks me how he can repay me for what he has done, then I will believe he isac sorry. Similarly, if a man says he is a Christian, but betrays his friends, disrespects his family, adulterates his lovers and is cruel to animals, then I am hardly likely to believe him - although I suppose only God knows what is truly in his heart, whether he is trying to be a better person. Even in less extreme cases I have difficulty believing people when they say they are Christian. For example, a rich televangelist who lives in a gated palace in beverly hills - my question to them is - why don't you live in a house proportional to your needs, and give the rest of your money to the poor, as you were instructed by Jesus? I have great difficulty believing in a Christian who abides in a golden palace - when many of the last shall be first, and many of the first shall be last. But again, it's not for me to judge, I may have my suspicions, but God is the final arbiter. Not quite, we will all continue to sin. We do not become perfect on becoming a Christian. It is intention that is important to God - the will to become better and seek his heart. Clearly when we have better intentions, then our actions will, in general, become better - but they will be by no means perfect. God will judge us according to our works, and he, knowing our hearts, will be the final arbiter of whether we were truly faithful to him, whether we really tried to be good people and share in his eternal life. Well, firstly, the question is - are they truly sorry for what they've done, and are they trying in whatever way they can to make up for it? Saying you believe, even actually believing, is not good enough. Even the demons believe. Christ did what was necessary to wipe away our trangressions by dying in our sins, but in order to accept that sacrifice, we have to have a change of heart and try our best to conform more to his own. BTW, there is also an issue here with mental illness. I have recently been involved with a girl who was ill, and who because of her illness hurt me deeply. The issue is, can this really be held against her? To what extent can the mentally ill be held accountable for their trangressions? Again, that's an issue for God to decide, knowing people's hearts and minds, and their culpability. Well, I hope this conversation proves useful to you then!

Oh please, you get the worlds fifth largest economy in the shape of California! Canada becomes a playa on the world stage! And ted, it's attitude that counts!

deist, Don't worry, you're not a nutcase, you're just deeply ignorant about science, like most of the people on this board, and in this world. Everyone is ignorant of course, of most things there are to know - what seperates us is that some people are ignorant willfully, and the rest are ignorant but wanting to learn. There are posts on this board that explain how radiometric dating works, and how we know things really are very old, including dinosaur fossils. Noone expects you to believe because scientists say so - but rather by examining the evidence and making up your own mind. It will be interesting to see whether or not you are willing to open-mindedly examine this evidence, this decision will seperate you into one camp of ignorance or the other.

Silentprayer! Gimme a break! I visited a whole 17 states of the union on my roadtrip, in just under 24 days! I had my work cut out dood! I went through: Illinois Missoura Oklahoma Kansas Texas Louisiana Alabama Mississippa Georgia South Carolina North Carolina Virginia West Virginia Maryland Delaware New Jersey New York Really enjoyed myself though, maybe next roadtrip! I think spiritually you are from the bible belt. I think America should be split up. THey should take the West Coast and the East Coast down to Florida and join it up with Canada to form one big continuous Canadian land mass. Then they should take the rest in the middle, and call it "Jesusland". That way everyone is happy.

sylvan, I don't think it's a contradiction necessarily. The question isn't faith or works, it's about faith or faith and works. I believe that belief in Christ alone is not enough - and that we must accept his sacrifice and share in his life through acts of service and sacrifice, and living a more Christ-like life. Noone can be good enough through works alone, Christ did what was necessary on the cross to bridge the gap - but it is through our deeds that we show whether we are really seeking Christ, or merely believe in him through convenience, or as a historical fact. I think that explains this seeming contradiction.

Arjuous, Unfortunately, it's unlikely that he's joking. The bible belt has the internet, just no books or museums. N

I agree 100%. The judge is God, we are instructed not to judge the state of another's salvation. Who says he'd done no works?

Faith alone cannot save you, it is useless. Faith without works is dead, just as the body without the spirit is dead. By your works, your faith is made complete: James 2:14-26

Ahh, Nik to the rescue: 1. The Paluxy Tracks are in Glen Rose, Texas - on the Paluxy river bed (http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/paluxy.html) 2. Now even most creationists admit they're a hoax - however, since there has never been an actual paper released on them in any peer review journal, I don't think there's ever been an official retraction 3. I do not know of a single dinosaur bone that has been carbon dated, secondeve. Dinosaurs lived from 220 to 60 million years ago, carbon dating can only date up to 50,000 years. What you mean is the more general term "radiometric dating". Please be accurate and use this in future. 4. I have read various articles on different "gap" theories, but none of them seem to fit with or explain the available evidence. However, they're at least an acknowledgement that something is horribly wrong with traditional "creationist" approaches to geology. 5. I would encourage Arjuous to look deeper into the Christian message, and the various accounts of the gospel of Jesus Christ, before giving up on Christianity. In his life was seen the true nature of God and of God's love, as he brought hope and healing to the sick, befriended the victims of injustice, challenged selfishness and greed, and promised forgiveness and a new start to those who had lost their way. Do you wish to be more like him, to live a life more like his, to be more Christ-like? By Christ's dying and being raised to life again at Easter, God judges and condemns all that disfigures the face of the world and declares that suffering and death do not have the last word, as human beings are restored to a loving and peaceful relationship with God and with each other, a reconciliation fully accomplished at Christ's promised and awaited return. Do you wish to obtain this reconcilliation and relationship - do you want to come closer to Christ? It would seem a shame to judge Christ, and throw his message away, just because of the rather silly pseudo-scientific beliefs of a few of his transatlantic followers... 6. Mrcorey should visit a Natural History Museum. I was in the one in New York on saturday, between West 77th and West 81st street on the park. Visiting the lobby will do.

Arjuous, Dinosaurs existed between two great extinctions - the End-Permian 220 million years ago, and the Cretaceous-Tertiary, 65 million years ago. Homo-sapiens have lived on earth for well under a million years, therefore the two did not co-exist. Billielovesdarrin is refering to the so-called "Paluxy Tracks" (at the Paluxy river bed in Texas) - which were a hoax. No human tracks have ever been found next to dinosaur tracks, or anywhere near them. Cheers, Nik

Only someone very stupid, or very brainwashed, would read this and come to the conclusion that:

You know, even kids can tell the difference. It's just the people around here...

Unless you can actually argue against it... I aint gonna turn the machine off mate, I'm just saying you should have the right to without government interference, if you are of sound mind. And if you can't through physical impairment, you should be allowed to ask someone else to do it. Crime only applies to victimisation, and one cannot victimise oneself.

1. I never said it was okay, I said it shouldn't be illegal, it's none of the state's business what you, being of sound mind, want to do with your own body why? Because: 2. You CAN'T murder yourself. Murder is a victimisation BY DEFINITION, and it's *impossible* to victimise yourself unless your actions are involuntary or part of some temporary madness. ONLY victimisations should be covered by the law - the law should not enforce personal morality (same reason I think marijuana should be legalised, btw.)

I'm against this particular bill, but I do agree with voluntary euthanasia under much more strictly regulated circumstances. I believe that people have the right to choose what to do with their bodies, without the state interfering.

Nice one dude, I look forward to out-Italian-fooding you!

Using a big-ole car! It's the American way. God bless these United States.

Ladies and Gentlemen I didn't know where to post this, so I'll post it here. I'm coming to America. From June 30th to July 22nd I'll be taking 2 of my bestest and oldest friends on a roadtrip across the good ol' US of A. I'll be hitting: 30-Jun Chicago, Illinois 01-Jul Chicago, Illinois 02-Jul Road/Columbia, Missouri 03-Jul Columbia, Missouri 04-Jul Columbia, Missouri 05-Jul Road/Little Rock, Arkansas 06-Jul Little Rock, Arkansas 07-Jul Road/Dallas, Texas 08-Jul Dallas, Texas 09-Jul Dallas, Texas 10-Jul Road/Austin, Texas 11-Jul Austin, Tezas 12-Jul Road/New Orleans, Louisiana 13-Jul Road/Tenessee 14-Jul Road/Atlanta, Georgia 15-Jul Road/Charleston, West Virginia 16-Jul Charleston, West Virginia 17-Jul Road/Pasadena, Maryland 18-Jul Pasadena, Maryland 19-Jul Pasadena, Maryland 20-Jul Road 21-Jul New York, New York 22-Jul New York, New York Anyone wanting to see me, PM me, email me at nikolai.segura@gmail.com, or contact me through my roadtrip blog: http://biggayniksbiggayroadtrip.blogspot.com N

*rolls eyes* *starts whistling "Don't go breaking my heart*

If you're looking for the Greek words for love, the other two are: Storge: Natural affection, such as that between parent and child Xenia: Ritualised friendship such as that between host and guest - a hospitable friendship

yup

My thoughts: Meditation and Yoga are scientifically proven relaxation techniques that help to relax the mind, cause better sleep, and improve concentration and productivity in the workplace, as well as inter-personal relationships. So long as you don't go believing in any of the philosophy of it - even if you practice as if you did - it's all good. I'm personally very interested in participating in a meditation course, my ex-gf says they're very good. N