your views
 

I saw this thread on another site, and I thought it was quite interesting.

the point of it is for everyone to write like 1/2 a page on something that they care deeply about - sorta like an essay (although its not cuz its not for work or school or anything, just for fun).

it was actually pretty cool, cuz everyone learned stuff bout people that they never knew, and also - some REALLY interesting opinions came out. the point is *not* to respond to the prior persons thread though, but to post your own unrelated opinion.

i'll post my 1/2 page in a lil while when things calm down over here

thats a good idea...maybe we can make this a sticky.

give me time, im going to actualy put thought into mine

How bout religious Zealots?
 

If religion is the opiate of the masses, then religious zealots are the crack addicts.

The great struggle in the world right now is not between Islam and the West, or between wealthy nations and poor ones. It's between religious tolerance and religious fanaticism. It's between the notion of God as a warm, loving, father figure like Bing Crosby in "The Bells of St. Mary's," and an angry, vengeful, frightening one like Bing Crosby in real life.

Part of the problem is that the doctrine of many religions requires believers to constantly recruit new members. Hey, can't I even go to the Home Depot without some holy-roller accosting me with his prayer pamphlets and spiritual pie charts in the hopes of saving my soul? Listen, Marjo, let me save you some time. I'm in show business. My soul took the redeye outta here years ago.

Dangerous though they are, thankfully, most religious zealots are easy to spot. It's the twitchy cabbie with the monobrow who seems a little too eager to take you to the airport, it's the Christian mommy making s'mores at the book-burning, and it's the slack-jawed weekend bow-hunter who sees an abortion clinic, and flies into a spittle-flecked rage like Bobby Knight getting cut off on the freeway.

Most religious zealots start out simply as people devastated by tragic circumstances and left groping for answers. And that unfortunate point of departure perpetually clouds their judgement. You're a zealot if you can't see the blinding irony inherent in using force to convince other people that your belief about the unknowable is more accurate than their belief in the unknowable. I'm pretty sure the Donner party wasn't even that misguided.

Some religious zealots act like the code of morality they claim to be upholding can be temporarily shelved when it gets in the way of their more immediate goals. Like these supposed "pro-lifers" who kill doctors. Hey, we may not all agree on when life begins, but we sure as shit do agree on when it ends. It's not called the "Ten Commandments And One Hundred Footnotes."

Why is it that when applied to religion, the word "Fundamentalist" almost always takes on a meaning completely opposite of the commonly accepted one? I mean how do you get the word "fun damental" when you're looking at a tattooed, pot-bellied chain-smoker whipping a hissing rattle snake around like Prince's microphone cord while screaming in unintelligible tongues like a Ubange warrior with Tourette's Syndrome?

Nowadays, the Taliban lea d off the "Who's no longer who" of religious zealots. These are the guys who celebrate by firing guns into the air while screaming "God is Great," which if you think about it, is a pretty ****ed up way of showing your appreciation to the beloved entity re siding in the Heavens. "Sorry I wasn't able to help out with that flood folks, but I was pinned down by crossfire because some asshole's goat broke a fever."

These days, the Boss Hawg of the Christian right is the Reverend Jerry Falwell, a man whose ass is as wide as his mind is narrow. Hey, Jerry --If you get any bigger, Hindus are going to start worshipping you. There's a difference between following Jesus and stalking him.

There are people on earth who start cults by claiming to be gods or have a direct link to them. Before you give up your entire life to follow them, check out their resumes and see how one summer they went from a clerk at Pep Boy's to a deity named MAN-MOE-JACK after being laid off for shoplifting fir tree air fresheners.

Exp erts warn that a cult transforms from the merely oddball to the potentially dangerous when it begins to display such warning signs as a belief in the close proximity of an apocolypse, and the desire to trigger that apocolypse through violent and destructi ve acts. If that's too much to remember, just try my simple tip: the instant someone tells you that God wants you to cut off your balls, get the hell out of there. Trust me. I've spoken to God, and he doesn't want you to cut off your balls. The most he wo uld possibly ask is that you occasionally lower them into a bowling ball cleaner and buff them to glossy shine.

Its perfectly understandable to discover the roots of your religion and want to share it with everyone you meet. By the same token please und erstand the basic tenets of my religion which specifically proscribe that should you knock on my door, corner me on an elevator, or sit next to me on a flight yammering on and on about how your way is the right way I am morally obligated by the elderes of my church to tell you to shut the **** up. Can I get an Amen?
:bow:

1/2 a page is too much for me to type, hell, its too much for me to even read.

ok... if thats half a page, im doing 2 paragraphs.

:D :D sorry boyz.

its alright, i ate too much pudding and drank too much dew, im all hyped up on sugar, i couldnt concentrate on it

its all good.

:yes: Well, it'd be good readin if you had some time to sit around. hehe;)

I like it! :bow:

:yes: Thanx man.

ok...1 word...WOW! Ok...I'm gonna need some time for my "1/2 page essay" thing. I need to think of something that I can write about that you ladies and gents don't already know about me. :rolleyes: Gimme some time....I'll be back.

better get cracking d, i want to see that paper on my desk, first thing in the morning otherwise.....:bandit:

Not the best written, certainly not essay quality, not even all that coherent at times, and certainly not a half page. There is certainly much left out of it.....but I post it anyways. Before reading it, though, I must set a few things straight. I am not a terrorist, I do not support terrorism in any way, I am against terrorism in all its forms. I have nothing but sympathy to the victims of 9/11/1. Thoughtful comments/arguments only, if any.

Here goes:


Blowback: The Unwanted Consequences of Actions

The actions and inactions of the people in power past and present have landed us where we are today. Three thousand less, for what and by whom? For the actions of our past and by a former “ally-turned-enemy.” Choosing friends is as important as choosing enemies and battles. Moral implications of assisting a shady character merely to the temporary detriment of a known enemy aside, one must be careful in assisting shady characters in the first place. There is no point in playing only to be played. Considering only the immediate situation at hand with no real thought into the consequences of action or inaction is a byproduct of the politics in our society. Carpe diem. Live for today with no consideration of the future. Spend $1 today because it’s cheaper only to spend $1000 tomorrow, whereas spending $300 today may have solved the problem forever.

It is no surprise that the twins have fallen, the only miracle is that it didn’t happen earlier. We are embroiled in this mess only because of our past actions and inactions. Sometimes it is best to accept your losses and clear up debts with creditors rather than placing more bets. With each bet the risk of accruing higher debt increases. As each day passes, more innocent lives are lost. With each innocent life lost, another enemy is gained. With the passage of enemies more enemies are gained. The proposed solution? Kill the enemy. But I ask how can one kill the enemy when, as each is killed, another is created?

It is not a matter of good versus evil, it is a matter of one opinion versus another. People claim they will never see our side of the story, they will never understand that we’re good and they’re evil. What is conveniently neglected is that we do not see their side of the story, nor will we ever. We don’t understand that they’re good and we’re evil. Truth is dependent upon the world in which one lives. While we all live on the same planet, we do not all live in the same world. Reality varies region-to-region, country-to-country, place-to-place, and person-to-person. I cannot let one letter of the alphabet rule my life, to tell me what is right and wrong. Looking beyond the smoke we see a tree of evil growing in our lawn of goodness. He proposes killing the tree by plucking off its leaves. Who in his right mind would pluck the leaves off a tree to kill it? Ahh the roots of the tree must be a better target. Of course those roots are named, we see them in the news all the time, they are the evil aggressors who have trampled upon our gracious righteousness and must be destroyed, deposed, replaced. But are the roots really the right place to attack?

To successfully kill the tree one must understand what has allowed the tree to grow. Surely its roots are of importance to the tree, but without the proper environment this tree wouldn’t be able to grow. This evil tree is growing in the lawn of goodness and is thus nurtured by the lawn of goodness. The weed killer doesn’t kill the tree, because it’s a tree, not a weed. The lawn is watered, thus providing water to the tree. Through fertilizing the lawn of goodness we have also supported the growth of the tree of evil. Although we didn’t plant the seed of the tree of evil, we must certainly realize that we have nurtured it throughout its life only to find it is sapping all the life out of our lawn of goodness. Killing the tree of evil will not prevent future problems of the same nature in our lawn of goodness….perhaps the lawn of goodness isn’t the best choice afterall. If he focused more attention on the mansion we have built rather than spending all his time gardening in the lawn of goodness we wouldn’t have a tree of evil to worry about, nor would our mansion be falling apart due to the neglect it has received. Noriega, Hussein, Bin Laden to name a few roots of evil who we have nurtured. And now who? Musharraf? Kurds in the north? Shiites in the south? What is to prevent them from rising up against our cause in the future?

What is our cause anyways? To fight for the underdog? If that were the case then Sam would have fought many more battles than he already has. Instead he has only fought certain battles. Sam has let many innocent people die while turning a blind eye, yet he has invaded countries under the cover of helping innocent people. Of course in the infinite quest for answers, some genius has proposed that we have innocently suffered merely because of the hate others feel toward us. But who has tried to really analyze and understand their hate for us? It seems to simple on the surface, oh they’re jealous of our wealth, they’re jealous of our power, blah blah blah yackety schmackety. They fear our influence and our power. There would be nothing to fear if Sam didn’t insist upon sticking his nose into everything and wielding the mighty axe to get his way. We’re never going to realize peace until Sam is willing to allow others to live by their own laws and make their own choices. You can’t turn every country into a democracy.

Who is the terrorist, though? Imagine living your life hearing everyday on the news the leader of the most powerful military in the world saying he is trying to get his Congress to support attacking your country. Imagine hearing that he will bypass the UN if he must and act unilaterally. Imagine how you would feel having foreign warplanes flying over your house, not knowing if a bomb were to fall astray on your house, or whether your own military will use you as a human shield. I can only speak for myself, but I would feel fear…..terror….and who is terrorizing me? Certainly not bin Laden. Imagine living in another country and having your leaders or former leaders taken away to a tribunal for war crimes by the very country who abstains from the tribunal and seeks prosecutorial protection from other countries. Imagine having a country tell you that you must not use your natural resources to save the environment, the very resources that you use daily to support your family, while this country is the world’s largest polluter and has only grown to its power through the exploitation of its own resources.

Regardless of our efforts, there will be others. We are extremely vulnerable and with each attack more innocent people will die. The impact will compound on the psyche of the public yet in their search for answers they will continue not to see the underpinnings of the situation, the events that have led to today. Nothing happens without cause. Enemies don’t magically appear out of thin air. Maybe it would be best to clear out with the house and pay our debts. Or maybe, through some stoke of luck or a miracle, we will eventually win the game at a profit.

girlracer and spoogenet,
awesome!!!!!:bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: very well put opinions.

i do not think i can write that long. i'll run out of words to say :no:

awwwww
 

Thank you Thermal! ;) :yes:

Actually....as much as this may be a really sticky subject it's still my views. It's not in essay form but i just felt like voicing my opinion.

Topic: Gun Controll In the US

Recently I was asked the question "do you belive in gun controll?" I simply told them to elaborate on the question. "do you mean gun controll as in everyone has a liscense for their weapons, or gun controll as in everyone regesters their guns and the government takes them up? The question was directed twards the Idea of regestering guns and turning them over to the government. Therefore I am against it.
We as Americans have rights to posess guns. It actually happens to be our last line of defense against invading countries. Did you know that we are the only...I repeat...ONLY country in the entire world that has NEVER been invaded by a foreign race, country, army, ect? Never! Nobody has even tried. I'm sure they have thought about it but they obviously couldnt do it...do you know why? When they landed on the beach...they would have every redneck with their deer rifles and shot guns waiting for them. Even when we faught the Brittish, we drove them out of our country as it was being formed. Though It was a good point there was no debate because it has never happened in history. There is no proof that we would stand a chance against a foreign army because it's never happened.
Which brings me to my next point. Before Adolf Hitler decided to do his dirty work, he ordered all of his country (mainly the jews) to liscense their fireams to the government and then took them all. Shortly after...Nazism followed! My point...and the point which will end this topic of discussion, I wonder what would have happened if the jews still had their guns?

~David

Through the ages languages have come and gone and the ones that stayed have continued to evolve. Our English speaking society has become a society in a state of flux, encouraging the use of slang and short forms through the internet, media and our culture. The last 20 years has seen a drastic increase in the use of slang and jargon. More recently with the wide spread use of the internet as a means of communication there has been an even further erosion of the English language. Today’s environment is helping to spread the corner cutting, the increased use of abbreviations, and the relentless attack at the foundations of our English speaking culture. This can be seen in the writing style of people today, the decrease in the number of active people in North America and even extends into our children’s speech. Society is under attack from an attacker that moves with a click of the mouse from user to user. The next victim being infected by this as they attempt to respond with another click and so it spreads from one user to another. No one is safe; all who are “plugged in” will be infected!

The increased use of the internet as the backbone for communication between users has created its own set of problems. With today's high paced work environment, where some people receive hundreds of emails a day and where there isn’t always time to respond with a properly written out letter, language is slipping. People throw good writing out the window in order to get their ideas heard. This common misconception that it’s quantity over quality, people firing emails without consideration to the person on the other end who has to read this garbled page of ideas. It is this that plays the most significance in language’s erosion.

In online chat forums it is speed that plays the biggest role in the creation of new terms. Instead of writing “be right back” people write “BRB” or instead of saying “I laughed” they say “LOL” which means “laughing out loud”. These abbreviations seem harmless at first but consider for a moment the age group that is most exposed to this. It is our younger generation that adapt to computers and new concepts faster then their parent’s generation. Combine ease of website creation with this and you have a deadly combination for language erosion. Websites can be whipped up over night. There are no standards like there are in publishing companies. This means that a young son or daughter can be reading information posted on the web researching a topic for school project that was written by someone with poor writing skills. They are frequently reading material that is reinforcing bad grammar and writing skills.


The media has always been quick to pick up on social changes like the internet or cultural influences. For this reason alone the media is not one to set a good example for grammar or use of proper English words. With the use of “NITE” on a chart showing the next 24 hours prediction of the weather because “NIGHT” wouldn’t fit in the space is one of many examples. Often in addition the scripts read by news ankers have been quickly constructed from the latest events. With the average North American home consisting of at least one television. This provides ample opportunity for the media to influence how our language evolves.

In the printed media form language quality varies. Often you can find different levels of writing by looking at different newspapers. Even papers that rise to the challenge and attempt to conform to “older” standards are still slipping. You might ask, why? They need to change slowly, they aren’t changing as fast as the other papers but if they didn’t change at all they would find themselves without readers. They easily pick up on terms like “Y2K” that until the clock struck twelve midnight December 31, 1999 was linked to the largest computer glitch.

In magazines language is solely related to the target market. If magazine writers are aiming at the youth market the language tends to reflect the terms that the younger generation would be most familiar with. With ads that are mostly pictures and a poorly constructed sentence at the bottom or playing off some societal catch phrase of the month, using terms such as “hella fun” meaning “lots of fun”. Our magazines are not helping to extend good writing skills. In our youths “prime” learning period they are often exposed to the largest combination of slang and improper sentence structure.

The bar continues to drop when it comes to our culture. Today’s youth play down their intelligence in favor of being more socially acceptable. They use “pop-culture” slang and innuendoes to communicate in a level far below their intelligence. Youths often start a sentence with “yo man” and end it with “you know what I mean?” and have said nothing between those slang phrases. The influence comes from ethnic backgrounds linked with gang related activities. The few that attempt to communicate with their peers on a higher level are often looked down upon because they can clearly articulate their thoughts and emotions. In today’s social atmosphere it is not “cool” to be smart, so people hide behind a facade often resembling that of someone they’ve seen on television.

With the pressures of a youthful society drifting away from well spoken generations of the past, it seems that no language standards are holding. The English language has always been changing; since it was first created and it will continue to evolve. Does this even matter? The answer is yes! With slang on the rise, advertisers “dumbing” down their ads and the internet playing an ever larger role in our lives we are being changed by a force we have no control over. It seems that for the ever growing quest for money our society is being encouraged to go somewhere that is harmful. Are you in control?

very well developed thoughts people. im suprised so many people are taking this seriously. spoogenet, i really connected with yours, man. it gives me hope when i hear from a person who carries concern on his back but thought in his head as well. i really want to write something but its 12:30 and i have classes tomorrow. this was a great idea though.

Patriotism vs. World Events
 

This has to be one of the most disgusting things I've seen in my fairly young life. There's nothing wrong with being patriotic or proud of where you've come from, but do it with taste. In the last year and a half I've seen more flags on car than ever. People don't seem to realize that empty gestures don't win wars. And hey, why not slap a few on my Benz? I didn't care enough to buy American, but I definitely support America. And that flag? It was most likely made in Malaysia or Thailand or some other economically deprived country. Yeah...put a flag on your car...it's LITERALLY the least you can do. Suddenly when we're threatened we've become a patriotic nationalist ethnocentric culture that will point a gun at anything that moves. There's nothing wrong with retaliatory actions against those who have harmed you...TO A POINT. Americans like to entertain this fantasy that we're so moral and justified when in fact we've led some of the greater atrocities in recent history. But, hey, forget about all of that, we're in the middle of a "war". Sorry folks...a war is when two or more countries fight. I haven't seen any declaration of war OR any country that, as a whole, could pose a threat to us. I'm speaking, of course, of the countries we don't arm first then blow the sh!t out of. Do you really want to fight a war because another country's president wanted to kill the father of our current president? Of course not...you just want to watch the fireworks show on CNN when we attack. Ok...so Iraq may have the 4th largest army in the world, but after the first 3 there's a REAL big drop-off. I am the 5th largest army in the world.

Last time I checked we lived on a round planet and we weren't the only ones on it. As Bill Maher so correctly pointed out, "they hate us because we don't even know why they hate us". You really wanna fight terrorism? Pick up a book about another culture and LEARN. You can't rightfully hate someone you don't understand. Maybe then you'd realize that some countries have a legitimate beef with us. Americans can't take the moral high ground anymore because...well...we're an immoral society. We kill for mostly political reasons rather than real physical threats and throw our weight around as we see fit. We're too wrapped up in our SUV-driving, cell phone, corner office, Jerry Springer lives to see what's happening in the rest of the world.

Truth be told, I'd rather live here than anywhere else in the world. This countries freedoms allow me to do and say things I could potentially be killed for elsewhere (like this post). But am I proud? Not particularly. I've seen where we've come from and where we're going and it disgusts me. All in all I suppose what I'm saying is that if you wanna be proud to be an American....that's cool. Just make sure you know what you're proud of.

Boy would I like to take your head off for that one! Say that to me in public and I will personally humilate you with my intelligence and then give you the beating of a lifetime. You say we should know what we are proud of? I come from a long line of Service men. My Great grandfather served in two wars (WWI and WWII) and in serving in WWII he served with his son (my grandfather) in WWII. He retired and then his son continued to serve. He, being my Grandfather served not only in WWII, but also took a tour of duty in the Korean war, And a trip in Vietnam, and lets not forget about a SECOND trip (like anyone would ever want to go back to that hell) to Vietnam before he retired. My father Served his four years as a marine and was in Desert Storm (Gulf War) before he finished serving. I am in school and after I finish plan to become a Marine Special Forces Operative (recon, sniper). Do yourself a favor and dont tell people what they should be proud of huh buddy?
I do agree with you on a few things and one of them being we arent at war. WE SHOULD BE BUT WE ARENT! People say "we should let them attack us first". Ok. Point. If you are about to get into a fight and a guy is going to hit you with a baseball bat and you have nowhere to run...you get the chance to hit him...would you say "legally...I think im gonna let you beat the living hell out of me before I hit you back" or would you hit him while you have the chance to defend yourself. But let's not forget September 11th! We WERE attacked but some people STILL say "that isn't enough". Ok. Another point. Lets also pretend you are in that same fight again...and the guy does hit you! Now you have legal rights to knock the living $hit out of him...BUT....would you say "wait a min, im not sure if i can hit you yet do to the rules and regulations of fighting in this system we live in, could you hit me with that bat one more time?". NO! your going to give this guy the beating of his lifetime for attacking you! I dont think we should use Nukes. NO but we do have to power to turn that place into a PARKING LOT without a single man taking a beach or jumping out of a plane! And trust me...that wouldnt be a war. USA vs China is a war! OK?
I used to think we didnt belong anywhere else in the world except here. And then, people from outside our country attacked us and broke our back! As an American, I am not proud of the way we sometimes act, I am not proud of our socitey and how it has grown to be manipulative and hateful...full of malice and anger...too many liars and not enough christians...but I am proud of my country. I am proud to be an American becuause I am free. I have freedom. You must not know how high of a price Freedom has on it. Maybe you should ask one of the soldiers lying on the Beach of Normady with his intestines laying in the sand screaming for his mother. Or maybe the soldier who has been captured and is being tortured in a POW camp. Why do they suffer so? Freedom has no price of cash, gold, or even technology. It's price? LIFE, and a lot of it! It's because of dumb idealist idiots like you that my Grandfather...after suffering in a POW camp and watching his friends get tortured to death only for the love of his country and for the freadom of his son and GRANDSON...came home to a country who he loved and suffered for and faught for so many years SPIT on him and cursed him and called him a "baby killer". You want to live a sucessful "free" life in America? Then maybe you should "rethink" your strategy man. Sit down and read our "rules of engagement" and you will say "jeez! That's unfair to us!". Our soldiers always ALWAYS have the deck stacked against them and they come out victorious! That's what im proud of.


~David

amen to that bro, amen!

Look...I think you've missed my point man. There are a lot of people out there who have a lot to be proud of...but I was speaking in reference to those who pose empty gestures and regard them as patriotic. You have every right to take pride in the accomplishments of your family...they were out there doing what people nowadays do by buying flags for their cars. But, those soldiers who have died fighting for America...are they any different than the enemy soldiers fighting for their country's ideals and values? Whether you regard those values as wrong or immoral is irrelevent. Perhaps you should learn to think of yourself first and foremost as a member of the HUMAN race...not as a white man (or whatever ethic group) or an American or even a christian but as a HUMAN BEING. It's in our culture to be extremely arrogant in reference to the rest of the world and I think you've backed up that point. This country doesn't need more christians preaching from soapboxes telling others how to live their lives...it needs more free thinking individuals whose minds aren't so clouded by their own beliefs that they fail to see the big picture which happens to be the horrible fact that we aren't the only people on this ****ing planet. I mention christians specifically simply because they have a propensity to try and aggressively convert members of other religions and cultures..."we know you've lived here peacefully for hundreds of years just fine...but WE know what's best for you". This attitude, I believe, is what has given Americans our sense of righteousness and militaristic complex. We always know what's best for everyone and we'll prove it by leveling your country if you say we don't. Yeah...there's something to be proud of. I also find it hard to believe you are proud of your freedom. I understand it...but find it hard to believe. Freedom is not a birthright. Everything could change tomorrow and we could be just as screwed as any other country out there. People should be proud to defend freedom. I embrace my freedom and take advantage of it, but don't necessarily find pride in it.

Now...my original post, which you have taken grossly out of context, was simply my opinion. I tried hard to steer clear of insulting anyone or making insinuations. I can't really see how you gathered from what I wrote that I'd spit on a military man returning from war. Am I an idealist? Perhaps but only in the form that I tend think of things the way they should occur instead of the way they seem to. Again, this is solely my opinion and should be taken as such. You're entitled to your own opinion but I would ask that you please refrain from attacking mine. You know that freedom you're so proud of? Yeah...I've got it too and short of inciting criminal activity I do and say whatever the **** I want. You, on the other hand, like the good little christian you are, have threatened physical violence. Now ask yourself...what the **** would Jesus do? Would he give me "the beating of a lifetime"? Probably not. And I would also ask that you keep any rebutles (or as you would have it "humiliating me with your intelligence") to private messages as not to get this thread locked for people who have other valid opinions. Looks folks...I figured that this might piss one or two people off...but it's just my opinion. Feel free to agree or disagree but please do it in private and NOT like this asshole (seriously...I'm always up for a good debate so long as it's made on an intelligent basis). This thread needs to stay open because discussions of your ideas and views are vital and SHOULD be shared with others. How else will anyone affirm or challenge your views? Keep those thoughts coming folks.

Wow...I finally dissagree with someone of my own calibler! Point taken but we still dissagree on a few points. What would jesus do? He'd turn the other cheek. Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and will fall short of the glory of god". I am not an asshole. You just have to see where I come from on that sense. I am outraged at how America is handling the current situation. And if someone said something that offended you im sure you would stand up for what you belive in. That's called being unique...not being an asshole. It's just the way you said it that pissed me off. God also told many men of valor to go and not only slay men but entire races. How do you know that these people with flags on their car's arent finally realizing the freedom they have and finally giving respect the the country that so rightrfully gives them the world they live in? I did not attack you. I simply wrote a response to your "thought". You have your thoughts and though I may not agree with them I do respect them. That's called being human. And yes...i totally agree with you....I am embarassed to be part of the human race. We are a shitty race. We ruin everything we touch and everything we create we use to destroy. Though we feel we are doing better we are only getting worse. It actually took me going to a comunist country to appreciate my freedom! What does it take for the rest of the country? A dissaster? Sometimes that isn't even enough. I know we can at least agree on that? right?

Well...to cut it short. Im sorry if i offended you. Just wanted to let you know that there is no beef here man. Im just a honda lovin guy! :)

See...now we're getting somewhere. While I can't really touch on the religion issues....I'm about the most agnostic person you'll ever meet...I will say that such a response was well thought out. This should be a reminder to the rest of you. The more you share your ideas and feelings on subjects the more you'll learn about people who do or don't share those same ideas. I'd love to see this thread grow with more people's thoughts and ideas. It's the only way you'll ever learn about your fellow man.

i thought at the beginning of this it said that the next essay thing should have nothing to do with a previous one.

but ive only finished 2 of them. It's too much to read when your all hyped up you know.

Re: How bout religious Zealots?
 

When it comes down to it, I think all religions are pretty close and at their root value love and understanding...it is when PEOPLE get involved...along with their agendas (conscious or unconscious), distortions and opinions that religion goes bad. We are no longer following the true meaning but someone else's. Remember, the only thing different from a cult and an organized religion is the membership number. Think freely and openly...without pushing your opinions...and you'll find the right way.
i know its not half a page...but its my .02

Re: your views
 

Re: Re: How bout religious Zealots?
 

:no: Nah, I went to church every week for 18 yrs. & it's the biggest bullshit story of allllllll time. :yes:
Think about it...religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of 10 things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these 10 things, he has a special place full of fire & smoke & burning & torcher & anguish where he will send you to live & suffer & burn & choke & scream & cry forever until the end of time.... but he loves you....
He loves you & he NEEDS MONEY! He always needs money! He's all powerful, all perfect, all knowing, all wise, but somehow... he's no good with money. Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, but they always need a little bit more. NOW, you talk about a good bullshit story... HOLY SHIT! :D :D
I really try to believe in God, I really do. But the older you get, the more you look around & think...something is wrong here. If there is a God, I'm thinkin sometimes....he just doesn't give a shit. So, I try not to be a mindless robot....:pfft: ;)

Re: Re: Re: How bout religious Zealots?
 

Wow...someone who speaks my language. But you forgot to mention all of the wars carried out and the deaths caused by ridiculous pathological and illogical beliefs trumped up by idoliters with too much time on their hands. And why the **** doesn't the bible mention dinosaurs? You think they'd have mentioned some huge ass lizards walkin around. But if you're a hardcore creationist you believe the world is only (roughly) 12,000 years old. Riiiiiiight. *sigh* Religion is for sheep...learn to think for yourselves folks. Do what you think is right and live the best you can. That's about all you can do.

Re: Re: Re: How bout religious Zealots?
 

trust me i know...it was a paraphrased quote, one of my best friends said...i thought what he said was pretty good, it didnt change my views on religion, im still a die hard atheist. im just very open to other views, they want me to beLIEve in the bible...but how can you trust what man writes?

Re: Re: Re: Re: How bout religious Zealots?
 

i found this to be the perfect opportunity to get myself into this... the bible does mention dinosaurs, first of all... in Job 40 and 41. They're referred to as the Bohemoth and the Viothin or something of that nature.

my personal opinion... evolution is bogus. in no way does it make sense.

i wasn't done, but i just kinda posted it anyway! oops! anyway...

wars and things that christian (or any other religious group, for that matter) groups carry out that are radical beyond belief shouldn't be blamed on the religion. it's that minority of members that have such radical takes on the religion itself that they'll start a war or whatever...

about the earth being about 12,000 years old... why isn't that feasible? seriously? just because it goes against what the rest of the world thinks is the only thing that makes it sound rediculous, and you're the one that just said "think for yourselves"

lastly, if you think for yourself, and you're CORRECT in your thinking, you'll be lead to religion... religion wasn't meant for uniformity.

RESPECT!

and by that you mean you agree?? :confused:

of course!

got it! 's all good now... ;)

But the blame for war where you want, but take away religion and you don't have anything to be radical about. And Christianity is responsible for some of the better ones. Remember the Crusades? Hunders of thousands of people fighting and dying trying to spread Christianity. And hey...what a great idea for a CHILDREN'S crusade. Let's send thousands of children off to die all in the name of god...simply brilliant. Although I suppose that religion is a hard target to blame. Every religion revolves around the same premise...they just can't seem to agree on which diety to worship. Perhaps people have just gotten tired of Christianity's view of god as not a loving and caring god but one that will strike you down and damn you for eternity if you don't believe.

The earth is 12,000 years old....right. That's why there's fossils and things like that. I once put that question to a creationist and he told me that god put those there to trick us. WTF? Is that the kind of god you want? A ****in prankster god? So I suppose if I buy into that it's his fault anyway. In Job the description of what you mentioned is so incredibly vague (like everything else in the bible) that, while it could be a reference to dinosaurs, it could also just be another fairy tale. As for evolution, what doesn't make sense? Is the progression of beings over eons and eons too difficult for you to wrap your mind around? Or is it just coincidence that other animals think and act like us on a base level. All animals have the basic instincts...eat, sleep, deficate, procreate. Humans are the only ones who pretend there's something more to it. We're the only ones pompous and vain enough to believe that we'll live forever. We have religion to blame for that.

Lastly, you have to be an incredibly shallow individual to say that the "correct" way of thinking is to find religion. That's one thing I love about religion...no one will ever consider the possibility that they might be wrong. As for me, I'm agnostic...I won't say one way or another if there is a god because I can't possibly know. So, until the day that god himself appears before me and tells me something only he would know I'll continue to think for myself and not read too much into a book of fables written by man centuries before my time. Ever wonder why there isn't a gospel written by Jesus in the bible? You'd think that the most influential member of a religion might consider that his words were important enough to scribble down. That's what I mean by thinking for myself. By your logic I could read Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard, believe every word, and still be "correct". With all the thousands of religions in the world they can't all be right and I hope your not arrogant enough to say Christianity is the right one. Remember, Christianity is infinitely divided into it's own little groups that don't even agree with each other. And damnit Mt. Biker...I thought you knew better than that.

If you look into it a little deeper than going off "Bible School" stories you would learn more about "Faith". Just the other week the archeologist dug up another tablet that confirms the Bible ONCE again. These are the same people that believe the 'Big Bang" theory and have found the Bible to be false because it names off rulers that they dont have any facts about but they keep sticking there foot in there mouth when stuf like this pops up. And one more thing, did you now know that evolutionist are going along w/ Christians now on some important topics???? If you would like to know let me know!!!! Im not a so called Christian but i do believe in Faith/God. Sorry, dont really like the idea of me coming from a monkey(do you?)!!!!!

fossils... doesn't take much to explain... the fossils are from the animals that either died because the climate was so drastically changed that they couldn't handle it (such as the dinosaurs that are "vaguely" described... wanna know why it's vague? cuz it's irrelevant!) or other animals that died just cuz that's the natural cycle of things. the animals that died before the flood's bones were covered up extremely quickly cuz of the flood and the ones that died afterward died soon enough that the ground was soft and free eunf that the bones sunk/were covered up. fossils aren't just a "trick." whoever told you that isn't really helping.

i'll just give you one example disproving evolution. blood clotting! that's right! that little process that keeps you from DYING every time you cut yourself. it is impossible for a process of so many minute steps to have started off simple, and gotten more complex over the years. it's like a clock. you can't take a gear or a spring out and expect it to run, still. you can't start out with one step of the process, and then work you're way up. it's impossible. the chemical reaction occurs, 35 enzymes must react IMMEDIATELY in cascading order in the correct order. if you enzyme isn't there, it won't work.

lastly, i'm not trying to be "shallow" or "arrogant," im just saying that there are infinite phenomenons that can't be explained by evolution or any other scientific theory, and therefor lead to the idea of a higher being that created everything. i mean, science came up with the idea that the earth is flat... science came up with the idea that that the earth is the center of the universe... for all you know, evolution is some theory (man-made, nevertheless, meaning it's REALLY not perfect) that could be disproved tomorrow.

something i forgot to mention, if science were 100% correct in all of its theories and such, religion and science would mesh perfectly. we're only having this discussion because science is incorrect in many aspects concerning creation.

Let me explain something children...not once did I claim that 1.) there is no god or 2.) that we weren't "created". My apologies if you took that inferance, I should have been more clear. But, even if we were "created" then you can't possibly deny that we have improved upon the original human model. Whether it be physical or mental (take a look at a homo erectus skull and the tools they used and tell me we haven't come a long way) it's still a little thing I like to call progression or evolution. Here in Kansas a few years ago for a short while they banned the teaching of evolution in school as curriculum and guess what. We became the laughing stock of the country and a good part of Europe. That tells me that, as this country's occupants are overwhelmingly Christian, many Christians buy into this theory. But it's just a theory. Remember, I said I was an agnostic. I don't have the answers and won't clame to but I know what I've seen with my eyes. And, if I'm to interprit the bible correctly, if everything starts with Adam and Eve then we're essentially all inbred products of incestuous relationships. If that doesn't give you trouble sleeping I don't know what will. Also, on a side note, you'd be the distant offspring of someone too stupid to realize not to take fruit from a talking snake. Blood clotting...is that seriously the best you've got? You're talking about millions of years...I think just about anything is possible in that amount of time. I don't doubt that there are quite a few things that are true in the bible...it was written quite a while after jesus died. But finding a tablet mentioned in it doesn't prove that god made workers at the tower of babylon speak in tongues to prevent them from reaching heaven. When you fly on an airline do you see heaven cruising at 35,000 feet? These people threw stones at their own shadows and died of old age and fear at 35...you're gonna take their word for it? And why is it that 2,000 years ago when god spoke to someone it was important enough to put in a big book but today they're usually schizophrenic? Kind of a double standard that spans two millenia, huh? As for faith, you're right. I don't have any. Faith requires following blindly and not asking any questions. Do all of you Roman catholics believe that women shouldn't be allowed to give mass? Do you agree with everything that captain popetastic says? Do you know why priests can't get married...and do you agree with it? Well...question any of the church's edicts and you've lost your faith because if god is truely infallible then all of his laws and rules would be too. Question him and you have doubts, not faith. So either follow blindly like sheep or start to ask questions. Trust me...I had 19 years of prep on this stuff. My father was a priest before he left and got married so I have quite a thorough understanding of religion, especially catholicism so I'm not just talking out of my ass. And my own thoughts are hard to accept since, after my father died, I wasn't sure where he'd end up. It's not that I'm saying you guys are wrong...I don't know. But you shouldn't claim to know either. Nothing in life is absolute. Your brain will interprit everything your senses take it however it wants. Just make sure you don't take it at face value. Everybody needs something to believe but not to follow. There's a big difference.

you say you have no faith. that's not correct. i believe it takes more faith to believe in what science has to say than religion. not a single part of the bible has been disproved, and within the bible it says that it is to be considered as a whole (nothing added, nothing taken away). that means, you can't pick and choose the stuff you wanna believe in... it takes a lot of faith to believe in what some scientist says, or jump on the bandwagon of evolutionists.... when you sit down in a chair, you have faith that it's going to hold you up and not collapse underneath you. when you start your car in the morning, you have faitht that it's going to take you to the places you need to go thruout the day. this faith is just a little bit deeper, and to tell you the truth, i think that it's easier to have faith in a perfect God than a car that might NOT get you to all the places you need to go.

all of the examples you gave such as incestuous relationships and such... times have changed... of course we came from incestuous relationships, that's going to be true whether you're Christian, Catholic, evolutionist, whatever... as far as the tools that "cave men" used as oposed to tools and instruments of today, it's a lil thing called technology... you know, that thing that makes that brand new computer you just bought obselete and outdated within six months. that's not evolution. progression, yes, but it's all part of that world-wide, materialistic need to make more money. it's called capitalism. tools and machines were invented solely to make more money, and that's still what they're used for today.

i, myself, am Christian, and i'm not saying that makes me wrong or right, but i wouldn't know much about the edicts of Catholicism. Christianity on the other hand doesn't really have edicts like that. it's basically follow God's will and accept Jesus Christ as your savior.

anyway, i just don't think it's even logical for evolution to have taken place. if evolution has/had/is taking place, there would be INFINITE numbers of strange animals and creatures walking around that are halfway between two different creatures... really, the only "in-between" species that have been "accounted for" have probably been synthesised... archaeologists found little bones from a bunch of different animals/creatures/people and put em all together to make a skeleton of a "transitional species"

You know, years ago I swore I would never again participate in this debate. It all boils down to the agnostics giving proof or science and then the christians whipping out their bibles and claiming "faith". Neither side can prove their case to the other. Christians can never give "faith" to an agnostic. And an agnostic can never have enough evidence to convice a christian that there is no god. What does this mean? None of us know jack. No human or animal can claim to know anything. That includes me. I know nothing. But nevertheless, I am somehow possessed to reply to this thread anyway. What follows is my .02, meaningless as it is.

I am going to start off with fossils. That is the first thing that comes to mind. Hopefully someone here has heard of Carbon-14 dating? If not it is a process of measuring the amount of C14 (a slightly radioactive molecule found in all living things) and using its halflife to determine the age of the remnants of a living thing. It is a process based on FACT, not theory. It is based in patterns, unity, consistency. It is always correct. And C14 dating says that a lot of the fossils we have are a HELL of a lot older than 12,000 years. Down comes that theory.

Now for evolution. Do I like the idea that I descended from a monkey? Hell yeah! I am damn proud that my form and functionality is the result of MILLIONS of years of constant improvement. To know that after that long, I am the best thing nature could come up with. That makes me damn proud. And evolution makes perfect sense, if you look into it. Evolution occurs not by design, but rather by abnormality. "Evolutions" are abbherations in the genetic code that turn out to work for the better. That trait is passed on to the offspring of its initial "victim" and eventually, there is a significant number of "mutants" who are actually better off than their kin. Since the creatures with the abbheration are better equipped to survive, the others die out, and the abbheration becomes the normal. Such is evolution. It is perfectly reasonable to assume that in a given process (such as procreation and genetic replication) there will be occasional errors. And if these errors are beneficial, the above will occur. Evolution is very much a reality. So down comes that theory as well.

Now, on to creationism. "But Zach," you say, "no way could the order of the world occur by accident!" Sorry, but not only did it, but that has been replicated as well. Using evidence found in the deeper areas of the earth, scientists were able to recreate the atmosphere of the world when it was just a bunch of space crap that had gotten thrown together when it was caught in the gravity well of a star (our sun). After replicating this atmosphere, the scientists added something simple: a single bolt of lightning, a normality in the turbulent atmosphere of the early earth. This bolt of lightning caused the fusion of certain molecules, which bonded together to form: drum roll please.... Amino Acids! That's right, the building blocks of life as we know it. The amino acids began to combine, and as soon as they did, the scientists shut down the operation completely. You know why? Say it with me agnostics: christian morality. If they had continued the experiment and actually created life, religion world wide would have thrown a fit. It could have caused mass chaos and a bigger outbreak of morality issues than could be worked out by the time our grandchildren retire. But long story short, it is not only possible that life developed on this planet without the presence of a god, but it has been replicated. Down goes theory number 3.

Now for the bible. This is such a patchwork mess it can hardly be used to prove anything. Every other statement is contradicted by another in the same book. The old testament and new testament mesh about as well as a square peg and a round hole. It contradicts itself so often, that most people who use the bible as a defense can be disproven by the bible as well. I am not going to whip out my bible (yes I have one) and start looking up contradictions. I hear them every day, and you should too, if you listen. Down goes that backup.

Moving on: wars. This one goes to both sides. Many, many wars were caused by religion, and millions died because of it. These wars were blatantly endorsed by religions, and many wars still are. However, I believe that the desire to fight is part of intrinsic human nature. Part of our territorialism and predator/scavenger nature in the days of old. Some primitive instincts that just haven't died yet (and one more arguement for evolution). Do I think it is wrong that religion caused wars? Sure. But I think it would have happened anyway, so it isn't really important.

Now, about evolutionists and creationists agreeing on topics. Is that happening? Sure. But it is more christianity coming to its senses and letting go of old, rediculous stories. The catholic church has come out and said that the story of Adam and Eve is just that: a story. It is symbolic of some ideals that their god wanted them to believe and it was written for that purpose. Thousands of years ago, nothing was written down, everything was remembered through stories. Some things were hard to remember, so they were weaved into stories to make them easier. It was hard to remember that god wanted christians not to fall to temptation, but it was easy to remember a story about two naked people in a garden. And so those beliefs were passed down in the story of Adam and Eve. It is not the belief of the catholic church that that actually happened. And so the story falls.

Okay, I have been writing this for an hour and a half, so it is time to close. Is religion a bad thing? Not necessarily. Remember, a lot of people are little more than sheep. Without a reason to be moral, they wouldn't. Back when society was first shaping itself, the incessant question of "why?" still plagued men. Excuse me, humans. So when someone came up with the bright idea, "hey, lets try to stop killing each other and live together for the benefit of all of us!" someone had to ask why. A good answer? "Hmm...because god says so!" It was good enough, so people bought it. As time progresses, it became necessary for more regulations to preserve peace and morality. Once again, people asked "why?". The answer? "Well, the god excuse worked before, I will just try it again." Soon, it developed into a religion, and then into many religions. And voila: things are as they are now.

So is religion bad? Not completely. It provides a reason to be moral to people who need it. But it comes at a cost. That cost is faith. So many people no longer question anything. Someone tells them that there is an invisible man in the sky who loves them so much he will send them to hell to burn forever, and they just accept it. It has gone so far that some people even believe that Elvis is still alive, bigfoot is real, and aliens abduct people daily. Complacency has become inbred into culture. That is a hell of a price to pay for a little order. Maybe it is worth it, who knows. I sure as hell can't say if it is worth it or not. As for me, I would rather have freedom and truth. I am moral because I know that morality is beneficial for all mankind. I don't need a god to tell me to do it, I can do just fine on my own, thank you. And as for faith, I would rather have fact, thank you again. I would rather be able to look at something and say, "Oh, so that is why that works" instead of having to say, "yeah, well I have faith!"

But again, it all boils down to this: "the only true wisdom is knowing you know nothing". Confuscious, I believe. I don't pretend to have the total answer. But there are some things that are order and law in the world, and you can't argue with those. Peace, and remember; open mindedness is the key to learning. And to be open, a mind has to be clear. Don't respond immediately after reading these posts. Let them sink in, think about it. And don't take any of this personally! ESPECIALLY MONOTHEISTS! But also my fellow agnostics. No one here is attacking you, we are just trying to make you think. That is all, just think.

Peace.

Much props for that Zach. :bow: Barring someone making a totally idiotic post this will be my last appearance in this thread. I feel like I've been banging my head against a wall for the last couple posts and I think we should let this thread die with the dignity it deserves. My last word to all of the church-goers here: open your mind. I'm more than willing to admit that I may very well be wrong...can you say the same?

carbon-dating... over all these years that "evolution" has taken place, you think carbon's properties have stayed EXACTLY the same... ? isn't it possible that over the years, carbon changed in properties enuf to throw off this carbon-14 thing?

and just cuz some scientists recreated some atmosphere doesn't mean that it exacted way back when. and until they create life for real, i don't believe they could.

Much props to Zach and GT40FIED. :bow:

I used to have a good Christian friend. He always liked debates on issues and basically wanted to convert me, however he wasn't ever forceful about it....so I humored him. He handed me this little pamphlet one day from a Christian "scientist" talking about evolution and why it's not real. A couple pages later I started to realize the fundamental flaw of his argument, and consequently many Christians' arguments, against evolution. Definition.

Now this guy went on and on and on about how evolution can't exist because you don't see frogs hopping around with limbs growing out of their foreheads. But he did say the Bible supports change. He had some quote from somewhere in the Bible where God (actually some guy who claims to be writing God's words) says that He created creatures with the ability to change over time. Now slap me silly and call me your favorite blonde bimbo or tell me that isn't the basic definition of evolution.

This jackass (pardon my insult) defined evolution as spontaneous mutation rather than the painstakingly slow process of slight, and usually unnoticeable in a few lifetimes, change. Humans have been on this planet for a mere blink of an eye in cosmic and evolutionary terms. Think of time as a tangent. When you see a straight line, can you tell me whether it is merely a straight line or if it is part of a circle? You can't tell me the answer without knowing more information. Draw a circle, zoom in billions of times, then tell me if you see a circle or a straight line. We live on the straight line of a circle or arc.

Why do snakes have feet? Yep, that's right, many snakes (if not all, can't remember the amount) actually have the skeletal structures of feet wrapped up within their scales. Now why would a slithering reptile have any need for the bones of feet attached to its skeletal structure if it hadn't been a walking creature at some point?


Now tihs just tells me you have no understanding of what evolution truly is. Evolution expressly prohibits the INFINITE number of strange animals and creatures walking around that are halfway between two different creatures. Things change slowly over time, they don't just leap partway from one creature to another. There is NO halfway point if you look at today's creatures. They are constantly changing, there is no beginning or end for any specific creature. You can't say "Well here's Monkey A, he's the base model monkey. And here's Monkey B, now as you can see Monkey B has mutated himself to have longer arms, stronger teeth, and a cuter smile. And here's Monkey C, Monkey C has half as cute a smile, half as strong teeth, and half longer arms than Monkey B.....he's still working on becoming a B monkey." That's just ridiculous. The theory of evolution is based upon the principle of advantages and disadvantages. Mutations that are advantageous will propagate through the species while mutations that are disadvantageous will die out. Objects that do NOT have the advantageous mutations will die out as well since the one WITH the advantage will take over.

And technology being the difference between Homo Erectus and Homo Sapiens? Haha, you obviously completely ignored the skeletal differences that were specifically mentioned. Has technology changed our skulls?

Science is never 100% correct. In fact, science rejects the very possibility of being 100% correct. You can't make such a claim for religion, can you? Religion is never 100% correct either. I'm not sure that science hasn't disproven things in the Bible, but it also hasn't been able to offer any support for much of it either. And claiming that science has proven portions of the Bible doesn't mean the whole thing is true. Would you say the movie Titanic with Leo was a documentary? Sure it was based upon much fact but had much fiction added as well. Here's a basic scientific princple we can take from mathematics: It only takes 1 failing condition to prove a statement false, whereas it takes ALL true solutions to prove its truthfulness.

b

Very nice, spoogenet. :yes:

And wheresmylicense, the answer to your question is Yes. I do believe over millions of years and tons of changes Carbon-14 has not changed. Evolution applies to living creatures with genetic codes. Evolutionary changes occur in that genetic code. Since Carbon-14 has no genetic code, it cannot evolve. So Carbon-14 is the same now as it has always been.

GT40FIED, I understand your frustration. And I appreciate your last posts. They were very well written, and actually it was mostly due to your posts that I even posted mine. It is refreshing to know that there is someone out there with similar views. Keep it real, man.

However, I would love to continue this, if it can be held to a discussion rather than an aurguement. Every monotheist I have had this discussion with gets frustrated, angry, and reduces themselves to petty insults and personal attacks. Barring that we can avoid that here, I think this could be a very healthy discussion.

well, if i have, or ever do, come off insulting to anyone, i apologize, that's not my aim in this whole issue.

second of all... evolution... if eveloution were true, for a while, there would only be one creature. well, there's been proof of a bunch of different creatures living at the same time way back when (horses, frogs, yadda, yadda). evolution can't create creatures on opposite ends of the spectrum so quickly, and frankly just the thought of a horse coming from the same roots as a frog is a bit unbelievable.

as far as the quote from the bible about creatures being able to change... that's not evolution. it doesn't say "I gave creatures the ability to gradually turn into other creatures" it's talking about the ability creatures have to adapt to their surroundings, so that they don't all day when there's a change in the climate or whatever...