bennychico11

I agree. And this relates to what I was talking about above about putting the verses in context with the time they were written. I think the reason why many stress that the actual translation of "to’evah" should actually translate as "not-customary" or "undesirable thing" is because during tribal times like these, procreation really was important then. To have children who could guarantee the future of the tribe. This is why in Genesis Onan was killed by god for "spilling his seed" on the ground. He had ignored the principals of a Levirate marriage. But, customarily, these days...procreation ISN'T as important anymore in society. Sure, we support everyone who wants to have a family and to "be fruitful and multiply", but it's not a necessity to humans as a whole anymore. If this Earth was a forest and we were deer...we'd probably have a few hunters being hired to pick us off to thin out the crowd a bit. Instead, I'd say it's more important to support loving relationships that better us as a human race.

Mr. Beer can be an okay way to get into the hobby, but the beer isn't going to be that great. You can get a basic kit from your local homebrew store and make much better beer. JMO...............check out homebrewtalk.com if you want to research the hobby. thanks for the info. The only way I could see any worth in this is to brew large batches. I'll check it out. definitely skip the Mr. Beer kits. I thought about starting that way too...but you'll be much more pleased with the results if you actually brew it yourself. Mr. Beer is a cold brew (meaning you don't boil or add ingredients at timed intervals like every beer you've ever really tasted does). And you're forced to use their ingredients. Homebrewtalk is a great forum...and also check out Austin Homebrew and Midwest Brewing Supplies for everything you need. Just buy a basic kit from one of those stores, read up on what the brewing process really entails. These couple threads might get you started: http://www.homebrewt...ng-howto-99139/ http://www.homebrewt...ing-pics-75231/ Also, feel free to post here in this thread. It looks like we have several Huskerboard members that will be willing to offer advice! The more people we can get to stray from the typical domestics in this country...the better!

To someone like me you first need to prove to me that something like a thermometer exists and has the ability to actually measure a temperature. Fortunately, in that case, that's easy for us to asses. Your god, on the other hand, isn't. The "sin" of homosexuality is widely disputed. And because it is, that's why everyone can't just agree with what's written in a couple verses in your book. Especially since the actual translation of the Hebrew word varies (there was no word for homosexuality then...so when you see that word in the Bible, you should question the bias of the translator right off the bat). I've read one criticism that the actual translation of Leviticus 18:22 is "And with a male thou shalt not lie down in a woman's bed; it is an abomination." Which also leads us to the original context of the verse. Many scholars say you have to think culturally...and this verse in particular is forbidding any man who is not a woman's husband to lie in her bed. This is because there are specific rules for a woman's bed. Which Leviticus 15 dives further into. This also brings us to the word "abomination"...the original Hebrew was "to’evah." I've also heard several scholars suggest that this translation is more suited to "undesirable thing" or "not customary". If you look at the verses where it talks about certain animal sacrifices or eating un-kosher animals...this makes more sense. In Genesis 43:32, the Egyptians don't eat with the Hebrews because it was to'evah to the Egyptians. And then we can dive further into "homosexuality" and how it actually was regarded historically and maybe why it was considered not-customary...but that's another topic. All that being said, I find Brown and the whole Bible's concept of sin ridiculous. I don't agree with it and think if a god actually judges people based off of some of these insane rules that are only subject to assumption by interpretation because we have to rely on copies of copies of translations of copies of terribly contradictory pages (compiled by humans)...then he's more fallible and unloving than many think. Let people love who they want to love and allow them to have the inalienable human rights we all deserve. It's really not that hard.

Probably he's skipped it because it is part of MOSIAIC LAW and therefore not applicable to him as a CHRISTIAN. It's pretty much the reason I don't follow stuff in Duet and Leviticus as well. sweet, then the homosexual reference isn't applicable anymore either! Problem solved!

I guarantee you and would put any amount of money behind it that Ron Brown would not utter that statement. He would say the only way of forgiveness is to place your faith in Christ and receive the Holy Spirit. And there are many homosexual Christians that would say they already do have their faith in Christ...so what's he complaining about? The problem with labeling homosexuality a sin and saying it's just as equal to any other sin....is that unfortunately homosexuality seems to be the only sin where you are constantly committing it 24/7, no matter what. Other sins seem to be mostly be momentary lapses in moral/ethical judgments...and then the person asks forgiveness and moves on. Homosexuals are basically sinning just sitting there not doing anything...just being who they are. But I guess that gets into the is homosexuality an choice or not.

"Before you speak to me about your religion, first show it to me in how you treat other people; before you tell me how much you love your God, show me in how much you love all His children; before you preach to me of your passion for your faith, teach me about it through your compassion for your neighbors. In the end, I'm not as interested in what you have to tell or sell as in how you choose to live and give." -Mayor Cory Booker

I started working for a university this past semester...and this last month I've been as busy as ever. If you damned college students didn't procrastinate so much!!!!! :-P kidding, you're procrastination has given me a nice paycheck this month

And philosophy also gives us such gems as "can your god create a square circle?"

I've taken a hiatus from brewing for a couple years. I need to pull out the equipment from the basement and get back into it this summer!

If Malware Bytes didn't take care of it...you may need to attack it from a few different angles. Try also Dr. Web Cure It, Spybot, Super Anti Spyware and HijackThis (which is mainly for internet browser infections). and of course update your antivirus software (I recommend Avast Free if you don't have one already). AND...stay off the porn sites

Yes. 1000 years to us is a day to God. Again, interesting (very specific) assumption. Based on what...? Certainly not Genesis. Also, that a timeless god has time (as in a sun that rotates around his planet to delineate days)

lol, no insult taken. I guess you could be right...since I'm not Christian at all, maybe me living in a city has something to do with it. I don't know. Although, maybe people in cities are less religious only because they actually get to experience more. I'd like to venture that people from larger cities actually travel more and see MORE what this world has to offer. My wife and much of her family, for example, are from a very small town in Missouri (they aren't large enough to even have a Pizza Hut set up business in town...so a Pizza Hut wagon comes once a week to make pizzas for customers!). And much of them hardly ever leave the town. Sure they may be in the country side and get to see nature all day long, but remaining in your small bubble in the country isn't any different than someone living in a small bubble within a city. People in the city are typically more culturally diverse (food, socially, religiously, etc). But an argument could be made for either case, I guess. Back to my whole point above...I was just saying that it's one thing to make a god claim. But then to assert that he's beyond our space and time...? How would you know how one operates beyond space and time? And then to give this detailed explanation of exactly how he actually operates his plane of existence beyond our own. I can't tell you how the President of this country spends his day...let alone make assertions about how a god works.

Says the human within the confines of space and time - who are you to say what a being outside of it can or cannot do and how it affects us? There is a mistake in thinking that God is progressing along a timeline like we are when He is not. This viewpoint leads to the idea that He is "seeing ahead". If that were true, then yeah, it would destroy the concept of free-will. But he doesn't foresee anything, He just sees. He views the future in the same way that he sees the future in the same way that he views the past. Every day, moment and history is "now" to God, if such a time-dependent statement can be made. God does not remember you doing things yesterday, He just sees it; similarly, He does not foresee you doing things tomorrow, He only sees it. If I watch you go throughout the day on hidden camera, as it is happening live, do you cry foul that you have no free will in your choices? This is along the lines of what I was going to say, but I'm glad I didn't because you probably said it better than I would have. +1 Lots of assumptions being made about a god that many say we can never fully understand or have absolute knowledge of. Especially for a couple humans that probably don't understand completely the physics/philosophy of spacetime in the current naturalistic sense (not saying I do either, though...but I also don't make broad assumptions about something I claim to live outside of the realm of my knowledge or this universe).

HA! Jeezites. That makes me hungry for some Cheez-Its

*I still haven't purchased any gas <directly> from BP since that whole incident.

General consensus seems to be you won't reach heaven. It's considered a serious sin. Of course, I think many would state that they aren't sure how god would punish you or if you'd be forgiven for it.

You know, I still haven't purchased any gas from BP since that whole incident.

There IS a burden of proof when it's asserted as fact. And when other people are made to live by the laws, rules, etc. that religious people push into the fabric of our society.

But if I was that parent and my child had terminal cancer and was in such agonizing pain, and I had the power to cure him....I would cure him. That's moral. That's benevolent. ---edit--- I need to really read the entire thread when I walk back into a discussion. I'm gone for 5 hours and then I'm already behind when I first respond

They are and they aren't. When you insert god in order to explain why someone was healed...or why someone didn't die in a car wreck...or why the tides go in and out...or why you lost your job (god had a better plan for you). Just because something makes you feel good or gives you an answer, doesn't mean it's the pathway to truth.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson said something similar: "God is an ever receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller and smaller as time moves on." "If you were so content in that answer...the day you stop looking because you're content god did it, I don't need you in the lab! You're useless on the frontier of understanding the nature of the world." I pose a question to theists. I think most atheists, myself included, would perfectly accept a god if it were found out to be true that one existed. I have no problem with that. I would indeed accept that one existed if sufficient evidence were presented. Even be grateful if it was the reason for my existence (worship is a whole different question all together, though). Now, I ask, if sufficient evidence were presented (hypothetically), would you accept the non-existence of the god. If all your questions were answered of how life began, how the universe began, what happens after you die, etc. etc....and non of that ended up being caused by a god, would you accept it?

Because each person and each religion has it's own idea of what god is. Some so vastly different that they contradict one another. Maybe an argument can be made for the big 3 religions, but what about polytheistic religions? Islam and Judaism also even reject the trinity concept. Each holy book (usually supposedly written in the word of god) also contains different rules, stories, etc. If you were to say that all gods were actually the same...then you'd have to come to the conclusion that someone's holy book is wrong, or written by man himself.

haha is it just me or looking at this picture does anyone else get the idea the dog is thinking "i'm not a prostitute you can just whore out!!!" her eyes all tightly shut like it should be a photo on CNN about sex slaves in Thailand or something, lol j/k I love golden's. Never have been a fan of the red colored one's though. We owned a pure bred golden who died a couple years back...she was a blonde. Great dog that I miss very much. I'd get another golden puppy in a heartbeat.

So all the verses in the bible of him stating that if you ask in prayer, it shall be given are wrong? http://www.prayingsc...rpromises.shtml If he doesn't act that way...then the OP is incorrect in assuming god helped him. Then it goes to question, what prayers does he answer? Only those of non-average men? Only on special occasions like when Tebow is in trouble during a game?? Why not even more important occasions like when someone is suffering from a terrible illness? Why not all the prayers mega churches tell their congregation to pray for on Sundays..."help for the innocent children suffering in Africa." If it's not everyday prayers he answers...then tell me what non-everyday prayers are? you only know that from current testable, verifiable, repeatable knowledge of car engines. A mechanic can show you the inner workings of a car to show you that it doesn't contain fuel rods. The inner workings of a god are a little harder to give evidence for Ironically...the same can be said about the universe. I don't understand all of the universe, but from the few small things we do know about it, I can rule out a theorized god because none of the universe we've seen so far seems to contain magic in it.

If you don't know how your god works...then don't pretend to assume ANYTHING about that god. Including that you know how he doesn't work. Don't assume that he created the universe. Don't assume he loves you. Don't assume he answers any prayers. Don't assume he is interested in your sex life. Don't assume he cares what your morals are. And don't even assume that he exists! You can't say "that's not how god works"....and then in the next sentence say "no one really knows how god works." It's like the original poster saying, "I don't know much about advanced anatomy or advanced medical sciences...but there's no other explanation than god healed me!"