Gary Oster

.. do you automatically dismiss evidence that contradicts your understanding of the Bible?

... that you're afraid rigorous study of creation will do anything but prove your god's existence?

I'm not finding information on ETS being a direct cause, or even an indirect contributor to a primary cause (cancer, heart attack, etc.). Are there any statistics on ACTUAL cases? If not, how the heck are number or deaths figured?

On detail page for "The Gospel of the FSM" on Amazon:

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

+ The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

+ The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead

+ The God Delusion

+ Flying Spaghetti Monster Car Emblem

Does that about sum up a gift basket for a Pastafarian, or does it need more?

Some slightly NSFW language: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5z4Vs26-TI

Including execution of:

Homosexuals (Leviticus 20:13)

Those who work on the sabbath (Exodus 31:12-15)

Those who curse their parents (Leviticus 20:9)

Adulterers (Leviticus 20:10)

Those who are not virgins on their wedding night (Deuteronomy 22:20-21)

Disobedient kids (Deuteronomy 21:18-21)

And kids making fun of bald-headed clergy (2 Kings 2:23-24)

Genocide of non-Christian nations but take their virgin girls (Numbers 31:15-18)

Would world news about the US look like this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7708169.stm

If not, what new crimes and punishments do you think a Christian theocracy would mandate?

Here's the conundrum I'm dealing with:

God is either part of time and space, or not. There's no having it both ways, here. Any connection to or awareness of time/space makes God part of time/space.

So if God is even for a moment part of time and space, God must have a beginning, otherwise He would never have arrived at that moment, and therefore be finite.

God could not hear and answer prayer in our time, because anything apart from time has no connection to time-based events. God would not be able to perform miracles, because miracles would require God be aware of and act in our time/space which He is, supposedly, wholly apart from.

No days of Creation, no walking and talking with Adam and Eve.

I've considered spiritual connection to the Divine, but the spirit is tied to the body, which is part of time/space. Even if we say the spirit has no physical dimension, the time the spirit comes upon us, is with us, and leaves us is time-based, and cannot connect to something outside of time.

I've considered God popping in and out of time/space, but that would require awareness of time and space, unless popping in and out was random.

As far as I've thought of it, a God transcending time and space may as well not exist.

Ideas on that?

Make me one with everything.

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/2562/77churchmarq...

Does this make you want to support McCain/Palin or not?

http://dwb.adn.com/news/politics/elections/story/8...

Is it to circumvent that religious instruction of America's parents so all our children are taught to believe in Christian Creationism?

If you support Creationism being taught in public school sciences, please point to actual scientific evidence or fact-based theory supporting Creationism as an actual science, as opposed to presenting Creationism as a philosophy, religious belief or ideology.

After Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, God decides to kick them out of Paradise for the specific reason that they had become like "us" (whoever "us" is), and is worried that they might eat of the Tree of Life and become immortal as well.

Genesis 3 :

22And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

Of course, the Tree of Life, in part, represents eternal life, and later, the Tree of Life appears as part of the (necessary?) promise of Heaven:

Revelations 2:

7He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Revelations 22:

14Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Apparently, it's not a good thing to have knowledge of good and evil AND be immortal, and I'm guessing that the promise of the Tree of Life in the later part of the Bible is on some condition relating to losing the knowledge of good and evil.

Ok, so we talk about original sin and such, and how we're supposed to each overcome that, but I've always heard that in context to disobedience. Yet, the Bible clearly shows God's concern is that Adam and Eve (humankind, if you like) will have both the knowledge of good and evil, and immortality.

When I read the story this way, it is not the disobedience that's the main concern, and God seems to be trying to prevent the knowledge of good and evil from persisting forever, which is why He didn't want to take any chance they might eat of the Tree of Life. Perhaps it's the evil part of the knowledge, some concept to dualism, or, even more intriguing, God did not want mankind to have the potential to manifest evil as happened with Lucifer.

Any thoughts appreciated, particularly on who "us" is in the Genesis verse, and on the knowledge of good and evil + immortality.

I asked this question: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=200809...

But I'll sum it up. Basically, I was asking what was "sin" and for what was I supposed to repent. I got several responses (thank you) which gave me the impression that unless I could see myself as awful a person as God does, I wouldn't feel the need to repent, but not seeing myself that way is self-pride and self-righteousness.

Is that about right?

For what am I supposed to feel bad about or repent?

1. Two particles colliding at near the speed of light cannot produce enough energy to cause an explosion of any concern.

2. A black hole is an astronomical amount of super-condensed matter, and two particles are not enough mass to create a black hole.

Relax, k?

Now, I'm curious to know:

A. Are you worried that the CERN experiment will cause a big bang?

B. Do you believe the universe was created by a supernatural being or beings?

C. Do you believe the Big Bang occurred?