maadmax

I dont see it as a big deal. Holland is fast becoming a muslim nation anyway. Mohammed is now the most popular name for newborn males. Tourism, tulips, and windmills will soon be a thing of the past. ...

Hope your cat is doing better. But as a Vet, apart form relieving the urethral obstruction and some fluids the rest of the procedures you described were helpful but you could have waited to see if they became actually necessary before paying to have them done. If you ask most Vets what needs to be done now and what can wait, they will tell you. Hopefully they also told you that you need to keep your kitty on a urinary diet like Science Diet C/d. That problem usually reoccurs. One other option that I didn't see mentioned in controlling expenses is that you could always marry a Vet. Worked for my wife

+1, since faith is not an option maybe they can write songs about hope. I hope I'm right, I hope I'm right. ...

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/64308/title/Existence_of_habitable_exoplanet_questioned Swiss team of veteran planet hunters is not 100% sure the planet Gliese 581g even exists. ...

There is a huge biblical basis for it. We only did away with it because the early Catholic church followed the guidance of a Roman on the issue (Saul / Paul). He was espousing the Roman ideal, not the law given by God. God had no problem with plural marriage anywhere in the bible. David (Beloved of God) had hundreds of wives and concubines. ? It is my understanding that God's view of marriage is stated in Genesis 2:24 "For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall become joined with his wife(singular). They will become one flesh." There are many instances where human behavior is mentioned in the Bible for historical purposes not as an example of proper behavior.

I wouldn't say that. Of course not. Many of the points I have gotten from your comments are probably not what you intended. Your well thought out responses have been very informative. ...

You are definitely appreciated. I would have to spend days finding the holes in my belief system without your help in pointing them out. It has prompted me to research those areas and correct my ignorance. You are a valuable asset in my spiritual growth

I made an appt. with next week. The doctor I found is Chinese and has been practicing for many years, and she was also a MD in China. The price is $125 for the initial visit and $75 for follow-ups. It's a little steep for me since it's not covered by my insurance, but I'm willing to try a few visits to see if it helps. I have used a cheaper therapy for years with great success. Bee sting therapy. Multiple stings in the affected area has worked wonders. Of course you can't be allergic to stings. I keep honey bees so I always have a ready supply.

Given the number of posts in this thread by those who are typically most vocal in religious threads, who or what group is being the most "quietly confident?" +1 , Now that is funny.

Actually, let me clarify - spending any energy arguing your position on one's belief with another - is a truly pointless position. Believing what you will is a personal decision and I can see how both positions could add value to someone's life. So it should be just kept private. (mainly because we really don't care about someone's religion) Not true, there are many people who are seeking answers that will make some sense out of their chaotic life. Listening to other people who have found something that has worked for them can be very helpful. How else do we learn?

because homosexuality is a sin, just like a christian having sex out of wedlock...the difference is that homosexuals refuse to see that it is sin....ofcourse, there are always acceptions... Most unrepentant sinner see themselves as special cases. They observe no higher moral authority than what they create. They are the center of their universe where right and wrong are theirs to choose. They are blind to the evil they cause even though they often know to hide their actions from others.

Well, no, they're not - that's the point. Both parents contribute nuclear DNA to a child. Only the mother contributes mitochondrial DNA. So if paternal DNA is sinful, then maternal-only DNA (i.e. mitochondrial) may be in the clear. Yes. But I am not convinced that mitochondrial DNA codes for anything other than mitochondria. There may be an epigenetic influence that make mitochondrial DNA multifactorial but I have not read anything on it yet.

I always thought the women were the sinful ones, anyway. The snake and the apple and all that. A diploid component of DNA means male and female are in the same boat. The immaculate conception and virgin birth of Christ allowed Him to be human without a sin nature.

Perhaps because we sin after we're born, not before. I don't know of many six week old babies who have committed sins. Exactly what I am saying. The Bible says that we are born with a sin nature that is inherited through the paternal DNA. It begins to manifest itself as our self awareness develops. God has given us a means of escaping our self destructive sin nature.

That's crap. I only wish that the socially maladjusted adult males who invented that sick concept centuries ago were alive today so they could be horsewhipped. For what purpose? Does the fantasy of an archaic form of punishment make your viewpoint any more realistic? If we are not born into sin, how is it that every single person alive commits sin? Or do you know people who are perfect and without sin. Please let me know. I would travel to the ends of the earth to meet such a person.

I just hate religious people is all. Sound like a little kid arguing that 1+1=3 wrong and retarded and keep believing the retardation pisses me off. Retared things die due to evolution thus religion will eventually fade out. Funny that you would bring evolution into this discussion. How exactly do gays fit into evolution? Are they a dead end genetic mutation, or possibly genetically normal but just individuals who have reshaped their phenotypic expression by conscious manipulation of their mental environment. Are there example of single nucleotide polymorphisms on DNA that code for homosexuality?

Christians would do well to remember that nobody ever found Jesus while being screamed at, cursed at, spit at, or any of the other nasty behavior I saw on Sunday. I thought the mission of Christians was to bring people closer to Jesus, not push them farther away. Am I wrong? You are correct. People who try to minimize their own sins by pointing out the sins of others are not living the example Christ set for us. The Bible makes it very clear that those who do so are guilty of the worse sin.

I don't see why gays and Christianity is such a big deal. Gays are sinners just like anybody else you would find siting in a Church. The strength of the Christian faith is realized when old sin patterns are replaced with the Truth God has to offer. Trying to repackage sinful behavior and call it Christian is why the Christian Church is in such a confused state today. Sexual sins like any other sin keep us from experiencing God's best in our lives.

So when does censorship become a bad thing? --Pretty much always. You don't hesitate to censor content here on this web site. --Excuse me? --The moderation staff here is VERY hesitant to censor content. What we won't hesitate to do is stop an on-line fight between users, but you are free to post any just about any idea or image you want to. The only real hard and fast exceptions are personal attacks and anything having to do with pedophilia. Exactly, and since I agree with your rules of unacceptable material, we can agree that your censorship is a GOOD thing. But if I didn't agree, I could crown myself an authority on what is right and wrong, as some like to do, and declare your censorship rules narrow minded and provincial. Cause after all shouldn't I be given the right to make my own decisions on what I should or should not see. ...

You mean the religion that just took a crowbar to a piece of art? Yep. If I recall correctly, you belong to her religion. When will you stop the violence?Quote So when does censorship become a bad thing? Is it that you just don't happen to agree with her opinion. You don't hesitate to censor content here on this web site. ...

And should your kids also thank "god" for the time they had here as they writhe around on the pavement in excruciating pain caused by his master plan? It is a hard concept, but pain is a part of life. Either live in fear, retreat and suffer. Or face it, and learn from it. Pain is a part of the Plan of God. And even God is not immune from its affects. Christ experienced the full wrath of pain when He hung on the cross . Our greatest gift came from His pain.

Except that's so obviously untrue, unless you get into the whole "Well I guess it may seem a bit shit that my kids just died in a car crash, but god's will must mean it's for the best!" rationalisation. True from one perspective. But from another perspective one realizes that the only lasting thing we will ever have in this life is God's Love. Everything else is temporal. When someone or something wonderful enters our life we can thank God for the gift, when they leave we thank God for the time we had together. No rationalization required.

When you get down to it there's nothing that you think comes from god that doesn't result from the effect of the belief itself. I know that is your story and you are sticking to it. As far as I am concerned there is no comparison between a believer full of Wisdom that prayerfully casts their cares on God, because they know God will take care of them(I Pet 5:7) and someone who practices positive thinking. I can tell you from experience, that particular spiritual exercise is worth many pots of gold. Because as the Bible promises, God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. ...

The fact that you are unaware of how much faith you have pumped into your construct of reality makes you a candidate for the blind faith award This coming from a person who claims that there is an invisible man in the sky, who is watching his every move, thinks I am a candidate for the blind faith award? That is absolutely Fucking priceless, the superstitious are always good for a chuckle or two. Quote Nope wrong person, my concept of God is nothing like you described. You are no different than the rest of us concerning what is known and what is unknown. I love Steven Hawkings M Theory of reality. Well golly gee, the only way to explain things is that there is an infinite number of universes out there with an infinite number of physical laws and possibilities. And, and, we are here because we happen to fall in a fertile area of space. Sounds like science, as good as it is, doesn't have much of a handle on what is real. So where does that leave you? ps -I love your Icon. Reminds me that there is hope for you. He was thinking of you while He hung there on that cross. ...

But you're not finding pots of gold. Ha, O yes I am. And my cup runs over!!!