just a minute. i shouldn't have mentioned that. maybe it's just me that got short changed, double peniswise.

Hog, I think you may have misunderstood. God does not put the fear into religion, people do. Like the phrase, "I'm a god-fearing man." well, if there is a God, I don't fear him. I know the reason he created us was not to stand over us in judgement. He would have put us here for a reason. That reason cannot be to make our instinct tell us "punch that guy back" and then make the rule "don't hit". And then punish us for it. Every religion I've ever heard about, participated in, or read about all had 1 thing in common: a wrathful, vengeful God. If there is a God, I don't see him as either of those.

Southern Baptist? I was raised Roman Catholic, with a brief stint of Lutheranism at the end.

eleltea

when we are four toed and i assume you mean on each foot, the five towers will point at us and laugh and make fun of us until they all die out and once again we rise above the crowd.

as for your second question about the fly and the mamooth and jones, god only knows.

there are a lot of great questions here about creationism and evolution. i think it's important to keep in mind that the lack of ability of one side to explain something with our current knowledge does not make the other side correct. in other words, you can't say creationism must be right because you can't explain how catherine zeta-jones evolved. likewise, you can't say that evolution is correct due to the lack of god sightings and other biblical mysteries.

i can say i believe you are wrong w/o endorsing a theory of my own. it may not seem fair because it gives you nothing to attack in response to my assessment, but it's fair and reasonable in the discussion of life's origin. truth is, no one knows where we came from. most of us, however, have "beliefs."

cexshun, yes I did misunderstand your post...

I see what you are saying above... people are at fault for many things throughout history, I myself have used the fraise I am a God fearing man or Christian.. this does not mean I fear God but do my best to follow his rule or bare the wrath for not... example.. as growing up as a kid.. my parents set rules to follow... breaking these rules meant I would bare the wrath or aftermath of consequences from my dad for doing so...

(As I veiw it)
God through the Bible has set these laws/rules/guidlines to be followed by man as their existance in human flesh on earth... doing so and throughout this life Man will be rewarded just as parents reward their children for getting good grades etc... in the end the grading reports will come out... and I hope and pray I am at least a C average and get to follow into the Kingdom of Heaven ;0)

Hog

cexshun, yes I did misunderstand your post...

I see what you are saying above... people are at fault for many things throughout history, I myself have used the fraise I am a God fearing man or Christian.. this does not mean I fear God but do my best to follow his rule or bare the wrath for not... example.. as growing up as a kid.. my parents set rules to follow... breaking these rules meant I would bare the wrath or aftermath of consequences from my dad for doing so...

(As I veiw it)
God through the Bible has set these laws/rules/guidlines to be followed by man as their existance in human flesh on earth... doing so and throughout this life Man will be rewarded just as parents reward their children for getting good grades etc... in the end the grading reports will come out... and I hope and pray I am at least a C average and get to follow into the Kingdom of Heaven ;0)

Hog

I was born... i'm alive today... and eventually i'm gonna die.

I'd like to think that WHEN I die, all the questions I have now will be answered.

Your mileage may vary.

If I explained to you how an automobile is powered and operates it would pass without remark. If I told you how cells function and interact I'd bring down a rain of hellfire on my head. Hmmmm, maybe Freud said it best.

what did he say?

He observed, with a great deal of remorse, that: "Science is no illusion. But an illusion it would be to suppose that what science cannot give us we can get elsewhere ... that sounds splendid! a race of men who have renounced all illusions and have thus become capable of making their existence on earth tolerable! I, however, cannot share your expectations."

lofty1 - you're playing into CP's hands. It is imperative that he show us each and every day just how intelligent he is. Sit back and watch. 😉

without proper context i can only interpret that as "we'll always have those that believe in the magic of religion even though it is an obvious illusion." seems like a pretty confident (if not arrogant) vote against religion. like most others, he thinks it would be wonderful for everyone else to believe what he believes. i'm compelled to disagree. i think it's the presence of a religion that drives some of us. it keeps some of us happy, sane, and motivated. without it, those people may be lost. life's tough. not everyone can take it alone. some folks need a god. they need to feel there is a higher power on their side. it reminds me of a quote i read but forget you said it: "if there wasn't a god, we would have created one" or something like that.

i'm aware of all the killing and suffering in the name of religion. i really don't care for that. i just think it's easier for some to deal with life "knowing" they are working toward a higher goal. some need it; some don't. it's the diversity that strengthens us socially and intellectually.

I not claiming to be a hero, just a biologist who likes cigars.

I believe God created the heavens and the earth and in his omnipotence allows certain things to evolve. I have seen God's awesome power, felt his protection, and know without a shadow of a doubt that prayer works. I believe in the Holy Spirit and that through trusting in God and in his word we can be led to live a life that corresponds to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Love thy neighbor as thy self. Do charity and respect your elders. And of course the 10 Commandments, on which all of our founding fathers (though sinners they surely were) believed.
I believe the worst thing we can do is allow a secular world to raise our children. I believe Satan is hard at work establishing a foothold through non believers and as a result of that it's ok to be anything but a Christian. So many of the Bibles stories are also reported in history that it confounds athiests and they constantly attempt to create diversion and encourage resentment toward believers. It's a sad world we live in where someone puts as much time and effort into trying to destory someones faith as evolutionist do when their faith isn't founded on near as much fact as it is speculation.

uh oh. CP's keyboard is either smoking right now, or he's still getting his fingers warmed up. Either way, stand back.

RICK & CIGAR PRIMATE

JESUS LOVES YOU MAN

NOW GO BURN ONE AND TAKE A CHILL PILL

Like satan, I too am hard at work ... but on studying for my last final tomorrow; having no particular interest in lost souls. But since so many have so many interesting things to say on these subjects, I can't help but peek in (anything to avoid studying). The Christmas break is coming up on Thursday though, so all you Christers gird your loins and guard your flanks, because Primate's coming, and not with a sword, but with genomic data links accompanied by pretty pictures of homologous chromosomal domains.

The Contest

One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell Him that they were done with Him. The scientist walked up to God and said, "God, we've decided that we no longer need you. We're to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don't you just go on and get lost."

God listened very patiently and kindly to the man and after the scientist was done talking, God said, "Very well, how about this, let's say we have a man making contest." To which the scientist replied, "OK, great!" But God added, "Now, we're going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam." The scientist said, "Sure, no problem" and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt. God just looked at him and said, "No, no, no. You make your own dirt!"

---

Then the devil comes sliding up holding a dark, oily maduro and tempts the scientist with its sinful aromas. The scientist looks down at the pile of dirt, and then at the cigar, and tells god he'll get back to him later.

good one Gene... never heard that one before.. but will pass it on!!!! ;0)

Hog