Topics

1

Offers / What happened to Paid to clicks??

« on: June 30, 2011, 11:52:35 am »Message ID: 377105

I been gone for awhile and coming back the paid to clicks doesn't have the content portion anymore? But it's still giving the same instructions as to how to receive credit. Is it just my computer or what's going on with that?

2

Debate & Discuss / Gaga as Mary Magdalene

« on: April 08, 2011, 11:16:11 pm »Message ID: 337553

I recently read an article talking about the release of Lady Gaga's music video "Judas". She is supposed to play Mary Magdalene while someone plays Judas. And her publicist says it's going to "shock" the world.

It no doubt will be shocking to some. However, I personally am no longer shocked by anything this woman does. She set a precedent to always be controversial and in so doing, made herself predictable to an extent. What would actually shock me is if she started acting normal. Quite frankly, I find her irrelevant. 

What I do have a problem with though is her need, not just to shock, but to purposely offend people of religious faith. She can have her video, dance around in sleazy crazy clothes and stutter through her lyrics, and portray biblical characters in obscene ways. Go ahead.

But why, pray tell, must she choose a significant day to the religious community to release this video? The video is set to release on April 19th, the day Passover begins. She is really trying to be insulting; and to what end? For headlines? I find that pathetic, but she isn't the first or the last to do such things. 

I wish people who find her offensive, or just don't particularly like her music or act would ignore her nonsense. Unfortunately, her video will make headlines and people will probably be outraged and she will get all the attention she is so desperately seeking.   

(On a side note, I am dedicating a thread to her nonsense so I suppose I am a hypocrite lol)

Oh well, good luck to you Stephanie, it doesn't last forever. 

And your new headline will be "Now What?"

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Debate & Discuss / Not the typical gay marriage/religious musings

« on: March 21, 2011, 11:53:25 am »Message ID: 329063

I had someone the other day who was talking to me about gay rights and how religious people use their prejudice at the polls. (no it wasn't amyrouse  ) But it got me thinking:

Firstly, that's not an issue that concerns me personally when it comes to my vote, there are some moral issues that sway my vote but that is not one of them. I don't vote for a candidate because he is against gay marriage, it just so happens that is usually tagged onto the ticket with the other values I find important to be represented. So that being said, I really don't think that Christians should get so up in arms about gay marriage and I'll tell you why.

In the bible, there was no marriage license required in order to get married. Whatever type of ceremony or event or declaration that they used there was no government telling anyone that they could or couldn't get married. The bible does talk about submitting to government (Romans 13:1-2) so today in order to be legally married a license is required but I wonder if God requires a marriage license to consider two people married?

When I was 18, I wanted to move out from my parents, my fiance was 6 months younger than me and was only 17. His mother had abandoned him and disappeared a year before and so we couldn't get married because he was considered a minor and needed a parents permission (dad wasn't in the picture) My parents and my pastor knew that I would move out no matter what and so my pastor agreed to have a unofficial ceremony with the promise we would get a license when he turned 18 and make it legal.

Well, we never got a license and anytime I brought it up he said that, that piece of paper did not make us any more married and committed to each other so why did it matter. I agreed, but I still wanted it to be legal. He never got a license and 3 years after we were married he cheated on me and took me and our daughter to live with my parents. After I was no longer wanted, he refused to ever say that he had ever been married but was only living with his girlfriend. I, to this day, consider that I was married. We made vows before a pastor and before God and witnesses and I think that made us married. After all, that's what marriage is right? Making a life long commitment to one person?

With my current husband, we lived together for a year and he kept saying he didn't want to get married, even though we lived as a married couple and the license wouldn't have changed anything. Eventually, he asked me to marry him and we made it legal and guess what....NOTHING CHANGED. Our commitment wasn't made more or less by a piece of paper or the approval of the government.

I think there is an emotional attachment to the whole marriage license thing.

So first, I think Christians are trying enforce a law that is pointless, especially to God. If homosexuality is a sin, then it's a sin whether it's legal or not. So what is anyone accomplishing by denying them a piece of paper?

Secondly, I think homosexuals are getting a little nutty about something that doesn't make a difference to their commitment to one another? Is all the fuss just to get people's acceptance for their lifestyle choice? If so that's a little overdramatic. After all WHO CARES who accepts you? Is it nice to be accepted? Sure, but making it raging political issue is crazy to me. I loved my first husband and we lived together, had a baby, filed our taxes together and never had a legal marriage. And we were judged by other Christians who knew we didn't have a marriage license just like gay people are judged for their sexual orientation (albeit more harshly).

So, in conclusion....WHAT is all the fuss about?

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Debate & Discuss / Oops

« on: March 01, 2011, 10:45:35 pm »Message ID: 320395

Oops

5

Debate & Discuss / Evidence of God from Physics

« on: March 01, 2011, 10:31:33 pm »Message ID: 320391

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN2oc7l1mPU&feature=player_embedded

I have read the book Case For The Creator, this is a clip of Strobel at a conference talking about the physics portion of his book. Good stuff. Enjoy 

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Off-Topic / queenofnines

« on: February 18, 2011, 12:51:20 am »Message ID: 315126

Hi queen! I have missed you, what's up? Still an atheist?   

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Debate & Discuss / What's Wrong with the Democrats (and Republicans) and "The American Dream"

« on: November 03, 2010, 11:00:39 pm »Message ID: 263955

What's Wrong with the Democrats (and Republicans) and "The American Dream"
by Rich Deem

Introduction

Democrats or Republicans?

A common assumption is that Christians are all Republicans and that the Democrats are out-of-step with religious people. However, if Jesus were preaching to day, I think He would have some things to say to both political parties.

I am sure I will get lots of email about this page, since neither Democrats nor Republicans are going to like it very much. It's okay with me, since Christianity is not about being popular. Even so, the Bible does lay down some specific moral principles that apply to our attitudes and behaviors. So, in this page, we are going to examine the moral principles that are violated by Democratic and Republican platforms and what Jesus Had to say about that cherished concept of "The American Dream."

Democrats

Until a few years ago, the Democrats tended to ignore morality in their appeal to voters, instead emphasizing personal rights and liberties. However, recently, Democrats have begun to appeal to people's concern for the poor, in terms of basic needs (food, shelter, health care, etc.), along with education and training. Of course, the Bible does encourage us to care for the poor and provide for their needs.1

Pornography

Democrats have always been supportive of "free speech," even saying that people have a right to produce pornography that has "artistic merit." However, Jesus said that looking at a woman with lust is a sin equal to committing adultery.2 Obviously, supporting "rights" that encourage sin is not within the realm of Christian principles.

Sexual sins

The Democratic party has been a strong supporter of freedom of sexual expression. Therefore, any prohibitions against such "victimless" conduct such as adultery and consensual sex between minors have been removed from legal statutes. As a result, sexually-transmitted diseases are at epidemic levels, despite an appeal to "safe sex" through condom use. The Bible indicates that sexual relationships are to be between husband and wife.3

Abortion

Despite political comments that the determination of the beginning of human life is "above one's pay grade," the Bible makes no bones about when human life begins. In fact, numerous prophets were called by God to serve him from the womb.4 Today, such a call could likely be answered by a choice to kill God's messenger. Killing one of God's creatures in the name of personal choice is one of the most egregious "acceptable" sins allowed in the United States (and most parts of the world).

Republicans

Republicans emphasize moral responsibility more than democrats. Although they often think of themselves as being part of "God's party," their platform is not without its own moral problems.

Immigration

Illegal immigration is a big issue for Republicans as they seek to keep Mexican nationals from crossing the border and living in the United States. Although often framed as a national security issue since September 11, 2001, the main purpose of closed borders is to keep outsiders from taking "American jobs." However, the Bible says that God's people are not to despise the aliens in their land,5 but provide food, shelter, and clothing for them.6 In addition, the Bible says that all laws are to apply to equally to natives and aliens7 and that judges are to apply those laws equally.8 God Himself warned His people not to turn aside the alien or they could be subject to judgment.9 And Republicans thought that America would only be judged for her sexual sins!

The poor

Republicans are often perceived as being for big business at the expense of the poor. In general, Democrats believe that government should care for the poor, whereas Republicans believe that the private sector can do a more efficient job. In a less selfish world individuals would willingly provide for those who are in need. The Bible talks about the poor and encourages people to give alms to them. However, at the time, all able-bodied individuals were expected to work. Those who refused to work were not to be given food to encourage them in their laziness.10 In instances where the poor are described in the Bible, they were begging for alms because they had physical disabilities that prevented them from working.11 So, providing for the poor was never intended as a welfare system for lazy people. Since there was no government system for providing for the day laborer, he could seek to be hired to work on a daily basis or offer to become a slave. The term slave has extremely negative connotations today, because of abuses carried out against those who were forced to work for others. However, under Old Testament law, the kidnapping of a person for enslavement was a capital offense.12 In addition, voluntary slavery was not a lifetime commitment, since the slave was to be released in the year of jubilee (which occurred every seven years).13 Since we don't want to go back to a system of slavery, it is reasonable for a government by the people to provide for the needs of those who are unable to work.

The American Dream

Although there is no one unified perception of what "The American Dream" entails, both political parties throw around the idea as the goal of being prosperous and well-off financially. Accordingly, the American Dream comprises the pursuit of wealth, leisure, and comfortable living. Because people prefer comfort to suffering, appeals to providing all Americans the opportunity to pursue the American Dream are well-received. However, Jesus had a different idea of how a person would be blessed. Accordingly, those who are poor, hungry, weeping, and hated because they followed Him are the ones who are blessed and will inherit the kingdom of heaven.14-17 However, Jesus pronounced woes to those who were rich, well-fed, laughing, and popular with the people.

This is the American Dream turned on its head! It is not that one should seek to be poor, hungry and hated. However, one should not pursue "The American Dream" as one's primary purpose in life. According to the Bible, the most important things are to love God and love one's neighbor.21 Accordingly, all of God's laws are fulfilled when one practices love.

Americans vs. "them"

It is a common campaign rhetoric to put more value on American lives compared to peoples from other areas of the world. What politicians don't seem to understand is that God is not a United States citizen. In fact, the Bible says that God does not show partiality based upon social, financial, or ethnic status,22 so that we can confidently say that God loves non-Americans as much as He does Americans. Likewise, the Bible commands people to act without partiality, and warns those who judge with partiality will be judged as being transgressors of the law.23

Conclusion

Neither major political party has a completely biblical party platform. Democrats tend to emphasize personal rights (including "rights" to sin and kill God's pre-born creations) to the detriment of personal responsibility. Republicans stress personal responsibility to the detriment of caring for those who are less well off. You can be sure that the economy will be a major topic of discussion during the 2012 presidential election campaigning. It is likely that the candidate who appeals best to the greed of the electorate will win the presidency as we pursue the American Dream of wealth and leisure as the rest of the world suffers in poverty and sickness. No, I won't be running this election, so you won't be able to vote for me (not that you would probably want to, anyway!). Choose wisely!

http://www.godandscience.org/doctrine/democrats_republicans.html

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Debate & Discuss / Guy's Rules

« on: November 03, 2010, 10:31:24 pm »Message ID: 263953

I found this and thought it was pretty funny and pretty true LOL

The Guys' Rules

At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down. Finally, the guys' side of the story. (I must admit, it's pretty good.) We always hear "the rules" from the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side. These are our rules! Please note... these are all numbered "1" ON PURPOSE!

   1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

   1. Sunday sports. It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.

   1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.

   1. Crying is blackmail.

   1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!

   1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

   1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

   1. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.

   1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days.

   1. If you won't dress like the Victoria's Secret girls, don't expect us to act like soap opera guys.

   1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

   1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

   1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

   1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

   1. Christopher Columbus did not need directions and neither do we.

   1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

   1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.

   1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

   1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.

   1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really.

   1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation, or monster trucks.

   1. You have enough clothes.

   1. You have too many shoes.

   1. I am in shape. Round is a shape.

   1. Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; but did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

Pass this to as many men as you can - to give them a laugh. Pass this to as many women as you can - to give them a bigger laugh!!

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Debate & Discuss / Sickening Child Abuse!

« on: October 01, 2010, 08:42:39 pm »Message ID: 246769

I am soooo angry right now.

My nieces and nephews have been temporarily removed from my sister in law and brothers care because of child abuse. They were staying with my parents but my parents are disabled and were having a hard time. A new case worker got put on the case and I offered to take one of the children and the case worker said she needed to discuss placement with the mother.

Discuss placement with the mother, that pulls out chunks of their hair, who masturbates while breastfeeding, who spanks the children to the point that they are bleeding, who feeds them a diet of nothing but granola bars and capri suns, who drags them to their rooms by their hair while screaming profanities at them.

They needed to discuss placement with her. Well they did discuss it and she accused my mother of intentionally burning one of her children with a curling iron and she wanted the children placed with HER mother (where she herself lives). The new case worker took this into consideration and you know where the children are going? To her mothers.

They are going to stay with a woman that tried to kill their mother, and stay with a man that repeatedly sexually molested their mother. How does this make ANY sense! I am so dumbfounded and TICKED OFF, that this is even happening?!!

Somebody please explain the purpose of Child Protective Services?

My sister has supervised visitation and she NEVER abused her child. This woman severely abuses her children and her parents severely abused her and CPS is putting those kids in a house full of child abusers!!!!

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE!!!!

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Debate & Discuss / Where is THIS kind of president when you need him???

« on: September 27, 2010, 03:20:59 pm »Message ID: 244241

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do0x-Egc6oA

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Off-Topic / Hannah Montanna causes seizures

« on: September 17, 2010, 02:38:18 pm »Message ID: 239014

http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/09/15/5112026-mysterious-form-of-epilepsy-triggered-by-hannah-montana?GT1=43001

Teen sensation Hannah Montana makes a Florida girl shake all over. The problem: She can't make it stop.

Certain sounds -- barking dogs, the clash of cymbals and a song by the alter ego of celebrity offspring Miley Cyrus -- all trigger seizures in the girl, making her body shake and jerk forward.

The 12-year-old has a mysterious form of epilepsy that's set off when sufferers hear, see or feel a trigger. Warm water, Beethoven music and even a specific kind of font can all spawn seizures.

You may have heard about this kind of thing before: In 1997, hundreds of Japanese kids suffered seizures triggered by the flashing lights of a Pokemon cartoon. In 1991, a doctor reported that an American woman suffered attacks when she heard the voice of "Entertainment Tonight" host Mary Hart.

In the Florida girl's case, low baritone-type sounds like dog barks caused as many as 25-30 seizures a day, says Dr. Paul R. Carney, a pediatric neurologist and professor at the University of Florida. The girl likes music, he says, but found that some songs could trigger a seizure, including one by Hannah Montana. (He doesn't recall the title.)

At first, doctors figured she needed a shrink. But that didn't help, and she ended up seeing Carney, who diagnosed a condition called "reflex epilepsy" about two years ago.

People with the condition seem to suffer seizures when the circuitry of the brain processes a trigger (like a sound) and amplifies it, says Dr. James Geyer, a neurologist and epilepsy specialist in Tuscaloosa, Ala. "It's like abnormal feedback off a microphone," he says, and may be related to a glitch in the body's "startle" response.

"I actually had a patient a number of years ago with reading-related epilepsy," Geyer says. "If he read something in a book with a certain type of font, he'd have a seizure." (Geyer doesn't remember the kind of font it was -- we’re just hoping it’s not the one this is written in.)

Doctors treat reflex epilepsy with anti-seizures medication and tell patients to avoid their triggers. Geyer says it's the equivalent of the old joke: "It hurts when I do this," a patient tells his doctor. "Then don't do that," the doctor says.

There's good news in Florida: the 12-year-old girl is on medication and now only has about one seizure a week. "Her prognosis is actually good," Carney says. "In a lot of people, these seizures go away over time."

The prognosis for Hannah Montana? Not so optimistic. The girl seems to have outgrown the singer and doesn't listen to her anymore. If she's lucky, she'll outgrow her seizures too.

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Debate & Discuss / How do you take your coffee

« on: September 17, 2010, 11:05:55 am »Message ID: 238910

I'm sipping coffee right now after having to turn down the cup my husband made for me. No matter how many times he tries, he just doesn't get the right mixture of cream and sugar the way I like it.

It got me thinking about when I was a server and seeing people use all kinds of different combos.

What's your favorite roast? mine is columbian dark
What's your favorite creamer? mine is irish cream
Do you like it mild-moderate-extremely sweet?

Do you use real sugar or artificial sweetener?

Do you prefer iced coffees?
                                                                               

13

Off-Topic / Cartoon Dedication To Marie

« on: September 16, 2010, 06:49:59 pm »Message ID: 238574

Marie I find you amusing, so I'm dedicating this cartoon that I made especially for you, to you in honor of all the threads started and locked today LOL

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Debate & Discuss / The Devil's Delusion

« on: September 15, 2010, 07:58:40 pm »Message ID: 238007

Just started reading this book by David Berlinski.

Side flap reads:

A secular Jew, Berlinski delivers a biting defense of religious thought. An acclaimed author who has spent his career writing about mathematics and the sciences, he turns the scientific community's cherished skepticism back on itself, daring to ask and answer some rather embarrassing questions:

Has anyone provided a proof of God's inexistence?
Not even close.

Has quantum cosmology explained the emergence of the universe or why it is here?
Not even close.

Have the sciences explained why our universe seems to be fine-tuned to allow for the existence of life?
Not even close.

Are physicists and biologists willing to believe in anything so long as it it is not religious thought?
Close enough.

Has rationalism in moral thought provided us with an understanding of what is good, what is right, and what is moral?
Not close enough.

Has secularism in the terrible twentieth century been a force for good?
Not even close to being close.

Is there a narrow and oppressive orthodoxy of thought and opinion within the sciences?
Close enough.

Does anything in the sciences or in their philosophy justify the claim that religious belief is irrational?
Not even ballpark.

Is scientific atheism a frivolous exercise in intellectual contempt?
Dead on.

This brilliant, incisive, and funny book explores the limits of science and the pretensions of those who insist it can be--indeed must be--the ultimate touchstone for understanding our world and ourselves.

Interview with Berlinski
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op67E8Uq03U Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HyOW0CsZuE&feature=related Part 2

I'm not going to go through this book on the thread like I did with Case for a Creator. But I think Berlinski is amusing and insightful and thought this book may interest those who, like me, have been debating these kinds of issues in the forum. 

15

Debate & Discuss / Death penalty for drinking coffee

« on: September 11, 2010, 01:22:31 pm »Message ID: 235583

                                                                         Strange facts

1. In medieval Japan, fashionable women blackened their teeth to enhance their appearance.

2. During the reign of Peter the Great, there was a special tax on anyone with a beard.

3. The heart of a whale beats only nine times a minute.

4. A deer botfly travels at 800 mph, flying faster than a jet plane.

5. Sutoku, an Emperor of Japan, copied the Lankauru Sutra, a 10,500 word Buddhist tract, in his own blood.

6. Suicide was a crime in the 19th century England. Those who failed attempting it were put to death by hanging.

7. The female black widow spider devours the male after mating.  She may kill as many as 25 males a day.

8. To improve their appearance, some modern Hindu women stain their teeth bright red.

9. In 16th century Turkey, coffee drinking was punishable by death.

10. Even with its head cut off, the cockroach can live for several weeks. EW