blackbird

The Iraq war was not a scam. Were you aware that al Qaida terrorists travelled to Iraq by the thousands from all over the middle east when the Americans were there for the sole purpose of fighting the American great Satan. al Qaeda is just a branch of ISIS. Who do you think the Americans were fighting against in Iraq? Have you heard of the war against terrorism after 9-11? That was what the war in Iraq was all about. Surprising how widespread ignorance is on the subject of the Iraq war.

Your experiences gave you a taste of religion but perhaps you never were properly taught the truth of the Bible. I don't know what your knowledge of the Bible was or what you believed then or now. See my comment about the history and accounts in the Bible of God's miraculous power. Whether you agree or not doesn't change the fact that countless miracles and events are recorded in the Bible adding to it's authenticity as coming from God. The simple fact is a complex universe required an intelligent designer. Complex things which operate under complex physical laws do not just happen themselves. They require intelligence behind them.

Quote The Old Testament contains 39 (Protestant), 46 (Catholic), or more (Orthodox and other) books, divided, very broadly, into the Pentateuch (Torah), the historical books, the "wisdom" books and the prophets.[4] Unquote - Wikipedia The account given in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, gives an account of the creation of everything including Adam and Eve, the first humans about six thousand years ago. The first five books of the Bible were written by Moses, who lived about 1570 B.C. or 3,570 years ago. Moses was sent by God to bring the nation of Israel out of slavery of Egypt 1,491 B.C. or 3,491 years ago. The Jews still celebrate the Passover, which took place in Egypt about 1,491 B.C. or 3,491 years ago shortly before the Israelites were led out of Egypt by Moses. Exodus tells how God performed many miracles to force the Pharoah to let the Israelites leave Egypt under the leadership of Moses. The Passover is strong evidence that the account of the Israelite' captivity and God using Moses to bring them out of captivity in Egypt actually happened as described in Exodus, the second book of the Bible. The fact the Jews still celebrate the Passover today means it actually occurred as recorded in the Bible. The Old Testament was written over a period of 1,200 years beginning about 3,570 years ago and completed about 400 B.C. or 2,400 years ago. It was accurately copied and handed down through the ages by the Jewish scribes who were very meticulous in copying and caring for it. The Old Testament has many events demonstrating the miraculous power of God. One would have to read it to find out. This website gives a long list of miracles God performed: Miracles in the Old Testament - Bible History (bible-history.com) This site gives a timeline of the Old Testament. What is the basic timeline of the Old Testament? (compellingtruth.org) Quote The original Passover, found in the Bible, is a memorial to God passing over the houses of the children of Israel when He killed the firstborn of man and beast in Egypt. This miraculous event and its meaning occurred during the night of the fourteenth of the Hebrew month Nisan. It is not a memorial of the Israelites' exodus out of Egypt. 'On that night I will go through the land of Egypt, killing every first-born male, both human and animal, and punishing all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood on the doorposts will be a sign to mark the houses in which you live. When I see the blood, I will PASS OVER (from where we get the term Passover) you . . . (Exodus 12) Unquote The New Testament was completed by about 90 A.D. by the apostles and prophets who were eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ or had direct knowledge from eyewitnesses of Christ themselves. You mentioned the figure 60 years, which is very close to the period the New Testament was completed, which is within 60 years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.

You are aware that the Bible, which goes back 3,500 years and was written by prophets and apostles who witnessed the power of God over a period of 1,500 years speaks completely against your position.

So you admit you have no answer but you dismiss anyone else's belief that we had to have an intelligent designer when the evidence is all around you.

"19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. {in them: or, to them} 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:" Romans 1:19, 20 KJV This verse in the Bible points out the reality of God has been made known to mankind by the fact of the creation. The obvious complexity of the creation demonstrates to man that it required an intelligent designer, an Almighty God, of infinite power (omnipotent), infinite knowledge (omniscient), and omnipresent. This is the reason why it says "the fool hath said in his heart there is no God" Psalm 14:1 KJV

What's your explanation of how extremely complex things such as cell or sub atomic particles came into existence?

The issue is vaccines save many lives and prevent serious long term health problems caused by Covid. The harm of vaccination is rare and the risk of not being vaccinated is far greater from Covid. So what is society supposed to do? Scare more people away from getting vaccinated? That wouldn't make much sense. Why promote anti-vaxxer's propaganda and nonsense. There are more than enough vaccine hesitant people around and a lot of them have been frightened by misinformation and fear mongering anti-vaxxers.

I never said you didn't have the final decision. Why are making false accusations? Calm down.

That's why we have medical specialists. We let them advise and decide what we put in our bodies, be it by injection or mouth. There are risks and side effects with practically every medication. The doctors and specialists are the ones who decide whether the benefits outweigh the risks.

I guess you are correct. Paxlovid could be dangerous. If a person is double or triple vaccinated, it may be better to just forget taking it, unless they fit into certain categories and have been approved. Not sure why they bring it in as a panacea for millions of people. I know of a couple people who only had a runny nose and bit of sore throat for a couple days and then they were ok. One was tested positive for Covid. They are both self isolating. The other had no test yet. They were both fully vaccinated. So it looks like it may not usually be that serious for a lot of people. Not necessary in that case to take Paxlovid and probably not a good idea either. Very risky. I am not sure about older people, say over 80. They are recommending it can be taken by certain categories of people. Not sure how that is decided.

This is a prescription drug which could make it even more difficult to obtain as it takes weeks to see many doctors. They have to be taken within 5 days of symptoms onset. Yet Government is saying one must also have a Covid test to qualify. Test kits are in short supply in some places and hard to obtain in other places. So how will that work? How will the prescription part of the distribution work? Sounds like they are placing various roadblocks in the way of people who may wake up one morning and find they have Covid symptoms. How much do you want to bet we will be hearing of endless bungling of this? I stand to be corrected on this after reading all the hazards or possible side effect from Paxlovid. It doesn't sound like something a vaccinated person should take. People who have not been vaccinated or older people, etc. and are in serious danger may be in a different situation.

The CBC is a proven tool of the liberal, left government used to spoon feed propaganda and liberal progressive ideology promoting Islam, LGBTQ, white guilt, critical race theory, etc. to the Canadians and dumb folks pay billions of dollars to receive it.

Why do you bring God into the discussion in a negative way? It should be obvious God created the universe and everything in it. Do you have a better explanation? Why do you allow yourself to be influenced by the wacko God / Bible deniers?

No, it is not dishonest to say God created everything without having to explain how he created it. As I explained God did not choose to explain how he did it. It was obviously a supernatural act of God. Why do you assume someone must explain it to you before you will believe it? God is far above created man. What gives anyone the right to demand to be told how God created everything? We are mere created beings. We have no rights beyond which our Creator gave us. We need to know our place in the universe as such. You cannot just assert you created the universe simply because you are not God as I explained above. I do not know how God operates beyond what he has said in his revelation, the Bible. I simply accept that he created everything that exists and he does not have to explain anything to me. It is supernatural.

This article has philosophical arguments for God. the introduction says this: "Why think God exists? Skeptics often demand that theists need to conclusively prove that God is there before either of us can believe He is there. But just because I may not be able to convince a skeptic that God exists doesn’t mean I cannot know God exists. God can reveal Himself to people in numerous ways, some of which don’t involve arguments. For instance, the Spirit Himself testifies to Christians’ spirits that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16). And God can also withdraw knowledge of Himself (Romans 1:18–32). I don’t have to be a master debater for God to reveal himself to me sufficiently to know that He exists. See Agnosticism for more information. If an argument is sound and solid, it acts as a sign pointing to God. In fact, there is no such thing as a ‘conclusive proof’, if by this one means an argument that compels universal acceptance. No argument can make people believe its conclusion. Humans are not logic-chopping robots; they come with biases, experiences, and tastes that affect the way they view arguments. For instance, consider the contrast between C.S. Lewis, a former atheist who later embraced idealistic philosophy, and Antony Flew, a hard-nosed evidentialist philosopher. Lewis was convinced by the moral argument for God, which shows God to be the moral ideal: “it is more important that Heaven should exist than that any of us should reach it.”1 Flew rejected Lewis’ moral argument for God, although late in life he was convinced of deism by the argument from design. He adopted a ‘convince me with hard evidence’ stand (a position he apparently never abandoned). But if there are no conclusive proofs for God (in the above sense), what use are arguments for God? If an argument is sound and solid, it acts as a sign pointing to God. But signs only convey limited information, and people looking at a sign need to properly read and respond to the sign. A person who ignores a stop sign, or misreads a speed limit sign, will act accordingly. Their response may even have disastrous consequences. But that’s hardly the fault of the sign! In the same way, good arguments for God don’t have to tell us everything about God. Nor can we make people read and respond to them properly. All they offer is a public case commending belief in God as reasonable. And all we can do is faithfully portray the signs. We plant and water, but only God can give the increase (1 Cor. 3:7). As such, when reading these arguments below, it must be understood that they are offered in that very spirit. They are not conclusive proofs, but signs pointing to God, showing at the very least that belief in Him is reasonable, if not rationally obligatory." For the whole article and the actual philosophical arguments go to: Arguments for God - creation.com

Accusing me of not being honest is a very poor argument. You know very well I have told you I believe that it took an intelligent designer to create the complex universe we live in. I gave you many examples of the complexity of it which I believe is evidence of an intelligent designer. But your argument is that I must provide proof of how a complex part of the universe or a complex life form such as a cell was created by God. I explained to you God did not tell us how he created the universe. He only told us he did create it in the book of Genesis. So there is absolutely nothing dishonest about my saying that. It is just a simple fact which you refuse to accept as a reasonable belief. It is you who demand some kind of scientific proof that God created everything. All I have is the evidence of the created universe which the Bible points out should be sufficient. If you don't accept that it is entirely your choice. You have been taught and cling to the idea that nothing should be accepted unless it fits into some kind of "scientific methodology". There are things in life that do not fit into the paradigm of mainstream science, things such as good versus evil, love, feelings, and what humans consider as morals. The question of why the universe even exists or why mankind exists does not fit into any science paradigm. You cannot fit a lot of things into the science paradigm. You want to fit how God created everything into some kind of scientific methodology or you reject the claim that God created everything. That is not how God has chosen to operate. Belief in creationism is based on faith in the written revelation and a rational belief that a complex result had to have intelligence behind it.

Considering we are talking about where one spends eternity, either heaven or hell, I think if that's what Pat Robertson said, he is way out of wack. One website says this about heaven: quote Biblical Description of Heaven 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says, “The things God has prepared for those who love him” are “revealed to us by his Spirit.” To counter false, unbiblical notions, we need to study and meditate on “words taught by the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:13). Our eternal home is a real place (John 14:1-3) where we will reside in real, physical bodies (1 Corinthians 15) and where we will experience everlasting joys, rewards, and treasures (Matthew 5:12; Matthew 6:19-20; Luke 6:23). God dwells there (Revelation 21:3) and the light of Jesus will permeate every corner of this place (Revelation 22:5). Charles Spurgeon said, “To the lover of Jesus it is very pleasant to observe how the Lord Jesus Christ has always stood foremost in glory from before the foundation of the world and will do so as long as eternity shall last.” We shall see the Lord “face-to-face” (1 Corinthians 13:12). The fact that our all-knowing, all-powerful Creator will dwell with us and we shall know him in an even more intimate way should be sufficient for the true Christian to rest assured that they will be satisfied there, but the Bible gives us many other glimpses of what this place will be like. 1. Eradication of evil. Jesus promised that when he returns, he will send out his angels to “weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil,” and “then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:41-43). Picture your favorite place on earth. Now imagine that place completely free from any of the unpleasantries that make you feel sad, uncomfortable, or anxious. Perfect righteousness and justice reign supreme. Every shred of evil has been completely eliminated and, instead, will be the opposite of anything that causes displeasure. Revelation says: " 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. " Revelation 21:4 KJV I'm sure heaven will be a paradise of eternal happiness and joy. There are many websites that describe what heaven will be like. What Is Heaven Like According to the Bible? (christianity.com) ________________________________________________________________ Hell on the other hand: "We can be assured that hell is a terrible, terrifying place. Some punishments in hell the Bible describe include: smoke of their torment, no rest day or night, weeping and gnashing of teeth, tormented, death, and destruction. Possibly the most terrifying aspect of hell is its duration. The suffering is eternal and has no end." What Does the Bible Say Hell Will Be Like? - Beliefnet Bible verses related to Hell from the King James Version (KJV) by Relevance - Sort By Book Order Revelation 21:8 - But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. John 3:16-18 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (Read More...) Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Revelation 20:15 - And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Matthew 25:46 - And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. Matthew 10:28 - And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Mark 9:43-48 - And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: (Read More...) Matthew 13:50 - And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Revelation 20:14 - And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 2 Thessalonians 1:9 - Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; Revelation 20:10 - And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Psalms 145:20 - The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy. Matthew 5:22 - But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Hebrews 10:26-31 - For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, (Read More...) Revelation 14:11 - And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Luke 16:19-31 - There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: (Read More...) Luke 12:5 - But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. Unquote We can see why some would deny the truth or authenticity of the King James Bible.

My own view is that God is revealed in the Holy Scriptures, specifically the King James Bible and was revealed in human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. In summary the Bible teaches Adam and Eve fell from a perfect relationship they had with God in the garden of Eden when they ate the forbidden fruit in the garden. This is related in the first chapters of Genesis. As a result they and all their descendants, which includes us, therefore received a corrupt fallen nature and a heart that the Bible says is desperately wicked. This is because Adam and Eve were the legal and actual heads or representatives of the human race. This means we are separated from God and sin and evil entered into the world. The central story of the Bible is how God sent a Savior for fallen sinful mankind. The prophecies in the Old Testament point to the coming of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Jesus is the Son of God who was sent by God to earth for the central purpose of suffering and dying on the cross as an atonement for our sins. He was raised from the dead for our justification. The Bible says whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord (Jesus Christ) shall be saved. (Romans ch10). By receiving Jesus as one's personal Savior and believing he died for us personally, we are immediately forgiven for all of our sins, past, present and future, and we immediately receive eternal life. No other religion has anything like this. When we die, we can know that we have become a child of God through his Son, Jesus Christ, and will live with him forever. After Jesus was crucified, three days later, he was raised from the dead and as the Bible says, he was seen by many eye witnesses. So we must believe that he died for our sins and that he was raised from the dead. That is called Justification, a central doctrine of the Christian faith. More information can be seen on various websites, sermons, etc. This link gives some authenticity of the Bible: Compelling Evidence of the Authenticity of the Bible – peterpilt The gospel of John is a good one to read for the first time as it makes it clear. Salvation is entirely by faith, not of works lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8,9) This link also explains it well: What Must I Do to be Saved? (gospeltractandbible.org)

The most famous anti-vaxxer, the tennis start, Djokovic, has been kicked out of Australia. This is good. 90% of people in Australia are vaccinated and are following the rules. Everyone else travelling into Australia is required to be vaccinated. Why do some think he should have had an exemption. Some feel more privileged than others I guess. As a prominent sports figure admired by many fans, he has done more harm in the world that is struggling to end the pandemic by his refusal to be vaccinated. It just made it even harder to convince the vaccine hesitant to get vaccinated. Vaccines are very high technology that we should be thankful to have. They are also being modified to tackle the new variants which are constantly mutating. The cave dwellers should come out of the darkness and get vaccinated. Expect more worrisome variants after omicron, scientists say (msn.com)

Proof mainstream media is used for thought control. I would not consider CBC or CTV any better than CNN. Yesterday, Jan 15th, CNN reported the hostage-taking in a Texas synagogue and gave the details of the reason why. Yet the same day, CBC and CTV would not give the details or reason why. It appears Canadians are to a significant extent being kept in the dark about certain things in the world. If you want more information about the hostage-taking, the CBC referred viewers to their CBC news website instead. Even today, after the incident is over, CTV did not report the reason for the hostage-taking. Is this more proof that Canadian mainstream media is being used for thought control?

I'm glad you are satisfied with the surgery you and your wife received. The system seems to work well for some, possibly depending which health care region you are in and the situation at that particular time. Unfortunately for thousands of Canadians that has not been the case. It is a public health care system, meaning it is Socialist and run by various bureaucrats in the different regions. They decide the priorities depending of course on the amount of money budgeted and various other factors. 11,581 died after being put on healthcare waiting lists in 2020-2021 | True North (tnc.news) At least 2,300 Canadians died waiting for surgeries in 2020: report | True North (tnc.news) Nearly 1,500 Canadians died while waiting for surgery: report (citynews.ca) I have personally had serious questionable experiences in the health care system a couple of times. My brother had the signs of a heart attack with chest pain and arm pain regularly but was given medications and put on a waiting list for a month or more. When he finally got in for an angiogram and a stent put it, the surgeon said a major artery was 90% blocked and he was just a walking time bomb. He could easily have had a major heart attack during the month or so he was on the waiting list and since it is hours from the cardiac centre, he would have had a good chance of dying. Thankfully it didn't happen that way but he was placed in serious danger. The system does not provide uniform or the same service for everyone. You can be thankful you came through well. Thousands don't survive. I wouldn't give that kind of system a high rating.

Canadians love Socialism. They demanded and got a public health care system that is now unable to fulfil it's mandate and provide care for all Canadians on a timely basis. There are thousands of people in need of cancer or heart surgeries and other things that have been put on standby waiting lists. Reports are that thousands have already died this way across Canada during the last two years. So it doesn't matter if you have a little money saved up for retirement or whatever, you still can't get care if you have been sidelined. But if you get Covid, you will be treated right away. What ever happened to the principle in the Health Care Act of universal access to health care? That law doesn't seem to mean much or carry much weight in this pandemic. In Socialism, the greater number of what the majority think is all that counts. If your situation doesn't fit into the mold that the powers that be have designed, you just get steamrolled over. That's Socialism at it's best. Socialism is like a long freight train which will stop for nothing or anybody.

The virus originated in China, possibly from the virology lab in Wuhan. China didn't cooperate when this virus was spreading out from China and refused to allow the world to have a serious investigation on the origin of the virus. Democratic countries like Canada have mismanaged the pandemic all the way through and are still doing a poor job, while China because of it's totalitarian system is able to enforce strict lockdowns and take measures to stop spread with no notice. The price of being able to do that is of course a loss of freedom and living under totalitarianism. Democratic countries enjoy freedom to a large extent, but must pay the price in a pandemic of this sort with all the different and constantly changing measures and half measures governments take to deal with it. Because of the fact a significant percentage of the population in Canada has chosen not to get vaccinated, and other poor measures taken by government, this pandemic is likely to continue on for a long time with ever new variants coming. I guess that is the price of living in a democracy. Tough measures are difficult to impose and courts are divided on how far authorities can go, and politicians who try to do it are tarred and feathered and will likely pay a big price politically. Division is rampant.