blackbird

This is where it gets political. Liberals (and with NDP support I assume) and maybe Conservatives as well, banned the death penalty for murderers. So we saw some prisoner murder another young prisoner on TV recently and no guards did anything to stop it. Then there is the case of the government allowing returning ISIS fighters to return to Canada without question and saying they may offer re-integration to them. While other countries are saying they shot them in Syria if they can, Canada says their Charter rights must be respected. When I see all these things going on, it just reinforces my belief that Canada has becoming a more heathen, humanist country that is losing it's way (if it ever had a good way). It is following the humanism from the UN and progressives.

That's another good point. Yes if you read Genesis you will find it says if someone murders someone then they can be executed (by due process of course). There is also the exception in self defense and for policemen doing their job and military defending their country.

You forget that God did not create people to be mere robots. It appears he gave man a certain degree of freedom to choose. One can't blame God if then man chooses to do evil instead of good. Obviously he could have just created pre-programmed robots, but then what would be the point of that?

You are generalizing. Believing in the God of the Bible means one believes killing is wrong. If one does not follow the God of the Bible possibly he would be living by his own morality and could justify anything.

"how does anything come from nothing?" Good question. God is omnipotent which means he is all powerful. God's power is infinite and beyond our comprehension. When you say it is impossible for something to come from nothing, you are thinking in earthly terms. God is a person infinitely greater than what we could even begin to imagine. I don't think the Bible tells us how God created things out of nothing but just says that he did. He spoke the universe into existence. It is not a normal or natural event. That is why it is called supernatural. You refer to some believing we are part of a computer game. Actually I believe God is in control of the universe because his power is infinite. But the Bible does not explain exactly why certain things happen. He may allow certain things to happen but the Bible says God is not the author of evil. So he does not order or cause evil to occur.

It is a nonsensical question really because God does not and cannot perform immoral acts. The very idea of God performing an immoral act defies the definition of who God is. Morality itself is defined by God's laws such as the ten commandments. I believe knowledge about God is the beginning of understanding.

The Bible says God is eternal, always existed. God is a spirit and is not a part of the material universe. The amazing thing is there is a God who is above all, all powerful, and eternal. Words cannot describe the greatness of God or really give the human mind a complete picture because words are limited, that is, they just words. So how one person comprehends something he reads may be different than how someone else comprehends the same words. But some words may have more agreement. Eternal is one of those words that there should be agreement on. It means without beginning and without end. Although God has a personality similar to a man, he is perfection and he does not change. I know it is a kind of cultural shock in the material world for one to grasp the concept of God. The information about God is limited to what is in the Bible and of course his power to be able to create the universe, with the infinite complexities in living things for example. But it does cause me to sit in awe at an amazing God, who does care about humanity. That's one good reason to want to be part of his family, to be a considered by Him as a Son or Daughter and be able to spend eternity with Him and perhaps learn more about his infinite power and wisdom.

Good questions. Which God? The God of the Holy Bible, the King James Bible (1611) in English. There are many false gods in the world. The true God revealed himself in the creation and in the Holy Bible. The Holy Bible was written by men who were directly inspired by God to write what they wrote. The evidence that the Bible is inspired by God is in the pages of Scripture itself. Evidence is in the many supernatural things that happened such as the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who was seen by eyewitnesses. The Bible says one had to have seen Christ after the resurrection in order to qualify as an apostle. There are also many prophecies in the Bible which were later fulfilled, again verifying the Bible is God's word. God was not created because he is God and always existed. One of the characteristics of God is he is eternal. Time was a creation of God, much like the universe. When God created everything, it was obviously a supernatural act of God. It was not the normal sequence of events we see happening today. That is just how God created everything. The Bible says God took a rib of Adam to make a woman. Now why he did that does not say but it was a supernatural event. The Bible has many supernatural events which occurred. The Bible does not give the reasons for everything that occurred such as why God used a rib from Adam. God is not accountable to anyone and doesn't have to answer to anyone because he is God. God is omnipotent (infinitely powerful), omnipresent, and omniscient (knows everything). The Bible also teaches God has a personality and is knowable. Unlike other false gods, the God of the Bible is knowable and individuals have a personal relationship with God as a Father and son or Father and daughter. This personal relationship can be established only through God's son, Jesus Christ.

Any scientist will tell you cause and effect go hand in hand. You can't have something without a cause. It's as simple (or complex) as that. You can't have a creation without a creator. It's just not going to happen.

I have heard that question about incest before. But you are judging by today's standards. The situation with Adam and Eve was a unique situation which God ordained. So how they had grandchildren doesn't really matter. It may meet the definition of incest today but that was how it would have had to be in the beginning in order for the human race to multiply. If that's the way God ordained it, who are we to make an issue out of it. The Bible says the human race started with Adam and Eve. And they populated the earth after that. The Bible doesn't say it was a sin for them to procreate in that way. Obviously they had no other choice. I don't know the significance of God creating Eve from a rib of Adam. I don't know it there is any significance. That's just the way God did it. I don't know if they lived 1000 years. I know the Bible does mention some people who lived to be very old. That's the way God created people and how things were in those days. No point in looking at the accounts of what happened in the light of how things happen today in normal life. Things were entirely different in these special events in the beginning. You have to remember we are talking about supernatural events, not normal everyday events. When God is behind supernatural events, then very unusual things happened. The Bible is far more believable that God created the vast universe than to believe it happened by chance or accident. It's far to complex and intricate with incredible laws of physics and sub atomic particles that had to have a designer and creator. Also, matter cannot create itself; it had to come from somewhere. Only could have come by the action of God. There are lots of articles on the subject of creation at creation.org

Much of what he said may be valid. Like the employees not wanting to give him his documents back and the behavior and delays of the office staff. Some of his complaints may have some credibility. He is correct about the average person not driving exactly according to every rule. I have seen many people going past a small park and daycare school across the street over the 30 km/h speed limit. (there is very rarely anyone in the park and there is a fence along the edge of the park and a fence around the daycare) I go past always and have never seen any kids playing on the sidewalk of edge of street. It is also a fairly wide street. But I attempt to keep it at 30 km/h. But I do admit that in a driving test, the examiner probably expects perfection. You might lose some points for certain errors, but I am not sure that necessarily means you will fail the test. Depends probably on what kind of error you make.

Accurate transcribing of the O.T. manuscripts down through the ages by the Hebrew scribes shows they were less likely to corrupt the original wording. The issue of it being the literal word of God rests on other evidences. There are several evidences that demonstrate the Bible came from God or is inspired by God. One is fulfilled prophecy. Many events were prophesied before they occurred and then later fulfilled. Another is the eyewitness accounts of miraculous occurrences recorded in the Bible. One for example is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was seen by a number of people after he was resurrected. His resurrection proves that he is who he said he was, that is, the Son of God and God. So if he is God and said the Scriptures came from God, why would anyone question it or not believe it? The apostle Peter said: "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 2 Peter ch1 vs16, 17. King James Bible (1611) KJV As I said to ReeferMadness, there are other evidences that show the Bible is the literal word of God. In English it is the King James Bible (1611).

Have we ever seen a politician which is always 100% truthful with no exaggerations or manipulation of the facts? I doubt it. What about yourself? Your claims about a 9--11conspiracy are pretty far fetched, which some might characterize as a bald -faced lie. Of course you have posted pages and pages of many things that are not very convincing.

In the case of Old Testament Scriptures, the Jewish scribes were very meticulous and copied the Scriptures very carefully down through the ages. Every word and marking had to be correct.

The various books that make up the Old Testament were written over a period of 1,500 years. The Old Testament is the Jewish scriptures called the Law and the Prophets. Prophet means someone who speaks on behalf of God. God selected certain men to write down his thoughts. You can say what they would write was predetermined but don't think that is relevant to anything. How else could he communicate what he wished to communicate? They were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write what they wrote. While God is in control he seems to have given man a certain degree of leeway to make choices. But he has said in Scripture we are do what he has taught us or live according to his will. Man does seem to have the choice to do good or evil. So man does seem to have some choice and decision-making power. God didn't create man to be robots. What would be the use of that? But at the same time, the Scriptures do teach that God is in control and has a foreordained plan. This is evident by the prophecies given in the Bible. The book of Revelation is an example of future predictions.

Your map colours each state as completely Republican or completely Democrat. Bush-cheney2004's map gives a more detailed map showing how some states are partly one party and partly the other with concentrations in some areas of a state but not throughout the whole state. It is not as accurate to colour each state only one colour.

Reefer Madness, I will simply say your understanding about Holy Scripture (KJV 1611) is incorrect. The original languages were mainly Hebrew for the Old Testament. There were copies of the Old Testament around at the time of Christ because it was in fact the Jewish Bible. The New Testament was written mostly in Greek and copies were made and passed down. The various copies can be compared with one another to verify their authenticity. These were Greek manuscripts, some of which, survived down through history. They were used to translate the first English language bibles in the 1500s and the King James Version in 1611. The Roman Catholic church had it's own translation called the Latin Vulgate produced in the early centuries. However Protestant churches which were formed at the time and after the Reformation differ greatly with the teachings of Roman Catholicism. Protestantism in a general sense believes the Bible is to be the rule of faith, not the church hierarchy or decrees of a church council or Pope. These days with the drift of many churches away from the Bible, this may not be absolutely clear. There is no question of the accuracy of the KJV 1611. Countless people believe it is 100% accurate. You are correct in saying different people do interpret it in different ways. But there are certain important fundamental doctrines which most christians agree on. These were written down in the early centuries in creeds like the Apostles Creed and Nicene Creed. Later, more doctrines were determined from careful study of the Holy Scriptures and councils developed confessions like the Westminster Confession of Faith from the UK which states clearly the fundamental beliefs of the christian faith. There is the confessions from the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands called the Heidelberg Catechism and the Belgic Confession. In Germany the Lutherans have their cofession. The Baptists have a confession as well. But modern Baptist churches often have simply a statement of faith which is often listed on the internet for each church. Most of these confessions agree in certain fundamental beliefs. Cults are different and they are identified as such because some of their fundamental beliefs differ greatly from the majority of Protestant churches and confessions.

Since this thread is about the American Civil War, I can't really get sidetracked into a debate about the Bible or faith here. I have replied to your comment in the section titled "Religion and Politics" under the sub-heading "Why Trust the Bible".

I think you are making too extreme a division or distinction. I don't think everyone fits neatly into either of those categories. There are non-religious people who see themselves as superior to other people that are a different colour for example. But in history there also have been religious people in christian churches in parts of the U.S. that believed that a white person should never marry a black person or have anything to do with one. That was based on a misinterpretation of some part in the Bible. There may be still a few fundamental type churches that believe that whites should not marry blacks although they may not believe in discrimination in other walks of life. I think Bob Jones university Baptists did not believe in mixed marriages but don't know what they believe today. Actually come to think of it, mixed marriages were illegal in some parts of the U.S. up until the 1960s I believe. There was at least one movie made about that. I don't know of any religious denomination that denies science. But depends what you mean by denying science. Many christians do believe that God created the universe and many believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible regarding creation being in six days. This does not mean they deny science. I'm one of those people. A large number of renowned scientists who lived from 1200 A.D. to 2000 A.D. believed in God, creation, and the Bible. There are many scientists who believe strongly in the scientific method and science in general who still do not believe in the theory of evolution but believe God created the universe as the Bible says. Dehumanizing people is a very broad term. Not sure what that would be in reference to. Prior to the civil war, slaves of course were dehumanized by many of those who used them, but there may have been a lot of people who had slaves and treated them with dignity as well. Slavery is probably as old as man. It existed in ancient history. In the earlier centuries parts of Europe sold slaves to buyers in the middle east. The Vikings were well known for taking people from Europe and selling them as slaves further south in the middle east.

It there still a lot of friction between the states that were in the civil war? Is there a noticeable difference between the people in the different civil war states, north and south?

LOL. Good one. Ok. When civilians are mistakenly killed in a war zone I honestly don't really know what happens. I would be just guessing. The man I met that worked in Saudi Arabia passed away a long time ago.

Read a book on the 250 yr history of the U.S. but my memory is not that great. You have inspired me to go back and re-read U.S. history, especially around the civil war.

Not sure what you mean on that. You didn't answer my question about Allah's will. What do you think about people who disobey the rules of the road and say if they have an accident, it is Allah's will?

Right. That's how the legal system works. It is assumed when a person is operating a motor vehicle they are responsible for the safety of everyone else around them. If you cause an accident, you are responsible. Doesn't matter if you didn't mean to do it. If the police think you caused it, you could be charged with an offence and have to go to court and be punished if found guilty. I once met a man who worked in Saudi Arabia temporarily. He heard a Muslim man say he (the Muslim) can drive on the wrong side of the road when he wants because he won't be killed unless Allah thinks it is his time to die. He is not concerned about safe driving because he would only have an accident if it's Allah's will. Is that really how some Muslims think or not? What do you think about that?

This reminds of when I hit the brakes to avoid hitting something, but was fortunate nobody was close behind. I have decided since to just not hit the brakes next time. I think it is a natural instinct to want to hit the brakes to avoid hitting an animal, but stopping on a dangerous highway to try to rescue some ducks in a more serious violation. It is probably better to hit an animal than to risk causing a serious accident. The way it works is one is responsible for their own actions while operating a motor vehicle and if there is a safe way to avoid hitting an animal that's fine. But if someone gets injured or killed or we cause an accident, our actions will be put under close scrutiny.