651. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182341 by Goldy on May 19, 2008 at 7:03 pm

Did the same mutations that slowly extended and fused the upper lip and nose, also extend the incisors into tusks, or was that a separate, coincidental series?

Could have been coincidental, or one may have influenced the other. Maybe the elephant is a progression of that theme of prehensile tusk and large incisor. Maybe the wild pigs you see are a throwback to that stage.
Incidently, while looking up trunk evolution, I came across this...http://www.darwinism-watch.com/index.php?git=makale&makale_id=1291
Man, oh, man, what militant ignorance! Here's a quote

The deception which is taking place here is the portrayal of the claim that certain organs developed according to specific needs as if this were a proven historical development. Yet in the same way that there is no evidence for this, neither could such a process actually have happened. No living thing can develop new structures inside its body, no matter how much it may wish to. For example, no matter how much a person might wish to fly and concentrates on that idea for 10 hours a day, or even spends all his time in an effort to take to the air, the result will always be the same. Not even a single bird feather will ever appear on his arm, let alone a fully-formed wing.

Maybe prison is the only option for Adnan Oktar...

652. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182338 by Goldy on May 19, 2008 at 6:54 pm

But you can't hang out with yeast and fruit flies and consider some measurable nuance that occurs at that level into the kind of changes that are said to have happened in large animals.

Why not? If it happens at a cellular level, doesn't that extrapolate "upwards"? After all, what can happen in a fruitfly happens in humans and whales. Just that fruitflies live shorter lives adn so can show the progression of a mutation in a population quicker.

653. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182334 by Goldy on May 19, 2008 at 6:48 pm

Is he unaware that water molecules always organize themselves into more complex structures when they get colder? Has he never heard of ice or snow?

gr8hands, he probably thinks the Devil's Causeway is an act of God (or, indeed, the Devil...). Either that or leprechauns spent many a summer dilligently carving out the nice geometric shapes.
I guess he's also never grown a crystal. Aaaah, the perils of dropping science classes...

654. Richard Dawkins Responds to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Comment #182327 by Goldy on May 19, 2008 at 5:39 pm

1920s/30s Germany was a free country, a liberal democracy, and a stronghold of European art and culture, and yet all it took was the collapse of the economy to get all of these intelligent and enlightened people to gather behind a madman and turn their backs on everyone that was different.

Losing a war (a particularly bloody one), harsh reparation terms, losing territory and all this after being told things were going peachy might also have had a small part to play in this. Don't forget, the Germans didn't just turn to Nazism for the fun of it - it was in reaction to external stimuli.

..being somewhat of a Holocaust buff (I hope that doesn't sound macabre)

Ooooh, we must link you to ASMarques, our resident Holocaust denier!

655. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182325 by Goldy on May 19, 2008 at 5:31 pm

P.S. Big-T, I just rode my bike (bicycle) to the store and back (7 km each way with BIG hill) and found it to be much harder than it was 15 lbs. ago

Strange how that happens, eh? I remember my cycling days as not being that particularly hard...but then I was 20kg lighter...

You are a bad man Goldy

Muahahahah! :-)

656. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182309 by Goldy on May 19, 2008 at 4:21 pm

Goldy

I've got a bit of astigmatism as well,on top of the myopia.

Heh - hindsight, foresight - it's all stuffed.

Honestly glad no bike :-)

Heheheheh! Check these bikes out and tell me you'd not want one! http://www.changjiangunlimited.com/wn.htm

657. Richard Dawkins Responds to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Comment #182308 by Goldy on May 19, 2008 at 4:19 pm

People are not assigned to be prosecutor of God or carrying out God's Punishment. A true believer can't be a murderer and a murderer can't be a true believer.

So Jesus was not the son of God, Mohammed was not his prophet, etc, etc, because they assigned these tasks upon themselves. Fair enough. As for the murdering, the OT has quite a bit of God sanctioned murders - or are those holy killings? And when old Abe held aloft his dagger to kill Isaac, was he not a murderer in thought? After all, it too divine intervention to prevent his act.
I think you are confused in your religion. Probably why you spout crap.

Second we obey God not because we fear but to be grateful and thankful for creating us. The one who loves obeys whom he loves. Fear is for non-believers or atheists. For a believer, there is no fear.

Well, if one doesn't fear God, I guess these tee shirts are not going to sell well...http://www.feargod.com/home.htm
Steve, you're back :-) How'd the bread making go? Honey wheat beer (the liquid bread) is bottled - not going for a chocolate and chili dark beer. Forget bread, come to the liquid side!

658. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182305 by Goldy on May 19, 2008 at 4:12 pm

Re motorcycles, I once had a desire for one in my teens which caused parental panic like you wouldn't believe. With hindsight, I'm glad they stopped me.

If you had been allowed to have one, how would your hindsight be now? Are you sure you're glad, or just assuming?
As for eyesight, i have slight astigmatism. I too assumed everyone saw things as I saw them.... a case of they were abnormal, unlike me :-)
I'll say again - txpiper is a biblical literalist. His science is fucked before the first hurdle. Hell, it's fucked on the starting block. He sees things like I see physical things. As I did regarding my sight, he sees the reality as abnormal. Why bother? Is he conceding anything? Or, like Phil's great uncle and his fish, is he fighting all the way?

659. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182279 by Goldy on May 19, 2008 at 3:05 pm

Cheers Ste5e! I feel better now! :-D

660. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182278 by Goldy on May 19, 2008 at 3:02 pm

txpiper...hmmmm. Just how did he think (I am assuming the sex) he could convince people with scientific background of his ideas when he believes in the Biblical flood? That alone completely destroys credibility.

661. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182276 by Goldy on May 19, 2008 at 2:59 pm

And anyway, I'm feeling like a Christian for wanting to ride a motorbike :-( Delusionally insane... :-( And I spent about a decade restoring the thing! Obviously I feel a bit aggreived ;-) Besides, no one has mentioned what a suicidal maniac I was for cycling to work for 3 years! And that has a huge speed differential leading to greater injuries AND some car drivers appear to have a pathological hatred for cyclists on "their" road.

662. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182272 by Goldy on May 19, 2008 at 2:54 pm

Quetz - as do I. And all the accidents I see involve cars!

663. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182267 by Goldy on May 19, 2008 at 2:42 pm

Quetz, I'm sure you can find car crashes too - even fatal ones, like the ones that killed 2 uncles of mine...

664. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182265 by Goldy on May 19, 2008 at 2:41 pm

Al, I spent 3 years cycling in Auckland - I have stared death in the face many a time :-) As it is, motorcycling is more dangerous than driving a car - that's why you will find motorcyclists are generally less "ape-ish" than the average car driver.
To make matters more interesting, here in NZ one can get a full license at the age of 15. Something to do with farmers, so I am told. Whatever - would you feel safe crosing the street knowing there's some kid is a rather high powered Japanese sports car (oh, didn't I tell you? Insurance is NOT compulsary here :-))?
As it is, nearly everything has a level of risk - even driving a box. It is the thing you take into account when you embark on whatever undertaking. I know full well motorcycling puts me at greater danger from car drivers - I try and lessen this by a)having a motorcycle that doesn't work at the mo and b) use the same awareness I used when I cycled to work, with greater emphasis on reading the road conditions (if you see a brake light on about a mile away, begin driving very carefully, etc).
I have also seen the mess a wild animal can do to a person - would that stop you hunting? I have seen the mess a car or bus can do to a person and I know some popel drive drunk - does that stop you crossing the street? I have seen cirrhotic livers - I still drink...as, I guess, you do to :-)
All personal choices.

665. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182246 by Goldy on May 19, 2008 at 2:02 pm

Anna, a VW? Careful there! Death trap waiting to kill you. This motorcyclist has warned you :-) (we know death, apparently ;-))
As it is, cycling is a major cause of injury here in Auckland (no cycle coherent cycle lanes, you see, and people in cars I wouldn't trust in shoes) as are pedestrian injuries. I believe the last reported fatality was of a woman being struck near a bus stop.
Be careful in shoes - they can kill...

666. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #182243 by Goldy on May 19, 2008 at 1:55 pm

Having a motorcycle myself, I have to say that all the deaths in my family were a result of car accidents.
Avoid VW products....

667. Richard Dawkins Responds to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Comment #181932 by Goldy on May 18, 2008 at 8:42 pm

Example, IF I said you are STUPID, then, i will calling myself indeed. But i never call or insult anybody on my comments. This is an attitude of believer.

Which one??

668. Richard Dawkins Responds to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Comment #181931 by Goldy on May 18, 2008 at 8:41 pm

Atheist people with sick mind are able to do anything since they have no fear of God and Judgement day

Religious people with sick mind are able to do anything since they are doing God's work and will be rewarded on Judgement day.
As my daughter says "Like same!"

669. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #181914 by Goldy on May 18, 2008 at 6:06 pm

From Arabnews.com

US-Led Capitalist System Headed for Collapse?
Syed Rashid Husain, Arab News

Oil prices continue to rise and rise, with no end in sight. Virtually all other commodities seem to be following to be the same suit. Some now say a new economic system is emerging from the ashes of the old and now crumbling financial structure. Failing to meet even the basic needs of the common man, the current economic system is facing its worst crisis and appears in doldrums. It has miserably failed the underprivileged of this world.

Markets appear divorced from the fundamentals. F. William Engdahl strongly says in a recent write up that the oil markets (and other markets too) today are controlled by an elaborate financial market system as well as by the four major Anglo-American oil companies. As much as 60 percent of today's crude oil price is pure speculation driven by large trader banks and hedge funds. It has nothing to do with the convenient myths of Peak Oil. It has to do with control of oil and its price.

And the end-result is growing deprivation to a large number of people across geographical boundaries!

In the 90's, with the war in Afghanistan taking its toll, the Soviet empire virtually melted before our eyes under its own weight. The number of deprived, form Moscow to Siberia and Grozny started to grow and grow rapidly. And as the number of have-nots in then USSR rose, the system could not cope with the pressures, and failed to provide even the basic needs to the common man in the streets. And within years the mighty and the powerful USSR was assigned into the annals of history.

Analysts today point to the Afghan war as one of the major causes for the disintegration of the USSR. Many then rejoiced over the demise of the USSR, claiming the capitalist system has won the war â€" finally. Many in the West, including the Regan Administration claimed supremacy of the capitalist system over the Marxist ideals. The victory of the West was described in terms of ideologies.

Current developments also point to a new emerging reality. The capitalist economy now seem to be failing its underprivileged, the have-nots of the world. With the number of people below the poverty line growing rapidly all over the globe, the common man on the streets today appear more and more desperate today.

In sharp contrast to this grim reality, it is only a few, the haves of the world, controlling the capital, benefiting from the current scenario. The vast majority is now being deprived of two square meals a day too. The old Malthusian theory, which has been lying dormant in the shelves for quite sometime, seem to be back and people have started to look at it closely once again. And this is happening in this 21st century, when the world claims to have taken tremendous strides in the fields of science and technology. What a growth indeed!

The people to benefit out of this imbroglio are the money vendors, the rich of the world. Real estate and property boom has been the engine of growth all around. Conservative economists do not accept investments in real estate as really contributing toward the growth of the economy. Terming it as stagnant investment, these conservative economists continue to claim, growth in the real estate sector does not contribute significantly to the over all GDP of an economy. And secondly it is only the fortunate few who could benefit out of this boom â€" and at the cost of poor many.

Unable to come up to the expectations of the vast majority of the common man, many seem asking the question today, is the capitalist economy also passing through its last phases? The situation is grim for a vast majority. Global food prices, based on United Nations records, rose 35 percent in the year to the end of January, markedly accelerating an upturn that began, gently at first, in 2002.

Since then, prices have risen 65 percent. In 2007 alone, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's world food index, dairy prices rose nearly 80 percent and grain 42 percent. The World Bank estimates that 33 countries around the world face potential political and social unrest because of the acute hike in food and energy prices.

And this has resulted in disastrous social consequences for the billions below the poverty line in the impoverished, underdeveloped world. The scenario is so bleak for the common man on street that the world is witnessing food riots virtually all across the globe. People of the world are hungry in this era of growth and emancipation!

Where are we being led? We are living in a different world with a new era seeming to dawn upon us. In the 21st century, when the world was supposed to be at the click of a mouse, the number of hungry population, those who can't afford proper food three times a day has increased. It seems, the age of scarcity, of shortages, of rising prices, of food riots, of ration cards, is finally upon us, all around the globe.

What is happening, that with the weakening of the ruling currency of the world, the US dollar, the moneyed class of the world â€" sans frontiers in this age of freedom and liberty- is moving their capital into commodities â€" from oil to gold and grains.

This paper transaction, at times termed as speculation, is taking place even without the physical transfer of the goods and is making a mockery of the conservative economic models. And this is contributing to the current imbroglio. Unfortunately only the moneyed class has the capacity to participate and benefit from this entire game â€" at the cost of the poor.

Religious scholars tell that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did not permit transactions in which physical transaction of the goods under question did not take place. And in the current situation, rarely is the physical transaction taking place.

This paper circulation is contributing to this rise of virtually all commodities â€" oil included. If it continues the same way, it may not be too wrong to point out that like the Marxist ideals, the current era of capitalism may also not last long. It may already be in its final throes, some hence deduce.

If a system cannot meet the basic idea of having some sort of equity within the society, where the have-nots could not have at least three meals a day, then it is bound to fizzle out, proponents of the theory underline.

The war in Afghanistan turned out to be the Achilles heel of the Russian empire and who knows the two concurrent wars, in Iraq and in Afghanistan, is leading the US-led capitalist economic system toward the same fate? Only time has the answer to this trillion dollar question.

670. Face to faith

Comment #181913 by Goldy on May 18, 2008 at 5:58 pm

Damn, did I miss Henri this last weeknd? Ah, well, no matter. Got my TR6 running again.
I do like Henri, though he's a bit funny, what with his amorality (it's a western construct, this moral thing, he says. Of course, he then blows his argument, again, by saying Western thought is Christian in origin. I always maintain that European Christianity is western thought derived - a reworking of Middle Eastern mythology made to fit our Euro-centrism) and his weak genes (though he hasn't mentioned them for a while).
Ah, well, no matter, I can read the comments at work :-)

671. Gimme that Old-Time Irreligion

Comment #181912 by Goldy on May 18, 2008 at 5:53 pm

But...those are mostly places in Western Europe. The big "test" of secularization theory is whether Western Europe points the way to the future, or is an anomaly

That's a mighty fine point there! Too much Euro-centrism in these here threads for my liking. I can understand it, but having a Chinese wife has really made me realise there are other ways of thinking.

672. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #181910 by Goldy on May 18, 2008 at 5:41 pm

Mind you, maybe there was a reason for using personal transport in the first place - a reason all too familiar to us today!
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/train-firms-accused-of-using-new-ticketing-system-to-raise-prices-830575.html

673. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #181909 by Goldy on May 18, 2008 at 5:34 pm

http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/blogs/100-mile-diet/wine-sail-100-mile-diet-smith-44032408
Old ideas are being renewed. Soon, I dare say, they will be modernised :-)
Have to say, Tera, I had sort of forgotten how important internet is. After all, who would have thought, a mere generation ago, that we would be talking to relatives in other continents using sound and sight. I can't imagine not talking to my parents or in-laws without MSN Messenger/Skype/etc and actually seeing them as well.

For large-scale, relatively fast ground transport perhaps the most practical and potentially sustainable method is electric rail, but for nations which don't have electric rail networks now, building them will take decades and cost fortunes.

Tell me about it. Seems to be a big issue here in NZ. Of course, there's no rail system to speak of here in Auckland as cars and buses were thought to be the way forward (as I understand things).

674. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #181907 by Goldy on May 18, 2008 at 5:28 pm

Diacanu

it's anti_American

It's anti British!

I think it may even be anti French, but I'm not sure.

Hah! I have it on good authority (Holocaust deniers, Arabists et al) that is is all a Zionist plot!

675. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #180807 by Goldy on May 15, 2008 at 9:00 pm

James Coppedge has written a chapter about the insurmountable problems associated with the accidental formation of proteins.

Had a look at Amazon...
http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0310224918/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?_encoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
I liked this...

By Michael Catalano - See all my reviews


As a mathematics professor, I was interested in this book as a possible source of examples. As a Christian, I was interested in the book from a personal standpoint.
Overall, I was very disappointed in the book. The calculations are correct as far as I checked, and he does give a reasonable exposition of basic probability (though in a somewhat patronizing fashion).

The main problem is that Coppedge tries to get the reader to buy the idea that just because the calculation is correct, it allows one to conlude that one has the truth "with certainty". Unfortunately, his calculations are based on biological assumptions that may or may not be reasonable. The Talk Origins website has a number of refutations of the assumptions that went into these calculations. At best, Coppedge shows only that if you buy his very restrictive and speculative biological assumptions, than abiogenesis (or life arising from non-life) is highly improbable. As the computer people say, "garbage in, garbage out."

Coppedge is a biblical literalist. This is fine, but I was rather surprised that his only supporting rationale for the inerrancy of his particular literalist interpretation of the Bible is Hal Lindsey's book "The Late Great Planet Earth". Coppedge implies that Lindsey's book is sufficient reason to accept his particular scriptural interpretation.

Like Duane Gish and other creationists, Coppedge tries to get the reader to buy in to the false dichotomy that either evolution (as he defines it) is true, or creation (as he defines it in the young-earth tradition) is true. This is essentially like saying in a legal setting that if we can prove defendant A is innocent, then we would be justified in picking anyone we like off the street to be defendant B and concluding, without even having a trial, that B must be guilty.

Coppedge's literalist position completely ignores that many sincere and learned men have been very mistaken about what the Bible says, even though they took the most straightforward interpretation. Martin Luther's many quotations of scripture showing that it was not possible for the earth to move are but one example.

Coppedge also claims that if scientists cannot explain the origins of the first life in natural terms, then the entire theory of evolution is invalid. This is like saying we should throw out all of chemistry because chemists can't or don't or won't explain where atoms and molecules come from.

The other very disappointing, and rather insulting for me as a Christian, aspect of the book was his constant insistance that evolution is inherently un-Christian, and therefore must be opposed. He insists that the millions of Christians who accept that the earth is billions of years old, and not thousands, and who see evolution as the most reasonable scientific explanation for the diversity of life are deceived and in league with unbelievers. I found his arguments in support of this position very poor.

I would not recommend this book to anyone.

The positive reviews were from Christian nuts and his son. Pretty good, eh? The last review was not positive and from a professed Christian.
As I said before and I will say again, there are those that are militant in maintaining their ignorance. To argue with them is to waste breath, thought and finger cells.

676. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #180804 by Goldy on May 15, 2008 at 8:50 pm

Max, why persist? Txtpiper is militantly ignorant. He is fighting to keep his eyes shut to evidence contrary to what he wants to believe. Here...

I don't have time to go into all that. You would have to accept notations in the Genesis record in order to accept the explanation, and I feel sure you would not. I'm really just interested in pointing out that there are incomprehensible amounts of sedimentary materials loaded with countless billions of fossils. That, in my mind, is an enormous anomaly that is better explained by a catastrophic flood than the establishment idea of local events happening over millions of years. I don't believe that because it is simply, to me, not believable, though I'm happy to consider your explanations as to why you think it is.

Never mind pushing boulders uphill, arguing with him is like a Classical punishment for some transgression against the gods. You will never win because he does not want to be educated.

677. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #180797 by Goldy on May 15, 2008 at 8:16 pm

This means the first and most important adaptation to life after the oil peak is learning to live - and prosper! - with far less physical travel. The people who figure that out first will do better than the people who are slow to figure it out.

Getting a bicycle and learning how to maintain it would also be a good idea. But you'd also like to find a way to make money without moving, even if it's only a part-time option.

If things get really rough, we might see problems with food. This would be a good time to think about starting a garden, just so one has the skills in place if it becomes necessary. Even if one can afford to buy food, growing some of one's own reduces competition on food prices, which might be something to think about if you care about the starving Haitians who are getting priced out in part because people like me have been too lazy to garden.

Getting to know one's neighbors better is advisable as well. Reduction in travel will require communities to become more self-sufficient than they have been lately.

So, we go back to our grandparents mode of living. Not so bad, methinks. I do, however, question if we need to this far - after all, we have tasted the sweet sweet taste of personal freedom, even for travel. Can we let it go so easily? There are other modes of transport not yet allowed to peek from the shadow of cheap oil, other modes of propulsion.
Where there is a will, I dare say there is a way.
Saying that, my bicycle is being maintained, my garden is being planned (if the council allows me to cut down a tree or two) and my produce is getting ever more local :-) I'm even brewing my own beer again! Be a still next - still legal in NZ!

678. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #180791 by Goldy on May 15, 2008 at 8:00 pm

Start with any given form, and show how a mutation adds something beneficial to its genome. Like the reptile form that supposedly developed mammary function by way of mutations I mentioned.

Check out the platypus genome.
Mind you, you believe in the biblical flood (forgive lack of capitals). Why am I even bothering with suggestions to you?

679. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #180735 by Goldy on May 15, 2008 at 4:35 pm

...though I of course would never stoop to its usage.

Max, if you don't use it, it will die out! And then we'd be bereft of the more colourful aspects of our language!

680. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #180692 by Goldy on May 15, 2008 at 2:57 pm

Mark my words (or just wait for me to come back and say I told you so): in five years, or less, everybody who wasted even one brain cell fretting over the Expelled movie - as if it was an issue that mattered - will regret not having focused that spare mental capacity on the energy problem sooner. Not just the energy problem in the abstract, which is certainly worth educating ourselves about, but also your personal problem with energy. How will you manage, personally, when oil hits $200/bbl? $300/bbl? $400/bbl? What is your plan? Now is the time to prepare. Everybody needs to think about this, starting yesterday.

Started already :-) Absolutely no mention anywhere in Aotearoa about Expelled (if it wasn't for this website, i'd have been blissfully unaware). However, petrol up 5c/L - EVERYONE is talking about that. Sales of scooters shooting up (along with inevitable casualties and loss of revenue - there is rumblings here and there about front number plates on 2 wheelers for cameras to note and for compulsary daytime lights).
There is even a petition for cycle lanes on what is pretty much the only bridge linking Auckland to the northern suburbs. Sure, we can catch a ferry etc, but that works out as pretty much the same as running a car (even 5c/L extra) with passengers (like moi). Buses also run at about the same price - I think if I took a bus (and there has been an amazing amount of work making bus lanes here), I'll be paying probably more than I would for petrol. The money I save running a car over catching a bus covers the incidentals like insurance and servicing (as these are shared costs with my wife...)
My father finds this all a bit amusing. He remembers the days as an oil engineer, busting his arse to get oil out of the ground for US$6/barrel.

681. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #180688 by Goldy on May 15, 2008 at 2:50 pm

Max, it's one of those things I just have to find out... Gosh, I feel like Alex in Clockwork Orange, my eyelids propped open and someone dripping saline on my eyeballs while I an made to watch things I don't like.
Anyway, I never had much of a problem with RM. I guess I am a bit too laid back to take much seriously :-)

682. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #180679 by Goldy on May 15, 2008 at 2:38 pm

Quetz, I'd be interested in the story. I have never had goddiness within me and it is something of a Holy Grail for me...I need to know what makes people think that gods are the answer.
Cheers!

683. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #180421 by Goldy on May 14, 2008 at 9:29 pm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/steakandkidneypuddin_4410.shtml

do you really believe that I thought, "Oh this must be God. Therefore I will convert?" Do you think it happened that way? If so, it proves that I'm a lousy communicator. Sorry about that.

Obviously you must have thought fairly long and hard about it and could not think of another answer. Hopefully, if and answer does come, you might consider it...but then again, you might be happy as you are. I don't know. I myself can't envisage a god in my life, certainly not the god I was taught about and of which I am a cultural victim of his cult.
I know you said for 15 years you would have reasoned as I would. But somehow this time was different. Now, unlike me, you were a Mormon, if I recall. An evangelical one. Maybe therein is the difference between you and me. An alcoholic can go years without a drop passing his lips. Doesn't make him any less an alcoholic.
Gosh, just reading that makes me cringe a bit - it's a pretty harsh analogy! I apologise! But I think you can understand where I am coming from. I hope you do.
I am curious why this time it was different - and no trying to describe the taste of salt :-) Just sit and analyse the feelings leading up to this. Oh, and maybe an explanation about going to that Robertson cove. I think that annoyed more than any deity worship!
Now, best be off to pick up wife, unborn child and born child. And damned if now I can't get that steak and kidney pud out of my mind!!!! Swine!! ;-)

684. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #180388 by Goldy on May 14, 2008 at 7:01 pm

Could a brain infarction make me perceive so many things differently? Could it open to me to a greater sensation of love - given and received?

I believe it could, yes. Amazing organ, the brain. Interconnections everywhere, with repair mechanisms. Certainly some trauma to one site would make you feel different (they can make you feel and taste stuff by basically prodding different regions of the brain. Cool, eh?).
How you translate these feelings is up to you. You think God and therefore convert, others..well, they think it's a pretty good feeling and carry on :-)

685. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #180385 by Goldy on May 14, 2008 at 6:54 pm

But are temporary brain infarctions and epileptic fits life-changing?

Yes, if they make you change something about yourself. All depends, doesn't it? Some people think "Bugger me, that's odd. Hope it doesn't happen again!" and some people think that it is a sign from God or something. Kardashovel heard voices in his head. His immediate response was "God is talking to me". Now, not having had lucid and clear voices in my head, I can't say for certain but my immediate response would be to go to a doctor, with schizophrenia ringing bells where the voices are!

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God"

Saved from what? I still maintain that faith is a mental construct, within you (hence I disagree with the "this not from yourself" line. That sounds like spin to me from someone selling the idea of a god). As there is no God, it cannot be a gift from him.
QED.
;-)

686. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #180368 by Goldy on May 14, 2008 at 4:59 pm

Goldy - I still haven't forgiven you for that UFO experience! I was driving it at the time!

It was you?? Aha, that reprobate Kardashovel claimed it was him...or did he say it was his god...memeory a bit lax. Gin, you know.
I am going home now - I have man things to do...well, actually, I have to tidy garage and get cars to at least move a short distance in preparation for our house move.
Hope you're not put off by the more aggressive posters here. Be interesting to dissect you, as it were, to find out how this religion things comes and goes from a person :-) And comes back, as in your case :-D
TTFN!

687. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #180361 by Goldy on May 14, 2008 at 4:48 pm

Richard

Don't you mean that the brain activity can be observed during certain experiences labelled "religious" or "mystical" and perhaps be replicated?

The brain activity IS the experience. There isn't any external stimulus that can be detected, so the focus is on the internal stimuli that cause these experiences.
You'll have to forgive me on the qualia aspect - that's for philosophers more than me :-) I am but a mere lab technician with some research background :-( All I can say regarding these experiences is that I do not generally have them - and if I do, another part of my brain "rationalises" them into something I am comfortable with. Like that UFO experience I had - I knew I was not sleeping un the umbra of a passing spaceship, though it felt like it and I was paralysed at the time. I knew I would be OK once that "craft" had passed by and I would be able to move. It all happened as I thought it would and though I still hanker after the UFO explanation (well, it does sound pretty exotic!) I knew then and I know now there was something else involved. And I'm not the only one - look, others! http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/439547
Sleep paralysis, apparently (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis).
See, our bodies are not the perfect controllable things we'd like them to be. I think religion is the same, only sanctioned by society. I can't tell you about the UFO I encountered but if I changed that term to "God" then I'm quids in (except here ;-)).
So you see, it is all your brain telling you this. Which, in a way, is great news because if we knew how, we'd be able to replicate your epiphany then we'd all get to share!

688. The Neural Buddhists

Comment #180331 by Goldy on May 14, 2008 at 3:39 pm

Are you saying that since that which is apparently being perceived in the "religious" experience in unverifiable by scientific method

I think religious experiences can be verified by scientific method. It's all in the brain. You can treat it with drugs or by manipulation. You can also try and replicate the same experience by the aforementioned methods.
Nice to see you back, Richard.

689. How to reconcile Richard Dawkins?

Comment #180326 by Goldy on May 14, 2008 at 3:22 pm

Coming in late here - if communism is so good, why do people have to be forced into it (I'll accept that those with nothing are not forced, but then, they have nothing to lose).
China is communist, follows the Manifesto (with Chinese characteristics) but allows capitalism to flourish because it knows the system doesn't work. With no reward, there's no incentive. With no incentive, there is no production...etc, etc.

690. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #179743 by Goldy on May 13, 2008 at 3:49 pm

Goldy.. I hate to say it, but Red Deer is hardly representative of Alberta

Though I also lived in Calgary, most of my time was spent in Red Deer and Brooks, both pick up towns. Worked everywhere between Medicine Hat and Peace River, enjoyed the tranquility of Red Earth Creek in the north and dinos in Drumheller, up the Rockies and freezing in the praries. Worked with Metis, native Canadians, Hutterites, Newfies, Ukrainians as well as Anglo-descended Albertans. All of them hankered after the Ford pick up (can't remember what model) when it came out with the bigger engine to couter the Dodge and that little door to let you get into the back seats. Wouldn't consider a V6 - that was the ladies car.
Admittedly, the company I kept (oilmen/farmers) did not fully understand my Subaru owning logic, though it was popular in Calgary and Edmonton. Oddly, I met people in Calgary, Canadians, who looked at me aghast when I mentioned beer with a side of clamato. Never heard of it, which was odd as it was served in every diner I went to all over Alberta.
Suffice to say I really liked it there! Great place, one I sometimes wish I had never left.

691. 'My daughter deserved to die for falling in love'

Comment #179733 by Goldy on May 13, 2008 at 3:28 pm

Finally, if we are going to cut support to anyone, it should be to the entire Muslim world. Let them spend their own money for a change.

Yep, we could do that. Of course, the Chinese and Indians would be only too pleased to take their goods in exchange for money. And the Chinese, as we all know, do operate a policy of non-intervention...

692. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #179726 by Goldy on May 13, 2008 at 3:18 pm

Comment #179322 by Christopher Davis
Mate, sorry for the delay - went to bed.
No, I'm not really having a dig at Americans. I know it is hard for them, but then again, it's not really easy for us not bonded by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans either. We do, I guess, have much better public transport. However, some things were apparent last time I was Stateside (and up in Alberta) - Americans don't walk or cycle except in the movies or in front of their houses. OK, I generalise, but in Memphis there were no pavements (sidewalks) between my ex's house and the local Piggly Wiggly supermarket. None - at all! I was shocked! In Alberta, I was the only commuter in Red Deer on a bike, as far as I could tell. Odd because the cycle lanes were fairly extensive (well, going to the city and the parks, not to where I worked). Pretty much everyone in Red Deer had a pick-up (to haul lumber, apparently) but petrol was only 47 cents a litre back then.
Not that Europeans are off the hook. When was the last time any Brit went to Blackpool or Skegness or Morecambe for a holiday with the family? And took public transport to get there? I'll wager it was Benidorm, or Carcassonne, by RyanAir. Some cheap flight (costing a fraction of the rail price to a British resort). Buying flowers on your return flown in from Kenya...
And those calling for more increases in fuel prices - ever wonder how the food gets on the shelves? Even the "local" stuff?
Edit - Having worked for Johnson Matthey developing hygrogen purification systems for fuel cell vehicles, I think I tried to do my bit :-) Battery cars - are they going to be like mobile phones, with batteries dying after a period of time and needing replacement? What happens to those batteries? And are there conflicts in Africa over patches of mud, mud containing the raw materials needed for said batteries? Don't batteries need to be charged? Where does that power come from? Given the number of clean power stations I know of...
I think the future of personal transport os a dying concept - unless someone thinks of something else and guarded interests allow it to develop.

693. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #179250 by Goldy on May 13, 2008 at 1:11 am

Rian, he's ignorant. Militantly so and will fight each and every attempt at education. Save your typing for those that wish to learn.
He believes in the Biblical flood - what does that tell you about him?

694. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #179245 by Goldy on May 13, 2008 at 1:03 am

Yep, poor single mother driving a Lemans 20 miles. Poor single mother here in NZ has just been hit by a 5c/litre price rise. When she set off this morning it was a measly $1.88/L. On the way home, when she thought she'd fill up it's $1.94. Of course, childcare has also gone up - mind you, if she waits until the child is 3 then the government steps in with 20 free hours. However, she'll still have to stump up $285/week if it isn't a government subsidised creche...and funny how the government ones are just so damn far away from anywhere....
Yep, the rest of us are all rolling on clover. Keep praying, idiots. One day you'll realise your god has already answered your prayers and you just took it for granted!

695. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #179205 by Goldy on May 12, 2008 at 9:36 pm

Unlike the U.S., where the public transit sucks except in a few cities.

Hardly surprising with petrol that cheap ;-p

696. 'My daughter deserved to die for falling in love'

Comment #179202 by Goldy on May 12, 2008 at 9:30 pm

I will use as counter-example the more or less dishonest moderate Muslim man who did not want to answer Dawkin's question about the penalty for apostacy in Islam. I hold this example in my mind to give me pause.

And who labelled him moderate? And when? On past views? I dare say now he's left those ranks and gone to the jihadis.
I really want to be right. Things like this can't be thought of as normal - it's inhuman. I want to be right because labelling everyone by the same brush makes me feel that those who want to profit from a "clash of civilisations" are winning, that they are making me see people, human beings, as, well, untermensch. Anyway, the letters pages will hopefully be illuminating.

697. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #179195 by Goldy on May 12, 2008 at 9:17 pm

"We pay more to drive to the supermarket, and then get hit with higher prices when we get there," Senator Charles Schumer told the hearing.

Welcome to planet Earth. Wish the rest of us westerners had the same cheap prices you have!
Man, that's annoyed me. How can people complain when they are squandering fuel like that?
Here's the situation in NZ
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10509620
I got NZ$2 to look forward to for regular. AND dairy products have gone up a lot - and this is a country that pretty much only exports dairy products! (OK, there's timber and wool...and people - but that's it! Oh, sorry forgot, we export hobbits too...)

698. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #179188 by Goldy on May 12, 2008 at 8:58 pm

markg, I know. And we've been laughing at them for years.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4950680.stm
97 pence a litre in the UK. That's US$1.89/L or about US$7.15/US gallon.
And they complain? Sheesh!

699. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #179186 by Goldy on May 12, 2008 at 8:53 pm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1948640/Loss-of-God-is-making-us-miserable,-say-MPs.html
Another stupid article in the same vein.
We are miserable because we have lost God. Yet these miserable gits in the US have God and Jesus and they're not happy. Someone ought to tell the silly Christian MPs that. And, while they're at it, maybe also tell these silly Christian MPs that maybe their policies are making more peole miserable than any loss of mythical deity.
Rant over...deep breath...

700. Americans pray at the pump for cheaper petrol

Comment #179184 by Goldy on May 12, 2008 at 8:45 pm

If I worked it out right, they're paying 95 US cents a litre. That's NZ$1.24. We pay almost NZ$1.90 for the cheap stuff - premium is over 2 bucks a litre now.
Lucky bastards! Typical religious people - living in clover and still they complain!