151. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #170992 by annabanana on April 28, 2008 at 8:11 am

MPhil,

I'm sorry for your loss. But I am glad to hear that your grandmother played an important and loving role in your life. I'm sure she will be remembered fondly by all.

152. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #170506 by annabanana on April 27, 2008 at 7:52 pm

Oops, thanks MPhil! I fixed it!

153. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #170497 by annabanana on April 27, 2008 at 7:46 pm

TheTruthID,

It was nice of you to offer an apology for your behavior. You are probably right about discussions between creationists/ID proponents and "evolutionary theorists" (as you have termed us) being futile and here's why: one of us is right and one of us is wrong. Both groups can't be right. However, evolution has plenty of evidence while creationism/ID only have conjectures based on the Bible or some other type of Faith. In any other instance, the persons who have the evidence would be trusted, but for some reason, when it comes to this particular issue, religious people have a hard time reconciling what they think they are supposed to believe when it conflicts with something in science. If there were some conjecture in the Bible or some other religious text about what made things fall down, we'd be having this argument about gravity instead of evolution. Just because there are two sides to this issue doesn't mean that they are equally deserving of consideration, especially when one side has nothing to show and the other has a plethora of evidence.

154. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168853 by annabanana on April 25, 2008 at 12:03 pm

Found this lovely article by Arthur C. Brooks who Remnant cites. It mentions Richard. Quite interesting.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MmZlMjc1MzU2NDdkYTg0MTc5YzA1YjA5ZTU1NWI0NDg=

155. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168822 by annabanana on April 25, 2008 at 11:31 am

al-rawandi,

Thanks, I still have the Duffman tights!

That would be an interesting sight, indeed! ;-)

156. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168787 by annabanana on April 25, 2008 at 10:59 am

al-rawandi,

I like your new avatar. ;-) Although, I will miss Duffman.

157. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168782 by annabanana on April 25, 2008 at 10:55 am

Bonzai,

The Bible should be triple X rated.

Haha! Agreed!

158. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168741 by annabanana on April 25, 2008 at 10:26 am

I have been on many a mission trips and worked in many food lines helping the less fortunate and have yet to run into an atheist group.

Dare I say it's because when atheists go out and help people, they don't do it in the name of atheism. We go out and help people because we know it is the right thing to do. When you go out and help people, you and the other religious people feel the need to combine helping people with proselytizing.

159. Student's 'Be Happy, Not Gay' t-shirt ok

Comment #168638 by annabanana on April 25, 2008 at 8:48 am

al-rawandi,

The eyes on the owl(which are also the two "o"s in hooters) look suspiciously like a pair of naked breasts.

The design on the cocks shirt had the head of the rooster around the "o" in cock, but I don't think it particularly looked like a penis.

If I remember correctly the girls had asked that the boys not be allowed to wear the shirts before they made their own version, but their request was denied.

I'll try to dig it up.

Anyway, the kids were all in middle school.

160. Student's 'Be Happy, Not Gay' t-shirt ok

Comment #168626 by annabanana on April 25, 2008 at 8:39 am

Lucas,

I recall reading about/hearing about an incident where a few boys started wearing hooters shirts to school and in response, a few girls worked up a shirt that said cocks that looked rather similar and the girls were suspended, but nothing was done to the boys. That's more of an incident of sexism, though, I suppose.

161. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168605 by annabanana on April 25, 2008 at 8:27 am

I suppose Remnant declined to answer my questions. Guess they weren't important.

162. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168526 by annabanana on April 25, 2008 at 7:25 am

Remnant,

I would just like to ask you what you intend to accomplish here. I am not being rhetorical, either. Seriously, what is your purpose in coming to this thread? Do you want to convert us all to Christianity? Are you here to try to test your own faith? What is your purpose?

163. Student's 'Be Happy, Not Gay' t-shirt ok

Comment #168460 by annabanana on April 25, 2008 at 6:52 am

Does the reverse say 'Kick Me'?

Just wondering....

I don't know, but it should.

164. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168403 by annabanana on April 25, 2008 at 5:48 am

Remnant,

Thanks for answering. Those are excellent fields of study (of course, not that my opinion on the matter really counts).

165. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168398 by annabanana on April 25, 2008 at 5:41 am

Remnant,

This is slightly off topic, but I was just wondering what your children plan to study when they go to college and if they intend on going to a religiously influenced school or not.

166. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168114 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 2:28 pm

Yes, I know, that's why I said it! It also happens to be true. Y'all.

C'mon, I'm allowed to be ditzy once in a while...y'all.

167. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168093 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 2:03 pm

Steve,

I just watched Bridget Jones' the other day, and I was wondering about it then. It must've been fate that we would talk about it today...I mean...a complete coincidence. ;-)

168. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168090 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 2:01 pm

Quetz,

I do a decent, drawling Southern accent. I didn't realise you had such a mean streak in you Anna, I rather like it. ;)

Oh! A southern accent would be even better considering I'm from the South. It wasn't mean...all in good fun!

169. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168088 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 1:58 pm

Steve,

Hey, we fooled you with Hugh Laurie you know.

That's true. He does a pretty good job of it.

Do all the Brits laugh at all of the American actors/actresses who fake their accents?

170. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168080 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 1:56 pm

gr8hands,

Advanced Placement scores are 1 to 5, not letter grades, so your children could not get the "A" you have claimed. Perhaps you did not understand the grading.

Well, I took two AP courses in high school and in addition to test we took at the end of the year in which we received from 1 to 5, we also received a grade for the work we did in the course. This grade had no bearing on what grade we got on the exam and the exam had no bearing on what grade we got in the class. Maybe that is what he was talking about.

171. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168066 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 1:49 pm

I will however say that I find him amusing, and have been known to do impressions (to myself) of his sayings.

Haha. al-rawandi does a pretty good Duffman. I would like to hear your impressions, though. I think it would make it extra-amusing that you are British. Our British friend came to visit recently and we made him speak with an American accent just so we could giggle at him.

172. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #168044 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 1:35 pm

Seeker,

What would push it in one direction or the other (macro or micro)?

I still stick to the initial assertion, though, that there aren't two different types of evolution. But I am still wondering what you meant by the two terms.

173. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168037 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 1:31 pm

Quetzalcoatl,

I was merely speaking for myself

I find it hard to believe that you don't find Duffman sexy. Even if you are heterosexual. ;-)

174. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #168025 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 1:26 pm

Quetzalcoatl,

Apparently you missed my comment. By the way, sexy=super-hot.

175. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #167993 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 1:11 pm

al-rawandi,

Duffman is clearly the man when it comes to super heroes. He is a beer themed hero, can't top it.

He's pretty sexy, too. Way sexier than Jesus.

176. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #167950 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 12:42 pm

seeker,

ligers and mules cannot reproduce offspring. Everytime you want to have another liger or mule, you have to breed their respective parents. The grass mentioned can reproduce, though it's evolutionary history is known.

177. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #167918 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 12:23 pm

al-rawandi,

GRASS IS STILL GRASS. Is that so hard to understand?

After that statement by TheTruthID, I must concur completely with your synopsis. He is nothing more than a moron and a troll.

178. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #167906 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 12:17 pm

TheTruthID,

You can feign innocence if you like. Obviously, the sloppy collage of misinformation that was Expelled, has not sent anyone's "ears rocking".

179. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #167888 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 12:04 pm

TheTruthID,

You are a liar. I will show you why.

You are starting off in a polite and respectful manner, as I did.

You did not start off in a polite and respectful manner. This was your first comment:

you guys still believe in evolution?

This comment, while perhaps seemingly innocuous, at first, was simply an attempt to incite an argument. If that's polite and respectful, then the definitions of those words must've changed and I have yet to be informed.

180. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #167786 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 10:30 am

Steve,

I am not even sure what "macro" evolution is supposed to mean. I am guessing "evolution in a big leap". We do occasionally see that. As I often mention, we get new species in a single generation by chromosome duplication.

Yes. You know, I wonder why the creationists and ID proponents fight so hard to get evolution taken out of the curricula or creationism and ID included because it's obvious that whatever little tiny section gets covered about evolution in public schools, it isn't enough for people to properly understand it or else there wouldn't be so many ID proponents and creationists bouncing around these days. I wish everyone were required to take the classes that I took in university that covered the details, like zoology, botany, and genetics.

181. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #167776 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 10:18 am

I will also add that it has been demonstrated that the amount of genetic information is not proportional to how "complex" a species is. There are far "simpler" organisms than humans that have far more "genes" than we have, so gaining and losing genetic information is inconsequential when it comes to complexity, so it seems.

182. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #167773 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 10:14 am

I believe the debate on this is whether a given species in question is gaining or losing genetic information as it evolves. Micro vs. Macro evolution if you will.

First of all, there is no such thing as "micro" or "macro" evolution. Second of all, even if there were two distinct "types" of evolution, why would gaining or losing genetic material indicate one over the other? My understanding of what people think they mean when they use those terms is that micro evolution are small "adaptations" of an organism while still remaining the same species. Sort of like Lamarckian-style evolution. Macro evolution would be the changing of one species into another, which creationists deny is possible because if they admit that this is possible, they have to admit that Genesis is wrong, which isn't an option for them.

Now, all that being said, why would gaining or losing genetic information as a species evolved indicate or not indicate a designer?

183. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #167654 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 8:40 am

seeker_of_truth,

First of all, thank you for actually giving us something to discuss. It is more than can be said for any of the other ID proponents on the site.

1) Irreducible complexity has been shown to be a false concept. Richard goes into some detail about this is TGD.

2) Define rapid and explain why this is relevant and would be indicative of a designer.

3) Re-usage of similar parts in different organisms (even without specifically defining the vague terms) can be attributed to evolution. Why is this indicative of intelligent design.

4) Once again, why does a function indicate an intelligent designer? And how do you define "biological structure"? That term is very vague, also.

184. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #167559 by annabanana on April 24, 2008 at 6:58 am

I think it's important to keep the ad homs at a minimum, as well, when conversing with the theists/creationists/ID proponents who visit the site, but I will also say that it is very difficult to do, at times. Many of them come here and insult our intelligence and question our credentials and just generally tell us that we haven't got the slightest clue. Understandably, this creates an emotional response. It is going to trigger the emotional response regardless of whether or not we act (or post) based upon that response. When these people come here and do this to the regular posters tirelessly, it is difficult not to throw an ad hom or two back at the person(s). I have been guilty of it myself.

185. Lynchings in Congo as penis theft panic hits capital

Comment #166925 by annabanana on April 23, 2008 at 1:45 pm

MrPickwick,

Is that the dance from Napoleon Dynamite that Spiderman is performing in your avatar?

186. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #166541 by annabanana on April 23, 2008 at 9:46 am

The scienctific discovery of the complexity of life is the compilation of evidence needed to come to the conclusion of ID. You have it backwards.

*facepalm*

I give up, you are hopeless, methinks.

187. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #166511 by annabanana on April 23, 2008 at 9:30 am

Evolutionists are narrow minded and will only consider natural laws for the explanation of anything and everything. They start with this bias.

Are you kidding? Creationists>/ID proponents are the ones who have started with the Bible as their bias. Scientists start with a compilation of evidence and then come to a conclusion; you've gotten it backwards.

188. Gods and earthlings

Comment #166321 by annabanana on April 23, 2008 at 6:15 am

And even if we are improbable, WE'RE HERE, so surely there is far more of a probability of a God existing than Dawkins gives credit for

Yes, we're here today, but being that evolution is a continuous process, there is no reason to think that we are the endpoint. Organisms everywhere are still evolving today, including us. So if we are not an endpoint, then what reason is there to believe that we were explicitly created any more than any of the other organisms surrounding us?

189. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #165873 by annabanana on April 22, 2008 at 1:49 pm

chewmanfoo,

Where to start? Here:

Dawkins would disagree, presumably, because he would welcome such a world, but claim emphatically that our knowledge of all things would not in any way influence our behavior.

I think you are emphatically wrong here. Our increasing collective knowledge most certainly does influence our behavior and I don't think anyone denies that, but you are assuming that it would do so in a negative way. Why do you assume this? It's as if you want everyone to put a hold on science simply because it makes you uncomfortable and might fill in all the gaps that used to make God "necessary". I'm sorry if it's an uncomfortable thought for you that God might not exist, but it doesn't mean that this isn't the case.

The rest of your post is pretty much entirely devoted to the fact that you just want there to be a God. Once again, I will say that just because you want it to be true and it's comforting to you, doesn't mean that it is true.

It is also odd that you mention my apparent "pretty" face as a sign that God exists and that he/she/it loves me. So all the people who are ugly are ugly because God doesn't love them? I am confused. I am perceived as attractive to you because a)I have several common features that have been naturally selected for by previous males and b)you have inherited certain preferences that were also selected for by previous males who procreated successfully. Fortunately, that doesn't make me any less "pretty".

All I keep hearing is that you want God to exist; maybe the void God has created in your life is bigger than the one you think he has filled.

190. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #165826 by annabanana on April 22, 2008 at 12:33 pm

jwh082742,

Your post does not demonstrate that Hitler was an atheist any more than anyone has demonstrated that he was a Roman Catholic. What it demonstrates is that he was dishonest and there is no way of knowing what he was. The only person who could truly tell us what his religious beliefs were, if any, is Hitler, himself, and well...he's dead.

Darwinism is not a sufficient intellectual explanation for Naziism, but it is a necessary one. Without Darwinism, there might not have been Naziism.

This is simply ridiculous. First of all, it's like saying with out the theory of gravity, I wouldn't have fallen and broken my ankle. Curse that Newton fellow for figuring out gravity! Second of all, Eugenics has been repeatedly demonstrated to be based on artificial selection, not natural selection!

191. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #165813 by annabanana on April 22, 2008 at 12:05 pm

Damnit, RD.net ate my post! Fortunately, I copied and pasted. Here it is:

Chewmanfoo,

I will address all of the portions of your post as clearly as possible. I am being polite, so please do not read any malice into this post.

I want to argue that like it or not, we live in that world, or we're rushing headlong into it. I won't suggest that it's Darwin who done it, but it's done nonetheless.

Why do you think this? What evidence do you have to suggest that we are heading in a cruel direction? If you are basing this assumption on anecdote, I would urge you not to do that, but to look at any evidence and data on the subject. I would argue that the opposite of what you are posing is happening. In the Darwinian world that we live in, members of our species who have exhibited compassion and empathy have obviously been the ones who have been selected for and therefore dominate the population. There is no evidence that this trait is being slowly phased out of the population. In fact, human rights movements are present all over the world. We have just very recently (especially with respect to the geological time scale) rid of ourselves of a nasty practice known as slavery. Civil rights and women's rights are even more recent progressions. If history is any indication of future trends, then it suggests that we are progressing indeed.

"Tsk, tsk", he says, "oh poor, ignorant Pete. The love you are convinced your daughter feels for you, and in fact the love you feel for your daughter, is nothing more than a cascade of enzymes and electrical charges in your brain." He flashes a 3x5 card, "Here's the chemical composition of what you call 'love'."

No one who is an atheist, I would wager, including Dawkins, would ever want to undermine positive emotions like love. The fact that these emotions are indeed chemical passing across synapses in the brain doesn't mean that we feel them any less. It doesn't make it any less wonderful when I am in love. Being in love is just like it always has been.

How can a person who accepts Evolution as the ultimate explanation for the origins of everything living---indeed as the only explanation for the love you feel for your daughter---fill that spiritual void? Is the longing for spirit a neuroses, plain and simple?

First I would like to say that simply because it is comforting to believe something to be true, that has no bearing on whether or not what is believed is actually true. Second of all, evolution does not posit how life began ultimately, only how life progresses once it is already in existence. Third of all, once you have cleared your head of all the "what if" nonsense that goes along with religion, you will feel not only exonerated, but more fulfilled than you can ever imagine, but maybe that's just me.

192. If God Is Dead, Who Gets His House?

Comment #165754 by annabanana on April 22, 2008 at 8:33 am

Sharon,

Church: it's not just for the lazy of mind, but also for the lazy of body.

Excellent point Sharon. I suppose from my biased viewpoint of being neither lazy of mind nor body, it never occurred to me that church offers the easiest sense of community that most of society finds acceptable. So now I'm just annoyed that people are so lazy! Why not get off your arses and join a group that not only offers a sense of community, but that is healthy, too! What a novel idea!

193. If God Is Dead, Who Gets His House?

Comment #165727 by annabanana on April 22, 2008 at 6:41 am

This article left a bad taste in my mouth. Church was not a pleasant experience for me in childhood. Not any part of it. I have no desire to join in anything like it whether something about God is present or not. Why do people have to get the social aspect of their lives met through a church-like organization? There are plenty of other groups that offer the sense of community that don't have any church-like remnants other than the fact that they are composed of a group of people. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I get my sense of community from the cycling and running groups that I'm a part of. Blegh!

194. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #165454 by annabanana on April 21, 2008 at 1:37 pm

I'm not the one who immediately resorts to name calling

Actually, one of your first comments was:

you guys still believe in evolution

Which implied that we all are stupid. I suppose that it isn't directly name-calling, per se, but your implications are clear.

Please don't tell me to read a book or go to some gibberish website. You explain to me the process

No one has sent you to any gibberish websites. Also, it is lazy to come here and expect us to do all the work for you. Many of us will be happy to point you toward resources that explain evolution in much more depth than we can in a single post. I don't understand why you refuse to take a look at the credible sources.

195. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #165414 by annabanana on April 21, 2008 at 12:58 pm

I think it is a bug in the website. It may only take one person marking a post as troll for this to happen.

That's strange. I didn't think my comment was any more offensive or any less productive than someone coming to the site and saying "you guys still believe in evolution", but I could be wrong.

196. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #165408 by annabanana on April 21, 2008 at 12:53 pm

Does anyone know why my comment was moved to the alternate comment thread?

197. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #165396 by annabanana on April 21, 2008 at 12:41 pm

Well then. It seems that navyjake95 has just revealed his true colors: the fact that he hasn't read a single article on this site, he hasn't read more than a few posts from the regular posters, and that he has a poor grasp on English grammar. Oh! And I believe "God-hating Commie-hearted Athiest Jihad bastards" is the epitome of all oxymorons.

198. Open Letter to a victim of Ben Stein's lying propaganda

Comment #165389 by annabanana on April 21, 2008 at 12:35 pm

Oh my. TruthID, you should do your homework before you come here.

199. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #165356 by annabanana on April 21, 2008 at 11:40 am

navyjake95,

If you would please, check out this site:

www.expelledexposed.com

It's a good resource that deconstructs the propaganda peddled in Expelled. Perhaps you will learn something there.

200. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #163553 by annabanana on April 18, 2008 at 1:54 pm

I am indeed a Penguini. I am also an Akiwist.

Time of death: 4:58pm EST.