Big Dog

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Posts by Big Dog

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  26

  Penn & Teller, what do you guys think of them?

  by Big Dog in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i got turned on to penn & teller recently and have gone back and watched almost every episode of "bullshit!

  " and i have to say i am pretty impressed.

  anybody else here watch them, if so what do you think?

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  Big Dog

  Terry and Luna, its funny you should mention their language, I just watched an episode of their show about profanity.
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  26

  Penn & Teller, what do you guys think of them?

  by Big Dog in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i got turned on to penn & teller recently and have gone back and watched almost every episode of "bullshit!

  " and i have to say i am pretty impressed.

  anybody else here watch them, if so what do you think?

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  Big Dog

  REM, I saw that episode, I was rolling on the floor. I agee though, they come off as pretty harsh and the die hards probably won't listen, but I think the fence sitters might be won over.
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  4

  Why God's in a class by himself.

  by Big Dog in

  1. social
  2. current

  we all the debate that has been raging here lately i thought i would post this article that appeared in the la times, i thought the author did an excellent job of analyzing the issue.. .

  why god's in a class by himselfby michael shermer, michael shermer is the publisher of skeptic magazine, a columnist for scientific american and the author of "the science of good & evil" and "science friction" (henry holt/times books).. .

  intelligent design creationism resurfaced in the news last week after president bush's remarks were (mis)taken by iders to be a solid endorsement for the teaching of id in public school science classrooms.

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  Big Dog

  We all the debate that has been raging here lately I thought I would post this article that appeared in the LA Times, I thought the author did an excellent job of analyzing the issue.
  
  

  Why God's in a class by himself

  By Michael Shermer, MICHAEL SHERMER is the publisher of Skeptic magazine, a columnist for Scientific American and the author of "The Science of Good & Evil" and "Science Friction" (Henry Holt/Times Books). INTELLIGENT DESIGN creationism resurfaced in the news last week after President Bush's remarks were (mis)taken by IDers to be a solid endorsement for the teaching of ID in public school science classrooms. (Bush's science advisor, John H. Marburger III, said that "evolution is the cornerstone of modern biology" and "intelligent design is not a scientific concept.")
  
  One magazine reporter asked for my opinion about whether one can believe in God and the theory of evolution.
  
  
  
  You can believe in God and evolution as long as you keep the two in separate, logic-tight compartments. Belief in God depends on religious faith. Belief in evolution depends on empirical evidence.
  
  This is the fundamental difference between religion and science. If you attempt to reconcile religion and science on questions about nature and the universe, and if you push the science to its logical conclusion, you will end up naturalizing the deity because for any question about nature — the origins of the universe, life, humans, whatever — if your answer is "God did it," a scientist will ask: "How did God do it? What forces did God use? What forms of matter and energy were employed in the creation process?" and so forth. The end result of this inquiry can only be natural explanations for all natural phenomena. What place, then, for God?
  
  One could argue that God is the laws and forces of nature, which is logically acceptable, but this is pantheism and not the type of personal God to which most people profess belief.
  
  One could also argue that God created the universe and life using the laws and forces of nature as his tools, which is also logically fine, but it leaves us with additional scientific questions: Which laws and forces were used to create specific natural phenomena? How did God create the laws and forces of nature? A scientist would be curious to know God's recipe for, say, gravity or for a universe or a cell. For that matter, it is a legitimate scientific question to ask what made God, and how was God created? How do you make an omniscient being?
  
  Finally, one could argue that God is outside of nature and therefore needs no explanation. This is also logically consistent, but by definition it means that the God question is outside of science, and therefore religion and science are separate and incompatible.
  
  Bottom line: Teach science in science classes and religion in religion classes.
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  26

  Penn & Teller, what do you guys think of them?

  by Big Dog in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i got turned on to penn & teller recently and have gone back and watched almost every episode of "bullshit!

  " and i have to say i am pretty impressed.

  anybody else here watch them, if so what do you think?

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Big Dog

  I got turned on to Penn & Teller recently and have gone back and watched almost every episode of "Bullshit!" and I have to say I am pretty impressed. Anybody else here watch them, if so what do you think? Do they have most of it right or are they as full of crap as everyone else?
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  59

  Ever had someone threaten to kill you, and mean it? Just happened to me.

  by wanderlustguy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i just had it happen for the second time in 3 years, today.

  the first one wasn't that bad, because the guy didn't scare me.

  the one today...i think might really try.

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  Big Dog

  WLG, sorry you had to deal with that man. Plenty of whack jobs out there that think life is cheap. As Not the Administrator said, I've actually had people try it, its not much more fun than having them threaten it.

  Maybe you want to think about going concealed carry for your protection. In some states you can get an emergency permit that allows you to carry before you are able to take the classes if there is reasonable cause.
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  26

  god bless this site

  by hurt dave in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for someone who was raised in the "truth" for 17 years it was a very hard and a very scary decision when my father finnally had the "you must choose a side of the fence" speech and when i chose not to do it anymore he flipped his lid and i so "tormented" by my decsion i latched on to "maryjane" to fill the "need".

  after living with my parents for two years and then on my own for two more years crying everynoght cause i was alone not knowing way i felt this way this way, i felt a spirtual need at 3:30am i drove to my dads house and beged him to let me came home because the "voices" were drivin me crazy and i needed "guidance" he said well get you a meeting with elders and a "bible study".

  so i move back in, had a talk with the elders where they used the bible to call me stupid and i went to there meeting where they used what i said in private and made a whole new talk based around it i broke down crying and prayed to god for the guidacne to make me strong and make the tears stop and the holy spirt led me to this site i moved in with my brother and told my parents i can know longer belive the "truth".

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  Big Dog

  Welcome Dave, I hope you find some comfort here.
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  8

  WT Article on Mennonites - Wow... Double Standards

  by indoubt in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i usually don't read wt or awakes, but i stumbled on an article that shows the borg's two-facedness.. the article talks about a group of mennonites that had doubts about their religion and wanted to study with the jws.

  after the first paragraph, i realized that i had felt exactly like those poor mennonites when i decided to study the jw's history.

  let me explain... i have scanned some parts of the articles: .

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  Big Dog

  You know, people just amaze me. They will spew out some warped logic or a story like that and not even blink. Is sort of scarey how blind they can be.

  A guy who was in the Assembly of God denomination once told me that while they don't forbid drinking they frown on it because they don't like supporting the alcohol industry which they feel is not all that savory. Okay, I can see that I guess, then he proceeds to say, thank God for non-alcoholic beer, I really missed the taste. I sort of looked at him and said, er, you do realize that the same companies that produce regular beer produce the non-alcoholic version right? Its not Coke or Pepsi that makes Sharps and O'Douls and the guy just looks at me like I hit him over the head with a ball bat. I'm thinking to myself, how in the hell did you not make this conncetion, amazing.
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  11

  GOALS ... Do you have any?

  by xjwms in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the pro's always say the best goals are those that are written down.. do you have goals?.

  when i was a kid in school the teachers always pushed the idea of goals.

  i never did because the big a was right around the cornor.

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  Big Dog

  The same goal I have every night Pinky, to take over the world!
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  16

  A Suggestion

  by GetBusyLiving in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  can we get an administrator to lock all the freaks (hib, jcanon, defd, brown boy, minimus) in one thread to see if we can jump start armageddon?

  gbl (j/k min!

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  Big Dog

  The pox on you GBL, I have been sitting in my office all day laughing about this damn post and my secretary thinks I am goofier then she normally does.
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  16

  A Suggestion

  by GetBusyLiving in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  .

  can we get an administrator to lock all the freaks (hib, jcanon, defd, brown boy, minimus) in one thread to see if we can jump start armageddon?

  gbl (j/k min!

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  Big Dog

  I know its not PC, but GBL I can't stop laughing.