[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

The parallels between Star Trek and Religion is scarily drawing closer.

Not to mention magic seems to be a big part of religion.

[design219]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

The parallels between Star Trek and Religion is scarily drawing closer.

I always thought the Borg Collective was symbolic of the more evangelistic Christian sects. Assimilate or else (the or else would be the eternal damnation thingy). Seems an awful lot of the worlds people have assimilated.

*cue the pitchforks and torches.

[Chongo]

Here is a couple of interesting sites. I don't know if they reconcile anything.
101 Scientific Facts and Foreknowledge
"A Question of Origins" video presentation (view it here on-line)

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by Chongo 

Here is a couple of interesting sites. I don't know if they reconcile anything.
101 Scientific Facts and Foreknowledge
"A Question of Origins" video presentation (view it here on-line)

And you wonder why people laugh at creationists?

[Taliesin]

Originally Posted by nonhuman 

That would appear to be what the book says...

Is there a scientific method to determine when it rained first on earth, or at least to decide if there is a correlation between rain, the first appearance of humans and the first appearance of a garden?

Originally Posted by nonhuman 

Again, neither of these is my interpretation. They're just two interpretations that others have presented in this thread. Since it seemed there was some confusion on what could possibly be going on in the story I thought I'd re-hash what others had said.

Ok, I see. Maybe ebuddy and BigMac can offer their christian and jewish insights for these specific questions.

Taliesin

[ebuddy]

Originally Posted by Taliesin 

Is there a scientific method to determine when it rained first on earth, or at least to decide if there is a correlation between rain, the first appearance of humans and the first appearance of a garden?

Genesis 2:5 suggests it had not rained yet.
Genesis 2:6 suggests that a "mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground".
Genesis 7:11; "... all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened."
Genesis 7:12; "And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights."

Rain is not mentioned as such until Genesis 7:12. It is suggested by Scripture that water was in fact used for "the field", but was not in the form of rainfall. God used the rainbow, (an effect of precipitation through light/rain) to indicate a new covenant with man.

Genesis 1:6-7 suggests there was a "firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters... divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so."

Psalm 148:4; "Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens."

II Peter 3:5; "For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water"

There are those who suggest a covering of vapor and/or canopy of water that remained over the earth. Some go even further to suggest an extremely warm, oxygen-rich environment.

[nonhuman]

Originally Posted by ebuddy 

Genesis 1:6-7 suggests there was a "firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters... divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so."

This, to me, is one of the most interesting passages in Genesis. Taken out of context it sounds like the Earth was originally covered in water and God separated the waters to bring up dry land. However what it actually says is that God created the firmament of the Heavens to separate the waters below (Earth) from the waters above. What those waters above could possible represent, I have no idea. But if you consider that the waters below are Earth, then two sets of waters separated by the firmament of the Heavens sounds like two different watery planets to me. Perhaps later on God went and created a second Earth?

[lpkmckenna]

The Hebrews believed that the sky was an invisible barrier with water above it. When it rained, God was allowing the waters above the firmament to leak thru. They didn't know anything about the water cycle then.

[Chuckit]

You could take it that way, but I think it just refers to ancient beliefs some cultures had about the sky. They thought it was a solid dome with water above it.

[nonhuman]

Yeah, you're probably right. But it's fun to think about.

[Chongo]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

And you wonder why people laugh at creationists?

and they laugh at Darwinists

[Dakar the Fourth]

Creationists believe every word that Genesis says. Personally, I don't even think Phil Collins is that great of a drummer.

Thank you Jimmy Carr.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Chongo 

Here is a couple of interesting sites. I don't know if they reconcile anything.
101 Scientific Facts and Foreknowledge
"A Question of Origins" video presentation (view it here on-line)

"Cain’s wife discovered (Genesis 5:4). Skeptics point out that Cain had no one to marry – therefore the Bible must be false. However, the Bible states plainly that Adam and Eve had other sons and daughters. Cain married his sister."

Ew yuck. So in the beginning incest was cool?

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Originally Posted by Chongo 

and they laugh at Darwinists

I'll take coming from a fish over dirt any-day.

[subego]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Ew yuck. So in the beginning incest was cool?

Even after the beginning. After the flood the farthest apart you could have gotten would have been your first cousin.

If you were lucky.

[lpkmckenna]

Ars Technica humiliates the Discovery Institute with common sense.

And Congo's links are hilarious...

Creation is made of particles, indiscernible to our eyes (Hebrews 11:3). Not until the 19th century was it discovered that all visible matter consists of invisible elements.

Uh, the ancient Greeks hypothesized about invisible elements long before Hebrew was written.

Chicken or egg dilemma solved (Genesis 1:20-22). Which came first, the chicken or the egg? This question has plagued philosophers for centuries. The Bible states that God created birds with the ability to reproduce after their kind. Therefore the chicken was created first with the ability to make eggs! Yet, evolution has no solution for this dilemma.

Crack science work, that.

Our bodies are made from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7; 3:19). Scientists have discovered that the human body is comprised of some 28 base and trace elements – all of which are found in the earth.

None of which could exist without supernovae, which are oddly not mentioned in the Bible.

The earth is a sphere (Isaiah 40:22). At a time when many thought the earth was flat, the Bible told us that the earth is spherical.

Ok, but again, even the ancient Greeks knew the earth was round.

Sexual promiscuity is dangerous to your health (1 Corinthians 6:18; Romans 1:27). The Bible warns that “he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body,” and that those who commit homosexual sin would “receive in themselves” the penalty of their error. Much data now confirms that any sexual relationship outside of holy matrimony is unsafe.

Jesus wept.

That was only getting to #23. Now I'm too disgusted to go on.

[lpkmckenna]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

I'll take coming from a fish over dirt any-day.

Hawt visual.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Ew yuck. So in the beginning incest was cool?

Barring any compelling genetic reasons, why would incest not be cool? I don't see how it's any more inherently disgusting than, say, two guys sleeping together.