In the Old Testament God begins with a single couple, Adam and Eve. He puts them in a perfect world with certain rules to obey. They flunk! The first eleven chapters of Genesis mostly record one failure after another. God punishes Adam and Eve, destroys the world with a massive flood, and smashes a misguided rebellion at the tower of Babel.
God reaches down and selects a man named Abraham, to whom He gives some extraordinary promises. He promises that Abraham's descendants will some 일 become as numerous as sand on a beach, and that they will grow to become a mighty nation with their own land....

You do not have to read too far into the Bible to see it is unlike any other book out there. It is not a tightly-woven story like a novel, 또는 a systematic list like a textbook. It includes a diverse batch of styles: poetry, history, sermons, dramatic stories, and letters.
Some people dip right into specific 책 like Leviticus 또는 1 Chronicles and soon give up in confusion. They do not understand why such material is important to them. To appreciate what God is saying to us, it's important to know the whole sweep of the Bible.
In the 1st place, the Bible is not one book -- it's an entire library,...

I 사랑 the constitution so much that if they were selling shirts that said "I <3 The US Constitution" I would buy it in a heartbeat. I was that girl who walked around campus with a pocket-sized US Constitution in her purse, because, well, 당신 never know when you'll need to quote a two hundred 년 old document at someone, right?

But there was another document in my purse, too, a 더 많이 recent one. This one was based on the US Declaration of Independence, and influenced 의해 Thomas Jefferson's contemporaries like Thomas Paine, who themselves were influenced 의해 older documents like the English...

Now, what I mean 의해 campaigns is that in the UK (and I’m sure in America and other countries too) there's a lot of leaflets, adverts and campaigns to try and get 더 많이 people to ride bikes to work and school;
1)because Britain is the third unhealthiest nation
2)to cut down on car emissions
which don't get me wrong I understand the need to try and fix both of these problems, however rather than wasting money on these campaigns, if they spent a bit 더 많이 on making Britain a 더 많이 'bike friendly' place, then they'd see a much larger difference.

Some of 당신 may ask how can a nation be bike unfriendly?...

Pro-life quotes.

“Ive noticed that everyone who is for abortion is already born.” – Ronald Reagan


"There are two victims in every abortion: a dead baby and a dead conscience." - Mother Teresa

"We must not be surprised when we hear of murders, killings, of wars, 또는 of hatred...If a mother can kill her own child, what is left but for us to kill each other?" - Mother Teresa

"...is it surprising that today we have become so morally blind (for wickedness blinds) that we save the baby whales at great cost, and murder millions of unborn children?" - Alice von Hildebrand

"Count yourself lucky your...

First of all, let me preface this 기사 의해 saying that I am far from an expert on Islam. The only thing that qualifies me to write this 기사 is a handful of research and experience with Muslims. I feel that maybe a Muslim would be better equipped to tackle this issue, however it is so important to me that the Western World understand the difference between 이슬람 and Radical 이슬람 that I felt compelled to write this article.

In this article, I will clarify that normal 이슬람 is as peaceful as any other mainstream religion, like Judaism and Christianity. However, that does not mean that radical...

Originally 제출됨 for school on December 6, 2006.

PETA – Is It Really Ethical?

Who would think twice about questioning the motive of a nonprofit animal-loving organization with the word “ethical” in its title? The word “ethical” usually refers to someone who is doing the right thing. After all, who wouldn’t want to treat 동물 ethically?

I sat behind an avid PETA supporter one 년 in my high school English class. PETA, as I was later informed, was an acronym for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and was an organization dedicated to saving 동물 and promoting veganism....

From Peggy McIntosh's 기사 available in full link. The rest of this 기사 will be directly quoted from that. I 게시됨 the whole link as well, but for the tl;dr crowd, this is the meat and potatoes of it.

My schooling gave me no training in seeing myself as an oppressor, as an unfairly advantaged person, 또는 as a participant in a damaged culture. I was taught to see myself as an individual whose moral state depended on her individual moral will. My schooling followed the pattern my colleague Elizabeth Minnich has pointed out: whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, normative,...

I can't stand Sarah Palin. The funny thing is, I can actually respect John McCain. I disagree with his policies, and how he's milking his war record for everything it's worth, and he's a little too much like 부시, 부시 대통령은 than I'd like, but I do respect him as a politician, a veteran, and a pretty well-spoken guy. I actually wanted him to win the candidacy, because there were others in the running I did not respect, mostly because they showed little respect to people who hold my values.

That said, let's talk about Sarah Palin's values. Sarah Palin scares me 더 많이 than John McCain, much like Dick Cheney...

When I created this spot nearly a 년 ago, my intention was to create a 포럼 for the respectable exchange of ideas among educated individuals. To my great excitement, I got exactly that: multifaceted individuals who knew where they stood but were curious to learn about others and make their own ideas known. There were the occasional people who would refuse to listen and only talk, and there were the occasional users who would refuse to acknowledge a good point against them. But over all, I've enjoyed our lively discussions.

For a time, the 토론 spot was lacking in any real "debate." There...

Let America Be America Again 의해 Langston Hughes

Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a 집 where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed--
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed 의해 one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There's never been equality...

이슬람 Rejects Terrorism

"Do not destroy one another" (4:29)

"Do not take any human being's life- the life which God had declared saved" (6:151)

"If anyone killed a human being it shall be as though he had killed all mankind;whereas if anyone saved a life it shall be as though he had saved the lives of all mankind" (5:32)

"Do not act wickedly on earth 의해 spreading coruption" (2:60)

이슬람 Teaches Tolerace

"Those who follow the Jewish faith, and the Christians, all who believe in God and the Last 일 and do righteous deeds- shall have their rewards with their sustainer; and no fear need they have...

This is an excerpt from a not-so-short story I wrote a while back (Kegel, 당신 ought to recognize it pretty fast). The character of Simon is heavily based on a man I met randomly at my college one year, and the views expressed echo some of his thoughts almost exactly. The story about the girls and the bar and getting kicked out is a true story he told me. Anyways, I just thought I'd share that opinion here, for the sake of perspective.

From Salam (Rated PG-13-- you've been warned)

Simon held his breath before letting out a long sigh. “Before I went overseas, I can’t say I was much unlike our...

This 기사 details the arguments supporting the position that "wooden pencils are better than mechanical pencils" in the link, in order to ensure that arguments are not repeated and also for the audience to keep track of the arguments and their counters. This 기사 was last updated on 8 April 2008.

The arguments come in two forms: arguments for the superiority of wooden pencils, and arguments for the inferiority of mechanical pencils.

Wooden Pencil Superiority

Argument: Wooden pencils write thicker than mechanical ones.
Counter-argument: Thinner lines are preferable where thin sharp lines are...

The prevailing prejudice in the United States in this post 9/11 world is against Arabs, specifically Arab Muslims. I'm not saying there aren't other "isms" at play in the US, 의해 any means, but 당신 can't deny the repugnant anti-Arab sentiment that has permeated its way into American culture. For the ignorant American, it is just another reason to hate another group.

In the immortal words of Aron Kader: "If 부시, 부시 대통령은 just came out and called everyone in the Middle East a mother fucker, don't 당신 think half of America, maybe 더 많이 than half would go... 'link"

Now,...

All right, so 당신 probably saw this in your update and thought, "Oh, interesting," and then saw it was written 의해 Cinders, and now 당신 expect something sarcastic. But no, I am being very serious. Even as a self-described liberal, I do 사랑 conservatives, I want conservatives in this spot to SPEAK UP and I am going to tell 당신 why.

I have very strong opinions, as I am sure many of 당신 are familiar. Some of 당신 agree with the things I say, some of 당신 don't. And I welcome both reactions to the things I have to say, especially if 당신 disagree. As I call myself a liberal, those who tend to disagree...

Is there a link between capitalism and Christianity, a god of the markets? Some experts think so. There is growing evidence that 기독교 gave birth to the global economy.

Max Weber, the German sociologist, developed the idea that Protestantism is a pillar of the profit system. He introduced the idea that piety and profits can live together. Weber outlined his theory in 1905 with “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism”.

Calvinism and the Protestant sects, Weber argued, depend on outward signs of salvation. The main ones were diligence, sobriety and success. Thrift was also...

I have never been a 팬 of president bashing. I don't care who's the president, whether a republican 또는 a democrat, i have never liked it. Yes, it can be funny, but as a whole i think it ruins the unity of America. I think it tears apart our appearance of strength as a nation, and i think our enemies, who ever they may be (im not implying a specific enemy, but american does have its share) see this hatred of our president, and are stronger because of it. A divided country falls, a united country lives on.

I remember EXACTLY where i was September 11 and exactly what happened that day. I was...

I know that I am going to get a lot of flack for this. And let me just slap on a large PG-13 warning here for those who find this to be a touchy subject. But I feel like I needed to get this off my chest.

There are a lot of topics in this 토론 spot that I come up "pro-sex" on (for lack of a better term). For example, I am pro legalization of prostitution, I do not believe a consensual one night stand is morally reprehensible if both parties know the score, and I recommend that one masturbates as often as one possibly can.

Now, there are health and safety reasons why I support legalization of...