Monday, January 30, 2006

 

Whom did Cain Marry?

Adam and Eve had Cain and Abel as children. Abel is killed, leaving only Cain. Whom did Cain marry?

Biblical apologists have interesting explanations for Cain’s wife. (A biblical "apologist" is one who ardently defends the integrity of the Bible.) They suggest that people in the book of Genesis lived exceptionally long lives -- many hundreds of years. If this is accepted, there could be millions of people on Earth by the time Cain looks for a wife. Even if Cain and his wife were closely related from a genetic standpoint, the marriage would not have been sinful because the command against marrying close relatives did not appear until Moses’s day. For example, Abraham married his half-sister.

Friday, January 27, 2006

 

Patent Granted for Jewish Switch Cover

Jonathan Whitman receives patent 6,974,925 for a Jewish Sabbath Switch Cover that prevents Jews from accidentally turning on lights during the Sabbath, when it is forbidden for Jews to do so. The cover mounts with adhesive film. The Sabbath Switch Cover can be used to selectively disable or enable the internal lighting system of most major kitchen appliances in order to assist in keeping the Jewish Sabbath and Holidays, and it is easily manufactured, inexpensive to produce and purchase, and convenient to apply and use.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

 

The Implications of Frozen Brains on the Afterlife


In the 1950s, hamster brains were partially frozen and revived by British researcher Audrey Smith. If hamster brains can function after being frozen, why can’t ours? In the 1960s, Japanese researcher Isamu Suda froze cat brains for a month and then thawed them. Some brain activity persisted. But what if there is an afterlife? If we can someday freeze a human brain and then revive the person in a 1000 years, did that person already experience the afterlife while his brain was lifeless? I discuss this and similar questions in Sex, Drugs, Einstein and Elves.

Monday, January 23, 2006

 

Make you believe that I am God?

On a cool Autumn night, you are gazing up at the sky when a being suddenly appears and asks, "What can I do to make you believe that I am God?" What is your answer?

Here are some responses I received. More responses are in my book The Paradox of God.


Saturday, January 21, 2006

 

What can we know of God?

What can we mere humans, with our limited three-pound mass of brain truly understand about a being who may be timeless, higher-dimensional, and all-knowing? Followers of the Koran have often suggested that because God has no cause or temporal dimension, there is absolutely nothing we can say about Him. Our brains are not up to the task. The philosopher Bahya ibn Pakudah (d. 1080) believed that the only people who had a hope of understanding God were the prophets and philosophers. Everyone else was simply "worshiping a projection of himself." Similarly, Muslim thinker Abu Hamidal-Ghazzali (1058-1111) thought that only special people, like mystics and prophets, could get a glimpse of God; nevertheless, most ordinary folk should not deny the existence of God -- a blind man should not deny the rainbow's existence simply because he cannot appreciate it.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

 

Life after death?

Do you believe in life after death? Why?

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

 

Religion and science

Cartoonist shows how the dinosaurs were destroyed by a large asteroid.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

 

Do-It-Yourself Deity

In an attempt to resolve any disagreement surrounding the meaning of the word "God", we assemble a special team of "metaphysical engineers" who have devised a new computer-modelling virtual environment in which to test the plausibility of different conceptions of God.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

 

Rebuild a "Third Temple"?


Dr. J. Randall Price says that the most volatile 35 acres on Earth are those comprising a rectangular platform in East Jerusalem, known as the Temple Mount, on which the ancient Jewish Temple once stood. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament togeth­er affirm that a new Temple will once again occupy this platform as part of God's end time program for the Nation of Israel."
  1. Do you think The "Third Temple" In Jerusalem will ever be built?
  2. Would you like it to be built?
  3. Could it be built without physically disturbing the Muslim Dome of the Rock?
  4. What political and sociological events would ensue should Israel built the Third Temple -- even if it did not physically disturb the Muslim Dome of the Rock?

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

 

Mystery ice cream design and God

Burger King is recalling its ice-cream cones that have a swirly design that offends some Muslims. The design on the lid apparently looks like the word ‘Allah’ in Arabic. One customer said the design was “sacreligious”. Burger King says, “As a result of feedback our supplier is amending the design.” The Muslim Council of Britain responded: “We commend the sensitive and prompt action to prevent any hurt being caused to the religious sensibilities of others.”

Sunday, January 08, 2006

 

What is your favorite alternate religion?

What is your favorite alternate religion?

Friday, January 06, 2006

 

Science must destroy religion?

Sam Harris writes, "Most people believe that the Creator of the universe wrote (or dictated) one of their books. Unfortunately, there are many books that pretend to divine authorship, and each makes incompatible claims about how we all must live. Despite the ecumenical efforts of many well-intentioned people, these irreconcilable religious commitments still inspire an appalling amount of human conflict." The full story contains 100s of reader comments.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

 

Cosmic mindmaps of Christian doctrine

Books and charts by Clarence Larkin have been extremely helpful to Christians since they were first published over 75 years ago. They have passed into the public domain and we are making some of the charts available here as an aid to Bible study. Larkin's mind-shattering charts are well thought out and Scriptually sound. Some of the more detailed are books in themselves. Here is his map of the heavens as an example.

Monday, January 02, 2006

 

Philip K. Dick, God, and time

Writer Philip K. Dick says, "God does not see time as we do; i.e. for him there is no past nor present nor future. Let us imagine a situation in which God decides to intervene into our space-time world; i.e. break through from his timeless realm into human history. He can as easily break through into what for us is the past as he can break through into what for us is the present or future. God, to bring about the Last Judgment, need not limit the event to our present or future; he can breach our past -- in other words, change our past history; he can cause it to have happened already. And this would be true for any change he wished to make, large or small. I submit to you that such alterations, the creation or selection of such so-called ‘alternate presents,’ is continually taking place."

Read more: http://www.greylodge.org/occultreview/glor_010/dick_world.htm

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