Ghost,
Jesus was responding to Peter's exclamation that he would not let Jesus
be put to death. If Peter had suceeded, redemption would never come.
Jesus knew he had to die since the moment he was born a man. Peter
wanted to interupt God's plan, which would be what Satan wanted all
along. That is... if you choose to believe the story... ;-)

Two cents...
I read through these postings, and elsewhere in this forum topic of
religion and I see lots of references to the writings of other men and
women about why men and women believe what they believe. Does anyone see
that as potentially flawed? That we, as individuals, use other people's
thinking to guide our own, as if we have not our own conscience. There
will NEVER be agreement throughout the populus about what to believe,
who to believe, and how to life a "good" life. Is it possible that all
we are required to do is recognize that we all must decide for
ourselves?

I think that this discussion is missing one very important point. We
understand engines because we invent and manufacture them. We understand
the heating and cooling of homes because we make the tools that do the
job. None of us have that kind of understanding of the universe around
us because we DID NOT create it. God, or Supreme Being, or Allah, or
whatever name you choose is our way of explaining and understanding that
which we cannot understand or explain.

Ghost, I think your original hypothesis is not taking into account the
human elements of greed and control. The lineage that you present has
more to do with education than evolution. There were no Bibles back
then, everything about a belief system was passed from mouth to ear,
person to person. God, according to the Bible, made Himself known to
people throughout time. Is that an unprovable thing to say? No, just
look around. The power of God is everywhere you look. He is the same,
yesterday, today, and tomorrow... never changing. That means that the
same God who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, the same God who caused it to
rain for 40 days and nights to wipe man off the planet, has reached down
from Heaven in order to be our "best buddy". The question now is... do
you believe that sight unseen? That's what faith is... believing without
the need for proof. Like the old saying, "a man's word is his bond".

As for evolution, nowhere in the Bible does it say that God is confined
to our 24-hour days. Seven days to God could be 7,000,000 years to us.
There is a growing number of scientists who agree that there is
purposeful design in all that we are and see... that none of the life on
this planet just "happened".

Our minds weren't designed to comprehend all things of this universe.
Somethings are better left to God... ;-)

Sorry Ghost, I'm on a cable modem and followed the link... I got an
error message...
"This url contains a malformed video id."

Do you remember the title? Maybe I can search for it.

Hi guys,
The gallery view button on the "people who added you as favorite" page
is a dead link... unless the problem is that I only have one person on
that list.

I click the button and "page can not be found"...

It's not really important, but I was a web programmer for 3 years. I
know how it can bug you when even a little thing doesn't work right.

Hmmm...
Vocals - Peter Maffay or Joe Elliot
Lead Guitar - Joe Satriani or Peter Frampton
Second Guitar - Vitto Bratta or Neil Schon
Bass - Leland Skylar or Don Harris
Drums - Steve Smith or Alex Van Halen

So JT, with all of that theory behind you, you must sight read pretty
well, right? I've never been able to get beyond chord sheets and tabs.
Almost everything I know was learned by trial-and-error through my
ears-connected to my brain-connected to my hands kind of thing... LoL
That makes me a rather average-to-mediocre player... ;-) You know the
type, I'm sure... a jack-of-all-but-master=of-none... but I keep on
keepin' on... haha.

I asked vanchau about this. He said that the server will delete the
messages after a certain amount of time... he just didn't say how long
you would have to wait.

Here's his message... "For Sent messages, the system will just delete
them over time automatically... "

I wouldn't mind cleaning my sent folder either, but it seems we just
have to wait.

Will, going from guitar to banjo to mandalin must be difficult. They're
all strung and tuned differently. How much do you practice with each
one?

Musicians... where are all of the music makers??
What instrument do you play? How long have you been playing? Are you
hobbyist, part-time pro, full-time pro??

Tell us your story... :-)

Mine is that I've been a musician for about... hmm... 34 years. I
started with snare lessons in 5th grade, advanced to acoustic guitar
while stationed in Korea, then to electric guitar while stationed in AZ,
and graduated to bass guitar about 3 months ago... with some keyboard
fumbling sprinkled in there. I've been a part of 4 church bands/worship
teams and now am back to playing for my own pleasure.

I own 2 electrics (a Peavey Gen3 and a Carvin V220), 1 12-string
electric-acoustic (Epiphone), and 1 5-string bass (Fender Squire
P-Special). These are played through either a J-Station (with a J8
cotroller), an Alesis Quadraverb, or my new toy- a Behringer Bass V-amp
Pro midi'd to an Alesis Midiverb4 (with a Behringer foot controller).

My playing centers around rock and hard rock styles, but I'm not fast
enough to do lead. Music is a VERY large part of my life!

Well, breeze, that is a very good question. There are Christians -
namely pastors, who talk about how we Christians stood idly by and
watched all of this happen... that we should have spoken out at the time
things happened... that we are too comfortable in our own salvation.

Based on what I've read in the Bible, we are to allow an outward
expression of an inward joy, peace, and integrity. When "they" took down
the ten commandments from the courthouses, I don't remember hearing that
there were protestors in or out side of the buildings. Maybe I missed
that part.

We used to hear about the starving children in China at the dinner
table, but there really are people starving in this technologically
driven world. Can we, as individuals, understand that we CAN make change
for the better... one person at a time. It's like a chain reaction...
you know one person helps two people, those two help two each, those
four help two each, those eight help two each and so on. Can we really
grasp that, or are we content to wait for someone better suited to do it
for us?? I'm guilty. These words aren't from my experience... I'm an
introvert who shuns public action. Maybe the Holy Spirit will hammer
something different into my brain so that I can be that one person.

Ghost, the Bible says that in the "end times" there will be an explosion
of technology and knowledge, wars and rumors of wars, famine, unsual
weather diasters, and a general turning away from God. Isn't that what's
happening right now? Isn't knowledge just exploding everywhere? Aren't
we taking God out of our schools and court rooms and businesses?

All of these things were told to us already, I'm sure that most
Christians are watching and waiting... it's going to get much worse
before Jesus comes down from the clouds to fight the last war and then
rule in peace for a thousand years.

Hmmm... the scripture that comes to mind is when Jesus talks about just
such a thing, as the passage says...

Matthew 7:16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick
grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good
tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree
cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every
tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

21"Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22
Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'
23 Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you
evildoers!'

breeze, I know that you were expecting a personal opinion, but my
knowledge isn't based on what I think... it's not supposed to be. My
opinions, if I'm want to be a wise man, should come directly from the
Bible. That is, if I choose to believe that the Bible is the inspired
word of God. If it's nothing more than a history book and I have to
depend on my own intellect, then all of my choices will be selfish,
without love or concern for anyone else and I will forever be lost!!
Don't misunderstand, I am in NO way saying that I "have arrived"... I
struggle every day to do what is right in God's sight and every day I
feel like I fail Him. He knows, though, that I'm not quitting. I think
that that is why I have His grace and mercy.

Well, here's two cents worth...

My understanding of the "judgement day" theme is that those who accept
Jesus as Lord and Savior now will not have a judgement. The judgement
day scene is for those who did not accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Their sentence will be to spend eternity in the lake of fire where (if I
remember correctly) there will be groaning and gnashing of teeth. How
you live isn't the question, it's whether you accept the gift of
salvation given to us through the death of Jesus. The religious leaders
of Israel thought that it was all about "how" you live and Jesus scorned
them for it.

My two cents...

I've struggled with and questioned my "faith" for as long as I've been a
Christian... about 27 years. In the Bible, Proverbs tells us not to rely
on our own understanding. The ways and thoughts of God are too huge for
our little minds to comprehend. Yes people, we ALL have little minds in
comparision to a "superior creator". None of us in any lifetime could
design such beauty as we have the privilege to witness in our lifetime.
Call it God, Allah,or a hundred other names... does the name matter as
long as it's used out of respect?

The Bible talks of Jesus being crucified, to die in our place (for the
wages of sin is death). Jesus is "quoted" to say that "I am the truth,
the way, and the life. No man comes to the Father but through Me." Isn't
that really the issue when it comes to "religion" and "faith"? Can we,
as humans, accept the story that God became man so He could die in our
place and by doing so bring us, spiritually, to the feet of our Creator?
Can we accept that if we don't receive this "gift" that we will be
eternally damned? The catch is that there is also God's opposite in the
world! There is someone who DOES NOT want any of us to "go to Heaven"!!
That means that "the devil" will do ANYTHING to make you and I stumble,
fumble, and fall away from God's gift... or is all of this rubbish??
That, my friends, is the paradox... we won't find out with all certainty
until we die - then it'll be too late to do anything about our choices.

I once asked an elder of a church how he could be certain that "our
faith" is right... His answer continues to comfort me. He said, "If
we're right and God is all that the Bible says, we will be at His feet
for eternity. If we're wrong, then what was the harm in the life we led
- loving and caring for everyone and everything around us."

I won't say that there can only be one "religion" (man, I hate that
word!). I believe with all of my heart that there is only one way to be
at God's feet when this planet ceases to exist.
To say that God won't let people perish would be incorrect. God
destroyed entire cities, peoples, and even some of His chosen people in
order to "clean-up" the neighborhood. The God I know is very capable of
turning His back on people who turn their back on Him.

To address the original post of this very touchy subject, it is very
saddening to hear that people allow themselves to become angry and
hostile about their spirituality. No man or woman has the right to
decide for anyone but him or herself where God is concerned. We can
share, we can teach, but we should never condemn or degrade. There is
enough of that in the world already.

Thank you for your time,
rickdobs

vanchau, wouldn't blocking a user remove them from your search results
as well?

Soul... I think that you have a valid point, but it's conditional. By
that I mean, a man coming into a "premade" family (I speak from MUCH
experience!) first has to observe what is going on in this new family...
without prejudgement or expectation. You can't look at the inner
workings of a family like you look at an engine, or a business plan.

An engine works one way and one way only... a business plan works within
an established system of finance, management and supply. A family has NO
set rules or recognizable parameters other than the fact that these
people are living and growing in the same building.

Unfortunately for me, I learned that lesson twice the very hard way
(yes, I know I'm a bit slow at some things... ;-> ) The parent you're
involved with has to invite you to share the parental "chores" or you'll
be meddling and the kids WILL resent you. If that happens it's a huge
chain-reaction between you and your partner. I think that's at least one
reason why "men" (it happens to women too, I'm sure) turn and run...
They simply are equipped to be so patient and quietly observant.

I'm in a relationship now that I "talked myself into" because I thought
I could deal with the challenges of a totally dyfunctional family. I
mean it shouldn't be too hard to be patient, trusting, honest, open AND
open-minded, and fair... right??? As my mistakes piled up, so did their
resentment... both the children and their mother. (No tissues, please...
men don't cry over such things) Now... we're all unhappy. Ok, maybe I
should've left the personal stuff out, but I'm feeling better already
just by "confessing" it.

My point?... I agree that teens can't be totally responsible for who or
how they are... parents AND grandparents AND neighbors AND associates
all play an important part in the play.

As mentioned, I agree that it's a shame that men run from the
challenge... and I agree that it's one helluva challenge!

Thank you for your time,
Rick

Ok Drew, since you asked for opinions...

You blew it in the first sentence. If this was your first e-mail to her,
NEVER open the message with defense when she doesn't even know you...
that was simply antagonistic without cause. I understand that you meant
it as a test, but NOT in the first message. If you really want to find
out what she's "made of", why not let her tell you about what she's
lived through before you decide the she needs to be tested.

I think I would be insulted if you were to critique my photo in the
first paragraph of your first message to me. I saw her profile before I
even read your post and I agree it's not a professional portrait,
neither are any of mine. We all do what we can to show the "world" who
we are without "getting our hand chopped off". With the details that she
provided, I think that you had more than enough information to find a
common thread with her.

You lost 10 more points by critizing her idea of the man she wants. Who
are you? Do you KNOW that she'll never find that man? If you don't think
that you meet her ideals, then why try to test her? I think it would've
been more positive to simply tell her more about who YOU are and let her
decide if you meet or excede what she wants.

After that, the messages are just bad posturing.

I know that you were looking for support, but I have an obligation to
myself and to you to speak truthfully.

Better luck with your next attempt.

Thanks for your time,
Rick