gorgoroth

Hmmm seems like a bit of a tough one. If your family is such a supportive one, but they would go as far rejecting for just dating a girl of a different race, I'm sorry to say that IS racism. They may claim not to be racist, but this clearly would be. However I cannot see how they would be so close-minded, especially as a Christain family living in a Muslim country surround by people of a different race...seems a bit out of character. If you're closer to your Mum, it might pay to open up to her first, and get her opinion first, and to see how she thinks your Dad will react. She may be able to help him see your reasoning. I expected an answer like this sooner or later. You would have to understand the history of my country before you can make an accurate judgement. As a Christian family we believe thats different cultures should not mix (as is pointed out in the Bible), our history just makes this even worse. I can assure you me, my family nor any other South African i know has one racist thought in his or her head. Its simply out old fashioned way of up-bringing and i guess my parents' generation never learned how to addapt to the modern world. I do know a bit about the history of South Africa, and I also have South African friends. The whole aparthied regime was built on racism. And that was the South Africa your parents would have grown up, where racial inequality was not only promoted, but enforced. Racist thinking became such a part of every day life that people did not think twice about living in their nice city home, while the blacks lived in the slums in another city. You may not see it as racism, but that is indeed what it is. However this debate is not going to help you win your family over. It's hard as you said because your parents have been raised with a way of life and thinking that is not to change overnight, but maybe their love for you will allow them to accept your choices. I'm guessing the fact that me and my parents don't really get along won;t make thing any easier :/

No, because they aren't real. But there is proof of their existance. Alot of proof. Concrete proof. If there is such proof, bring it to the table so it can be evaluated based on the merits of authenticity. You also need to consider, when putting forth such evidence, that we humans tend to create hallucinations when we are in states of mourning, fear, rage, etc... At this point, with all the evidence that has been presented to you, this is what you are doing. [hide][/hide] Oh yes because your expert evaluation is going to prove a lot? Sorry but i am more liekly to believe someone that specializes in that feild than i would a random internet games. No offense. But for all i know you are simply someone pulling quotes and big words from a book. I have a free day on Sunday. I'll look for some concrete evience then. Also you must keep in mind that not all ghosts were seen when in shock, rage, etc.

Discovery Chanel should be good enough. But appart from that there are many books and articles which would provide you with evidence that ghosts and spirits do exist in the modern world. I reallt cannot be asked to browse the internet at this time of the night to prove a point, that you can do yourself. But i can assure you that demons, angels, spirits and ghosts do exist. And as far as i know it would be highly impossible for them to be a result of evolution. A cell might be able to evolve into a human but i highly doubt beyond any reasonable doubt that a cell could evolve into a spirit.

No, because they aren't real. But there is proof of their existance. Alot of proof. Concrete proof.

Oh also i forgot to ask one thing. Do you believe in ghosts/spirits?

Human babies are unable to care for themselves for 10+ years. Love keeps the parents together, which means the child has a better chance to survive. Who is to say they don't? Some species have males and females that stay together for their whole life. Currents and reassigning nerve ends in our brain. That's what you think :wink: In concept you're just a machine. We still are driven by instinct. Ever been scared by something? Seen a beautiful woman and subconsciously staring at her before you realise what you are doing? We do. The chances of them following us is probably rather small as exactly the same mutations must occur, of which the chance is negigible. But they might get more intelligent. Doplhins, elephants, birds(singing) and many more creatures use sound to communicate. Never will. Still? Now even more than ever. The more i read the replies the bigger the bull [cabbage] gets. Its all a 50 - 50 game to me. Every reason you have for evolution i have a reason for God. To me it sounds like you're making up excuses and i'm 100% sure to you it sounds the same on my part. I guess all that mankind can do is wait for Judgement day or whatever.

Hmmm seems like a bit of a tough one. If your family is such a supportive one, but they would go as far rejecting for just dating a girl of a different race, I'm sorry to say that IS racism. They may claim not to be racist, but this clearly would be. However I cannot see how they would be so close-minded, especially as a Christain family living in a Muslim country surround by people of a different race...seems a bit out of character. If you're closer to your Mum, it might pay to open up to her first, and get her opinion first, and to see how she thinks your Dad will react. She may be able to help him see your reasoning. I expected an answer like this sooner or later. You would have to understand the history of my country before you can make an accurate judgement. As a Christian family we believe thats different cultures should not mix (as is pointed out in the Bible), our history just makes this even worse. I can assure you me, my family nor any other South African i know has one racist thought in his or her head. Its simply out old fashioned way of up-bringing and i guess my parents' generation never learned how to addapt to the modern world.

You're using faith in believing that it exists and that those sources are true, just as you'd be using faith to believe in evolution and its proof. Everyone uses faith in practically every situation and to discount religious faith would be ... hypocritical...? Isn't what youre saying almost the same as saying wind exists? We can't see it nor really feel it, but we know its there? Same can be said about emotion. Emotion might be a better example.

Love and compassion can be easily explained as an evolved behavior to help assist in the survival of the species. If we love we are more likely to look out for and help our fellow humans, which makes the species more survivable. Animals do love, just not on the same level we do. Haven't you ever owned a dog? We are able to think because we have a brain, like all animals. Our brain is just more complex than other animals. We do still evolve. As a population we've been growing taller, for instance. A: Monkeys did not evolve into humans in the first place. We evolved from the common ancestor of all apes. B: Monkeys are still evolving. C: I think you're still not understanding the time-scale involved. It took millions of years for us to evolve from the primitive ape-like creature to what you see today. Everything is still evolving, it's just that evolution takes a very long time to happen. Look at oak trees. They start from an acorn but over the course of 30 years they can reach dozens of feet in height. Your perception of time is such that you can't watch it and see it grow, but every time you look at it it's a little bit larger than the last time you saw it. Furthermore, if you plant an oak tree sapling, then don't see it again for 30 years, when you come back there will have been a dramatic change. You know that it's the same oak tree for various reasons, but you didn't actually witness it grow, did you? That's partially how our understanding of evoulution works. We see a creature in the fossil record and due to many lines of evidence we can say that this creature is a transitional or primitive form of this other creature. We didn't actually witness it evolve but it's evolution is the best explanation for those many pieces of evidence. Dogs (and all animals) cannot make their own choices though. I understand that our brain is much more complexed but i still cannot understand why we can make a CHOICE while they only have INSTICT to rely on. Dogs do as they are told, not as they want. And animals do not love. They have a certain affection, but affection is not love. Also animals have loyalty, this also is not love. EDIT: I'm not trying to troll or anything. I'm really just trying to get a better understanding of everything. I never had the chance to learn about the Big Bang and all that goes with it in my school. My knowledge of it is very very limited so thats why my answers and questions might seem really stupid. Dogs are animals who were built to survive in the wild, so they rely on instinct. Humans were once animals (built to survive in the wild) but through evolution gradually came to the point we are at now. And I read somewhere that dolphins can have sex for pleasure. For centuries dogs have been used as pets. Surely they have been able to develop the ability to chose? Some dogs havent seen the wild for thousands of years. Also, dolphins have sex because they have a lust for one-another. Lust is not love. I want to have sex with Megan fox because i have a lust for her, not a love (this is a simple example).

Love and compassion can be easily explained as an evolved behavior to help assist in the survival of the species. If we love we are more likely to look out for and help our fellow humans, which makes the species more survivable. Animals do love, just not on the same level we do. Haven't you ever owned a dog? We are able to think because we have a brain, like all animals. Our brain is just more complex than other animals. We do still evolve. As a population we've been growing taller, for instance. A: Monkeys did not evolve into humans in the first place. We evolved from the common ancestor of all apes. B: Monkeys are still evolving. C: I think you're still not understanding the time-scale involved. It took millions of years for us to evolve from the primitive ape-like creature to what you see today. Everything is still evolving, it's just that evolution takes a very long time to happen. Look at oak trees. They start from an acorn but over the course of 30 years they can reach dozens of feet in height. Your perception of time is such that you can't watch it and see it grow, but every time you look at it it's a little bit larger than the last time you saw it. Furthermore, if you plant an oak tree sapling, then don't see it again for 30 years, when you come back there will have been a dramatic change. You know that it's the same oak tree for various reasons, but you didn't actually witness it grow, did you? That's partially how our understanding of evoulution works. We see a creature in the fossil record and due to many lines of evidence we can say that this creature is a transitional or primitive form of this other creature. We didn't actually witness it evolve but it's evolution is the best explanation for those many pieces of evidence. Dogs (and all animals) cannot make their own choices though. I understand that our brain is much more complexed but i still cannot understand why we can make a CHOICE while they only have INSTICT to rely on. Dogs do as they are told, not as they want. And animals do not love. They have a certain affection, but affection is not love. Also animals have loyalty, this also is not love. EDIT: I'm not trying to troll or anything. I'm really just trying to get a better understanding of everything. I never had the chance to learn about the Big Bang and all that goes with it in my school. My knowledge of it is very very limited so thats why my answers and questions might seem really stupid.

Okay lets suppose for a second that evolution is true. How would you explain love? How did humans learn to love? Why havent animals learn to love? And why are we able to think? Why can we make our own choices? Why are we driven by choice and thought rather than instinct? Why don't we still evolve? Why arent monkeys still evolving into humans? Why havent animals learned the art of speach yet? Did evolutions just stop? Those are the things that just dont make sense to me.

I have introduced her as a friend before. My fathers respose was odd. He aked me alot of questions the next day. Kind of like he was accepting her. My mother on the other hand had a slight hostile attatude towards the situation. I found this really odd. Moving out of the house is not an option for me. Atleast not till i'm 21 or so. Its hard to explain, but this country has strange ways. Also, my dad kicking me out of the house is very unlikely but he has a strange way of thnking so there is always the 1% chance. I dont think they would make the same mistake with me as they did with my older sister (long story). I guess i know what i should do. Maybe i just need someone to tell me what a big [kitty] i am. Someone that could pull some reverse phychology on me. My family is my everything. Dissapointing them is not easy but going against my heart is even harder.

Best advice i can give you is to go have a good cry about it. I know it sounds odd but crying often brings the realization faster. You might not even know it but your mind is still thinking about ways to get back together (kind of subconciously). That is why i say cry. I was in the same situation a year ago and after crying my eyes out for a few hours i felt better. Sure, a 18 year old guy crying over a girl might seem a bit nancy but in the end it helps alot. And not we get to a little problem i have myself. Its very complicated and to flly understand my situation you need to understand the history of my Country. Since there is no time for that i will try and explain best i can. After living in South Africa for 17 years i moved to a country called Qatar. Ive been here for almost 2 years now. 6 Months ago i met the most amazing girl of my life, the only problem was that she was Pakistani. All my life and all my parents' lives (and their parents, etc, etc) we were brought up in a very concervative way. By this i mean white on white, black on black. I would not considder it a racist way of upbringing because we did know quite a few black people and never once did we see ourself better than them. Although i might have been great freidns with black/non white girls i would never have thought about it being more serious than just friends, its just the way every one in my town was brought up. So when i met this girl i though, why not? I wont ever be able to tell my parents, but what are the chances of this getting serious? Well, its been 5 and a half months now and we are still together. I cant bring myself to break up with her. I love her so much and i really feel i could do anything for her. Its becime really hard for me to hide it from my parents. The guilt of it is having its toll on my health. I thought about telling my parents many times but there is always one thing that stops me. A while back my Cousin married an Indian girl. He was basically shun from the family. His own parents hardly ever talk to him. I dont want the same thing to happen to me and my family, but on the other hand i really dont want to lose this girl. I'm sure somewhere out there there has to be someone that has experienced what i am right now. I know it was total stupidity to even start seeing her. And i should have ended it as soon as i could feel myself falling for her. I am afriand its too late now. I've tried causing fights between us. Ive tried making her hate me. Ive tried making her leave me so many times because the thought of me having to break up with her kills me. I guess thats if i make her hate me it would hurt her alot less, even though it might hurt me more. I really dont care i just dont want to see her get hurt. Can anyone, anyone at all, offer some kind of advice? Telling your parents of your relationship is among the hardest pasrts of a relationship. You unfortunatly have it even worse due to conservatism. My suggestion when telling them to make them realize that love doesn't see color or race, it sees emotion. This will be difficult. But do your parents miss your cousin? Ask them smoetime. Ask if they feel bad abuot shunning a family member. Make the mrealize that they were wrong to do so by pointng how how great a guy he was. If you can get your family to accept your cousin, you can get them to accept you. Well my dad never liked my cousin anyway so to him it makes no difference. My uncle misses his son ofcourse. It was his first born. Me and my mum went to visit my Cousin last year when we were in South Africa. They all still care but i think they might be a little to afriad to admit it. I;ve thought about the Pros and Cons about telling them. Ive basically come to this: Pros: I would sleep a whole lot better at night (tbh, i might actually SLEEP). i would be able to show my parents how happy a person a can be thanx to Roanna. I wouldnt have to hide one of the best parts of my life. I can have a more honest relationship with my parents Cons: Well my dad is a real hard [wagon] so he might kick me out of the house. If i am not kicked out of the house i will have all my privlages taken away from me. They could stop me from seeing Roanna. So...it puts me in a real mind-[bleep].

FYI, when you are ranging Dragons then Darts > All.

Best advice i can give you is to go have a good cry about it. I know it sounds odd but crying often brings the realization faster. You might not even know it but your mind is still thinking about ways to get back together (kind of subconciously). That is why i say cry. I was in the same situation a year ago and after crying my eyes out for a few hours i felt better. Sure, a 18 year old guy crying over a girl might seem a bit nancy but in the end it helps alot. And not we get to a little problem i have myself. Its very complicated and to flly understand my situation you need to understand the history of my Country. Since there is no time for that i will try and explain best i can. After living in South Africa for 17 years i moved to a country called Qatar. Ive been here for almost 2 years now. 6 Months ago i met the most amazing girl of my life, the only problem was that she was Pakistani. All my life and all my parents' lives (and their parents, etc, etc) we were brought up in a very concervative way. By this i mean white on white, black on black. I would not considder it a racist way of upbringing because we did know quite a few black people and never once did we see ourself better than them. Although i might have been great freidns with black/non white girls i would never have thought about it being more serious than just friends, its just the way every one in my town was brought up. So when i met this girl i though, why not? I wont ever be able to tell my parents, but what are the chances of this getting serious? Well, its been 5 and a half months now and we are still together. I cant bring myself to break up with her. I love her so much and i really feel i could do anything for her. Its becime really hard for me to hide it from my parents. The guilt of it is having its toll on my health. I thought about telling my parents many times but there is always one thing that stops me. A while back my Cousin married an Indian girl. He was basically shun from the family. His own parents hardly ever talk to him. I dont want the same thing to happen to me and my family, but on the other hand i really dont want to lose this girl. I'm sure somewhere out there there has to be someone that has experienced what i am right now. I know it was total stupidity to even start seeing her. And i should have ended it as soon as i could feel myself falling for her. I am afriand its too late now. I've tried causing fights between us. Ive tried making her hate me. Ive tried making her leave me so many times because the thought of me having to break up with her kills me. I guess thats if i make her hate me it would hurt her alot less, even though it might hurt me more. I really dont care i just dont want to see her get hurt. Can anyone, anyone at all, offer some kind of advice?

I don't see how this is aplicable?

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I'm in a christian country. I see Christians drinking, smoking, having pre-marital sex, selling drugs, killing people, and so on. I've heard Christians say that we should just nuke the middle east and be done with it. If we nuked the middle east, where would we get our oil from? Better yet we should send in a million more troops, massacre every Iraqi, and then steal all of their oil. Wow. Anyways, to answer Jaekerdoods question is God selfish? I could give the hallmark-esque answer "God is wise" but you also have to remember the prhase which applies to relgious people and Atheists. Good things happen to bad people; bad things happen to good people. Thats basically it. And yea Jaekerdood, I have a couple mental disorders which require medication, along with diagnosed ADHD. My mom refuses to let me get medicine, and I'm not about to spend 80$ on my own. And to the comment about those [developmentally delayed]ed Christians who want to nuke the Middle East. There are [developmentally delayed]s in every sect; cult; religion; government, and country. Just because there are a hugemajority of [developmentally delayed]s in Christianity, does not mean all are. And I compeltely agree with whomever made the comment about Hypocrites in Christianity (pre-marital sex etc.) thats why I hate the Christian Church. All the Christians I've ever met were self-righteous douchebags. And all the Atheists I've ever met were open, kind, caring people. I posed this question to my mom, and she said "well everyone has problems." I replied "so why do they act like they don't have any" -Christians = They. But for some reason, I just know God exists. Everywhere I see him; in Psych class we were going over how the brain works etc. It's simply fascinating, and I don't see how this could come from Evolution. Having said all of this i forgot to mention the most important thing. I am South African. It has just occured to me that even though a Christian in the UK and a Christian in South Africa pray to the same God, our methods and morals are very different. I go to a Dutch reformed church. In South Africa we are known for being conservative. This means we wear suits every Sunday, we act all posh, etc. We had a great community. Caring, loving. We were a family. If someone in our Church got cancer we would pray as if it were our own brother, mother, sister, etc. Also with out conservative nature came a very respective outlook on life. We were a community that was stict about pre-maritial sex, eccesive drinking, drugs, etc. Sure here and ther we would get the odd ball, but that was very rare. We were passionate about God and we could see that our church, and the rest of the Dutch reformed churches in the area, were all loving, caring people. We hed this Egyptian guy named Tess in our church. He did not understand a word of our language yet he was there EVERY Sunday because he told us that he could feel God when he was there. He had to take a bus 50km every Sunday morning to get there. This already should tell you something. But back to my actuall point. Me and my dad had a talk earlier about Christianity in UK, USA and SA. I asked my dad why so many people in UK and USA were athiest. He told me that because so many of your churches are scams. In South Africa in all my 16/17 Years of living there i have only ever heard of 1 scam. A scam were the pastol would steal the collection money. I have however heard of many stories where something like this would happen in the UK and USA. In all honesty i do not blame people living in the UK or USA for being Athiest. I guess if i had to grow up with churches scamming me out of my money i would have thought Christianity a scam aswell. You guys need to keep that in mind aswell. South Africa (even though it is Africa and you would assume more crime, etc) has very very very few (if any) cases where a Chistian church scams you.

DFS is only worth it if you have low Defense and if you do a lot of Dragon tasks. Soon as you get 85+ Defense you shouldn't need to use it anymore. So i would say it would be a no for you since you have 87 Def. As for Ranging. Try Aviansies in the GWD. There is a link in my sig if you would like a guide.

Alright I haven't read all of the replies but here is how i see it. 99 Prayer is nice for 2 reasons: It makes your Prayer last longer saving you money of Prayer Pots and it boosts your Combat level. The cape is total shyte if you ask me. Aside from those 2 things 99 Prayer is UNSELESS (unless it is updated). 99 Herblore is kind of useless too, but more worth it than Prayer. Atm one of the most expencive 99's and one of the most usefull 96's. I wouldnt be to worried about getting 99 atm. Get 96 and use the money you save on getting 90 Prayer. That should be all you need for now.

If you want money, would Double Cosmics not be a better option?

Taking somethat that cures you is not against the will of God. He Himself at some point in his life must have been ill, and surely He took some form of medication to prevent it. I am unaware of the side affects of the vaccine so my answer might seem stupd to you. Howeer, if it cures something that might have killed you then i say again, God is just. Also as i have heard it from many of my Muslim friends, the Quran is more like a Steven King book than a bible. I think even Islam explains the Big Bang theory, although i am not 100% sure. But i would say i is worth the read. If not for religion, atleast for a better understanding.

This has gone from a semi-serious disscusion back to a troll fest. I'm wasting time here. Good luck to you all.

Look, you guys need to understand that i am just a simple Christian. I read my Bible and goto Church, i pray. I never studied Theology so most fo the questions i am bombarded with i am unable to answer. My knowledge about christianity is limited. I do not know it all. Maybe a pastor or a priest will be better suited to answer your questions but i feel that if i do attempt to answer them i might give you totally wrong information. I am very dure you can understand that?

Funny, i have a lot of Muslim friends that will gladly prove you wrong. Also, your last sentence is just stupid -.-. Ofcourse we don't hear ACTUALL voices. Christian =/= Nutcase. And its different in many ways. Rules, practice, theory. Oh, of course. We apologize for failing to realize that your muslim friends vastly override websites, research, the Koran, etc. Please forgive us. And talking to pople that aren't there is also a sign of schizophrenia. Lucky for me God is there :thumbup: