Duff

Twice baked potatoes are mouth watering!

Don't worry, Killer. I learned it senior year of high school, too.

You can interpret it as 'be thankful for what you have' (yah, it's a stretch). And that's what I do every time I see something like that. I ignore whatever they actually wrote. I'm think I know what you mean, though. I don't think you're a cold hearted. ;-)

As annoying as I find those things, too, they're good 'eye-openers' if you see it differently. If you read it as "You think your life is tough, some people are suffering worse," then it's a useful reminder to be thankful for what you have. I'd rather be reminded of how thankful I should be because of how well off I am by one of those stupid statuses than not be reminded at all. :\

I can see where I may have been misleading. You act like a guy like me can't make mistakes unknowingly (if he didnt want to imply it then he wouldnt have written it). I did not mean for people to interpret what I said as meaning truth and age are correlated. Plainly, I meant that, since the Catholic Church has been around for so long and is rather prevalent in today's society, it would be a good idea to look into that it, especially because it's teachings are so well defined. Just think of it as me suggesting someone look into buying a computer made by Microsoft first instead of a computer made by a relatively new company. The history of the Church is filled with mistakes. There were dozens of popes that were not fit for the position. The modern Church has acknowledged this. But I assure you that the Catechism of the Catholic Church is not contradictory. Your example of contradictory spans over time, while I meant 'non contradictory' as in it's teachings now - compared to fundamentalist Christianity (which was why this subject came up), which is very contradictory in that one part of the Bible taken literally clearly contradicts another part of the Bible taken literally. Again, you will not find a spot in the Catechism that contradicts another point in the Catechism; that is what I meant by non contradictory. Humans are flawed. Also, it's taken many mistakes and many arguments for the Catholic Church to get where it is now. It will continuously improve upon itself by better fleshing out its teachings, and that only comes with time.

As much as I want to try, I have a feeling I'll make a mistake. :\ If I'm lucky, it'll come in tomorrow (along with my Texas Instruments calculator!). As for your second question, I am thoroughly convinced that God exists. I'm pretty sure that that is the different from claiming that I know God exists. Being convinced/believing is different than claiming you know, yes?

^ That's for sure. All The Sails - Eluvium The dissonance in this song gives me chills.

Nope. No matter how fast you're traveling (say you are traveling at the speed of light, too), light will still be traveling 3E8 m/s away from you. I thought the below scenario would've been so cool to think about before I learned the above (I'm pretty sure the above is true): What would happen if you and a mirror in front of you were traveling at the speed of light? Would you see a reflection in the mirror? Or would you not since the rays of light from your face would not be able to reach the mirror?

There are a series of arguments that I find to be extremely convincing. I'll expand on these arguments once I have their exact wording in front of me (I want to get them right). Be patient with me. :grin: I was raised Catholic in a very Catholic family. But I've taken huge steps towards reinforcing those beliefs I was taught as a child through my own research and learning. So I don't believe in God just cause I'm told to. :P In case you were thinking that.

So the other night I was dreaming. And then I knew that my dream couldn't be possible in reality, so I woke myself up and convinced myself it was possible, because I was seeing it before my own eyes. And then I woke up in the morning and realized it wasn't possible, and that I had woken up from a dream within a dream. No, I'm not trying to be funny and play at that Inception movie. I literally woke up from a dream in a dream, convinced myself I was awake, and therefore what was happening around me was real. Real trippy. :unsure:

I think Matt's voice definitely comes into its own on that album. The soothing, deep tone of Cardinal Song and the urgency and uncertainty of Slipping Husband really kick off the album well. The rest of the album follows suit. [/fanboying] Ha, you sure know how to describe it, though. :thumbup: Mogwai Feat Satan - Mogwai. Such a great song, how it oscillates between quiet, soothing flute (I think it's flute) to the harder guitar and drums. It's also a plus that it lasts for 13+ minutes.

It took a while, though. :s And it wasn't easy. Guess it's round 2.

Ha, no I didn't really read into it at all. It just kinda brought her back to the forefront of my mind again, which was possibly the worst thing that could have happened at this point. :P

Erm... I don't think I've ever heard of someone believing in heaven/hell without believing in a god or greater being. I wish I had that book, because it would provide a lot of insight into this discussion. It should be here by Wednesday. If I remember correctly, a part of it deals with our yearning for ultimate happiness, and how no one on this earth has truly achieved complete happiness, yet we all strive for it. I think that is one simple explanation for why people would think there has to be something afterwards - something that satisfies this ultimate desire for perfect happiness. I'll definitely write more on the subject once that book comes in. :) EDIT: Oh, and of course, I believe in heaven/hell because Sacred Scripture and Tradition have always believed these to exist. I don't believe in them simply because I'm told they exist, though. I just find that there should be something after life, and it makes sense that it has to do with being in God's presence (which I believe will result in ultimate, eternal happiness).

Haven't talked to this girl that I've written a lot about since school began (August 30). So, it's been a while (at least in my opinion). And I was making god progress getting over her. I've been so busy; plus, I just kinda know she's not thinking about me at all, so that helps (convincing myself the feeling is definitely not mutual). She sent me a text on the 24th. I wasn't expecting one. I was actually kinda hoping we wouldn't text at all until maybe after we had all (we as in her friends and mine) planned a get together. Plus, I had gotten her off my mind for the most part. The text was real simple: "Hello there! So I was thinking that it has been much too long since I last talked with you. How's life bud?" And I responded with "Heya. I've just been keeping myself busy with this school thing. Kinda getting into a groove finally. How about you? Having fun up in [insert city name]?" I just needed to tell someone. Because I genuinely thought, "Shiiiiiiiiit, she texted me." Just as you think you're getting over someone... :\

Well, I went to classes, like usual. Got a 96% on my chemistry exam, so was pretty happy about that (class average was 67). Now I'm gonna read some Plato, do some physics, and then maybe work on some chemistry homework. Class doesn't start until 10:50am tomorrow, so I can stay up late tonight. :thumbup: Oh, and I get my computer science exam back tomorrow. Hoping for a good grade.

:thumbup: Love B&W photos.

Wow, what a meat-lover's sandwich. Sounds soo tasty right now, Z.

Heh, numerous appeals to authority? There is no fallacy when the authority is the one who defines everything that I'm explaining in the first place. That's like saying I can't refer to a textbook when I'm answering questions on the material from the textbook. And Locke_Superbus, I was suggesting someone look more into Catholicism if they were interested in other religions because of how well defined and organized it is. I never said they couldn't look to Zoroastrianism . And you made the absurd assumption that I said the age of an institution is proportional to the truth in it. Honestly, it seems like you just looked at basic definitions of some fallacies and tried forcing them into one of my posts.

Saying that, do you believe that your deity is the only deity? I believe there is only one deity, and this deity is most accurately described by the Catholic Church. What purpose do they serve then in your opinion? They are all about how your God created the world in 7 days, after all. It seems like you are still taking the Bible literally even though I've said so many times that it should not be taken literally, especially the creation stories. [hide]How the creation stories function: - most generally, they explain/validate political/social/cultural realities - characterizations of God and humankind - defining key relationships between God and humans, humans and humans, and humans and the land - possibly etiologies of clothing why snakes crawl and mutual hostility between them and humans marriage frustration in work subordination of women (attraction to men; pain in childbirth) human shame about body - ideology of becoming one flesh: marriage, sex, offspring - transcendent vs imminent (dealing with God) - God as an anthropomorphic being [/hide] Additionally, the seven day schema which you referred to serves as an organizational tool that contains symmetry (between creation of environment and inhabitant), again, not to be taken literally. Wait, what? Point 1, you said anyone could get into heaven, even if they weren't a Christian. Also your entire point here relies on heaven actually existing. Point 2. That statement carries as much weight as me saying 'the only way you will be reborn after death is if you were dunked underwater as a baby'. I do agree with Obsfucator with the whole being baptized as a baby thing though. I seem to be repeating myself over and over again. If you read back a few posts, you'd see that I clearly state it's possible for a non-Christian to get into heaven. The Church does not claim there is no other way besides baptism. They claim it is the only known way; yet, they clarify that God is not governed by God's own sacraments, so God has the final say. As for the entire point here relying on heaven actually existing, the very fact that someone asks about heaven assumes the fact that, in the discussion, it does exist. If someone asked, "What would happen if the world flipped on it's axes?", a scientist wouldn't say, "It can't." They would assume it could and go on from there; that's implied when answering a question. I also said this earlier (I think even to you); part of what the Church does is interprets the Bible and provides correct teaching to the people of this earth. I don't believe in abortion, yet so many people do; why? Because the Church has an adamant position on it (namely that it's morally wrong). One thing the Church does is it takes basic morals that it has interpreted from the Bible and that have been acknowledged throughout it's history through Tradition and applies them to modern day. A lot of people don't want to be part of the Church because of how strict it is. I know from your statement you do not follow all that the Church teaches; rather, you do not believe in all the Church's teachings. I do (or I do my best to, though I sometimes fail). And that is partly why religion is in my life.

She's the right size for me, to be honest. I like skinny, fit girls. ^^ Good looking man right here.

Murder Me Rachael - The National I just can't get enough of this dude's voice. Semi-Off-Topic: A few weeks ago, I realized how much I dislike Macklemore's voice. Just can't stand it. All my friends are really surprised that I'm not going to see him when he comes to Whitworth. Seems like everyone should like him, heh.

I'm not pushing my beliefs on anyone (I am taking part in said debates). I'm defending and clarifying what I believe; you have no idea how many people lack adequate knowledge on the subject of Catholicism. They make assumptions about what we believe that are wrong, and I don't want other people to see these assumptions and think they're true. Anyway, I'm not sure I like that topic creation simply because I know it'll take up so much of my time as long as it exists, and I dunno if I have that amount of time. :s @AGreatMonk: I totally taught myself how to do that when I saw that video a week or so ago. So cool. :thumbup:

No one is guaranteed entrance into heaven. But according to what the Lord says, the Church teaches that the only revealed way one can gain entrance into heaven is through baptism and living accordingly. But like I said earlier, God is not bound by his sacraments, and therefore his final judgement kind of 'trumps' all. EDIT: Also, I wanted to say a bit more on the subject of forced baptism. I can see why people would dislike the idea of baptizing a child who has no knowledge of what is happening. Regardless of if it was what you wanted, you parents did it as an act of love, like they do with most things when we're young and naive.

Hey, that's what happened to me, too (a year ago)! I showed how'd pathetically dependent I was on her, and now things are messed up. But yeah, like people are hinting, move on. It took me a year to do it, but I think I've finally managed it.