mattsk8

Help me understand what you're saying because I don't follow. What I read in this post... ...is that you aren't saying "there is no God"; you're saying you don't believe in any of the religion's views about who He is? So therefor... no one can know God?? I'm still not following, but IMO, it sounds awfully agnostic to me. As far as "shirking God because of sin"... it's not that you've found one particular sin that you aren't willing to let go of so you avoid God, you're "shirking God" and you don't know it, because of sin.

I don't think anyone was pointing fingers, if that's what you took from what I said you misunderstood me. I don't know Fudge from Adam, for all I know he's as close to sin-free as we can get. I never said I don't sin, I sin all the time, and I absolutely don't say that proudly, but it's a fact. But, up until I surrendered to God and accepted His sacrifice for my sin, I was separated from Him. One of the biggest differences between me now vs me then is that when I do sin, I listen to God and surrender, rather than run from Him. Unless I don't, then God disciplines me, and that never ends well.

Not a fan of labels? Either way... that pretty much is an agnostic stand you're taking. And don't think of it as "shirking God to live a sinful lifestyle", it's more like shirking God because of sin. Closely related but still very different.

There is evidence for God's existence, you just choose to ignore it because you choose to have faith in someone else's word over God's. The creation around you, the air you breathe, the fact that we're alive, etc... is the evidence. Beyond that, the additional evidence for me is how God has worked in my life, but I don't expect you to understand that, because w/out faith... Regardless... this is an endless discussion, I'm not sure there has ever been a point in history where someone was argued into believing anything. You guys can continue to believe we came from nothing, that's your right. "...if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve"... whether it's the weather man, a scientist, your invisible dragon in your garage, or God... "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Definitely mutual... and the beauty of it is being able to discuss these things w/out going all terrorist on each other. And I look forward to some day being able to tip a few w/ you and actually discussing things like this (and whatever else we feel like talking about) in person. That said... technically you've never seen the wind; you've only seen the effects of the wind and assumed it was the wind that made things move. Now we can obviously Google what makes wind, but if you believe what you read you're taking that in faith, because you still weren't the one that tested it.

Yes Kevin... seriously. If it's so glaringly obvious to you, then instead of skirting the question like you always do, explain how you personally know these things as fact, outside of taking someone else's word on it (in faith).

Good rebuttal. So... have you personally tested these things? Or are you taking them by faith as truth?

I don't understand how you guys can debate what Alain is saying; unless you've personally tested these things yourselves, you guys ARE taking what these people are reporting as reality in faith. You've never seen it, all you have to base your knowledge of these things is what you read. Forget molecules... how exactly do you guys know the wind exists? Have you seen it? Where's it come from?

We're both debating semantics (king of), but at least I gave reasoning. You seem to be taking the stand that the people in that video Burn-E posted took, that regardless of what reality really says, whatever you believe is reality (which is total BS). No matter what... no one ultimately has control over their own destiny. You might be able to choose which way you're going to drive to work in the morning, but you have no control over whether or not you get there. You might get there 99 times, but that 1/100 when you don't get there, regardless of what you intended to do, means that in the end... something else is ultimately in control. So believe what you want, if you think you're in control you're foolishly mistaken. You're obviously free to live in that delusion, but you're wrong and delusional. Not believing in any religion makes you agnostic... unless you spell out that you don't believe in what any of the other religions teach, and instead you believe ".....", then you started another religion. Saying "No one knows and no one can know about God, whether or not he exists" makes you agnostic. Saying "There is no God" makes you atheist. Call it semantics, but that's the definition of those words.

I imagine Ezekiel 23:20 is one of your favorites because you have the intellect of a 7 year old boy. As to 2 Samuel... it surprises you that God gives life, as well as takes it away? As far you googling Einstein's views on religion... you should've worked harder. Einstein had some definite beliefs in God, but was a self proclaimed agnostic.

We can split hairs over this, but if you read what you just posted, that doesn't make sense either. IMO, to be an "atheist" means you have taken a stand that there absolutely is no creator God or gods; and to be agnostic means you don't know or don't care. FWIW, Ozzy is agnostic (as opposed to the common belief that he's the prince of darkness or a devil worshiper)... Lyrics to his song "I Don't Know"... "People look to me and say Is the end near, when is the final day? What's the future of mankind? How do I know, I got left behind Everyone goes through changes Looking to find the truth Don't look at me for answers Don't ask me I don't know How am I supposed to know Hidden meanings that will never show Fools and prophets from the past Life's a stage and we're all in the cast..." And when I say "atheism is a religion"... obviously you can split hairs over the definition of religion too... Religion... the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially (but not limited to) a personal God or gods. Atheists have to believe in a "superhuman controlling power"; call it what you want but you certainly aren't in control of your own destiny, you don't pick and choose whether you live or you die (or even where you end up for that matter). Obviously you can control whether you die, but you didn't pick when you were born and you can't control the circumstances surrounding you. And that is the scramble for them to try to make what they believe (again, atheism is NOT the absence of belief, that's agnosticism) make sense- they know that to make the claim that there is no God, they need to attempt to account for the [obvious] creation that surrounds them. Hence the reason Psalm 14:1 says, "Only fools say in their hearts, "There is no God".

That's^^ agnostic. And I'm not the confused one; you just tried to say "absence of belief, without a structure, membership base, etc" as a definition for them, then stated that it is confusing when they form groups. Atheist... a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods. Agnostic... a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God.

I was referring to what you said about Hitler, I said the same thing, he was an opportunist and used whatever means he could to further his agenda. And my whole point was that I could use the same argument that you and Kevin were trying to use to say religion is evil and is responsible for the deaths of millions. As to when God will "show up".... 2 Peter 3:3-10; "...you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare." I think this^^ perfectly answers your question.

You just reiterated everything I already said; work on reading comprehension. And if you don't think atheism is a following, you need to wake up. I'll agree that agnostic isn't a following, it has too many loose interpretations that IMO all boil down to someone that may or may not believe in a creator, but really doesn't care either way.

Once again... debating with you is a foolish endeavor on my part because it's such a waist of time. You have no clue what you're talking about, and you just grab hold of things you read on FB. Not only that, but as soon as someone points to the flaws in your pathetic arguments, you give no answer for anything you said, and you just reel around with another dumb example of things you don't understand. It's easy to look back at some of the things in the Bible and make idiotic claims like "the Bible is anti-woman"... but if you knew anything about history, you'd know that when the Bible told men to "love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Eph 5:25), this was liberating and revolutionary for women. How is that anti-woman? I suppose now you'll grab some OT verses? Don't waist your time Kevin, because I've been down this road before and you're going to loose, and the reason you'll loose is because while you claim to have "been raised in the church", you obviously didn't learn anything. As far as how it's possible for people to be turned into pillars of salt... I'm not sure because I wasn't there. But since I believe "God created the heavens and the earth", I don't really doubt His abilities.

Right, so quit trying to use those examples as reasons for why Christianity (or other religions) are so evil; that was my point. Everything you brought up earlier is irrelevant- as I pointed out, that pendulum swings both ways. Jesus' biggest adversary was the religious right of that day, and people are evil and will use whatever is available to them to try to get others to do what they want them to do. And unfortunately it often works.

Some real historians here . So... it's surprising to you guys that people will grab hold of whatever is available to them and use it to manipulate other people? Seeing how you both seem to be such experts on the history of the crusades, you would think you guys would know the crusades were about way more than killing people because they weren't adhering to the correct doctrine. Was Hitler an agnostic, an atheist or a God fearing man? That's going to be tough for you to answer (although I'm positive he wasn't a "God fearing man"), because he made claims to all of them, depending on who he was talking to. And why do you guys suppose that is?? I can see what you're trying to do here, so let me drive a few nails into that coffin... Why atheism is evil and shouldn't be allowed... Napoleon... Kim Jong... Dahmer... Mussolini... Mao Zedong... Pol Pot... Stalin... All representatives of your atheist "religion". I can give more examples too if you'd like.

E30 and E36 are my favorites, anything after 99 never did much for me. I still miss my old E36 M3. I'd love to take a E30 wagon and put M parts on it.

B&W Purchased by Silicon Valley Startup: Cheers or Tears? Also.... The Music Group confirms Tannoy plant closure plans Crazy, 2 of the oldest speaker manufacturers left. It'll be interesting to see what happens with Bowers & Wilkens. IMO, unless you have crazy deep pockets, DIY is going to be the only way to get any kind of sound quality in the future.

I never understood the "7 literal days of creation" either. If God didn't create the sun, moon and stars until day 4, where are these "literal days" drawn from? I'm not sure on the flood, but I lean more towards the whole world was flooded. Why do you disagree? I also think something dramatically changed in the Earth's atmosphere when this happened (water from heaven and Earth both flooded the Earth, Genesis 7:11); "man's years" were cut short at the same time (Genesis 6:3), perhaps because of the change. I agree that the "principals of evolution" could have possibly been used in creation, so long as "scientists" that come up with these theories actually stick with the actual rules of science to derive those principals. But that doesn't mean we have enough "evidence" or that we've created a perfect model to substantiate these theories as a fact. I actually think there too much evidence against them for them to be (even remotely) 100% accurate. As far as "what stage was man as the Bible describes him introduced"... That's also an interesting topic. If Adam and Eve were the first 2 people created by God, and Cain and Abel were their first 2 sons (I don't think the Bible technically says this, but it is assumed)... then who is the "whoever" referred to in Genesis 4:14? I also agree about prosperity theology. Too many people think God is a genie in a bottle; there when he's called to help you out, then put back in the bottle when you get what you want.

Um... syn·the·size ˈsinTHəˌsīz/ verb - produce (sound) electronically.

Either way... all I can say is that if I had a feature on my V70 that gave me the option of making my 3" DP with my Borla mufflers quiet, I'd remove it . I LOVE the sound of my exhaust (when the car is running). And drone isn't an issue.

See? This is why we can't have nice things around here.

Regardless of your interpretation of right and wrong... ex-communication is the antithesis of... To spare you from google... an·tith·e·sis anˈtiTHəsəs/ noun -a contrast or opposition between two things So... your point, regardless of what you think of it... is pointless.

If you're interested in building one, here's a BOM from that friend of mine. Obviously you know your way around, but he warned me that he did try to help someone build a simple tube preamp via emails and it turned out to be a disaster; the guy building ended up mailing it to my friend who had to totally rebuild it. The BOM is for a 6V6 SET tube amp, and I think he said it's about 5w/ch...