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When considering elders, and the respect due to them, you have to remember that moral rules regarding said respect were set out at a time when living to 20 was a serious accomplishment. Nowadays, not so much.

At 5/27/08 10:21 PM, SolInvictus wrote:

At 5/27/08 01:33 PM, HorseloverFrost wrote: Not to the Catholics. They consider Genesis 1:1 to be a summary of what's coming up, with the actual creation account beginning at Genesis 1:2, thus beginning with the waters already existent before creation.

where does it say that?

It doesn't say it in the bible, it's just the Catholic interpretation of the bible. The Catholic Church has a number of strange interpretations of biblical passages. For example, church doctrine considers the gospel of John to be somehow 'less valid' than the other gospels.

Modern advances in psychology and neurobiology have largely refuted the tabula rasa theory. While people may not be born with distinct ideas, they are born with pre-programmed predilections towards various tendencies. In other words, some people are just born criminals. While most juvenile crimes are committed due to societal causes, and should be treated as such, care must be taken to identify early signs of a criminal nature, and to respond accordingly.

America:
People don't remember the past. Things have always been this bad, and people have always complained about it. Distance just makes everything look better.

At 5/26/08 04:59 AM, AapoJoki wrote: Basically, it's wrong to take away someone's rights, UNLESS letting that person keep his rights would take away rights from others. But even then, I think that only the absolutely minimal amount of rights should be taken away, which would be sufficient to protect the rights of others.

Like if you murder someone, the right that should be taken away from you is your freedom; imprisonment is quite enough to keep your future potential victims safe. You should still get to keep your right to vote, to express yourself freely and to not be tortured or killed. And once you've done enough time, even your right to freedom should be returned to you, if you're no longer deemed a public hazard.

But what about those who cannot, due to neurological defect or other condition, be rehabilitated? It costs taxpayers in the U.S. an average of $32,120 to imprison a person for a year. At what point does the costs of imprisonment exceed the benefits of the (likely impossible) rehabilitation?

At 5/25/08 01:10 PM, therealsylvos wrote:
As a religious Jew who is far more well versed in classical Jewish philosophy I ASSURE you that creatio ex nihilo is a central tenet to the Abrahamic religions.

Not to the Catholics. They consider Genesis 1:1 to be a summary of what's coming up, with the actual creation account beginning at Genesis 1:2, thus beginning with the waters already existent before creation.

At 5/22/08 11:16 PM, SmilezRoyale wrote: Answer some of these questions, I can't force you to keep to the topic, but do me a favor and atleast try to answer 1 of them or more if you can, before responding to somone else. [especially since bashing ideas is 1 thing, contributing better ones is another]

1) Do you agree with the statement that all humans are created equal and why? [Yes or no and why]

No. People are born with different inherent abilities. However, since it is (at this point) impossible to determine the extent of a particular person's abilities at a glance, it is best to treat a person as equal until they prove themselves otherwise.

2) What is your conscious reasoning for doing acts of altruism?

I do not preform altruistic acts. Every action I take I perceive as having some benefit to myself, regardless of its benefit to others.

3) Do you beleive Altruism is or can be a subconscious act? if it is, what makes it treated as so 'venerable' in our society? Can you make a case for why it should still be venerable in our society even if you feel that it is or can be subconscious?

Certainly altruism can be subconscious, and in my opinion it often is. It is rare to find someone who thinks through their motivations for each of their actions before acting.

4) Would you do something beneficial to yourself and consequently harmful to somone else if you knew that you wouldn't get caught or punished for it?

Yes.

5) Would you kill a murderer if you felt doing so would save more lives? [Spur of the moment descision, a now or never sort of thing]

It would really depend on the situation, but I would certainly be capable of it. Whether I would or I would not would entirely depend on the particulars.

Just found this thread. Looks like some excellent discussion to be had here.

Anyway, in my opinion, the primary reason for the focus on the pre-trib rapture in modern evangelical churches is to give the believers a way to avoid the various events that evangelical preachers predict as punishments for those that don't believe. This focus on divine punishment at the end of the world is not found in most other christian denominations, and as such, the rapture is not stressed (if it is believed in at all, there are many denominations that do not.)

Is it worth it? Or should I stick with 3? (The other programs Apple makes you buy with it are useless to me)

Ominous Religion
My second newgrounds song, a little synth organ loop. Good for castles or cathedrals.