Tired_Old_Man

You will get used to me. Or maybe not.:faint:

Funny? No. Tragic? Yes!!

How dare you?

Suppose they find the same DNA in the box with Jesus' name on it as they do on the "Shroud of Turin"?

Should people be forced to testify against themselves? When I was married, the minister said that he joined my wife and me as one. So my wife testifying against me would be against my religious values. The Christian judges of this Christan country have extended the 5th amendment to the other part of me; my wife.

I have read books by members of those ministries and even they admit (between the lines) that it is not a cure, but a bandaid. I guess suicides by "Gay converts" are not a problem worth dealing with by ministries who KNOW that being Gay is a choice.

What makes you think that being Gay is a choice? Do fat people who have a choice to over-eat or not over-eat give up their civil rights?

You are correct. I was wrong.

I hope about 20 years from now, you will read your post above and realize how shallow it makes you sound. I hope within a few months, you will find a support group and you start working out these problems. Believe me; they are problems. I have mentioned "Codependents Anonymous" as a free 12 step program that is located thoughout the country. Please, look it up in your local phone book and find out when and where they meet in your area. You need help.

But the dogs make good alligator food. I keep a color made of salt on Rocky. By the way, Lot's wife could come in handy. Does anyony know exactly where they buried her.

My only tutu is turquoise. :help:

Many people confuse the political system names with economic terms. No country has ever really tried Communism (as written about by the people who originated it) because as I said in an example earlier, If Cuba was a Communist country, the janitor who cleans Fidel Castro's toilet would make as much money as Fidel Castro makes. In fact he might make more money if he was young and raising a family, because “to each according to his needs” is one of the tenants of Communism. I have read the Communist Manifesto from cover to cover, and no country has ever actually implemented it, thought many have held out the goal of economic equality to the poor of their country in order to take power. The closest thing we have to Communist today is probably Kuwait (the country that we freed from the grip of Saddam Hussein), because all Kuwaiti born citizens get a share of the oil revenues and none of them have to work. They bring in servants from other countries to do all the work. So when George H. W. Bush said in defense of the USA's involvement of “Gulf War One”, "This is not about oil. It is about Democracy", I would say that there was a little spin or an outright lie being told.

You really should not argue with me because my logic is flawless and irrefutable. Recently I was called upon to help the world renowned expert in the science of addiction, Dr. Albert Watson, to solve a problem that had been baffling medical science for centuries. It seems that during a double blind study, many of participants had had the same unexplained results. On Monday, the subjects drank scotch and water and then had a hangover on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the subjects drank gin and water and then had a hangover on Wednesday. On Wednesday, the subjects drank vodka and water and then had a hangover on Thursday. On Thursday, the subjects drank bourbon and water and then had a hangover on Friday. This ended the study for the week. On Friday, though the subjects were not required to take part in the study, they, at their own expense drank either scotch, gin, vodka or bourbon and of course water and then all had hangovers on Saturday. I explained the answer to the unexpected results from study to the scientist's problem thusly: “Elementary Dr. Watson; it seems that water is both highly addictive and causes a hangover in many people due to their genes”. There was also another incident recently which proves my prowess at deciphering obscure scientific truths. When I moved to Florida 3.5 years ago, I started sprinkling table salt all around the perimeter of my home's property. I have done this once a month since moving here. After about 5 months my next door neighbor asked me why he saw me walking my property line every month sprinkling some white powder by hand. I explained that first of all, it is not a powder, but table salt and I do it to keep elephants away. I explained that elephants can do enormous damage to lawns, tree and even structures. He burst out laughing until I asked him, “Have you seen an elephant on my property since I moved here? He was taken aback but had to admit the truth of my statement (which was actually a question, but many people do confuse questions for statements) and he started spreading salt with to me every month. When he sold his house about a year later, he told the new owner who has also joined me every month in our salt spreading chores. But here's the kicker, one day about a 5 months ago, an alligator was on my neighbors lawn (in the rear of the house, facing the canal). He was horrified because that was the first time a 'gator came out of the canal close to his property. He has 4 year old and 9 year old daughter, and was so scared that he said he was going to put up a fence, like the one I have behind my home, facing the canal. I told him that he could save his money. It seems that I have been using Morton's salt to keep the elephants away while my neighbor had been using the generic salt that Wal-Mart sells. “See,” I said, “all you have to do is to switch to Morton Salt, like I use, and you will not have 'gator problems. Have you seen a 'gator on my property?” He had to admit I was right, so he convinced his 6 month pregnant wife to buy Morton salt the next time she went grocery shopping. His children have still been playing in their yard, his new child has been born and everyone is safe because of my infallible logic. So stop debating with me. You can not win.

So God knew 6,000 years ago that on March 2, 2007 that Ron Cusano was going to type, "Yes, my God is perfect. I can't say much for the God you worship. If he's in imperfect, I want no part of him!"? I asked only in jest. You need not answer that. And my God is the same as your God is the same God that the Muslims worship is the same God as the Catholics worship is the same God as Jews worship and the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons worship. We just go about it differently.

There you go again, equating a question with a point of my belief. I never said I believed in socialism, though I support Social Security and Medicare. I will not ask if you do. It is none of my business. And if I did favor in Socialism, which I don't, why would that make me a bad American? There is an American socialist party registered with the US Board of elections who have the same rights as the other registered parties such as the Republican, Democratic, Conservative, Liberal and American Communist parties.

And that is more akin to socialism than capitalism. IMHO, Jesus was anti-capitalism. Look at his contact with the money lenders just before his execution. How about the Biblical statement about the difficulty of a rich man entering the "Kingdom of Heaven"?

How perfect is God? Was God perfect enough to know everything that was going to happen in the future? Did God know (on the first day of Genesis) that TOM would be asking Ron Cusano "How perfect is God?"? If so, then we are only playing his game, and therefor we are doing his will, whether we are murdering 6,000,000 Jews or living a life of a pious Christian monk. If not, then God is not perfect, but very powerful and IMHO still Almighty. To be able to control life or death. To be able to listen in on the thoughts of 6,500,000,000 people at once and to judge them. WOW. That is Almighty (but not perfect).

Your beliefs are fine with me. I only have a problem with you trying to convert everyone to them. And if you would express them as "your beliefs" instead of "I didn't say that. Scriptures says that", I would be less inclined to complain. An "IMHO" here and there wouldn't hurt. Why are you so afraid of the word Liberal? What is wrong with the word socialism? Wasn't Jesus promoting socialism when he tried to save everyone's soul by dying on the cross?

There is an insidious undercurrent that many in the USA are not aware of. Many people of good will are being swept up into it unknowingly. In this thread, it has been said and agreed with that anyone who disagrees with the President's policies should be tried as a traitor. Ann Coulter may have wrote the book, but there are many supporters, including some of the posters here. It has also been said that people should vote for candidates that would put their religious values into law. If enough candidates are elected by members of one religious group, then the laws can be and will be changed to reflect that group's religions values or what some of the extremists see as the religious values of that group. The USA is 80% Christian according to the latest figures I have read. Ann Coulter and her followers are prominent in one of the largest pockets of Christian political thought and one of the most vocal and most politically active. They will work tirelessly to get their agenda put into law. Though there are many different kinds of Christians, a president may someday be elected, who will take measures to promote his version of Christianity and when people disagree with him, they will be tried as traitors. Soon, who will have the nerve to speak out. How many people were afraid to speak out in the days right after 911? I wasn't and I was verbally assaulted for being unamerican and a traitor, and invited to go to a Muslim country to live. How many people were afraid to speak out in the days right before and right after the invasion of Iraq? I wasn't and I was verbally assaulted for being unamerican and a traitor, and invited to go to a Muslim country to live. When Ann Coulter gets her way and the majority of elected officials know that the Bible would want them to promote Christianity, what else will people be afraid to speak out about?

That is none of your business.

My belief in the Bible is my business and my knowledge of it is relatively extensive. As mentioned earlier, I have mentioned BuSh in about 5% of my posts in this thread, but since he is so intertwined with religion in the USA, I do not consider that to be excessive. You have no right to tell me to leave the USA and go to Iraq. I am a US citizen who was born here, pays taxes and has voted in every election since I became old enough. The USA has not yet become Nazi America, thank God. I do my part to help the poor, including in taking part in my church's activities. and I drive an economy car and use low energy light bulbs, but I do not have to explain my life-style to say that you are a bully who is annoyed that the majority of the LBT members in this thread have not submitted to your religious intolerance.

I will piss some people off with this comment, but so be it. You and Ron continually say that you are not trying to attack, but what you do is more akin to vultures picking at the bones. Some of us on this thread are Christians who have come to be Christians by a different path that you. We do not take the Bible to be “word for word” literally true. When we tell you that, you insist on "picking apart the bones" of why we feel that this Biblical story is not true or how can we be Christians if we do not believe that Biblical story(?). No, it is not an attack, it is an attempt at an insidious erosion and coercion of our will, much like would be done by acid eating away at a strong piece of metal. No bombs, no missiles, just constant corrosion until our metal breaks down and you can hear, yes, yes, every word of the Bible is true. Well, you will not hear it from me and the more you push, the more resistance you will get. ONE MORE TIME: I AM A CHRISTIAN, BUT I DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE BIBLE AS A LITERAL DOCUMENT, BUT I BELIEVE MY FAITH IS AS GOOD AS YOURS. And you have no right to pick my faith apart or to belittle it.

But if you want to remain in the thread because you enjoy the discussion, you should not have to be nagged. I have said much about my faith, but because I have not allowed my faith to be picked apart exactly as Laurend discussed, I have been ben mocked by you and Ron. I do not know if it is worse to pick apart a Mormon's or Muslim's faith, or to do it to a fellow Christian, because he got to the point of being a Christian through a different path than you or Ron. Telling someone that you can leave the thread if you don't like the nagging equates with people who tell me that if I don't like the BuSh administration's decisions, I can leave America.

Can anyone pin-point on the "sine wave" in the above post where Ron is right now?

The highs and lows seem to follow a similar pattern to Ron's repeated mode of: moderate discussion, heavy attack, moderate discussion, apolegtic, moderate discussion, heavy attack, moderate discussion, apolegtic, moderate discussion, heavy attack, moderate discussion, apolegtic, moderate discussion, heavy attack, moderate discussion, apolegtic, etc.