Is there a God? / Plagiarism in the forum

[c| Spetsnaz.]

Acri, with varied and unpredictable results. They relied heavily on such practices during the black plague and lets just say it was less than effective.

Loudness, heh, Ironically my mother was raised a Christian Scientist, fortunately she decided to give my mind the benefit of free thinking. I do know extensively about the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy(founder of Christian Science) though.

[|MP|Buccaneer]

Ok, just because I can't stand inaccuracies I have to jump on some of these.

Our water although displayes no color, or taste, no being on the planet can survive without it.  Our planet is the only one known with this substance.It has an unusually high boiling point and freezing point, allowing us to live in an environment of constant temperature changes, keeping our bodies a steady 98.6 degrees.

1) Water does have taste, even when distilled.
2) Earth is not the only place known to have water.  
3) Water does not have a high boiling point, not when compared to many other elements and compounds.  What's the boiling point of salt for instance?  (yes, there is one).  All elements and compounds have freezing and boiling points.  Water is only special because the two are so close together (and it's not unique either, there are other compounds like CO2 that are much closer).
4) if you wanted a more unique property of water you could have mentioned that it can't be compressed, which is very unusual.  Or that it expands at freezing, which is also unusual.

Water is a universal solvent. Take a full glass of water, add a cup of sugar, and nothing spills over the edge; the water simply absorbs the sugar. This property of water allows it to carry thousands of chemicals, minerals and nutrients throughout our bodies and into the smallest blood vessels.(6)

1) Add more suger, and it becomes supersaturated and can no longer absorb and it will spill over.
2) Think you are overlooking the hemoglobin maybe.

Water is also chemically inert, not affecting the makeup of the substances it carries. Food, medicines and minerals are all absorbed and used by the body, while water remains as a neutral carrying agent.

1) Water is not chemically inert.  Not at all.  Toss some Cesium or Lithium or Potassium into water, tell me what happens?  Do you get a reaction?  A highly thermoreactive reaction I'd say.  Water will react with other compounds and elements, though it's not very reactive.
2) If you want inert, talk nobel gasses.

Water has a unique surface tension. This, combined with another property of water, allows water in plants to flow upward against gravity, bringing life-giving water and nutrients to the top of even the tallest trees.

1) Water has a surface tension, because of the dipolar nature of the molecule.  
2) What allows water to be pulled upward by plants has to do with osmossis and partial pressures.  Not really properties of "water".  No more then you sucking it up through a straw is a property of water.

Water freezes from the top down and floats, allowing fish to live in the winter.  Ninety-seven percent of the Earth's water is in the oceans. But on our Earth, there is a system designed which removes salt from the water and then distributes that water throughout the globe. Evaporation takes the ocean waters, leaving the salt, and forms clouds which are easily moved by the wind to disperse water over the land, for vegetation, animals and people. It is a system of purification and supply that has sustained life on this planet, a system of recycled and reused water.

1) You just put the chicken in front of the egg.  The reason the oceans are so salty is because of the process you describe.  Water runs down the land, collecting minerals, which it carries down to the sea.  The oceans are forever getting more "salty" (except in Florida, where fresh water is being pumped right into the ocean at a huge pace).  
2) You are also ignoring the underground water and how that is filtered.

I realize some of this is off topic, but:
1) it's a stupid topic that nobody can prove either way.
2) everyone should be welcome to their own beliefs and respected for them.
3) nobody should try to force their views (or lack thereof) onto anyone.
4) nobody should discriminate based on these opinions.
5) I can't bloody stand someone basing an argument on false premises like this.

[jn.loudnotes]

Wow. . .I'm pretty sure Bucc and I just completely agreed on something.  Scary thought.

And as for the whole placebo effect - the explanation I've always heard, scientific or otherwise, rests in the simple power of the human mind.  Sort of a self-medication for psychosomatic diseases that could simply be brought on as a way of the body telling itself it needs a rest and recuperation.  There are some interesting theories - that in some cases the body physically manifests symptoms of known diseases to induce itself to take a break.

[c| Spetsnaz.]

Bucc, I reckon I'll quit posting "stupid topics" topics like this, I thought it was pretty interesting to see peoples opinions on the matter.

[Brain]

Ok, just because I can't stand inaccuracies I have to jump on some of these.

Good job bucc, but you forgot a few things


4) if you wanted a more unique property of water you could have mentioned that it can't be compressed, which is very unusual.  

all fluids are relatively incompressable (compared to air and other gasses) take hydraulic oil for example


1) Water has a surface tension, because of the dipolar nature of the molecule.  
2) What allows water to be pulled upward by plants has to do with osmossis and partial pressures.  Not really properties of "water".  No more then you sucking it up through a straw is a property of water.

3) all polar molecules have surface tension

[Jeb]

NERDS!!!!!

also, i retract any statement loudnotes has agreed with.

[jn.loudnotes]

The water article also failed to mention how relatively unamazing the chemical makeup of water is. . .hydrogen and oxygen are pretty common elements in the universe at large, as far as I know (well, maybe not oxygen. . .I'm not sure) so the prospect of their combining doesn't seem too revolutionary.

Jeb, I guess God now hates fags for certain then?  And I suppose we can't be nerds anymore. . .too bad.

Oh well.  By the way, bronto posted this link earlier and I just now saw it - everyone should read it, it's funny.

http://objective.jesussave.us/kidz.html

[tasty]

Clarence Darrow to thread.

[|MP|Buccaneer]

Jeb, that's Geeks, not Nerds.

Brain, yes, all dipolar molecules have surface tension, I was just explaining the why, not that it was unique.  And there are the compression point I shouldn't have said unique, but it's not universal either.  Especially if there are other elements suspended in the water (like C02), then the "water" can be compressed as well.  =D

Spetz, it's stupid for people to argue over the existence of God(s).  Because we all know that neither side of the argument can win, ever (at least not in our lifetimes).  I don't even consider it a good intellectual exercise, since it's like running on a treadmill, you can never get anywhere with it.  Belief or non-belief also has nothing to do with intelligence or education, but with something else entirely, faith.  Since neither side can be proved, there is only one logical argument you can make, and that's that you should hedge your bet and believe, because if you are wrong, it didn't make a bit of difference (as long as you aren't paying into an organized religion, that's different).

[cO.Kuza]

what if there really was a god and all us non-beleivers got sent to hell?
what a bad trip that would be. *hehe sorry god!*
***points to spets "IT WAS HIM!"

[tasty]

Since neither side can be proved, there is only one logical argument you can make, and that's that you should hedge your bet and believe, because if you are wrong, it didn't make a bit of difference

It's called a Pascallian Wager.

[kami]

Jeb, sounds like you're an agnostic, not an atheist.

I myself, am an agnostic, which means that I don't know whether there is a god or not. However, in this universe we live in, I don't believe a god is present, but I can not say anything about what is outside of it, or what started it in the first place, that's where my deistical god comes into play and that is the only god I am prepared to believe in. However I don't think he could care less for what happens on this Earth. Whatever happens here is our fault, and your God or gods can't do shit about it.

[jn.loudnotes]

3.? elite - interesting argument about the choice of belief or not as a matter of probability.? Again, unoriginal - Blaise Pascal was the first to advance that theory.?

Hey. . .me first. . .

[tasty]

Hey. . .me first. . .

Meh, guess I should read people's posts more closely. I'm a big Pascal fan though.

[kami]

Loth, Loud, I love you.

Acri, as for the placebo effect, it's easy to see that it's all about the mind when you consider the fact that when you look at statistics on medication for mental illnesses, such as depression, the placebo effect is much much greater than for other, more physical, illnesses.

[Jeb]

Jeb, sounds like you're an agnostic, not an atheist.

I myself, am an agnostic, which means that I don't know whether there is a god or not. However, in this universe we live in, I don't believe a god is present, but I can not say anything about what is outside of it, or what started it in the first place, that's where my deistical god comes into play and that is the only god I am prepared to believe in. However I don't think he could care less for what happens on this Earth. Whatever happens here is our fault, and your God or gods can't do shit about it.

i'm an atheist,
I say that i could accept a god simply because whatever started everything is by definition of the word, god. That is to say that the Big Bang could then be defined as god. I reject all forms of "god" by christian or any other religious definition that i know of.

I'm just curious, but who here thinks that Prayer heals people (god comes down and does the healing), and not mind over matter?

[kami]

I believe in neither healing nor mind over matter, however I do believe in the placebo effect, whatever is wrong with your body can be helped by thinking happy thoughts, right?

[jn.loudnotes]

 

I feel cured already. . .