Hello from the land down under.

[Husbandplus3]

Thought I'd better introduce myself. You all can find a little from my profile. Married, three kids, old. That's the short version. Oh, and I drive suburban trains. And my wife mad. And my eldest daughter, age 9, think I am such an embarrassment. I told her to wait until she is 13. It gets worse.
I am an unashamed Christian. And I can be loud about it.
I also have lots of opinions about lots of stuff. And if you are brave enough to push the right buttons, I'll tell you about it. I think I just upset some people over in the toddler section. They'll get over it.
I am a male and I think we who are males should acknowledge that and act like the men we are supposed to be and not be whimps.
I am also a racist. I think we should all celebrate and embrace what ever ethic back ground we are from.
I am a feminist. I think all women everywhere should be feminists. Male and female were created equal but different. We should acknowledge it and celebrate that.
That's enough for now.
Signed Stan.

Hi Stan.

Everybody has opinions. Telling people them without being a dick is sometimes tricky. On here, more than most places, it's important to remember your opinion isn't more valid than others because you're a man. And know when to 'agree to differ'. If you're one of those people who think 'I've pissed off loads of people today by telling them the truth, so I'm doing really well!', please could you just go away now before you start? "Blessed are the cheesemakers peacemakers."

"I am a male and I think we who are males should acknowledge that and act like the men we are supposed to be and not be whimps. " That does sound like a lot of sexual stereotyping going on there.

"I am a racist." Be careful of letting people have the opportunity of selectively quoting you!

"I am a feminist." That's nice dear. But if lot's of women tell you you're not, you're not. Go to the feminist section and tell them about your opinions about things and you'll soon find out either way.

And welcome to Mumsnet. Home of intelligent, open, honest chat and advice and penis beakers.

x

Um...

...Your very first words from your very first post: "Here it is from a male point of view..."

I saw you getting your arse kicked in the other place the other day. I think we'll get on.

Tell me about your Christian beliefs, Stan. How old do you think the world is?

How old is the earth? How long is a piece of string? I don't know. Can I suggest from Adam till now? 6000 years plus minus. There is a theory, they call it young earth, that the earth is 6000 years old. And that is years of 24 hour days. I am not sure what I think of that. There is a "gap" theory. There is a possible mis translation of Genesis 1:2 some translations have it as "The earth was void and without form." This may be incorrect as the word "was" can also be translated "became."
There also seems to be a disconnect between verse 2 and three.
What say ye? Can we kick each others arse on that one.
Now let me put a question to you? What must I do to be saved?

What do you think about the theory of evolution?

Why do you think god allows wars, famine and personal suffering to happen?

Just curious

Were those the lyrics to that Eminem song?

I think God doesn't allow wars etc.

God: you know you really shouldn't do that.
People: oh we can though because we have free will.
God: yeah but I'll get the blame for it.

Nah, God doesn't care. He/she isn't benevolent, well not as far as we're concerned. Not sure if he/she is malevolent either though. Personally I reckon we're just to low down on the "life" hierarchy for any thesitic beings to care too much.

A bit like how we view ants, but on a much bigger scale (probably too big for our tiny, punt organic matter brains to even comprehend).

But then I do have a slight inferiority complex (I'm a whimp too I'm afraid HP3).

Either way "life"? It's just the waiting room!

What must you do to be saved? Do what the fuck you like but be really, really sorry about it all on your deathbed.

Personally, if I have to stand before God and account for all the shit I have done, I am in the karzi. However, I want the chance to answer back, and point out a few of the things that s/he has allowed to happen on his/her watch.

I have to say though, I like the idea of a loud Christian. If you believe it, say it.

The theory of evolution: Have a look at your computer. Did it arrive by random chance or did some one design it? Your motor car. The cake you eat. Random chance? Big bang? Or did some one sit down and design, experiment until it all got to what you see?
Why does God allow wars? I come into your house unannounced and uninvited and steal your car. What you gonna do about it? You want that God should step in and A) stop me stealing and B) stop you from defending your property? Which ever way you go about it God is invading someone's space.
But then, does God have a right to step in and change things when not invited? Isn't that a going against what you might want? Does God have that right? What about Allah? Does he have that right?
I like your theory Biggedy I want to arrive at the pearly gates with a beer in one hand, a smoking gun in the other with a cigarette hanging out of my mouth and declare "Boy what a ride!"
And the good news is that Christ paid in full for all your sin.

Hi husbandplus3. You said:

'does God have a right to step in and change things when not invited?'

I've invited Him to step in many times. Nothing changed.

Mate - I think you have problems which extend beyond anything this forum can help you with.

I think we all wish you luck.

But husband, while Jesus may have paid for your sin, a fast track to the pearly gates is not automatic.

Otherwise there would be no hell. Or purgatory.

And if you wanted to get a bit more theological about it, if the punishment for sin is to be without the grace of God in the afterlife, is it worth risking it by being a twat sinner?

Just sayin'.

"Have a look at your computer. Did it arrive by random chance or did some one design it? Your motor car. The cake you eat. Random chance? Big bang? Or did some one sit down and design, experiment until it all got to what you see?"

Evolution.

Usable home type computers started off as basic things with blocky graphics. Over time they got better and better. Sometimes a new branch would develop, like games consoles, which would evolve off in their own ways. Sometimes there would be an evolutionary dead end, such as the MSX revolution. (MSX? Exactly!).
From our common ancestor evolved us, chimps, orangs, and gorillas.
From the ZX80 evolved the laptop, the console, the desktop, and most recently, the tablet.

Same with cars. Every year the designs get a little bit better and more advanced.

The cake we eat? Mmmmmm. Mince pies. Mincemeat used to have real meat in but as the recipe went on it was dropped. Used to be just for Winterval too but that's changed slowly over time for the better.

By "Or did some one sit down and design, experiment until it all got to what you see" , do you mean there were lots of little changes, each improving on the last, with dead ends forgotten, until you arrive at what you have now which will be in turn improved upon in the future?

You do realise that you're arguing in favour of evolution don't you?

G'day TiggyD. Good to see you around. Still.
This "Usable home type computers started off as basic things with blocky graphics." is what you wrote. Evolution or design? or both?
"Same with cars. Every year the designs get a little bit better and more advanced." evolution or design? or both?
Evolution: everything is by random chance. Bit by bit. No design. Only the strongest survives.
My preferred theory? Creation and evolution. By the evidence I see, everything has a starting point and is created. Everything then evolves. Your statement about computers supports this theory.
We have a very limited understanding of this subject. At best we are guessing. It is almost impossible to set up provable experiments. Fossils do/don't support evolution. There is a theory that suggests that at some time fossils are form by some catastrophic event trapping the life form is porous sandstone.

I started from "Usable home type computers", but they evolved from the massive punch-hole things, which evolved from the secret war things, which evolved from Charles Babbages' Difference Engine...skip a bit...which evolved from the wheel, which might have been invented when a caveman saw a log roll over. Starting points tend to come out of other things, or 'evolve'. And there's always luck.

"Evolution: everything is by random chance. Bit by bit. No design. Only the strongest survives." I believe that's 'natural selection'. Evolution can also be luck. A genetic mutilation can cause big jumps in evolution. Design is what's happening now with gene splicing that means one day we'll have glow in the dark cows so we can eat steak at night.

We don't have full understanding. There'll always be gaps, and we'll never know what we don't know. But science gives us many good facts that we can use to build a good working hypothesis, which is subject to change as new facts come along. Science certainly seems to answer more questions than religion which is incredibly low on proof.