Safe Speed Forums

Nope. I think you need to research a bit more

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Speed camera policy Kills

Yet the multiply (mis)translated literary efforts of middle eastern sheep herders thousands of years ago are somehow permanently and irrefutably correct.

Are you sure about this, or just being sarcastic ?

It seems some feel happier trying to ridicule faith than trying to understand it. Is that good “science”

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Speed camera policy Kills

A history of the early development of the bible can be quite amusing.

The four gospels in the new testament were finally chosen from up to 120 various versions in about AD360. The choice was partly on political grounds with every bishop having his own choice, but also in an attempt to purge the new testament of reams of fairly allegorical, mystic material, in an attempt to create a script that could be preached in a literal fashion.

At the same time, the greek translation (from which all subsequent translations spring) was tinkered with to strenghen the idea that Mary was a virgin. The original word in Hebrew from which 'virgin' in Greek was taken more accurately translates as the somewhat more ambiguous 'maiden'. Upon which decision, the myth of the virgin birth is founded. The reason appears to have been to give the primitives a female 'Mother-Goddess' to worship to wean them off paganism.

Several entire gospels such as the gospel of St Philip ended up being excluded, only resurfacing as part of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Even after that editing, there are major contradtictions between Mark (I think) and the other three gospels.

However, it is the word of God, and to be taken literally.

As the Reverend Lovejoy says, in the Simpsons:

"Have you ever actually read this thing? Technically speaking we're not allowed to go to the bathroom"

I am sure that the works known collectively as 'The Bible' have been translated from their original languages, via other intermediate languages, into the several different translations currently extant. A little googling will find you examples of translations that could, apparently, be described as ,at best, sub-optimal. I cannot, as I am no student of Ancient Hebrew, Aramaic or even Greek, confirm this for myself, but have no reason to doubt, having studued languages to degree level, that mistranslations will have occured, many times. The entirety of the statement was indeed meant to be sarcastic, being proven incorrect is one of the strengths of science, it is indeed the very basis of the scientific method, theories are falsifiable, and if one is proven false we can set out to find a new theory that better fits the facts. 'God did it' is open to no such scrutiny or potential for advancement.

Now you are making assumptions. This has been proved not to be the case as in the dead sea scrolls which varified much later scripts.

To say that something "must" have happened because of the balance of probablity is wrong.

Anyway, if you were GOD I think you could manage to keep things on track

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Speed camera policy Kills

As parts of the DSC's have still to be published about 60 years later

how can you be sure yourself?

Bye bye, enjoy your life.

Thanks I will, I have got whole enternity to look forward to.

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Speed camera policy Kills

well according my indoctrination - which involved 14 years attending a religious school - you either end up in Heaven with God or burning in Hell with Satan. There's no "if you don't believe you just cease to exist" in the CofE.

Must have been an oversight when God let a forgery (1 Timothy) into the bible, then?

I think this thread is absolutely brilliant. And they said we should never talk about religion.

However, everyone please remember to give appropriate respect to other's beliefs.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Blimey, looks like I have realy stirred up a hornets nest.

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Speed camera policy Kills

I would like to say that in the past i have looked at arguments both for and against GOD in detail. Both evolution AND creation. I have come to a conclusion which answers ALL the questions I have about humanity, existence and eternity.

I believe that in due course science and religion will be brought closer together as new discoveries are made. Science has recently proven that universe had a point of creation, and that there point in the universe out side of space and time (a singularity). There is even research into human consciousness being at quantum level and having a existence beyond death. This is not driven by religion, but science.

There will probably never be a complete reconciliation but who knows.

Just try and keep an open mind.

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Speed camera policy Kills

Indeed. Even to scientists, there are things that cannot be understood. They have no choices - they must to put those things in a set. And the set of things that cannot be understood is put down to God by religious people (as well as some things that can be understood!), and 'outside the realm of science' by scientific people. Both God and 'outside the realm of science' are the same thing - a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

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I stole this .sig

I’m impressed! Would anyone like to show they are better than turnips by explaining the workings of memetics, please? And no surfing for answers!

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I stole this .sig

There are some very clever turnips. And memetics aren't neccesary for darwinism as such - I think they came in over a hundred years later. (and, incidentally, neither are genes)

Anyone read the book, "Big Bang" by Simon Singh?

With what's known about the origins of the universe, it's difficult, if not impossible, to comprehend that it came about by accident.
Pehaps one day we'll understand - but I don't hold out too much hope.

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Only when ideology, prejudice and dogma are set aside does the truth emerge - Kepler

Darwin never mentioned memes basingwerk mate, I think it was Richard Dawkins who came up with memes as a vehicle for societal evolution, although I could be wrong. Anyway they were postulated as a cultural analog to the gene, possibly related to, but not of, Darwinism (neo or otherwise).

Memes are cultural ideas (such as stories, jokes, tunes) that replicate in an analagous way to genes, by the process of people writing them down or passing them on verbally. They are also subject to natural selection, so memes which survive well (and replicate well) in their environment tend to be more common in the world.

I'm a big fan of Dawkins. Has anyone read the Selfish Gene? Science does have some excellent concepts of how life on Earth could have started. How the universe starting is probably the real biggie that needs answering.

If I may quote Arthur C Clarke: