Look at this beauty. He is A Chinese Water Salamander. If this is not a visual throwback to ancient times, I do not know what is. Another interesting specimen in the beautiful diversity of life. Here is some basic info about him;
"The Chinese Giant Salamander is the largest salamander in the world, with specimens of up to six feet (two meters) in length being recorded. Unfortunately for this unusual animal, it is viewed as a delicacy in China, which has led to heavy hunting both in China and Taiwan, where the giant salamander was introduced at some point in history. This in combination with habitat depletion has landed the Chinese Giant Salamander on the critically endangered list, with biologists indicating that immediate action must be taken to save these gentle creatures if we want future generations to enjoy them. Several zoos have Chinese Giant Salamanders in captivity, but a successful breeding program has not yet been established."
Hey, i too am not a scientist or a theologian Expert... i infact love to study and read..history,i am athiest because i do not agree with actions followed by the scream God wills it. Or in the name of God. I also see no need in swearing allegiance to someone unheard of or unscene while our world as we know it, becomes rotted and infested with Disease Corruption poverty and Slavery.
ReplyDeleteI believe there actually is a God, proven by the fact that we exist at all. Go back far enough and you'll have to answer the question "Where did the first burst of energy come from ?".
ReplyDeleteThis being said, I also believe God couldn't give a rat's ass about us as he is intemporal and immaterial. Any disaster or "miracle" happens because of the laws of nature, humans be damned.
We are simply bacteria on the surface of an insignificant speck, orbiting an ordinary star, in an incongruous galaxy, lost somewhere between here and nowhere. Why would he (she ? it ? they ?) give a hoot ?
Live your life well, do good around you and you'll be happy. You can always argue with the Big guy when you get face to face with him on the astral plane.
I find your position and many others make me personally sad and sorry. Not that I feel sorry for you so please do not take it that way, but that I am sorry in Jesus' name (but not through his guidance) many are put off or pushed away from God by the actions of "Christians" of which I am, so therefore I apologize to all of those whom Christians have offended in the name of GOD!It is true that many have over the centuries taken what is all for good and twisted it, but that is not the fault of God, it is the way man twists it all up. In short, God is Love, people often mistake not agreeing with an action or behavior as not loving a person.I do believe that many people trying to share the word of God with others, show hate rather than love when discussing actions, behaviors and beliefs. In short, "the most important of these is Love" is one of my favorite lines from scripture, and many forget this. This does not mean that I agree with the actions of all of those whom I love, I do not even agree with all of my own actions. I think the important part of it is that at all times through my faith in Him, I am always trying to live a better and more meaningful life so that those around me are made better or served in someway by me being in their life. I have grown so much since coming to God and accepting Him in my life. I believe the Bible to be a great story of God's just nature and the laws He gives us to live by are done out of love, knowing that when we choose to go against His "recommendations", we are hurting ourseleves!
ReplyDeletesorry so big I had to split it up! .......Think about "free will" for a second, people say why wouldn't God just make us love and obey Him, then think for a second about the joy pure joy you would have when your child (or puppy, cat, goldfish llama, girlfriend etc if you don't have children!) comes running to leap into your arms and let you know you are the most important person in their life and you mean the world to them, think about how that makes or would make you feel, now think about that same child coming to give the compulsary hug you have demanded - it kind of explains why God wants us to come on our own and of our choice. Therefore I would never try to force someone to belive, I cannot. I can ask you to consider though but the rest is up to and inside of you! There is still such a long way to go, and I am so imperfect, but each day is better than the last and I do have faith that my choice is correct, for me. We all have the same choice to make, and it is your choice but one key point is in either case you have to have faith - faith does not define whether you know God to be real or not, it defines beliveing one way or another when you know yourself it takes just as much faith to believe there is no God as it does to believe there is not! The story of God by the way makes much more sense when you study it than when you just take a quick glance - I know this from personal experience since I was not a believer for a very long time, but I had also not done my homework. And as I always say to those around me, if you are interested(and I am not saying you should be) read and study the bible as you would any other book, you do not have to think it is real, just read and study like you would for any class in school, ask questions and "consider" the answers do not simply dismiss them - it is such an AMAZING story that when understood is truly hard to look past. You will still have questions and we will never have all of the answers while we are here, but you will be amazed!!! I apologize if you did not want to read all of this, but for some reason I thought you or someone else reading this may need to or want to hear that God loves you regardless and so do I - and I hope you continue on your journey searching and being open to the fact that although you may not feel Him working in your life and you may not feel He is relavant, or even real - it is just as possible that He is, that He loves you and that he will be there for you regardless when you turn to Him and hopefully you do!I hope you will consider leaving this up and at the very least tearing me to pieces!!
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