TheShinje

[QUOTE=Ilium][color=darkred]Avowed Athiest myself (As many of you know, :animesmil ). I just can't find myself believing in any sort of god, and here's why: Think about history. Think about all the cultures. Think about what they worshiped - and they all worshiped somthing. I can't determine what sets Christianity (Or any modern religion) apart from, say, Odinism or Aztec or any other religion. Too me, the only fact that has stayed constant throughout the ages is that all of them were used to explain what they could not. Even if I did believe in a higher power, I'm not going to take any chances - what if the Greeks had it right and every day the Gods just get more angry? In the words of Burton Cummings... 'Too many churches, not enough truth.'[/color][/QUOTE] Well, there is a distinctive difference between Christianity and the rest of the religious world. Mostly, it comes down to what Christianity claims, it is the only religion in the world that claims that God had a son who came down to earth as human, took our sin and punishment for our redemption. and raised from the dead to conquer sin and give us a direct line to God through prayer. Christianity is also more about what God has done for you rather than what you do for God. I'm a baptist christian, btw. I have been for 3 years.

Well, that's up to interpretation, Warmaster. Some people, like myself, woudl claim that getting your head around God is as complicated, or intristic as any evolutionary theory. I myself have asked many people what they think Christianity is all about, and there are a lot of muddled answers out there. I definately don't see ID as some kind of "make-everything-go-away-it's-too-hard-mommy" answer to life.

[QUOTE=Derald][font=Lucida Console][size=1][color=DarkRed] I [b]hate[/b] the concept of being someone's pawn, regardless of whether they are a divine being or not. If I help someone, I want it to be from my own soul, not someone else acting through it. This way I have proof that I am my own being and that I have control over my fate.[/color][/size][/font][/QUOTE] Oh yeah, God has a plan for all of us, but we are in no way his pawn. being a Christian is almost the opposite of beign a pawn. We have a lot of freedom in the way we worship God, and, while we fulfil a purpose, it's a God-given purpose that's meant to come naturally anyway.

Well, I belive in the existence of God, and I regularly worship God. That is my purpose and I find it fulfilling. I'm not religious, however, and I think that the organised stuff has really dented our rep a bit. But, like Mitch said, we live in a human world, humans in nature are fallen and prone to stuff up one in a while. Organised religion, mostly the stuff that kills people, is abysmal, and I distance myself from it. When you know God is there for you, as a saviour and friend, rather than some despotic overlord out to ruin your life, life seems just that much brighter.

It's cute, not too bad for a first animation there. It looks good shaded like that, but I'd reccomend giving the viewer a bit more time to see the "meow" speech bubble. Not too important until the writing is important. Anyways, good job, keep it up. :catgirl:

[center][u][size=4]Shinje's Graphix [/size][/u] [left][size=1]Welcome, this is the spot where the legend known as Shinje will post his artwork, feel free to comment and browse the fine selection I will display here :animesmil First up, a new picture of my Rising Sun character, Sariah, after swimming. I tried to do the wet hair thingy but I don't know if it worked to well... [URL=http://img429.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sariah4cv.jpg][IMG]http://img429.imageshack.us/img429/2433/sariah4cv.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [/size][/left] [/center]

There is nothing to fear, even if Bush suddenly did declare a war on pornography, would he win it? He's yet to win Iraq! The U.S can't censor international website and/or pubications, the only thing I can see a victorious crusade against porn achieving is Hustler and Playboy etc moving their headquarters to Vanuatu, WinMX styles. :animesmil

[b]A) Bad stuff: [/b]The read receipts when you sen/recieve a private message, they're annoying and they don't seem to suit any purpose other than to pop up at you. Otherwise, this boards functionality and appearance are top-notch :cool: [b]B) Good Stuff: [/b]Hate to be clich'ed, but I have to go with the people, this forum is a great place for quality posting and friendships, the way I've forged friendships with people here that share fundamentally different philosophies to me is great. So many forums I go to I will lose friends over something like a religious thread and that never happens here, good stuff. Oh, i left for like, ages as well, and I've been dragged back here! I can't keep away ;)

You are correct, ID has no evidence and that's why we're called to have faith, i guess. We have a faith in God that he is there and at work in our lives. Yet Evolution theories evidence is not exactly concrete, the transitional fossils remain sparse, and the vast mnajority of them have been found to be some other kind of species. (Lucy herself, the most famous transitional, was found to be some other kind of knuckle -walking ape) I agree with micro-evolution, ot a degree. I believe that species adapt to their enviornments and surroundings with the hand of God guiding them. I beleive that macro evolution is implausable,It reqires the belief that life ranomly started out of a primordial soup. Evolution teches us that life must have evolved from a single cell, but even that cell must have had reproductive systems in place and a kowledge of it's purpose. Indeed, even the most simple cells have been foudn to have some of the most intricate coding making up it's being. Just look at the genome prohect. I like to think of DNA as the coding of God. It is such a complex, dynamic code that makes up who we are, that I would readily believe that it came from an intelligent designer who created us with a purpose. God is real to me, I find belief that he created the world in 6 days just as plausible as evolution taking millions of years, and randomly spewing us out of some primordial soup. Two cents for the discussion :animestun

[size=1][color=Gray]I've watched the 700 Club quite a few times, and it's difficult to tell wether Pat is being serious or having a joke-around. The remarks themselves started very candidly, in a nutshell it's "if he think's we are out to assasinate him, maybe we should" I don't think it was the right thing to say, and he probably took it a bit too far, but then again, I doubt he's trying to rally the faithful in some kind of "holy crusade" against Chavez. [quote name='Rangel][/color][/size][color=darkviolet][size=1][color=Gray']The comments "reveal that religious fundamentalism is one of the great problems facing humanity in these times," Rangel said. [/quote] [/color][/size][size=1][color=Gray] I just wanted to add that Religious fundamentalism isn't always taking terror to the unbelievers, it's following your faith closely, I don't see how a Christian fundamentalist, who loves his neighbour and does good to others and foirgives sinenrs is really a threat tot he world. :p If he seriously did mean that we should assasinate the guy, then he's acting out-of-step with Christian teaching,a nd hence, is [b]not[/b] a fundamentalist.[/color][/size][/color]

[size=1][color=Gray]Ah, Sean Paul, one song springs to mind, "Like Glue". That has to be hands down, the most horrendous song I've ever heard. There is nothing I'd like more than to have that song permantently erased from my memory somehow.[/color][/size][color=Gray] [/color]

[size=1][color=Gray]While it may be the dying days of summer for you up in the north, we lucky few down in the south are experiencung the dying days of Winter. As the days get longer, and the temperature heats up, I look forward to a great summer, this has really been the winter of discontent for me and I look forward to what the sumemr will bring. The irony of world-wide gatheirng forums. ;)[/color] [/size]

[color=Gray][size=1]She won't get that apology fromt he president, but she is getting something for all her effort. It seems that the tide of opinion against the war is rapidly increasing, or so our MSM is reporting. She's getting alot of mothers of slain armed forces personnel on her side, what began as a one-person protest seems to be slipping further and further out of control every day. She has become a mini-celebrity in many cases, whichever way you look at it, pro-war she's a kook, anti-war she's a saint. She might have had the right inspiration for what she is doing, but seriously, this is not the way to get results, at least those results you actually want. [/size][/color]

[size=1][color=Gray]I went along to see this movie the other day, and it was great. The movie follows four stories set in Sin City, with all of them interacting Pulp Fiction style. It was gritty, gruesome and darkly humorous, quite honestly one of the best movies I've seen this year, if not [i]the[/i] best. Black and White fused with [color=DarkRed]splashes of color[/color] was a great way to portray the movie, I liked the use of color to make certain things stand out. That was one of the more risky direction I have seen visually and I think it paid off. The end result was evident, the film noir really adding to the gritty feel of Sin City and the stories told within the movie. Out of curiosity, does anyone know which parts of the movie Quentin Tarantino directed? He was credited at the beginning as a guest director. So, who has seen Sin City, and what are your thoughts on it?[/color][/size]

[size=1]I'm all for adoption, I support the parents who do decide to adopt out and I know that it isn't easy. There are plenty of people out there willing to adopt and take children into their own family, either because they can't have their own or want to give a child a better life. That's an incredibly great thing for them to do. I fully suppot adoption if it's for the right reasons, and not money or something. [/size]

Yeah, I remember the ministry of funny walks skit,t hat was good. I got into Monty Python, hwen one of my teachers at school lent me some vids, we were supposed to watch htem in class on one of those lazy after-exam days that doesn't count, but the class kicked up a stink because it was old and we ended up watching wallace and vomit. ergh. Monty Python was a heck of a lot funnier than that, that's why I borrowed the vids and got into their show. Godo stuff.

I have a dog, a German Shepherd called Jasmine, or just Jas for short. We've had her for about 3 years, she came along when my eldest pet, Rocky, a black German Shepherd cross-breed died of old age. :( Jas has this annoying habit of, barking at me when I run, only me when [b]I[/b] run, wierd. :animestun

[QUOTE=doukeshi03][size=1] Its barbaric and sick. I mean war is one thing, at least most of the people involved know what they're getting into (excluding civilians caught in crossfire), but bombing commuters just trying to get on with their jobs is just depraved. [/size][/QUOTE] That's the thing though, Al Qaeda would rather attack a group of soft targets going about their daily lives than an army. They know they'd get their *** kicked in a war with the west and that's why they deplore these despicable tactics. I mean, their leaders hide in caves and send the lackeys out to kill themselves. I wouldn't be quick to say that Al Qaeda had any thread of respectability, or "martyrdom" about it whatsoever. Good to see Londond getting on with things and not letting this attack slow the economy down. All Al Qaeda needs is economy collapse, fear and terror, they feed off it like vultures.

Green Day's St. Jimmy gets me pumped up, not anything to do witht the lyrics, just it's hyped-up superpace. Aynthing else in that hard-fast punk category would do as well. Offspring etc.... :animeswea

[left] [list=1] [*][i][b][size=1]Scribe - Theme form the Crusader (255) [/size][/b][/i] [*][i][b][size=1]Elemeno P - Fast times in Tahoe (243)[/size][/b][/i] [*][i][b][size=1]Third Day - 'Till the day I die (208) [/size][/b][/i] [*][i][b][size=1]Scribe - Not Many (The Remix) (199) [/size][/b][/i] [*][i][b][size=1]Me First and the Gime Gimmes - Somewhere over the Rainbow (150)[/size][/b][/i] [*][i][b][size=1]Elemeno P - Nirvana (120)[/size][/b][/i] [*][i][b][size=1]Korn- Another Brick in the Wall pt.s 1-3 (112)[/size][/b][/i] [*][i][b][size=1]Mumsdollar - Wedding Song - (105)[/size][/b][/i] [*][i][b][size=1]Jeff Deyo - Bless the Lord (98)[/size][/b][/i] [*][i][b][size=1]Rapture Ruckus - Enough (44)[/size][/b][/i] [/list] [/left] No surprises there, my playlists are dominated by NZ Music and Christian rock music. It hought there'd be a few more C-Rock songs make it up there, oh well.

Seriously, $333 million to blow a crater in a space rock millions of miles away? How many mouths would that cash feed? It's not necessarily a bad thing to go out exploring all the space God has given us, but I think that getting our earth in order and aiding those less fortunate than ourselves should take precedence over stargazing. But, that's not nearly as galmorous as another possible "big-bang-theory-prover"...

We didn't get a Live 8 concert of our own in New Zealand, so I watched some of the concert on TV It was hard to watch it live, because it started 2AM over here, but I got a few tapes together to catch what I had to sleep through. We got a mixture of performances from all Live 8 concerts, the performances I liked most were those from Coldplay, Robbie Williams, The Who, Snoop Dogg and Madonna. Madonna's set was particularly interesting since she happened to share the stage with a woman saved from funds raised by Live Aid, it was quite a nice little moment. I liked what I've seen from Live 8 so far, out of the performances I haven't got around to seeing yet, I'm lookinf forward to Pink Floyd's reformation most.

[QUOTE=Jake of Bodom]LMFAO!!! Oh my God, that's one of the funniest damn things I've ever heard. Obviously you know NOTHING about metal AT ALL. Devil insignia? No, there's only one sect of metal that truly gets into the whole Satan thing (Black metal), and that didn't appear until the early 90s. If metal "dressed up in all that devil insignia" in the first place, it would have happened in the 70s when metal came to life. Metal isn't about riling the religious groups - it's about the ******* music. If you happen to be one of those people who goes around saying that all metal is satanic without knowing a single thing about it, you need to go play a nice little game of hide and go **** yourself. There are tons and tons of Christian metal bands out there - Christian death metal, Christian power metal, Christian metalcore, Christian "white" metal (Black metal style metal with Christian lyrics). As for secular metal, lyrics range from slaying dragons to the expansion of emotional and mental awareness. You know nothing about metal, so don't talk like you do. I do, however, see your point with the Ozzfest illustrations, but that's all they are: illustrations. They know nothing about a single band on the tour besides Black Sabbath (who they're target, who isn't Satanic in the slightest bit. Not at all. And it's not Ozzy that's taking the 'Fest to Utah, it's Sharon Osbourne. She runs the whole thing. And yes, she's probably asking for it, but that's just it: we all know they were gonna have a problem with it, but should that stop the rest of us from ejoying the 'Fest? It's hard to be a metalhead in Utah in the first place. This is censorship at one of it's worst.[/QUOTE] Dude seriously, calm down a bit. No need to flame. :rolleyes: I could have been more specific in saying that it is metal bands that use the devil insignia on their covers that are using such imagery to rile religious groups. Thing is, I have nothing against it, I'm all for Ozzfest going to Utah... I may not like it, but I'm all for freedom of speech. But they do use devils every single year, one poster in particular (2002) had a devil flying over the crowds and they were [i]worshipping it[/i]. True, not all bands are going to be gung-ho on the devil crap, some may even take a stand against it, but using Devils as their main mascot, year after year, isn't exactly showing the religous groups the "whiter side" of Metal. [quote name='RiflesAtRecess'] This argument fits everything from gay marriage to "satanic" metal tours. If you don't like it, don't go. The Ozzfest has an obviously huge fanbase, so why would you want to stop them from coming to your state? Is it going to desecrate your land? No! Is it going to bring Satan to your door? Hell no! So why? Why can't you put on your Frank Sinatra (or whatever) and shut up and let the metal kids enjoy their show?[/quote] I wouldn't use Frank Sinatra as an exemplary of what the moral types may listen to, after all, they guy had connections to organised crime. ;)

[QUOTE=Jake of Bodom] Oh, here's another thing. I live in Utah. I have absolutely nothing against Mormons (some of my best friends belong to the LDS church), but I really don't like the way so many regulations within this state are based on their beliefs. Here's how this relates to censorship: Ozzfest is coming to Utah this summer. For those of you who don't know what Ozzfest is, it's a huge music tour featuring a handful of classic heavy metal bands, as well as a slew of current ones. A group of Mormons is protesting it coming to Utah because it's "a horrible Satanic influence on today's youth". Okay, hold on a second. Last time I checked, there were 3 Christian bands on the lineup. But no, it's metal, and metal is scary. No. You know what's scary? There's a chance they might win and Ozzfest will be banned from Utah. ARGH! Just because they are offended doesn't mean they have to take away the experience from everyone else! That's exactly the problem with censorship:[/QUOTE] Those crazy mormons! I can't for the life of me figure out why they think Ozzfest, of all things, is satanic! [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v26/Shinjiotaku/header.jpg[/img] Stop the religious groups cmplaining? But that's whay Metal is dressed up in such devil insignia in the first place! They want to rile the religious groups, rebel, and cause a stir. IMO, Ozzy is askin for it when he takes his devil-illustrated Ozzfest straight into the mormon capital of the world, no?

I'm with Tony on htis one, as long as the music is available uncensored then I'm ok with it. I don't need to hear swearing on MTV, and the deletion of a couple of words isn't going to drastically affect the message anyway. They censor American Idiot's f**got in New Zealand.