Chrisbenogor:


Where is the answer now?

the tree of good and evil is not a physical tree. it is a synonym for FREEWILL. the freewill to indulge in your good or bad side.

Looks like a normal human skull to me

Why , did you think it was something else

Yeah, totally agree with you. Ancestors after-all. The article goes on to say;

"The skeletons have long arms similar to those of orang-utans, a trait shared with Australopithecines, which suggests they were adept at living in trees. But unlike other Australopithecines, they have long legs and a pelvis that is well adapted to walking upright. Analysis of the male's skull revealed small teeth and facial characteristics seen in early members of the genus Homo. Their brains were exceptionally small, around a third the size of a modern human's."

Religious people question EVERY evidence presented by modern science which have given them EVERYTHING they use today, computers, cars, aeroplanes, microscope, medicine, rockets to send man to space, nuclear weapons to bring the Armageddon they long for, etc, yet the ONLY evidence that convince them about all other things is a book written by cave dwelling Middle Easterners, or some pastors and imam who hear the voice of a space daddy. Beats me, really beats me.

Not all religious people question evidence. A lot of the so called evidence is theoretical anyway, and not based on hard fact, which means it should be questioned. Any scientist will tell you that. Like the Big Bang theory. On paper (mathematically) it works. But I don't think the theory includes the actual bang itself mind you. If I recall the theory begins a few seconds after the Bang itself takes place. So it's a case of believing that something can come from nothing.

There's a school of thought that suggests we could be living inside a black hole and these so called Big Bangs occur all the time. Theoretical of course. But imagine the possibilities. A fact is, our universe is expanding exponentially. At the rate our human minds find it hard to comprehend. I love the idea that if the earth was the universe then we wouldn't even represent a single grain of sand. Makes me feel insignificant, don't know about you.

The person who asked is a christian

i seriously doubt that.

Funny debate

I guess my belief is that one day humans will become godlike. Not God, but godlike.

We're slowly heading towards the day where Wet-ware to Hard-ware conversion is possible i.e. being able to store the data of the mind as binary code that a computer can understand. When this is made possible, well the possibilities are practically endless.

Like how would you like to live a thousand years? I honestly believe humans of the future will have that choice.

The stuff that nano technology scientists are doing nowadays is frightening aswell.

^^what exactly are they doing?

can you explain a bit- one keeps hearing so much about nanotechnology.

i do know gadgets are getting smaller and smaller.

tpia@:

^^what exactly are they doing?

can you explain a bit- one keeps hearing so much about[b] nanotechnology[/b].

i do know gadgets are getting smaller and smaller.

Nanotechnology isnt about gadgets alone and definitely has nothing to do with gadgets getting smaller.

Tpai you are so clueless about Science and Engineering. I SMFH for you.

Your life is a waste.

@OP

You are still accepting such thing that doesn't add up as fact in 21st century!?

tpia@:

^^what exactly are they doing?

can you explain a bit- one keeps hearing so much about nanotechnology.

They do everything, from the food you eat to your clothes to how your shyyt is processed.


We do everything Tpia. Yes, I do nanaotech research. Tpia, go kill yourself.

^^what exactly are they doing?

Nano tech allows you to manipulate/work with materials on a molecular level. i.e. being able to strip materials apart atom by atom. 

"Why all the excitement? When graphite is broken down into graphene, the ultra-thin flakes take on unusual and exciting new properties. Three million of these sheets stacked on top of one another would stand just one millimetre high, and yet graphene is the strongest material ever measured, some 200 times stronger than steel. It is also the most conductive. At the atomic level, it resembles a chicken wire lattice of carbon molecules that is so fine that not even a hydrogen molecule can pass through it." http://www.guardian.co.uk/nanotechnology-world/graphene-a-miracle-material-in-the-making

I follow the guardian's extensive blog on the subject. Here: really really fascinating stuff.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/nanotechnology-world

Cine:

Not all religious people question evidence. A lot of the so called evidence is theoretical anyway, and not based on hard fact, which means it should be questioned. Any scientist will tell you that. Like the Big slam theory. On paper (mathematically) it works. But I don't think the theory includes the actual slam itself mind you. If I recall the theory begins a few seconds after the slam itself takes place. So it's a case of believing that something can come from nothing.

There's a school of thought that suggests we could be living inside a black hole and these so called Big Bangs occur all the time. Theoretical of course. But imagine the possibilities. A fact is, our universe is expanding exponentially. At the rate our human minds find it hard to comprehend. I love the idea that if the earth was the universe then we wouldn't even represent a single grain of sand. Makes me feel insignificant, don't know about you.

You need to know about something before you question it. I'm sure you dont know so much about evolution theories like big b-a-n-g. The work of the winner of the last nobel prize in physics is something you might like to read. Someone showed that the universe is expanding. Maybe very soon, this proven fact would realize telepathy. For all I care, science has done more good than religion. That I think is the problem with most theist (esp black ones). How can you condemn something that you have not taken time to consider? All you do is accept what your pastor tell you. Just keep believing. If you notice, most atheist are intellectuals. It's very likely that they have taken their time to consider both sides of the coin. On the other hand, theists (esp christains) would not even think for a second that there's another possibility. You keep thinking there's only one way, there're many ways as there are infinite number of circles from a point.

Let's break it down, since most persons cant think.

God is all knowing, yes or no?
If yes, he knew Adam would sin, right? How can you reconcile this with the free will theory? It means that Adam was doomed from the start. same way Judas was doomed, same way God already knows some persons here will go to hell fire even before they are born. Now that's contradictory, right?

When did God create hell fire? How can an all loving and all forgiving God create a place of torment for His own creations? Creations that are doomed already. Like Einstein said (I believe this too), "I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty."

I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings.

The answer to the poster's question is to reconsider the story. You can not justify the creation of the forbidden tree if the story is false itself. I'm not saying it is. I'm just asking you to reconsider. The big question is: Why are you a chistain or a musmim? Is that an exercise of your free will? Are you one because of your environment or because you think its safer to believe in something? Take some time and think. Thinking can be the most difficult things to do, especially when it is about the fundamentals

I heard that the Yoruba's had their own Adam and Eve story.  Does anyone know any books that I can read to learn more about it?

its actually called the big bang!! not big slam

@ cine

does graphene have any practical applications yet?

Is it being used in anything and has nanotechnology itself advanced past the theoretical stage.

If yes, examples?

Just curious.

frosbel:


The hatred for GOD has a simple cause. Men's hatred for righteousness and love for iniquity.

"And the judgment is based on this fact: God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil." - John 3:19

Talking about darkness, let me quote what a great man once said:

"The church says the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the church."
--Ferdinand Magellan,  Portuguese navigator-(1480–1521)

We all know he was right , don't we? fact and Christianity don't work. You have to be super st upid to belief in talking animals

mjconcept:

I pray u to repent to avoid God wrath.
The foolishness of God is wiser than men.

Why don't you just leave the 'wrath" business to your yeye god? while you are at it, ask him which punishment he gave to Stalin, Hitler and their likes.

To make sure Man UNDERSTOOD that he is not a ROBOT! The TREE signifies CHOICE, FREE WILL!
Man was given more than enough to eat, so there are probably lots of Trees to eat from. Apple, grapes,pears, oranges, etc But man was also commanded not to eat from a particular one. The question you should be asking is this, what was so special about this particular Tree as the garden was filled with so many of such Trees? Nothing was special about that tree cos it looks just like the others, so man could easily have ignored it like it didn't exist. Except Man wanted to test his FREE WILL. "It is my garden and I have the right to eat anything growing in it regardless of any command" The more you think about this story, the more you see it repeating itself everyday. Betrayal, not trusting the one who just helped you and do what he/she says, Blaming others for your mistakes, and the list goes on!

GOD might have forgiven Adam, but then he didn't take responsibility of his action, he actually balimed GOD saying "The woman you gave me caused it" (So if you had not given me a woman, non of this might have happen) He quickly forgot how happy he was when he first saw the woman "This is flesh of my flesh, etc"

This is my understanding of the whole saga:

Everything that has transpired, including the creation of man, is geared towards the VINDICATION OF GOD's CHARACTER. God knew that man would sin, but he created him with free will, knowing that ultimately some of us would embrace HIM, and some of us would reject HIM. We, humanity, are the JURORS in this case between GOD and the DEVIL. God is LOVE, and love is not without choice. So God made Man to bestow his endless love upon, and in return gave man the free will to see the magnitude of the love he has for us, and out of our own choice, love him in return. Anything short of this, would NOT be true love.
   The devil in his deception, in which he successfully convinced a 1/3 of the angels of God, accused God of high handedness, questioning His Holy character, HIS LOVE and the justice therein. It would be wrong, and would have proved the devil's point, if God as the accused in this case, had simply destroyed the devil and all the fallen angels. Humanity, and in particular, those of us that embrace God, and love him (the sort of Love that puts God above the self, and every other thing in this world, the Love that rejects sin), would VINDICATE THE CHARACTER OF GOD. The accused, in this case God, would not be the judge, RIGHTLY SO, hence humanity would serve as the juror. We would show that God is LOVE, GOD is JUST, and that he can be served out of one's own free will.
     This has always been the plan from the creation of man, to everything that transpired in the old testament, to the coming of Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, to the second return of Christ to receive those that have Loved God. This is why the Devil and his agents, work so tirelessly to deceive anyone from loving God. Remember that to Love God is to keep his commands. The enemy would never stop in his quest to get man to reject God (he even had the audacity to tempt Jesus while he was on earth) because his only hope of avoiding the verdict that awaits him, is to prove that man, and indeed no creation of God would serve Him out of Love.
      The Bible, from the old testament to the new testament is succinct and conclusive in God's plan for humanity. I'm not a pastor or some extraordinary Bible scholar, but from what I deduce from the Bible, that plan is very much in tact, and God has not changed, neither has His Words. People get confused when they try to interpret the Bible to suit their circumstances and tweak God's Word to accommodate their sins. I'm convinced that love of self is the ultimate barrier that keeps us from God.
      So, there you have it, God put the Tree in the Garden, He knew the devil would tempt Eve, He knew man would sin, but would have the choice to love God or not. Man was made PARTIALLY for this special purpose; as the jurors in this greatest of all cases. Let me draw some parallels with jury duty here in the U.S, for illustration:
    - Remember, jurors are chosen from people who were not present at the incident. Man was not made when satan
      rebelled, and the angels of God, present at the rebellion are disqualified for this jury duty.

    - Jurors are again chosen from people who cannot be swayed by public opinion. Hence, man could not be made to
       be without the capability to sin against God, or without freewill, because that would swing the jury in the
       favor of God. THE EXISTENCE OF SIN IS A NECESSITY.

    - Lastly, and most important for us is that jurors are composed of law abiding citizens. So, really, the jurors in this
      case are those of us who love God and obey his commands. These are the law abiding citizens, whom are not
      compromised by sin, and have been found worthy of jury duty.

So this does not sound like some figment of my imagination, I would leave you with  these verses from the Bible:
1 Corinthians 6: 2-3 says:
    "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3. DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT WE SHALL JUDGE ANGELS? How much more things that pertain to this life."

Well dis pos didn't jus com out from nothing, I think God put all to test to ascertain suitability. Remember evn man put all his invention to the test to ensure perfection. But I employ all to wait, we are in a process. I don't think God is done wit it yet. Not until we see d last, we shouldn't not jump into conclusion. HIS plans for Man is dat of good and not of evil. The word is patience. Let us guide our utterance least we jeopardize our chance of enjoying what is ahead. If God wasn't what he said HE is how come almost all the earlier prophecy came to fulfillment. How come our debate had been foretold. Lik one writer said turn off ur brain not to diminish ur faith further.

Choices

"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17).

God gave the mother of all warnings to Adam as to the consequence of failing in his responsibilities and gave him a choice to obey Him but Adam chose otherwise and we are all bearing the consequence of his decision. Thanks to the last Adam (Jesus Christ) who has given us the freedom to choose to obey God.

[img width=500 height=500]http://www.answersingenesis.org/assets/images/media/cartoons/after-eden/20020909.gif[/img]

@OP: So that man will eat it and fall! What other reason could there be?Afterall God is all-knowing and all-seeing

What will you do with warnings signs today? If you see a drink labelled poison will you drink it? Do you have the freedom to choose not to drink it or not? Compare that to the mother of all warnings given to Adam and Eve.

[img width=500 height=500]http://www.answersingenesis.org/assets/images/media/cartoons/after-eden/20050926.gif[/img]

“To make sure Man UNDERSTOOD that he is not a ROBOT!  The TREE signifies CHOICE, FREE WILL! “
GOD IS GOD OF CHOICE ………….!
It’s given unto man to choose btw good and evil.

Certain things mention in Genesis cannot be taken literally,For instance the fruit of good and bad  and the serpent eg Rev 20:1 identify satan as d serpent and As first used in the Scriptures, the word raʽ is the very antithesis of good. Adam was commanded not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad (raʽ) and was also warned of the consequences for disobedience. Hence, it is evident that God sets the standard as to what is good and what is bad(THIS IS SYMBOLIZED  BY THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND BAD); it is not within man’s prerogative to do so apart from God. Although Adam transgressed God’s express law, this transgression is not chargeable to Jehovah, “for with evil things [form of ka‧kos′] God cannot be tried nor does he himself try anyone. But each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire.”—Jas 1:13, 14; Ge 2:16, 17; 3:17-19.

Rightly, Jehovah brought evil or calamity upon Adam for his disobedience. Hence, in the Scriptures, Jehovah is referred to as the Creator of evil or calamity. (Isa 45:7; compare KJ.) His enforcing of the penalty for sin, namely, death, has proved to be an evil, or a calamity, for mankind. So, then, evil is not always synonymous with wrongdoing. Examples of evils or calamities created by Jehovah are the Flood of Noah’s day and the Ten Plagues visited upon Egypt. But these evils were not wrongs. Rather, the rightful administration of justice against wrongdoers was involved in both cases. However, at times Jehovah, in his mercy, has refrained from bringing the intended calamity or evil in execution of his righteous judgment because of the repentance on the part of those concerned. (Jon 3:10) Additionally, in having a warning given, Jehovah has undeservedly provided opportunities for the practicers of bad to change their course and thus to keep living.—Eze 33:11.

Certain things mentioned in Genesis cannot be taken literally,For instance the fruit of good and bad  and the serpent eg Rev 20:1 identify satan as d serpent and As first used in the Scriptures, the word raʽ is the very antithesis of good. Adam was commanded not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad (raʽ) and was also warned of the consequences for disobedience. Hence, it is evident that God sets the standard as to what is good and what is bad(THIS IS SYMBOLIZED  BY THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND BAD); it is not within man’s prerogative to do so apart from God. Although Adam transgressed God’s express law, this transgression is not chargeable to Jehovah, “for with evil things [form of ka‧kos′] God cannot be tried nor does he himself try anyone. But each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire.”—Jas 1:13, 14; Ge 2:16, 17; 3:17-19.

Rightly, Jehovah brought evil or calamity upon Adam for his disobedience. Hence, in the Scriptures, Jehovah is referred to as the Creator of evil or calamity. (Isa 45:7; compare KJ.) His enforcing of the penalty for sin, namely, death, has proved to be an evil, or a calamity, for mankind. So, then, evil is not always synonymous with wrongdoing. Examples of evils or calamities created by Jehovah are the Flood of Noah’s day and the Ten Plagues visited upon Egypt. But these evils were not wrongs. Rather, the rightful administration of justice against wrongdoers was involved in both cases. However, at times Jehovah, in his mercy, has refrained from bringing the intended calamity or evil in execution of his righteous judgment because of the repentance on the part of those concerned. (Jon 3:10) Additionally, in having a warning given, Jehovah has undeservedly provided opportunities for the practicers of bad to change their course and thus to keep living.—Eze 33:11.

arsenefc:


They do everything, from the food you eat to your clothes to how your shyyt is processed.


We do everything Tpia. Yes, I do nanaotech research. Tpia, go kill yourself.

yo arsenal guy, pls can u tell me d religion u follow? am curious? seems like u hate christians :/.

@ OP I want you to know that God my lord over look in times of ignorant and again i know you must have read the bilble cover to cover before you start this topic, even you can remeber their was this cities the prophet build temples and dedicate to various Gods but there was this particular temple that was named The UNSEEN GOD that was the temple a believer prayed and the entire city was ruined. You see this same God supercide all other Gods like that of your so called Buddha.

What people will not accept is that the thirst for knowledge his distruction and the thirst for freewill is death the Christain God supercide all God his the I Am that I am, The King of Kings The God of all Gods so if you have some quantity of brain left in your head you will know that what you fail to understand is that He made himself cleared that there are other god but he supercide all and we need not to worry all need of us is to believe and have faith in ourselve he will come to our rescue.

The way of God (Gods) is not the way of man, The knowledge you have today will only destroy you

TBrownAuto:

@ OP I want you to know that God my lord over look in times of ignorant and again i know you must have read the bilble cover to cover before you start this topic, even you can remeber their was this cities the prophet build temples and dedicate to various Gods but there was this particular temple that was named The UNSEEN GOD that was the temple a believer prayed and the entire city was ruined. You see this same God supercide all other Gods like that of your so called Buddha.

What people will not accept is that the thirst for knowledge his distruction and the thirst for freewill is death the Christain God supercide all God his the I Am that I am, The King of Kings The God of all Gods so if you have some quantity of brain left in your head you will know that what you fail to understand is that He made himself cleared that there are other god but he supercide all and we need not to worry all need of us is to believe and have faith in ourselve he will come to our rescue.

The way of God (Gods) is not the way of man, The knowledge you have today will only destroy you

damm ryt, dat says it all

You need to know about something before you question it. I'm sure you dont know so much about evolution theories like big b-a-n-g. The work of the winner of the last nobel prize in physics is something you might like to read. Someone showed that the universe is expanding. Maybe very soon, this proven fact would realize telepathy. For all I care, science has done more good than religion. That I think is the problem with most theist (esp black ones). How can you condemn something that you have not taken time to consider? All you do is accept what your pastor tell you. Just keep believing. If you notice, most atheist are intellectuals. It's very likely that they have taken their time to consider both sides of the coin. On the other hand, theists (esp christains) would not even think for a second that there's another possibility. You keep thinking there's only one way, there're many ways as there are infinite number of circles from a point.

Let's break it down, since most persons cant think.

God is all knowing, yes or no?
If yes, he knew Adam would sin, right? How can you reconcile this with the free will theory? It means that Adam was doomed from the start. same way Judas was doomed, same way God already knows some persons here will go to hell fire even before they are born. Now that's contradictory, right?

When did God create hell fire? How can an all loving and all forgiving God create a place of torment for His own creations? Creations that are doomed already. Like Einstein said (I believe this too), "I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty."

I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings.

The answer to the poster's question is to reconsider the story. You can not justify the creation of the forbidden tree if the story is false itself. I'm not saying it is. I'm just asking you to reconsider. The big question is: Why are you a chistain or a musmim? Is that an exercise of your free will? Are you one because of your environment or because you think its safer to believe in something? Take some time and think. Thinking can be the most difficult things to do, especially when it is about the fundamentals

If you bothered to read one of my earlier posts you would know I've already attempted to answer OP's question. I concluded that it was probably a load of nonsense due to the fact that contradictions exists all over the bible. I don't believe the world was made 4000BC (or whatever the exact figure is), we've been here for billions of years, so I how on earth can you expect me to believe the story of adam and eve.

Why are you a chistain or a musmim?

Because I like being spiritual. It helps me focus on and overcome day to day problems I encounter.

MeandSum:

Talking about darkness, let me quote what a great man once said:

"[b]The church says the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the church."
--Ferdinand Magellan,  Portuguese navigator-(1480–1521) [/b]

We all know he was right , don't we? fact and Christianity don't work. You have to be super st upid to belief in talking animals

They said , he said, and all these sort of statements depict an unwillingness on the part of the narrator to do at least some basic research into his quoted statements.

The church said , which church said

Have you gone to the bible to confirm if this is indeed true or are you now working purely on hearsay ?

Lets look at Isaiah 40

22 There is One who is dwelling above the circle of the earth, the dwellers in which are as grasshoppers, the One who is stretching out the heavens just as a fine gauze, who spreads them out like a tent in which to dwell,


Then pull out an Apollo 11 picture of the earth. From any point above the earth, you would see it as a circle. Any reference made is correct with the facts.

And the Hebrew word for circle is also used in reference to spheres.

The real test is that there is NO description in the Bible of the earth "setting on elephants, standing on a turtle" or being held up by Atlas as ISLAM mentions.

In fact it describes the earth as not setting on anything.

Job 26:7
He is stretching out the north over the empty place,
Hanging the earth upon nothing;


About talking animals this issue has been over flogged , but you obviously skipped the logic.


What is more silly is believing in the racist concept of evolution which suggests that black people have not yet evolved to the level of the white man , but are somewhere between an ape and a white man.

Stop following the white man and whatever tells you , liberate your mind !!

The garden of Eden had only one purpose which was for mankind to partake of God's eternal life.
In this dispensation,Christ is now the garden of Eden.
God has all power but He cannot command love.
Love is given willingly& mankind demonstrated this to devastating effect in Eden's garden by choosing wrongly.
It gnaws a man to d marrow if he makes genuine intentions to a lady&gives her his best in gifts&affections,she rejects his advances.
In love u seek to have d heart of d one whom u love.
How much more God?