julianw

Nice pic. Imagine going to the zoo at night and seeing nothing but those eyes staring at you from the dark. :ph34r:

But you will always be a step too late. What a shame. Appreciate the effort though.

I guess time always tells.

No, I was trying to save myself some dignity. If that's arrogant to you then I will come out and say it: when I was 18, I was a total jack-ass. If I ever meet that kid again, I would probably want to choke him till his eyes fall out.

He still might come around. When I was 18, I was ... Well, you don't need to know.

Okay for you Petay:

His deltoids are bigger than his head! Beautiful physicue... Just beautiful...

Come on. Be a little supportive. Old people want to feel sexy too.

Instead of deleting them, why not just prune them instead? We have more than enough mods now.

uh huh. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I think they are doing well so far. Wanna see some muscular oldies?

Laker fan?

Check out the bicep peak! I guess this thread could use a little Kate too.

You dare to mock the governator? This is Kaaarlifornia...

Young Arnie:

Most of you guys probably recognize her from Shawshank Redemption. Great movie btw.

You are right. Christ may not died exactly at age 33 but still he most likely died very young though. Siddhartha Gautama who was centuries before Christ lived into his 80s. Confucius and Laozi (no, not our Laozi :D ) both lived into their 70s if I recall correctly. So did Muhammad. Christ was one of the very few prophets(generally accepted ones of course) who died young and violently. Also, I think he's probably more likely short (from lack of better nutrients) and dirty (constant travels on foot or by donkey) than the tall and beautiful white man portrayed from Passion.

I miss my TV.

I will praise your effort for showing interest in studying the Qu'ran though. It shows that you won't shun away from differing opinions and beliefs to those that you already established. Quite a just man you are already. I will say that Islam would not be if not for Judaism and Christianity. Also Islam spread to different regions and people from Christianity. I am more inclined for them to reach absolute peace between each other rather than for one to devour another.

But Muhammad was not well versed in poetry. He was an illiterate man. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes, but you don't have to be well-versed in poetry to create or speak it. Arabic culture tends to be quite poetic, I'm inclined to believe he was exposed to poetry in his lifetime. But as I said, you don't really have to be well-versed in poetry to create it. And just to clarify something, evidence shows that Muhammad most likely did not write the Quran, in fact it is almost a certainty. Rather it was his scribes and followers who copied his words down as he spoke. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I thought I PMed you about this already, didn't I? Yes, the scribes recorded his writings. Sometimes, he could speak through day and night as the scribes took turns in recording. I became more than a little suspicious that the work of Qu'ran was divinely inspired since a man could have spoken in such logic and loftiness at the same time. Muhammad was not an educated man. If he was to accumulate knowledge by the means availabe at the time, it is nearly impossible for him to have 'spoken' the Qu'ran. p.s. I tried my best. Wished you were here though so Christianity could be much better represented.

After some much needed sleep, I am willing to give this discussion another go now; that is if people are still interested of course. But Muhammad was not well versed in poetry. He was an illiterate man. Maybe they are doing charity for the wrong reasons or maybe they are not. You and I do not have the power to judge men's hearts. But surely it is better to feed a starving man than to keep him starving, no? I don't quite understand the part of 'for every positive there is a negative'. When you plant crops on farmlands, weeds grew along side them. You cannot remove the farm because there would be no harvest, but do you blame the weeds on those who planted the seeds for the crops? Nope, i still don't understand. I didn't kill Jesus, why am i sharing part of the blame for something i didn't do? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Well. I did explain already that I was speaking 'we' as humans as one. I said nothing about whose fault it was, so please don't be offended. What why would an aethiest dive on a grenade to save a friend ? Since it's not something I'd be inclined to do, not something I can answer. But it does happen so self sacrfice is not confined only to people who believe in god. I know many aethiests who are still humanitarians. Although I wouldnt say I was one since I tend to stick all life on the same shelf. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Indeed, latest scientific investigations have proven that bacteria are capable of self-sacrifice ... are they religious? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> But do they do it out of conscience and love for others? If you can find a better phrase to describe humans' innate need to give their lives meaning other than being religious or being in a state of love, that will work as well.

Why not ? If anything has changed society to that which we live in today it's that people have focused less on religion and more on science. People got along (or didnt) prior to any of those people even existing. Their existence really didnt change anything fundamental. People still kill each other, people still starve. Religions existed before them, new religions sprang up after them (see scientology). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Why not? Well. First, it is illogical. The Bible is not Christ's direct words but Muhammad did write the Qu'ran and it reads like poetry. Now Muhammad himself never had any education and was a warrior for his whole life. I doubt he can dream up poetry out of the blue. I am not familiar with the early struggles of Christianity but I am sure Mothman could give you tons of examples of how the early Christians suffered and labored to spread the faith and taught people to love. As for Islam, Muhammad civilized an entire region. Previously barbaric people in a few decades turned into an advanced nation. Even today, their influence lives on. Islamic law requires a percentage of the income be donated to charity. I have seen my Muslim friend who's but a poor student with little income, yet giving out charities on many occasions. If you think relgions should have done more good, I can't say I disagree with you. But let me ask you this then: how much is enough? Good and evil are relative. You cannot extinguish all evil in a free world, so how shall you judge the progess of mankind then? Religions have helped us understand the purpose of life, strengthened the bond of familes and nations. Those seem a great deal to me already.

Okay. Let's be logical here. I could study for my whole life with this vast amount of knowledge that's easily available today and remain the chump I am but Christ died at 33 and was poor to boot. Muhammad was chased like a rat across the desert and battled his whole life. Buddha was a pampered rich boy who knew little of the suffering of the poor. Let's not credit the Bible, the Qu'ran and the number of Buddhist texts which are all beautifully written and contain many truth to life to hallucinations now.

There is one problem with the two choices you offered though. Christ, Buddha and Muhammad did make those claims that they are at one with God. So either they are the biggest liars that probably deserved death or their claims are true. And the basis for interpretation is rationality; and it's more dangerous when people decide that the religion is based on blind faith but not open interpretation.