Phosphor

Of course he's smarter than he looks. You don't get to be president by being a moron, even if you do have powerful connections. Bush plays the role of the common man very well to the masses; he speaks in a commoner colloquialism, has a slight southern "homey" accent, and this makes him look approachable and like he has nothing to hide. The American people don't like their president to seem smart, they think he's hiding something. One critique of Kerry was that he looks like he's thinking too much; this makes people nervous. People will believe the village idiot though.

I agree. And I think this thread has pretty much run it's course. It'll remain here rather than being removed, though.

Ha-ha! Beat you again.

Does anyone ever take a WIS or INT bonus at 4th level?

And if a Moderator takes the Administrator Prestige Class, he or she gets the Ban! special ability.

Why was your family mostly nude? I can see why you wouldn't have been able to make a purchase though if your family were nude, no-one would have had any place to carry money, or a credit card. At least, not comfortably. Unless they're accustomed to that sort of thing.

KOTOR was definately better than any of the recent SW movies.

The bible was, in addition to a guide for living one's life, a sort of survival guide. 2000 years ago, people lived in rather isolated tribes, and survival was hard. Hence you get stuff like "go forth and multiply" and other reproductive instructions and sexual behaviour restrictions. Of course, in our extremely over-populated world these aspects are no longer valid, but because they're In The Bible, they're taken as, well, holy writ. I agree with a lot of the general "be nice to people, be a good person" stuff in the bible, but there's stuff that just isn't applicable anymore, and it's destructive to follow it as, uh, gospel.

Grim Fandango would make for a great movie. It would have to be animated, of course, a live-action version would be horrible.

It's a classic. And damned catchy; even mention of the song never fails to get it stuck in my head. However, Nimoy's work pales in comparison to the musical and theatrical stylings of William Shatner.

Gotta go with good old Wednesday on this one. He's just too tough and wiley a bugger to be permanently done-in. The Trimurti might give him a good run for his mead, though.

I believe it's only Aztec-like. There's also the potential inference that the Aztecs had a relationship with the Predators and so built their temples in that image. Aztecs had some very bloody rites, after all. It's just a use of the theory that aliens helped or influenced ancient earth civilisations.

It's the arcane and mystical pyramid shape of the d4 though that channels the evil.

The being "butchered" notion is one of perspective. Faith is supposed to transcend proof, that's the whole point of faith. So when an atheist demans solid proof of faith, the believer cannot provide it, and so another atheist will see that as being "butchered" in the arguement. I'm rather suspect of atheists who constantly demand proof. They strike me as either just plain antagonistic and smug, or perhaps not sure of their own atheism and fear that perhaps they are wrong, and so want proof. What do you expect on a Christian board? They're not there soley to facilitate belief vs non-belief arguements. It shouldn't be, but it is. If you look at many of our laws, you'll see they have roots in religious teachings. Makes sense, sometimes, as those teachings are just good sense. But using religious ideology to dictate someone's private life and relationships is so wrong it makes my blood boil.

I'm looking forward to seeing it. The film's got all sorts of pulp science/fantasy hallmarks all over it - an Aztec-style temple, buried in the ice of Antartica, where space aliens have secretly met and fought for centuries, discovered by a team of explorers. Great stuff. That said, I do have doubts about the film, particularly the "Whoever wins, we lose" tag line, which doesn't seem to match up with some of the heroics I've seen in the trailers. I do want to see it, though.

I've been on game forums long enough though.

No, a Muslim terrorist is bad because he's been manipulated by all sorts of extreme influnces, from religious to social to personal, all of which likely intertwine with each other. I don't believe Islam is any worse than any sect of Christianity.

Condolences equally welcomed There's nothing terrible about being a moderator as long as you realise that people just like to gripe and flame. No biggie. As for "power", as long as I have my little domain to keep tidy and busy with, there are no real worries. "Power" is only an issue if admin and upper-echelon mods constantly second-guess and over-ride your decisions, which certainly doesn't seem to be the case here.

I split this off Eldar's Wish Me Luck thread, as it strikes me that such debate likely isn't conducive to granting luck, particularly when such luck is needed with a religious institution

Most things don't turn out as they should. I'm not defending that approach, as I think it's misguided. Relgion is, to me, something that is for personal guidance, not a tool to tell others what to do. Unfortunately, the latter is all too common a situation and the former seemingly quite rare.

That's what I think Eldar means; magnifying the situation is making it more obvious. That they preach one thing and act in the exact opposite way is a magnification of the issue. Child molestation is wrong, and when you're in a position like a priest, the wrong-ness is far more obvious and apparent. As for basic human needs being ignored, my impression is that the priesthood is supposed to transcend that, to have more mental fortitude, and be strengthened by their faith. It's about dedication. Now, I disagree with preaching basic human needs as a sin; I think it's backwards and a corruption or misinterpretation of the bible. But I'm not a biblical scholar nor religious at all. It's just my impression.

Wow, thanks Chemchok!

Thank you, sir. Now if we could only get someone to move this thread....

Guildmaster asked me earlier today. I guess someone had recommended me. So I accepted.

So in other words it would have really changed your life? I'd imagine it'd be really difficult to be a priest. You'd have to be so sure of your faith and convictions, and be able to temper that with genuine compassion and real love for the human race (*shudder*). The position of moral authority and power involving other people's core beliefs would be a massive responsibility. Were I religious, I wouldn't want that position.