The Problem with Christians

[robvalue]

Magic book doesn't know anymore about astronomy than the people who wrote magic book.  Do you think it took magic?  I mean, rather than simply looking up, for example, to ask such questions?

When we look at the constellations, many of the figures that we see involve stars that are nowhere near each other. The Bible correctly stated that Pleiades was a cluster where the stars are in proximity, and that the stars in Orion are not. How did it know that?

This is the argument from ignorance, again. You're saying we don't know how they could have got this information, therefor you can make up that it was from God. If they had correct information, then determining how they got it is an entirely different matter. They don't get to just state it and have it be fact. If I knew something and you couldn't explain how I knew it, do I get to say it was from a magic talking frog? No. That is a further claim, which needs evidence.

[AJW333]

But RNA is made from DNA is it not?

No, Idiot, DNA is not required to produce RNA!

If the RNA virus needs a living host to replicate, and the host has DNA, are not the RNA viruses still dependent on DNA for their replication?

In terms of RNA viruses arising from chemical reactions, I'll need some scientific proof of this as it appears the origin of viruses is not clear.

"The origins of viruses are unclear: some may have evolved from plasmids—pieces of DNA that can move between cells—while others may have evolved from bacteria." Wiki

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Studying the "magic book" does indeed tell us we are in the last days. If you study the Greek, you'll find that one of the signs of the lasts days is "nation rising against nation" and "kingdom against kingdom." The only time the world has been at war in such a manner is WWI and WWII. So from that time on, the last days have been in operation. It's anyone's guess as to how long this period will last.

You can't have the return of Christ until there is a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and a range of other factors. The fact that people have missed this and misinterpreted Scripture doesn't make the Scripture wrong.

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A failed prediction is one that doesn't happen by the time it was specified to happen.

It doesn't make half a shit's worth of a difference what anyone builds in Jerusalem, nor who kills who in that city - your utterly useless and nonexistent god will never, ever intervene. Fuckheads like you need to be put away for the violence which you stir up, as you are a certain doomsday threat to the human species.

It's interesting that I am asked to provide evidence for the validity of Scripture, and when I point to the impending fulfillment of prophecy (the temple rebuild), it means nothing. What are the chances of a man 2000 years ago accurately predicting the rebuilding of the Jewish temple when it was destroyed in AD 70 and the nation of Israel hasn't been in existence for even longer than that?

What violence am I stirring up?

[IATIA]

What are the chances of a man 2000 years ago accurately predicting the rebuilding of the Jewish temple when it was destroyed in AD 70 and the nation of Israel hasn't been in existence for even longer than that?

1) Even a clock that does not run is right twice a day.

2) If one waits long enough, pretty much anything will come true.

[robvalue]

And...

Again...

One part of a book being true says nothing about the rest of the book. Someone must already be convinced the whole book is true, otherwise this wouldn't convince anyone but the most gullible.

Anyone can write vague shit down and wait around until something like it happens. You should try horoscopes, it will blow your mind!

[Cyberman]

What are the chances of a man 2000 years ago accurately predicting the rebuilding of the Jewish temple when it was destroyed in AD 70 and the nation of Israel hasn't been in existence for even longer than that?

1) Even a clock that does not run is right twice a day.

2) If one waits long enough, pretty much anything will come true.

3) Million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.

[IATIA]

Powerball Odds Are 1 In 175 Million and people (sometimes multiple) hit it all the time.

[Angrboda]

How did the Bible know about astronomical realities?

"God asked Job “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, Or loose the belt of Orion?” (Job 38:31). In the last century astrophysicists have discovered that the stars of Pleiades move in unison with each other, and are thus gravitationally bound. They have also discovered that the stars in the belt of Orion are free agents that are not gravitationally bound!6 Interestingly, the three stars that comprise Orion's belt appear to be closer  together than the outer stars in the constellation, but are actually farther apart! (they appear closer together because of the 2-D plane we see them in)." http://www.bibleevidences.com/scientif.htm

They didn't. You're back patching a modern translation onto the original words.

31 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
(KJV)

In Greek mythology, the Pleiades were seven sisters who were roaming free. One binds that which is free, and loosens that which binds. The verse is simply consistent with the metaphor which described each phenomena. They no more knew that the belt of Orion were free stars than that they knew the Pleiades were maidens. Moreover, you're interpreting the verse as saying that God has done these things. But it's equally within the interpretation of the verse to suggest that God could do these things if he wanted to do so. In that case, if the situation were reversed, the Pleiades free and Orion bound, you'd simply interpret the verse as God pointing out the impotence of man, and, that God knew the Pleiades were free and Orion bound. Either way, you're able to interpret the passage in your favor. Heads you win, tails I lose is not much of a miracle.

[abaris]

What are the chances of a man 2000 years ago accurately predicting the rebuilding of the Jewish temple when it was destroyed in AD 70 and the nation of Israel hasn't been in existence for even longer than that?

What temple are we talking about? The mosque on top of the temple mount?

Don't you even realize what nonsense this is right from the start? It's symbolistic gibberish for everyone to interpret in the way of his liking.

[pocaracas]

:???:
No, it's not.
I mean, it can be made from DNA, but need not be.
RNA is simpler than DNA.

http://www.diffen.com/difference/DNA_vs_RNA

I checked the whole page and found no proof that RNA is generated apart from DNA, just a theory that it did (in the video). I did see this though;

"Propagation  DNA is self-replicating.
 RNA is synthesized from DNA when needed.

It's always the same with people like you... Can't understand that this planet, once, didn't have DNA around... It had something else...
http://www.wired.com/2013/02/proto-rna/

"Origin-of-life researchers have long thought that RNA, the molecular cousin of the DNA that encodes our genes, may have played a starring role in the initial evolution of life from a soup of organic molecules. RNA has a simpler structure than DNA and is a more adept chemical catalyst. So it would seem that RNA-based life might arise more readily than DNA-based life.
...
“The nice thing [about the current study] is this is a demonstration of self-assembly in water,” says Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy, an origin-of-life chemist at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California. “That is a step in the right direction.”

Certainly, the puzzle is not solved yet... But this research is promising results in line with the standard theory... From simple elements, molecules, some rudimentary form of genetics spontaneously appeared and then evolved to the complex DNA we see everywhere, today.

[Pat Mustard]

1) Even a clock that does not run is right twice a day.

2) If one waits long enough, pretty much anything will come true.

3) Million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten.

Especially when you're trying to hit a dragon in its voolnerables.