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Old 07-09-2007, 02:53 AM   #251
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Surely, so long as by 'physical evidence' you do not mean what you say you do -- that the laws of physics and biology cannot and never have changed. That may or may not be so -- how do we tell? -- but a denial of it is the point at issue, and for your argument to hold water you'd need to demonstrate it, not presume it.
Actually we have pretty good reasons for regarding the laws of physics as having remained unchanged since at least the first Planck Second after the Big Bang.... (pop science exposition on why the laws of science must have been unchanged for a very long time snipped).
So I believe. But I think that you have missed the point in your eagerness to repeat this stuff -- since I don't believe that you have any first hand knowledge on this topic, any more than I do. This was that such claims need to be made explicitly, not simply presumed.

If you tell me that there is explicit proof that such beings as the ante-diluvians could not have existed, it would be interesting to see it.

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Now Roger, in the light of this, you might like to explain to the rest of the good folks here why, for example, detailed calculations upon the thermodynamic consequences of a global flood ... (snip)

We await your deliberations eagerly.
<smile> The willingness of atheists to parrot nonsense has always amused me. Precisely how any of this weird but obviously second-hand rhetoric relates to my post you do not explain.

All the best,

Roger Pearse
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Old 07-09-2007, 03:00 AM   #252
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I'm afraid that I simply can't get a grip on this thread, as it seems over the last 36 hours to have spiralled off into stock-rhetoric. So I think it's now done, which is annoying as there was some interesting stuff on sars and ners to be explored.

All the best,

Roger Pearse
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Old 07-09-2007, 03:41 AM   #253
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I'm afraid that I simply can't get a grip on this thread, as it seems over the last 36 hours to have spiralled off into stock-rhetoric. So I think it's now done, which is annoying as there was some interesting stuff on sars and ners to be explored.
You were the only person who thought there was anything to discuss there - so far as I can tell no one else has had issues with the standard interpretation of Sumerian base-60 counting. But as I pointed out, you are at liberty to explore these issues yourself if you wish - it is, as our American friends might remark, a free thread. If anything pertinent to the debate comes up as a result I'm sure people will respond.

What you aren't going to get is other people stopping debating the OP to debate the alternative topic of your choice without any prior input from you.
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Old 07-09-2007, 03:42 AM   #254
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I'm afraid that I simply can't get a grip on this thread, as it seems over the last 36 hours to have spiralled off into stock-rhetoric. So I think it's now done, which is annoying as there was some interesting stuff on sars and ners to be explored.

All the best,

Roger Pearse
Roger, don't get discouraged. You will always have the nonsense to deal with. I believe that there is just no way that the mods will ever keep all the detractors and rule breakers in line. I think the only thing that can be done about this kind of thing is for the good posters to be very diligent about reporting such nonsense. The mods can't possibly keep up with it without our help.
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Old 07-09-2007, 04:12 AM   #255
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Good, we're making progress. Now, answer me the following question.

IF there are say, 5 independent sources that say 1000, 1 source that says 30000, and a vast quantity of physical evidence which contradicts both sets of sources by indicating that there was never a flood, never any antediluvians, and never any super-long-lived humans...

... then what way should the critical scholar lean?
Very good question. I have very good answers, but they take more time than I have now. Might be tomorrow morning before I can answer. In the mean time, we'll see if my many antagonists can restrain themselves from putting words in my mouth and answering erroneously for me.
First, let me say that the fact that Josephus lists 11 sources that agree on the ~1000 year thing is in itself good literary evidence that this may have actually occurred. Yes, we should read his sources if we can, but as you have pointed out, many of them are not available now. But does this mean that we automatically assume that Josephus just made this up? Of course not. Maybe he did, but the likelihood seems low.

Secondly, you place a high value on physical evidence. Good. I do too. And guess what. There is massive physical evidence available that the Flood did indeed occur, and that it was global in it's scope. You simply do not get 1-2 miles of water-laid sedimentary rock complete with catastrophically buried fossils all over the earth with local floods and other minor catastrophes. Sorry, but this is one of the most nonsensical institutionalized fairy tales ever to entrench itself in academia.

So ... once you get past the "There Was No Global Flood" myth ... now you are in a position to do some real thinking. For example, you realize that the pre-Flood earth must have been very different. The climate must have been very different. The atmospheric pressure may have been different. What else may have been different? We don't know, but let's do some experiments and see what we can learn.

WHERE ARE WE IN RESEARCH ABOUT AGING?
Here's an interesting article in a recent Nature issue ...
Quote:
Thomas A. Rando, Stem cells, ageing and the quest for immortality
Nature 441, 1080-1086 (29 June 2006) | doi:10.1038/nature04958; Published online 28 June 2006

Nevertheless, there is overwhelming evidence that there are strong genetic influences on the rate of ageing. Perhaps the most compelling evidence is that the differences of rates of ageing within individuals of a species are negligible compared with the vast differences across species6. A mayfly (a member of the aptly named order Ephemeroptera) moults, reproduces and dies within a single day, in some cases with a functional lifespan measured in hours; by contrast, giant tortoises can live for almost 200 years (Fig. 2). The powerful influence of genetics is further reflected by the ever increasing number of single-gene mutations that can influence the lifespan of eukaryotes ranging from yeast to mice7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13.
Let's keep researching. We may yet find the Fountain of Youth and if we do, and it turns out to be some environmental factors that existed before the Flood, then there will some Biblical skeptics who will be eating generous helpings of crow.
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Old 07-09-2007, 04:18 AM   #256
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You simply do not get 1-2 miles of water-laid sedimentary rock complete with catastrophically buried fossils all over the earth with local floods and other minor catastrophes. Sorry, but this is one of the most nonsensical institutionalized fairy tales ever to entrench itself in academia.
Why do you keep repeating this when you cannot show it is true ? Others are after you to point to the 2 miles of sediments in Egypt, I have told you that the vast shield areas generally near the interiors of continents have NO such sediments. These are enormous areas.
When you are pressed to provide actual physical evidence for your claims, you run, inevitably, Davey. This leads me to believe that you are simply incapable of providing said evidence
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Old 07-09-2007, 04:22 AM   #257
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How is it that fossil assemblages are not jumbled up, Dave? Don't point to your mantra of "hydrodynamic sorting and running animals" since you have been shown multiple times neither *cough* holds water. Why do carbonates appear BELOW heavier sediments or eolian strata or conglomerates? Why can't you tell me why the Coconino has spider tracks? Why can't you say why the Barringer meteor goes right into the toroweap and coconino? Why can't you acknowledge that you have never shown radiometric dating of ANY kind to be wrong? Why do you have to dance and avoid and pretend?
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Old 07-09-2007, 04:26 AM   #258
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Long ago, I asked you to provide me with ONE modern mammal in the Morrison formation, Dave. That was nearly a year ago. You claimed then that you'd "research that" So what's the hold up? Why are there no modern mammals in ALL strata, Dave? No cambrian rabbits at all. None in the Mesozoic. Zilch. None in the Silurian, pennsylvanian, ordovician, mississipian, permian?
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Old 07-09-2007, 04:31 AM   #259
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Originally Posted by afdave's opening post
Everyone should be familiar with Methuselah who supposedly lived 969 years and the other pre-Flood patriarchs who lived 900+ years.

But did they really? Is there external corroboration of these statements?
Let's cut to the chase: please provide physical evidence that humans have ever lived longer than 150 years.

Physical evidence does not include hearsay (such as the Josephus reference) or speculation about imaginary possibilities.

In the absence of evidence, the claim is unwarranted and we can move on to more interesting topics.
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Old 07-09-2007, 04:34 AM   #260
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You know what's telling, Davey? You have a thread here on "global flood strata" waiting for you to address the questions in it.

You have multiple threads at Dawkins' on the "global flood" and other topics that you REFUSE to address questions in.

And now you're just making the same blanket assertions that you will NEVER provide genuine evidence for
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