h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi PP,

>perceived RC/perceived P

In the words of a very wise man: What chance does that give me?

I dated a Glaswegian for a while. She'd often get asked if she was 'Rangers or Celtic' - meaning Protestant or Catholic. Of course, she'd reply that she was Partick. But then she'd be asked if she was Rangers Partick or Celtic Partick...

Gif

Hi Bea,

>as an athiest it would have been hypocritical of me to pray for good weather, so I asked my Christian friend to do so.



More seriously, some Christians believe in a God who answers prayer, others do not.

Gif

indeed. Mind you there isn't overly much concensus on what god actually is with believers running the full length from 'beardy guy in the sky' to a pantheist approach.

Anyway, with christianity, since Jesus has apparently got a return ticket he'll be back. So providing that happens he isn't non-interventionist is he?

> She said she couldn't as God was non-interventionist, but she did ask him to bless us<

*How does He bless without intervening?* would be my question. Except if I was actually travelling with someone who said this kind of thing, of course I wouldn't bother with such fripperies, which might muck up the chances of plenty of on tap.

So did you actually get good weather without the almighty's intervention? Or did you get it cos he only blessed you?

Semantics

::A former Blackwater employee and an ex-US Marine who has worked as a security operative for the company have made a series of explosive allegations in sworn statements filed on August 3 in federal court in Virginia.
The two men claim that the company's owner, Erik Prince, may have murdered or facilitated the murder of individuals who were cooperating with federal authorities investigating the company.
The former employee also alleges that Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe," and that Prince's companies "encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life."::

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090817/scahill

h/t Pharyngula

"Christian crusader" ??

to distinguish from the Caped ones presumably?

Hey Gif,

You would probs just be an Englisher (I'm guessing) ergo your thoughts on the subject don't really matter for these purposes! I count as perceived RC cos I'm southern Irish from an RC background, though if you were a southern Irish prod I'm not sure what camp you would be lumped into

princess
Eire, very nice! What part do you come from? I've lived in Dublin, Galway, and between Limerick and Tipperary.

God's creation is still as beautiful as ever in that part of the world, praise God!
Peace

'God's creation is still as beautiful as ever in that part of the world'


So . . .

sabre-toothed cats are still gnawing on children's skulls in Ireland? Ireland is still old growth forest from sea to sea? I had thought pretty much the whole thing was (human) cultivated land or (human built) urban areas by now.


I had no idea that the Irish were so backward as warner suggests.

anhaga
No need to be envious ...

I've already referred to your part of the world as 'God's country'

>> had thought pretty much the whole thing was (human) cultivated land or (human built) urban areas by now.<<

Urban areas have expanded somewhat over the last 10 years, so I understand, but I imagine things are slowing down again quite substantially these days!!
And, no! A lot of 'the Emerald Isle' is untouched by humans, and many areas are very scarcely populated, unlike England, unfortunately!
Peace

'The long history of agricultural production coupled with modern intensive agricultural methods (such as pesticide and fertiliser use) has placed pressure on biodiversity in Ireland.[citation needed] "Runoff" of contaminants into streams, rivers and lakes impact the natural fresh-water ecosystems. A land of green fields for crop cultivation and cattle rearing limits the space available for the establishment of native wild species. Hedgerows however, traditionally used for maintaining and demarcating land boundaries, act as a refuge for native wild flora. Their ecosystems stretch across the countryside and act as a network of connections to preserve remnants of the ecosystem that once covered the island. Subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy which supported these agricultural practices are undergoing reforms.[39] The CAP still subsidises some potentially destructive agricultural practices, however, the recent reforms have gradually decoupled subsidies from production levels and introduced environmental and other requirements.[39]

Forest covers about 10% of the country, with most designated for commercial production.[34] Forested areas typically consist of monoculture plantations of non-native species which may result in habitats that are not suitable for supporting a broad range of native species of invertebrates. Remnants of native forest can be found scattered around the country, in particular in the Killarney National Park. Natural areas require fencing to prevent over-grazing by deer and sheep that roam over uncultivated areas. This is one of the main factors preventing the natural regeneration of forests across many regions of the country.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland


Yep. Untouched by human hands.

Sorry, warner, but I find it a little grotesque when someone describes a landscape which is every bit as artificial, every bit as unnatural, as midtown Manhattan as 'God's creation'.



Particularly when the 'God' in question has a total following of one individual.

anhaga would like to 'put the light out', but he is unable to do so. He cannot stop the believers believing unless Allah wills.

It is He who gives life and takes life! It is He who has given us cattle wherefrom we eat and obtain leather and gaze on their beauty as we bring them in from pasture for milking.

Aye, the 'gold' of Kerry is gold indeed.
Peace

>>God's creation is still as beautiful as ever in that part of the world, praise God!<<

Now, Warner stop teasing us.

warner

i would not antagomize the irish if i were you

they don't like the protestant god

how do you think they would react to a muslim one?????

General Item 1:

Lots of what we think of as 'unspoilt beauty' is in fact the product of human hands, albeit indirectly. The Norfolk Broads are the remains of peat mining in antiquity. The native Americans (whatever the current PC term is), prior to becoming conservation idols, deforested virtually the entire continent. And, yes, all the British Isles, including Ireland, were unbroken forest before humans cleared them, so the landscapes are neither designed nor natural.

Gif

General Item 2:

My ex was an atheist, but her 'second team' was Celtic. However... she only supported Celtic to annoy her family, who were all Rangers.

Mostly, she didn't go out on an Old Firm night.

And yes, I was lost the minute I opened my mouth (Technically I'm half Cornish and half Welsh and so not English at all - but such subtleties of population genetics are lost on the average sports fan. I remember being *very* *very* quiet in a pub while England beat Scotland at rugby.)

Gif

Gif, I think saying you're Cornish would be a get-out in those situations. Celtic nations tend to band together.

Good to see warner's back. His position has been vacant of late.

Be wery wery qwuiet; I'm huntin' Gwifords - hur! hur! hur! hur! hur!

General Item 3:

Following the amusing demolition of the not-a-creationist-honest-gov in Metro 2 days ago, there have been some generally pro-science letters. One exception though:

>Paul Madley [the interviewer] fails to engage in serious debate [...] It [religious faith] finds the idea of a beginning-less chain of cause and effect insufficient to explain the origin of the universe or the human qualities we value most highly. - John Davis, Berkshire

Don't these people even think before they write?

Gif