Divination

Originally posted by sonship
A real "joyless" meeting of the brothers and sisters in Rome Italy.

I didn't expect you to actually address the specific definition of "joyless" that I offered you, so no surprises here.

Originally posted by Suzianne
I have not read this book, but I may have to seek it out.

Tell me this: in which class did he put time travel (particularly into the past)? I ask, because Einstein seems to have called it impossible, now and forever, given the constraints of his theories.

Class II - possible in the long term with major advancements in technology

Kip Thorne also has a chapter on time travel in his excellent book "Black Holes and Time Warps."

Essentially, time travel is possible by taking two ends of a wormhole and having one end travel extremely quickly or exposing it to intense gravitational pull for a period of time. Since time moves slower for the faster moving/ high gravitation end, that end of the wormhole will not be in the distant past relative to the other end that's been sitting in normal spacetime. As such, moving through the wormhole would allow one to move back or forth in time.

Side anecdote - Back in 2000 when I first read Black Holes and Time Warps, I was teaching general science in a middle school (while attending law school at night). I used Thorne's book (I have no formal training as a scientist) to fascinate my 12 and 13 year olds with discussions of black holes, time machines, etc. every once in a while when they were getting bored. I wrote Thorne an email thanking him for the book and explaining how I was using it. He wrote me back a very gracious response and copied his wife (whose name on the "cc" I recognized from the book). One of my students emailed a different physicist who I won't name and got back a "stop emailing me" in response. Anyway, just thought I'd share that.

Originally posted by sh76
Class II - possible in the long term with major advancements in technology

Kip Thorne also has a chapter on time travel in his excellent book "Black Holes and Time Warps."

Essentially, time travel is possible by taking two ends of a wormhole and having one end travel extremely quickly or exposing it to intense gravitational pull for a period of time. Sinc ...[text shortened]... I won't name and got back a "stop emailing me" in response. Anyway, just thought I'd share that.

I have that Kip Thorne book you mention.

I'll have to run through it again, it's been a long time since I read it.

Edit: Interesting about the 12 and 13 year olds. I didn't encounter Einstein's work until college. And some authors are pleased to interact with their fans, others, not so much.

Originally posted by divegeester
Thank you.
I don't generally regard this place as somewhere I normally wish to discuss "Christian" things as there is too much polarity of thinking even among those calling themselves "Christian", also complete disdain and outright loathing from others. However, occasionally I see somewhere I can humbly add value.
Despite my somewhat combative online ...[text shortened]... ersona I don't regard myself highly in Christian terms, but I do enjoy contending for the truth.

Well, I must say that I enjoyed the small glimpse into your belief system instead of the usual "calling out" of others because of their beliefs. It seems like a better way to fellowship.

Edit: I'm using the word "fellowship" as a verb. I'm not sure if this is as common in British English as it is in American English. I just didn't want to be misunderstood.

Originally posted by Suzianne
Well, I must say that I enjoyed the small glimpse into your belief system instead of the usual "calling out" of others because of their beliefs. It seems like a better way to fellowship.

It pleases me that you liked it, but you need to accept that I am not here to "fellowship" in any sense of the word and I enjoy challenging religionist people about their strange, antisocial and sometimes horrendous beliefs.

Originally posted by divegeester
It pleases me that you liked it, but you need to accept that I am not here to "fellowship" in any sense of the word and I enjoy challenging religionist people about their strange, antisocial and sometimes horrendous beliefs.

I had an entire paragraph typed up here, but I'll keep it short and just say that that's really too bad. I'm sorry you feel this way.

Originally posted by Suzianne
I had an entire paragraph typed up here, but I'll keep it short and just say that that's really too bad. I'm sorry you feel this way.

I don't understand at all why you feel bad about this. This is just a forum board and hardly a representation of life.

Thanks for sparing me the paragraph; small mercies and all that 😛

Originally posted by divegeester
I don't understand at all why you feel bad about this. This is just a forum board and hardly a representation of life.

Thanks for sparing me the paragraph; small mercies and all that 😛

Maybe for some, their life is this forum.

Originally posted by divegeester
I don't understand at all why you feel bad about this. This is just a forum board and hardly a representation of life.

Thanks for sparing me the paragraph; small mercies and all that 😛

Because after all, there are no humans on the internet, eh?

Why show any humanity at all, right?

Heck, no, especially when your time could be better spent bullying people and laughing at them.

Originally posted by Rajk999
Maybe for some, their life is this forum.

And for others, their "Christianity" is this forum. "The Savior stops here." Psssshhhhhh...

Originally posted by Suzianne
Because after all, there are no humans on the internet, eh?

Why show any humanity at all, right?

Heck, no, especially when your time could be better spent bullying people and laughing at them.

I don't bully anyone and you cannot demonstrate otherwise. I've never been reprimanded by a moderator for bullying and I resent the accusation. However I've come to expect nothing more from you; you add nothing whatsoever to these forums, you just lumber from thread to thread accusing people you don't like of bullying.

In short, just put up or shut up.

Right under your skeptical noses Bible prophecy is being fulfilled.

YouTube

(I did not at first notice that it was a video done by the Christian Broadcasting Network).
I thought it was a completely secular newsreel at first.

Originally posted by sonship
Right under your skeptical noses Bible prophecy is being fulfilled.

Do you think the prophecy is being fulfilled regardless of whether or not they decide to go ahead with building a third temple?

Originally posted by Suzianne
Well, I must say that I enjoyed the small glimpse into your belief system instead of the usual "calling out" of others because of their beliefs. It seems like a better way to fellowship.

But weren't you, yourself - just the other day - dismissing Young Earth Creationist Christians as "pinheads"? Is that an example of 'Suzianne fellowships' (verb)?

Originally posted by FMF
Do you think the prophecy is being fulfilled regardless of whether or not they decide to go ahead with building a third temple?

I really think the innuendo of your "question" seems to be that lack of evidence for fulfilled prophecy perhaps makes no difference to me.

So since I think that is the real drift of your question, let me just cut to the chase and answer that.

Fulfilled prophecy adds to my persuasion that I am on the right track to believe the Bible. The total absence of this supporting rationale I have never experienced. So I don't know how I would think in that event.

But the track record over so many centuries of God causing things to occur in line with what the prophets proclaimed is pretty impressive. Jesus was not born in a vacuum. They were expecting a Messiah to come out of Bethlehem. Arguably, one qualified to be called the King of Israel was born there.

"Suppose there was NO fulfillment of prophecy, would it make a difference?"

I've never known such a situation. How I would react is difficult to predict.
Internal witness and external witness have always been with me.