suspended's recent activity

  1. Comment on What are some basic excercises for keeping my midsection toned up? in ~health

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    Link Parent
    Thank you for that! I guess I'll just welcome my nonexistent ass and ever present doughnut. :)

    Thank you for that! I guess I'll just welcome my nonexistent ass and ever present doughnut. :)

    4 votes

  2. Comment on What are some basic excercises for keeping my midsection toned up? in ~health

  3. Comment on What are some basic excercises for keeping my midsection toned up? in ~health

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    I believe that I do. I am a very slender person and I'm nowhere near overweight. It just seems that any mass that my body accumulates always goes to my midsection. I don't understand why body mass...

    You said you have a healthy diet, so you may already have this under control.

    I believe that I do. I am a very slender person and I'm nowhere near overweight. It just seems that any mass that my body accumulates always goes to my midsection. I don't understand why body mass can't just evenly distribute itself. For example, my ass has just about disappeared. I, essentially, have a back with a crack in it!

    2 votes
  4. ~health
    I'm around fifty years old, do a fair amount of mountain hiking and have a healthy diet. I know that one's heart can be stressed by excessive mass around the midsection and could contribute to...

    I'm around fifty years old, do a fair amount of mountain hiking and have a healthy diet. I know that one's heart can be stressed by excessive mass around the midsection and could contribute to heart disease.

    For someone like my self, what would you recommend for keeping my midsection toned up? I would like to hear about practical and simple weekly exercises in lieu of high intensity daily ones. There's no rush and I don't believe in things like crash dieting or the like.

    10 votes

  5. Comment on What do you want someone to ask you about? in ~talk

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    Link Parent
    The one that sticks out the most for me is dualistic cosmology.

    Do you know of any other specific ways that Christian beliefs may have shaped our world view, which may not be very obvious to those of us who are less familiar with scripture?

    The one that sticks out the most for me is dualistic cosmology.

    1 vote

  6. Comment on What do you want someone to ask you about? in ~talk

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    Link Parent
    Michael Heiser, an academic scholar, wrote a popular book intended for believers. I've read it three times and I'd recommend it: The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible.

    Michael Heiser, an academic scholar, wrote a popular book intended for believers. I've read it three times and I'd recommend it: The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible.

    1 vote

  7. Comment on What do you want someone to ask you about? in ~talk

  8. Comment on What do you want someone to ask you about? in ~talk

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    All of these are theological and philosophical questions that academic Biblical studies tend not to address. Personally, I don't know the answer to any of them in any historical-critical way.

    All of these are theological and philosophical questions that academic Biblical studies tend not to address. Personally, I don't know the answer to any of them in any historical-critical way.

    1 vote

  9. Comment on What do you want someone to ask you about? in ~talk

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    I believe that it is a distraction for large swaths of people in Christendom. My position is to ignore it and live in the here and now.

    I believe that it is a distraction for large swaths of people in Christendom. My position is to ignore it and live in the here and now.

    2 votes

  10. Comment on What do you want someone to ask you about? in ~talk

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    Link Parent
    I was raised in evangelical Christian circles which is near the bottom of the barrel as far as knowledge is concerned. I had always had questions that I wanted answered essentially. You could...

    how you got interested in this..

    I was raised in evangelical Christian circles which is near the bottom of the barrel as far as knowledge is concerned. I had always had questions that I wanted answered essentially.

    where would you recommend someone to start?

    You could begin with the Open Yale Courses: Old Testament & New Testament.. Also, head over to the humanities wiki (which I'm still working on) and read some of the introductory books from Judaic studies and Christianity studies.

    1 vote

  11. Comment on What do you want someone to ask you about? in ~talk

  12. Comment on What do you want someone to ask you about? in ~talk

  14. Comment on Birds Are Vanishing From North America: The number of birds in the United States and Canada has declined by 3 billion, or 29 percent, over the past half-century, scientists find. in ~enviro

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    Link Parent
    IKR. I read about the Holocene extinction when I was in high school over thirty years ago. It may come down to a worldwide civil revolution to take out the 1% that are largely responsible for...

    IKR. I read about the Holocene extinction when I was in high school over thirty years ago.

    It may come down to a worldwide civil revolution to take out the 1% that are largely responsible for this. I don't believe that humans will voluntarily transform into a sane and sustainable way of living.

  15. Comment on What do you want someone to ask you about? in ~talk

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    Link Parent
    The most easily accessible and comprehensive answer was written by a friend of mine here.

    The most easily accessible and comprehensive answer was written by a friend of mine here.

    3 votes

  16. Comment on What do you want someone to ask you about? in ~talk

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    Link Parent
    This is a broad subject but there is a wiki that is maintained by colleagues of mine here. Lots of good scholarship there that will keep you busy.

    This is a broad subject but there is a wiki that is maintained by colleagues of mine here. Lots of good scholarship there that will keep you busy.

    4 votes

  17. Comment on What do you want someone to ask you about? in ~talk

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    Link Parent
    That depends on what you read, really. This is, also, an area in which academics shy away from since they try to bracket their own beliefs when studying the texts. Of course, there are plenty of...

    is God explicitly defined as good and as displaying goodwill towards humans and the rest of the creation?

    That depends on what you read, really. This is, also, an area in which academics shy away from since they try to bracket their own beliefs when studying the texts. Of course, there are plenty of theologians that are eager to answer questions like this. Personally, I believe that there is either a 'higher power' or 'higher powers' because I've had several mystical experiences. These experiences were not all 'good' and some of them were frightening.

    4 votes

  18. Comment on What do you want someone to ask you about? in ~talk

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    Link Parent
    The evolution of the afterlife, beginning in the Biblical texts as Sheol (i.e. the pit - an underworld shadowy existence), up to today is a vast subject. I've always recommended interested persons...

    The evolution of the afterlife, beginning in the Biblical texts as Sheol (i.e. the pit - an underworld shadowy existence), up to today is a vast subject. I've always recommended interested persons to read Jewish Views of the Afterlife. It is the most comprehensive all-in-one reference to Jewish/Christian afterlife (Sorry, does not include Islamic views which I have no experience with as well). You may be able to get this book through inter-library loan.

    5 votes

  19. Comment on What do you want someone to ask you about? in ~talk

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    Moses may not have existed and I'm putting this lightly. My opinion is that Moses did not exist. Also, the Exodus story (i.e. Moses leading hundreds of thousands of people out of Egypt, through...

    What is the most interesting thing you have learned?

    Moses may not have existed and I'm putting this lightly. My opinion is that Moses did not exist. Also, the Exodus story (i.e. Moses leading hundreds of thousands of people out of Egypt, through 'the wilderness', and to 'the promised land') did not happen the way it is described in the Bible. It was, more than likely, a very small group that left Egypt (possibly fleeing mistreatment). Over hundreds of years a little story became embellished and over the top.

    3 votes

  20. Comment on What do you want someone to ask you about? in ~talk

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    Ask me about academic study of the Biblical texts. I'm a layperson but I have engaged with the scholarship for roughly twenty years.

    Ask me about academic study of the Biblical texts. I'm a layperson but I have engaged with the scholarship for roughly twenty years.

    14 votes