OCEAN, n.
A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man -- who has no gills.
from The Devil's Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce
I was just wondering, do you think the world was created for man?
OCEAN, n.
A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man -- who has no gills.
from The Devil's Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce
I was just wondering, do you think the world was created for man?
No. But then again i am an agnosticist what do i know ?..
Nope, and this is a good thing for people like me (keeps creating work)
There once was a scotsman named Drew
Who put too much wine in his stew
He felt a bit drunk
And fell off his bunk
And landed smack into his shoe ~(C) Ms Niamh Anne King
And can't drink any of it!Originally Posted by kandaurov
No longer. From Galeilo onwards - such arrogance has been slowly replaced with very much needed humility...I was just wondering, do you think the world was created for man?
I sent my Soul through the Invisible,
Some letter of that After-life to spell:
And by and by my Soul return'd to me,
And answer'd "I Myself am Heav'n and Hell :"
Blog: Rubaiyats of Lote-Tree and Poetry and Tales
For the record, I too think that the world wasn't created for mankind. I was trying to create a debate between two opposite views, but so far it seems that we all agree - which is the worse that can happen in a debate thread
Then you started it wrongly ;-)For the record, I too think that the world wasn't created for mankind. I was trying to create a debate between two opposite views, but so far it seems that we all agree - which is the worse that can happen in a debate thread
You should have insisted that it is made for man!
I sent my Soul through the Invisible,
Some letter of that After-life to spell:
And by and by my Soul return'd to me,
And answer'd "I Myself am Heav'n and Hell :"
Blog: Rubaiyats of Lote-Tree and Poetry and Tales
Good point. I surely could try my hand at defending that point of view, but I honestly thought that people who really think that themselves would speak their minds. I was wrong, and now it's too late. I'm no good at starting threads
If it was, I desire urgently to have words with the manufacturer.
What is the use of a violent kind of delightfulness if there is no pleasure in not getting tired of it.
- Gertrude Stein
A washerwoman with her basket; a rook; a red-hot poker; th purples and grey-greens of flowers: some common feeling which held the whole together.
- Virginia Woolf
The world is for man. But.. is man for the world?
To argue for a winning cause is quite easy. Anyone can do it. But to argue for a losing cause - that is a challenge! And it is these challenges that are worth pursuing because they give you a different perspective - another viewpoint - from which to assertain why this viewpoint may be faulty :-)Good point. I surely could try my hand at defending that point of view, but I honestly thought that people who really think that themselves would speak their minds. I was wrong, and now it's too late. I'm no good at starting threads
I sent my Soul through the Invisible,
Some letter of that After-life to spell:
And by and by my Soul return'd to me,
And answer'd "I Myself am Heav'n and Hell :"
Blog: Rubaiyats of Lote-Tree and Poetry and Tales
The earth is a school. We are merely students.
Fine. Bow your head, and say this: "Hi there, God: it's joe and I have a few questions for you." If you're sincere, He will give you answers.
As far as the world being created for humanity, here:
1. Earth's distance from sun: too close, too hot for life; too far, too cold.
2. Sun's short-term and long-term luminosity variability: must be in proper ranges for photosnythesis.
3. Tilt of planetary axis: necessary for seasons. All three forms of water are necessary to maximize life variables.
4. Number of moons: must have one for tidal forces, but more than one would create unbearable tidal instability.
5. Ratio of oceans to continents: must be correct to keep global temperatures stable (land and water absord heat at different rates).
6. Atmospheric transparency: important for both rate of photosynthesis and degree of energy transfer (heat) to earth.
Astrophysisist Hugh Ross has applied probablility theory to the 128 parameters necessary for life to exist on earth: the probability of one planet having all 128 characteristics is 1 chance in 10 to the 166th power.
Yeah - it was designed for us.
Coda for joe: the earth as it is currently (in terms of human behavior/society and its physical characteristics) was not the original plan. We kind of messed that up by sinning (and what was that sin? To pretend that we were the equals of God - that we didn't need Him. Sound familiar?)
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." - C.S. Lewis
Using this logic however, it would be just as acceptable to say the world was made for bunny rabbits.
There once was a scotsman named Drew
Who put too much wine in his stew
He felt a bit drunk
And fell off his bunk
And landed smack into his shoe ~(C) Ms Niamh Anne King
I imagine it's fairly clear that I was joking.
I know. Very nice. However, it also contains:
1. Numerous species that find humans delicious (human predation by wolves is still a fact of life in some of the poorer Eastern European countries). These were put there by God, if Genesis is to be believed.
2. Various extremely interesting seismic and atmospheric phenomena that routinely result in large-scale death on the part of human beings completely at random.
3. A host of microbiological nasty little things that have, more than once, wiped out a quarter of the human population, also put there by God according to Genesis.
Astrophysicist Hugh Ross is making the falicious assumption that life cannot exist in a form different form the one we currently see it in.
Nematode worms, actually. They're microscopic, and they still have a biomass much larger than that of Homo sapiens sapiens.
No, we were 'desinged' for it.
Oh really? That's very interesting, but are you sure that sin wasn't arrogant, agressive, pulpit-bashing, biggoted, asinine, prosyletic bullying? Does that sound familiar?
Last edited by cuppajoe_9; 04-28-2007 at 10:15 PM.
What is the use of a violent kind of delightfulness if there is no pleasure in not getting tired of it.
- Gertrude Stein
A washerwoman with her basket; a rook; a red-hot poker; th purples and grey-greens of flowers: some common feeling which held the whole together.
- Virginia Woolf
Whether God exists or not, of course it's here for us. Who else is it here for? And we all use it. All of us, including you. We don't live in caves and hunt for food. We live in houses made of wood from trees and drive in cars made of steel from iron out of the ground burning oil dug up from the ground. And we use electricity and heat our homes and use water for plumbing and fly in planes in the air and sail in boats on the water. We build bridges and tunnels and skyscrapers.
We are human and we control the earth. We manipulate nature.
That does not mean we shouldn't be good stewarts of the environment. I don't intend this to be a environmnetal debate.
LET THERE BE LIGHT
"Love follows knowledge." – St. Catherine of Siena
My literature blog: http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/
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