Bringing science and religion together around a common understanding of the origin of life.

"Does "debating" here mean what it means in the rest of the world, which is coming up with logically significant arguments that might convince someone?"

Yes that's what Christians do. We tell people about God, in hopes that they will believe and receive salvation.

We were not the ones who came to you, it was you who joined a Christian forum. So why be frustrated and rude because things aren't going your way?

Anyway you said you were going elsewhere.

Take Care.

So what is it that I am not understanding? Your statement is consistent with what I said. Both our statements are cerebral, since they are in writing.

As for your use of the word "snarky", I am not being snarky. I am not being derogatory in an indirect way. I am trying to be as direct as I can be without being overly blunt. I cannot give my replies long consideration, because I am under a barrage.

I did not slander anyone. I complained about verbal abuse of the rules of civil discussion.

The fact that "Jerusalem" has at least two meanings does not prevent me from choosing one of the meanings.

Mat 18:3
And said, Verily I say to you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 19:23
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4

Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

You are assuming that "New Jerusalem" and the "kingdom of heaven" are the same thing. If their literary contexts are different, then they are different. "New Jerusalem" is an end times concept. Jesus's ministry was almost 2000 years earlier.

You are assuming that "New Jerusalem" and the "kingdom of heaven" are the same thing. If their literary contexts are different, then they are different. "New Jerusalem" is an end times concept. Jesus's ministry was almost 2000 years earlier.

Just to make that clear first, the message to the snarkies is my forum signature and isn't directed to you, it's just my sig so it's under my every post.[/Quote}

Your signature is rather unwelcoming, because it is unclear whom it is aimed at. Notice I immediately found two points in my discussion that I thought it was aimed at.

Religion deals with both. Christian Chat deals with both.

I have been classifying myself as a scientist. Combining that with some equivalent of zen mastery is an appealing idea that has already occurred to me. Such mastery takes practice. Other than direct science what I have been doing is some type of practice.

I am quite aware of religious syncretism since it is ubiquitous in my study of religion. My assertion about being better at math has nothing specifically to do with Christians. To the best of my knowledge, I know the math specific to the mathematical reduction of reality better than everybody else in the world. There may be someone else out there who is better, but I doubt it, because they are too likely to have come to my notice. There are just too many important scientific problems that I have tentatively solved without seeing other people being near solving them. Being an autodidact I am not blocked by the standard dogmas. Being in the realm beyond the standard dogmas is also why I am unpublished. I am overwhelmed by the problem of moving many tentative solutions to formally solved ones. At UC-Berkeley this has been called the "orthogonality" problem. My specialty is "orthogonal" to how academics normally define specialties.

You think you know what I'm assuming. Anyway God has it is perfect. God bless.

@larens my sig is aimed at the snarky people just like it says - and they know who they are. If you read the description below the red, you will see clearly that my goal is to help improve quality of conversations on CC in general by discouraging snarky attitude towards others in conversation. It's been such a season, so I felt like putting it. It's not permanently my sig.

I can hardly assume anything else. I asked a question concerning one phrase; and your answer contained the other phrase.

Let's put that debate aside for now.
I'm curious if you have ever considered what the Scriptures say about who has understanding of the Scriptures? The Bible you are trying to interpret itself teaches, that it is more or less designed to evade book knowledge efforts and cleverness exploits.

Psalms 119:130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
Luke 10:21 In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
Luke 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Jesus talks of Heaven and we are not at the New Jerusalem yet, if one should pass upwards.
Btw, do you agree God's ways are higher than ours as stated in the Bible?
So you seem to believe in the New Jerusalem, do you believe in everything else in the Bible?

I focus on numerical passages to construct a timeline for history. I, of course, have to also interpret passages that give a context. I doubt that most of what I am deeply interpreting are the parts of the Scriptures that are meant to be easily understood for spiritual guidance.

God's ways are higher by definition.

I do not believe in everything else in a literal sense. Some of the stories are a complicated mixture of fact and fiction. New Jerusalem is an example. It is an impossibly large cube with a rich metaphorical interpretation.

You are missing my point... It nowhere said easily understood, either. I suppose I am not able to carry my point across to you. Keep doing what you're doing and good luck to you.
About to go to sleep, good night.

Nothing is impossible with God, Mt 19:26.
Btw Noah's Ark has been found on Mt Ararat just as the Bible Says.
Good night.

I will confess to not being able to read the Bible in the original languages it which it was written. Can you? I have to resort to commentary to separate meanings that are conflated in English. "Knowledge" is an umbrella term in English, so your quotation is nearly useless.

You're trying to grapple these things with your brain because you think your brain must be smarter than this ole religious thing.

I know that the phrase "intellectual power" is not in the old writings. I am writing to make things comprehensible for a modern audience.

I take it that you believe in a god. How do you experience that?

Besides philosophical compatibility, the evidence for Israelite religion coming from Mesopotamian Moon worship is that the founder came from the two cities that were the centers of Moon worship and his cohort had names from that subculture. What is your evidence against?