Mark Matthews resurfaces

3,023 Views | 32 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by schmendeler
John Maplethorpe
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http://texags.com/forums/5/topics/2786349

I'll go through later and see if I can find some of his gems.
SoulSlaveAG2005
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Ohhhhhh.... Kkkkkkaaaayyyy??????
747Ag
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John Maplethorpe
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He's the troglodyte that doesn't believe in the Pleistocene era. His 1 week run of ass beatings was high comedy.



quote:
I am proud of the 1000 views in 24 hours on the "Creation Science vs. Berkeley" thread. Christians please continue to educate yourselves over special creation vs. uniformitarianism.

You will find special creation has the superior explanation for our universe and that uniformitarianism is based on false logic as you will see in this thread.

Ignore the devoted atheists on these threads. They have bought into the delusion, blinding their eyes to facts and ultimately the truth. Remember we war against spiritual wickedness in high places, not against flesh and blood or cyber bullying.

Peace brethren.
http://texags.com/forums/15/topics/2755654/replies/46446254


quote:
Borel's Law

"Phenomena with very low probabilities do not occur."
http://texags.com/forums/15/topics/2749626/3


quote:
I have a PhD in math and biology.


quote:
quote:
"One of the most shattering pieces of evidence comes from the Paluxy River basin in central Texas, near the town of Glen Rose, where fossilized tracks of man and dinosaur appear together."

http://www.icr.org/article/paluxy-river-tracks/


Tough to take the Institute for Creation "Research" seriously when it's a crappy building near a bunch of auto body shops. I'm sure top-quality research is accomplished there.
http://texags.com/forums/15/topics/2748009/replies/46296150
John Maplethorpe
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Accomplish? Very little just like all the others. Besides this board has been pretty lifeless lately.
Amazing Moves
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quote:
Accomplish? Very little just like all the others. Besides this board has been pretty lifeless lately.
kurt vonnegut
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quote:
quote:
Accomplish? Very little just like all the others. Besides this board has been pretty lifeless lately.

747Ag
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quote:
Accomplish? Very little just like all the others. Besides this board has been pretty lifeless lately.




PacifistAg
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Here in the West Bank and, after 5 days in Hebron, was able to try a Palestinian beer called Taybeh Dark (no alcohol in Hebron). Not bad at all. Certainly not world class, but better than the Thai beers I've had.

Btw, I highly recommend visiting. Despite the narrative we see coming from American media, the Palestinian people are amazing and kind. Only issue I had was getting shoved by an Israeli settler as we escorted children to school. Met with so many Palestinian peace/nonviolence groups, and several joint Israeli/Palestinian groups. Also met with an organization called Military Court Watch that follows Palestinian children in the Israeli military court system. Just alarming.
Martin Q. Blank
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Check in every 24 hrs. so we know you're not kidnapped. Should we pay the ransom?
PacifistAg
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quote:
Check in every 24 hrs. so we know you're not kidnapped. Should we pay the ransom?

Who would kidnap me? The Palestinian people have been simply amazing. Some of the kindest, most hospitable people I've ever met. We spent almost a week in the old city section of Hebron. A night in Susya in the South Hebron Hills. Time in Ramallah, Bethlehem, the Jordan Valley and East Jerusalem. Never once felt at risk around a Palestinian.

The only threat faced was with the Israeli settler that assaulted me for escorting little children to school. But she quickly turned and attacked a journalist that was photographing the incident. We did have a group of settlers screaming at us, but they didn't do anything more than that.

Heading back tomorrow though (been here for 2 weeks), although considering applying for a 3 month position in Hebron. Beautiful place and beautiful people.
AggieRain
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quote:
Despite the narrative we see coming from American media, the Palestinian people are amazing and kind.
My parents recently returned from a trip to Palestine/Israel and reported the exact same thing. Never felt threatened at all. Found the Palestinians to be a warm and inviting people. Much less impressed by the Israelis.
PacifistAg
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quote:
quote:
Despite the narrative we see coming from American media, the Palestinian people are amazing and kind.
My parents recently returned from a trip to Palestine/Israel and reported the exact same thing. Never felt threatened at all. Found the Palestinians to be a warm and inviting people. Much less impressed by the Israelis.

Glad they saw the same thing. It's a trip I would highly recommend to anyone. It's completely changed my perspective on the Palestinian people and the entire conflict over here. It's amazing how engagement can do that.

I came over with Christian Peacemaker Teams and, after I get back at some point, I'll share more. A lot to process emotionally.
schmendeler
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Tell me about the food. I've heard great things about the chicken.
PacifistAg
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quote:
Tell me about the food. I've heard great things about the chicken.

The food was amazing. Went to a Palestinian woman's home for dinner. She made a dish called muqlaba. Wow! Immediately asked my wife to track down the recipe.

There was a place in Hebron that made these falafel sandwiches - pita bread, stuffed with falafel, French fries, pickles and tomatoes. Was so freaking good. Could get that with a drink for 5 shekels (approx $1.33). Loved the tea, especially with sage or mint leaves added in.
Sapper Redux
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Loved the food in Iraq, too.... Until the goat.... And the fish from the Tigris....
schmendeler
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Sounds delicious
Zobel
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Lots of Christians in Palestine, many people forget.

American evangelists are odd ducks in their support for Israel. That was really one of the big aha moments for me... Recognizing that the American folk religion was in many ways more about America's cultural zeitgeist than Christ.
PacifistAg
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k2aggie07 said:

Lots of Christians in Palestine, many people forget.

American evangelists are odd ducks in their support for Israel. That was really one of the big aha moments for me... Recognizing that the American folk religion was in many ways more about America's cultural zeitgeist than Christ.

Yes, the blind support is very baffling. What I witnessed there looks nothing like the narrative we hear over here. It was, to put it very mildly, very disturbing. I don't see how it could be defined as anything but an apartheid state.

One thing that stood out to me was in the Jordan Valley. This is an area that has been fed by natural springs for millenia. Naturally, villages have been found at the springs. Unlike in other areas of the West Bank when Palestinians are forced from villages, villages destroyed, then settlements placed at old village site, in the Jordan Valley things are handled in a much more diabolical way. The Israeli government will build a settlement near the village, leave the Palestinians where they are, then drill down into the water table and pump the water straight to the settlement. This dries up the spring for much of the year and leaves the Palestinians without reliable water source. This has forced many to leave the region. This has also killed Palestinian agriculture in the area, leading many to shift to things like herding goats. So, what the Israeli government then will do is declare the grazing areas either a "firing zone" or "nature preserve". If the Palestinians continue grazing, the IDF will come in and burn all the vegetation in the "nature preserve".

To get water into the village, the Palestinians have to have water tanks shipped in, but due to road closures, the costs of shipping dramatically increase. A few years ago, the IDF began the practice of seizing the water tanks. Over past 30-ish years, the Palestinian population of the Jordan Valley has gone from aproc 300,000 to 56,000. The primary jobs available to those that remain are on the settlements large farms, which are primarily dates (which require vast amounts of water). A typical laborer in Israel is supposed to make around 250 shekels a day. Those Palestinians that work on the date farms make approx 60-80 shekels a day.

To witness this systematic effort to drive people from their land was eye-opening. Our Israeli guide called it ethnic cleansing. But, what may have amazed me most was the hope that remains and just how kind the Palestinian people, Christian and Muslim, were to us.
swimmerbabe11
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I've never really understood the Israel thing either.
It's not so much a thing in our church.
PacifistAg
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swimmerbabe11 said:

I've never really understood the Israel thing either.
It's not so much a thing in our church.
Honestly, I think it is rooted in their interpretation of end-times theology and the necessity for the existence of the nation-state of Israel in order for their specific interpretations of prophecies to be fulfilled. So many are willing to turn a blind-eye to war crimes being committed because the fulfillment of their interpretations of prophecy that they claim point to the return of Christ are more important. That's just my theory though.
Woody2006
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RetiredAg said:

swimmerbabe11 said:

I've never really understood the Israel thing either.
It's not so much a thing in our church.
Honestly, I think it is rooted in their interpretation of end-times theology and the necessity for the existence of the nation-state of Israel in order for their specific interpretations of prophecies to be fulfilled. So many are willing to turn a blind-eye to war crimes being committed because the fulfillment of their interpretations of prophecy that they claim point to the return of Christ are more important. That's just my theory though.
I think it's due to Genesis 12:3.
Quote:

I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
swimmerbabe11
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Since we are amillenialists, it would make sense that there has never been this instinct to cling to Israel/Jerusalem. As my pastor says, "Here in church, where you take the sacraments, that is the 'Holy Land'."
Frok
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One thing I've learned regarding Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to not take a side. There is so much dirt flung from both sides that I just assume both are in the wrong.
PacifistAg
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Frok said:

One thing I've learned regarding Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to not take a side. There is so much dirt flung from both sides that I just assume both are in the wrong.
We met with a group for those who have lost immediate family members in this conflict. One was a man whose daughter was an IDF officer and murdered by a suicide bomber. The other was a Palestinian woman whose husband was murdered by IDF soldiers. First, seeing these two sit side-by-side working to bring about reconciliation was amazing. One thing he said that stuck with me was "don't take this conflict home. Don't go home and be pro-Israel. Don't go home and be pro-Palestine. Go home and be pro-peace."

I agree wholeheartedly, although to be pro-peace, we must be willing to condemn the actions that are contrary to peace, whether building settlements or throwing stones.
Zobel
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There's a military maxim that you never completely surround an enemy because he will fight to the death. (Aside: instead, you should leave them an avenue of retreat of your choosing and attrit them as they retreat.)

This situation is no different and is utterly predictable. Like frok said though - no one looks good in it.
Frok
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Do you think the problem is mostly a political problem or religious? I'm a firm believer that most problems are political but as a believer I do think that region is supernaturally charged with spiritual strife.

But I admit I don't know much aside from what hits the national news. I've never been over there to see things first hand.
PacifistAg
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Frok said:

Do you think the problem is mostly a political problem or religious? I'm a firm believer that most problems are political but as a believer I do think that region is supernaturally charged with spiritual strife.

But I admit I don't know much aside from what hits the national news. I've never been over there to see things first hand.
Honestly, I think it's political. I never heard any Palestinian individual or peace group frame the conflict in religious terms. I can only think of one Israeli that we met with frame it in religious terms. But, by and large, the issue was presented almost entirely as political. To the Palestinians and Israelis we met with, the settlements and occupation lie at the very core of the conflict.

Now, let me add that I can only speak to what I witnessed and heard. The conflict may be viewed differently in a place like Gaza than it is in the West Bank. Also, to the Orthodox Jews I think it is safe to assume they see it more as a religious issue than a political one.
Thriller
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RetiredAg said:

k2aggie07 said:

Lots of Christians in Palestine, many people forget.

American evangelists are odd ducks in their support for Israel. That was really one of the big aha moments for me... Recognizing that the American folk religion was in many ways more about America's cultural zeitgeist than Christ.

Yes, the blind support is very baffling. What I witnessed there looks nothing like the narrative we hear over here. It was, to put it very mildly, very disturbing. I don't see how it could be defined as anything but an apartheid state.

One thing that stood out to me was in the Jordan Valley. This is an area that has been fed by natural springs for millenia. Naturally, villages have been found at the springs. Unlike in other areas of the West Bank when Palestinians are forced from villages, villages destroyed, then settlements placed at old village site, in the Jordan Valley things are handled in a much more diabolical way. The Israeli government will build a settlement near the village, leave the Palestinians where they are, then drill down into the water table and pump the water straight to the settlement. This dries up the spring for much of the year and leaves the Palestinians without reliable water source. This has forced many to leave the region. This has also killed Palestinian agriculture in the area, leading many to shift to things like herding goats. So, what the Israeli government then will do is declare the grazing areas either a "firing zone" or "nature preserve". If the Palestinians continue grazing, the IDF will come in and burn all the vegetation in the "nature preserve".

To get water into the village, the Palestinians have to have water tanks shipped in, but due to road closures, the costs of shipping dramatically increase. A few years ago, the IDF began the practice of seizing the water tanks. Over past 30-ish years, the Palestinian population of the Jordan Valley has gone from aproc 300,000 to 56,000. The primary jobs available to those that remain are on the settlements large farms, which are primarily dates (which require vast amounts of water). A typical laborer in Israel is supposed to make around 250 shekels a day. Those Palestinians that work on the date farms make approx 60-80 shekels a day.

To witness this systematic effort to drive people from their land was eye-opening. Our Israeli guide called it ethnic cleansing. But, what may have amazed me most was the hope that remains and just how kind the Palestinian people, Christian and Muslim, were to us.
Crossing from Jordan into Israel several years ago was a stunning visual example of what you described. In the span of one mile, harsh desert slums turned Into lush, fertile fields with GPS enabled John Deere equipment. I wish I had easy access to my photos from that day.
PacifistAg
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Any idea what a good site for posting pictures that can be shared here is? I have a ton from the delegation and would love to share some. I will actually probably create a stand alone thread on my delegation so the discussion isn't buried in some obscure thread like this.
schmendeler
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imgur
PacifistAg
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schmendeler said:

imgur
Thanks
schmendeler
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no prob
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