bejjinks

According to what I wrote, we are all going to Hell without Jesus. I'm in the same boat you are in.

To all of you. I'm trying to be friendly here. Why are you making this into an argument. Can't we just lighten up here?

Not sure what your point is but I do agree with the John Stuart Mill quote. The Lynn Lavner quote is a little vague.

We are now at an impasse. You aren't bringing anything new to the discussion. You are just repeating the same circular reasoning that I disagree with. Let's just agree to disagree and let it go.

I hate what many people do in the name of God and I think God does too. That's why the third commandment is Thou Shalt Not Take The Lord's Name In Vain. Many people misunderstand that commandment to mean Don't Swear but the real meaning of that commandment is quit doing things in the name of God without finding out if it's what God really wants in the first place.

But God did not create people to sin. God did not cause people to sin. God did not make them sinners.

Let's break it down p=mortals condemn mortals who commit crimes against mortals. q=an all powerful Creator who condemns mortals for committing crimes against mortals does not sound godlike. conclusion=God cannot exist Do you see the gaps in this reasoning? First you have circular logic. You define God as someone who cannot condemn mortals for crimes committed against mortals. Second you have essentially stated that because God does not condemn mortals, God cannot exist. That's like saying because cows don't eat meat, cows cannot exist.

Charolotte Caxton wrote: So if God will overcome sin for us, then how can a person in an intimate relationship with Him sin? If the relationship with ones creator was so great that we could not sin, then we could not pull away. That is true. The problem is that many who claim to be Christian do not have that relationship with God. They have intellectual knowledge of God so they go out preaching and making a spectacle of how Christian they are and then they fall into sin because they were never really close to God in the first place.

Charolotte Caxton wrote: bejjinks wrote: No one would choose to go to prison either but many choose to commit crimes knowing full well that if they get caught, they will go to prison. People aren't choosing to go to Hell but people will choose to commit sin knowing full well that what they are choosing is wrong. Good analogy. I will counter that by saying, in the person to prison scenario we have mortals committing crimes against other mortals and being tried and condemned by fellow mortals. In the case of hell, you have an all powerful Creator whom we are to believe loves all of his creation yet sends an inordinate amount of them into eternal damnation. That does not sound godlike, that sounds like a mortal fairy tale, therefore God cannot exist. That conclusion does not follow the premises you just stated.

A person cannot be pulled from the Holy Spirit but a person can pull away from the Holy Spirit. God does give us grace that empowers us to overcome sin. None of us is perfect. We cannot overcome sin. But what we cannot do, God can. It really is a matter of getting to know God on an intimate level. It isn't enough to know about God on an intellectual level. We must be in relationship with God and then God overcomes sin through us.

No one would choose to go to prison either but many choose to commit crimes knowing full well that if they get caught, they will go to prison. People aren't choosing to go to Hell but people will choose to commit sin knowing full well that what they are choosing is wrong.

He will prevent the lost from burning in Hell if the lost are lost out of ignorance or accident. It's only those who choose to be lost that are condemned to Hell.

Born of God means the spiritual rebirth referred to as born again. Adam only had a physical birth, not a spiritual rebirth. Besides, the verse isn't saying that we can never sin. It is saying that when we have the Holy Spirit in us, we cannot sin. So for a Christian to sin, first he has to pull away from the Holy Spirit because he won't be able to sin without pulling away from the Holy Spirit first.

Charolotte Caxton wrote: bejjinks wrote: Good is a subjective term. What you consider good, might not be the same as what other people consider good. Love is also a word used with many definitions. You don't love pizza the same way that you love your family. That is why I said that God is just. Justice is a little more clearly defined. God is just in creating creatures that he knew would choose to burn in Hell and God is just to give them what they choose. And God is just to let natural consequences follow our actions. God is not an enabler who is going to step in and protect us from the consequences of our actions unless our actions were done in ignorance or by accident. God is a gentleman who respects our choice. Au contraire mon frere, that is ludicris. God is an all knowing being. Allowing us, who know almost nothing, to make decisions that will affect our eternal soul is the complete opposite of just. I would equate that to placing two toddlers on a side walk and letting them choose whether to play in the street or not. Sure, free will is great and all, but not when you are in a position of vast more knowledge and experience. Then you are just an evil **bleep**. But I just said that God intervenes when our actions are out of ignorance or accident. So in the case of toddlers on a sidewalk, God would prevent them from wandering into traffic.

Charolotte Caxton wrote: bejjinks wrote: First, let's keep this peaceful and friendly. But I will discuss this. I think I agree with you that God and religion are good tools that can be used to help guide our actions in the absence of anything else. Most cultures, if not all, have stories that are told to them as a way to guide their lives and give them a common moral structure. It is when these powers are abused and the stories taken literally that the suffering begins. As for God letting us choose our own destiny and punishing us only after the fact, that cannot be because he knows what the choices will be before we are even created by him, therefore his creating us has sealed our doom. In that way, there can be no free will, unless one believes in an infinite amount of possibilities, but even then, an omni everything god would know which of those possibilities we would choose. It depends on your definition of omni-everything. A lot of people speak of His omnipotence in magical and illogical terms. They ask silly questions like "Can God create something that God cannot lift?" or "Can God go back in time and kill himself?" Not all questions are good questions. Some questions are presumptive or they lead us in lines of thinking that only get us stuck in a quagmire of illogic. Even the Bible describes things that God cannot do. in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, Titus 1:2 NASB Let no one say when he is tempted, “ I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. James 1:13 NASB No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 1 John 3:9 NASB These are at least three things God cannot do. He cannot lie. He cannot be tempted. He cannot sin. When we think logically about what God can do, God is omnipotent but God is logical. God can alter the force of gravity. He can halt the orbit of a planet and maintain gravity like normal. But God cannot act contrary to who God is. Therefore, God is not omnipotent in the illogical understanding of omnipotence. God knows what choices we will make but God did not make us choose. Our doom isn't sealed until we choose. But God is merciful to us because he knows that we don't really know what we are doing. But Jesus was saying, “ Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. Luke 23:34 NASB

Good is a subjective term. What you consider good, might not be the same as what other people consider good. Love is also a word used with many definitions. You don't love pizza the same way that you love your family. That is why I said that God is just. Justice is a little more clearly defined. God is just in creating creatures that he knew would choose to burn in Hell and God is just to give them what they choose. And God is just to let natural consequences follow our actions. God is not an enabler who is going to step in and protect us from the consequences of our actions unless our actions were done in ignorance or by accident. God is a gentleman who respects our choice.

Based on your information I did a little tour First I visited the Isle of Wyrms. They have nine sims and six of their sims have the water set at 90 while three of their sims have the water set at 20. The only discontinuity I saw was where the sims set at 90 met the sims set at 20. While in the sims set at 20, all the surrounding unowned water looked like it was also set at 20 but while in the sims set at 90, all the surrounding unowned water looked like it was set at 90. This made for an interesting view as I stood on the edge of Hedgetopia looking down into Archaea which was completely surrounded on three sides by a wall of water. But the moment I crossed the sim boundary into Archaea, the surrounding walls of water dropped except for the one between Archaea and Hedgetopia. It was Isle of Wyrms that inspired me to raise the water level. What they've done underwater at the Isle of Wyrms is amazing. Even places that advertise themselves as mer havens don't look half as good as the underwater region on Isle of Wyrms. Then I visited Pengallen bridge and found the lake you mentioned. It is interesting how they did that. If I were to set two sims side by side with each being a different water level, that is how I would do it. Then I visited a sandbox and went up to 4000 meters. I tested the creation of a skybox and sure enough, it worked perfectly. Eventually, I plan on adding sims around the first one. I don't know how many sims altogether I will own. I'm going to start with one that will mostly be residential. Then I'll add one which will be more for recreation for the residents. Then I'll add a third with a theatre, art center and a few other nice locations for the residents. From there, it's all a matter of money and creativity.

I am still contemplating Ceera's answer which is why I haven't replied yet. I was already planning on having the beach naturally slope. All the numbers I spoke of were maximums and minimums but I want the environment to look natural so naturally, I will have few if any sheer drop offs and use a lot of variety of different slopes from nearly flat and gentle to rough and hilly. Also, being a residential estate, I'm going to allow the residents themselves a limited amount of terraforming so if they wish the land to be flatter in some places or more hilly in others, that is fine with me. I'm really setting 30 as a limit on the residents to prevent them from making mountainous eyesores on an otherwise pleasant village setting. The overall theme is similar to the setting of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Fynn including at least one paddleboat. However, I dont' want to be too strict on this theme since I want to allow mers and furries in even though they weren't in either book mentioned. It is for the mers sake that I am thinking of having deeper water than the Mississippi River.

Syo Emerald wrote: And what has this to do with second life? Keep your religion out of it. What has this to do with Second Life? This has everything to do with who I am. To silence me is to oppress me. I'm not forcing my religion on you. Don't force your lack of religion on me. If you are uncomfortable about what I say, ignore me. I promise you, I will not be offended.

First, let's keep this peaceful and friendly. But I will discuss this. Charolotte Caxton wrote: However, when we start to say that people need to be saved from hell, the first question would be, who is condemning us to hell? The answer is God, because we have sinned against him. Well then, if we are his creations, and he knew we would sin and not accept Christ, then the only bad guy in the whole scenario is God. We sinned but we didn't just sin against God. We sinned against each other. We sinned against ourselves. And we sinned against creation. (How many animals have suffered because of human cruelty). God is a just God. He won't punish us before we commit the crime even though he knows we will commit the crime. He must give us the chance to choose to not commit the crime or else he would not be just. Also, God is more than a just God. He is also merciful and gives people a chance to mend their ways. Eventually, God only condemns those who won't mend their ways. Charolotte Caxton wrote: If we put the blame on Satan, we must ask, who has given Satan his power to turn us from Christ? The answer again is God. Again, God is being just and merciful even to Satan. God did make Satan rebel but God would not be God if he punished Satan without giving Satan a chance to do right and mend his ways. Even though God knows that Satan will not mend his ways, you would call God evil if he punished Satan for crimes he didn't commit but would commit in the future. Charolotte Caxton wrote: The bible is a collection of books heavily edited to make the people of the time conform to the monarchy. It is full of messages to obey the king, obey the master, obey the man, and not to question authority. Although many have misused the Bible in just the way you describe. Many have also used the Bible correctly to stand up to unjust rulers and to fight for the weak against the oppressors. The Bible does not teach blind obedience. Charolotte Caxton wrote: The Bible is like any other book, full of stories, some good, some bad. We must take the good and discard the bad, it cannot be adhered to literally. Even the four Gospels are full of inconsistencies and conflicting details. No the Bible is not 100% literal. There is a reason why so much of the book is told as a story. The Bible is full of poetry and parables. The inconsistencies only are there when we try to take the Bible 100% literally. But when we look at the different parts of the Bible within the context of the greater story, the inconsistencies disappear and every part of the Bible begins to make sense. The real problem with the way some misuse the Bible is that they grab single verses or passages out of context of the greater story and try to shove these parts down everyone's throat. Charolotte Caxton wrote: Jesus says that the Kingdom of Heaven is within you. There is nothing to be saved from other than a living hell. That is why all of the faiths and religions always come up with the same answers to peace: love yourself and love others, everything else falls into place. When we start to hate and put blame, then we start to suffer and cause others to suffer as well. I agree with you.

I agree about the glasses. The point is not that the glasses look good (they don't) but that the glasses make her look good (which they do).

Some will accuse me of being a liberal Christian but that is not the case. I study the Bible and truly live by what the Bible says. In fact, it is the hate mongers that don't read the Bible. If they did read the Bible, they wouldn't be hate mongers. Once there was a Russian king who forced 500 people to convert to his brand of Christianity or be excuted. That was not a Christian thing for that king to do. That king was acting against the Bible. When we force, threaten or manipulate anyone into Christianity, how do we know that they've really had a change of heart? How do we know that they aren't just going through the motions? Jesus was peaceful usually but when he cursed, he cursed those who were only pretending to follow God. Jesus cursed those who went through the motions of Christianity but whose hearts were not in it. He called them vipers and white washed tombs. So why would God be pleased with us if we are making more people act Christian on the outside without any change of heart? But when we force our beliefs on others, that is exactly what we are doing. We are creating pretenders. The truth is, I would rather hang out with honest non-Christians than hang out with pretend Christians. This is why Jesus ate with sinners and prostitutes. They weren't better people but at least they were honest enough to not walk around with a false front. Some people act like being a Christian makes us better than everyone else, like somehow we don't deserve Hell because we haven't committed that sin (whatever that sin happens to be). But that isn't what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that we all deserve Hell. We are all equal and not one of us is righteous. The man on the street corner preaching hatred of sinners is just better at hiding his sin. He isn't any less of a sinner than the rest of us. And none of us can earn grace by our own merits. If we even try to earn grace by our own merits, we make grace of no effect. Who is saved is not based on how righteous or pure we are. Who is saved is based on how humble and grateful we are. If we proudly proclaim that we don't need salvation, we won't have salvation. If we proudly proclaim that we achieved salvation with no thanks to God, we won't have salvation. We are only saved when we first acknowledge that we need a savior and than maintain a grateful heart. Anyone can be saved no matter what sin they've committed and God wants to save us. But when we arrogantly refuse the gift he gives us, when we act like spoiled brats, why would God continue to love us? God's love is conditional. God gives grace to the humble but opposes the proud. And really, what is the worst sin? I would say that the worst sins are pride, greed, hate, and dishonesty. Greed, pride and hate are the fertile soil from which other sins grow and dishonesty is the protective cloud of darkness that keeps the sins alive. Without greed, pride, hate and dishonesty, all the other sins would shrivel up and die. So how is it that I can get along with non-Christians easier than I can with so called Christians? First of all, I don't try to force anyone to believe as I do. I'm not surprised when sinners sin. I'm not shocked. I don't gasp. There is a place for evangelism but even the Bible teaches that if they will not recieve the gospel, move on. Don't keep fighting. It is their choice and it is not love to force them to look Christian on the outside. Do not scare people into the Kingdom of God. Second of all, I'm humble enough to acknowledge my own need for salvation. There but for the grace of God go I. There is no temptation that isn't common to man and I too struggle with temptation. I am not holier than anyone. Please forgive me and I forgive you. Finally, I don't rank sins on a scale. We are all equal and none of us is better than anyone else. Now getting down to the nitty gritty of what is a sin and what isn't: Nowhere does the Bible say, "Thou shalt not use certain words". The Bible says to let all your words be for edification and that we will be judged for every idle word because from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. Therefore, if the heart is full of lust, the mouth will speak lustfully. If the heart is full of hate, the mouth will speak hatefully. So tame your heart and your tongue will be tamed. Nowhere does the Bible say, "Thou shalt not be naked". The Bible says to be modest which means to be humble, not arrogant or boastful. When the Bible talks about nudity, it is talking about lack. The Bible is not talking about wearing underwear in the shower. The Bible says to clothe the naked in the same way that the bible says to feed the hungry. The Bible does say that homosexuality is a sin but: One, the Bible doesn't single out homosexuality as being any worse than hundreds of other sins and Two, the Bible strictly defines homosexuality as "lying with a man as if with a woman". There were many intimate relationships between men in the Bible but they did not cross the line into homosexuality. God does want servants. When people try to tell you that God wants slaves, well they are partially right. But God treats his servants a lot better than any human ever treated a slave. If we are not servants of God, we will wind up being slaves to some other being and I would rather be a servant of God because God doesn't #^%$^ up his servants the way other masters would. If you wish to discuss anything with me remember that discussions have rules. If either side of the discussion breaks the rules, it is called dirty fighting or cheating and everyone loses. But if you will stick to the rules of discussion, I am open to discussing anything one on one or in small groups to avoid the presence of dirty fighters. If this message hurts my standing among my fellow Christians, so be it. "They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me." John 16:2-3 NASB

On the one hand, I do understand why some people restrict flying. But could there be an alternate way to deal with it? Let's say we are designing an RPG where some races can fly but others can't. Is there a way to restrict flight for certain people? OR Let's say we've got a maze where we want to restrict flight but we want to offer an escape if someone truly becomes trapped. Is there a way to give people a flying device that allows limited flight within an otherwise, no flight zone?

I'm designing a private residential estate but I'm uncertain at exactly what heights to set things. I've done some research but I get conflicting information, especially as a lot of what I found is not current information. So I'll tell you my ideas and you tell me if there are any problems. Water Depth: I'm thinking of setting water level somewhere between 70 and 100 so that there is a lot of possibility for underwater variety. How high can the water level be set? Can I get even more variety or will setting the water higher cause other problems? Land Height: The land itself will be low. I may add prim mountains on top in order to create caves and tunnels but I think the highest land will not be any higher than 30 above sea level. This means if I set sea level at 70, the highest point will be at 100. Skyboxes: How high can skyboxes be rezzed? I want sky boxes to be between 1000 and 2000 but if people can't rez anything that high, I'll need to rethink this plan.

I want to create a sky for a private estate so a skybox isn't the answer (too small). I've tried playing with windlight but I can't figure out how to get the sun to have a definite shape, (the windlight sun always looks blurry) I've thought about using alpha textures on large phantom prims but can I fill the entire sky that way or is there another option for putting pink clouds and a giant yellow ball in the sky? It would be nice if the pink clouds were fluffy enough to fly around but that's not necessary.