Spring is Awesome

1) People who are, or who identify themselves as African American.

2) People who are, or who identify themselves as Native American.

3) People who are, or who identify themselves as transgender.

4) People who are, or who identify themselves as Muslim.

5) People who are homeless.

I do not care what you call this non-natural universe creator of yours. All I am asking is do you believe in X:

1. X is not a natural force or being. It may be part of the natural world, but is also beyond it.

2. X created our universe.

If not, then doesn't that mean having sex with people under 18, or touching the private parts of people under 18 in an explicitly sexual manner is perfectly fine to Muslims?

If so, what do you think Muhammad did during his life?

I am pretty sure Muhammad was the one who invented the 'convert to Islam ('the religion of truth'), pay unbeliever tax ('Jizya'), or else 'fight the unbelievers until they feel they have conquered' strategy that the Islamic State is using. It is in the Koran, Hadith, and other Islamic texts.

"It would mean that we would be risking mass killings on a horrific scale. It would mean we would allow the terrorists to establish a safe haven in Iraq ... It would mean we would be increasing the probability that American troops would have to return at some later date to confront an enemy that is even more dangerous.” - George W. Bush in 2007 warning against pulling troops out of Iraq.

1. You are a parent in a children's playground pushing your child on a swing.

2. Another parent with their child, asks you 'How much longer are you going to be using the swing for?'

3. You say '5 minutes longer'.

4. The other parent is not happy with your answer, and then proceeds to stop the swing you are pushing your child on, and then puts their arms around your child and forcibly takes your child off the swing and then puts their own child on the swing, and starts pushing their child on the swing.

Would you call the police if you experienced this?

This question is based on this news story:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2740248/Mu...

Why can't the state of Israel be allowed to expand across all (the entirety) of Gaza and the West Bank and then include Palestinians as full citizens into the state of Israel? Why must we bow to the demands of Hamas and terrorists who do not want to live with Israel (and would very much like to see the destruction of the Israeli state). There are plenty of Palestinians who side with Israel (and they were executed by Hamas upon being suspected of collaborating with Israel). Why can't we grant them their wish for all Palestinian land to be under Israeli control?

Don't people realise that the people who support religious institutions already pay tax? To tax religious institutions would be to tax something what has already been taxed.

Let's say I earn $50,000/year, and pay x amount of tax. Then let's say I donate $4000 to my church.

Why should my church be taxed? I already paid tax on my money before giving it to the church. Why should my money be the subject of tax again?

'The sources for Pilate's life are an inscription known as the Pilate Stone, which confirms his historicity and establishes his title as prefect; a brief mention by Tacitus; Philo of Alexandria; Josephus; the four canonical gospels; the Gospel of Nicodemus; the Gospel of Marcion; and other apocryphal works.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontius_Pilate

'Non-Christian sources used to study and establish the historicity of Jesus include Jewish sources such as Josephus, and Roman sources such as Tacitus. These sources are compared to Christian sources such as the Pauline Letters and the Synoptic Gospels. These sources are usually independent of each other. '

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sources_for_the_Histo...

...

Pilate has:

Pilate Stone (which is just his name and title on a stone)

Tacitus

Philo

Josephus

Canonical Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)

Non-Canonical Gospels

Apocryphal Texts

Jesus has:

Tacitus

Josephus

Other Roman Sources (for example: Mara bar Sarapion - referred to without being explicitly named)

Pauline Epistles (1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Romans, etc.)

Canonical Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)

Non-Canonical Gospels

Apocryphal Texts

Jesus was a low class Jewish peasant who likely did not know how to write.

Pilate was a highly educated Roman prefect, and a much more important figure in terms of the political life of the Roman Empire.

Why expect more evidence for a Jewish peasant than a Roman prefect?

This is what I mean:

Tom Cruise: X

Tom Cruise: the son of X

There are lots of different types of breads.

There are lots of different types of pasta.

But taken as entire categories which food do you like more?