Apologies to BK. You were right about gay marriages.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Imran, according to the edition you have in your sig line:

What part of "Not every Christian considers the Genesis creation story to be literally true" did you not understand, Sloww?

[SlowwHand]

It's kind of stupid to drift off on a tangent from man to insects and micro organisms.
"Man, this apple taste strange.
That's because it's an orange."

[loinburger]

For historical reasons viruses and bacteria are not considered parasites, but the label is still applicable to fungi. Several species of fungi infect insects, like this poor ant here. The interesting thing about these fungi is their ability to modify the ants' behavior. Ordinarily, ants try to stick close to the ground as much as possible. However, when the fungal parasite infecting an ant reaches maturity, then it will compel the ant to climb to the tip of a blade of grass. There the fungus will bloom, and with its height advantage it will have the best chances of spreading its spores to new hosts. Other parasites that infect insects will compel the insects to climb blades of grass so that the insect will be eaten by a herbivore (which is the parasite's target host). The parasite will only compel the insect to climb the grass when the sun is setting, which is the time when a grazer is most likely to eat the grass. After the time passes the parasite allows the insect to get on with its life, at least until the following evening.

[SlowwHand]

What part of "Not every Christian considers the Genesis creation story to be literally true" did you not understand, Sloww?

You made a statement about people named Adam and Eve.
I took reference from your sig line. Don't be an ass. Other than that, I don't care what you believe. Feel free. But at least be consistent.

[loinburger]

I'm surprised you haven't posted about the wasp whose larvae mind controls its spider host yet.

I might not have gotten to that part of the book yet. Or the author may have skipped it - he really liked the wasps that parasitized caterpillars.

[Imran Siddiqui]

You made a statement about people named Adam and Eve.
I took reference from your sig line. Don't be an ass. Other than that, I don't care what you believe. Feel free. But at least be consistent.

What in the world are you talking about?!

I said that not every Christian considers the Genesis creation story to have been literally true. You took a NEW TESTAMENT Bible verse from my sig line, about something Jesus said to try to say... what exactly?

[SlowwHand]

He made male and female humans (most likely through theistic evolution)... doesn't necessarily mean homosexuality was declared out of bounds. Or that a particular Adam and Eve really existed.

Does this ring any bells? All I was doing was showing reference to the names, and you had to be a jackass.
The evolution is a theory you may believe in, but I didn't address that part, only the names. So screw you.

[DaShi]

I might not have gotten to that part of the book yet. Or the author may have skipped it - he really liked the wasps that parasitized caterpillars.

Who doesn't? Thanks for making this thread interesting.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Does this ring any bells? All I was doing was showing reference to the names, and you had to be a jackass.
The evolution is a theory you may believe in, but I didn't address that part, only the names. So screw you.

I seriously have no clue what you are on about. Do you really have no idea what "Not every Christian considers the Genesis creation story to be literally true" means? You know as in, I don't think the particular Adam and Eve really existed and the creation story is simply allegorical and not meant to be taken as factual truth (which is, btw, what the Jews believe... and they wrote it!).

[loinburger]

Who doesn't? Thanks for making this thread interesting.

This is the book I'm getting most of this from - I caught the end of an NPR interview with the author where he mentioned the fish-tongue-eating-crustacean, and decided that I had better buy the book just for that alone.

[DaShi]

Ah thanks. I'll be adding that to my summer reading list.

[Heraclitus]

Also, you can't obviously get married to animals or corpses, but then again I don't think even the most depraved liberal would approve of that.

Give them time.

[MikeH]

Most scholars believe that Troy is based on historical figures and events.

Myth is just history poorly recorded and lost to the passage of time.

So what you are saying is that you believe that the Iliad/Odyssey, combined with the discovery of what some believe is Troy proves the Greek Gods existed!

[MikeH]

I see I was 100 posts late with that observation.

Talking about more likely explanations for an empty tomb.

There is also a much more likely explanation for a young woman suddenly falling pregnant despite never having slept with her fiancé than it being a miracle from God. ie. She shagged someone else and her fiancé was a gullible idiot.

[Wezil]

I'm surprised Ben doesn't think David Copperfield is Christ arisen.