God doesn't care, just deal with it!!

alfadriver wrote:

Scott wrote: In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker: You've actually tasted rhubarb pie? I thought it was just something made up for Thomas Hardy books. What is it like?

Dude, you are missing out. Hard to describe, but rhubarb is quite tart, so you have to add sugar- but the ballance between the two, and if you add ice cream... wow. Love rhubarb.

Most definitely!

There is a great diner just up the street from the office here. The most amazing soft, tender dinner rolls combined with strawberry-rubarb jam.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm

Scott wrote: I think a rhubarb is about to break out.

wow, brain shiver....

rhubarb chutney with properly sauteed duck breast.

Killer combination, there.

Two threads in one answer.

alfadriver wrote:

Scott wrote: In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker: You've actually tasted rhubarb pie? I thought it was just something made up for Thomas Hardy books. What is it like?

Dude, you are missing out. Hard to describe, but rhubarb is quite tart, so you have to add sugar- but the ballance between the two, and if you add ice cream... wow. Love rhubarb.

I'm trying to remember whether I've ever had a straight-rhubarb pie or only strawberry-rhubarb. Seems like there are usually strawberries to help with the tartness.

In any case, I can confirm that pies involving rhubarb are awesome.

In case you're wondering, the phrase "like celery, but red" is not in any way useful in the description of taste or texture.

In reply to ransom:

The strawberries do cut the tartness down a lot.

But I have made straight rhubarb pie- my mom's recipe. Love it.

Then again, I am also a big fan of gooseberries.

another brain shiver- gooseberry sauce with foie gras... names go together, there....

Here we go with another unwinnable argument, from Wikipedia -

Rhubarb is usually considered to be a vegetable, however, a New York court decided in 1947 that since it was used in the United States as a fruit it was to be counted as a fruit for the purposes of regulations and duties.

It is in pie, so that sure makes it sound like fruit...

z31maniac wrote: This analogy is not relevant to the idea we were discussing. I believe in free will, and right or wrong, I believe that rules out the possibility of a god. If god is all-knowing, how does he "know" what my next word typed will be? 1. It is either predetermined by the most powerful being in existence. 2. He is making an educated guess, or a prediction if you like, as to what I will choose. Option 1 negates Free Will. Option 2 destroys all religion in the world, because god becomes fallible as gods existence is based on the of the prinicipal of being infallible.

Actually, I was pointing out was that foreknowledge is not the same thing as causation. You seem to equate them, which I do not hold.

Therefore, I can pick the third option, perfect foreknowledge. Or, more precisely, that God, being outside of the constraints of time, sees all of time and each decision's effects in an eternal "now".

Scott wrote: Here we go with another unwinnable argument, from Wikipedia - Rhubarb is usually considered to be a vegetable, however, a New York court decided in 1947 that since it was used in the United States as a fruit it was to be counted as a fruit for the purposes of regulations and duties. It is in pie, so that sure makes it sound like fruit...

mincemeat pie.

REAL mincemeat, not the modern berry stuff. well, at least with the proper suet with the berries.

Yes, you don't have to have just fruit to have a sweet pie.

Technically, no way it's a fruit. Like tomatos are.

In reply to alfadriver:

Well, yeah. I guess quiche is a pie. Certain peoples refer to pizza as pie. But I was referring to the classical definition of pie that exists in my head and hasn't been verified in any fancy textbooks.

Scott wrote: Here we go with another unwinnable argument, from Wikipedia - Rhubarb is usually considered to be a vegetable, however, a New York court decided in 1947 that since it was used in the United States as a fruit it was to be counted as a fruit for the purposes of regulations and duties.

THERE IS NO GOD!

But strawberry-rhubarb combinations might lead one to believe there could be. Especially with flakey crust served ala mode.

scardeal wrote: Or, more precisely, that God, being outside of the constraints of time, sees all of time and each decision's effects in an eternal "now".

Well, long as I'm off the deep end- I have a related thought.

Think about "time". Past and future, literally, do not exist. They are no more tangable than the dream you had last night. All of this is about humans using our brains to make sense of things that we can't make sense of. Time, and methods of measuring time are things we created. The reality is a lot more difficult to wrap our heads around. Truth is, everything only exists and only can exist in an eternal "now".

My mom put rhubarb in every pie she could. I got tired of it, as I like my rhubarb pie straight, no chaser.

Stewed rhubarb, made very much like apple sauce, is excellent. Add some blueberries if you must.

God was invented, and still is defended, by people who believe they are so smart that anything they don't understand or can't explain must be magic.

scardeal wrote:

z31maniac wrote: This analogy is not relevant to the idea we were discussing. I believe in free will, and right or wrong, I believe that rules out the possibility of a god. If god is all-knowing, how does he "know" what my next word typed will be? 1. It is either predetermined by the most powerful being in existence. 2. He is making an educated guess, or a prediction if you like, as to what I will choose. Option 1 negates Free Will. Option 2 destroys all religion in the world, because god becomes fallible as gods existence is based on the of the prinicipal of being infallible.

Actually, I was pointing out was that foreknowledge is not the same thing as causation. You seem to equate them, which I do not hold. Therefore, I can pick the third option, perfect foreknowledge. Or, more precisely, that God, being outside of the constraints of time, sees all of time and each decision's effects in an eternal "now".

Then why the need to pray?

Try rhubard and blueberries.

Tom Heath wrote: In reply to scardeal: A little discretion goes a long way. Kudos to all parties.

Yes, thanks to all for keeping this mature. I know the topic CAN get heated but the OP really wasn't meant to stir anything up.

I do get a kick out of folks that say "God blessed me with this [insert item, personality trait, hapenstance here]" but you never hear them say "God gave me this cancer" or something like that. If he gives the good, he gives the bad as well. I have four kids. I watched my first-born sone die before my eyes. I now have three amazing kids that have made me the man I am today. I thank God for my kids but don't blame him for the loss. See, God gave me the ability to have kids but didn't have a direct hand in the three I have now any more than he had a direct hand in my dear sons death.
This yahoo on Survivor amazes me. He's the type that has faith (the assured expectation of things not yet beheld is how I think of it) in his higher power and that's great. He's misguided to think that God is going to help him win survivor. IF, and this is a big if, God "calls" people to anything, why would he not call him to his ministry? That is the only command that Jesus gave us, to go out and to preach to the masses. I only know of two religions that do that today. Have you ever decided to go to worship because this team won the Super Bowl, this chick won a Grammy or so-and-so got a Grand-Slam?
If God had a direct hand in human affairs why would he allow such tragedy while at the same time helping me to miss the cones at the next auto-X?

of course the standard answer for "WHY" is .. and I'm sure I'll get the quote wrong... it's not for us to know or understand the mysterious ways that are the Lord's ... or words to that affect....

Scott wrote: You've actually tasted rhubarb pie? I thought it was just something made up for Thomas Hardy books. What is it like?

Delectable. I want some, RIGHT NOW.

z31maniac wrote: Then why the need to pray?

Prayer is primarily about a relationship with God, not fulfilling requests. Of course He already knows what you're going to say, but you don't know what He's going to say. It's a 2 way street, and prayer is as much about listening to God as it is talking to Him.

It's like talking to your friends. The more you share with them, the stronger your friendship is. The more you work on cars together and hang out with each other, the more alike you become. In the same way, the more you pray, the closer you become to HIm.

^I will say, we don't agree, but you have done an excellent job of tactful rebuttal.

Kudos!

Scott wrote: You've actually tasted rhubarb pie? I thought it was just something made up for Thomas Hardy books. What is it like?

Young'uns

DrBoost wrote: If God had a direct hand in human affairs why would he allow such tragedy while at the same time helping me to miss the cones at the next auto-X?

This goes along with what I have believed for a while: God doesn't micromanage.

When someone that has gone through a tragedy is interviewed on the news and says something to the effect that God was watching out for them...............you mean that he wasn't watching out for the folks that did get killed?

It makes more sense to me that God exists as the supreme watchmaker. He set a clockwork in motion and it is up to us to make the best of what's been given to us in this lifetime. I think it's easier to believe that I've been put here to discover and make the best of life here on earth, help others, find out about this rhubarb pie thing, etc. The opposite doesn't really seem to make much sense to me: if there is success in life, then God was watching out for me. If there is tragedy or hardship then God wasn't watching out for me --or-- I needed to have that strife put in front of me to make me better.

I'd like to think that God gave me the gift of free will to see what I'd do with it. I'm sure we'll sit down and talk about all the choices I made with it, good and bad, after this life is over and the next one has begun.

Rhubarb makes a heavenly pie, but only god knows if it is a fruit or a vegetable.

Rhubarb pie is the pie of the beast. You'll all burn in the firestorm.

poopshovel wrote: Rhubarb pie is the pie of the beast. You'll all burn in the firestorm.

That sounds like the chorus of a King Diamond song.

poopshovel wrote: Rhubarb pie is the pie of the beast. You'll all burn in the firestorm.

Agreed. Rhubarb is evil. Strawberry-rhubarb pie is an abysmal waste of strawberries. And pie.