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Cuneiformist
The Imperfectionist
USA
4955 Posts |
 Posted - 05/02/2005 : 08:13:48
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From today's USA Today comes this story about how two kids from South Carolina somehow managed to drift out to sea for six days and survive before being rescued.
How did they survive? Well, according to the kids, "'We just prayed every day. We prayed for our families, prayed for our lives, prayed to get home. God answered us . . . he wouldn't let us suffer for no reason.'" Ahem.
Of course, it's not like magical manna fell from heaven or anything:quote:
The pair quenched their thirst with sea water and slipped into the ocean to cool off, but sharks chased them back onto the boat. At night, they used a single wet suit to keep warm . . . The only thing Driscoll ate was jellyfish; Long feared the jellyfish would make him sick and that he'd lose his bearings. He gargled saltwater a couple of times a day to keep his throat from drying out.
Doesn't sound so supernatural to me. What about their rescue? Perhaps Yahweh scooped them out of the water and magically transported them home!quote:
At one point, the teens thought they had drifted across the Atlantic Ocean and were close to Africa. Instead, they were about 111 miles north — well outside the Coast Guard's search grid — but close enough to spot a fishing boat.
Again, nothing out of the ordinary. Yet still, God gets all the glory:quote:
'What we have is an absolutely miraculous story of survival that's going to be studied for years to come,' said Richard Goerling, Long's uncle. 'I think those two boys have a book to write' . . . 'The officials were trying to tell us to expect for bodies to float up between seven and 10 days. We knew there was room for a miracle and this is our miracle,' [said] Josh's dad, Eddie Long
A book? "Studied for years to come"?!? What's to study? Well, besides why not to take your boat out during bad weatherquote:
The teenagers had set out shark fishing on a 14-foot Sunfish during a blustery day. The National Weather Service had warned small boats to stay off the water and the pair realized they were in trouble almost immediately. They tried to swim to shore, pulling the boat along with them.
They yelled to people on the beach, but weren't heard. Within hours, the boys were out to sea. The pair lost their tackle the second day.
And let's not forget-- they thought they were in Africa! That's like four thousand miles away! Anyhow...
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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard
3192 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2005 : 08:33:32 [Permalink]
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| Funny, I read in the Times that one of them prayed to be taken by God...whoops. |
"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History
"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini |
| Edited by - BigPapaSmurf on 05/02/2005 08:34:50 |
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Cuneiformist
The Imperfectionist
USA
4955 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2005 : 08:53:57 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by BigPapaSmurf
Funny, I read in the Times that one of them prayed to be taken by God...whoops.
And instead, he got taken by a fishing boat! So much for answered prayers! |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2005 : 10:36:05 [Permalink]
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Hate to disappoint the faithful, but all of the credit goes to their resourcfullness, courage and just, plain toughness. One of those kids has a sunburn he'll not soon forget....
And jellyfish and salps are nutritious, mostly water, and as far as I know, none are posionous as long as you avoid the stinging tenticles. Sea turtles thrive on them, stings and all.
No book here, really. But one hell of a good short story.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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| Edited by - filthy on 05/02/2005 10:38:58 |
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Hawks
SFN Regular
Canada
1383 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2005 : 14:48:45 [Permalink]
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quote:
The pair quenched their thirst with sea water .... He gargled saltwater a couple of times a day to keep his throat from drying out.
Drinking sea water is not that good for rehydration. Would gargling be any better? |
METHINKS IT IS LIKE A WEASEL
It's a small, off-duty czechoslovakian traffic warden! |
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2005 : 15:31:59 [Permalink]
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quote:
Drinking sea water is not that good for rehydration. Would gargling be any better?
Drinking seawater could be very dangerous to an already dehydrated person. It could pull water from your circulatory system into your gut, causing a shift in serum osmolality, making you potentially very dead.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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trishran
Skeptic Friend
USA
196 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2005 : 12:50:25 [Permalink]
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Filthy says:
Hate to disappoint the faithful, but all of the credit goes to their resourcfullness, courage and just, plain toughness. One of those kids has a sunburn he'll not soon forget....
That's one of the annoying things about people who believe in God/gods - they give credit for their own success to their imaginary friend. [and there's that remember the hits/forget the misses syndrome - prayeing for god to take you up?]
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trish |
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sweetmiracle
Skeptic Friend
USA
74 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2005 : 14:57:00 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by trishran
Filthy says:
Hate to disappoint the faithful, but all of the credit goes to their resourcfullness, courage and just, plain toughness. One of those kids has a sunburn he'll not soon forget....
That's one of the annoying things about people who believe in God/gods - they give credit for their own success to their imaginary friend. [and there's that remember the hits/forget the misses syndrome - prayeing for god to take you up?]
Ever notice, too, how one's failures are always one's own fault....
So the deity takes credit for the good, and pawns off the bad. Great work, if you can get it. |
Remarkable claims require remarkable proof.
-Carl Sagan |
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2005 : 03:16:43 [Permalink]
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| And who let the stupid boat drift out to sea in the first place? God wasn't looking then? It's always, 'a test'. |
| Edited by - beskeptigal on 05/07/2005 03:17:13 |
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Cuneiformist
The Imperfectionist
USA
4955 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2005 : 07:48:53 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by sweetmiracle
Ever notice, too, how one's failures are always one's own fault....
So the deity takes credit for the good, and pawns off the bad. Great work, if you can get it.
Once-- just once-- I'd love to see an athlete who, after a crushing lost, said that he'd like to give thanks to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That would really make me smile. |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2005 : 10:12:13 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Cuneiformist
quote:
Originally posted by sweetmiracle
Ever notice, too, how one's failures are always one's own fault....
So the deity takes credit for the good, and pawns off the bad. Great work, if you can get it.
Once-- just once-- I'd love to see an athlete who, after a crushing lost, said that he'd like to give thanks to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That would really make me smile.
Yeh, I can just hear it now:
(Spewing blood and bits of expensive porcelain.)"Well y'know, Marty, I'm thankin' God a bunch, just a whole, (bleep) bunch! Where the hell was He when I got gobsmacked with that line drive? Off whippin' His Weasle in Weehawkin? Next time, that slackin' Hump better PAY ATTENTION!... Y'know, I oughta send Him my (bleep)dental bill!"
Or:
"Well y'know, Marty, God helped me survive that blow-out, line drive with only seven broken teeth, and, y'know, I'm sure He'll have my thrown-out elbow back in shape for the game in Philly. He's also spoken to the team managers, and, y'know, I'm still in the lineup, and all, although I guess, y'know, I won't be starting, any more.....
Or:
"Well y'know, Marty, all I can figure is that God was punishing me for downloading all that kiddie porn last week. It's really sad and, y'know, I feel real bad about the team having to lose the game on account of it, but, y'know, that's the way it goes, sometimes..."
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist!
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| Edited by - filthy on 05/07/2005 10:19:07 |
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pleco
SFN Addict
USA
2998 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2005 : 14:35:17 [Permalink]
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| Yeah, you also notice that during natural disasters, it is always Mother Nature which does the bad stuff, but god is the one that does the good stuff (even though the insurance companies will call it an Act of God - I guess they got it right? lol) |
by Filthy
The neo-con methane machine will soon be running at full fart. |
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moakley
SFN Regular
USA
1888 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2005 : 18:39:10 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by sweetmiracle
Ever notice, too, how one's failures are always one's own fault....
So the deity takes credit for the good, and pawns off the bad. Great work, if you can get it.
Yep! Always wanted to be a god. All of the credit, none of the blame. Just need some marketing guys to keep the (m)asses happy. |
Life is good
Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned. -Anonymous |
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Randy
SFN Regular
USA
1990 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2005 : 16:16:15 [Permalink]
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I agree, moakley.
Yes-sir-ree!....god saved us with all the praying we did (meanwhile, a bit earlier, a quarter million innocent people die in a tsunami!)
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"We are all connected; to each other biologically, to the earth chemically, to the rest of the universe atomically."
"So you're made of detritus [from exploded stars]. Get over it. Or better yet, celebrate it. After all, what nobler thought can one cherish than that the universe lives within us all?"
-Neil DeGrasse Tyson |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2005 : 04:14:50 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Randy
Yes-sir-ree!....god saved us with all the praying we did (meanwhile, a bit earlier, a quarter million innocent people die in a tsunami!)
Well, those quarter million people wasn't all that innocent. You know, homosexuals and pedofiles and prostitutes and God-knows-what... www.godfatesfags.com
Sometimes I'm think there has to be a way to cut off the head of the serpent: exposing key persons scandals to discredit them or something.
But then, I'm unsure what kind of scandal will force the True(tm) believer from abandoning their leaders.
A good start whould be putting Kent Hovind behind bars for tax-evasion. |
Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2005 : 10:13:51 [Permalink]
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quote:
Well, those quarter million people wasn't all that innocent. You know, homosexuals and pedofiles and prostitutes and God-knows-what...
I thought the tsunami was sent to kill the Sweedish tourists, and the collateral damage was just an unfortunate side effect?
The nonsense that these retarded fundies come up with boggles the mind most times.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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