lapa's shoutbox - Help.com

Hi Lapa :-) I’m alright. Working pretty hard. Hows things with you?

Hi :)
How are you?

I am sending my Christmas greetings already, just incase I don’t see you here before the big day, I am sure I will but I would rather be safe than sorry!
So….

Hope you have a Fabtastic Christmas and new year!!!

Emily
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I found this site through googling “help” too…last night while feeling depressed. And I’m glad I did!

howdy … long time no see :o)

You abandoned me when i needed you the most. JUST KIDDING! hi lapa ^_^. love you lapa. I signed up for that zaadz.

Hi lapa: I was the one who requested that the Post “Does a Christian…?” be closed. It was a good Post. I did so because _nothing_ I did would Unsubscribe me from the Reply notices and I felt always compelled to Reply. I did have much to say in my Reply(s); the problem was that help.com had suddenly consumed me, not just by the Post in question, but to a lesser extent, by a couple others which _easily_ Unsubscribed from. I simply did not have the time to Reply to everyone, and everyone demanded a Reply. Einstein once said “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” I doubt that he had that Post in mind. I read your last Replies but I was determined not to Reply though I had several comments and _possible_ explanations. Replying would only have lead to several more counter-Replies. And I just have other things that I have to do. I’ll be around and we’ll probably encounter one another again where we could possibly take up the discussion where we left off. So, you might want to save to text files your last few posts. I’m looking into some of what you mentioned for possible explanations. I’m willing to do some research on my own regarding other peoples’ claims…this takes time. I’m quite certain that no one, except you, even bothered to look at the one paper I referenced (or any other thing I brought up), let alone several other papers which come to very much the same conclusion as Paul Bloom has. You can Google up quite a bit of information on the claim that children are born with a predispostion to believe in the supernatural, though the wording may be somewhat different. One simply has to want to _look at_ the other persons’ point of view–few are willing to do that.

Hello lapa
I don’t know if Jesus ever prayed such a prayer or not. What I do know is that people who claim to disbelieve in God have never seen pure evil and don’t believe in it. I have found that those kinds of people will change if evil inters there life faster then if one tries to talk to them about Christ. You should remember that I said that I would pray that God would show them evil. I didn’t say that I would pray that God would let evil harm them.
You are right about free will. God wants us to hear His call and respond of our own free will and He is calling every person on planet earth. But sometimes it takes drastic events to get their attention. Another of our primary belief is to take the Gospol to every ear on earth which is why I care. There is a void in all of us and only God can fill it. We try to fill it with many other forms of worship or gods but in the long run it never does the job which is why people are always searching for “The Answers”. And God has them all. If I didn’t try to bring people to the knowledge of the one true living God I would not be a very good Christian.

Just got your shout lapa. Thanks. AKS is a pain in the butt. I’m going to guess that the woman who gave you a hard time was my3sons4ever or something like that. She’s another nasty piece of work. You’re right, w/o body, language facial expressions, and voice inflection, even a mild email can come across as mean-spirited. I’m still figuring out this shoutout thing. And help.com is still a little buggy.

Hi Laurie,

Thank you for your kind words and though I am not where I want to be in my life, I am sure that I will get there. My children are my greatest therapy - thank God they lived through that and are here to keep me going (and when I say going I mean going!! They have ALOT of energy :) Hope you have a great day and continue to find the roses admist the thorns,
Adria

ohooh no a couple of days..ok im going to have to chin up and be a man

thank you lapa. i dont believe in “the one” but I am so tired for having put so much in. rook goes to space now ^_^

It looks like I will be working very soon. I got a call from the temp service I was working for and they said they have me lined up for another assignment. I should know for sure in the next few days.

Well, not clean, but not smoking crack. I’m dabbling in a bit of adderall and vicodin at the moment, and I just lost my job so I am quite bored. But I am staying away from crack and alcohol which is really good for me.

How are you today???

Wassup, Lapa?I am happy :)

Okay, I will send you the link as soon as I get some things put up. I don’t have anything finished yet, at least not typed up. I have been too busy with school to really focus on writing much, but now that school is done for the summer I should have more time to work on things.

I would love to read some of your work. I will make it so that you can e-mail me as well.

Hello, I just wanted to say that you seem to know a lot about writing. I wanted to say thank you for your critique of Jay’s work, I learned a few things myself while reading it. If I ever finish any of my own stories anytime soon, I was wondering if you could critique them. I probably would not post them on this website, but I have a website I could post them on instead. Anyway, just wanted to ask and to say thank you.

http://help.com/account/avatar

I am still clean. And quite happy, for some reason. I am watching alot of TV and getting lots of sleep. I eat like a horse, way too much sugar. But, sugar is way better for me than crack,so what the heck.

where does the nick/name lapa comes from?
When I think of “Lapa” i think of you as a pokemon that became human. Thats not a bad thing is it? I wouldnt mind if I became one for a while. Lol

Oh please don’t leave!
You’d be greatly missed!
Stay and us mods and admins will do our best to keep everyone safe =)
you don’t need to worry.
If you ever get in trouble because of that person or anyone else, let me know

thank you thank you thank you lapa yes im going to go do some math and get a cappucino + read check out any books on what you were saying.. your ability to read me is scary-awesome-powerful. that LACK thing is dead-on. is there a book that talks about that? how do you just know my character??? seriously i was blown away

ok that’s good then!
The writing, well I haven’t written anything this week, but I might put up some lyrics that I’ve finished lately =)

How are you then? hope you’re not harrassed anymore!

morning lapa ! ^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^

Thanks for keeping in touch! I like what you have to say!

thank u lapa for your reply :-) :-) i will take your words to heart

oh I see, religion’s always a tricky subject and it’s almost impossible not to offend someone.
Could you send me the link of the post it was on so I could have a look? It would be wonderful if people could accept other’s opinions and not be offended so easily…

hey lapa, you’ve been a good helper to me so far and I wonder why soe people are mad at you?
Tell me what happened and I’ll try my best to put it right if you want.
And I’ll delete your reply don’t worry =)

I know this is long, but could that be the reason it’s not being included as one of the replies on tigerruff’s post about war and religion? I’ve tried to submit it 3 times already. I’d at least like for you to see it:

Okay, what I saw as a high-five to sarahmonster and lapa came off to you, Sasquatch, as a back-handed compliment. Sorry.

Either way, let’s get back at the original questions in their original form, “was religion made up two keep the poeple in line it is the cause of most wars genocide hate it preys on the most vulnerable.”

I was watching the Daily Show last night with Jon Stewart, and he had Christopher Hitchens as a guest. Hitchens was promoting his book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everthing. I have not myself read the book yet, but I found the reviews interesting, and plan on ordering the book today. I doubt I will be able to find in on the shelves anywhere here in Lexington, SC. Anyway, here are a few portions of the reviews of the book that pertain to religion and war:

“I would add that perhaps what motivated Hitchens to write this book and so to “come out” more publicly with his critiques of religion and faith is what has also motivated me: the increasingly publicly-accepted insanity of religion in this, the 21st century. This insanity threatens to bring down all of civilization and, in the case of American fundamentalists in our government with their quivering fingers poised atop the launch buttons of our nuclear weapons, the end of Everything, which religious nut-jobs anticipate with unrestrained glee, so certain they are that they, at least, will be OK in the aftermath. This is just absolutely nuts, and Christopher Hitchens does us all a great service in pointing this out.”

“A surefire way to know a book is great is finding yourself looking up other books to which the author refers, or researching the author’s quotes. After reading God is Not Great, I have a list of probably eight or ten books to read. I have already ordered Bertrand Russell’s Theory and Practice of Bolshevism (1919), which early on predicted that communism was to become another brutal religion.”

And from one of the discussion boards on this book (doesn’t touch on war, but so eloquently and sensibly put):

“I don’t believe because I am curious and studied the evolution of religion. It started way before the Bible or JC appeared, so it has little to do with them. To understand why people believe in gods you have to go way back to early man as he evolved from more “ape like” ancestors. We started getting self-aware yet had little rationale understanding of the real world. We did not really understand anything and emotions probably outweighed rationale thinking. Yet we could start to make-up explanations. We also had dreams and imagination entering the picture. We started creating gods out of important things that we did not understand - like the sun. We gave gods human-like attributes as that is how we understood the world. As we evolved so did our gods. Structured religion and gods that could intimidate or reward us, help keep us in order as religions became more organized, and became a form of governing. Then with the rise of religions like Christianity (which has many good attributes) you could get killed if you didn’t believe. Religion was then taught to children by their authority figures and most everyone believed. The world was complicated and we did not have the tools to understand complex things like the origin of life. To ignorant man it all had to seem divine. It also fills a need that keeps our egos healthy if we can’t easily deal with reality , as it makes us feel more important and some of us need that. It also provides moral guidance for those confused inside.

I also studied the bible and if you look at it objectively it is nothing divine. Look at a site like http://nobeliefs.com/exist.htm to see the other side of the argument about the authtencity of the Bible. Each side of the arguments will have errors - so you have to factor that in. For example some Christian sects still teach that Moses wrote the first 5 books of the OT, yet most Christians don’t believe this any more because some of those books talk about what happened after Moses died, etc. So religion is a artifact from our more primitive time that survives because it has been brainwashed into so many children and also gives hope and meaning to those who need it to feel good about their existence. I think all of us here are seekers of one kind or another. Some seek truth as objectively as we can. Others seek comfort, purpose and meaning. Purpose and meaning don’t matter to a rock or tree. Our need for these things come from our unique self-aware emotional minds. One final comment is that evolution shows mother nature can do it on her own. And if you ask where mother nature came from, the answer is the same place as God.
Evolution is as real as the fact the Earth orbits the Sun. The details have to be worked out, but evolution can be seen in cultures, technology, religions, animals, etc. It is a natural process.”

So, if you’d like to read any further on this go to:
http://www.amazon.com/God-Not-Great-R…

As Weinberg had said, “Good people do good things, bad people do bad things. For a good person to do bad things, that takes religion.”

I meant it WASN’T riddled with bad language…OOPS!

I find it very interesting that religion, especially Christianity, is very similar to mythology and paganism, too.

I tried to reply again to the post about religion and wars, but it didn’t go through. It was rather lengthy, so is that the reason it was not posted? It was riddled with bad language or anything. Anyway, I saw Christopher Hitchens last night on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He was promoting his book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. I’ll have to order it, since I’m not sure if the bookstores here in Lexington, SC, will carry it. Here’s just one eloquent comment from a discussion board about the book that states my thoughts pretty much exactly:

“I don’t believe because I am curious and studied the evolution of religion. It started way before the Bible or JC appeared, so it has little to do with them. To understand why people believe in gods you have to go way back to early man as he evolved from more “ape like” ancestors. We started getting self-aware yet had little rationale understanding of the real world. We did not really understand anything and emotions probably outweighed rationale thinking. Yet we could start to make-up explanations. We also had dreams and imagination entering the picture. We started creating gods out of important things that we did not understand - like the sun. We gave gods human-like attributes as that is how we understood the world. As we evolved so did our gods. Structured religion and gods that could intimidate or reward us, help keep us in order as religions became more organized, and became a form of governing. Then with the rise of religions like Christianity (which has many good attributes) you could get killed if you didn’t believe. Religion was then taught to children by their authority figures and most everyone believed. The world was complicated and we did not have the tools to understand complex things like the origin of life. To ignorant man it all had to seem divine. It also fills a need that keeps our egos healthy if we can’t easily deal with reality , as it makes us feel more important and some of us need that. It also provides moral guidance for those confused inside.

I also studied the bible and if you look at it objectively it is nothing divine. Look at a site like http://nobeliefs.com/exist.htm to see the other side of the argument about the authtencity of the Bible. Each side of the arguments will have errors - so you have to factor that in. For example some Christian sects still teach that Moses wrote the first 5 books of the OT, yet most Christians don’t believe this any more because some of those books talk about what happened after Moses died, etc. So religion is a artifact from our more primitive time that survives because it has been brainwashed into so many children and also gives hope and meaning to those who need it to feel good about their existence. I think all of us here are seekers of one kind or another. Some seek truth as objectively as we can. Others seek comfort, purpose and meaning. Purpose and meaning don’t matter to a rock or tree. Our need for these things come from our unique self-aware emotional minds. One final comment is that evolution shows mother nature can do it on her own. And if you ask where mother nature came from, the answer is the same place as God.
Evolution is as real as the fact the Earth orbits the Sun. The details have to be worked out, but evolution can be seen in cultures, technology, religions, animals, etc. It is a natural process.”

To read more go to:
http://www.amazon.com/God-Not-Great-R…

One last thought:
As Weinberg had said, “Good people do good things, bad people do bad things. For a good person to do bad things, that takes religion.”

Lapa do not talk to me. I meant it before & I still do.

tiger ruff: “was religion made up two keep the poeple in line it is the cause of most wars genocide hate it preys on the most vulnerable.”

Liked all of your replies on that one. Just ran across it today. I’ve just recently moved back to Lexington, SC, after living in Atlanta, GA, for a while. Most people are so closed minded here about religion or too scared to talk about it if they have multiple questions as I do, so I’m on a constant search to find enlightened people to talk to. I have a lot of family members here who are Bible thumpers, and it’s annoying to say the least.

heyaa! Just want to let you know, that I probably wont come to this site for sometime. And we might never know what the future are. So, in case we never met each other again. I just want to say, I wish you were my mother (my mom died when I was 9) and I love you, even if you elect Bush, I’ll forgive you :p

Btw dont worry, I’m not suiciding or anything, I just decided to work in villages where children might need my help. (I doubt if they even have electricity lol). gbye then :)

ps. keep on writing!

hey Lapa check out my post! ^_^
Im not sure if everyone understands but i know you do!

im ok andyes u are such a mom. but thats ok. im still not in anything drama like things. and i pretty sure that im not going to. the only place i want to act is in il and i cant go back there unless i can raise money. but its fine im working on it. thanx for the advice. byebye

Should be fixed now!

It is being taken care of but will not disappear for a few hours. OK?

Deleted the shout in question, I think.

Lapa, we will contact the adminstrators for you but they are now gone for the day so we can answer you by tomorrow. We do not deleting ability on shoutboxes yet. Who is the username on the shoutbox?