TIMON

Bump. I can vouch for Kenny. Great guy to work with and pays a decent days wage for a fair days graft. Recommend [emoji106]

Interestingly enough, acacia trees have lots of thorns on them which symbolise the curse (or the fall, when death, sickness and all things unpleasant entered into God’s creation) , as before things went “pear shaped” there weren’t any thorns, weeds, pests etc... On a lighter note... Imagine going up to a pre-fall Adam and asking him if he was “ok”? He wouldn’t understand the question as he wouldn’t know what not being ok was. All he would have known was God’s perfect peace and unbroken communion with his creator. But he would still have had free will. Also, imagine looking at a newly created Adam and trying to guess his age... you would probably look at him and quite reasonably estimate his age at being around 30 years old. (A fully formed man in his prime) In actual fact he may have only been minutes old! [emoji106]

If God hadn’t put the tree in the garden as the one test of obedience, then surely Adam and Eve would just be organic robots? But then God must have foreseen it and already had a plan? Maybe he’s working on “stuff” that we aren’t privy to just yet. (Only if you believe the book, of course [emoji51]) I have often thought that taking psychedelics is very much like a modern kind of eating from that same “tree”. It certainly seems to produce the same results. Excellent thread and excellent posts, btw.

You missed out the Resurrection! Without that there is no Christianity [emoji41]

I’ll have a stab.............. just one word? Ok......,,, Jesus. Here’s my clumsy attempt at why... Anthropomorphic-ly speaking, he is the only way we, with our finite minds can come close to comprehending the character of an eternal, immutable and transcendent being so mind blowingly incomprehensible that he could “speak” (so to speak) the universe and everything in it, into existence. My own life journey and experience has strongly convinced me that God can be reached, through the person of Christ. (And, believe me, I was very difficult to convince because of all of the negative baggage that organised religion came with) People from all walks of life have been discovering this and finding out that it is possible to have a living, vibrant, life giving and life enriching relationship with the Creator of the universe for Centuries. The proof that this relationship is real and not just a fantasy has been the noticeable fruit of that relationship.... the character qualities that I had always been lacking in now began to manifest themselves in my life. Incredibly I was becoming more like Christ and the change was dramatic. If you knew me before I started to pursue a living faith you would be amazed as many people who know me are. (I am still very far from perfect and have a long, long way to go) These words sum it up. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." (Galatians 6)

My wife has been baking with this for years. Don’t feed it to a dog as it can kill them!

Very well put, that’s about where I stand in regard to it. [emoji106]

I’ve been following this thread with equal amounts of interest and bemusement [emoji51] My own worldview is that of Spirit filled Christianity. (I know, very unfashionable these days but it works well for me and millions of others) This debate really reminds me of the one that has been active for centuries in Christian theology. Ie. “Free will” or “predestination” Calvinism or Arminianism. (If he exists) God knows the end from the beginning because he is transcendent from the linear time frame that we exist in. If everything is predestined to happen then how much ‘input’ do I really have through my own conscious decision making? I had more than my fair share of mushrooms and psychedelics when I was younger too..I felt like these experiences were a bit like “kicking the back door in” to enter the spiritual realm of existence, while I was “in” these experiences I felt like I was receiving incredible revelation into the mysteries of the universe and life as we know it. When I “came down” all I retained from these “amazing revelations” was confusion. I’ve never tried mindfulness but I did a bit of TM years ago. Thanks for sharing.

It amuses me that despite the fact that we come from opposite ends of the belief spectrum, we often draw similar conclusions.

Pantheism- the belief that everything will eventually “pan out” anyway. [emoji41]

Sounds like pantheism to me [emoji51]

Interesting thread Sime! [emoji106]

We have about 40+ mature oaks at our place (all TPO’d). A lot of them are infested with ivy and are obviously suffering as a result. We’ve gone round and severed the ivy at ground level then once it has died off for a while we start to strip it carefully. I’ve also heard the arguments for and against ivy. It’s certainly part of the life and death cycle of the forest and I get what people say about habitat etc.. but for the tree it must surely spell the beginning of the end. One question I would like to ask is... does the sudden influx of light harm a tree once large amounts have been stripped? I.e sunburn etc.. ??

Dmm revolvers are good but there isn’t a wide opening on them.

Point taken. (I think). Happy new Year Vesp! [emoji106]

“Idiots that think they know better” What a great description of the arrogant bremoaners who think it is their right to overturn the democratic will of the British electorate. Tony Blair being a prime example.

Happy New Year all. Wishing you all peace Joy and lots of laughter. [emoji106]

People who drive in the middle lane of the motorway when the left hand lane is empty. [emoji35]

Yer.... that’s the really ‘wonderful’ thing about the lottery... wealthy people who can afford to buy a ticket can enjoy a flutter and the proceeds go to all those worthy causes out there..... almost sounds too good to be true eh?

At least you’d get the choice whether to participate or not. Personally I think the National Lottery is a vile contraption in every aspect. But that’s just me......

I really hate it when a customer squeezes the price down at the quoting stage of a job and then tries to get you to do (free) extras at the finishing stage of the job. I also hate it when the liberal left try and stifle debate with other viewpoints and turn us into snowflakes. I also hate the frame of mind I seem to get into when I focus on things I dislike..... [emoji33]

I did my CS38/39 at 48, I’ll never be Reg Coates but I’m still climbing at 52 (part time) and still enjoying it. As others have said, maturity means you will have qualities and life experience to offer that younger folk probably lack. If you have good knees and a good back then why not? If you get the chance to work alongside a seasoned climber you will learn the game a lot quicker. Go for it and all the best! [emoji106]

Well said [emoji106] Speaking of talent, a lady I know (not a witch!) made this piece of art for display at Christmas.

Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year everyone. [emoji106][emoji318][emoji106]

If you think this is bad, wait until Corbyn and co turn us into a cross between Greece and Venezuela....