I didn't say it was a jewish exodus. i just said I believe there is documentary proof of an exodus. I don't control how the story was written but I celebrate the story for what it is. There was an exodus, a story came from it. You can learn from the story

@Puck

All of that is suggestive, but none of it is really hard evidence. There's some really dubious connections there. While it's possible that the Canaanite Hyksos were related to the Israelites, the expulsion of the Hyksos was so unlike the basic story of Exodus that it's hard to see how one relates to the other. And the similarity of names is a very thin thread to hang anything on.

There's Mitochondrial Eve for one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondrial_Eve

And Y-chromosomal Adam for another:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y-chromosomal_Adam

I'd say they're pretty good evidence that we didn't emerge from a Jewish population 6,000 years ago.
-----

Also, anti-tv? Really? That's still a thing? I thought that now with Youtube, home theaters, pvr's, digital on-demand, Hulu, etc... that the "vast wasteland" idea was gone. There's a lot of content available for us to choose from, and view on our own terms. And the breadth of content is staggering. If you're anti-tv in this day and age, you simply aren't even trying to find something worth your time.

For the record, I can think of no finer programming than MythBusters, The Universe, The Venture Brothers, and Firefly... but even if they don't appeal to you, the long tail ensures that SOMETHING will.

re gen eng - You KNOW there are human clones out there already. I mean if they can do dogs, hell....sure. Tho friends & I debate if it would the govt already doing it or obscenely rich people.

http://groups.google.com/group/talk.origins/msg/8661a780f58f3d03

Whoa... I went through a TV-hating-phase. I even owned a TV-B-Gone. But ms has me beat, hands down.

Thankfully I got over that and enjoy life a lot more now. (Though I still think it's a good idea if people moderate the amount of TV we consume — for me it's no more than an hour each day.)

the exodus from egypt has been documented

citation needed

@ Ms
My sex life has gotten better, much better. I used to have sex with women. *shudder*
Either way sex is always better in the long run when there is a committed relationship behind it. Emotional Bonds lead to sex with more reciprocation to your partners needs, also the more you have sex the more you become aware of what they like and don't like. Also communication leads to a better physical relationship. However the plus side one nighters or NSA(no strings attached) sex is the opportunity to try new things, to be adventurous and explore the things you want to try without fear of rejection. Its how I learned that the spine is an erogenous zone. Also on NSA sex you can be selfish and just get yours. Overall though sex in a committed relationship is better, this hasn't changed wether your religious or atheist.
If your getting into christian notions of celibacy and monogamy about relationships, thats a different story.

Genetic Engineering is a very broad concept. As a society we don't have the skills to engage in genetic engineering on a mass scale. We can however identify and are learning to treat many genetic conditions. There are ethical connections though to genetic engineering which have yet to be answered. I support further research but I am wary about what it might bring.
Hope that Helps you.

Regarding Moses, the exodus from egypt has been documented. The leaders are not, neither are the reasons why, also the slavery thing was probably not true to the extent it is believed to be. Some scholars believe that it was just natural immigration, others exile, there could be numerous reasons. I am not sure if Moses was real, I do not believe that he performed any miracles or was led by divine revelation. The story of Moses is good for fable of leadership, triumph over adversity, community and as a starting point on ethical and moral dilemmas. The Torah is story of survival and hardship most of all and from it we can learn much. It is a framework on which we can evaluate how people in the past attempted to answer the questions about life, ethical and moral dilemmas. We can also use this framework to create our own framework through the tales told and passed on. It is also a book about how one can control others through faith. I look forward o your respones Ms

well i was only 18 when i truly became an atheist. that's not too far behind everyone else in terms of sex.

Good honest answer xy. Sex is much better when you are having it.

My sex life has not changed because of my change in religious belief.

"What do you think about genetic engineering?"

that question is too vague. genetic engineering encompasses many things.

"Was sex better when you believed in God or is sex better now that you are an atheist?"

i never had sex when i believed in god so it is clearly better now.

I think there's some very important matters you should tell your psychiatrist, ms, whether you feel you should or not. The sooner you do the sooner you can get help.

What do you think about genetic engineering?

http://www.dilbert.com/dyn/str_strip/28597.strip.gif

Was sex better when you believed in God or is sex better now that you are an atheist?

How could sex possibly be better with God watching?

So I am thinking there are a lot of atheists on this forum and I would like your opinion on two things.
What do you think about genetic engineering?
Was sex better when you believed in God or is sex better now that you are an atheist?

I think Moses was a real person.
I wouldn't throw out the whole book entirely.

talk about choice

I haven't watched it in years. I hate it.
I can't prove it to you and you don't have to believe it.
I don't even travel because of tv. It's everywhere.
I carry a big piece of paper (disguised as a shopping list)
when I go to the store to hold it up and block it out.
I turn my chair around in the Dr.'s waiting room.
I hate tv.

It's okay, I don't use the Internet.

Also, there is no evidence that Moses was a real person. Adam certainly didn't exist. Jesus probably didn't. The Bible is ancient fiction, the only source for many alleged events and names.

Sorry, I don't watch tv.

It is not improved. It is "magic man done it".

My opinion is that we are either in Hell or in some extra-terrestrial's zoo.
(Yes, I am actually serious, and, no, I don't plan on revealing that to my psychiatrist.)

I agree with you that Intelligent Design is just an improved version of Creationism and the whole thing stinks of Bible thumpers. It would be nice if there was some way to include God without including religion.

Intelligent design is Creationism. Literally.

It's not about choice. You can choose to believe the moon is made of cheese. You can choose to believe in voodoo. You can choose to be wrong. Creationism is wrong; unless the creator went to great lengths to set everything up exactly as if it hadn't been created... but that is untestable. Meaningless. I can't prove we're not in a Matrix computer simulation, or that reality isn't a figment of your imagination. There's no way to disprove it... we have to operate under the assumption that it's not.

True, even taking into account that people lived to celebrate about 800 birthdays then.

I don't like Creationism. Intelligent Design is a little better.
What I remember when I was in school was a test we had.
It was multiple choice. Of course, the Big Bang was the
right answer but God wasn't even listed. So, I'm looking
at my paper trying to think if I should put Big Bang for
the grade or write in God and fail the test. I was in 6th grade,
it's not right. There should be a choice.

Well, a generation is roughly what, 20-30 years, aiming high? 70,000 years / 30 = 2000+ generations. The Bible says 14 generations between Adam and Abraham. It's a myth.

I like your av rA. I am really only interested in Adam to Abraham. I agree with you about the number of generations but I can't do the math. As far as Jesus is concerned, there are two conflicting genealogies for Joseph, and if Jesus was supposedly 'adopted' the whole thing is idiotic. Their is no ancestry of Mary and I often wonder why a legitimate jew has to have a jewish mother when the history is traced through the father.

Yes, genetic research can count generations of humans, and there are vastly too few "begats" in the Bible. Also, the Bible contains two contradictory accounts of Jesus' lineage, from Abraham to Joseph (I'm not sure why Joseph's ancestry matters for Jesus)... and Adam to David? Seriously? Creationism is pseudoscience; it didn't happen. To deny this is to deny the last few hundred years of human learning.

Homo sapiens came pretty close to extinction -- a few thousand of us in Africa -- about 70,000 years ago, though. All modern humans are descended from that population.

I think the Palestinians have that same theory puck.

My proof is common sense.
Well, I really have no idea what kind of valid proof.
Muslims have shown over 100 contradictions in the Bible.
I don't think genetic research could really do anything either.
But I don't see anything online even questioning, much less challenging their claims.
Moses seems to have it all wrapped up. Of course, he copied most of what he wrote from the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, so that might be a clue. Their whole attitude/superiority complex is such a motivating factor, but, then again, that might be all the proof one needs.