Maureen

I apologize right off the bat if this offends you dizzy but how do people get into college if they have trouble communicating via the written word. I'm not sure if it's your style or if you're just lazy but I'm truly shocked you have been to college. M.

Happy Birthday Jenda! I always love wishing people older than myself a Happy Birthday. M.

No, it is not supported by scripture. I will say that both Luther and Calvin misinterpreted Onan’s sin. His sin was when he did not fulfill his duties to the levirate marriage system. Most modern Biblical scholars, however, say that Onan's primary sin was to violate the rules of levirate marriage, the Biblical law which states that a childless widow must marry her late husband's brother….But the main purpose of these verses was probably to denote the punishment for violating the rules of levirate marriage, which was a divine law, rather than practicing either coitus interruptus or masturbation, which are not known to be condemned by the Holy Scriptures. The purpose of this form of marriage was to prevent a childless widow from becoming pauperized, due to not having a husband or son to support her and not being able to own property herself; thus Onan's refusal was considered very cruel treatment of his sister-in-law. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onan Levirate marriage is the practice of a woman marrying one of her husband's sons or brothers after her husband's death, in order to continue his line. Levirate marriage has been practiced by societies with a strong clan structure in which exogamous marriage outside the clan was forbidden. Groups that have practiced levirate marriage include the Israelites, the Xiongnu, the Mongols, and the Tibetans. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levirate_marriage The term "sororate marriage" denotes the right of a spouse to engage in sexual activity with sisters-in-law. More specifically, sororate marriages (see also levirate marriages) occur in societies where two separate groups are bound by the obligation of marriage. Should the female partner die or prove to be barren, the family or group of the deceased/infertile partner is obliged to provide a new mate, in order to preserve the alliance and keep the familial structure intact. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sororate_marriage And scripture itself: Then Judah said to Onan, "Have sexual relations with13 your brother's wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise14 up a descendant for your brother."15 But Onan knew that the child16 would not be considered his.17 So whenever18 he had sexual relations with19 his brother's wife, he withdrew prematurely20 so as not to give his brother a descendant. What he did was evil in the Lord's sight, so the Lord21 killed him too. (Genesis 38:8-10, NET Bible) 15 sn Raise up a descendant for your brother. The purpose of this custom, called the levirate system, was to ensure that no line of the family would become extinct. The name of the deceased was to be maintained through this custom of having a child by the nearest relative. See M. Burrows, "Levirate Marriage in Israel," JBL 59 (1940): 23-33. 17 tn Heb "would not be his," that is, legally speaking. Under the levirate system the child would be legally considered the child of his deceased brother. M.

Here's one: ""[T]he exceedingly foul deed of Onan, the basest of wretches . . . is a most disgraceful sin. It is far more atrocious than incest and adultery. We call it unchastity, yes, a sodomitic sin. For Onan goes in to her; that is, he lies with her and copulates, and when it comes to the point of insemination, spills the semen, lest the woman conceive. Surely at such a time the order of nature established by God in procreation should be followed. Accordingly, it was a most disgraceful crime. . . . Consequently, he deserved to be killed by God. He committed an evil deed. Therefore, God punished him." " How's that for a quote from a church leader? Oh wait, Maureen, this wasn't a Mormon leader -- it was the founder of YOUR church MARTIN LUTHER! Lutherans don't see Martin Luther as a prophet. They see a man who changed religious and doctrinal thought according to scripture (or the interpretation of scripture). His own opinions about mankind, what is right and wrong are really just his opinions. Martin Luther was also anti-Semitic and both Lutheran denominations (Missouri Synod and Evangelical) have rejected his writings on anti-Semitism. M.

That sounds like a Sean Connery impression - I'm flattered. M.

Winnie, how can that possibly be true. You said it yourself, the states can give out flu vaccinations if they don't have any to give out. Really Winnie, you do have a hard time admitting when you are wrong about something or at least misinformed by your own reasoning. The regular flu vaccinations in the States seem to be available to everyone at this very time. The problems that happened last year are not happening again. So there's no need to rant about what happened in the past when you can't justify it in the present. The extra money that Bush wants to spend is about the additional, more severe threats of other flu's (avian, pandemic like, etc.). Bush is actually doing the right thing by being attentive to this future threat now. Admit it, you are misunderstanding what you are reading. M.

So really at that time, they were your in-laws to be. :) M.

It's funny how you can remember the time Taoist, you must have been an avid fan. I'm the same with Starsky and Hutch. I was a teenager at the time it aired on TV and of course watched because of the cute lead actors (at that time of course). Starsky and Hutch aired on Tuesday's at 9:30pm. M.

Winnie - Maybe you are confusing Bush's concerns for protection against the avian flu and pandemic flu's (ie Spanish flu) with the yearly winter strains. From this article it appears the States are prepared for regular flu season: Officials predict plenty of flu vaccine this year http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051025/hl_nm/influenza_dc M.

Since I now know that you are Canadian Amy, I will offer some Canadian talent suggestions. How about Hawksley Workman and Big Sugar. Big Sugar no longer are together but Gordie Johnson the main lead vocals has a very recognizable voice (who is now with Grady) and the band did a wonderful instrumental version of O Canada! M.

Welcome Amy! I am also Canadian, so I am very familiar with Mr. Dressup and back in the day, Casey and Finnegan. Mr. Dressup, also known as Ernie Coombs was a talented artist and made childhood quite memorable. M.

Was and/or is Mr. Dressup aired in the States?...or is Amy Canadian? M.

When I was a kid there was a kids after school program called Popcorn Playhouse. They would air cartoons and kids would attend for birthday parties and just to be on TV. The cartoons that I enjoyed most were: Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Magilla Gorilla, Batfink (which would include Karate and Hugo-a-Go-Go). There were more, it's just hard to remember them all. And of course the Pink Panther was also a favorite. M.

I second that - I'm extra lost. Why is this such a confusing thread? M.

I remember many of those things and this was my goodnight prayer with a goodnight kiss except, I never much liked the prayer. I remember thinking after reciting it that "I'm only 6, why would I die in my sleep!". I've never taught this prayer to my kids. But the prayer we would say for grace is a favorite: Come Lord Jesus Be our guest Let these gifts to us be blessed Amen M.

Play around with the results? Ray, all the entries are valid. The other 59 entries aren't a trick that the thesaurus conjured up to try and mess with you. They are real synonyms for the word respect. And Ray, you only highlighted the words that work for you and you ignored the rest. If they were part of the first entry why not highlight all the synonyms? M.

I think it takes quite a bit of arrogance to state that other people are being arrogant.No it doesn't, it just take a little bit of perception. Do I have to go get the dictionary again Ray? M.

You're doing the same thing Ray, the difference is I acknowledge the other 59 entries are valid. I'm not ignoring all the many synonyms of the word respect - why are you? Synonyms: account, adoration, appreciation, approbation, awe, consideration, courtesy, deference, dignity, esteem, estimation, favor, fear, homage, honor, obeisance, ovation, recognition, regard, repute, reverence, testimonial, tribute, veneration, worship Why did you ignore the ones that I just italicized? M.

I wouldn’t agree with this. There are things I do without needing faith to do them: I eat food I sleep, usually because I fall asleep watching TV I talk to my family I laugh I cry (even at commercials; and especially when I watch that Ty Pennington show) …etc I don’t see why I would need faith to do those things. M.

I never said all women are the same. I'm saying a multitude of women working together can cause havoc and chaos - I can't imagine what it would be like for a multitude of women to live together. No such thoughts crossed my mind until I read your last paragraph, which obviously came from your mind, Ray. M.

You know women can be wonderful individually but once you get them in a pack, all hell usually breaks loose. I was an acting supervisor many years ago for about 8 women. I wouldn't wish that job on my worst enemy - when women congregate in groups of more than 4, any number of crazy and unthinkable events could happen. M.

You should really give dictionary.com a try. But since you're into the Thesaurus thing instead, let's give thesaurus.com a try: There were 60 entries found for respect, this is one of them: Main Entry: consideration Part of Speech: noun 3 Definition: regard Synonyms: attentiveness, awareness, concern, considerateness, esteem, estimation, favor, forbearance, friendliness, heed, heedfulness, kindliness, kindness, mercy, mindfulness, quarter account, respect, solicitude, tact, thoughtfulness, tolerance Antonyms: disregard, inconsideration, thoughtlessness Source: Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.1.1) Copyright © 2005 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved. http://thesaurus.reference.com/search?q=respect&start=11 M.

So Ray, do you think that dictionary.com is lying? If you can't believe a dictionary, who can you believe? And Ray, don't say God, because it was God that gave man his brain that created the dictionary. I bet God agrees with the dictionary. M.

I almost did that once. A kind of Freudian slip, until I caught myself. I was sure I was correct, but thought it best to call you Please instead. It's good to know I was right though. :) M.

What I like about the LDS church? To be honest, its history. It is quite fascinating! What I like about the LDS people? Some of them are my relatives, most notably some of my nephews and nieces. They are very sweet, remarkable people. M.