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Fellowship / You name it!! / Students live religions
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on: January 21, 2005, 05:16:03 AM
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This article appeared on The Province, which is a local newspaper in Vancouver: (Is this a good idea?)
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Students live religions
TRIP: Teens learn to respect other faiths with police help
Students from Matthew Mcnair Secondary took a whirlwind tour of world religions yesterday under police escort -- part of a Richmond RCMP youth program promoting cross-cultural understanding.
More than 100 Grade 8 studnets re-enacted Islamic pilgrim rituals in Mecca, said Buddhist prayers and listened to a pastor explain Christian theology during visits to temples and churches lining No. 5 Road, known as the "Highway to Heaven."
"It's one thing to talk about in class, it's another thing to see it," said 13-year-old Siya Mishra as she played with Buddhist prayer beads on her wrist.
Students visited the Az-Zahraa Islamic Centre, Lingyen Mountain Temple, Vedic Cultural Centre, Gospel Meeting Room, Church of God and the Richmond Chinese Evangelical Church and met with spiritual leaders. Today, another 100 will tour the India Cultural Centre, Jewish Day School and Shri Subramaniya Temple.
The project, "Common Ground," is the work of 26 volunteer police officers with the detachment's Team Izzat, meaning "respect" in Punjabi.
"We want people to see what is unique about the Muslim culture, the Sikh culture. We don't want them to connect it with terrorism," said Cpl. Jet Sunner, who spearheads the project, which aims to break down sterotypes that lead to racism.
Anwar Nathu of the Az-Zahraa Islamic Centre siad the event provided "an opportunity to talk about what Islam is all about and give them a different perspective."
"It's a tricky subject for people," Reena Singh of the Shri Subraminiya Temple said of the religious exchange. "But if the kids are not educated, they will not know."
Mcnair teacher Joanne Gray said she believed the exprerience helped kids exchange their attitudes.
"Because it's coming from the RCMP and all these leaders, they really see their own curiosity [in religion] supported."
Over the past few months, Team Izzat has also held basketball tournaments and built playgrounds as part of their outreach. They were recognized by Richmond city council in September for their work.
Rimond Supt. Ward Clapham said that with a proactive approach, "We know we won't have to be on the streets cleaning up afterward...from a hate crime or racially motivated crime. We can prevent it from ever happening."
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Theology / General Theology / Is God omnipotent?
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on: January 06, 2005, 12:59:12 AM
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This is a favorite that is used among unbelievers to prove that God can't be omnipotent:
"Can God build a rock so heavy that he himself could not lift it? If God is omnipotent, then he should be able to do it. If he cannot, then he is not omnipotent."
This is assuming that an omnipotent can do everything. Definition of omnipotent:
om·nip·o·tent adj.
Having unlimited or universal power, authority, or force; all-powerful.
n.
1. One having unlimited power or authority: the bureaucratic omnipotents. 2. Omnipotent God. Used with the.
Notice that no where does it say in the definition of omnipotent that an omnipotent being can do everything. That is not the definition of omnipotent. The truth is that an omnipotent being cannot do everything.
God can make a rock so heavy that other people could not lift it, but no matter how heavy he makes the rock, he is able to lift it. That is because an omnipotent being cannot lower his power--this defeats the definition of omnipotent. An omnipotent being cannot make himself weak or inferior; doing so would involve the omnipotent lowering his power. The definition of omnipotent says that the omnipotent must have full power (i.e. all-powerful) at all times. Since an omnipotent being has unlimited power, he, therefore, cannot limit his own power.
Thinking that an omnipotent can strip himself of his own power is like thinking that an invincible being can defeat himself: According to that logic, an invincible person should be able to defeat himself, because he is incapable of losing to anybody--even to himself. If he cannot defeat himself, then he is not invincible.
in·vin·ci·ble adj.
Incapable of being overcome or defeated; unconquerable.
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