From our Sunday School Days (Lift up our hearts)

I always like your hugs, Helen.

Hi all, For a change, I'm going to ask a searching question. There's no trickery. Just a teaser. I often think about these assumptions, wondering if we realising what we are actually saying. I've often heard some of our great naturalists, describe some creatures as simple in construction, molluscs or jellyfish as example. If they are so simple, why can't we make them? I used to ask my mum that, after all, mum's know everything. This illustration I hope explains a bit more about how my mind works, or doesn't if it doesn't. If my faith was based on tangible structure that I can see, it's no longer a faith. Have a lovely day all.

Any "great naturalist" that truly believes that those animals are "simple" can't be particularly great! I'm sure they're only speaking comparatively, though, considering huge-brained sea creatures like the octopus, which is highly intelligent, and can mimic many of the creatures and even landscape around them as an effective form of defence. Even an amoeba isn't quite as simple as some might think - they're not just empty dots of matter - there's quite a lot going on inside those little cells! Amoeba and, later, jellyfish were, unbelievably, the result of three and a half billion years of evolution from single to multiple-celled organisms!

For some scientists who believe in God, they see God behind the rules of everything. The building blocks of matter, gravity, energy. They see everything as a machine that having pressed start, builds itself. That means that even if mankind can use those rules, and maybe create life, they are still only using the tools that God created. That way evolution and an ancient universe can be compatible with belief. Probably the hardest question is what makes the most basic forms of life want to replicate or just stay alive? Once they do, then even the most sophisticated creature is a simple end point.

I'm thrilled with these replies. We are alive & kicking! As is our forum. Our forum is you & each member.

That's what I love about this wondrous Forum, no matter what, someone comes up with the answer. I now feel as one of an amoeba ! Thank you so much.

"I now feel as one of an amoeba !" But soon there will be two of you. Then four, then eight, then...

I can't remember the last time that I encountered that word! "amoeba". I hope to meet you both after a school & carry your books, please.

I can. 'Slug' Hughes' biology class in 1969.

" 'Slug' Hughes' biology class in 1969." Slug Hughes' biology class 1966! Then numerous years passed, during which I did not hear the word. Until a few months ago, when I heard someone refer to another animal on the planet, in this case another human being, as "an amoeba". I didn't know what amoeba meant in that context, and could not find its meaning online, so I assumed it was some sort of derogatory reference, probably implying that the person was simple/thick/stupid. I now find that it means "a small group of extremely close friends". Willie Rose was correct when he maintained that one never stops learning. We all had the "one-size-fits-all" school education. One's real learning starts after leaving the classroom.

Hi all, Pessimist or optimist? Is a glass half full or half empty. Whilst I might groan about our poor summer like weather, thirty thousand Brits haven't died as a result of extreme heatwave affecting huge areas across Europe, as well as across the pond. That dreadful number expected to increase during this week. We have an overheating economy, which has directly affected over 120,000 first-time buyer mortgage families, who have lost their homes. A double edged whammy, unable to afford the rising monthly payments, whilst their property goes into negative equity. A disaster! Maybe some of our members families involved. Whatever, it's a lot of misery for so many. A crumb of comfort for those affected, or like me, so saddened by these circumstances, is my scripture reading for this morning. I long for you, O God.' Psalm 42:1 The same mind, over three thousand years ago, the same fears then ultimately for some, the same conclusion. They've all been there before!

Loads of jokes about that one, e.g. "To the accountant, the glass is the wrong size, i.e. it's too big". Probably as many jokes on that one as there are light bulb jokes. Or maybe not - I used to have a list of over 600 light bulb jokes. To the purist, of course, the glass is always full. It's full of air and water. It would need to be in a vacuum to be half empty, assuming half the liquid were missing. From a practical viewpoint, we assume we are talking about some liquid, as that it what glasses usually hold. As an engineer, I have always contended that the question, as it is usually framed, is trite and cannot be answered correctly. It conjures up a snapshot at one point in time. It cannot be said to be either half-full or half-empty since we do not have sufficient information of the pre-existing state of affairs. So if I am in one of my offices (erroneously called a pub by some people), and the bartender is in the process of pulling me a pint of Abbott (which I fully intend to pay for, note), at the exact moment the glass contains half a pint of said beverage, the glass is half full because it is in the process of being filled. Conversely, once I have sat down, and started to drink my Abbott, the glass will at some stage be half empty, because it is in the process of being emptied. That's my take on it. The glass half full or empty is an expression I never use. Generally, I am a pessimist. I think it was Benjamin Franklin who explained that if one is a optimist, one is constantly going to be disappointed when things go wrong, because that is what the universe (including its human beings) does to us. On the other hand, if something goes right, one will be pleasantly surprised!

Nice technical thinking Slim and to add, the scale of good to bad might be upended depending upon whether the glass contains a different kind of liquid - say nasty tasting medicine. The optimist hoping that the second half will go down fast, not taste as bad and actually work. There are values in being an optimist in that you can get pleasure in anticipation and it can inspire you to greater effort. However the British nature (and mine generally) is towards pessimism. It's not very good for us. Too much pessimism and we stop looking for solutions. We might not even appreciate what we have for fear of losing it at a future point.

Hi all, I always like to tell things as they are. I've just so enjoyed looking at the recent posts on our Briton Rd, school thread, where my comment is whether I lost or gained anything by my scholarship education. I've posted this on this topic, because it for me opens up the debate about segregating youngsters. Most of you know that I have a strong faith conviction, yet being really honest I'm very uncomfortable regards faith schools. Pam & I sent our Son to Blue Coats, he in turn sent his two to Blue Coats. There're no better or worse than anyone else. Maybe this would be better on the friendly chat thread. I'm sure that my parents did what they did for me, because of the high risk of physical disability later in life, from my child orthopaedic surgery lasting fourteen years. At fourteen, I was pronounced fit & well. We can show meaningful well meant kindness to folk, but maybe the older person doesn't want wrapping in cotton wool. Food for thought. Have a good rest of the day, all.

Having been to a variety of schools including a faith primary and an all girls grammar, I can say that they have different advantages and disadvantages. I'd say that the individual teachers in each made the most difference. The 'kindest' school was the grammar school, in large part because it was the only school that I started as an equal because every kid was new.