You'll have to define "miracle". If you mean 1 in a million, then there are approximately 301 miracles a day in the U.S. alone.

If eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (or the tree of knowledge of morality) was the original sin, how did those two even know that disobeying God was the wrong thing to do to begin with?

I'm an equal opportunity skeptic.
A critical mind is my church, and virtue is my religion.
When things suck I enjoy a good beer.
When things are good I enjoy a good beer.

"Beer the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems." -H. Simpson

The Kansas public education school board isn't what I meant by higher education. I was referring to the university level. You have a legitimate complaint, but ultimately, the ID advocates are faced with a losing battle ever since the Kitzmiller vs. Dover trial set an important precedent.

The reference to abstinence programs seems like a correlation-causation fallacy or a non-sequitur. You'll have to explain your point since I don't follow.

That seems like a tempest in a teapot type argument. I recognize that there are sects within Christianity that discourage the teaching of evolutionary theory, but what effect they can have on higher education and the community is probably very little since most of the research and development of new technologies depends heavily on the scientific method. The industry most certainly realizes that. You'll have to cite some economic figures to support your claim.

As far as I've seen, most Christians I've met understand evolution as fact and theory while others look to intelligent design (ID) for answers. They claim it deserves equal time in the science classroom, but I think they're misinformed for believing that ID qualifies as a biological science. I feel it deserves discussion in a philosophy program though.

I think if someone posits a truth-claim based on insufficient or contradictory evidence, then that particular claim ought to be held up to rational scrutiny. If it's a false claim or an invalid argument, then free and critical inquiry are what's needed to determine that.

I won't debate someone on matters of preference, and it should definitely be discouraged. However, I'll gladly debate someone on matters of judgement, but that's not synonymous with ridicule. It's an important distinction to make.

Aren't you above his "baiting" you? (if that's what he's doing)

All he's done is quote scripture in this thread, and share his interpretation/opinion on it. So what. You don't believe in stoning, and I don't believe in stoning. Defend yourself if he attacks your character and mischaracterizes your personal beliefs, but other than that, why bother?

Ignoring him and moving on doesn't mean you're weak-minded ya know.

If someone quoted I Samuel 15:3, would that mean they were mocking the text? I don't think that verse is a good guide for behavior; nonetheless, I still enjoy reading the Bible, and appreciate the history behind it. We all see it through different eyes.

The Road to Emmaus story in Luke is pretty cool.

I enjoy the Bible for other reasons than most, but I'm sorry, Numbers and I Chronicles puts me to sleep.

They'd appreciate the Song of Solomon, and the book of Judges.

I believe in everyone's right to believe, or disbelieve the supernatural or the paranormal without resorting to intimidation or coercion. I also believe in the value of critical inquiry when pursuing the truth. If that's the ultimate goal, then claims have to be rationally scrutinized to determine which have merit, and which deserve to be tossed into the dustbin of wishful thinking. That's why I'm here.

I kicked a good guy's a$$.

<--32 and I have more hair on my head than on my back. Sweet.

Wait. Is that why you wax your chest? Let's start a fund drive to buy you a shirt.

Why am I craving milk? Happy New Year, Kat!

C'mon now. You don't have the Victoria Secret catalog. You have the Sears catalog.

My granny bought me g-strings. Funny and creepy.

I think that's another vote for men's abs. J/K.

I'm supposed to say world peace, but I'd rather have Jessica Alba dress up as Wonder Woman, tie me up with a golden lariat and force me to tell the truth.