The company that I work for is very religious. I am not, but my co-workers seem fairly willing to ignore the fact that I do not share their beliefs. So I get an E-mail this morning from a co-worker that reads:
Nephilm is the giants spoken of in biblical times by Enoch and the giant Dawid fought against (Goliath). These Giants came about when the fallen angels had union with earthly woman.
Gen 6:4 - There were giants on earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bear children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
Num 13:33 - And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Just to show that the Bible is true with history lessons that is applicable both then and today and it is not just a spiritual book only. So if He says that we must be born again to have eternal life and that He is coming again, it means just that.
God Bless
and the following pictures: http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=56716
from my viewpoint of an artist and graphic designer, i value the work that went into creating those fakes. there were similar ‘finds’ in the north of india or wherever. http://www.hoax-slayer.com/giant-skeleton.html
from a scientific viewpoint, i somehow remember reading somewhere that, in order for human beings that size to have lived, the skeletal frame would have to very different, to support a bigger heart, higher volumes of flesh, etc. to me, that makes sense.
from a touchy feely viewpoint. the sumarian texts do refer to the ‘gods’ being giants, but i would suspect as in 7ft, not 20ft.
from a historical side, most religions refer to gaints walking the earth back in the day. and they fought evil/each other, and from them spawned the gods.
my opinion?
i think that this kind of story came to be, the same as dragon myths originated. people finding dinosaur remains. since people back then couldnt even fathom what i dinosaur could look like, they see this big-ass bone in the ground, and ofcourse, the imagination runs wild, and hey presto! giants. i think, it would be easy to put together any kind of animal you feel like, when you were to find a big fossil site. and since very few of these fossils are complete skeletons, you kinda make due with what you can find.
it would have been, like, super fucking awesome to have giants about. but alas, not this time.
Ok, went googling a bit, the link you’ve got is a poor attempt to copy a snopes site, it suspiciously looks like a Rapture Ready site, anyway, here’s the link to the real Snopes site covering this:
Thanks. Got the link from the co-worker origionally, this one is better though.
I really like my job! (and the job I do is not a very common one) Working in the same office as religious freaks doesn’t bother me much - like I said, they usually just ignore me. I was wondering if anyone would care to comment on the fact that the religious freaks are using internet hoax articles and (badly) photoshoped images to try and “prove” that the bible is true. (I mean even if this wasn’t bullsh*t, just because the bible said there were giants, and suppose we could now scientifically prove that there were giants, does that make everything in the bible true all of a sudden? methinks NOT.
If your conclusions are cast in stone already, I suppose its tempting to grab whatever evidence or “evidence” you can lay your hands on. Even though it does more damage to your cause in the long run.
Here’s another thought. Many hominid remains are small - much smaller than we are - we could have been the giants in the mythology of yesteryear. It’s a possibility …
Here’s an idea: If Christians are trying to use these obviously photo-shopped, or falsified, photos to “prove” their Bible authentic, it merely shows how gullible they are i.e. gullible enough to believe the Bible, much of which has been falsified in similar fashion, and just as easy to uncover the deception as on those “giant” photos. There is not much point in arguing with them if they are so easily taken in by this kind of thing.
Having said this, it’s always tough working for these people. Lilli, you love your work, and you are probably fond of these people who are giving you a hard time, and they are probably fond of you too. They probably try and “reach” you because they are genuinely nice folk, and are also the kind of people who are attracted to religion because they think it’s good and wholesome. If you will take advice from a 50 yr-old stranger on this forum then … try and avoid conversations about religion. Smile and say you’d rather not talk about those things. Be yourself, show them you are unflappable and genuinely happy in your life/work, and they will soon leave you alone regarding the “witnessing” and come to accept you as you are.
@SteveMuso:
Or not… I have friends who know kinda where I stand, but every now and then, if I am down or something’s not going well, they will still say I should re-find God or go to church or something similar.
It doesn’t bother me. I accept them; they accept me.
Just like I have friends who believe in horoscopes or (insert any of a plethora of superstitions).
As long as it is not a condition of our friendship that I believe as they do, and it does not get annoying (like the friend who never stops talking about their EX, their horrible job, or their collection of Bee Gees vinyls), I’m OK with it.
But (as you suggested to Lilli), I don’t usually get into deep discussions about beliefs with most if I think the conversation may become emotionally charged.
You may be right STA. I also have some Christian friends and we avoid religious discussion like the plague. It’s almost as if they act differently when I’m around, you know, kind of “Steve’s here so we better not get him going about religion”. I guess it’s partly my fault because they asked me questions about religion in the past and I let them have it, both barrels, in-ya-face. In retrospect it’s probably my straight answers that pissed them off, and now they feel uncomfortable around me regarding religion. This is why my advice to normal people (like you, me and Lilli) who have to work with people who are Believers, it’s usually better to keep quiet - as much as we sometimes just wish we could say something like, “You’re HOW old? And you STILL believe there’s an invisible Being floating round the universe? Bwuaahahahah!”
"You're HOW old? And you STILL believe there's an invisible Being floating round the universe? Bwuaahahahah!"
It’s all about your attitude. I know a guy who blankly and frankly states: “God is an imaginary friend for stupid people” whenever the situation arises. He just doesn’t care. Some of us do however, and try to handle religious folk with kid gloves. However that’s our choice.
I’m considered extremely “odd” to most of my colleagues and family. The few friends I have take me as I am and for that I’m thankful, I only have one friend who is religious, and she generally have the attitude of “whatever floats your boat” when it comes to other’s beliefs.
At work its difficult though. We often counsel people with major (and not so major) problems and issues, and religion is always there to provide the crutch they so desperately need.
A colleague described me as a perfect example of a good xtian woman the other day and my cubicle neighbour chocked on her coffee and buggered up her keyboard in the process. After outlaying my lack of belief the colleague was speechless, and I note that she’s a lot less friendly since. Ah-well, all in a day’s work I suppose. ;D
Back in the day when I still had a day job a colleague found out I was an atheist and said, “I never would have known, you seemed like such a nice guy.” Very frustrating (I try so hard not to seem like a nice guy hehe).
At the end of the day though, Believers will come to accept us if we simply remain our usual friendly, gentle selves. They may think we’re a bit odd but they eventually stop giving us a hard time or trying to convert us.
Back in the day when I still had a day job a colleague found out I was an atheist and said, "I never would have known, you seemed like such a nice guy."
Considering where I grew up, people are EXTREMELY shocked if they find out I am not a Good Christiantm. The vitriol that is spewed in a lot of churches here (it seems this is still the case, I have not been to one in years) convinces the followers that all atheists are like Marilyn Manson.
I have a strong suspicion that there are a lot more atheists in our midst than would ever admit it openly considering the environment here. Please keep in mind (if you have not heard me say it before) I am living back in the buckle of the Bible Belt in the US.
There are a LOT more than we think. I have found this out recently and been pleasantly surprised. Richard Dawkins calls it “critical mass” when he says that, as the number of atheists grows, so the number of people becoming atheists will increase exponentially. Once the numbers reach a certain point (critical mass) then the “bubble” will burst and atheism will become the norm rather than the exception.
And yes, it’s happening here in SA (behind what I call the Zion Curtain) at an alarming rate. As you well know STA, SA makes the US Bible Belt look like a skeptics rally (hehe), and more and more people I meet are either admitting to atheism or asking honest fact-finding questions (not just questions to try and “witness” to us heathen).