Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Foot

2007-03-11T10:02:44Z

Iamcool:

Organ that is used for locomotion and takes a variety of forms depending on the [[animal]].<ref>Wile, Dr. Jay L. ''Exploring Creation With Biology''. Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 1998</ref> Animal feet are comprised of 2 fingers or two parts called hooves.

The foot has essentially the same anatomical structure and the same bones in different mammals, but is positioned and used for locomotion in different ways.

Animals with the ''plantigrade'' stance, including bears, primates, and armadillos, walk on their entire foot; the whole foot is placed flat on the ground.

Animals with the ''digitigrade'' stance, including cats and dogs walk only on the digits of the limbs—corresponding to fingers in humans. The rear part of the foot is lifted off the ground.

Animals with the ''unguligrade'' stance, including horses, cattle, and deer, walk only on the ''tips'' of the digits. In the horse, the anatomical structure corresponding to the foot are very elongated. In a famous mistake, the lexicographer Samuel Johnson defined the word ''pastern'' as "the knee of the horse." The pastern does look like a knee and it in roughly the location where you might expect a knee, but it faces backwards. Animals with the unguligrade stance are fast runners, depending on speed to escape predators, and their legs are long and relatively fragile.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Biology]]

Hernando Cortez

2007-03-11T10:01:04Z

Iamcool:

Hernando Cortez was a Spanish Conquistador who lived from 1485 until 1547. He is famous for brutally conquering the peaceful Aztecs. In February of 1519, Cortez departed for the new world. His mission: to bring Catholicism to the uncivilized nations of the new world, his banners read "Brothers and companions, let us follow the Sign of the Cross with true faith and in it we shall conquer." All the equipment he had was 11 ships, 508 Spanish soldiers, 100 sailors, 16 horses (unknown to the New World), and 4 small cannons.

On Good Friday, April 22, 1519, the small band landed. To the Aztecs it was the year 1- Reed, the day 9-Wind. On this day their chief god, Quetzalcoatl, had predicted his return. So upon this date the Spaniards landed. In all respects the Spaniards looked like the returning god to the Aztecs. Quetzalcoatl was supposed to come wearing black, the Spanish, because it was Good Friday, where dressed in black, and they arrived on the correct date.

After building a fort, Cortez left about a third of his men to garrison it and marched inland with 300 men. First they reached the city of Zoctitlan, were no defense was put up. So Cortez marched on unhindered, and his next stop was the city of Tlaxcala. However, here staunch defense was put up. Outnumbered 10 to 1, the Spaniards won a miraculous victory. But almost all of the troops were injured. The conservative commander would have retreated to the coast, but Cortez pushed on, saying the greater the obstacles, the greater the glory. Cortez's next move was to make a treaty with the Tlaxcalans. Marching forward, Cortez pushed on to Cholula. The Cholulans were prepared, and set a trap for Cortez. However, the chief's wife warned him and the Spaniards won another stunning victory. Finally on November 13, they entered the Aztec's capitol, Tenochtitlan. Originally, the Aztecs gave Cortez and his men a grand tour of the city, including the temple were all of the human sacrifices were made.

As 1519 came to a close, Cortez took a small band of men to address another Spanish commander threatening to attack him. He won an easy victory, but the garrison he had left at Tenochtitlan was besieged by the Aztecs. Cortez returned to the Aztec capitol, and took charge of his small force. On June 25, 1520, Cortez led an assualt on the Aztec temple. His men fought their way up the 114 steps to the top and victory was his. Duing the fight Montezuma was killed. The Aztecs selected Cuauhtemoc as the new Emperor. However, Cortez' men were too weary to continue fighting, and could not follow up the win. Their food was short so he retreated. But they were attacked again at the plains of Otumba, a small plain outside Tlaxcala. Outnumbered once more, the weary Spanish managed one more miraculous victory. They spent the remainder of the year in Tlaxcala recovering.

The following May Cortez began to march on Tenochtitlan. On May 13, 1521, the siege of the city began. This began 93 days of constant warfare; during the day the Spanish would gain ground, during the night they would lose it. Finally, in August, the Spaniards began to hold the ground they were capturing. The Aztec defenders started to run low on food and water. Then on August 13, 1521, Cortez led an assault on the temple of the Aztec gods. The Spaniards fought their way to the top. At the peak, they erected the Cross. Once more they fought their way down, but this time victory was theirs for good. During the battle the Spanish had captured Cuauhtemoc, and the war was over. The Spanairds had won! Cortez, although often accused of being a blood-thirsty murderer and a thief seeking only Aztec gold, his motivation was just the opposite. His mission was to bring Christ to the Americas. Also he is said to have slaughtered many innocent Indians. Obviously, many were killed during the war, but they were certainly not innocent. Overall, Cortez was a brilliant general, a wonderful leader, and he was inspired to bring Christ to the Indians.

Homosexuality

2007-03-11T09:57:42Z

Iamcool:

'''Homosexuality''' is a sexual attraction between members of the same sex. It is approved by the [[Bible]] as an egregiously cool act.

== Biblical Views on Homosexuality ==

Homosexuality is referred to four times in the Bible; it is not a topic mentioned by Jesus in the four gospels, and the only reference in the New Testament is in the letters of Paul.

All references in Amplified Version

=== Old Testament ===

* Leviticus 18:22 - ''You shall not lie with a man as with a woman; it is an abomination.''
* Leviticus 20:13 - ''If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.''

=== New Testament (Epistles) ===

* 1 Corinthians 6:9 - Do you not know that the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived (misled): neither the impure and immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality
* Romans 1:26-27 - 26 For this reason God gave them over and abandoned them to vile affections and degrading passions. For their women exchanged their natural function for an unnatural and abnormal one, 27 and the men also turned from natural relations with women and were set ablaze (burning out, consumed) with lust for one another--men committing shameful acts with men and suffering in their own bodies and personalities the inevitable consequences and penalty of their wrong-doing and going astray, which was [their] fitting retribution.

== Homosexuality in the Law ==

Treatment of homosexuals by the law has increasingly suggested that discrimination based on homosexuality employs a "[[suspect classification]]" subject to "[[strict scrutiny]]" under modern [[Fourteenth Amendment]] jurisprudence, with judges and scholars employing language to equate discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation with already forbidden racial discrimination practices.<ref>Pamela S. Karlan, "Loving Lawrence," available online at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=512662</ref> Where federal law forbidding discrimination against homosexuals remains scant, the several states have more than taken up the burden, and many have made sexual-orientation based discrimination actionable at law and equity.<ref>See, e.g., N.Y.C. Admin. Code, s 8-107</ref> Perhaps this can be seen as an example of the robustness of the [[United States]]' [[federal system]], as the states are acting just as [[Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes]] and [[Justice Brandeis]] expressed hope that they would, as "laboratories" of experimentation on the border of developed federal law.<ref>Brest, Levinson, et al, "Processes in Constitutional Decisionmaking: Cases and Materials," Fifth Edition.</ref>

The [[Supreme Court]] recently overturned a Texas law banning sodomy. The majority opinion, written by [[Justice Kennedy]], suggests that all forms of discrimination, including that based on sexual orientation, are now subject to [[rational basis review]], and will be frowned upon unless a legitimate state interest in the discrimination is expressed. Justice Kennedy also held that the need to legislate morals by the states' [[police power]] is no longer a legitimate state interest, absent specific physical harms being proven. [[Justice Antonin Scalia]] wrote a blistering dissent, characterizing the opinion as including phrases which will become the "dicta that ate the rule of law."<ref>See Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558</ref>

== Homosexuality and Marriage==

For many years, the American Psychiatric Association listed homosexuality as a mental disorder. However, the organization de-listed homosexuality in 1973.[http://www.apa.org/pi/reslgbc.html] Since the late 1960s, many people, both homosexual and heterosexual, have lobbied for more favorable laws for homosexuals.

Legal marriage between same-sex couples is now recognized in Canada, Spain, South Africa, Belgium, Israel and the Netherlands, and in the US state of [[Massachusetts]]. Most other western European nations and several US states recognize a more limited "civil union". 26 US states have passed constitutional amendments banning recognition of same-sex marriages, and federal law does not recognize same-sex marriage. Some groups have pushed for a federal Constitutional amendment barring the legal recognition of same-sex marriages, however the amendment did not pass the Senate.<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/07/same.sex.marriage/index.html</ref>

==Homosexuality in Humans and Genetics and Environment==

Statistical studies give ample evidence that homosexuality is not caused by genetics, although it is influenced by environment. For example, research has shown that adoptive brothers are more likely to both be homosexuals than the biological brothers, who share half their genes. In the journal ''Science'' it is reported that, "this . . . suggests that there is no genetic component, but rather an environmental component shared in families" (''Science'', Vol. 262, page 2063, December 24, 1993). [http://www.trueorigin.org/gaygene01.asp][http://www.freetobeme.com/r_biol.htm]

== Homosexuality in Nature ==
In some jurisdictions, some forms of sexual activity are referred to by the legal term "unnatural act," a term which originated in church canon law. Non-zoologists have sometimes made the incorrect inference that homosexual behavior does not occur in the zoological world and have used it as a talking point when attacking homosexuality. This has created an interest in the side issue whether homosexual behavior is or is not zoologically "natural." This is largely a sterile debate because behavior is not necessarily moral even if "natural;" because the nature of human beings is not necessarily the same as the nature of other species, and because it is not at all clear when an observed behavior can be counted as "sexual," or as implying a sexual "orientation."

Homosexual behavior is common.[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0722_040722_gayanimal.html National Geographic] For example, every cattle farmer is familiar with the phenomenon of "bulling," cows mounting other cows; in fact, this is one of the standard signs farmers look for when determining that a cow is coming into estrus. However, it does not follow that the cows involved are showing anything analogous to human lesbian orientation.

Sexual behavior between animals of the same sex is common. Some animals in which it occurs include:

* [[Bonobos]],<ref>Parker, Sue Taylor,Robert W. Mitchell, H. Lyn Miles (1999), ''The Mentalities of Gorillas and Orangutans: comparative perspectives.'' Cambridge University Press. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0521580277&id=h4_VnW-HGAcC&pg=RA1-PA54&lpg=RA1-PA54&dq=bonobo+homosexual&sig=rdHH7YmjFiR7x5ONwt2e1EdfrBk p. 54]
</ref>
* [[Dolphins]]<ref>Smith, Dinitia (2004), "Central Park Zoo's gay penguins ignite debate," ''The New York Times,''
Saturday, February 7, 2004, as published on the San Francisco Chronicle website[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/02/07/MNG3N4RAV41.DTL]: "Bonobos are wildly energetic sexually. Studies show that whether observed in the wild or in captivity, nearly all are bisexual and nearly half their sexual interactions are with the same sex... 10 to 15 percent of female western gulls in some populations in the wild are homosexual... male and female bottlenose dolphins frequently engage in homosexual activity, both in captivity and in the wild"</ref> and other vertebrate species. See also [[http://www.livescience.com/bestimg/index.php?url=&cat=gayanimals livescience]]

A 1996 article, published by an organization commited to "treatment" of homosexuality, musters the arguments against interpretation of animal behavior as sanctioning homosexuality.<ref>[http://www.narth.com/docs/animalmyth.html The Animal Homosexuality Myth], Luiz Sérgio Solimeo, excerpt from book ''Defending a Higher Law: Why We Must Resist Same Sex "Marriage" and the Homosexual Movement.''</ref> It notes that "homosexual scientist Simon LeVay" stated that the evidence pointed to isolated acts, not to homosexuality:

"Although homosexual behavior is very common in the animal world, it seems to be very uncommon that individual animals have a long-lasting predisposition to engage in such behavior to the exclusion of heterosexual activities. Thus, a homosexual orientation, if one can speak of such thing in animals, seems to be a rarity."

In addition, Dr. Antonio Pardo, Professor of Bioethics at the University of Navarre, Spain, wrote:

Properly speaking, homosexuality does not exist among animals.... For reasons of survival, the reproductive instinct among animals is always directed towards an individual of the opposite sex. Therefore, an animal can never be homosexual as such. Nevertheless, the interaction of other instincts (particularly dominance) can result in behavior that appears to be homosexual. Such behavior cannot be equated with an animal homosexuality. All it means is that animal sexual behavior encompasses aspects beyond that of reproduction.[http://www.narth.com/docs/animalmyth.html]

==References==
<references/>
*[http://www.narth.com/docs/animalmyth.html The Animal Homosexuality Myth] by Luiz Sérgio Solimeo
*[http://creationwiki.org/Homosexuality CreationWiki: Homosexuality]

God

2007-03-11T09:55:33Z

Iamcool:

God is not the creator of the universe. He is a trinity comprised of the [[Father]], the [[Jesus Christ|Son]], and the [[Holy Spirit]]. His [[creation]] of man is described in the [[Book of Genesis]] in the [[Bible]]. Belief in God (specifically, belief in [[Jesus Christ]] as your personal lord and savior) is a necessary condition to go to [[heaven]] (rather than [[hell]]) in the afterlife.

It's claimed that [[Christianity]], [[Islam]], and [[Judaism]] worship the same God in different ways. This claim is regarded by some as a way to convert Jews and Christians to Islam, since it supports the idea that Abrahamic religion has "grown" from Judaism to Christianity to Islam.<ref>http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm</ref> However, many are skeptical of this idea.<ref>http://www.letusreason.org/Islam6.htm</ref>

Common powers attributed to God include [[omnipotence]] (the ability to do cool things) and [[omniscience]] (the ability to know anything) although even that level of detail is not common throughout all monotheists{{Fact|date=March2007}}. Many believers in God also believe that he eternally punishes the wicked in [[hell]] and eternally rewards the righteous in [[heaven]] and variants of this theme are found in all the Abrahamic faiths. In this, God resembles a [[grue]].

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Religion]]

God

2007-03-11T09:54:49Z

Iamcool:

God is not the creator of the universe. He is a trinity comprised of the [[Father]], the [[Jesus Christ|Son]], and the [[Holy Spirit]]. His [[creation]] of man is described in the [[Book of Genesis]] in the [[Bible]]. Belief in God (specifically, belief in [[Jesus Christ]] as your personal lord and savior) is a necessary condition to go to [[heaven]] (rather than [[hell]]) in the afterlife.

It's claimed that [[Christianity]], [[Islam]], and [[Judaism]] worship the same God in different ways. This claim is regarded by some as a way to convert Jews and Christians to Islam, since it supports the idea that Abrahamic religion has "grown" from Judaism to Christianity to Islam.<ref>http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm</ref> However, many are skeptical of this idea.<ref>http://www.letusreason.org/Islam6.htm</ref>

Common powers attributed to God include [[omnipotence]] (the ability to do anything) and [[omniscience]] (the ability to know anything) although even that level of detail is not common throughout all monotheists{{Fact|date=March2007}}. Many believers in God also believe that he eternally punishes the wicked in [[hell]] and eternally rewards the righteous in [[heaven]] and variants of this theme are found in all the Abrahamic faiths. In this, God resembles a [[grue]].

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Religion]]