Memverse's 5th Birthday!!!

Okay. Yes!!! Mainly because I don't get to quote to my mom for hours. :P You? Yeah, I've made some pretty silly mistakes as well. xP

Hmm, lol and music and uh, I forget all xP

Nope!

VERY random question: Have any of you had wine before? XD Like at a communion service?

Actually, our church uses grape juice, and I have never had wine before... but I really think that it would be more biblical to use wine. I won't raise any objections yet, though. :P

Our church uses grape juice as well. We visited a church yesterday that used wine. It was…interesting. ;) I didn't really like it.

Wine smells nasty. I don't think I could ever get it in my mouth even if I wanted to xP

Fine. It's up to me. Is genetic manipulation of human beings to counteract clinical diseases ethical? Where could such tampering lead to? You wanted a conversation starter, and you got one.

Excellent choice of topic. It entirely depends on what is meant by genetic manipulation. If it ever involves using and ending the lives of cells that otherwise may have grown to become humans, it is entirely unethical. Otherwise, I do not see any problems with it; man is allowed, and even encouraged, to better himself physically if doing so does not endanger any other human being.

So, would tampering to give a human, for example, increased strength, would that be considered morally acceptable? If so, where does it end? Should we allow people to tamper with their genes and/or genetic code _at all_?

I am of the opinion that it is entirely acceptable for people to "tamper" with their genes to better themselves, if done for the right motives. If it is done out of pride or selfish desire, it is not right, but there are many good reasons for increasing one's strength, going along with your example. I do not believe that changing one's genetic code is wrong in itself, but it depends on one's motive for doing so.

I quote all my verses to my mom too! :D She quizzes me a lot for BB. Do you and your brother study together much? I think the first Revelation passage might have been easier because I quoted that one for Wednesday night church, so I had some more motivation. :P

VERY random question: Have any of you had wine before? XD Like at a communion service?

Actually, our church uses grape juice, and I have never had wine before... but I really think that it would be more biblical to use wine. I won't raise any objections yet, though. :P

Our church uses grape juice as well. We visited a church yesterday that used wine. It was...interesting. ;) I didn't really like it.

Well, I don't personally like grape juice myself, so I probably wouldn't like wine either. But I just think that wine would be better since that is actually what Jesus used at the Last Supper.

Wine smells nasty. I don't think I could ever get it in my mouth even if I wanted to xP

It did smell bad…I could tell it was wine from the scent - I thought "Oh boy, this is going to be interesting"' :P

GTG. Night!

My mom too! I write up a little book with all kinds of questions and have her ask me them :P We study together a little bit…and on the way to nats my brother listened to me quote almost all of my verses every day! It took a LONG time xP Oh, haha, yeah, that is always a good motivation for me too, if I have to actually do it for someone :D :P

Wine smells nasty. I don't think I could ever get it in my mouth even if I wanted to xP

It did smell bad...I could tell it was wine from the scent - I thought "Oh boy, this is going to be interesting"' :P GTG. Night!

Farewell Rachel! :)

Haha, I bet! :P

Good night!! hugs

I must now take my leave, everyone. Farewell, and good night!

Good bye! See you later!!

I would like to see your response, though, Sam. :)

Wow, that's neat about your little book of questions! :D My mom usually just quizzes me on the verses, not the written test stuff… it's harder to quiz on that, for me, anyways, even though I like written better than Oral. And wow, that must have taken a really long time for you to say all of your verses to your brother!! Do you ever pick 20 random passages and time yourself saying them, to see if you talk fast enough for Orals?

Fine. It's up to me. Is genetic manipulation of human beings to counteract clinical diseases ethical? Where could such tampering lead to? You wanted a conversation starter, and you got one.

Excellent choice of topic. It entirely depends on what is meant by genetic manipulation. If it ever involves using and ending the lives of cells that otherwise may have grown to become humans, it is entirely unethical. Otherwise, I do not see any problems with it; man is allowed, and even encouraged, to better himself physically if doing so does not endanger any other human being.

So, would tampering to give a human, for example, increased strength, would that be considered morally acceptable? If so, where does it end? Should we allow people to tamper with their genes and/or genetic code _at all_?

I am of the opinion that it is entirely acceptable for people to "tamper" with their genes to better themselves, if done for the right motives. If it is done out of pride or selfish desire, it is not right, but there are many good reasons for increasing one's strength, going along with your example. I do not believe that changing one's genetic code is wrong in itself, but it depends on one's motive for doing so.

So, then, should there be limits on what can and cannot be done to our genetic code? What about before birth: should parents be able to choose which genes they would want to "dampen" or "heighten", or should such changes be withheld until the individual is old enough to make their own decisions?

Also, with both altered genes and man's capability for pride, wouldn't it then cause more divisions? Between those of altered and unaltered DNA? That's one of my main concerns, in today's world. Which is why I keep asking should we do this.

Bye!

Yeah, it is hard to quiz for the written test… I usually just have questions like "who wrote (whatever book)?" and cross references and Greek words and whatever other random stuff I think I should probably know. :P I like written better than orals as well. I have done that sometimes, I didn't do that for nats this year though… Did you?

Okay, I see. I never know how to pronounce Greek words, I just know how to spell them. :D Is it hard for you to keep track of cross references? My mom has picked out 20 passages before and timed it… I always get worried that I won't talk fast enough, but then I always talk way too fast for Orals. :P

Hmm… good question. I believe it would be better for the parents to leave it up to the child when he gets older, and not decide for themselves what his genetic code will be.

And this one, I see, is the heart of the issue. Should man continue in his quest for the ability to alter his own genetic code, considering the likely implications? Knowing the fallen nature of man, I would personally say that the idea overall is not a very good one, since it is next to impossible to make sure everyone has the right motives for manipulating their genes. In addition, I believe that we will never know enough to be certain of what exactly we are doing when we change our genetic code; we may very well accidentally do something that we never intended, something perhaps fatal–I believe I have heard that such a thing has occurred before. So I think that, though man should continue to pursue knowledge about himself and his masterfully designed inner workings, he should not experiment much with changing himself, at least not yet.

(JSYK, my opinion on this issue has changed as we have had this conversation. xP)

I be back for a few minutes. :)

Haha! Same here! Usually I just say "Oh, it's the one that's spelled like ___" or "It's Diky something." xP Yes, it sure is!! This year I did a little bit better with cross references, but I'm still not very good at it. Are you good with cross references? Lol, yeah, me too! I feel a lot better at locals now when I time myself and I can say all the verses in 10 minutes. :P But Nationals is kind of scary :P This was the first year I didn't run out of time at nats, but it was also the first year I knew my national verses very well. :P:P I am SO glad they didn't ask any super long ones.

Hey, hi, that's great! :)

I've never had wine - our church uses grape juice as well. However, the other night we had grape jelly on our cornbread, and we found out it was fermented… xP

:D Looks like the crowd has mostly dissipated though. :(

I've never had wine - our church uses grape juice as well. However, the other night we had grape jelly on our cornbread, and it was fermented... xP

Got a little tipsy on your cornbread? XP

Grape jelly on cornbread??

That it has :-/ I think it's just myself, Katrina and Sam.

That's right. It was homemade, too!

I've never had wine - our church uses grape juice as well. However, the other night we had grape jelly on our cornbread, and it was fermented... xP

Got a little tipsy on your cornbread? XP

I didn't feel any effects. :P

Interesting… :P The cornbread was homemade, or the jelly? Or both?

Cross references were really hard when I first started, but now I have a lot memorized already, so that helps. It's really hard for me when they have two Greek words for the same English word (like last year they had two for knowledge) and then I can't remember which CR goes with which Greek word. :P Nationals are always scarier than Locals, because you have more stuff and it's way harder to keep track of several hundred verses. I was SO nervous right before Orals at Nationals, partly because we were waiting forever (at least it seemed like it) but it actually wasn't that bad. How long did you have to wait for Senior Orals?

Both.

Neeeeat!! I've never made jelly before.

@Emily, you've been here for the whole time, right? How was it as compared to yesterday?

It's kind of a hobby for Courtney. :D

Okay, I have to go now… bye!

Oooh, that it so hard for me too, when they have 2 Greek words like that… Yeah, and I'm always scared I'll find a stack of cards I forgot to memorize the day before nats or something. xP Oh dear, I don't remember how long we had to wait for Orals… I think it was a hour or a half hour later than it was supposed to be, which was still really late. :P

Bye!! I'm so glad you came!! :D

Yes I have xP Well, I think yesterday everyone talked faster, but today they stayed longer. :P

It was nice chatting!! Bye! :)

Neat! :D I should learn sometime…we're always running out of grape and blackberry jelly. :P

Hi and bye Katrina!

hugs

I'm glad I was here for today, then. :) Although earlier was a little restrained.

You ought to see what it's like at our house… We easily use up half a container in a single meal.

Yeah!! Um-hum, yesterday everyone started talking really fast like a half hour before it even started and today they didn't start talking very much till quite a bit afterward. :P How was this morning?

I bet!

~Three pages. I didn't stay very long, but I don't think much happened. Everyone seems to prefer the evening.

Okay. Yeah, as do I xP