Comments on: How do you solve a problem like Maria?

How do you solve a problem like Maria?

bitpart — Sat, 04 Sep 2004 16:20:56 -0800

Google Answers: Managing a wayward nun

By: quonsar

quonsar — Sat, 04 Sep 2004 16:58:03 -0800

Where can I rent a pig?

By: elwoodwiles

elwoodwiles — Sat, 04 Sep 2004 17:08:45 -0800

How to pick up and carry your iMac G5

By: sycophant

sycophant — Sat, 04 Sep 2004 17:26:04 -0800

I've been a Google Answers Researcher since it started (although I haven't posted an answer in a few months) - and it has amazed me what sort of bizarre questions people choose to ask... The most amusing that I actually answered was WTF is "sampfag"?

By: gleuschk

gleuschk — Sat, 04 Sep 2004 18:26:36 -0800

Is there funk after death? (I was pretty disappointed in the answer, for more reasons than one.)

By: Gyan

Gyan — Sat, 04 Sep 2004 19:22:37 -0800

Huh? In gleuschk's Q, the answerer says: "According to the bible there is not life after death: "Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return" (Eccl. 3:19-20)"." I thought Christianity is about finding your way to heaven?

By: weston

weston — Sat, 04 Sep 2004 20:10:10 -0800

How do you know if you're in love? Or failing that, how do you know if you're living in a computer simulation but destined to save everybody in it?

By: gleuschk

gleuschk — Sat, 04 Sep 2004 20:16:41 -0800

Ecclesiastes is pretty much at odds with the whole rest of the Bible (except Job) on this point, and some others (though counting internal contradictions in the Bible is only for those with lots of free time). Personally, I'd say Solomon comes down on the right side of most every issue, but that's a preference.

By: Melinika

Melinika — Sat, 04 Sep 2004 20:47:55 -0800

how can i get random beautiful women to sleep with me immediately for free, with no commitment, no questions asked, all the time?

By: Octaviuz

Octaviuz — Sat, 04 Sep 2004 23:45:08 -0800

Seriously OT Ecclesiastes is pretty much at odds with the whole rest of the Bible (except Job) on this point No, Solomon is just at odds with the misinterpretation of the bible by the majority of christians. The dualism of soul and body is a Platonist interloper of a doctrine and one that is at odds withe the idea of resurrection as recorded in the teachings of Jesus and elsewhere. BTW Those are two of my favorite books in the Bible; precisely because they both reject a rosy view of the world. (set a course back to the real discussion, engage!)

By: stupidsexyFlanders

stupidsexyFlanders — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 06:07:32 -0800

quonsar, I don't think any of us wants to live in a country where you can't rent farm animals. For whatever reason.

By: Pretty_Generic

Pretty_Generic — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 06:45:48 -0800

They Died Of AIDS

By: abcde

abcde — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 10:19:32 -0800

Gyan: Yes, that is the generally accepted view. That's an Old Testament verse though, and Judaism is a little bit more conflicted on its opinion of the afterlife. In Christianity, in the case of the majority that accept the Old Testament, I think it's regarded as meaning that Earthly life is so transient, not life itself. Ecclesiastes 3 does pose several problems with its nihilistic "unto dust" message - it's used quite commonly since its message is so poetic and stirring, but like the rest of the Bible it needs to be interpreted rather liberally to avoid contradictions.

By: abcde

abcde — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 10:21:49 -0800

Either that Alejandro guy was being equally facetious in his answer or is both overly serious and some kind of radical biblical scholar (two things that tend to come together, come to think of it).

By: e.e. coli

e.e. coli — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 17:11:47 -0800

I posted the nun question. I couldn't be happier to see it here.