Moderated Will the 2012 Olympic Games in London be held?

[rickps]

It's short for by (Saint) George.

Ah! That George. Thanks for clearing it up for me.

 

[Elizabeth I]

I wonder if they too had crazy pet theories they wanted validated by the oracle.

Of course they did.

The elements are fire, earth, water, and air. God can control these, but not man.

As so many have already pointed out, earth, air, fire and water are not elements. Besides that, there are whole industries based on harnessing, controlling, and/or exploiting those substances (well, fire is a process, but anyway...)

 

[pakeha]

Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices

...You have to admire his resilience. When the People's Power Revolution didn't ignite nuclear war, he waited patiently until he could fasten the wick prophecy to a completely different event.

Almost as admirable as PC's faithfulness to the old 4 element theory.

 

[blue sock monkey]

Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange

Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices

Almost as admirable as PC's faithfulness to the old 4 element theory.

"Admire" was not the best word choice on my part, methinks upon reflection.

As so many have already pointed out, earth, air, fire and water are not elements. Besides that, there are whole industries based on harnessing, controlling, and/or exploiting those substances (well, fire is a process, but anyway...)

I reckon PC has never seen the Hoover Dam.

Or, if he has, the implications of that sight made no more impact on his memory and reasoning processes than did Agatha's thorough and scrupulously fair summary of the (in)famous 19 prophecies. What would it take for cracks to appear in that memetic superstructure of pseudoscience he has crafted over the years?

 

[Robrob]

Did you know that in 1996, he predicted the coming of the tsunami? On 2004-12-26, a tsunami caused the death of more than 200,000 people. Then last year, on 2011-03-11, the east coast of Japan was hit also by a tsunami. I think, the elements involved in a tsunami are earth and water. I was wrong then into thinking that it will be caused by rising sea water level.

Um, he predicted tsunami in an area of the Earth prone to earthquakes and tsunamis? Then 8 and 15 years later there were tsunamis?

If you believe that was "prophecy" I've got a bridge on some swampland to sell you.

 

[Stomatopoda]

I predict that, in 2013, a hurricane will hit Florida, an earthquake will hit California, a volcano will erupt somewhere in the Pacific, a church authority will inappropriately touch a young boy in the Midwest, and a brood of red-eyed cicada will appear in New England.

Will my predictions be more accurate than Kaapazper the Geriatric Ghost? We will wait and see.

 

[Akhenaten]

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

20120811.0755

@Agatha, #3266

Prophecy 19 says about the revolt of the elements. The elements are fire, earth, water, and air. God can control these, but not man.

You should consider visiting the 21st century. I'm sure you'd like it here, although alchemy isn't much of a thing any more.

 

[devnull]

Um, he predicted tsunami in an area of the Earth prone to earthquakes and tsunamis? Then 8 and 15 years later there were tsunamis?

If you believe that was "prophecy" I've got a bridge on some swampland to sell you.

I refuse to believe that anybody who could form a sentence would be stupid enough to not understand this.

Once again - poe.

 

[SezMe]

I don't think you can call this Poe. We know he really, truly does believe this nonsense. It's not Poe, it's insanity.

 

[dafydd]

Ah! That George. Thanks for clearing it up for me.

My pleasure.

 

[PeaceCrusader]

Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living
No, none of those things are elements. Hydrogen, oxygen, carbon; those are some of the elements. Science has moved on from the outdated and error-filled ideas of earth, air, fire and water being elements; it might be a good idea for you to do a little research before you make such foolish pronouncements.

So prophecy 19 is predicting that there will be natural phenomena such as earthquakes and tsunami. That is not a prophecy, as there have always been earthquakes and tsunami, and there always will be. Our planet is volcanically and tectonically active.
There are earthquakes every single day on this planet of ours, some of them will trigger tsunami. Predicting a tsunami somewhere at some point is just as impressive as predicting rain in the British summer, not at all impressive.
Indeed you were, and continue to be, wrong in almost everything you say.


No, we are just getting what we've always had. Your evil desperation for some kind of disaster is really becoming quite offensive.

20120811.2000

@Agatha, #3300

The fourth definition of element in the World Book Dictionary is “one of the four substances—earth, water, air, and fire—that were thought in ancient times to make up all other things.”

You say that some of the elements are hydrogen, oxygen, carbon. That is the first definition which states: “one of the simple substances, such as gold, iron, carbon, sulfur, oxygen, and hydrogen. An element cannot be separated into simpler parts by ordinary chemical means. There are over 100 elements, each composed of atoms that are chemically alike.”

Do hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon revolt? How about earth, water, air, and fire?

Which do you think is more appropriate for prophecy 19: the first or the fourth definition in the dictionary?

 

[fromdownunder]

The fourth definition of element in the World Book Dictionary is “one of the four substances—earth, water, air, and fire—that were thought in ancient times to make up all other things.”

Did you miss reading the bolded part? We don't live in ancient times, and we now know better. Well, you don't.

Norm

 

[Mojo]

PeaceCrusader: how do you know that the "spirit" that has been giving you these inaccurate prophecies is not in fact the Devil?

 

[PeaceCrusader]

Peace Crusader, how much money did the old lady make out of this scam?

20120811.2040

@dafydd, #3284

I have said that if Ka Apaz charges for healing people since 1957, she could have amassed quite a substantial amount of money. But the spirit who heals through her does not want her to charge anything.

I also have said that there are only about a hundred followers of the spirit. Some have already died, mostly because of old age. Some have migrated to other countries. Some still stay in Metro Manila but do not go to Baliwag, Bulacan (about 60 km to the north of Manila) anymore on Sundays or special occasions because the spirit rarely comes nowadays. Did you know that Ka Apaz is still poor?

 

[Pixel42]

Which do you think is more appropriate for prophecy 19: the first or the fourth definition in the dictionary?

Prophecy 19 is utterly meaningless whichever definition is used. Even if you interpret it as a prediction that there will be natural disasters such as earthquakes there are, always have been and always will be natural disasters such as earthquakes so predicting them is not a prophecy.

And why are you still talking about your worthless prophecies anyway? Didn't you promise never to do so again if the Olympics were held?

 

[Akhenaten]

And why are you still talking about your worthless prophecies anyway? Didn't you promise never to do so again if the Olympics were held?

Why, yes. So he did.

I would like to apologize to all of you. I am deeply sorry. I will refrain from discussing prophecies anymore and be tight-lipped on this.

 

[PeaceCrusader]

Did you miss reading the bolded part? We don't live in ancient times, and we now know better. Well, you don't.

Norm

20120811.2100

@fromdownunder, #3312

Prophecy 19 states: “The revolt of the elements will take a record high in the years following until the arrival or birth of the so-called ‘anti-Christ.”

I repeat, Norm: do hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon revolt? How about earth, water, air, and fire?

Which do you think is more appropriate: the first or the fourth definition in the World Book Dictionary? Do you keep records of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon? How about the lowest and highest temperatures, the earthquakes, tornadoes, rainfall, bush fire, etc. of a particular day or month or year at a particular place?

 

[Mojo]

PeaceCrusader: how do you know that the "spirit" that has been giving you these inaccurate prophecies is not in fact the Devil?

Come on, PeaceCrusader. The behaviour of your "spirit" is consistent with what you say is the behaviour of the Devil (i.e. saying "good things" and "bad things", from which you should choose, but not making accurate prophecies), but not consistent with what you say is the behaviour of the true "holy spirit" (i.e. making accurate prophecies). What possible basis could you have for claiming that your "spirit" is the "holy spirit" and not the Devil?

 

[Mojo]

Did you know that Ka Apaz is still poor?

Do you know this, or have you been taken in by yet another unsubstantiated claim?

 

[Agatha]

Well it's one for the money, two for the show

20120811.2000

@Agatha, #3300

The fourth definition of element in the World Book Dictionary is “one of the four substances—earth, water, air, and fire—that were thought in ancient times to make up all other things.”

See the bolded part, and please understand that the passive voice of "that were thought" should clue you in to the fact that the belief that earth, air, fire and water were elements was false.

You say that some of the elements are hydrogen, oxygen, carbon. That is the first definition which states: “one of the simple substances, such as gold, iron, carbon, sulfur, oxygen, and hydrogen. An element cannot be separated into simpler parts by ordinary chemical means. There are over 100 elements, each composed of atoms that are chemically alike.”

Yes, that is the correct definition. It may have escaped your notice that we are not living in "ancient times"; it is actually 2012, so we know better.

Do hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon revolt?

No, they just exist. Revolt implies a deliberate action against something, usually repression.

How about earth, water, air, and fire?

Again no. They exist.

We are able to harness them to an extent, but natural disasters happen all the time because we live on a planet which is tectonically and volcanically active, and has storms, floods, droughts, fires, earthquakes and so on because of natural phenomena.

Which do you think is more appropriate for prophecy 19: the first or the fourth definition in the dictionary?

Either definition makes no sense. Neither the elements, nor the compounds of earth, water and air, nor the process of fire are sentient, and so cannot 'revolt' against anything.

Nor is there any increase in the number or scale of natural disasters, which is what I think you are trying to say in prophecy 19. It is true that better recording and measuring methods, allied with global near-instant reporting, gives the impression that there are more natural disasters than there were in previous decades or centuries. But this is simply not the case. Natural disasters occur at the same rate as they have always done, we just hear more about them. When Krakatoa erupted in 1883, the news took weeks to arrive in London and was given only a tiny footnote in a newspaper. Now, should a comparable event occur, we get the news globally within minutes and the news outlets are saturated with rolling 24 hour coverage.

More people die in natural disasters than was the case thousands of years ago simply because there are more people on this crowded planet. So people make their homes in or near volcanically active areas, earthquake zones, dry forests and flood plains, plus poor building standards in some earthquake zones leave people vulnerable once an earthquake occurs.

If prophecy 19 is trying to imply that there is currently, or will be, an increase in the rate or scale of natural disasters, then I'm afraid it's another one for the FAIL column.