Religion… Science… Religious Rule… Scientific Rules


Just Think About It

How does one attempt to make sense of the many religions and their rules? And we can’t forget the rules of science. So what is it that feeds our minds? What pushes us in one direction or another?

Sometimes I think people hide behind the word religion, picking one that makes them feel good or fits their lifestyle. There are many options out there. Many religious beliefs are handed down from generation to generation. Maybe it’s where you are born or what level of society you are born in. These beliefs become something people put faith in. Sometimes, they become traditions and embedded ways of thinking and acting.

I think the key word is ‘Faith,’ and faith is something we believe even if we don’t understand it completely. An example of the difference between knowledge and faith could be knowing your car will start because it started the last time. Faith is believing it will start after you replaced some wires, thinking you did it correctly.

So faith is something you believe, but you have not seen the actual outcome. You read the direction on where to connect the wires and have faith that the directions are correct. You turn the key or hit the start button, and nothing happens. What went wrong? You revisit the directions, double-check your connections, and everything looks correct. You try again, and still the same result. Something else must be wrong, or just maybe it’s the manual you used.

The point is that we placed our faith in someone else’s instructions. That’s also true in religious beliefs. So which one do you put your faith in, or do we discredit all religious beliefs and place our faith in the science that tries to tell us we just evolved? That we are just part of an evolutionary world.

It truly takes faith to step out and believe in something unproven or unseen by our own eyes.

I’ve often said we must peel the onion down to the last layer to find the answer. In this case, it is the answer to where to place our faith. It’s a most critical question. Is there more to life that we don’t understand, or do we live for some years and then die?

So we do some more research. We double-check the version of the manual we used on our car. We find an older version online or at the library. We check the wiring diagram and find the instructions are different. You change the wiring using the instructions in the older manual, and the car starts.

The point is that we need correct information. To peel the onion, we need to go back to the beginning. We need to remember that the science of evolution is just a theory. Something that evolutionists place their faith in. Their own science still points out that someone or something had to start it all in motion, that the odds are simply impossible for it just to happen. Then we have all the other religious beliefs. Which one is correct? If we go all the way back to some of the oldest written words, we find the Bible, especially the Old Testament of the Bible. It tells us God created the world and everything in it. Many religions are offshoots of the Bible where man has added their take. They may add rules that they think are needed. Some religious writings seem to fit a comfort level or even a way of ruling or controlling people. Then we find in the New Testament that Jesus made it easy as He gave us His way to have faith.

So when I peeled the onion to the core, it looks like it was either evolution or the God of the Bible. One is true, and one is not. It’s a matter of where to place one’s faith. We need to throw out all the confusing “what if’s” and focus on getting ourselves to the “truth of the matter.” Something to place our faith in that has meaning and brings stability to our lives.

You can find where I place my faith in this blog’s ‘Boiled Down – My Beliefs’ section.

You might disagree with me, but have you ever asked yourself, what if?

So the real question is:

Where do you place your faith?

Just think about it: WHAT IF?


How do we deal with the “WHAT IF’S” of life?

If I had turned right instead of left, I would have found the restaurant I sought.

If I had continued my due diligence and invested in company XYZ instead of ABC, I would have tripled my investment.

Everything would have turned out just right if I had just kept to the plan.

What if…

Those “what if’s” can drive us craze sometimes. But what about the “what if’s” we don’t even know exist? The ones we miss because things seem to be working out. We didn’t even know there was something less expensive but equal quality and functionality which would have worked better.

Sometimes we say: if I would have only known.

To deal with life to the best of our ability, we must ask ourselves the “what if” question. The more we do this, the better our life decisions will be. Too often, we don’t see what’s coming until it’s upon us. Then we stumble on and wish we had asked ourselves, what if?

Learning always to ask questions is generally learned over time. Not many people can say they just stumbled through life, and all is well. Maybe it started when you were a kid, touched something hot, and burned your finger. The next time you ask yourself, is it hot before you pick it up.

Sometimes the “what if’s” become subconscious thoughts that guide us along life’s path. Sometimes we have formed opinions and don’t want to ask questions.

So think about it. Don’t just take someone’s word about a subject. Instead, investigate it, and ask: “What if?

What if I’m just part of the evolutionary train?

What if there is more to my life than the day-to-day grind?

What if God is real?

??WHAT IF??

Just Think About It


Religion… Science… Religious Rule… Scientific Rules

How does one attempt to make sense of the many religions, the rules within them, and science? What drives each of us one way or the other?

Sometimes I think people hide behind the word religion, picking one that makes them feel good or fits their lifestyle. There are so many options out there. So many religious beliefs are handed down from generation to generation. They become something people put faith in. Sometimes, they become traditions and embedded ways of thinking and acting.

I think the key word is ‘Faith,’ and faith is something we believe even if we don’t understand it completely. An example of the difference between knowledge and faith could be knowing your car will start because it started the last time. Faith is believing it will start when you just replaced some wires, and you believe you did it correctly.

So faith is something you believe, but you have not seen the actual outcome. You read the direction on where to connect the wires and have faith that the directions are correct. You turn the key or hit the start button, and nothing happens. What went wrong? You revisit the directions, double-check your connections, and everything looks correct. You try again, and still the same result. Something else must be wrong, or maybe it’s the manual.

The point is that we placed our faith in someone else’s instructions. That’s also true in religious beliefs. So which one do you put your faith in, or do we discredit all religious beliefs and place our faith in the science that tells us we just evolved? That we are just part of an evolutionary world.

It truly takes faith to step out and believe in something unproven or unseen by our eyes.

I’ve often said that we must peel the onion down to the last layer to find the answer. In this case, it is the answer to where to place our faith. It’s a most critical question. Is there more to life that we don’t understand, or do we live for some years and then die?

So we do our research. We double-check the version of the manual we used on our car. It’s a new revised edition. We do some research and find an original version online or at the library and find that they are not the same. Someone made a mistake. You go back and change the wiring, and the car starts.

The point is that we need correct information. To peel the onion, we need to go back to the beginning. We need to remember that the science of evolution is just a theory. Something that evolutionists place their faith in. Their own science still points out that someone or something had to start it all in motion, that the odds are simply impossible for it just to happen. Then we have all the other religious beliefs. Which one is correct? If we go all the way back to the oldest written words, we find the Bible. We find that God created the world and everything in it. Many religions are offshoots of the Bible where man has added their take. They may add rules that they think are needed. There are religious writings that seem to fit a comfort level or even a way of ruling or controlling people.

So when I peeled the onion to the core, it looks like it was either evolution or the God of the Bible. One is true, and one is not. It’s a matter of where to place one’s faith. We need to throw out the what if’s and focus on getting ourselves to the truth of the matter.

Personally, I believe that God is our creator, that Jesus is his son, that he was placed on earth and then died and was resurrected from the dead, that many people witnessed this, and that there is a Holy Spirit that will guide us once we place our faith in God.

The question is:

Where do you place your faith?

“Decisions”


When Making that “Decision,” do we look at what makes us comfortable, or do we dig into areas that differ from our comfort zone?

We all make decisions every day. Some work out great, just like we planned, and some do not. Decisions are generally based on what we have learned over time, experiences, and sometimes just our human desire. Finally, a decision is made, even if it’s subconscious. Even religious teachings are an influence, and just as significant the lack of religious teachings also influences decisions. C.S. Lewis said, “If Heaven is real, not much else matters. If Heaven is not real, nothing matters at all.”

If we broaden our scope of influence and step out of our comfort zone, we recognize that some form of religious belief has existed since the beginning of time, at least human time as we know it. So if we discount religion, we base life’s most significant decisions on something short of all the influences required to have a solid basis for our decisions. To narrow down the discussion about religions, of which we can find books and books written on them, let’s focus on the oldest known and recorded religious writings. The Bible. Especially the first part of it. This part is where we find information about God’s creation of the heavens and earth. However, many scientists want to argue that this is not correct. That science and the recorded events of the Bible do not line up. Or do they?

Some people take what they understand, the concepts, the teachings learned during their education years, and scientific findings, and then search for ways to interpret the words written in the Bible, or possibly the plethora of other religious beliefs, to fit these influences neatly. Finally, we make a decision: This is how it all happened!

Maybe it’s time to take what’s written in the Bible and look at how science fits God’s written word. One big question continues to rise to the surface. I believe this has to do with how evolutionary science try’s to explain the world into existence. Some interpret verse 8 in 2nd Peter, “a day to God is like a thousand to us,” to support the millions of years that evolutionary science teaches how everything came into existence. The question should be asked: under what context is this written? Does it have anything to do with God’s creation, or is it in context to the eternal, everlasting God of the Bible? Is Peters writing about creation or about how our human mind needs to grasp that all things are in God’s timing, not ours?

In the creation account, as told in the first two chapters of Genesis, are we to interpret the words about a day and night as maybe a thousand years or perhaps a million years or more? Or are we to understand that when God said there was night and day, He meant one night and one day? We should also understand that throughout the Bible, prophecies and events are based on a 24-hour day.

So this brings back the question about the science discovered and defined by humans that many things are millions or even billions of years old. How could this be true if we believe God’s written word that a day and night is a day and night as we experience it? What was different at the time of creation that would alter what science tells us? What was different on earth before the recorded flood of Noah’s time versus today?

One question I have asked myself is how could any of the recorded ages of the men in the Bible before the flood of Noah be correct when we know that is not possible today? What was different? Could today’s scientific knowledge be used to explain this?

This important question needs answering: Is God real, is His written word accurate, or are science and the theory of evolution true? This is critical information! When you boil it down, all other religious beliefs fail in comparison to this question.

So it’s decision time. Do we attempt to make God’s written word fit into our human scientific findings, or do we allow our human scientific findings to fit into God’s written word? This question challenges the evolutionists’ view that God does not exist and that only time and some mysterious explosion exist. We must remember that this event is scientifically unproven even though so many believe it as fact, even though it is a theory only.

So, where does one go from here? Is it time to discover, or are we content with our current understanding? Now that’s a ‘Decision’ each of us should make. But, it truly has ramifications if God’s word, as recorded in the Bible, is true.

Part Two: Do we Avoid Questions on Faith


     When we’re confronted with something that questions what we believe, how do we react? Sometimes the questions are subconscious, sometimes a friend, or maybe something we see or read. Often we push the thought aside or let political correction (PC) filter into our thoughts toning down or completely stopping what we deep inside wanted to say. Being politically correct or practicing apologetic’s can gloss over an issue or a topic, causing you to miss a chance to make a difference. It often disappears as fast as it presented itself. Your chance to make an impact on yourself or others diminishes and disappears. However, taking a chance and opening up to questions will better prepare each of us. It’s part of being able to express one’s thoughts in a manner that can be understood even when the listener disagrees with you.

     One thing that is common among all people is that we acknowledge there is good and evil in this world. What is often missed is how we are born with this instinct, this internal understanding. Just as a newborn baby knows it must eat, it also knows its mother and shows love to her. You may have heard the term, “The love of a newborn.” Evolution would have us believe that this just happens over time after we are born. That we are nothing before our birth. Where do our instinct’s originate from?

     So I propose we accept a challenge. The name of this blog is called “The Think Tank.” Often I try to give examples but don’t always ask a question. So today I will make several statements and ask the question, “Where do you place your faith and why?” With an open mind, question yourself how you feel about my following statements.

  • I believe that God exists.
  • I believe that God created everything at the beginning of time.
  • I believe in micro-evolution, but totally disagree with macro-evolution.
  • I believe that it takes faith to believe in God.
  • I believe that it takes faith to believe that we just evolved.
  • I believe that the God of the Bible is the only God, the original God.
  • I believe that other beliefs have been defined/created by man for man’s purpose.
  • I believe that many want proof, scientific evidence that we were created by God before they will believe He is real.
  • I believe that those wanting this evidence fail to recognize that they have placed their faith in evolution, that God doesn’t exists, just as those that believe in God have placed their faith in Him and that He does exist.
  • I believe our men and women that explore each of our scientific fields and their statement, “That evolution is a ‘theory’ of how everything started.”

     I could continue telling you what I believe, going deeper into my journey of life, my investigation, but what should be important to each of us is the question of our faith. Where do we place it? It’s an important part of our life. Do we place it in God, some other god, or evolution/no god? To recognize and accept the fact that it takes faith is the first step to understanding who we are. When peeling back the layers, we need to push past the desires and influences of others. Taking up the quest to question your faith, to recognize you have placed it on something, to not let your current desires and what you want to believe as true sidetrack you, and you will be on the best journey of discovery you will ever take.

“Where do you place your faith and why?”

“My faith is in God”

“Part one: Is God Real?”


What do the numbers tell us?

     There are many references to population growth rates. Some show that the world population is growing faster today than in the past, but will slow as we move into the years ahead. Different countries have different rates. It can get confusing. However, the best over time average reference that I have found that fits the past growth rate is .456. The intent is to find approximately when the population on Earth first began.

     If we take into account today’s global population and utilize this growth rate, we find that approximately 4500 years ago there would have only been two people living. The Bible tells us that 4365 years ago that would have been eight. Noah, his wife and their three sons and their wives.

     The Bible tells us that the earth, at least what is important to mankind going back to Adam and Eve, is approximately 6021 years old. What happened to all the people that lived those first 1656 years?

     This brings up the question, what is wrong with the mathematical formula? However, science tells us it is correct based on all factors including wars and catastrophic events. Is our knowledge of the current global population wrong? I don’t think so.  

     Using this population growth formula that points back 4500 years, to the flood of Noah’s time, we should be able to assume that the Bible timeline is correct. Can you imagine, Noah must have been a visionary, or he was truly directed by God. Noah spent 100 years building that great big boat. The level of scorn and embarrassment he would have faced would have been immense. The Bible tells us that up until the flood, it had never rained, that the plants and trees were watered from below and from the dew above. So why build a boat that large, spend 100 years of your life doing it, and put up with the ridicule of those that watched if God didn’t direct you to build it? Was Noah crazy, or did he believe everything God told him?

     Some will tell us that this information was written by man and there is no way to prove the accuracy or authenticity of it. However, in research, we find that one of Noah’s sons, Shem, later to be called Melchizedek, was the High Priest to Abraham. Shem would have known not just Abraham, but Issac and Jacob and possibly Levi. Moses, the supposed author of Genesis, would have been well informed about all the events leading up to the flood as well as the events after.

     For one to discredit the biblical writings, it is important to utilize everything in our science tool bag, take into account what is written in the Bible, and then determine where to place our faith. The population numbers point toward a truthful Bible. So is God real? Science continues to find that something or someone started it all. Is God the one that science keeps pointing towards that started everything in motion?

Is God real? Where should one choose to place their faith?

What are the Chances


     Just what are the odds of some event happening somewhere back in time setting in motion everything we see? The plants, animals, fish, birds and even the insects and of course us humans came from something or someplace. Something started it.

     The scientifically accepted law of probability which is called Borel’s law of probability, states that the odds of anything happening would have to be better than 1 out of 10 to the 50th power. That is a lot of zeros. However, one might think anything is possible if it is just one point below this. It is stated by some of the very influential evolutionist that for things to evolve from some random something happening would be most difficult. Dr. Carl Sagan of Cornell stated the odds would be 1 in 10 to the 2,000,000 power. One now believing creationist – Dr. Harold Morowitz a biophysics from Yale – states the chances of evolution happening as we are taught in our schools is 1 chance out of 10 to the 340,000,000.

     Putting this in simple words. Based on scientific numbers, the odd’s of evolution happening all by itself, no help, no one starting it, is impossible based on the odds given by the scientific world.

The question we should ask is:

It’s not what started everything, it’s who started everything?

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers


     When we look at numbers, we expect them to represent something that is factual, or in some cases prove something is incorrect. It could be the price, maybe the size, the quantity, a date or maybe a weight. How many times have we all looked at our weight and said, “something is wrong?” However, when math is correctly applied, numbers tell us something. It’s how we react to the result that is important.

     We would all agree that 1+1=2, 2+2=4, 10+10=20. We would say that 2+4+20=26. What would be the answer if we write 1+10×2=? Would the answer be 22 or 21? We always do the multiplication first then addition so the answer would be 21. But if it is solved in the order it is written, the order that it happened, how it is written down, it is 22.

     As long as we do our math the way we learned at school, the resulting answer is true. It is what we believe we understand that we should take a long hard look at. What if at the beginning of all time, before there was anything, our number 1 actually represented something less than 1 or possibly something just less than 2. Using today’s math to solve the science behind the beginning of everything, our results would be different today than what really happened in the beginning. The point is that we don’t know what things were like when it all began. Like how long was a day? A day could not exist until there was light and darkness. Generally, we take our best shot at it using today’s environment as the benchmark.

     We build math models and run experiments to prove that a math equation is correct. If the result fits the math model, then the math/theory is correct, based on performing the experiment under conditions as we understand them. In the area of dating methods, it isn’t which dating method we use, it’s the influential conditions during the formation of the item we are dating. The question we should be asking is; were the conditions on earth always like they are today? The sun is needed for radiation to take place. If conditions were different on earth or within earths general location in space, how would this affect these dating methods? While our method’s of dating things do work mathematically, they are based on the Sun’s influence as far as radiometric dating goes.

     So where are we going with this? If something is assumed, but not known, the number possibly rounded up or down before the calculation is done, then the outcome is not completely true. Just knowing the percent of error can make a big difference in how we comprehend what we see, how positive we feel about what we learn.

      Let’s look at time, which by the way is the fourth dimension. The first three in science are length, width, and height. Actually, science calls out up to ten dimensions as they strive to find answers to how everything began. We won’t go into them here, but if we were to take a look at String Theory, the Black Hole, and even the theory of Quantum Physics, we would find that these dimensions play a big role. Without time, nothing would be here, including each of us. We can dig deeper into this at a later date.

     The point behind this is that if we were not there in the beginning, then we don’t know, we just set up the criteria as best we can based on what we have learned. The solutions we search for are a theory just because we do not know what conditions were like, especially when we start out with the assumption that there was nothing to begin with. If there was something in the beginning, then where did it come from? The logical argument is; it was something or someone that started it all. Science tells us that we must have a logical solution. Just like in science where someone puts the experiment together and hits the start button. Maybe we should recognize that someone hit the start button that started it all, not something. If it was just something then it was there and how did it get there from nothing.

     In conclusion, the question; why does “science” continue to argue against creation, the information written in the Bible, the one by God. It really needs to be answered. What is the reasoning behind it, if it was really God who started it all? If it was God, then he has to be the Greatest Scientist of all time that we should be happy to take guidance from.

The key point to remember is:

It takes “Faith” to believe in evolution just like it takes “Faith” to believe in God. It’s where we choose to place our “Faith” that is important.

 

“Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”


     How often have you heard the statement, “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff?” There have been books written on this subject. Many of us already ignore the small stuff. Let’s face it, we all have a busy life. We have work, family, home repairs, hobbies, our education, homework, not to mention the little bit of downtime we each need. We may live in a region of the world that just staying alive is the daily objective. So why sweat the small stuff. What difference will it make anyway?

     What if some of that small stuff plays a role in who we really are, or maybe we could say, who we become? Some of that small stuff can have a major impact on our lives. Sometimes the small stuff becomes the foundation behind larger stuff. When was the last time you heard the statement: “It started out small, and then it just snowballed?” At this point, we just remember the snowball, not the snowflake.

     Exploring the thoughts we often contemplate, who am I and why am I here, we find some of the influences that have had a major impact on each of us. We find that around the mid-1800, the influences of a small group of men, did just that. Charles Darwin was a trained theologian, believed in God, while at the same time questioned how everything got its start. After struggling with his health, and the loss of two of his children at a very young age, it appears that Charles became embittered with God. After this, his friends, along with a strong influence from his grandfather, Darwin convinced himself to publish the ‘Origin of Species,’ to go public with his theory. Some might say this is small stuff. Just one book. However, this was the small stuff that started the evolutionary train moving.

     While this was just one book, the floodgates opened for those not wanting to believe in God. Those that wanted to push forward the sciences in the evolutionary direction attempting to disprove that God exists. Darwin was not the first, a few others produced theories for the last 1000 years, but Darwin was the first to push it over the edge, which earned him the name of, “Father of Evolution.” As time moved on, we have others such as Albert Einstein in the early 1900’s who founded the theory of ‘Special and General Relativity.’ Then in the late 1960’s, we find George Ellis, Stephen Hawking, and Roger Penrose pushing the theory of ‘Space-Time Theorem.’ Then around 1993, we have Russell Hulse and Joseph Taylor providing the theory of ‘Second Dimension of Time.’ Now we have ‘String theory,’ and ‘M theory.’

     We continue to see theories designed to enable science to work toward answering the question about life. These theories are designed as true at the time they are considered. Then the effort to disprove them begins. However, this can set the foundation for the theory of evolution to be accepted as reality. If we aren’t careful, we find ourselves totally submerged into the indoctrination of how we all evolved. That there was a big bang that started everything. It is taught in our schools as the only way, not just one of the ways. While we don’t think this is important, it plays a serious role in who we become, how we think, and how we influence others after us.

     This may seem small to us because we have a life to live and we are all very busy living it. But the theory of evolution is one side of the story. Why should we not be given both? Why are there those that only want us to think one way?

    My challenge to each of us is to question why ‘science’ is not also used in disproving what is written in the Bible? The theory that ‘there was a creator.’ The theory that ‘earth is approximately 6500 years old?’ Why not teach this available information in our schools. Why are these theories excluded? Why not allow each of us to determine for ourselves what we would like to wrap our arm’s around, what theory to place our faith in?

     As we work down this list of possibilities as presented at the beginning of the Bible, using available science, and scientific findings, then defining key models around these understandings, we will try to see the other side of the understood but not often told story.

“to be continued”

Science and God – Compatible or Not?


       So much can be said on this topic. I also find many times it’s hard to find the truth. So often we feel we have spent serious time investigating and doing research, especially in the science world, and because of this, we have an opinion that we feel is factual. But is it? Most or at least many people believe that science if the process of proving something as true. When in reality, it is the process of proving a theory as false. If we explore what science really is, we can find the following written explanation.

  • The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.
  • All scientific knowledge is tentative and provisional, and nothing is final. There is no such thing as a final proven knowledge in The currently accepted theory of phenomenon is simply the best explanation for it among all available alternatives.

       The first observation we can make is that to study the systematic structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment, we are limited to what we have to work from. Our knowledge is based on what we learn from others, and also what we learn from our own efforts. It is based on what we have to start with or what we presuppose were the conditions. We have our earth which we can make determinations firsthand, the universe which we can make some determinations firsthand, but much of it is strictly a possible observation. Using the scientific word, a ‘Theory.’

       What could have been different back at the beginning of everything? If we really want to gain an understanding of this, we should take into account all information available to us. We also need to recognize observation number two above: ‘all scientific knowledge is tentative and provisional

       If we take both observations into consideration, we could realize that when things all got their start, that everything was different than what we see and understand today. Some scientists tell us that everything started from nothing. However, I know of nothing observed coming from nothing. This leaves this as strictly a theory and should never be accepted as an absolute fact. We hear from the science world that a ‘Big Boom’ is responsible. There is the ‘String Theory’ and other theories that are based on something from nothing, but each needs something to be a viable theory. So where did this something come from?

       Maybe if we took into account what was told to us in the first few words of the Bible, we could find possible answers to many things observed. This would change how our dating of things found on earth are not correct. This is also supported by every scientific theory presented, that everything observed today was different in the past. Why would we use today’s atmospheric conditions to date things we assume are millions of years old. The conditions were different. If we utilize any of the aging processes, it is based on the half-year analogy, and this is based on conditions we observe today.

       The question I would propose to everyone is what is the motivation to exclude God as a possible creator, the one that set everything in motion? Sometimes I think that people are so detailed in their thinking that they accept only what they can see and understand. So many don’t like the idea of someone being greater than themselves. Therefore, the exploration of the idea/theory that God is real, utilizing science, is generally not put to the test, except by a few. However, to my knowledge science has never disproved a theory that God is the creator. In reality, the theory of the ‘Big Boom or String Theory,’ still requires that someone or something put these thing in motion.

       This leaves us at a point today that if you cannot disprove it, it should be observed as a fact until someone else can disprove it. This is my understanding of “Evolution’ and why it is believed by so many as the explanation to how everything began. But wait, if I cannot disprove evolution, and I cannot disprove God, then both are true. Maybe God did start everything and utilized forms of evolution over the years as part of His plan. My opinion is that God is the greatest Scientist of all time, and in so many ways, science continues to prove this. Because no one has seen God, and no one has observed the Big Bang happening all by itself. Then I believe that this drives the following conclusion. It takes faith to accept either. I guess it is a question of:

“Where do I place my Faith?”

Mine is in God!
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