XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: g.kreme@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies   
      
   In message    
     Paul S  Person  wrote:   
   > On Wed, 4 Jun 2014 16:15:47 -0700, "John"  wrote:   
      
   >>"Bill O'Meally"  wrote in message   
   >>news:20140604144455964-omeallymdatgeemaildotcom@news.giganews.com...   
   >>> On 2014-06-04 16:19:11 +0000, Wayne Brown said:   
   >>>   
   >>>> Yet it still comes down to belief.  As far as I'm concerned the existence   
   >>>> of God (specifically, the Christian God) is a fact.   
   >>>   
   >>> The only fact is that Christians believe in the existence of God. The   
   >>> existence of God is a belief.   
   >>>   
   >>> --   
   >>> Bill O'Meally   
   >>>   
   >>   
   >>Right on Bill - but be careful who you say anything like that to, there are   
   >>other religions who also believe in a Higher Power   
   >>   
   >>Wow are we ever off topic here now!!!   
      
   > Yes ... and no.   
      
   > Yes, for rabt, although, since JRRT was RC, some discussion of   
   > religion, particularly what an RC would have been taught 100 years   
   > ago, is on-topic as background information. Still, we are wandering   
   > away a bit, I suppose.   
      
   > No, for aft -- as I understand it, /nothing/ is off-topic in any alt   
   > group. Although it is always nice if people don't stray /too/ far.   
      
   > So, consider Orthanc, the alleged topic here: built so strongly the   
   > Ents can't destroy it, the question is, was it a product of science or   
   > of magic? And what does "magic" mean in ME anyway?   
      
   > I won't try to answer those questions. I will merely point out that,   
   > when a tree root penetrated our side sewer about 15 years ago and   
   > forced us to replace it, we were told that the problem would not recur   
   > because the new pipe was PVC as opposed to whatever the old pipe was   
   > (given its age -- the house was built in 1927 -- lead does not seem   
   > out of the question) and that tree roots cannot penetrate PVC.   
      
   Probably clay pipes.   
      
   > Has anyone ever considered the possibility that Orthanc, or at least   
   > its outer surface, was made of PVC and so immune to trees (including   
   > Ents)?   
      
   Oh, well played!   
      
   --   
   "An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching." - Mohandas   
   Gandhi   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)