This was an awesome debate!  So much so, that I think it scared off any volunteers to judge it!  So I, your hostess of debate, have become the default judge. 

Judging a debate is just as educational as participating in the arguments.  I feel it would make this blog that much more fun if everyone takes a turn doing the judging. 

We only had 6 contenders this week.  Be sure and let others know about this blog!

Well, here are the condensed arguements (you can view them in their entirety HERE):

Those that contended for Fire -

nsremom - has argued that God describes Himself as a consuming fire and what can be more powerful than God? We are told in the Bible to save those from the fires of hell. 

DreweLlyn -  When fire touches something it is destroyed, in a flood things that have been touched by water can still be salvagable.  Fire also stearalizes and kills germs. 

Mamaduso - Nothing can live in fire, things can (and do) live in water.

Kristal - Fire produces soot and smoke, which are also damaging.  Fire's heat can damage items that aren't even in the same room with it.  She also points out that God sends His enemies into a fiery pit, so to speak.  She contends that even a little fire can damage, while a little water can be quickly cleaned up.

Those that contended for Water -

homy711- (entered 2 comments) She points out that God uses fire to purify, while He uses water to destroy.  During the recent wildfires and Hurricane Katrina, the water from the hurricane has done more damage than the wildfires.  If a house burns down, the ground it sat on can be rebuilt on, while the house destroyed by flooding may not be able to be rebuilt on the ground it sat on.  Flooding also carries with it disease and mold.  In the event of a tsunami the water not only wipes away what lies on the surface of the earth it also wipes away the earth itself. 

Eyebright - Fire may change the surface landscape of the earth but things can grow back.  Water can reshape the earth itself, gouging huge trenches and such. Examples are what rivers and flooding have done.  She also contends that water can quench fire but fire cannot destroy water. 

Everyone had some outstanding thoughts to share with us.  I enjoyed nsremom's argument the most but decided that it really wasn't what this debate was about.  As God is the most powerful what is there to debate about?  I felt the debate was more about the actual forces of water and fire themselves.  (Forgive me if I did not make that clear enough in the opening of the debate, this is a learning process!)

The point was also made by two Contenders that God uses the fires of hell.  While this is true, those that are in hell never die.  They get to spend eternity there. 

As for this world's relation with fire, nothing can survive it, as pointed out by mamaduso and DreweLlyn.  A person may live after being in fire, but the cells that the fire touched are killed. 

Kristal pointed out the side effects of fire, soot and smoke.  Soot is terrible to clean up and often can't be done, and smoke itself can kill. 

Both homy711 and Eyebright told us how water destroys not only the surface, it also is powerful enough to change the shape of the earth itself.  Fire can't do this. 

Homy711 pointed out the side effects of water, the diseases it carries and the mold it leaves behind.   We all know what disease can do and how far it can travel in water.  Some molds are described as killer molds, but I'm not sure mold has killed as many people as smoke has. 

Eyebrights contention that water can quench fire but fire can't quench water is something to think about.  We all know that water can quench fire, given we have enough of it.  While fire may boil the water away, the water only turns into wator vapor and moves on to rain another day. 

So, which is stronger fire or water?  I have to say water is the winner.  It can kill fire. 

I would like to point everyone back to nsremom's argument.  God is an all consuming fire, and He is the most powerful thing anywhere.  If you will not accept His Son as Lord of your life then you will spend eternity in the fiery pits of hell.  While God describes Himself as a consuming fire, Jesus describes Himself as a Living Water.  The Living Water is the only thing that can save you from hell.  That is pretty powerful!  Don't spend eternity wishing you had even an ounce of that Living Water to quench your soul.