THIS IS A READ-ONLY ARCHIVE FROM THE SORABJI.COM MESSAGE BOARDS (1995-2016). |
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By Jared on Wednesday, January 14, 1998 - 12:39 am: |
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By Fredescu on Wednesday, January 14, 1998 - 09:24 pm: |
Whenever God is mentioned in the bible, it's usually metaphorically. Christians tend to take things a little too literally. Abraham built a temple which God supposedly sat in. On a box of Shittum wood to be precise. God in his alledged omnipotent and omnipresent glory, suddenly shrunk, and sat on box made from wood that sounds like a swear word. Anywho, there are numerous examples of metaphoric use of the title "God" in the Bible, but when you think of the implications of omnipotence and omnipresence, he's naught if he's not everything. God is the universe, the whole. That's not say we aren't all "wholes" either. Take a pizza. No, don't take one. Buy one. You may find yourself in Gaol otherwise. Anyhow, buy a pizza. Look closely at it. You may notice an olive slice. From a whole olive. From a whole olive tree. From a whole olive orchard. On a whole farm. In a whole state. In a whole country. On a whole planet. The olive slice is at rest on a whole pizza slice. from a whole pizza... So God is everything. The creator and the creation. We create ourselves and we create our world. (oh, and when I call God a "he", I'm only using recognised protocol. I don't mean to contradict myself by reducing God to a gender. God is more a theory than a being.) |
By SWC on Thursday, January 15, 1998 - 05:49 pm: |
If you think God only exists to serve your needs, then you must be God! I think everyone who's born and looks into the clear summer sky and sees all the stars...somehow knows there's a God. Or sees the gift of life when a child is born. (Do you have a child?) Even people in the uncivilized world know that some higher being exists. Lots of civilizations worship a god of somekind. Somehow we all know....even if we don't agree on who it is. Don't put a lot of faith in your teacher, he doesn't know everything (especially if it's not his subject). Think about it, your eternal soul is yours alone to lose! Did you know that some of the most fervent believers of the bible started out trying to disprove the bible? (Just like you) Hang in there, keep asking questions. You may surprise yourself! |
By Scrunch on Thursday, January 15, 1998 - 07:06 pm: |
What happened to separation of church and state? You said that your public school teacher told you that stuff. Your teacher should get her ass sued!!! Religion is a very personal thing. I myself don't think that you can find all the answers by going to church and having people tell you what to believe. We all question if there is a God at one point in our lives at another. I'm not going to tell you what to think. Like I said, don't let anyone tell you what to believe and don't depend on one certain religion to give you all the answers. |
By Blindswine on Friday, January 16, 1998 - 07:30 pm: |
it'd be low-key, informal... you know, something that would appeal to the masses. "come on in, light-up, sit down, relax-- have a drink!" something that would get joe-sixpack off the streets and into my pulpits. maybe get a few collection dishes going... i've been thinking of finding out what it would take to get voted "Pope". Hell, i think i'd make a damned good pope. i wanna wear that pointy hat and cruise around Vatican City in the pope-mobile throwing out joints to the kids. yeah, that's it-- a spiritual philanthropist. i'd have to make a few changes, though. no more of that uptight catholic anti-abortion, anti-expression, pro-repression, anti-natural bullshit. i'd have George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars play live in the Vatican every Sunday night. you think there's a lot of catholics in the world now? shit-- just wait until i get a hold of the papacy. i'll be packin' 'em in there... and who knows? with a few neon signs, $3.99 T-Bone dinners and open-bar, clothing-optional services-- i might just be able to make a profit... |
By Slacker on Friday, January 16, 1998 - 07:39 pm: |
where can i convert to your faith,your emenseness. |
By Blindswine on Monday, January 26, 1998 - 08:27 am: |
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By R.V. on Monday, January 26, 1998 - 11:56 am: |
the Immaculate Buzz! |
By R.C. on Monday, January 26, 1998 - 11:58 am: |
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By Golden Boy on Monday, January 26, 1998 - 02:22 pm: |
HOWEVER, we all do in some way find that way of getting a little closer to our god...whether your method is meditating on the lakefront waiting for answers to float by in the wind, or injecting ol buddy needlhead in to get a direct connection with god...eitherway, we talk to someone out of our grasps whether we know it or not...(don't even tell me you have not caught yourself talking to yourself!!) we all want a personal god of some sort after all I would really fucking want to know why the hell 'god' has put me through so much...(and if 'god's' answer blows i swear i amgoing to kick it in the nuts!!!) hell would be just fine then as far as i am concerned. RC whaddya think? |
By R.C. on Monday, January 26, 1998 - 11:23 pm: |
I don't call myself a 'Christian' anymore/but for me/believing in God & Jesus is simple. I know I did not make myself. I know I did not make a tree/or a mountain/or a breeze off the ocean/or fresh strawberries/or anything else that's worth a damn. And I know I'm a sinner/so I know I need salvation. I was 'raised' to believe in God/so it's kinda hard to shake. I've had long periods where God & I weren't speaking/but I always believed (S)He exists. I spend a lot of time questioning my Faith. Which for me/is the hallmark of having real Faith. Anyone who NEVER questions whether God really gives a damn abt this little blue planet & what happens here can't be looking very closely at what goes on. There is a Bible verse (but I can't site the chapter) that says "Test these things & see if they are true." Testing & questioning are part of growing & maturing in yr Faith. And (S)He is also very hit-or-miss when it comes to answering prayers. (Not just mine -- lots of people's.) But God never offers me any answers to those questions -- other than "Wait." And I figure God is entitled to tell me "Wait." Some things we simply aren't meant to understand while we're still caught inside this limited mortal plane. So I will probably always believe in God. I just don't think God believes in me. But I do think you were on the right track. I believe humans are hardwired with a deep need to believe in something greater & more meaningful than ourselves & what exists in this world that we can see & touch & know. And that need to believe leads to different conclusions for everyone. Some of those conclusions don't hold up to close scrutiny... But I think each of us has to work out the particluars thru our own efforts & exploration. You can't just swallow someone else'e theology whole-hog without thinking it thru. |
By Golden Boy on Tuesday, January 27, 1998 - 11:26 am: |
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By Blindswine on Tuesday, January 27, 1998 - 07:11 pm: |
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By Fredescu on Tuesday, January 27, 1998 - 09:14 pm: |
(inhale exhale) "EVERYWHERE" MEANS EVERYWHERE! NOT JUST THE FREE SPACE, BUT THE TAKEN UP SPACE ALSO. GOD IS YOU. YOU ARE GOD. "GOD is. god IS." (John somewhere) (inhale exhale) (sorry about the shouting. I just feel a little ignored) Swami Vivekenanda said "A person who does not believe in himself is an atheist". It can be derived from that, that a person who does not believe in God, does not believe in himself. We are all a part of God. "And (S)He is also very hit-or-miss when it comes to answering prayers." - R.C. Carl Jung coined the word "Syncronicity" in describing the interelation between peoples needs, and how "meaningful coincidences" guide us along our path of need that is generally harmonious with everyone elses. "Needs" is the most important word here. You may not always get what you want, but you'll always get what you need. The more in touch with ourselves we are, the closer we get to wanting what we need, and as a result we are much happier in life. But to paraphrase a wise person, I can't expect anyone to swallow that "whole-hog" straight away... |
By R.C. on Tuesday, January 27, 1998 - 10:43 pm: |
Pope BlindSwine just doesn't roll off the tongue very well. Besides -- you'll have to be, ahem, celibate for the rest of yr life. And wear that dumb mitre in public. Maybe "Pope Whazzup da First" wd work. Think the Cubans are ready for a pope in a running suit & a Kangol? |
By Blindswine on Wednesday, January 28, 1998 - 01:01 am: |
Martin 1:1 "Thou Shalt Utilize Thy Divine Johnson To Thy Fullest Extent" get with the NEW program, sista... damn... good converts are SO hard to come by these days... |
By Golden Boy on Wednesday, January 28, 1998 - 09:17 am: |
lataz, the mack daddy of the midwest |
By Fredescu on Wednesday, January 28, 1998 - 08:59 pm: |
We all have stuff to learn. We can choose to learn it consciously, or let the lessons manifest themselves externally. So the meaning of all that is you can't possibly pray for someone elses needs because you can never know (specifically at least) what they are. You can pay for their happiness, or for their health. But if they are in an occupation they aren't supposed to be, happiness would be a curse rather than a blessing. The Uni course I dropped out of last year was a result of my dis-satisfaction with it. If my prayer requesting the contrary had have been answered, I may still be there now, instead of the one I start next month. So don't pray for your friends specific "needs" (or perhaps what you would like to see them get), pray for their growth. (sigh) |
By R.C. on Wednesday, January 28, 1998 - 10:46 pm: |
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By Golden Boy on Wednesday, January 28, 1998 - 11:59 pm: |
prayer is the best protection we can give ourselvesm, or better yet lets not call it prayer but hope, the hope that something can be done of something beyond our control... i go hope now.. |
By R.C. on Thursday, January 29, 1998 - 12:11 am: |
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By Fredescu on Thursday, January 29, 1998 - 04:43 pm: |
(and what the hell is "new age" about anything I've said?) |
By Golden Boy on Thursday, January 29, 1998 - 04:51 pm: |
don't get irate over the new age, more of a stigma to your ideas previous than an actual thought out response from me...sorry.. |
By Snow Queen on Thursday, January 29, 1998 - 05:19 pm: |
But we're also way off the subject so maybe "How did Golden Boy get his name?" should be a new subject??? I think you can learn from the LIFE of a loved one who has died. You can think about the traits that you admired about him/her and work on those things in your own life. And a loved one's death usually jolts me to remember to make each moment count and live life to the fullest. And not to take the people still around me for granted. We never know how much time we have left here on this planet. |
By Fredescu on Thursday, January 29, 1998 - 08:37 pm: |
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By R.C. on Friday, January 30, 1998 - 12:26 am: |
As for the rest of this thread -- GB pretty much covered the bases for me. Death doesn't teach the one who dies anything -- esp. sudden death. It teaches children even less when they die of horrible diseases. And beyond honing our ability to cope with pain & loss/I do not see how losing a spouse or a parent or a child or a friend -- not to natural causes after they've lived a long, full life -- but losing them thru an act of violence/or an illness that no child shd ever have to suffer thru/or some insane plague that happens simply becuz you are poor -- can ever be a 'lesson.' I don't see what a 10-yr-old girl 'learns' from being raped/or what 'growth' comes to a 13-yr -old boy from having his father get drunk & beat his ass every weekend. The New Agers never have any sound explainations for any of that shit. Becuz they refuse to believe that Evil exists. Your remark (Fred) sounded just like Marianne Williamson/Deepak Chopra & too many others who have made a fortune feeding people this crap abt how "we create our own reality" & "everything happens for a purpose" & "death is just a transition to another level" (which no one knows/unless they've been there & come back). My anger was at them -- not you. It brings to mind a Bible verse I read in 2nd Timothy that stuck... About how/in the Last Days/mankind will be "always learning & never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth." Nowadays/people change their religion to suit their habits. Wanna divorce yr spouse & marry the person you've been screwing around with behind their back? Here's a faith that teaches you that the pursuit of love is the greatest virtue/that every relationship happens to 'teach you lessons'. And once you learn them/you're free to move on! Wanna have a baby/when you know you're gonna end up raising it alone/becuz you thought that guy was good enuf to fuck/but hey, you don't wanna have to Marry his ass? Find a faith that teaches you Motherhood is the highest calling a woman can have/that Birth Control & Abortion are a sin -- but having a baby you can't support is a Blessing. Wanna be a greedy sonofabitch? Here's a religion that teaches you that "the universe is about abundance/everything you desire will come to you if you release all Negative energy !" (don't YOU think it's odd that so many richfolks follow Chopra?). Nobody wants a religion that requires them to live up to a moral code of conduct/or to sacrifice for the benefit of others. They want a religion that gives them all the benefits of having God in their lives/without having to accept any of the responsibilities. Everyone wants to think that everybody will make it into Heaven/or Some Higher Plane/or be reincarnated as a better model next time around/just becuz they were here sucking air & 'learning lessons' for a few years. And whether you subscribe to "sowing what you reap" or "Karma" or whatever /thinking that there will be no serious consequences for the way we live our present lives/makes no damn sense. I don't claim to be a 'religious' person. But I am a godly person. Becuz I took the time to find out who God is & decided to believe in Him/Her. And to learn what God expects from me. And every day/I try to live up to those expectations. And every day/I fail. But becuz I believe/I keep trying. And becuz I try/there is a little less Sin & Evil & Suffering in the world. That may be the only contribution I ever make to humankind. Those little victories when I didn't lose my temper/or gave a beggar a dollar/or forgave someone who had wronged me. And I fuck up far more than I get it right. But I continue to try to live Right. And as long as that's cool with God/then I'm cool with that. |
By Blindswine on Friday, January 30, 1998 - 10:11 am: |
you know, that was so well stated and totally on point that i started thinking that maybe it's YOU who should be pope... but then i thought, "Nah... Fuck That." |
By Thirsty on Friday, January 30, 1998 - 11:11 am: |
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By R.C. on Friday, January 30, 1998 - 06:19 pm: |
I can't be pope -- I'm supposed to be the High Priestess of Pleasures -- bre-mem-bah? But I fucked around & went on a couple of interviews & now I've got 2 job offers! Damn! And Slacker was gonna appoint me Mistress of Advanced Lounging next week too! I was getting soooo good at Chillin'... Well, I'm still part of the Leisure Class until I give them my answer next Wed. I will truly miss hanging out here in Mark's Mansion. |
By Fredescu on Sunday, February 1, 1998 - 09:44 pm: |
>As for the rest of this thread -- GB pretty much covered the bases for me. Death doesn't teach the one who dies anything -- esp. sudden death.< How can you use this arguement in the same posting as "which no one knows/unless they've been there & come back"? This is a contradiction. According to your own logic you can't speak for the people who have died. I don't and haven't claimed to do this either, although I do believe in an afterlife, as I assume you do. >It teaches children even less when they die of horrible diseases.< Again, you have removed your grounds to say this with the phrase "which no one knows/unless they've been there & come back". >And beyond honing our ability to cope with pain & loss/I do not see how losing a spouse or a parent or a child or a friend -- not to natural causes after they've lived a long, full life -- but losing them thru an act of violence/or an illness that no child shd ever have to suffer thru/or some insane plague that happens simply becuz you are poor -- can ever be a 'lesson.'< You really have to start with the little things first. I've had people die around me from close friends to family, from cancer to heroin overdose, and I've learnt something from each of them, in hindsight if not immediately. But if you don't believe that you can learn something from a recurring dream, a song lyric that gets stuck in your head that you haven't heard in years, or any other seemingly cryptic and useless pieces of life that pass by you, I can hardly expect you to accept what I'm saying. It all comes back to my previous definition of God, which you seemed to have no qualms with. If God is omnipresent, then (s)he IS these song lyrics. (s)He IS this dream. To quote a prominent web journal keeper "He is laughter and he is rape." All of these things are God, and we can listen to he+she if we wish, or we can choose not to. >I don't see what a 10-yr-old girl 'learns' from being raped/or what ?'growth' comes to a 13-yr -old boy from having his father get drunk & beat his ass every weekend.< You can't see straight away, because you aren't them. And "lesson" is perhaps a bad word. But if the Rape victim one day becomes part of a Rape victim support group helping other rape victims, it really brings something good from something obviously not so. Not all rape victims will become involved in support, but it's hard to generalise. You can be pretty certain that the rape victims outlook on life would be fairly differnt, post rape to pre rape. One of my best friends, an ex girlfriend, was raped half way through last year by another of my friends, and my father used to 'beat my arse' with unfortunate regularity. All people involved have claimed to have 'learnt' through these experiences. I'm now living with my father and we are slowly becoming friends. Although the rapee and rapist, don't talk to each other now, each are happily getting on with their lives, and admit that their lives wouldn't have been the same had an unhappy event not have happened. I certainly admit that many rape and assault victims don't recover, but surely this one instance is not totally alone. >The New Agers never have any sound explainations for any of that shit. Becuz they refuse to believe that Evil exists.< Remaining friends with a rapist, and living harmoniously with a man who used to take his aggression out upon me, prooves fairly well that there is no "evil" in these people. I have had satisfactory explanations from both people, and can see that both were operating from a position of fear and confusion. Not "evil". Yes, I do have a belief that no one person is ever inherently evil. Just like Darth Vader. There is an old saying, of which I have forgotten the source: "One senator is a good man, the senate is evil." It works for gangs, corporations, governments and most other groups. >Your remark (Fred) sounded just like Marianne Williamson/Deepak Chopra & too many others who have made a fortune feeding people this crap abt how "we create our own reality" & "everything happens for a purpose" & "death is just a transition to another level" (which no one knows/unless they've been there & come back). My anger was at them -- not you. It brings to mind a Bible verse...< I've never heard of these people, but it's odd that you reference the Bible and denounce the afterlife in a single paragraph. And of course we are the basis for our own reality. To a colourblind person, the world is grey (or devoid of whatever colour they are blind of), but to a normal sighted person, the world contains these colours. To a deaf person the city is silent. Our beliefs can have a stronger affect on our life than you suggest. Koori's (the Australian native race, otherwise known as Aboriginies), had a belief that if the spiritual leader of a tribe pointed a sacred bone at them, they would die. They believed this so deeply that it worked every time, and incidents of this still happen today. Midnight Oil had a lyric I recall: "Point the finger, point the bone." I don't know what the name of this song this was, but it was a reference to this Koori tradition. A tradition that operated within different boundaries than most other races. They therefore, obviously, lived in a different reality. But philosophical arguments about reality are boring and always seem to collapse into arguements about defintion, about what words mean. It's instantly obvious, and widely accepted that reality is a subjective term, meaning that everyones reality is based on what they are, and therefore different for everyone. >...I read in 2nd Timothy that stuck... About how/in the Last Days/mankind will be "always learning & never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth."< This phrase is a little cryptic for me to decipher. Most Bible quotes need to be taken in context to mean anything. My first though was that everything we learn is false. Does this extend to things we learn about religion? Is everything we learn about religion, including the quote you gave, false? Surely not. I must have misinterpreted. >Everyone wants to think that everybody will make it into Heaven/or Some Higher Plane/or be reincarnated as a better model next time around/just becuz they were here sucking air & 'learning lessons' for a few years. And whether you subscribe to "sowing what you reap" or "Karma" or whatever thinkingthat there will be no serious consequences for the way we live our present lives/makes no damn sense. < A belief in Karma WOULD imply a belief in consequences for doing bad stuff. I DO belive that everyone moves to a "higher plane" after death, but that their life here directly correlates with their life there. Not necessarily different realms of heaven and hell, just different experiences. A happy person and a drug addict can live in the same city, but their level of comfort is obviously much different. The happy person in a sense, is in heaven, while the drug addict is in hell. I don't see why the afterlife should be much different. I can only speculate though. >I don't claim to be a 'religious' person. But I am a godly person. Becuz I took the time to find out who God is & decided to believe in Him/Her. And to learn what God expects from me. And every day/I try to live up to those expectations. And every day/I fail. But becuz I believe/I keep trying. And becuz I try/there is a little less Sin & Evil & Suffering in the world.< You have a direct line to a separate being who is "God"? This is how you know what (s)he wants and expects? Do you have her+his Fax number? You are upset about many different people claiming many different religions, but you seem to have your own little religion here. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but everyone has different morals. People should have the freedom to change spouses, raise a child on their own or make a lot of money, and not have to live within the confines of an organised religion, whose laws are often based on the laws of the TIMES, not the teaching that forms the basis of the religion. >That may be the only contribution I ever make to humankind. Those little victories when I didn't lose my temper/or gave a beggar a dollar/or forgave someone who had wronged me. And I fuck up far more than I get it right. But I continue to try to live Right. And as long as that's cool with God/then I'm cool with that. That is all fine, but how do you know that God is "cool with that"? |
By R.C. on Sunday, February 1, 1998 - 10:50 pm: |
This thread cd go on forever & ever Amen. Perhaps it will. But I think I expressed what I had to say/in terms of my beliefs/as effectively as I could. I didn't invent Christianity. It was around long before I arrived & will continue to exist after I'm gone. I don't claim to have come up with any of these teachings/only to subscribe to them becuz most of them they make sense to me. It's up to you & everyone else to find a belief system that makes sense to you/one that is not based on anything as ephemeral as 'the laws of the Times'/or social customs/or whatever the hell someone feels like doing at a particular moment. A belief system based on moral principles that have stood the test of Time. Ultimatley/this world will come to an end/& then we'll all find out whether what we chose to believe was true or not. |
By Fredescu on Monday, February 2, 1998 - 04:46 pm: |
But If you're happy, then I'm happy for you. |
By MacBeath on Tuesday, February 3, 1998 - 12:35 pm: |
RC If you accept the idea of God as an omniscient omnipotent being, one of a kind, infinitely greater in spirit and in understanding than yourself, which is where you appear to be going from where I stand (do correct me if I'm wrong. I frequently am) - how can you expect to have any notion of what "God EXPECTS" from you? If God is the being/entity you wish it to be then it is the great unknowable, and all the claims you wish to make about Christ's teachings are as verifiable as the word of L Ron Hubbard. Remember when Christianity first came into being the Romans regarded it as a funny cult - they had an established religious system already. I do not care what belief system anyone ascribes to, just as long as they do not claim to know the mind of God, a god, any god. No one knows anything. Except perhaps the set of ethics they choose to live by. Which is cool. Mostly. Like Fredescu, I find organised religion mainly 1984, with its head up its own arse failing to practise anything it preaches. Maybe Fred doesn't find that last bit... |
By R.C. on Tuesday, February 3, 1998 - 03:16 pm: |
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By Fredescu on Tuesday, February 3, 1998 - 08:51 pm: |
Nah, I'm too busy with my head up MY OWN arse, to notice where anybody elses is... |
By MacBeath on Wednesday, February 4, 1998 - 07:23 am: |
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By R.C. on Wednesday, February 4, 1998 - 08:48 pm: |
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By Pink Eye on Thursday, February 5, 1998 - 04:04 am: |
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By R.C. on Thursday, February 5, 1998 - 04:26 am: |
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By Fredescu on Thursday, February 5, 1998 - 05:19 pm: |
Colgate in the UK had an out of court settlement of a few thousand pounds when they were confronted by a case where the flouride in their toothpaste actually DAMAGED the teeth. SOmethingflourosis it was called. This may be slightly off topic though... |
By Fredescu on Thursday, February 5, 1998 - 05:21 pm: |
If you don't believe in God, you don't know what God is. |
By Captain Video on Thursday, February 5, 1998 - 11:39 pm: |
I can understand you rejecting the notion of an authoritarian, wrathful, vengeful, patriarchal God but I think if you deny the existance of the spiritual side of life I think you are definitely limiting your scope to a very small part of the whole picture. Try to keep open to different concepts of metaphysical ideas, in other words. . keep an open mind. Don't swallow 'hook line and sinker', established beliefs based on fear, but I think you will find it natural to at least acknowledge the hidden transcendent personal awareness which permeates all Life. You cannot see the wind, you can't see electricity and you can't see Love but you Know they're there. Friendly advice is to try to keep an open mind toward a Greater Good. |
By MacBeath on Friday, February 6, 1998 - 11:49 am: |
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By Alienprobe on Friday, March 6, 1998 - 08:54 pm: |
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By Venatrix Mirjen on Thursday, March 19, 1998 - 07:08 pm: |
so...topic is 'god is a myth', is it? Hm. Which one? Lots of gods out there. Jove, Jehovah, J. R. "Bob" Dobbs...it's all mythology. All written by human (or alien) hands. If written by aliens, I firmly believe that the purpose is to make us all more managable when the aliens come to take over the planet. and the proof argument...really, if you get enough good philosophers together, they can't prove a thing. or disprove. only one thing can be proven, in my mind. Oneself. i can't prove that this is going to be met by critisism from Xians, but I expect it to happen. Past experiences that I remember tell me that. But if I didn't remember, I don't think I'd be as hesitant. So if i've got to beleive in one thing, one thing at all, it's going to be me. |
By Slacker on Thursday, March 19, 1998 - 09:40 pm: |
and circus folk? |
By Whacker on Friday, March 20, 1998 - 12:19 am: |
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By Slacker on Friday, March 20, 1998 - 12:33 am: |
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By J. Falwell on Friday, March 20, 1998 - 06:57 pm: |
Circus Folk = New testament |
By The committee on Friday, March 20, 1998 - 08:18 pm: |
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By Venatrix Mirjen on Friday, March 20, 1998 - 08:34 pm: |
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By The chairman on Friday, March 20, 1998 - 08:47 pm: |
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By J. Falwell on Friday, March 20, 1998 - 11:52 pm: |
Invisible Robot Space Monkeys = Book of Mormon |
By Slacker on Saturday, March 21, 1998 - 01:11 am: |
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By Lynn on Sunday, April 12, 1998 - 07:49 pm: |
We are all in this together, the whole human race and everything. Jared, i'm sorry i don't know you and so I don't have your point of view to confer with on this subject. however, You must have said the hell with the whole human race. I beleive in the human race, and the human spirit. Did you just give up? You sounded mad at the whole damn world, jared. was the world unkind? I'm sorry, that's the way the world works. Now, who knows, we may destroy ourselves in the end, but just think about how far the human race has come. Did we get there by giving up? You may think I'm full of shit but i don't really give a damn. I hate it when people are apathetic and antisocial and all that. and if this really doesn't make a lot of sense to all of you i'm sorry, i don't flaunt my vocabulary skills a lot and write pages and pages of nonsense that, by the way, I got bored with so I skipped over it. bye. |
By R.C. on Sunday, April 12, 1998 - 08:18 pm: |
So Lynn, you blow off Jared for being "apathetic & antisocial" while saying in the same breath that unkindness is "just the way the world works"...? Jared started this BBS becuz he wanted to say something abt not believing in God/becuz he sees no proof of God's existence or love. He never claimed to have given up on the entire human race. He wasn't particularly 'antisocial' -- just ambivalent or uncertain. But the kid certainly opened up an interesting premise. Care to address the issue at hand, Lynn? Or does that bore you too much? |
By Boognish Mighty God of Payphones on Tuesday, April 14, 1998 - 01:36 pm: |
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By Venatrix Mirjen on Sunday, April 19, 1998 - 07:07 pm: |
Just because one is an atheist, a vehement one in my case, or questioning, because one is dark or brooding, doesn't mean we've given up on 'the whole human race'. Parts of it perhaps. Watching people kill themselves slowly makes me furious; human stupidity drives me insane. Personally, the line 'you may think...but i don't give a damn' is a bit ironic of you, hypocritical perhaps. because isn't that apathy? (apathy is good in some instances, you know.) being antisocial is bad? some of the best geniuses of the world are/were antisocial. social people say that - social people who are generally insecure. your whole argument about Jared seems somewhat trite. vapid, at that. some people...<sigh> |
By Captain Video on Tuesday, May 26, 1998 - 11:56 am: |
Thank you for your compassionate attempt to reach Mr. Jared. I tried to tell him the same thing but in different words. I'm glad that there's at least one person on this Net that doesn't think that Spirituality is a big joke or something out of a Star Trek Movie. They are the other extremes of the red-neck bible-thumping fundamentalists who try to use fear to get people to accept their dogmatic interpretation of the scriptures. I identify with being a Pagan which is Earth/Nature based metaphysical spirituality. I just think it is a more natural way to get in tuned with ones normal loving self and the natural beauty of the environment. I have no animosity toward Christianity or any other religion. I just don't like when they say that their path is the only true path. I just happen to prefer Western Paganism as a good pagan takes positive ideas from any philosophy, even if it happened to be from Christianity. I appreciated reading your reply. Clinton Lee, New Orleans, Louisiana. There may be other good ones but you're the first one who doesn't seem to think that spirituality is a big joke. Now I will see if there are some other caring individuals. |
By Holden on Tuesday, May 26, 1998 - 02:43 pm: |
For those holding their breath for Proof, let in out already! This isn't like molecular genetics, where the Truth is out There but not yet fully discovered. Belief in God is purely a matter of faith. For my part, I believe. |
By Venatrix Mirjen on Saturday, May 30, 1998 - 10:57 pm: |
'posing...to be cool'? Where I live the people still think like it's the 1620s - if I wanted to fit in, I wouldn't do this. It's also not reactionary for the sake of reaction. I work magic, but I don't believe in a god/gods because I know that I'm working things, that the Universe has potential we're not tapping into. Maybe that is (a) G/god/dess. I just don't think it needs to be worshipped - I'd like to divert my time and energy elsewhere, not in worship, because worship isn't natural. |
By Nate on Sunday, May 31, 1998 - 02:04 pm: |
I find this to be a very odd statement. In the past you've stated you are an atheist, that is, the absolute nonbelief in the possiblity of a deity. Above you seem to hint you believe in the possibility, but not in the idea of worship. Perhaps it is all a matter of semantics. I feel that worship is an expression of devotion to an energy. "Working magic" is much the same, in many ways. I have trouble expressing these things in public forums. If you are interested, drop me a line. nate@sorabji.com |
I feel that we don't have the authority to say that we are right by our own logic, because our logic will fail us. Therefore, it doesn't matter if you believe that the Bible is the word of God or not, because if it is, then what you believe doesn't really matter whether it is true or not. So, that being said, I often wonder why this is the most visited place on this site. People who claim that they don't believe in the Bible and Jesus Christ are the most vivid of talkers on this site. Therefore, I submit to you that the Bible says that very few will make it to heaven, unless they believe on the name of Jesus Christ, and the death that he suffered for you. And, whether you believe it or not, you will stand at judgement some day, and fortunately, your blood will not be on my hands. But, this letter will ring out for eternity in your mind. But, before you judge me, as if you haven't already, let me tell you that if there is a Satan, then wouldn't he have you in the position that you are in right now, if he wanted you to spend forever in hell? If you trust your logic now, then you will die. You will have nothing. If there is a God, then if you don't believe in him, then why should he believe in you? |
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Logic isn't the end all-be all, despite what some of it's practitioners may claim. It's a 100% probable that there are things in the universe that we cannot comprehend using our current mode of thought and all true followers of logic know that. However, if you're a true follower of god (foreign or domestic) then you must think that your belief encompases everything. If you doubt, you're not a true follower. (Unless you eventually see the error of your ways.) Brett sayeth, "Therefore, it doesn't matter if you believe that the Bible is the word of God or not, because if it is, then what you believe doesn't really matter whether it is true or not." Why do you say "if it is"? That must mean you're open to the possibility that it isn't. You must not be a true believer. Brett sayeth, "I submit to you that the Bible says that very few will make it to heaven..." Yeah. It's a shame that you won't be one of them. Only 144,000. How could you be so arrogant to think you're one of the chosen few? Seeing that you're such a doubter of the bible and all. Brett sayeth, "And, whether you believe it or not, you will stand at judgement some day, and fortunately, your blood will not be on my hands." Yes, and you will be judged too, and you will be found WANTING in the eyes of GOD because of your doubt. But, here's the kicker. Because you've just decided, of your own free will, that you're not your brother's keeper, you're far worse than any of us non-believers could ever be. You've left us out in the cold. You've forsaken us when you could have done everything in your power to bring us into the light. You've failed us and your GOD. And you say we'll rot in hell forever. God may love the righteous, but he despises the self righteous. I'll save a seat for you in the barbeque. |
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I couldn't have put it better myself, Antigone. I knew someone like that from work -- my old supervisor in fact. Used to be a big time party girl but then "found jesus" and all of a sudden, she was better than the rest of us, better than those of us who were not yet saved. I used to enjoy the idea that when she got to heaven (IF she got to heaven and not that I believe in heaven anyway) God would kick her out on her self righteous ass for completely getting the whole concept wrong. An example: I was doing the MS Walkathon and asked her if she wanted to sponsor me. I had to SHOW her the pamphlet because she wanted to know what disease I was walking for. God forbid it would be the AIDS Walk. No no, she couldn't, wouldn't have any part of THAT! Those people deserve what they get, didn't I know that? She also believed in a strict interpretation of the bible, as in - the earth is only 6 thousand years old or whatever. I asked her how she accounted for dinosaur fossils. Were they hoaxes? Oh no, she replied. They mention dinosaurs in the bible! They do? Where? Oh yeah, that part in the Old Testament where Moses gets eaten by the T-Rex after he comes down from the Mount.... dumb. |
'existence' see first two messages at top of page |
or is that "boreds"? |
Every single person has held conversations with himself, standing at the proverbial crossroads. Listen, really listen to what is being said inside of you. Very quietly, God is speaking to you. You usually can't hear him, "the world is too much with us." He is telling you what you should do. This is why prayer is so important. I admit I don't practice near as much as I should, and my state of belief is in definite flux. But I know one thing: when I take the time to listen, he speaks to me, making suggestions, affirming his love for me, showing me the path he wants me to take. You can believe this is just your consiousness, and probably many of you do. Prayer, or meditate. Consider your existance, and how you fit into the scheme of the universe. Is there really a power greater than ourselves? And what happens when you don't listen to that voice in your head, and do otherwise? You walk down the wrong path, and could be perpetuating your own personal Hell. Nobody alive today can answer that still small voice 100% of the time, but it will show you a better way to live. I believe there are several paths to God and Heaven, but ultimately there is only one destination. Find your own path. You can share in the descriptions of other people's journey, but only one person is walking in your shoes. |
"This thread is dead." - Antigone |
Beware where you find your truths. And this thread will never die. |
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I'm in a bad mood. |
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I don't belive in god but I believe in gremlins. |
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hello! |
Do you go with A=440 or the baroque standard? So, you're god and I'm god, that means we're the same right? |
And I think that at least "Cardinal Blindswine'" sounds fine. |
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No comment on Spunky's libido. :p |
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i'm on the pices cusp, though. |
I'm a Gemini. |
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"Their [sic] is a side to Geminians [sic] which can become deeply involved emotionally, and another, hostile to sentimentality, which stands back from a romantic situation, laughing at it and the protagonists in it, including themselves while analyzing it intellectually." Now that's me. |
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My brother is an Ophiucus. I'm so jealous. |
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I ususally read my horoscope the day after (when I actually get to read it) |
Check it out: http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/zodiac.html |
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my sister has a zodiac tattoo. I'm so ashamed. |
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chicks seem to dig it and that's what matters the most. |
Until one day (years before the interview) a sceptical friend of his proposed an experiment: tell the people exactly the opposite of what he saw in their hands, and see what they thought. He tried it, and as usual, they were dumbstruck by his accuracy. . In the same documentary, a guy handed a bunch of college students folded pieces of paper with their names on them. After they read them, he asked for a show of hands that thought they were "very accurate" and got about 3/4 of the room. All but a couple people thought it was at least "fairly accurate". They were all the same. . Compare your daily horoscope from two or three different places for the same day. They're often contradictory if they make any declarative statements at all. Otherwise they're just generic good advice. . . That said, I once poked through a huge book that had stuff for every day of the year and cross references describing the kinds of relationships people are likely to have based on the day they were born. Actually, I think the cross references were by week, not day. But anyway... I was all kinds of impressed. And they weren't all completely generic and vague. There were some that said things like "you will clash with this person." It had marriage suggestions for different weeks and things like that. |
interesting. Just realize that it has absolutely no bearing on the validity of palm reading, astrology, or fortune telling. All of your points pertain to the way people consume and judge those arts, not the arts themselves. I'm not saying that palm reading, astrology, or fortune telling are valid, just that your observations (from the documentary) don't address their validity. |
it's also pure, fucking insanity. i'm an aries. |
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In this oversimplified manner, astrology is a parlor game. Another thing to point out is that the accuracy of the "prediction" is measured by the person it is about, when most people are biased about seeing themselves. Generally all negativities are avoided because nobody wants bad news. |
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"Aries:hard working,honest,and allways looking for the next lay." Well, I would say that is all true, except for the whole looking for the next lay thing. I already have more than I can handle. It's what I get for marrying a Saggitarius :p And to answer your question honey, Kebron's birthday is Dec. 12th. Same year as you. So you are both Saggitarius. |
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moon in virgo leo ascendant |
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Moon in Aquarius, Cancer ascendant. I typed some stuff into web site once and they compiled my chart, it's almost completely air and water with an Aries midheaven (I think). |
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And Kebron |
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K |
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