Your God is your ultimate barrier to finding the Godhead.

[Greatest I am]

It can be said it's wishful thinking to assume even death will enlighten us lol

[video=youtube;lu3VTngm1F0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu3VTngm1F0[/video]

Regards
DL

 

[Stone]

And what is wrong with that. Then I would have to love my neighbour as myself and do unto him what I would like done to me.

A philosophy that you have yet to practice.

If Christians followed those rules, then women and Gays would have had full equality many years ago the same way Gnostics did.

Regards
DL

And what is wrong with that.

Low standards?

A philosophy that you have yet to practice.

How do you know that, are you all seeing, all knowing?

If Christians followed those rules, then women and Gays would have had full equality many years ago the same way Gnostics did.

The intolerance you've been posting betrays at least your own intentions.
Take your stance on supporting the corruption and degradation of society by way of your illogical support of legalizing drug abuse.
You essentially support chemical slavery and then have the gall to paint all Christians as radical fundamentalists
Slick.....you are a hoot!

 

[Stone]

What is your belief and what are a couple of things that you cannot explain outside of theological terms?

Regards
DL

You gotta be kidding

I'm not proselyzing my own beliefs here and don't intend to take any flack from you on what I do believe.
Don't like it?>>tough.
I don't debate what I don't know and I'm not here asking you for answers I strongly suspect you wouldn't answer without bias, anyway.




I prefer to let you run off at the mouth and question it :eek

Works for me

 

[Greatest I am]

Low standards?




How do you know that, are you all seeing, all knowing?


The intolerance you've been posting betrays at least your own intentions.
Take your stance on supporting the corruption and degradation of society by way of your illogical support of legalizing drug abuse.
You essentially support chemical slavery and then have the gall to paint all Christians as radical fundamentalists
Slick.....you are a hoot!

And you show your low standards with lies.

Regards
DL

 

[Stone]

And you show your low standards with lies.

Regards
DL

You ought to know by now that tactic doesn't get a rise out of me when I have little to no respect for a particular individual

 

[Greatest I am]

Works for me

Yes. Hiding and distortions of information works for you.
Rather a pathetic mind living in fear and cowardice.

Regards
DL

 

[Stone]

Yes. Hiding and distortions of information works for you.
Rather a pathetic mind living in fear and cowardice.

Regards
DL

I sense I've made you bitter ( .... )

 

[Stone]

Yes. Hiding and distortions of information works for you.
Rather a pathetic mind living in fear and cowardice.

Regards
DL

Wouldn't it be ironic in the final analysis if someone like me turned out to be your 'godhead' ?

 

[Stone]

I have duties to fulfill that require my absence here, so enjoy the afternoon, GIA......

 

[Minor Axis]

It can be said it's wishful thinking to assume even death will enlighten us lol

A lot of religious folks think all their questions will be answered upon passing. I believe your view has an equal possibility.

 

[Stone]

A lot of religious folks think all their questions will be answered upon passing. I believe your view has an equal possibility.

I probably wasn't clear as I was shooting for humor, but the question of an afterlife will be settled.......what many call the the soul will either experience it or not.
I'm of the former belief, but logically.....only through the event of death , the final act one makes in this physical reality,does proof of an after life resolve with absolute certainty.
For that we all have to wait and see individually what does or doesn't transpire.
The catch, of course, is that if nothing transpires, there no way of realizing it.

Will all questions be answered, I honestly don't know. I like to think so.
I hope I haven't come off so arrogant as to present an image of myself as all knowing.

But I do know BS when I see it.

 

[TenaciousDave]

I see that you did not quite get the O P either.

Regards
DL

Damn!

 

[Panacea]

A lot of religious folks think all their questions will be answered upon passing. I believe your view has an equal possibility.

It would seem to be the ultimate in arrogance, given our lack of knowledge and the realm of possibility, to assume we know! But tempting, yes

 

[Minor Axis]

I probably wasn't clear as I was shooting for humor, but the question of an afterlife will be settled.......what many call the the soul will either experience it or not.
I'm of the former belief, but logically.....only through the event of death , the final act one makes in this physical reality,does proof of an after life resolve with absolute certainty.
For that we all have to wait and see individually what does or doesn't transpire.
The catch, of course, is that if nothing transpires, there no way of realizing it.

Will all questions be answered, I honestly don't know. I like to think so.
I hope I haven't come off so arrogant as to present an image of myself as all knowing.

But I do know BS when I see it.

I respect your view on this.

The definition of belief: to have confidence or faith in the truth of (a positive assertion, story, etc.); give credence to.

My perspective is that I don't like using the word "belief" to describe faith because I lack the confidence (for whatever the reason) to achieve that threshold. And I'm not worried about God disapproving because it's not a matter of me refusing to see, but being unable to see. If God was that worried about it, he'd help out.

Even the word "faith" does not connotate 100% assurance, just a threshold of confidence, as if you were a betting person, you'd feel the odds are highly in your favor. My feelings of doubt are reinforced by the shaky and outright terrible stories included in the Bible. After all the Bible is just a compilation of stories written by ancient superstitious men, compiled by other men with an agenda. There is nothing there that makes me feel confident they had a better handle on the spiritual world than we have today.

Shaky story= Noah's Ark.
Terrible story= Adam and Eve.

 

[Stone]

I respect your view on this.

The definition of belief: to have confidence or faith in the truth of (a positive assertion, story, etc.); give credence to.

My perspective is that I don't like using the word "belief" to describe faith because I lack the confidence (for whatever the reason) to achieve that threshold. And I'm not worried about God disapproving because it's not a matter of me refusing to see, but being unable to see. If God was that worried about it, he'd help out.

Even the word "faith" does not connotate 100% assurance, just a threshold of confidence, as if you were a betting person, you'd feel the odds are highly in your favor. My feelings of doubt are reinforced by the shaky and outright terrible stories included in the Bible. After all the Bible is just a compilation of stories written by ancient superstitious men, compiled by other men with an agenda. There is nothing there that makes me feel confident they had a better handle on the spiritual world than we have today.

Shaky story= Noah's Ark.
Terrible story= Adam and Eve.

Filtering the Bible is not something easily done.
And I'm certainly no expert for the challenge other than what it means to me.
Trying to equate The Flood tale and the Garden of Eden with literal reality is a virtual impossibility, imo.
I see them as lessons told from a time when philosophy and logic were of a different nature and difficult to understand by today's standards,

There is nothing there that makes me feel confident they had a better handle on the spiritual world than we have today.

Hard to tell, imo.
This is more of an age of materialism and cynicism.
Would we recognize the coming of Christ?
Many didn't 2000 years ago, but how would that compare to today?
Maybe this is why so many fundamentalists reject science? The challenge to perceive is no longer a rehash of what was known and established in the past......because new and more correct knowledge affects how we perceive reality?

After all the Bible is just a compilation of stories written by ancient superstitious men, compiled by other men with an agenda.

IMO, it's supposed to be the testimony of reputable men relating their experiences with God as a tool to spread understanding of Him.
Sadly, it's been corrupted and it's message weaponized by those seeking power from it.

Consider the Commandment about killing.
There is an argument about whether the translation means 'kill' or 'murder'.
Last I looked in Strong's Dictionary on original Hebrew, the term used meant 'man destroy'.
Hebrew seems very contextually oriented from what I've read.
Some times the same term can mean 'kill' other times the same word 'murder'.
In this instance, it's 'man destroy', or 'kill'.
There is significance here........murder is an act defined by the laws of man.
It's illogical that man would write a Law handed down by God.
So why the conflict?....It allows killing with impunity in conjunction with man's written law. And that rationalizes war.
It's not in the spirit of the Ten Commandments until revision is made to accommodate the wanted actions of leaders. And revising a Law of God just isn't in the job description of our religious and political leaders.
So the Bible gets further corrupted.

 

[Minor Axis]

Filtering the Bible is not something easily done.
And I'm certainly no expert for the challenge other than what it means to me.
Trying to equate The Flood tale and the Garden of Eden with literal reality is a virtual impossibility, imo.
I see them as lessons told from a time when philosophy and logic were of a different nature and difficult to understand by today's standards,

So based on your statement I can infer some of it (the Bible) has no good message for us today, in fact in some cases terrible or meaningless messages and lessons? Why are they promoted as the word of God, especially the story of Adam and Eve or the story of Job, such awful stories counter to our understanding of the relationship between humans and a creator who supposedly loves us? I also see no value in Noah's Ark. God was so pissed off he wipes out everyone except Noah and his immediate family... I don't see the fascination with this. Ultimately the lessons tend to be, do as God bids or else!

Hard to tell, imo.
This is more of an age of materialism and cynicism.
Would we recognize the coming of Christ?
Many didn't 2000 years ago, but how would that compare to today?
Maybe this is why so many fundamentalists reject science? The challenge to perceive is no longer a rehash of what was known and established in the past......because new and more correct knowledge affects how we perceive reality?

As I've said previously in this forum, how could God or Jesus prove himself to us, versus a high tech alien? The relationship would have to be of a more spiritual nature. In the mind of ancient man, every bad thing that happened was the result of a pissed off God. You have to take into account this fact when trying to assign truth to ancient documents.

IMO, it's supposed to be the testimony of reputable men relating their experiences with God as a tool to spread understanding of Him.
Sadly, it's been corrupted and it's message weaponized by those seeking power from it.

Man is very good at corrupting everything we can for personal benefit. We've got some work to do in that department.

Consider the Commandment about killing.
There is an argument about whether the translation means 'kill' or 'murder'.
Last I looked in Strong's Dictionary on original Hebrew, the term used meant 'man destroy'.
Hebrew seems very contextually oriented from what I've read.
Some times the same term can mean 'kill' other times the same word 'murder'.
In this instance, it's 'man destroy', or 'kill'.
There is significance here........murder is an act defined by the laws of man.
It's illogical that man would write a Law handed down by God.
So why the conflict?....It allows killing with impunity in conjunction with man's written law. And that rationalizes war.
It's not in the spirit of the Ten Commandments until revision is made to accommodate the wanted actions of leaders. And revising a Law of God just isn't in the job description of our religious and political leaders.
So the Bible gets further corrupted.

It seems like there is little chance of humanity getting straightened out any time soon. I admit to fantasizing about the Earth being the spirit simulator allowing spirits a setting to learn lessons and overcome obstacles with multiple opportunities. That actually seems more hopeful, than imagining new born humans having one chance to get it right.

 

[Stone]

So based on your statement I can infer some of it (the Bible) has no good message for us today, in fact in some cases terrible or meaningless messages and lessons? Why are they promoted as the word of God, especially the story of Adam and Eve or the story of Job, such awful stories counter to our understanding of the relationship between humans and a creator who supposedly loves us? I also see no value in Noah's Ark. God was so pissed off he wipes out everyone except Noah and his immediate family... I don't see the fascination with this. Ultimately the lessons tend to be, do as God bids or else!





As I've said previously in this forum, how could God or Jesus prove himself to us, versus a high tech alien? The relationship would have to be of a more spiritual nature. In the mind of ancient man, every bad thing that happened was the result of a pissed off God. You have to take into account this fact when trying to assign truth to ancient documents.




Man is very good at corrupting everything we can for personal benefit. We've got some work to do in that department.



It seems like there is little chance of humanity getting straightened out any time soon. I admit to fantasizing about the Earth being the spirit simulator allowing spirits a setting to learn lessons and overcome obstacles with multiple opportunities. That actually seems more hopeful, than imagining new born humans having one chance to get it right.

So based on your statement I can infer some of it (the Bible) has no good message for us today, in fact in some cases terrible or meaningless messages and lessons?

I had hoped on our conversation being on a higher plane rather that the typical polarization seen in most debate forums, or like from GIA.
I suggest you infer I mean nothing beyond what I posted.
Elements have been added to the Bible that scholars often think are politically motivated and men often translate the Bible to give themselves power........period.
I suspect much of Genesis is a tale of creation devoid of scientific fact because man at that time had neither the knowledge nor ability to describe his environment accurately and presented much of it in allegory as best he could.

Why are they promoted as the word of God

You'll have to ask a fundamentalist why circular logic is a proof.
I have none and don't claim the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, or did you somehow miss out on that?

Ultimately the lessons tend to be, do as God bids or else!

That's the Old Testament, for sure.
If it bothers you, don't read it.

As I've said previously in this forum, how could God or Jesus prove himself to us, versus a high tech alien?

A religious belief can't be scientifically proven.
The 'proof' would be performing acts that can't be explained. Anything a high tech alien can perform could be learned (explained).
You appear to want empirical evidence of a religious belief......a contradiction of comparisons.

In the mind of ancient man, every bad thing that happened was the result of a pissed off God. You have to take into account this fact when trying to assign truth to ancient documents.

Probably so and it still goes on today.
So?
It sounds like you don't want to believe in a supreme being.
Sincerely....it doesn't offend me that you don't.....and I've come to realize I just don't care what others believe or don't believe so long as they don't try to foist their position on me.

Man is very good at corrupting everything we can for personal benefit. We've got some work to do in that department.

Indeed........it likely will never end.

It seems like there is little chance of humanity getting straightened out any time soon. I admit to fantasizing about the Earth being the spirit simulator allowing spirits a setting to learn lessons and overcome obstacles with multiple opportunities. That actually seems more hopeful, than imagining new born humans having one chance to get it right.

Lost me on that one.