HelenM

Whatever...it was your words that it would 'freak you out'.

So being freaked out is the same as blind indifference?! I am not familiar with this use of language!

love
Helen

kwigibo

oh , Helen, did u really think i was serious about 42? if u could read expression and body-language there'd be no misunderstanding, what the hell is wrong with you?

HelenM

If only I knew...

HelenM

p.s. original sin???

kwigibo

there's nothing wrong with knowledge Helen, in fact, it's the only thing i'd entertain the idea of claiming right

HelenM

Oh, I don't disagree with that - why do you think I'm taking the course about Jesus at the UU church? Except to gain knowledge?

Although I would say that there are things I'd rather not have children know until they were ready to handle them.

And I wouldn't force certain kinds of knowledge on people.

For example, I doubt most people at my church would want to go to a UU course and that's just fine with me...it's their choice.

love
Helen

kwigibo

all i ask is that if u seek knowledge u should be able to find it, and if you don't want to know something, fine, that's your problem.

HelenM

kwigibo, why not say "if you don't want to know something, fine, that's your choice"?

Don't you think 'problem' is a little judgemental?

Am I wrong not to want to know about what's on all the sites I get solicited to visit, in junk e-mail? I am just not interested, that's all.

love
Helen

babelfish

ME TOO!

GunnerJ

OK, time for a more substantial reply...

Well, if asked if I think such a creature exists, I would have to reply that a great many things could exist, however, I'm neither inclined nor required to believe in them. The concept you have laid out is much like the Brahma of Hinduism: the all-encompasing One that got bored and decided to become Many, and thus the Gods were born.

Question is: how does this eccumanical, syncretist god view people who don't believe in it? If it's so nice as to recognize all religions, practiced sincerely, as a search for it, what about people who view the multitude of religions and the strife caused by there differences, as proof that no god exists that wants people to worship it?

This is an interesting answer, but it begs a few questions: where did these evil spirits come from? Is the Universal God not powerful enough to stop their malice? Is there a Universal Satan with which the Universal God must contend as an equal?

It's interesting that you mention how different this god-concept is from the one presented in the Bible. It makes me wonder why you bother with the Bible at all...

It seems a little odd that the Universal God choses a method of revelation so easy to corrupt (whether by human error/malice, or by "evil spirits.") Why not just make everyone born with a full revelation in his/her head? Or why not make a written revelation, and then use some sort of "magic" to prevent its corruption? Surely the Universal God is not so powerless?

Some other questions are raised: you say the Bible is inspired, but not to be taken literally, and yet you believe in Jesus "100%." Why are the stories about Jesus and his life to be taken at face value? Why can't Jesus' life be just a parable? Or do you think that some parts of hte Bible are inspired and not others? If so, by what criteria do you determine which parts aren't and which parts are? I'm not trying to set up an all or nothing dichotemy, but you need a non-arbitrary way of determining which parts of the Bible are inspired and which aren't if you make this claim. Catholics, for example, trust the interpretation of the Church and the Pope for guidence on Biblical matters. So such systems are possible. So do you have a logically consistant standard of determining which parts of the bible are ture and which are false, or is it dependant simply on your whim?

This is a more interesting area of discussion. If you can identify supernatural things, then it give the idea of supernatural beings (like "evil spirits" and a "Universal God") more credibility. But I wonder what this "weird time" you speak of is. Did you use drugs? Were you mentally ill? This is not meant as an insult, but such things can cloud your preception.

I've seen stereos with manual volume dials that turn when someone presses as button on a remote. What type of radio was this? Did it have such features? Was it old and prone to malfunction? Further, you say that you believe these occurences were to give you "100% belief." Why would a being such as a god resort to such paltry parlor tricks to do this? The Bible describes plauges of locusts and frogs, men walking on water, a few leftover bread and fish feeding thousands... it's kind of sad that the current crop of "miracles" involves wierd things happening to radios.

I fail to see any supernatural implications of this. Was it impossible that this was coincidence? Or maybe the occurance of these numbers wasn't as strange as you think, but rather you just paid more attention to them. Think about this: you see three occurances of one number in a certain situation. You start to think this odd, and perhaps signifigant. Now you have the idea in your head that wierd things are happening with numbers. On any other day, you wouldn't notice that the change for your lunch is 43 cents, but today it's a miracle. Why?

This is where your claim that you were going through a "weird time" becomes important. Even if you weren't on drugs or psychologically unstable, sane and sober people have been known to halucinate under the right circumstances. What was it like when you heard these voices? Had you been out in the sun for a while? Is it possible that some fumes were in the air that made you lightheaded? Were you physically ill? And if you conclude from hearing these "evil voice" that there are "evil spirits" to go along with it, why would these "evil spirits" let you know of their existance so you could peice together thier plans to cause religious stirfe?

I look forward to your reply.