> The trick? is to understand.....that .....the term of "God".... is? > I've never been really good at tricks, lol.
I didn't mean it was a trick literally. Its not a trick. Its real. Perhaps God IS all that, but it doesn't > establish creation. I am not saying that God is all that is. I am denying that. I never said that. When I say that God is Being I do not mean that he is everything that is. Everything that is is planets and stars and etc etc. That is not God. Now the fact that everything is. That is different from what it is. What it is is natural. The fact that it is is supernatural. That means that the fact that it is is not what it is. Do you see that? It is in the latter that that God lies. God is supernatural not natural. There are millions of microscopic living things > that suggest something other than some simplistic creation by a > supernatural being, especially when you consider millennial existence > of the universe. Simplistic creation? Where did you get that from? Not me. IF scripture, as you point out, has other non > contextual meaning then for sure, as I pointed out, it therefore is a > more complex collection of Aesop's fables than the word of God. In a sense you are right. You see fairy tales and other myths also hold truths about metaphysical reality. And they also are not literal. But what gives them their power is that, in spite of the fact that they are not literally true, they still capture a form of truth. They are about something deep - wickedness and fear and all kinds of things. In the extreme, if they are truly inspired, then they also are the word of god. Look > at Noah and the great flood story, the building of the Ark for two of > each kind male and female etc. Why would a supernatural omni-all > being have to save anything when all of it could just be re-created? Again, you are taking it literally. The meaning of that story has to do with how we respond to life. It is not that there was a real flood. > It's just another story about punishment over man's wickedness. No it is not. It is about how to steer through the wickedness. How, by following the most crazy advice that you hear that you can emerge ok in the end. Its about survival and husbandry. Its about believing your deepest instincts. > I feel the bible is a book of metaphor and allegory > written by common man in his time, with common means and > understanding. There is nothing you can explain that can present it > as the word of God even if it is necessary to have a word, which I > doubt. Well I am not sure it was written by a common man, but that aside, if it was that does not mean it was not the word of God. The question is what was in the person writing at the time. But let's say for argument sake that God really wanted to say > something, would it be a good idea to say it through the people he was > trying to say it to or would it be better to say it in a supernatural > way, like a giant glowing orb that talks? Excellent question. Its the: Why does God form rocks question? Frankly I have never seen this one answered. I have seen some lame attempts where God is sort of maintaining a set for us so that we have free will. That is the closest. But I think it misses the point. I don't know the real answer. The only other clue I might have is its sort of like two lovers who are sitting next to each other one chattering away and the other waiting and hoping in silence that the other will shut up and just look at them and understand. It is like God creates the silence until we are on track and not running at the mouth. Then he speaks. > > People for some reason are captivated by antiquity, archaeological > digs are indicative of man's incessant search for answers to our > origin, surely ancient scriptures are going to be placed high on the > scale of pertinence. This is a contemporary phenomenon. It is not ancient. If it were not for humanity there would be no > need for explanations, scriptures, gods and religion. Man wants to be > God and so through scripture has become God. People don't worship God > they worship Man who has created a scenario in which Man becomes God > in the form of a human baby through a virgin birth. Anyone at the > time could logically reason that if it weren't a virgin birth then the > baby would just be another person. I have to admit the stories are > very creative and do lend a great deal of understanding and guidance > for those who otherwise would be left to wander about lackadaisically > and without direction. I guess that's when the devil is gonna get > you. There is a lot more too it than that. The new Adam as they say. Its about how to conquer original sin which is the blindness and ignorance that is causing all of the problem. > > The only difference between us and the animal kingdom is our ability > to reason... We are animals in every sense of the word and animals reason, not just our species. We are primates. .... which we use to reason that there must be a God that created > all this and hey while were at it, we are so great that we must have > been created in God's image... It is not because we are human, it is because we are sentient... and let's also throw in that we are God's > 'chosen people', That is just a myth from one religion. It is not a universal principle. I am not belittling its religious significance but it is not just egomania. Again you miss the point. > Religious Wars? While modern warfare and a direct link to religion is > debatable there is substantial evidence that religion plays a part in > the mentality of the participants involved in modern wars. Does Jihad > rise up out of Islam or some hippie commune? Do terrorists yell Allah > or what? Let's get real Justin. Why don't you get real. Add up the number of dead killed in the last hundred years and compare it to the number killed in non-religious conflicts. Check it out. Look at the data. As you say.... get real. (You shouldn't buy the "war on terror" propaganda. That is not even a war, or, if it is its the smallest war we've ever been in.) Now if bin laden had waited till he had the Pakisani nukes... then it could have been a real war. Thank God he did not. > > Regardless, history is strewn with religious warfare and the future > most likely wont be exempt. Of course not. But it has nothing to do with actual religion. Don't you see that? Its just that you can use religion to incite subspeciation in us. That gives you the "us" that allows you to "lead us" and in that is the attainment of power. "You" control "us". You should give this another look. Its not just smoke and mirrors. You are missing the point. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
