Not much physics, David, but there could be science involved. Suppose
a reality exists independent of this one. Would not an effort to
understand this reality be interesting, independent of the old and
primitive explanations provided by religion? By the way, I don't
think Buddhists are atheists. They believe in a spirit reality that is
too complex for the human mind to comprehend, although they make an
effort. They ignore God because this concept has no meaning to
rational people. This is not to deny that intelligence exist in the
spirit world. The view is that this intelligence does not have the
characteristics that the religions require of God.
Ed
On Nov 8, 2008, at 7:35 AM, David Jonsson wrote:
Where is the physics in all of this?
Surely the atheist Buddhists have a point when they criticize
western physics which they find opinionated. This is consistent with
how Buddhists in general criticize theistic engagements and no one
can deny that the strong Christian tradition in the west could have
affected physics. Buddhists have written many books on the subject
from the philosophical standpoint. Concepts like randomness and
statistical concepts are criticized as being used without
motivation. The physicists are being criticized for doing as they
think objective choices when in fact they are doing a personal
choice. They western physics vacuum is not as void as the Buddhist
void. Surely Buddhists are not that well trained in physics but they
are better trained in what physics relies upon: philosophy. So, do
read their critique. I am sure a lot of you will get angry just like
I did.
On the other hand physics seems more developed in the theistic world
compared to the buddhistic.
Specifically regarding Islam in the west I am not sure that I share
Powell's view that it is important to support Islam in the west.
This could give the wrong impression to the Muslims. The case is
that the western societies don't at all fit well with the tradition
of islam. And when it comes to the central doctrine of submission
there is neither strong support of it. I think the best thing to do
is to clarify the conditions in west. Americans should also be aware
that Western Europe is about to become Muslim due to the higher
reproduction among Muslims in western Europe compared to native
reproduction. (Se http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Europe#Muslim_populations_in_Europe
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_fertility_rate
) By 2020 our third largest city will have a majority of Muslims.
This has never been decided upon and it seems like the ones who were
set to manage the well being of ethnic Swedes have failed their
assignment. This could lead to civil unrest and conflict. Much more
could be said about this but does it fit here?
It could also be worth mentioning that I don't belong to those who
decided to support the latest invasion of Iraq so I don't
specifically speak out on how to treat dead soldiers in that conflict.
David
On Sat, Nov 8, 2008 at 7:46 AM, thomas malloy
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Edmund Storms wrote:
I find the logic of this discussion odd. If, as Christians, Muslims
and Jews believe, there is but one God, then they are all
worshiping that one God no matter what they call it.
You're making the assumption that there is only one super human
entity desiring to be worshiped as God, Ed, and you know what
happens when you assume.
If many Gods exist, as Hindus believe then we have a problem. In
any case, does anyone think that God would care if this puny,
ignorant life form we call human happens to worship in the "wrong"
way or misspells the name.
He cares because this is a purification process.
. This benefit only occurs when we use this instruction to live a
better life, no matter what the instruction is called. So, why do
we humans keep doing the opposite?
Sin
Why do we keep insisting that our instruction is the only one that
counts? Why would any rational person think they have all the
answers about the nature of God?
It isn't from me, it's a literal interpretation of what the Bible
says. The only path for a fallen human to reconcile himself to a
holy G-d is through the system laid on in the Bible.
On Nov 6, 2008, at 9:31 AM, Horace Heffner wrote:
On Nov 5, 2008, at 8:49 PM, thomas malloy wrote:
Horace Heffner wrote:
On Nov 4, 2008, at 6:19 AM, Harry Veeder wrote:
Pope urged to admit common ground
Their letter, A Common Word, cited passages from the Koran which
the scholars said showed that Christianity and Islam worship the
same God, and require their respective followers to show each other
particular friendship...
If it is the same Abraham it is the same God.
It takes a graduate school education in order to believe something
that stupid.
On the contrary, I don't even have a bachelor's degree. I merely
state the obvious, and not from some book or faith. Christians,
Jews, and Muslims worship the one God of Abraham. Since it is the
same Abraham it is logically necessarily that it is the same God.
We worship different gods,
Repeating yourself is not a demonstration of rational thought.
we have different holy books, which have produced different legal
systems, which have resulted to two different civilizations.
A difference in holy books, legal systems and civilizations merely
demonstrates the degree to which religion is a product of man and
interpreted in differing ways by different people. These things
have nothing to do with whether the God of Abraham, which
Christians, Jews and Muslims worship, is necessarily the same God.
Best regards,
Horace Heffner
http://www.mtaonline.net/~hheffner/
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David Jonsson
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