>From Jojo
> Steven, I am relunctantly engaging in these off-topic posts > to make a point. Since, you and Jed refuse to moderate your > off-topic posts despite my numerous pleas, I am now doing > this to make a point and settle a bet with Terry. That there > is a double standard that exists in Vortex-L. If there is > none and I loose the bet, I take Terry and Jed out to an > expensive lunch. That's all. I can't speak for Jed, but as I'm sure you know by now, I don't think I have violated the spirit of Mr. Beaty's Vortex-L rules by occasionally posting Off-Topic discussions - especially if when I am in doubt I prefix the subject thread with "OT". This is standard procedure. I'm still puzzled that you have not prefixed your recent posts with "OT", since making a point to post Off-Topic discussion is now clearly your objective. Actually, some of your recent comments strike me as someone who feels as if he has a chip on his shoulder. There also seems to be something akin to what I would describe as a martyr-like objective of proving to the Collective that this double-standard for which you perceive has unfairly affected your sensibilities will eventually be revealed in all its true colors by the act of having you done-in, in so-to-speak, by Mr. Beaty removing you from the Collective. You also give me the impression that you might feel disappointed if Mr. Beaty doesn't get around to removing you. Therefore, it would not surprise me if in the following days might try a little harder to make your prediction come true, and as such prove your point. > Yes, you may be correct in calling me a Creationist; but one > thing you need to realize is this: This debate is about > Darwinian Evolution and Intelligent Design. And Intelligent Design > is NOT Creationism. Many IDers may be creationists but ID says > nothing about a God, a creator. It simply says that what we see > points to an "Intelligence" designing it. No mention of who or > what that Intelligence might be. If you claim that the Universe > itself is the organizing Intelligence, that belief would be > compatible with ID. In case you were curious, as for my own faith: I suspect the Universe is alive and aware. In other words, the Universe is conscious. I seem to be conscious too. Come to think of it, how could I not be conscious, how could we ALL not be conscious if we are all part of a Conscious Living Universe. This may be a subtle point, but if one strips away all the thoughts, assembled concepts, belief systems, and ego for which most of us tend wrap ourselves within day-in and day-out, as if to prove that what we are thinking & believing at any moment in time constitutes proof of our very existence, what we are left with is nothing more than pure awareness, an all-inclusive unbounded sense of pure awareness. To me, that sense of pure awareness strikes me as everyone's direct link to the Consciousness of the Universe. When I began to sense this it was simple for me to perceive that we are all part of each other in the most intimate way conceivable. It was also simple for me to realize that what one does unto others, one does just as much to one's "self". IOW, it's probably a good idea to follow the Golden Rule. Alas, I continue to mess up on that point, but I keep trying. PS: You state you are engaging in these off-topic posts reluctantly. That’s not the sense I get. This is probably enough babble for one post. Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
