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As I have said many times in here, I used to think I had a porpoise to tell others of my grand ideas in some kind of vain, weird idea that I was saving somebody, but I found out that God doesn't need me or anyone else to tell anyone anything..
My life is about study, I create games and ways to keep me in continuous study, always and always looking things up, but let me tell you something about studying ten hours a day for over a couple decade, IT GETS BORING.
I come here to engage people so that I will search and write, and it is always as I am writing that I actually learn something half way through a full page that nobody will read anyway, and so I will smile and delete, and then move on and begin to study something else. So I will write and study something for hours or days or weeks and sometimes for years until I get it, and all that I had done or wrote, it was motivated by selfishness for my own needs because I don't need to teach anyone anything, my words mean very little to people when it comes down to it, and if I found a truth, and somebody believed that truth, they didn't find truth because of me, they found truth because of them.
You can display very obvious truths to anyone, and anyone can choose to deny truth that everyone knows. I know a guy who really believes there are cities on the dark side of the moon, and he wont believe nothing else even if you were to bring him there, he would say it was under the dust.
I am here because I want to study and I need friends lest I go crazy because I don't have friends in real life, you guys are it.
I am always inventing games to keep study interested, and what do I study?
Nature.
For instance, last night I am thinking of frogs, frogs it is, but it always has to do with nature.
You pick something in nature, and I will write a sermon about it, just make sure you don't pick dolphins lol, that is what I study in learning the language of the bible and that is my own selfish desire to learn a language. You have to learn how to be a farmer to understand the bible, and you have to learn all nature, and there is too much to learn, it takes years just to get past grains, not to mention becoming a husbandmen to vines and trees, you have to know them all, and even the insects that come to them.
If you study nature, you may want to consider the following: (it's original, I wrote it, with an adaption from Sagan and Krause)
We are part of the whole, and the whole is part of us. No sentient, anthropomorphic, omnipotent entity needed.
Nature is nature, and the atoms that came from the exploding stars, the ones that were cooked in the crucible of those stars, the ones that formed the elements which are found on earth and the universe, those same elements which were the foundation of life here on earth, the atoms where the ones in your left hand may well be from a different star and time than the one in your right hand, those atoms get reintroduced into the ecosystem whence they came from once our time on earth is done.
Those atoms were there before you were born, and they will continue to be there after you die. They will become new earth, feed new plants, which will feed those that come after you. They will become new rocks, and eventually, when our sun explodes, they will be cast into the vastness of the universe, and at some point form new solar systems, and continue to live on there.
We are part of the whole, and the whole is part of us.
Part of us lives on here on earth in the DNA we have passed on to our children, and they to thiers, and so forth. We live forever in their minds, and the collective memory that we possess from generations that came before us will continue in the generations that are to come.
We are part of the whole, and the whole is part of us.
No god, no spirit, no woo at all needed, and certainly no writings from bronzed aged, superstitious desert dwellers are needed to elucidate us. It is all real, backed by science, and very much can drive your personal spirituality.
It seems that you are partly there. All that is needed is for you to get rid of the needing to find confirmation in old writings part.
You make an interesting point. Romans 1 seems to suggest that the sin is the willful turning from God's intended order of things and "burning with passion" for each other. Of course, a man burning with passion for a woman is also sinful, or vice versa.
Bottom line is, it's not just the doing of the physical act, it's the lusting, and the intentional focus on that which is sinful that is also wrong.
Didn't God think that lusting after your neighbours oxen or ass was also wrong and I doubt that he was concerned with them burning in passion for an ox. To me this is the most poorly written Commandment as the word lusting is not clear. For example if I spot a very attractive younger woman and think to myself that if Iwas much younger, and more importantly single, I would try to get to know her. Now is that lusting in my heart and if so who was harmed? It seems like a way to make people feel guilty for no real reason at all. I can admire a beautiful woman, or man, car, tree, dog or stream and to some that is innocent and others a sin.
And even if I did lust after a woman no harm has been done as I still love my wife as much if not a whole lot more than I did 40 odd years ago and have been faithful the entire time. Earlier you asked why harm should be a reason for vales or laws and this is one example. I would do no harm to my wife however looking at other women or liking art produced by someone other than her does neither of us any harm.
Didn't God think that lusting after your neighbours oxen or ass was also wrong
Yes. Jealousy is wrong. It's wrong to envy. And no, I don't believe homosexuality is worse. But it is enumerated as sinful, and we should not give a pass to any sin.
Quote:
and I doubt that he was concerned with them burning in passion for an ox. To me this is the most poorly written Commandment as the word lusting is not clear. For example if I spot a very attractive younger woman and think to myself that if Iwas much younger, and more importantly single, I would try to get to know her. Now is that lusting in my heart and if so who was harmed? It seems like a way to make people feel guilty for no real reason at all. I can admire a beautiful woman, or man, car, tree, dog or stream and to some that is innocent and others a sin.
I think you're confusing "coveting" with "lusting".
And no--simply noticing beauty is not lusting. But intentionally focusing on her, on a specific body part, or fantasizing about being with her is lust.
Quote:
And even if I did lust after a woman no harm has been done as I still love my wife as much if not a whole lot more than I did 40 odd years ago and have been faithful the entire time. Earlier you asked why harm should be a reason for vales or laws and this is one example. I would do no harm to my wife however looking at other women or liking art produced by someone other than her does neither of us any harm.
It seems that you are partly there. All that is needed is for you to get rid of the needing to find confirmation in old writings part.
Behold, the volume of the book, it is of me, and what I AM. I am the garden, I am the Temple. I am the two kingdoms of Israel, and between those two kingdoms, I am.
.............
I am here because I want to study and I need friends lest I go crazy because I don't have friends in real life, you guys are it.
Sorry to hear that, as many of us, including me, find this sad.
And then you said:
Quote:
I am always inventing games to keep study interested, and what do I study?
Nature.
For instance, last night I am thinking of frogs, frogs it is, but it always has to do with nature.
You pick something in nature, and I will write a sermon about it, just make sure you don't pick dolphins lol, that is what I study in learning the language of the bible and that is my own selfish desire to learn a language. You have to learn how to be a farmer to understand the bible, and you have to learn all nature, and there is too much to learn, it takes years just to get past grains, not to mention becoming a husbandmen to vines and trees, you have to know them all, and even the insects that come to them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hannibal Flavius
Behold, the volume of the book, it is of me, and what I AM. I am the garden, I am the Temple. I am the two kingdoms of Israel, and between those two kingdoms, I am.
I need the book, it is of me.
That Temple was designed from human anatomy.
You don't need an ancient book to learn more about the truth. It may inspire you, but come back to the reality of science, and as you say, nature, and understand that there is far more majesty and spirituality in accepting science than there ever can be in writings from ancients who tried to explain their universe as they saw it, but couldn't, because they did not understand science.
Come away from that superstitious background, and look at the nature you claim to study from a scientific perspective. It is real, it is truth, and more truths remain to be discovered. But what we already know can well be the basis of accepting we are part of the whole, and the whole is part of us.
Sorry to hear that, as many of us, including me, find this sad.
And then you said:
You don't need an ancient book to learn more about the truth. It may inspire you, but come back to the reality of science, and as you say, nature, and understand that there is far more majesty and spirituality in accepting science than there ever can be in writings from ancients who tried to explain their universe as they saw it, but couldn't, because they did not understand science.
Come away from that superstitious background, and look at the nature you claim to study from a scientific perspective. It is real, it is truth, and more truths remain to be discovered. But what we already know can well be the basis of accepting we are part of the whole, and the whole is part of us.
What could be more spiritual and real than that?
I don't think you know who you are dealing with, 3 doctors have already concluded me crazy as hell, you have no idea what the most serious obsessive compulsive person is like, most obsessive compulsives don't know what it is like to be me......I need what I need, it isn't like a normal person can even understand what a crazy messed up obsessive compulsive needs. Thank God I chose the thing I chose to obsess about, it could have been anything. The gods tell me that I asked for it myself, I asked for wisdom and I found tragedy that changed the way my brain works until I am even studying in my sleep, it is my world. When you obsess about a thing that you spend 16 hours a day doing for a couple decades, it is exactly what you dream about, and it is so weird because I have read the bible so many 100's of times that in my sleep, I can see the bible, see what I am reading and I am studying in my sleep, and I will wake up and realize I had just figured out a great truth in a freaking dream.
I don't think you know who you are dealing with, 3 doctors have already concluded me crazy as hell, you have no idea what the most serious obsessive compulsive person is like, most obsessive compulsives don't know what it is like to be me......I need what I need, it isn't like a normal person can even understand what a crazy messed up obsessive compulsive needs. Thank God I chose the thing I chose to obsess about, it could have been anything. The gods tell me that I asked for it myself, I asked for wisdom and I found tragedy that changed the way my brain works until I am even studying in my sleep, it is my world. When you obsess about a thing that you spend 16 hours a day doing for a couple decades, it is exactly what you dream about, and it is so weird because I have read the bible so many 100's of times that in my sleep, I can see the bible, see what I am reading and I am studying in my sleep, and I will wake up and realize I had just figured out a great truth in a freaking dream.
Use what you read in the bible as a stepping stone, and journey into a deeper spirituality, one that is based in the nature you study. Consider taking some meditation classes and using that to further yourself.
You may get some 'revelation' by reading this article that came out the other day. I found it to meld perfectly with my spirituality.
Use what you read in the bible as a stepping stone, and journey into a deeper spirituality, one that is based in the nature you study. Consider taking some meditation classes and using that to further yourself.
You may get some 'revelation' by reading this article that came out the other day. I found it to meld perfectly with my spirituality.
If you study nature, you may want to consider the following: (it's original, I wrote it, with an adaption from Sagan and Krause)
We are part of the whole, and the whole is part of us. No sentient, anthropomorphic, omnipotent entity needed.
Nature is nature, and the atoms that came from the exploding stars, the ones that were cooked in the crucible of those stars, the ones that formed the elements which are found on earth and the universe, those same elements which were the foundation of life here on earth, the atoms where the ones in your left hand may well be from a different star and time than the one in your right hand, those atoms get reintroduced into the ecosystem whence they came from once our time on earth is done.
Those atoms were there before you were born, and they will continue to be there after you die. They will become new earth, feed new plants, which will feed those that come after you. They will become new rocks, and eventually, when our sun explodes, they will be cast into the vastness of the universe, and at some point form new solar systems, and continue to live on there.
We are part of the whole, and the whole is part of us.
Part of us lives on here on earth in the DNA we have passed on to our children, and they to thiers, and so forth. We live forever in their minds, and the collective memory that we possess from generations that came before us will continue in the generations that are to come.
We are part of the whole, and the whole is part of us.
No god, no spirit, no woo at all needed, and certainly no writings from bronzed aged, superstitious desert dwellers are needed to elucidate us. It is all real, backed by science, and very much can drive your personal spirituality.
It seems that you are partly there. All that is needed is for you to get rid of the needing to find confirmation in old writings part.
This is a great post.
I personally think there is spirit and some woo, but it's incorporated into that wonderful line that I bolded above.
Yes. Jealousy is wrong. It's wrong to envy. And no, I don't believe homosexuality is worse. But it is enumerated as sinful, and we should not give a pass to any sin.
I think you're confusing "coveting" with "lusting".
And no--simply noticing beauty is not lusting. But intentionally focusing on her, on a specific body part, or fantasizing about being with her is lust.
Not according to Jesus.
No I am not confusing the two terms. I specifically stated that the commandment prohibiting lust was poorly worded. You claim that lusting for oxen is jealousy but lusting after a woman is fantasizing. What if I just notice one body part, is that a sin? What if that part are her eyes and not her breasts.
My point t is that this commandment is worded in such a way that every single person could be accused of lusting, depending on how the accuser intrepetates lust, for the purpose of creating guilt and then the need for repentance. Those other sins are clearly expressed in the Bible however according to other posts a sin of homosexuality is not a clearly stated or maybe not even stated at all. As to your question about harm, if homosexuality is not clearly mentioned and causes no harm then why do conservative Christians express more anger towards it than other sins such as adultery or envy? Where laws ever passed outlawing envy or jealousy and yet there are or were laws against homosexuals.
I can only judge conservative Christians by the posters here and those I hear on media so if I think that homosexuality appears a far greater sin than the others I may be wrong but then again I could be entirety correct.
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