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So, in your mind that excuses you from answering that question at all? Hoiw very interesting. If you were to actually think about the question and try to answer it, you might just find that you already know the answer to YOUR question, but that seems to be too much effort.
The point is that whatever vehicle the Spirit uses to help us learn about God's love and our appropriate response, the message remains. Early Christians seem to have done very well without the Bible, and the oral tradition would have workded just as well for us, perhaps better since the written one which has for so many people supplanted the Spirit they claim inspired it.
Part of your problem seems to be that you think the religion about Jesus is what is important to me and it is not, it is the message that Jesus taught.
Nate, I just want to say that I find this very, very interesting, and you've given me a lot to think about. I wish I could think of some intelligent followup questions to ask you about this, but alas, I find myself momentarily at a loss. I do, however, intend to make a point of watching for your posts in the future and reading them very carefully to try to develop a deeper understanding of your belief system. Thank you very much for explaining it, and I'm sorry that I apparently misunderstood it rather badly at first.
Whoa, wait a minute. What did I say about Walt Kelly? Did I unwittingly make a Pogo reference, or is it that I remind you of my second and 1/17th cousin 6.842 times removed, Albert the Alligator?
And you have the special privelege of not being required to stay on topic or justify your "simple question" in that regard? What makes you so special? Btw, I did not mean at all that what I pointed out was your only problem, clearly there are more. By the way I answered your question in spite of the fact that you could not justify it, would you deign to respond now?
Before responding to something you said, I asked that question which would have given me more insight and clarification.
As far as the question, if your answer is what it seems to be...that your knowledge of god was derived from personal revelation, fine. But, otherwise it was skirting or dismissing the specific question , as did Mystic.
At this point let me say that once a poster starts telling me what and how I think and making assumptions about my motives and making declarations about my 'problems' , I lose interest continuing the conversation.
I'm out.
So he claims but of course we can not verify that. However even if he does - so do I - and every experience he has described are ones I too have had. The difference is I have not tried to explain those experiences away by simply making stuff up - especially since more and more we are able to not only explain - but reproduce - many of those experiences with our science.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DewDropInn
Are you comfortable making fun of them too? I'm guessing not since I haven't noticed you popping up on threads in the Buddhist forum to comment on their beliefs and practices.
Mainly because I - and the user you are replying to - are not making fun of the practice at all. But the fantastic nonsense that _some_ people jump to off the back of those practices and experiences. So the reason no one is popping up on those threads making fun of them - is there is nothing to make fun of. The pursuit of meditation and the explorations of the experiences it affords us is a _good_ thing.
But as usual with such spiritual things where there are still open scientific questions - you get a brand of charlatan who will be attracted to the god of the gaps potential of those questions - and will rush in making up whatever they see fit to.
The experiences he describes - all of which I have had too I repeat - are not evidence of a god. Not evidence of a consciousness external to our own. Not evidence of an after life. Not evidence that the universe itself is consciousness. And not evidence that Jesus - assuming he existed - was anything other than another of the many very much entirely human bronze aged preachers that existed in his time.
All of -that- he has simply made up. And that -is- worth rebuttal -and- mockery.
Whoa, wait a minute. What did I say about Walt Kelly? Did I unwittingly make a Pogo reference, or is it that I remind you of my second and 1/17th cousin 6.842 times removed, Albert the Alligator?
The latter, Whatever reminds me of Kelly is welcome.
Before responding to something you said, I asked that question which would have given me more insight and clarification.
As far as the question, if your answer is what it seems to be...that your knowledge of god was derived from personal revelation, fine. But, otherwise it was skirting or dismissing the specific question , as did Mystic.
At this point let me say that once a poster starts telling me what and how I think and making assumptions about my motives and making declarations about my 'problems' , I lose interest continuing the conversation.
I'm out.
Gosh, I'm AWFUL sorry I don't carry on conversation by your rules. Bye.
I think Mystic freaks you out because you know nothing about meditation. And I think you know nothing about meditation because you were told that it was satanic or evil by the fundamentalists. They usually hate that kind of stuff.
I was never taught that meditation was satanic or evil. I was never taught about meditation at all. I had never heard of meditation until I went off to college at a liberal Lutheran university.
What creeps me out is the belief that one has direct contact with supernatural beings, with whom they can personally communicate and/or get special knowledge. It's irrational. The fact that I actually believed stuff like that myself freaks me out more than anything.
Oh I was familiar with it alright and my opinion of it mirrored yours. I was probably a more arrogant atheist than any of you for the first 30 years of my life. Once I came face to face with the reality of God, it took the next 40+ years to explain it to my intellect and try to make sense of it all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DewDropInn
I think Mystic freaks you out because you know nothing about meditation. And I think you know nothing about meditation because you were told that it was satanic or evil by the fundamentalists. They usually hate that kind of stuff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Freak80
I was never taught that meditation was satanic or evil. I was never taught about meditation at all. I had never heard of meditation until I went off to college at a liberal Lutheran university.
What creeps me out is the belief that one has direct contact with supernatural beings, with whom they can personally communicate and/or get special knowledge. It's irrational. The fact that I actually believed stuff like that myself freaks me out more than anything.
Thanks for the support, Dew. You have just put a target on your back for my real adversaries here who for some reason think I am a charlatan. I have no idea what I am "charlataning" to achieve. It certainly isn't money or fame. Everything is anonymous here. Freak is just a youngster with significant angst and abreaction to his absurd fundamentalist upbringing. He still equates things to the "supernatural" (which does not exist).
Thanks for the support, Dew. You have just put a target on your back for my real adversaries here who for some reason think I am a charlatan.
I can deal with that.
Though I think it would be a little odd to go after me because you had an experience with God under deep meditation. You had that experience.....others have a totally different experience. I've heard all sorts of things from people who meditate.
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