Hey HU (HUGE)

I have both sites open. What to you think?

the Syracuse forum and here?

I have both and AL, NJ and OL open. :-)
One thing about here, it is a smaller group with none who interrupt rudely and without consideration.

I thought you were going to call me BHU. :-)

Well, your one response over on Syracuse started, I'm a HUGE fan, couldn't resist HU to HUGE. I forgot about BHU.

I think the Syracuse site has been pretty good lately. I can't tell if Bert toned down or between me, you and Bump, we are just better at steering away from the mindless rhetoric.

Anyway, I was afraid of posting the story about Mass because it was personal for me and I didn't feel up to being mocked.

Thanks for reading it.

Stihl.

you at all for keeping it out of that forum structure. It can get nasty very quickly.

I think the tone we have set recently has helped, ignoring or giving valid responses to barbs kinda kill the intent they were attempting.

As to BHU, I just like it better, since HU is a reference for God, I am not there yet. :-)

was a tone you used when meditating. I didn't mean to blaspheme or elevate you to diety status

I just like BHU better for me, it 'put's me in my place'...

(A little humility never hurts) :-)

Isn't 6AM where you are? Man, you are up and at-em. I checked out the other forums you mentioned yesterday. Syracuse was kind of dead by comparison.

I started a thread on Syracuse this morning. I don't know if there are enough Christians visisting these days to get any decent response.

I have come up with a new term "Biblisist". In the Catholic Church we call it solo scriptura (the scripture alone).

Lately, I am big on reasoning and philosophy. One of the things that jump start my exploaration is I recognized that I was stuck in circular reasoning (I believe what the Bible says because the Bilble tells me to). Staying there might be described as an act of Faith but, it left me wanting. I could only ignore the nagging questins so long. Like a splinter in my mind.

That's me, I wake up between 5:00 and 5:30am Pacific everyday, just my built in alarm clock.

It sounds to me like your using Critical thought more and more. One identifier is seeing the circular logic involved in
using the Bible in literal form. It has kept many, many in line over the centuries but is questionable logic when one looks
at the history of it's creation and interpretation since early on. As a guide, there is good within, but IMO it is tempered
by the thoughts of those who were creating the Religion. (Sorry to others if I offend, this is my understanding).

More and More I am convinced that Jesus's Teachings and the 1st century 'followers of the Way' are a different breed,
than those who follow the Religion created later. Peace, Love and Humility were traits found and they were confident in
their understanding and 'at-onement' with God to be peaceful and accepting of their fate when led to their death.

Of course this is ONLY my view and perceptions.

...reading on Early Christianity. The lastest book I am reading is "Desire of the Everlasting Hills; the World before and after Christ" It is from the Hinges of History series by Thomas Cahill.

He has devoted an number of chapters examining what the Early Christians believed. What I found interesting is what I would call a "word gap" with Modern Christians.

Case in point, the word justice or just. Early Christianity (and I believe most of the NT), the word justice was closely akin to love and compassion. That to be "just" meant to have considerations for others. It also implied a standard of fairness ("might does not make right).

Today's Christian's mostly use to imply punishment, more like the OT use of the term justice. LiberalsRlost gives a prime example of what I am talking about.

On the topic of God Debris, I started re reading it and I am keeping notes where I find the main character making assertions that the delivery guy never questions. I find his premise intriquing that folks latch onto the simple explanation, I have found this to be true in my profession.

interest in the Early 'Followers of the Way', in their many forms. Essenes interest me as well as "some' Gnostic views ( they are hard to define because they are so diverse (which was their downfall)). It sounds like an interesting book,I will put it on my 'to read' list.

I think The WAY as presented is the path of Love, the '60's hippies had it right, they just lost control with the new found freedom. Were still climbing out of that one. It sounds like your reading might make the point if the interpretation missed over time and was Love and Compassion to start. I have always thought it was, but I have seen over time, that the original message was 'hijacked' to create a defined Religion, which may have not been the original intent, but rather a Loving way of life.

I need to get back to my GD reading (not cussing :-) ), I left off about mid way and have been focused elsewhere. What are you noting at this point?

were prominently mentioned in Cahill's book. At the end of the book he is pretty unabashed at pointing out how Christianity has been perverted. But, he also has some neat examples on how Christianity has been re-examined by groups and how they are now following the First Century model of Christianity. One group is Sant'Egidio. They started out as a small group in Rome, meeting two nights a week to read the Gospel and the rest of the week they dedicate themselves for caring for the homeless. Not just handing out soup, but actually following up at all times to make sure people are abandoned. The group know has satellite communites and have gotten invlolved peace and humanitatrian missions. The other example would be the Quakers.

I have read up on the Gnostics, yes there is a variety, but the gist is "knowledge". Not to sound derisive but, Gnostism takes some bizzare turns that I just don't want to follow.

I am pasting my notes from GD. Let me know what you think. I am back to page 40.

Assertions in God Debris:

Only probability is in inexplicable.

The delivery required the packages participation.

If God is omnipotent, wouldn’t he know the future.

If God exsists, His motives are fanthonable.

Love is generated by our brains.

God experiences anger and forgivness.

If someone knew how the world was designed, could they convince you that God doesn’t exsist?

If God didn’t have any freewill will, He wouldn’t be very omnipotent.

Doesn’t exsist in any physical form (magnetic field).

Gravity reaches across the universe.

A collection of simple patterns, even a dog can be taught simple patterns.

Where is free will located? (assumes it is an object).

The soul is the source of free will.

God is guiding my soul.

Morality is in the brain.

Most people don’t believe in God.

Page 40

that the Followers are mentioned, this peaks more interest from this end.

The big issue with attempting to be like them is that any Scripture we have is suspect enough
that one has to be careful in interpretation. That's why I filter my views via the 2 commandments.

Quakers definately make the attempt as much as any in this day and age, there is one who used to visit OL
and was remarkable in the depth of understanding. Unfortunately, he was driven out by the bull headed
attitude and self righteousness attitude presented by LRL and other Fundamentalists. Sad to me.

I hear you on the Gnostics, Aeons and such are confusing, and the Spiritual hierarchy need not be as
confusing as some views make it. I temper my view of the Gnostics in reference to the Kabbalah, Sufi amd
Mystic Christian views, if it jives with them it is most likely a prominent ancestor belief. The idea of Jesus not
being of the flesh minimalizes our Human existence and experiences, they fail in this position for me. Christ as
the God-Realized entity can inhabit any form wished, but to relate to day to day humans, he had to have a physical form.

Your list looks good on the GD Assertions, we can run through them later.