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User	kanu | 2006-04-04 |
Subject	untitled
Message	Freya - well jesus is making staments according to his authority and so is OTS - so how do you judge the value of their credibility - I mean you don’t hesitate to judge my credibility on numerous occassions ... are others also allowed the same priveledge?

User	in_a_trap | 2006-04-04 |
Subject	untitled
Message	i agree, religion is organized, it is something that you have to follow to get into heaven and if you dont live by Jesus then you go to hell, i think not, because the bible says that God is very forgiving. and if you do your research you will see that our bible is VERY much alike the greeks, romans, and whoever elses bible, only thing changed is names and the way to do things. for instance, the Christians and their belifs can all be traced right straigte back to the Pagan Gods and their belifes and their ways, Christmas for instance, was indeed taken from a Pagan holiday called Yule, it was all their for the birth of a god and was all celebrated jsut about the same way, with your family, and a big supper and stuff, relgions are all just about the same but jsut slighlty changed to fit the creator.

User	WolfStar | 2006-04-03 |
Subject	untitled
Message	I believe in god and in the spiritual side of mankind, but not so much in religion. Religion is for man, it works for some but is not the only answer.

User	joeyalphabet | 2006-04-03 |
Subject	untitled
Message	I think it’s harder to believe in God than not. I find myself more than occasionally fighting my own doubts.

User	ghostknight | 2006-04-03 |
Subject	untitled
Message	hopefully we can all agree that religion is nothing more than a crutch, the easy answer to the things we have yet to truly learn. helping others with a faith-inspired opinion should be and usually is a good thing- making it a religious opinion only shows that the person speaking and/or acting is only doing what they’re told, imitating without having learned, just like a child would do.

User	Fantastic Freya | 2006-04-03 |
Subject	untitled
Message	"I mean you could compare say the character of jesus and the character of OTS and see who we think has more credibility" Kanu, since your knowledge of both Jesus and OTS comes second hand, I hardly think that’s an appropriate statement to make.

User	Fantastic Freya | 2006-04-03 |
Subject	untitled
Message	Yes Mae, you’re correct, that’s why I said "we", which includes myself.

User	kanu | 2006-04-02 |
Subject	untitled
Message	Well there is the q on who’s authority should we rebel against authority? I mean why should we accept the views of OTS over someone elses - I mean you could compare say the character of jesus and the character of OTS and see who we think has more credibility. Interestingly enough though you did hit on something of truth - we are intrinsically incomplete in this material existence - mainly because we die even though we don’t want to die (although we meet with frustrations even in other fields in the course of merely being alive). If a person has piety they will turn towards god (others are curious, in search of wealth or power and an incredible few want to know something of the absolute). If a person does not have piety they will not turn towards god, even if they are sufferring, because they are low grade and addicted to mean works, their intelligence is stolen by illusion or they are just bold atheists that cannot even tolerate the mere concept of god (or for that matter anyone being intrinsically superior to themselves)

User	mae | 2006-04-02 |
Subject	untitled
Message	I find it immensely disappointing that it’s always the differences we focus on in order to set our own beliefs above those of the next person. Well, that’s pretty much our human nature, isn’t it? Can you, in all honesty, say that you’ve never looked at another person - at whatever it is about them that is different than you - and not noticed that difference and felt either inferior to that person or superior to them because of that difference? You may have realized almost instantly what you were doing and corrected those thoughts, but I’d be willing to bet a quarter (the standard wager in my house) that you’ve done that at some time in your life. I’m not saying that’s a good thing - please don’t misunderstand. Just that it’s a natural part of being human. And because it is so, it can only be overcome on an individual level - and that means there will always be some who are quite happy to remain that way. We all know judgmental people, decidedly unpleasant individuals to be around. mae

User	Fantastic Freya | 2006-04-02 |
Subject	untitled
Message	Kanu, I thank you for your condescension. That speaks volumes about how much attention you should be paid. Mae, I wasn’t referring to the discussion of the Trinity but rather the original question posed. With the exception of atheism, all religions hold one thing to be true: that there is a greater power than we may easily understand. I find it immensely disappointing that it’s always the differences we focus on in order to set our own beliefs above those of the next person.

User	onetruesmartass | 2006-04-01 |
Subject	untitled
Message	It’s sad, but all thru-out the history of life on this planet, people have had Gods or Idols or whatever to worship and follow. It’s almost as if we have to have something or our ideas of self fall apart. The masses aren’t strong enough to stand for themselves and have their own minds without being told what to do and how to live. It’s a funny concept, but I wouldn’t be suprised in a couple hundred years if we are worshipping a bananna. Shit, our society has an obession with celebrities, and thier pretty close to being vegative. lol As my best friend Chell said, Jesus knew what he was talking about when called us sheep. *onetruesmartass*

User	DarkenedSoul | 2006-04-01 |
Subject	untitled
Message	Do you not know that through all of those periods there were great men who believed in and worshipped God?God has been worshipped through every age of man.He is not a new concept conceived in the minds of men.He is and was and always will be.

User	kanu | 2006-03-31 |
Subject	untitled
Message	The idea is that god has a seperate personal identity beyond his energies and partial incarnations or avatars, that is completely powerful and perfect - in other words even god without his energies and established manifestations can immediately manifest and establish them again even if he was bereft of them.

User	Solomon Disease | 2006-03-31 |
Subject	untitled
Message	how is different from worshipping multiple gods -- in many polytheistic religions -- where they believe the spirit of one god is in other things and that is why they worship multiple things as god?

User	joeyalphabet | 2006-03-31 |
Subject	untitled
Message	I took a class for religious education and the nun teaching it told us the Trinity was like a peanut M&M. Y9u have the candy shell, peanut and chocolate. They’re all separate but you can’t have the peanut M&M unless they;re together.

User	ghostknight | 2006-03-30 |
Subject	untitled
Message	i think the distinct difference causing conflict here is that some people think dogma and religion are the same thing. since you’re taught to fear having your own beliefs i suppose that makes sense. and this is an advanced thread? if that were true some of us who have been here long enough to realize others’ agendas wouldn’t have to hear those certain others saying the same things over and over just to have someone without a brain new see your names at the top of the thread and join your crusade.

User	mae | 2006-03-30 |
Subject	untitled
Message	Freya, I wouldn’t call this discussion of the Trinity fighting - especially as compared to some of the other arguments on this board. I think it’s more a matter of trying to understand the same thing when you’re coming at it from different directions. mae

User	mae | 2006-03-30 |
Subject	untitled
Message	kanu, your analogy of sun and sunlight is similar to how I explain the Trinity to the preschoolers I teach. I take one of the kids and have him/her hide behind my back, then speak. I also point to the child’s shadow. The actual, physical child is an example of Jesus, the voice is Almighty God the Father and the shadow is the Holy Spirit. All different aspects of the one. You are not incorrect if you say when you hear the voice, Oh, that’s James (or whomever), or if see the shadow, Oh, that’s just James. Now, my analogy, as yours, does not take into consideration that there are powers to the different aspects of the Godhead. Of course, a shadow has no power, but the Holy Spirit does (He’s called "The Comforter"); a voice has no power, but it is undeniable that God the Father has immeasurable power. So any analogy we can make breaks down at that point, but they are helpful in understanding the concept, anyway. mae

User	kanu | 2006-03-30 |
Subject	untitled
Message	and by the way freya it is not so much about ecclesiastical hair splitting but instead it is discussing the application of god’s qualities - it is the introduction to knowing how god is all pervasive in this world as opposed to relegated to a particular time place and circumstance - of course if you are not particularly interested in god it may appear a bit hum drum - I guess it is a bit of an advanced theological thread

User	Rokhal | 2006-03-30 |
Subject	untitled
Message	I suppose it’s not important how people understand the Trinity, except that Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit cannot be pitted against one another (unlike, say, Athena and Poseidon).