Recent content by Polycarp

An interesting perspective, Skeptic44. The atheists of my acquaintance have strenuously maintained that atheism is not a religion. However, they are quick to distinguish between "hard" or dogmatic atheism, which your definition applies to, and "soft" or pragmatic atheism, which is what they...

What annoys Christians generally about the Jesus Seminar is its methodology, which is I think an acceptable one but not well publicized: to see what we can learn about the "real" Jesus using strictly historiographical, textual-analysis techniques. Obviously, if He was in fact the avatar of...

1. It appears to have been a one-time issue, FWIW -- before and after the sesson when I posted the OP, I've experienced no problems. 2. I'm running a normal Gateway PC with windows 2000 Prof. Edn. (now on Svc. Pack 4) and MSIE 6.00.2800.1106IS

After having read and posted on the new forum format for several days, I opened the board this evening to find that the main index spreads wider than a screen. There were no long strings (thread titles, etc.) evidently causing it. The problem appears limited to the main index screen, not...

Nasty mess. FWIW, the article writer makes one error: Rama is not, strictly speaking, a Hindu god, but rather the incarnation (avatar) of Vishnu, one of several. Translated into Western terms, this would be like problems with a mosque built on the site of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

I probably don't need to tell you that this issue pushed any number of my buttons. Needless to say, I've followed the issue closely, and can probide a fair amount of background data, as well as theological arguments on both sides. Just ask, or as erroneous data gets cited, I'll provide...

The whole Adam story, Creationism and all, gets in the way, for most folks, of what I believe that a proper relationship with God and Christ should be. The idea of sin is a bugaboo for many people -- they liken it to a criminal offense. And just as an infant or small child cannot be a felon...

It's worth noting that the Resurrection is not, per Paul and the apparent standard of early Christianity even without him, a unique event that happened to Jesus, but that His Resurrection is the single prototype of something promised to all men -- or at least all who turn to and follow God...

Intuition, someone said, is reasoning with the subconscious. The noumenon, from a Platonic or other Idealistic viewpoint, even more real than the phenomenal world. Some strange phenomena over the last 40 years have convinced me that there are forces pervading the Universe that we haven't the...

My own take on it is quite a bit at skew with anything I've ever seen anywhere else, but fits with what Scripture has to say was said about it, particularly by Jesus. Let me begin by telling you of two young men I knew, 25 years apart. Both were remarkable people who, being young and...

I'm back too -- had real problems when the board converted over, and thanks to Brian and Siege, I'm back among the posting.

If you've seen or heard any fundy. comments since 9/11, you know that they're bound and determined to paint Moslems as men given to hostility, and to quote the Koran as justifying it. Franklin Graham's comments mentioned elsewhere are only one example of many. Given that we have some devout...

Just noting, in connection with Omar's post, that the only purpose of the Koran is to preserve the Surahs -- they are, according to Allah, to be recited. (And remembering that one of my skills is to read aloud the appointed Scriptures in a way that brings them home to the congregation.) But I...

Spectacularly good questions! I'm wondering whether the Septuagint versions will have readings more closely in line with the New Testament. (remember that "modern, more accurate translations" always refer back to early manuscripts as opposed to relying on the Septuagint -- but that Matthew at...

Can I get away with a "Me Too" post here? Because IMHO Siege said it all right there.