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Now THAT I agree with. However this is more difficult. Yes there is some New Testament text predicting graves opening etc, but ask your average churchgoer and IMHO you will not get very much support for the idea. People may well complain that the belief in an immortal soul and a mortal body is...

I wonder if anyone else here has read this: http://www.interfaith.org/articles/golgotha/ on the main pages of this site. I read it while the forum was down. I am no theologian but I found it well argued and well informed. For my own part, even as a Christian I was never convinced of the whole...

Which is to say, you can only begin to understand by not trying to understand. That would put a few theologians out of work! :)

They say everyone on a falling aircraft is a true believer.

No. All these can be handled by instinct. Behaviourism as a psychological model has been discredited since the 70s. Of course God does not "think". But all our concepts of God are pathetically inadequate. We just have to use the words and ideas we have. It's like that 4th dimension: we can't...

And anger is a by-product of fear. Identify and deal with the fear, and the anger will evaporate. To seal this, a full and whole-hearted forgiveness may be needed. Round this off by blessing the person in question - at least in private. That ought to clean it right out of your system. Leave...

I don't know how it all hapens. It can require a personal set-back or loss to clear your mind of all the accumulated garbage. Then when you reach out you may find something reaching out to you. It's a mystery.

I used to think that way, but I no longer think that belief in God can be likened to any other kind of belief. I now agree with Dragon, either you have experienced what you say you believe in, or you are taking someone else's word for it. Belief for me is now in every heartbeat, every breath. It...

Only partly right. As they say in Islam: "La Illaha, illa allah" which has many translations, one of which is: "There can be no true concept of God. There is only God. God is the reality". No concept of God can be true because it is only a glimpse. No-one knows the Earth. It's just too big, but...

Dragon, I love what you have written. Notwithstanding Thomas's gripes about making generalisations, I am with you all the way in the main thrust of your argument. In fact, I was only saying the same thing today. To say you believe in something you have not experienced and do not know is...

I just wanted to see if there were still people whi considered all games of chance to be bad, in and of themselves. This used to be put over as a form of idolatry, believing in chance rather than having faith in God. It looks as if this view has gone the way of the dodo. We all seem to agree...

Subud used to hire a room in the community school I helped with in the 1990s. They were all very nice quiet gentle people. They wanted complete silence in the building, and no interruptions. Someone told me they walked around muttering to themselves. This must have been what it looked like...

Nick, that's a nice clear statement of how you deal with this type of issue. As an alternative, here's my way. I've been married 34 years and I'm more in love with each day that passes. As a couple we've had some blistering rows, but got over them, not by establishing who was justified and who...

Hey, Nick. You know, I think she's nailed you on that one. You come across as a nice decent guy, but here's an issue you need to work on. She's got you fair and square. :) -cliff

Yes it's a complex issue which maybe belongs in another thread. But I think it''s to do with dehumanisation: when neighbourhoods turned into dormitory suburbs, the homes became just houses, the neighbours became strangers, no-one ever came to your door, no-one knew or cared who you were, and a...

When I was working in Libya in the 70s I was sorry to see that the seats towards the front of the bus were reserved for men while the women sat on the floor at the back. To me that showed a great lack of respect. I was also sorry to see that while I was in Saudi Arabia, women were not allowed to...

I was brought up to believe that gambling was wrong. That included games of chance etc although curiously it did not seem to apply to premium bonds. The reasoning goes that if you need the money God will provide, and it would be wrong to believe in luck (or money) rather than God. But maybe...

I read half of The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami last year and then left it at my brother's. Feeling up in the air (or down in a well) now. Just found out today Amazon are not going to sell me Benedictus: A Book of Blessings by John O'Donohue. Oh well, I'll just have to try my local...

I think the topic in question is about desire versus contentment. Amergin, you have made your feelings about religion abundantly clear, but IMHO your anger is a little too near the surface. I think you will gain most from this forum by careful reading and reflecting, as well as giving your own...

Sorry to hear about your troubles, Chris. I know there are no 'happily ever after' endings in real life, but sometimes, in my experience, there's nothing like a good kicking from life to make us wake up and see the truth. I've just read an illustration of this in the transcript of a session at...