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Most of what you say here is correct. Dating techniques do, indeed, all have a certain margin of error. All of the factors you mention do have the effect of causing deviation, just as you say. No arguments there. However, I think that you are over-inflating the significance of these flaws...

You know, there are numerous specimen dating techniques that scientists employ. Although they may sometimes be inaccurate by decades or even a few centuries, they are more than accurate enough to determine whether or not any given set of dinosaur bones is 65,000,000 years old as opposed to...

Well, firstly, the Hagakure was a book on the life and way of the Samurai by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, who was himself a Samurai. Although I personally believe it is an exceptionally well-written book, it is actually a bit too 'new' to be the Samurai 'guide for life.' Many other Samurai wrote books...

I'm glad you mentioned this, juantoo, as I have also found myself wondering what the deal is with dragon mythology existing in so many different cultures. Here's one idea I came up with while pondering: Picture this...you're a pretty reasonable man living, say, a three-thousand years ago in, I...

Well, A.Khalil certainly does have some valid points, which shouldn't be completely ignored as a result of some less valid ones. Religion, historically, does tend to create a sense of fraternity, and this does sometimes find expression in an "us vs. them" mentality. This may not always be the...

Well, has there always been the constant changing of everything? If so, where has it always been? Presumably, if there has "always been" nothing but flux and change, then there must be some unchanging place or location in which one can say it has always been. There is no such thing...as all...

In my understanding, and within the line of reasoning I have posted earlier, I don't think that there is anything particularly final about his judgement on the absence of a creator. The Buddha sometimes rejected that view, indeed, but strictly speaking, his views on a creator god, however they...

Thanks for the reply, Vad. I feel like I'm not really expressing well what I mean in many of these cases, but your reply covered everything which I wondered about. Though, in a sense, I still maintain that Buddhist belief is not really belief in a normal sense. There has not been just one...

Well, okay...what I was trying to put forth was mostly that, although the Buddha didn't go out of his way to avoid speaking about gods, such things were not a dogmatic belief...and as such, not 'final', really. One Buddhist might be very familiar with a large system of deities, but the next...

Alright, I read through the Wikipedia article. So, I will clarify. Frankly, the article says much about the Buddha and Brahman, but what it doesn't really say is that the Buddha outright rejected Brahman. Now, admittedly, I wasn't familiar with the particular writings mentioned where the...

I don't know if you are apologizing to me, but there were certainly no harsh feelings whatsoever. It's all good, moseslmpg :). Anyhow, I don't think the Buddha ever discoursed upon Brahman. He neither rejected or accepted Brahman. As you say, he was unconcerned with Brahman. He took no...

Snoopy: Indeed, I have used the term loosely. Though, either way, I might add...a literal belief in any such thing is still not necessary for a Buddhist.

Buddhism has been called "Hinduism stripped for export" by some religious interpretors, which is a wide generalization that stands mostly for illuminating the historical development of Buddhism. Nonetheless, it is not an entirely meaningless way of looking at things. Certainly, there are...

Well, it's an interesting point, but that opens the door for a whole lot of further speculation as to exactly what a prophet would be then, you know? Then, one is left wondering what percentage of accuracy is required for a true prophet? How vague can the 'fit' get before a vision goes from a...

To say favorite is a serious stretch, but I enjoyed them lately... Right Where It Belongs...Nine Inch Nails See the animal in it's cage that you built Are you sure what side you're on? Better not look him too closely in the eye Are you sure what side of the glass you are on? See the...

Reincarnation is not a necessary belief for a Buddhist. There are many Buddhists that do not believe that there is a literal reincarnation. Maybe it is that there are reincarnations, but since there is no self, it is impossible to say whose reincarnations they are. A student once asked his...

I would most certainly agree, inhumility, that the wide range of ideas about Jesus' travels are not part of most people's common sense, despite the fact that many of them really can't be disproven, and furthermore, are offered with compelling, albeit somewhat disputed, evidence. What I was...

You know, inhumility, I will admit that I was very surprised by your summarization of Jesus' life in India. That you provided these claims so surely was enough to compel me to take a look for myself and see how much of what you say is supported by evidence. At first, I was most...

I don't exactly know what you mean... But, if you are asking specifically what effects that much pressure would have on a human being...I would say it would probably crush them, no? -jiii

I'm glad you asked, flowperson...:) Of course, my post should be taken with a grain a salt...and I'm sure Merton would've said the same about his own writings on this topic. The argument that is made is very abstract, you know...it is revealing, but it's just information. The inevitable...