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Thanks. I've been very busy with issues related to autism and haven't had the time to keep up very well. I've been checking back every now and then, though.

I recommend Pagels' "Beyond Belief" for a lengthy discussion of the "Thomas" character of the Gospel of John and the Thomas of the Gospel of Thomas. There's evidence of a polemicist at work in the former. The Gospel of Thomas is about throwing off authority, not taking it up yourself. It's...

Really!? I think he does just the opposite. He gets rid of them.;)

Great questions. "Evil" is a symbol we use to assuage guilt. Thus, it's a moving target. When one gets too close, the symbol changes. Nobody thinks they are doing evil. That's why it's called "evil." There's no moral commandment (regardless of its source or the apparent clarity of its...

This is what led me to ask as well. Could it be that profound spiritual truths cut to the core of our identity and we hide behind the veneer of "morality" as a substitute for confronting those truths? Is this a way of avoiding getting to know ourselves? Couldn't someone who knows that about...

It's from an article by Arriana Huffington. She attributes it to the script from an upcoming John Cusack movie called "Pipe Dream." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/chillin-with-chalabi-my_b_10651.html

The point relates back to the earlier discussion. Specifically, that what we regard as "universal morality" is not, in fact, universally held. You suggested that there were few exceptions to this and therefore people still seemed to have a "universal morality." However, there are many...

I came across a quote today that better expresses an idea I was driving at on page 13 of this thread: "Men of pure will operate beyond the realm of judgment. They are like forces of nature...feral and oblivious. They have the morality of an avalanche." The idea being: Many of the driving...

We are already moving toward a "universal religion." However, it is not probably what most people think nor what they would consciously choose: global capitalist consumerism. I cannot recommend highly enough the following two books: "Jihad v. McWorld" by Benjamin Barber and Peter Stearns'...

When you know yourself, you don't need anyone else's faith or revelation to guide you.

Context Except perhaps an appropriate apology . . . Then again, maybe not.

I think dogmas/doctrines are metaphors gone awry. Visionaries use metaphorical language to attempt to express their otherwise inexpressible, spiritual experience or enlightenment. When the metaphor itself gets mistaken for the truth it points to, then dogma is born. Joseph Campbell has a...

So if someone says something disturbing to you it's okay to lash out at them? I suspect I disagree with you on several things as well (though you remind me of the way I was early on as an Evangelical), but I wouldn't call you "anti-christ" or your ideas "trash." I would try to have a reasoned...

I take ideas from different traditions, cultures and disciplines all the time. Of course, sometimes it results in my being the subject of a truly offensive and closed-minded attack. For example, I remember this very interesting quote I offered from C.G. Jung . . .:(

The version of this parable from the Gospel of Thomas adds a different twist: (76) Jesus said, "The kingdom of the father is like a merchant who had a consignment of merchandise and who discovered a pearl. That merchant was shrewd. He sold the merchandise and bought the pearl alone for himself...

Aside from pointing out that you posted a link to their website, I didn't say you did.

Did I say I support their ministries? NO. I did not. And I don't support Hinn or any other TV preacher. However, these "heresy hunters" calling the Catholic Church the Whore of Babylon is no less troubling than the statements they've compiled about the TV preachers and much more...

How are any of those comments "scary"? It looks like they are just silly doctrinal positions you don't agree with. I certainly hope you didn't intend to endorse the anti-Catholic stance of the second site you linked. Take a look at what they have to say about Jack Van Impe and the "end times...