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You take your own nobility a little too seriously. If you like, check my post above, re "word games". Schopenhauer tells a little parable something like this: a man sees a child drowning in a river, in an undertow, and spontaneously jumps in to save it, at the risk of his own life. This very...

There was a link posted by someone earlier today to a PBS documentary on Islam. I’m not sure what happened to the post, but I’ve looked at the documentary and it’s quite moving and well done. It focuses quite narrowly on the life of the prophet (peace be upon him) with a parallel look at...

But whoever does not truly have God within themselves, but must constantly receive him in one external thing after another, seeking God in Diverse ways, whether by particular works, people or places, such a person does not possess God. The least thing can impede them, for they do not have God...

Hi Banana. Thanks for coming back at me. I was afraid I'd just become to annoying for you. This may sound hand-wringing, but I do find it frequently hard to hit the right note - especially when we wander into the territory of this thread. And I do want to take back a little of what I said about...

I appreciate your thoughtful and moving response, although it does worry me a little. I don't want to think that I've brought you any grief by passing those links along, and you do sound just a little melancholy in spots. That's what makes me nervous about these forums. I think it's interesting...

Path of One wrote: I think Paul made the right choice by following God, of course, but even if he had used his free will to rebel, Christ would have reached the gentiles. Indeed, in a way, he already was. An interesting point, and a great declaration of faith. It reminds me that faith and...

Thanks, Earl. I've always thought this an attractive passage as well, and one that isn't mentioned all that much (while the chapter following, with its notion of magical rescue, gets way too much mention, to my taste).

To Mr. Keith: Thanks for the info on Wicca. I now know several things I didn't know before. To my dharma friends in the vast Judeo-Christian universe: One thing an unaffiliated rogue like myself notices is the natural tendency to put one's tradition in the best light possible. I'm not saying...

Well, I hope all this support doesn't go to my head! But you're very kind. Cheers & Metta

Hmm, I detect some careful reading on your part. But this leads you to some dangerously well-founded opinions, and where's the fun in that?!? I agree that here is the nub of this world-shaking controversy. Also, earlier in your post, what you say about power "changing form" touches on another...

Hi Banana. Hope all is cool with you. I agree with you that aggressive or deceptive drives for conversion are not acceptable, and just downright nasty. On the other hand, as you might expect, I have reservations about the violence of your rhetoric. I think Bandit was right in calling you on...

Glad you liked the articles. Pannikkar is new to me as well. I'll have to find one of his books, when I get the opportunity. I was put on to him by Earl. You know, what he's proposing here to me is like the metaphysical equivalent of patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time...

Here's a follow-up, an interview with Raimon Panikkar: http://www.emptybell.org/panikkar.html

Here's an interesting article on pluralism from a Christian perspective. Uses some technical vocabulary in spots, but worth the read. http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=914

Well, okay, but up to a point. Baseball is the exception. I'll have no one question the divinity of baseball! Cheers.

Thanks for the link, Earl - but didn't work! I did find this http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=914. I'll have a more leisured look when I have time - simple things intevene, like day-to-day survival!

I think this distinction you make here is really the most fruitful way of looking at this question. But certainly it's tough. The classic text is the Book of Job, which to me as one of the wisdom books of the bible really stands outside orthodox interpretation. In fact, I don't think you even...

Sure, but my point is that these kinds of discussions are more about working through emotions - as happens in any good play - than about any meaningful theist/atheist divide. It's not to say that these exercises aren't useful, only that it's not a bad thing to remind ourselves not to be caught...

Words, words, words. Where would we be without these misleading labels and the dramas they provide? Wouldn't that be a bore? How fortunate it is that all we need to do is say I'm A, you're B, and the play is on!

Let me offer an idea I've already tossed out on these forums several times - though perhaps to no measurable effect! I see people on both sides forgetting that fundamentally we're dealing with a problem of language, and so reacting more to words and verbal formulations than to reality. All...