Gaucho
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2000
- Posts
- 2,631
Yes, please, Deb. May I have another? I think the cherry lube works best. Oh, it hurts so good!
And you're right, I do get Moses and Sammy Davis, Jr. confused. I always think it was Moses who sand that song, "You can take a sunrise..." or was that Fiddler? Damn, now I'm really confused.
Now then, the fact that you don't understand my philosophy is your problem, not mine. And it wouldn't make any difference what that philosophy was anyway because it's different than yours and by definition that makes it wrong. You are the perfect example of the kind of person I was referring to earlier, the person who has found THE ANSWER and can't understand why there are people out there who just don't get it.
As for the Pyramids being mentioned in that passage you quoted from Isiah, well, all I can say is that if I look hard enough, I know I can find a reference to the Empire State Building in there someplace. Come to think of it, I do believe it was in Noah. Isn't that where the Ark really came to rest?
The fact is that you do what every other person who reads the Bible is forced to do: You interpret. And the truth is if you get 12 different Biblical scholars in a room, you're going to get 12 different versions of what is going on in it. Your opinion that Job really existed and that Moses wrote that book and the the Flood in the Bible came first is just that: Your opinion. My opinion is that Moses never existed, the Bible was written by a number of people (including at least one woman) and that it doesn't matter which came first, the chicken or the egg. There are enough flood myths out there which unarguably predate the Bible version to convince me that the one in the Bible is not original.
I never referred to an "unforgivable sin". I referred to the sin against the Holy Ghost, which you had alluded to in an earlier post as being the unforgivable sin. But for the record, I believe that the Holy Ghost (or Spirit, as it's more commonly referred to today) represents the power of hope in the face of darkness. And since I believe that the gift of being alive - regardless of where it comes from - is the greatest gift we will ever receive, then it follows that to lose hope or become desperate (or "despirited", if you will), especially to the point of taking your own life, represents an affront or "sin" against that symbol.
Again, I don't expect you to agree with me and I, pants down, cheerfully await your reply.
Endlessly-I hear what you are saying, but I think you missed my point. First of all, the debate over whether you get into Heaven based upon your belief or whether you are judged upon your actions has been a hot one for centuries. Personally, I think it's very much on the order of "How many Angels can dance on the head of a pin?" It's a theoretical exercise designed to steer people (read: sheep) towards one sect or away from another.
But the real clue is in your first paragraph, when you mention that most religions today are no substitute for a personal relationship with God. Christianity is based upon two things: The Fall, as illustrated in Genesis (where Man disobeys God and is kicked out of the Garden forever) and Redemption, which is represented in the form of Jesus Christ coming to earth, assuming human form and dying on the cross for our sins. Without one, the other loses all meaning. And running throughout Christianity (and Judaism, for that matter) is the concept that God is something separate and apart from us. Our only path to salvation is through a personal "relationship" with this God and the only way for that relationship to be formed is through Jesus.
Now contrast that idea for a moment with the notion of God (whatever form it might take) actually being inside and a part of us. And that, instead of forming a relationship with an "outside" God, our real goal is to "identify" with the God inside of us. There is no Fall and, consequently, no need for Redemption. All we need do is understand. And when you realize that all of it; God and the Devil, Heaven and Hell, is inside of us all of the time and that all you have to do is change your perspective to become aware of it, well, that's a very powerful idea. And while it may sound to you like the "Church of What's Happening Now" (does anybody else remember Flip Wilson, btw?) the concept has actually been around for as long, or longer, than Christianity. It's no wonder that the leaders of the Christian sects would persecute anyone who didn't toe the party line because once you buy into the idea, what would you need them (or their God) for? As Gandhi said, "If Jesus was the Son of God, then we are all Sons of God."
Now, am I saying that this is what I believe or that this is THE ANSWER? Absolutely not. I believe that there are many answers. And just as all roads once led to Rome, all roads lead to Heaven - or none of them do and it doesn't matter.
But, of course, that's just my opinion.
And you're right, I do get Moses and Sammy Davis, Jr. confused. I always think it was Moses who sand that song, "You can take a sunrise..." or was that Fiddler? Damn, now I'm really confused.
Now then, the fact that you don't understand my philosophy is your problem, not mine. And it wouldn't make any difference what that philosophy was anyway because it's different than yours and by definition that makes it wrong. You are the perfect example of the kind of person I was referring to earlier, the person who has found THE ANSWER and can't understand why there are people out there who just don't get it.
As for the Pyramids being mentioned in that passage you quoted from Isiah, well, all I can say is that if I look hard enough, I know I can find a reference to the Empire State Building in there someplace. Come to think of it, I do believe it was in Noah. Isn't that where the Ark really came to rest?
The fact is that you do what every other person who reads the Bible is forced to do: You interpret. And the truth is if you get 12 different Biblical scholars in a room, you're going to get 12 different versions of what is going on in it. Your opinion that Job really existed and that Moses wrote that book and the the Flood in the Bible came first is just that: Your opinion. My opinion is that Moses never existed, the Bible was written by a number of people (including at least one woman) and that it doesn't matter which came first, the chicken or the egg. There are enough flood myths out there which unarguably predate the Bible version to convince me that the one in the Bible is not original.
I never referred to an "unforgivable sin". I referred to the sin against the Holy Ghost, which you had alluded to in an earlier post as being the unforgivable sin. But for the record, I believe that the Holy Ghost (or Spirit, as it's more commonly referred to today) represents the power of hope in the face of darkness. And since I believe that the gift of being alive - regardless of where it comes from - is the greatest gift we will ever receive, then it follows that to lose hope or become desperate (or "despirited", if you will), especially to the point of taking your own life, represents an affront or "sin" against that symbol.
Again, I don't expect you to agree with me and I, pants down, cheerfully await your reply.
Endlessly-I hear what you are saying, but I think you missed my point. First of all, the debate over whether you get into Heaven based upon your belief or whether you are judged upon your actions has been a hot one for centuries. Personally, I think it's very much on the order of "How many Angels can dance on the head of a pin?" It's a theoretical exercise designed to steer people (read: sheep) towards one sect or away from another.
But the real clue is in your first paragraph, when you mention that most religions today are no substitute for a personal relationship with God. Christianity is based upon two things: The Fall, as illustrated in Genesis (where Man disobeys God and is kicked out of the Garden forever) and Redemption, which is represented in the form of Jesus Christ coming to earth, assuming human form and dying on the cross for our sins. Without one, the other loses all meaning. And running throughout Christianity (and Judaism, for that matter) is the concept that God is something separate and apart from us. Our only path to salvation is through a personal "relationship" with this God and the only way for that relationship to be formed is through Jesus.
Now contrast that idea for a moment with the notion of God (whatever form it might take) actually being inside and a part of us. And that, instead of forming a relationship with an "outside" God, our real goal is to "identify" with the God inside of us. There is no Fall and, consequently, no need for Redemption. All we need do is understand. And when you realize that all of it; God and the Devil, Heaven and Hell, is inside of us all of the time and that all you have to do is change your perspective to become aware of it, well, that's a very powerful idea. And while it may sound to you like the "Church of What's Happening Now" (does anybody else remember Flip Wilson, btw?) the concept has actually been around for as long, or longer, than Christianity. It's no wonder that the leaders of the Christian sects would persecute anyone who didn't toe the party line because once you buy into the idea, what would you need them (or their God) for? As Gandhi said, "If Jesus was the Son of God, then we are all Sons of God."
Now, am I saying that this is what I believe or that this is THE ANSWER? Absolutely not. I believe that there are many answers. And just as all roads once led to Rome, all roads lead to Heaven - or none of them do and it doesn't matter.
But, of course, that's just my opinion.
