anotherDan

somethin' different Petra Haden- single girl, married girl Sudo... nice cut.... quite a set of pipes that girl has... who is she?

I like the sudden awakening idea!

well, bul I thought I didn't know this one, so I Googled it. I did know it. Good one! Maybe give 'em another clue

I'd like to add that a classic must-read in this field is William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience. It covers the subject quite comprehensively, and introduces pragmatism.

sky4, I hear you loud and clear. 10-4, my friend

http://www.greasespotcafe.com/ipb/index.php?showuser=2964 Huh? Wrds, if you'll give me some time, I will respond to your comments... You are amazing.

Exactly. Very good observation. Merrily merrily merrily merrily... Richard Dawkins asks, "what if" and so do I

Happy Birthday Carole!

It might be said that the lion won't get much to eat, too, George! But these are symbols of the promised reality. Roy, I understood you well the first time. Thank you for adding more to the conversation, too. You are like an apostle to me. Professor Dawkins will be very surprised when he sees the love God has for him. I think we'll all be surprised. In the new life, I will be happy to extend a hand of fellowship to this presently confused professor. Bolshevik, great point, but love is not merely a word when it takes on flesh and blood.

my daughter just send me a followup:

I doubt the doctrine that says that all men are not created in the image of God.... VPW's take was only those who were "born again" were. Likewise, the idea that only those who are "saved" can love (agapeo) is a crock, and easily disproved from the Scriptures. Garth is right. An atheist is quite capable of love, and I'd say the ratio of love coming from the atheistic community is about the same as that from the confessing church. Just the GSC sampling could show that. But I also think that Jesus was the ultimate expression of love. He was a life-giver, not a life-taker. He was not only the author and finisher of faith, but also of love. song by FFH: A case could be made that Jesus was the penultimate in love, for he said that those who believed on him would do the works he did, and greater works than those. And Garth described only three examples of how some atheists do the works of Jesus. I contend that those who truly believe on Jesus Christ will do those works, if not greater, but that does not exclude the possibility of those who say they do not believe to do them. Personal sacrifice is built into us as a result of our being created in the image of God. The cross is the focal point of all history, and the only cause of our hope that the world will be made right. (That's William Penn, the Quaker (and courageous Christian, as George Fox was) meeting with the American Indians, on the left side of the picture.) Belle, I responded to you on the Wright thread.

I've decided to suspend indefinitely my interest in this thread, thereby proving how perfectly Belle has my posting patterns down. Thanks again, y'all, for your contributions and comments. Thanks to Belle, I've found Google and the Gilgamesh story which predates the Bible, and all kinds of trash about Wright. I now know how Wrong he is. And Cynic's information has given me a new view, possibly, into Christianity, and I think maybe I will become Reformed, if I don't go wiccan. Initially, I was intrigued by Wright's premise that in his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul took the Jewish Shema (thou shalt put no other gods before me) and put Christ right in the center. I began to wonder if I was going to understand the NT in a whole new light, same as the old light. His comments regarding the Church and polytheism then and now seemed worth considering. But now I know it's BS, and, thanks to Belle, I also know the other side of the Moynihans. You nailed it, Belle!

I posted the lecture/reading because I think Dawkins is an important voice in the 21st century conversation, an elegant exegete of postmodern natural philosophy, certainly worthy of the lecture position at the women's college. The Enlightenment brought a spirit of hope into the world where man felt "finally" that he could dispense with the superstitious notions of God. Newton never got there, and neither did Pascal. The founders of the USA never got there, but there were broad advances in philosophy, math and science that both unlocked mysteries, such as germ warfare, and brought even more wondrous questions to the fore. As a student, Dawkins finally "got it" when he understood truly what Darwin's theory was all about. I like how honest he is in regard to First Cause (I don't think that comes out in the clip... I must have heard that in some of the interviews with him that I've heard) and in the limits of science. The political experiment that became the USA and continued progress in the sciences furthered man's hope that he would be able to address the problems of his world. Darwin was a huge player. At the dawn of the 20th century, the first world war broke out and suddenly and horribly "the world" realized that we still had much to learn. Many had to take a look at history once again. The popular author H.G. Wells wrote a book called An Outline of History that was wildly sucessful around that time. We needed another world war and Einstein and Freud to futher cement some hard truths in our souls, and now we have the Nobel laureate Al Gore (with his multitude of scientists as co-winners) finally addressing what Rachel Carson started, and what Joni Mitchell knew in the 70's. Hey farmer farmer, put away the DDT, now. Give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees. Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone? We can do it. Come on people! And please THINK before you breed animals! edit: with love and a holy kiss blowing your way, Roy

your turn, Waysider ahh but who are they to judge us, simply 'cause our hair is gone?

PB, I emailed that story to my daughter, and she sent me this one back: One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad." "Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked. "Oh yeah," said the son. "So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father. The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them." The boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are." Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have. Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends! This was passed on to you to help you refresh your perspective and appreciation. "Life is too short and friends are too few."

George, are you saying that Why I Am Not a Christian was "not his best work"? If you are, I agree.

Don't like to leave ya hangin' too long. I guess there are no countrified people browsing the Name That Tune thread at the moment. It is a great (and fun) song, and I think akin to the second one sung by a very young (someone said he was 15) Hank Williams Jr. My clues were from the very first lines... It's Patty Loveless, "Blame it on Your Lyin' Cheatin' Heart" pedigree: great sound quality on both of these... amazing for the second one, with reverb and all Next Song: Mother mother, there's too many of you cryin' Brother brother brother there's far too many of you dying That is freaky, Tom Suda.... I should have done better on the science test I'm throwing you a softball, people. Underhand.

Hi Belle. I see we're posting at the same time, so scroll up. I know I left you hangin' on the Wright thread. Honestly, I'm still absorbing the article myself. I promise to get to it some day, and I will shoot you a PM when I do. Started this one because it's a no-brainer to me. On the Wright thread, I have to THINK, and PRAY. edit: I would suggest you just listen to the first 34 min (skip the prof introducting him... 3:20). It's very interesting. I think you'd love it, maybe even more than I did. I'm sure your comments would be interesting, too. Please come out and play!

wonderful comments I enjoyed this presentation very much. I like Dawkins, and not just because he's eloquent and quite charming, but that helps. He's far more convincing and, really, to the point than Bertram Russel was (Why I Am Not a Christian) Russel may have made a good counterpoint for C.S. Lewis, but Dawkins is much more sophisticated.... golly be... in counterpoint to, say, NT Wright. Nevertheless, smart guys don't have it all, and Dawkins demonstrates that quite neatly. He does such a good job, but he's being listened to not only by his fellow classmates, but to sons and friends of God. God bless the Liberty U students, but I have to admit they weren't very effective! Thanks for the comments, guys. I hope some atheists/agnostics and other Christians chime in.

you got that right.

Preacher.... don't forget to email me about that witnessing expedition. Have a nice weekend, Oldies

I knew that comets were composed of [xxxxxxxxx], but I did not know that the [xxx] was "left over from the formation of our solar system." Good thing I didn't need to know that part.... it was a given. Good test, GT. I barely passed.

Crimson and Clover Tommy James and the Shondells... You've got a thing or two to learn about me baby