The following is a comment from Huffington Post. The discussion was about, among other things, the existence of God. Several skeptics were doing the usual needling. Then this appeared and seemed to cry out to be shared. Many thanks to the person who wrote it!
I do believe in God however, your statement that the "burden of proof" is on me for believing God exists is indeed your own "straw man" argument. I have no "burden" when it comes to what I choose to believe. I don't attempt to change people's belief system through circular arguments which can never be answered with certainty. For me the evidence of a caring "creator", or "life-force" or "God" is everywhere. For others, maybe they need more definitive "proof" in their own lives, maybe these are the people who can't see anything they can't put their hands on; who can't put their hands on what they can't see. For me, the Bible isn't representative of a Book which should be viewed as a "text book of literal history". It is filled with parables, stories of inspiration as well reflecting the societies and culture of the times. Whether people except it for the word of God or not is entirely up to them. I do believe it is the word of God, but......if you don't, so be it.
What gets me is these people who question if Jesus ever existed. All you need to do is look at the historical writings of the Roman Empire to find documentation of a person named "Jesus" being sentenced to death coinciding with the Biblical account. If the Bibles account is "make believe" so must be the account of the Roman Empire.
I forget who wrote the following little "story", prominent physicists whose name escapes me but, I have to agree with the sentiment.
"There was a time when I used to visit the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco. I would spend hours fascinated by the carp, which lived in a very shallow pond just inches beneath the lily pads, just beneath my fingers, totally oblivious to the universe above them. I would ask myself a question only a human child could ask: What would it be like to be a carp?
What a strange world it would be! I imagined that the pond would be an entire universe, one that is two-dimensional in space. The carp would only be able to swim forwards and backwards, and left and right. I imagined that the concept of "up"--beyond the lily pads--would be totally alien to them. Any carp scientist daring to talk about a third dimension "above" the pond--would immediately be labeled a crank.
I wondered what would happen if I could reach down and grab a carp scientist and lift it up out of the "pond". I thought, what a wondrous story that scientist would tell the others! The carp would babble on about unbelievable new laws of physics: beings who could move without fins; beings who could breathe without gills; beings who could emit sounds without bubbles.
I then wondered: How would a carp scientist know about my existence? One day it rained, and I saw the rain drops forming gentle ripples on the surface of the pond. Then I understood.
The carp could see rippling shadows on the surface of the pond. The third dimension would be invisible to them, but vibrations in the third dimensions would be clearly visible. These ripples might even be felt by the carp, who would invent a silly concept to describe this, called "force." They might even give these "forces" cute names, such as light and gravity. I would laugh at them, because, of course, I know there is no "force" at all, just the rippling of the water.
I'm here to say, you are the carp, swimming in your tiny pond, blissfully unaware of invisible, unseen universes hovering just above you. You'll spend your whole life in three spatial dimensions; confident that what you can see with your telescopes is all there is, ignorant of the vast possibilities. Although the higher dimensions are invisible, their "ripples" can clearly be seen and felt. You call these ripples gravity and light."
By: ThePacifier on August 07, 2006 at 11:11am
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/08/05/filmmaker-james-cameron-f_n_26613.html?p=7#comments
Monday, August 07, 2006
Thursday, July 20, 2006
A Liberal Agenda
People complain that "progressives" don't have a platform. Here's one list of beliefs ascribed to liberals. Interestingly, all but one of these are based, at least in part, on rational thought.
SAVE THE: Environment. Humans rape, plunder and pollute the earth with little thought for the future.
SAVE THE: Ozone layer. Our chemicals and emissions damage this protective layer of our atmosphere.
SAVE THE: Caribou and Alaskan wilderness from destruction by the oil industry. (Why is it so easy to complain about dependence on foreign oil, but we refuse to allow an increase in local oil and nuclear energy, and just can't get any other energy sources going either? Just asking!)
SAVE THE: Wetlands. Not only habitat for water foul and other wildlife, but protection for our cities. ( The drowning of New Orleans was the fault of big oil and the government)
SAVE THE: Parks. We have millions and millions of protected square miles within our borders. Mountains, deserts, forests, prairies, the works. We need more! And they must be protected from the use of humans at all costs.
SAVE THE: Americans from corrupt oil companies, big businesses, gun lobbies, religion and the crooked government.
SAVE THE: Whales from the whaling industry and injury from sonar equipment.
SAVE THE: Fish from pollution from industries and oil tankers.
SAVE THE: Animals from laboratory testing of any kind, from abuse and from the fur makers.
SAVE THE: Poor and elderly. Our system made them and holds them in their situation. We must provide for them.
SAVE THE: Criminals. Again, we created them. It's not their fault. There should be no death penalty. It's immoral to kill someone for any reason. Their rights and comfort must be protected way beyond those of their victims.
SAVE THE: Enemies. Terrorists only react to our crimes. The world leaders who slaughter their own are of no consequence to us. Their threats against us are meaningless. When we go to war, it's our fault. Innocent civilians are only killed by us. Insurgents are our friends. All death and destruction from war is the fault of our president and that makes him a murderer. Excuse all members of congress who approved war, but have since come to their senses and speak out against it.
SAVE THE: Government. All branches of government are infested with criminals. But the only ones who's offenses matter are the ones who's political philosophy is right of center. They must be vilified at every opportunity, while we protect the reputation of our "own."
BUT DON'T SAVE THE: Embryo and fetus. They are just worthless tissue. They can be destroyed for any reason with no thought of responsibility. They can be cut up and experimented on, ripped to shreds with instruments, burned with solutions and have their brains sucked out. It doesn't matter because we have decreed that there is no life there. We ignore the beating heart, the working circulatory and nervous systems, the response to light, touch and other stimuli, the complete genetic profile, the promise of life and the future of our species.
For all the talk about saving everything and making sure every living thing has rights and protection, thinking of the future for our children and their children's children, we have decided that the only thing in this world that has no rights and is entirely expendable is the unborn child. The very seed of our existence, joy of our lives and hope for our future is a "lifeless glob of cells."
So much for the liberal agenda!
SAVE THE: Environment. Humans rape, plunder and pollute the earth with little thought for the future.
SAVE THE: Ozone layer. Our chemicals and emissions damage this protective layer of our atmosphere.
SAVE THE: Caribou and Alaskan wilderness from destruction by the oil industry. (Why is it so easy to complain about dependence on foreign oil, but we refuse to allow an increase in local oil and nuclear energy, and just can't get any other energy sources going either? Just asking!)
SAVE THE: Wetlands. Not only habitat for water foul and other wildlife, but protection for our cities. ( The drowning of New Orleans was the fault of big oil and the government)
SAVE THE: Parks. We have millions and millions of protected square miles within our borders. Mountains, deserts, forests, prairies, the works. We need more! And they must be protected from the use of humans at all costs.
SAVE THE: Americans from corrupt oil companies, big businesses, gun lobbies, religion and the crooked government.
SAVE THE: Whales from the whaling industry and injury from sonar equipment.
SAVE THE: Fish from pollution from industries and oil tankers.
SAVE THE: Animals from laboratory testing of any kind, from abuse and from the fur makers.
SAVE THE: Poor and elderly. Our system made them and holds them in their situation. We must provide for them.
SAVE THE: Criminals. Again, we created them. It's not their fault. There should be no death penalty. It's immoral to kill someone for any reason. Their rights and comfort must be protected way beyond those of their victims.
SAVE THE: Enemies. Terrorists only react to our crimes. The world leaders who slaughter their own are of no consequence to us. Their threats against us are meaningless. When we go to war, it's our fault. Innocent civilians are only killed by us. Insurgents are our friends. All death and destruction from war is the fault of our president and that makes him a murderer. Excuse all members of congress who approved war, but have since come to their senses and speak out against it.
SAVE THE: Government. All branches of government are infested with criminals. But the only ones who's offenses matter are the ones who's political philosophy is right of center. They must be vilified at every opportunity, while we protect the reputation of our "own."
BUT DON'T SAVE THE: Embryo and fetus. They are just worthless tissue. They can be destroyed for any reason with no thought of responsibility. They can be cut up and experimented on, ripped to shreds with instruments, burned with solutions and have their brains sucked out. It doesn't matter because we have decreed that there is no life there. We ignore the beating heart, the working circulatory and nervous systems, the response to light, touch and other stimuli, the complete genetic profile, the promise of life and the future of our species.
For all the talk about saving everything and making sure every living thing has rights and protection, thinking of the future for our children and their children's children, we have decided that the only thing in this world that has no rights and is entirely expendable is the unborn child. The very seed of our existence, joy of our lives and hope for our future is a "lifeless glob of cells."
So much for the liberal agenda!
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Graffiti "artists" vs New York City
I just read about the lawsuit against New York by some "artists" who claim that anti-graffiti laws infringe their right to free speech.
This is not an issue about freedom of speech. That's just a tool to give them some validity. If you tell Americans their rights are in jeopardy, they'll jump all over themselves to defend anything, from tagging buildings to writing messages in yellow snow. Call this what really it is... vandalism. Defacement of private and public property. It's destructive and costs us money. If they have a need to express themselves, there are plenty of legal ways to do it.
Huffington Post
Yahoo News
This is not an issue about freedom of speech. That's just a tool to give them some validity. If you tell Americans their rights are in jeopardy, they'll jump all over themselves to defend anything, from tagging buildings to writing messages in yellow snow. Call this what really it is... vandalism. Defacement of private and public property. It's destructive and costs us money. If they have a need to express themselves, there are plenty of legal ways to do it.
Huffington Post
Yahoo News
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Eliminate the Lobby
In light of the recent lobbying scandals, I posted the following comments on Huffington Post. It's a response to Ms. Huffingtons article on lobbyists who have family ties to politicians.
Don't start with just family ties. Lobbying should be outlawed, period! Congress isn't there to serve special interest. They're supposed to serve the people. Their capacity to do that is destroyed by the constant "wine and dine, scratch each other's back" mentality in Washington.
Gone are the old days when representatives met at great personal sacrifice, in a locked room with no ventilation, and drafted the Constitution. Where are the men and women of honor who devoted their lives to making this country a better place? Instead we have prople who make a career of wallowing in perks, padding each other's wallets, feeding their bloated egos and acting irresponsibly without consequence.
Start with eliminating the lobby. Then move on to term limits and all the other reforms we need on the hill.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/lobbying-reform-lets-cu_b_17990.html
Don't start with just family ties. Lobbying should be outlawed, period! Congress isn't there to serve special interest. They're supposed to serve the people. Their capacity to do that is destroyed by the constant "wine and dine, scratch each other's back" mentality in Washington.
Gone are the old days when representatives met at great personal sacrifice, in a locked room with no ventilation, and drafted the Constitution. Where are the men and women of honor who devoted their lives to making this country a better place? Instead we have prople who make a career of wallowing in perks, padding each other's wallets, feeding their bloated egos and acting irresponsibly without consequence.
Start with eliminating the lobby. Then move on to term limits and all the other reforms we need on the hill.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/lobbying-reform-lets-cu_b_17990.html
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Another Weather Disaster
This text is from a county emergency manager out in the western part of North Dakota after the recent snow storm. I wish I could meet him and shake his hand.
WEATHER BULLETIN
Up here in the Northern Plains we just recovered from an Historic event ---
may I even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical Proportions" --- with a historic blizzard of up to 44" inches of snow and winds to 90 MPH that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to 10's of thousands.
FYI:
* George Bush did not come....
* FEMA did nothing....
* No one howled for the government...
* No one blamed the government
* No one even uttered an expletive on TV...
* Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit
* Our Mayor's did not blame Bush or anyone else
* Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else either
* CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX, or NBC did not visit - or report on this category 5 snow storm
* Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.....
* No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House....
* No one looted....
* Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something
* Nobody expected the government to do anything either
* No Larry King, No Bill O'Rielly, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No Geraldo Rivera
* No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found
And
* Nope, we just melted the snow for water
* Sent out caravans of SUV's to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars
* The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn't ask for a penny
* Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snow bound families
* Families took in the stranded people - total strangers
* We Fired up wood stoves
* Broke out coal oil lanterns or Coleman lanterns
* We put on an extra layers of clothes because up here it is "Work or Die"
* We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program th at trades votes for 'sittin at home' checks.
* Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early...we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves.
resourcefully!!!!!!!!!
WEATHER BULLETIN
Up here in the Northern Plains we just recovered from an Historic event ---
may I even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical Proportions" --- with a historic blizzard of up to 44" inches of snow and winds to 90 MPH that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to 10's of thousands.
FYI:
* George Bush did not come....
* FEMA did nothing....
* No one howled for the government...
* No one blamed the government
* No one even uttered an expletive on TV...
* Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit
* Our Mayor's did not blame Bush or anyone else
* Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else either
* CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX, or NBC did not visit - or report on this category 5 snow storm
* Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.....
* No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House....
* No one looted....
* Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something
* Nobody expected the government to do anything either
* No Larry King, No Bill O'Rielly, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No Geraldo Rivera
* No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found
And
* Nope, we just melted the snow for water
* Sent out caravans of SUV's to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars
* The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn't ask for a penny
* Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snow bound families
* Families took in the stranded people - total strangers
* We Fired up wood stoves
* Broke out coal oil lanterns or Coleman lanterns
* We put on an extra layers of clothes because up here it is "Work or Die"
* We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program th at trades votes for 'sittin at home' checks.
* Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early...we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves.
resourcefully!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Original Sin?
We are judged on our own actions, not for those of others. A just God wouldn't condemn me for something you did.
When Adam and Eve were in the garden, they were innocent. They didn't know right from wrong, obeyed everything God said and would have remained that way. If they had, we would never have been born.
They needed to learn free agency, and God wanted them to make the choices that would allow us to be. To do that, he gave them two conflicting commandments. Don't eat the fruit of knowledge, and multiply and replenish the earth. They chose the greater of the two. For breaking the first, they were kicked out of the garden and would eventually die. But for obeying the second, they learned, grew, had a family. They understood joy because they felt sorrow. Knew pleasure and pain. Developed faith because they were no longer in God's presence. And they made it possible for all of us to be born.
That's the original sin. Their choice. And that's the way it actually impacts us. No one is born with Adam's sin on their heads. We're not cursed because of him. Baptism need not be done to babies who are perfect. It should be done when you're old enough to be accountable on your own.
God is a loving father. We still need redemption through Jesus for our sins. And that is another gift of love.
Filed under: [Religion]
When Adam and Eve were in the garden, they were innocent. They didn't know right from wrong, obeyed everything God said and would have remained that way. If they had, we would never have been born.
They needed to learn free agency, and God wanted them to make the choices that would allow us to be. To do that, he gave them two conflicting commandments. Don't eat the fruit of knowledge, and multiply and replenish the earth. They chose the greater of the two. For breaking the first, they were kicked out of the garden and would eventually die. But for obeying the second, they learned, grew, had a family. They understood joy because they felt sorrow. Knew pleasure and pain. Developed faith because they were no longer in God's presence. And they made it possible for all of us to be born.
That's the original sin. Their choice. And that's the way it actually impacts us. No one is born with Adam's sin on their heads. We're not cursed because of him. Baptism need not be done to babies who are perfect. It should be done when you're old enough to be accountable on your own.
God is a loving father. We still need redemption through Jesus for our sins. And that is another gift of love.
Filed under: [Religion]
Friday, October 28, 2005
Science vs. Religion
It's funny to listen to both sides accuse the other of being closed-minded when they are both equally as guilty of BEING closed-minded. It's like the battle between doctors and those who practice natural medicine. Both sides have something to learn from the other. There's room in this world to co-exist.
To think that science understands and explains everything is ludicrous. Every year the "facts" change. Scientists are the first ones to "cry heresy" over new ideas that don't fit the mold. And what they don't understand, they discount or ridicule.
Not long ago, we were supposedly headed for an ice age. Now it's global warming. Ok, people of "rational thinking," how can the "facts" be so opposed.
You accused religion of mind control and ruling by fear. Yet scientists take their latest pet theory and tell the world we're all doomed unless we follow their instructions. So-called rational minds have forced our country to abandon alternative energy production for the sake of safety and environment. Now that we're dependant on foreign oil, they blame us for putting life in jeopardy and say we should be finding alternative energy sources.
On the other side of the arguement, if Catholics are right, then the Protestants are all apostates and they lose. If the Protestants are right, then the Catholics either never had the truth or they changed and lost it. If that's the case, Protestants came from apostasy and they still lose. So who's right?
All people have much to learn. There's plenty of room in the world for learning and co-existing, but very little room for bias and bigotry.
If there is a God, and I believe whole heartedly that there is, He would have a greater understanding of science than what our puny, finite minds can comprehend.
Filed under: Religion News
To think that science understands and explains everything is ludicrous. Every year the "facts" change. Scientists are the first ones to "cry heresy" over new ideas that don't fit the mold. And what they don't understand, they discount or ridicule.
Not long ago, we were supposedly headed for an ice age. Now it's global warming. Ok, people of "rational thinking," how can the "facts" be so opposed.
You accused religion of mind control and ruling by fear. Yet scientists take their latest pet theory and tell the world we're all doomed unless we follow their instructions. So-called rational minds have forced our country to abandon alternative energy production for the sake of safety and environment. Now that we're dependant on foreign oil, they blame us for putting life in jeopardy and say we should be finding alternative energy sources.
On the other side of the arguement, if Catholics are right, then the Protestants are all apostates and they lose. If the Protestants are right, then the Catholics either never had the truth or they changed and lost it. If that's the case, Protestants came from apostasy and they still lose. So who's right?
All people have much to learn. There's plenty of room in the world for learning and co-existing, but very little room for bias and bigotry.
If there is a God, and I believe whole heartedly that there is, He would have a greater understanding of science than what our puny, finite minds can comprehend.
Filed under: Religion News
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