Hey Kids!

I don't see from reading back in this thread where Serpentine (nice handle) said anything against anyone directly.

Lord's Lady - perhaps you're being a tad sensitive considering he/she didn't address you directly regarding the comment made concerning he "weak mindedness" of the people who fall for the fire and brimstone approach to spreading the "good news" of the Gospel.

And Carl - my old friend - what's up man?

To the rest of you: I think you're being overly sensitive to how things are being phrased. I don't know.

I'm not for or against on this one. It's all good.

Marko

Marko - good to see you back.

Hi Argyll!

I dunno why this topic is no longer about what god people would want. Somewhere something was said about weak-mindedness, Johny Carson, and angels and alcohol. I dunno.



Your signature insults me. =P

Hi Niki:

I don't know about this thread no longer being about the original topic. t looks pretty good to me. I think some people got a little offended by ideas other than their own. Pretty much o be expected in my books.

After reading the history of this thread, I can see where things got off track. It all boillls down to feelings I'd say.

And as far as the signature that insults you, I believe that is the intention. Otherwise, it wouldn't be there. We post things like that to identify with the meaning behind them. It says something about ourselves.

I was once called out by this same individual for having a photo of myself on my posts. I was not (and am not) computer savvy and the photo of myself was larger than I wanted on my posts. I didn't know how to redue the size. I was criticized for being narcissistic by this individual. I took the photo down as a result.

You never know what it is you say or do that will offend someone. I think it's important how you deal with things once you know you have offended someone, however.

I choose to withhold my opinion on most things these days. I have realized that what I think is really only important to me and a handful of others. The rest is hot air.

Marko

I can understand that.

Often, people either agree, or they get upset, so, unfortunately, discussion may go nowhere, unless it's downhill.

Ok there is something that I have wanted to say for a long time and this is probably not the place nor time but:

LordsLady - you say you have never knowingly insulted anyone. In your profile you list your hobbies as "not birds !!!!"

That is pretty insulting.

PDM you don't need to chastise me, I know I did wrong.

BLR...I am sorry, but I don't understand how my not liking birds is insulting. It isn't a personal attack, just a matter of my likes/dislikes/opinions. I also don't like cats in case you wish to hold that against me as well. I don't assume there are any birds on this forum are there?


Blessings,

Emilie

Emilie - you are smarter than that. You know what I am talking about.

Argyll, nicely said.

Although I don't avoid offensive comments. I think it builds people. It built me to where I am now. Whether or not the person intended offense or not.

It's just like you said, how we handle offense!

LL, it's the tone of what you said in your profile, I believe. Not what you said.

I like what Carl said about grokking - Stranger in a Strange Land made a huge impact on me in my teens, and I think a lot of the experience of Michael is very appealing. I think about to "grok" a lot.

Carl also wrote this: "Perhaps God wants, instead of the lion and the lamb to sit side by side, people of all thoughts and beliefs to sit together. Maybe there's really no exclusion from God, and no "entrance" requirements to meet."

That pretty much sums up what I want in a God. No judging, no excluding, no hate, no punishment.

The God I would want would have less emphasis on an afterlife and more emphasis on trying to be happy here and now, making positive change for the world and each other, spending time learning and loving and exploring life.

I spend a lot of time wondering why so many religions focus on afterlife so much. It seems very focused on death and not life.

All I can come up with is that life is so painful for so many, that perhaps the hope of a better "world to come" keeps them going?

I turn this around and around. I live below the poverty line in the USA but to people in some countries I certainly live like a king. I can't complain about my living conditions.

But what if I had limited access to clean water, healthy food, sanitary conditions? Could I still be happy? Would I need the thought of a better afterlife to keep me going?

I think I could be happy in those conditions if I had the right mindset. I've traveled and seen that some people can be happy with the here and now with a life that is hard. And I see many people unhappy with lives filled with ease.

I ask myself, what if i was living in prison, tortured, mocked, abused? Could I still be happy? I'd like to think I could come to some sort of place inside that would not be touched by the pain. There are memoirs of concentration camp survivors who found such a place inside themselves, and could still decide to find beauty in life.

I want to be that kind of person.

Where am I going with this? I think the god I'd want would give us the mental tools for being happy in this lifetime.

I want a religion that helps me achieve my goals in LIFE and not after death.

I hope I have tried to phrase this all positively. I am not trying to knock religions based on rewards in the afterlife. I want to understand that viewpoint and I can't wrap my mind around it.