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06-27-2010, 12:26 PM

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Denita239
New York, NY
Posts: 8

Eros, the god of love for this era- the winged little one...

However, there is a romantic legend that puts even Romeo & Juliet to shame.
This Celtic legend is about Aengus, the Irish god of love and his search for a maiden. See -www.pantheon.org.

06-27-2010, 12:00 PM

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Denita239
New York, NY
Posts: 8

The Framers of our Constitution did not hide their belief system and included it just about every document prepared for governmental purposes.

The way we mediate out of court is based on the way Moses did it- see Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Contract law today is as binding as vows and oaths were in Biblical days, to some degree.

Our banking and mortgage laws are largely based on ideas coming from Genesis and the four gospels. Paying unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar- The paying of taxes have still not phased out to this day.

Our diets are largely dictated by what Moses passed down. Many environmentalists today would be an uproar if we attempted to eat some of the foods listed in Leviticus 11 as the abominable foods. Today, after careful study, we find that many of these foods wouldn't be best for us.

If you want to take a step further- one could even say our building codes are largely based on the plans for repairing & rebuilding the temple in II Kings and the Chronicles...

Even if one didn't believe in God, there is some good and practical wisdom to be found in the Bible that benefits us all.

06-27-2010, 11:18 AM

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Denita239
New York, NY
Posts: 8

One of my biggest issues with the Bible specifically is the whole idea of faith. If an all-powerful being created us, then wouldn't every fiber of our being automatically sing his praises without reservation.

If He is so Wonderful -then why would he need to make Himself invisible to us - with our eyes and our spirits? Wouldn't we automatically see how beautiful his glory is, like in Revelation? Why would we need to LEARN how to discern the voice of God- wouldn't we automatically KNOW?

If God did come to me in whatever form he chose, then I'd have to ask the question -if he is such a loving God then why would he place the tree of knowledge of good and EVIL in the garden of Eden in the first place.

Most parents I know try to protect their children from harm, but not HIM. uh?? I equate the tree of knowledge of good and EVIL to putting a bottle of milk and a line of cocaine on the table before a toddler. The toddler would be curious about the cocaine if he is not hungry at that moment and the toddler would die.

The next thing I'd have to ask God is how he expects to keep his reputation as a "good" God while allowing Cain to kill Abel? uh?? What parent does that? He has bowed out of human affairs, GRACEFULLY, while we find new and inventive ways to destroy ourselves.

If there is a God, I truly would have to question his motives, his altruism and how He defines love.

06-27-2010, 10:39 AM

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Denita239
New York, NY
Posts: 8

shameless exploiters??

The Bible, in both the old and new testaments, include many books that advise people to "give" to God's chosen ones. Whether we are talking about paying tithes and offerings for the purpose of indirectly caring for the priests described in detail in the old testament or the selling of property for the Holy leaders in the book of Acts in the new testament.

Should the salesman at your local department store be ashamed if you purchase an item from their store? No.
Why should a person be ashamed when they have talked someone out of their cash in hand? The person making that pledge or donation is a victim, indeed, but like any scam, it's their decision to participate.

Unfortunately, the best scams are those who prey on people's needs and hopes. This is the danger with the Bible. If people are not discerning enough, their interpretation of the Bible can set them up to be victims of those who are unscrupulous- ripe for the pickings.

The irony is that in the story of Jesus, He always gave more than he received and sacrificed more for the greater good.

06-27-2010, 10:06 AM

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Denita239
New York, NY
Posts: 8

Eternity boring?

99 percent of the Bible gives moral advice on how to live this life to prepare for a life in eternity and 1 percent about what to expect in eternity.

If we applied some of that advice for the good of humanity as a whole and stop bickering about whether there is a God, then we wouldn't be on the brink of wiping ourselves out through environmental disasters, warfare, obesity... There is some practical wisdom is just about all religions.

And IF there is an eternity, then we'll deal with it the best we can, just like in this life. Could an immortal choose death? No!

06-27-2010, 09:35 AM

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Denita239
New York, NY
Posts: 8

We may never truly know the answer to that question. Has there been any group of people in history that lived their lives without some belief system or another?

It would probably boil down to motives. Christians try to lead a "clean" and "good" spiritual life to avoid hell and to please their God. What incentive and motive would an atheist have?

An atheist could have a strong sense of community and caring for his fellow man but, that idea too, has been bred out of religion. Religion, because laws have been based on it, still impacts the atheist.

06-27-2010, 09:25 AM

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Denita239
New York, NY
Posts: 8

I find it amazing that when we find an "artifact" from the past we are so quick to assign it to people's belief systems and their culture at the time. When we know today that we'll create "stuff" out of boredom or as a stress-reliever sometimes.

I'm not saying that there were no true religious artifacts, but EVERYTHING we've found from the distant past couldn't be. The nature of humans haven't changed and some artifacts are just "stuff" people made blowing off steam.

We need to remember that they too, were creative.

06-26-2010, 10:09 PM

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Denita239
New York, NY
Posts: 8

All three have followers but...

We cannot assume that all ancient texts we've found are actually based in truth. Throughout our history on this planet we have demonstrated that we have a healthy appetite for fiction and fantasy. Do you really believe people in ancient times didn't have the imagination to create fiction as we do now?

We cannot assume that just because these writings were accepted by the religious world that the motives of religious leaders at that time were pure. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

It's a well-known fact that one of the easiest ways to manipulate a large group of people is lead them to believe what is being said is of a divine nature.
History has shown us many examples of how the masses were manipulated. To start researching this concept found throughout history you may want to start with Hammurabi's Code and later with Egyptian hieroglyphics.