From: owner-eda-thoughts-digest@smoe.org (eda-thoughts-digest) To: eda-thoughts-digest@smoe.org Subject: eda-thoughts-digest V1 #110 Reply-To: eda-thoughts@smoe.org Sender: owner-eda-thoughts-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-eda-thoughts-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk eda-thoughts-digest Tuesday, August 11 1998 Volume 01 : Number 110 Today's Subjects: ----------------- ET: religion [genben@usa.net] ET: hehehehe [Angeljlb96@aol.com] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 04:21:21 From: genben@usa.net Subject: ET: religion Hey, So I had this conversation today (augmented by a rather fruity red wine) about religion with my friend, who is an Irish Catholic (all the religion, and chronic alcoholism to boot). Now, I myself fit into absolutely no religious category you could imagine but, in a nutshell, I don't believe in God (Jehovah, Allah, whatever), and I identify strongly with the Buddha and various eastern philosophies. That said, I got into this conversation today and ended up with a drunken catholic and a freaky non-practicing protestant (there are a lot of those out there, huh?) talking to me about God. Basically, I initiated the whole thing, with this thought being the topic : There is no God, in the sense of an omniscient, omnipotent being that created and governs us all. Rather, all life in this crockpot we call reality is given validity from our individual existences, basically meaning that everything derives its existence from everything else; AND, God is a creaton of the human mind borne out of our desire to derive our worth from another source, to be given approval, so to speak, from a being more powerful than us. We want to be ALMOST the most powerful thing, with just one thing above us. The two sides of the discussion basically ended up with the tree falling in the forest question, i.e., if there were no people to worship Him, would God in the theistic sense exist, or is his position dependent on ours? My side of the argument, obviously, was that God is a creation of ours (and not vice-versa). I was saying that all life is connected, and that reality is a relative concept. Our personal realities come from our personal points of view. we all see everything differently, and our lives are all reflections of how we see the things around us. Those with respect for the world will also respect themselves as part of the world. those whose lives are based around Puritanical religious fear in a deity with the power over our fates are more likely to live to please others, particularly that creator who is supposedly there for their protection. Now, the outcomes may be the same, but more likely than not, people who belive that there is some thing above them will belive that there are things below them, hence things like the 'food chain' we all hear so much about, and practices like game hunting, and fashions like leather and fur. We display our neighbors (in the worldly 'all is one' sense, i.e. animals other than humans, as well as other humans) as subservient to us to quell that fear of inadequacy we feel in relation to our Almighty Lord and Father. I find this tragically ironic based on the fact that we INVENTED God in the first place, and his existence (as I said before) depends on ours, not vice-versa. On the other side of the coin, those people with respect for themselves and the world are more likely to make healthy decisions for themselves and the things/people that they care about. Thay are more likely to be full of love instead of fear and Puritanical guilt, which translates into anger, hatred, and contempt for all things not God. This post did not turn out exactly the way I had hoped it would, but I really would like some thoughts on this subjest, for religion is the glue that seems to hold this society together, and yet it is also the force drawing us apart. I like irone, and religion has yielded some of the more ironic situations in the history of man, mostly that of war and hatred for fellow beings, which almost all religions preach against. Okay, I'm gonna stop now even though I could write all night long. I thank all who have read this all the way through and hope to hear from you. Yeah, Ben *jeez, I just read this through, and I really wrote a lot. sorry ____________________________________________________________________ Get free e-mail and a permanent address at http://www.netaddress.com/?N=1 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Aug 1998 03:39:28 EDT From: Angeljlb96@aol.com Subject: ET: hehehehe <> Woww....thanks Sam =) You're a doll...hehe. SO I finally wrote music for that...and it's pretty much done, and I am highly pleased with the results. SO...I just got back about 7.5 hours ago from my cross-country road trip, and I had a great time. Hehehe...in COlorado, I was playing guitar and singing Boy Needs A Bike and somebody came from behind and asked me for my auutograph! After I looked completely dumbfounded...they said, "Oh...sorry, thought you were Jewel" and walked off...lol....people. I wrote four songs and a few one-liners on my trip, and I met one of the most wonderful people on the face of this planet of Roosevelt followers called earth (Stand up and take a bow, Jon). We talked for hours, until Jon was pretty much incoherent....then I let him go home. After he raped me and gave me fuzzy dice and green tea, he gave me a super big hug and kiss on cheek and said I was "lovely" =) And we mushily said our goodbyes as he rode off into the morning in his '66 tempest and I ran after him at the stoplight and he obviously wasn't as touched by the experience as I was cuz he like didn't care to mention it to you peeps. BUT ANYWAY. He's white, and I love him. Sorry for babbling again. HI LARA! I LOVE YOU, TOO!!!!! KEEP ME POSTED!!! Always, Jamie ~And we may never meet again, so shed your skin..let's get started. And you will throw your arms around me~ PJ (like Priscilla and Jamie Inc.,...nevermind =)) ------------------------------ End of eda-thoughts-digest V1 #110 **********************************