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GEPRUITT - the unfortunate aspect of what you are saying is that
you represent a very small minority of progressive thought in regards to personal belief.
One trip to the middle east would dispell any hope of there ever being a possibility of common ground found in religious beliefs. Most proposals for this sort of thing invariably have the rest of us adopting the beliefs of the proposer. The majority of people on this planet would not even consider adjusting their own beliefs in any manner, for any reason, let alone for a perceived common good.
posted by
gomedome
on September 6, 2006 at 7:06 AM
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GOMEDOME
Am I willing to give up my beliefs? Of course, I am! My present set of religious beliefs have changed enormously in the last 35 years. As a young adult, I believed, for instance, that the Holy Scriptures as found in the Bible were indeed just that. Since that time, and with education and much personal thought and research, I no longer even believe that the Bible was either written or inspired to be written by God. It was, on the contrary, written entirely by men inspired only by their own selfish desires. The most important current belief of mine is this one: "One, or ALL, of my current beliefs may eventually prove to be wrong, and I am prepared to change them all if necessary!"
I further think that I am by no means the only one to be so inclined. "Water eventually seeks its own level!" I am an optimist, to be sure, but not totally without some sense of realism. The world is indeed "getting smaller," and we are slowly, as an intelligent species, evolving toward a more enlightened race of people in all areas. Even Christianity, one of the slowest moving segments of humanity, has changed drastically from its more primitive OLD TESTAMENT state.
I am also a proponent of a one-world religion, and I believe not only that it is coming, but that it is inevitable! It will take time, of course (perhaps even "EONS" of time), but ultimately, yes, we are headed precisely in that direction. The indicators are everywhere! ... but this comment is getting a little long, and I will save them perhaps for a BLOG of my own!
Interesting post, gomedome, and I enjoyed reading it.
Gerald
posted by
GEPRUITT
on September 5, 2006 at 11:16 PM
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mysteria - that kind of stuff just shocks me
I'm assuming that this person was a health care professional or working in a professional capacity. If that is the case, they have no business at all going in that direction, you did the wise thing in taking a hike.
posted by
gomedome
on September 5, 2006 at 8:35 PM
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Gome, I had a couselor tell me that I am going to have a harder time
healing my depression because I don't believe in "god". In essence saying, "Come this way, take the easy path out, it's bliss". I took the easy way out alright. I let my FEET do the talking though...lol
posted by
mysteria
on September 5, 2006 at 8:11 PM
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mysteria -- Easter Bunnyism - I love it
and it is very true. The world is a mess, with religious belief at the very core of these problems. Yet, all we seem to hear from people is a prescription to cure these ills based on fantasy, where the very thing that is exacerbating these problems is somehow going to be the cure? ...yeah that'll work.
posted by
gomedome
on September 5, 2006 at 11:47 AM
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Reminds me of the recent "Islam" converts forced by their kidnappers
It would be like asking me, "If you do not believe and convert to EasterBunnism with all your heart and soul we will chop your head off Mysteria".
Gawd, the world is such a pathetic mess. It would be laughable, if I weren't doomed to spend my life here with all these imbeciles!
Peace Gome : )
posted by
mysteria
on September 5, 2006 at 11:11 AM
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Xeno-x - we have to accept this fact
There is simply no other choice. From this acceptance, we can only think in terms of practical realities. Dreaming about how things should be while insisting that other people abandon ther beliefs in favour of some form of prescribed beliefs is absurd, yet we hear proposals suggesting this very idea continually. The Ba'hai faith is the closest thing to a universal religion that exists on this planet, yet they only have 6 million members worldwide and have one qualifier that excludes a good portion of the planet's populace. That would be a belief in God, to my knowledge they don't have any atheists as members.
posted by
gomedome
on September 5, 2006 at 10:37 AM
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individuality
we have to recognize it.
it's there already.
everybody believes differently
period.
posted by
Xeno-x
on September 5, 2006 at 9:48 AM
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Ariala - tolerance with qualifiers is the only philosophy that can possibly
succeed.
Even then, the determination of what will be, or should be tolerated in others is subjective. In any event, we are definitely on the same page on this one, religious belief/opinion is personal and offers nothing but more of the same grief that mankind has always endured, when attempts are made to homogenize it.
posted by
gomedome
on September 5, 2006 at 9:20 AM
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Unity in diversity is the ONLY thing that works, and as we know, there
are always those who HAVE to coerce the rest to join or die. These people are the problems. I do not believe in a one-world religion or belief system for it would require everyone to give up their individual beliefs...this only leads to compromised mumbo jumbo. Nope, no thanks...I don't mind working toward peace efforts, but it cannot be done in the name of religion or even politics.
posted by
Ariala
on September 5, 2006 at 9:07 AM
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