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Considerate cyber citizen - still recall the blogging experience with the blogger with plagiarism. There was kindness shown...
posted by
A-and-B
on December 10, 2006 at 1:13 PM
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arGee - I can't add anything to what you are saying - it has not been my
experience.
Appreciate however that one would be hard pressed to even identify an "intellectual left" in my country, as all homegrown political ideologies tend to be very close to center. Due to the fact that a marginally socialist framework is a necessary component to administering an extremely vast but underpopulated landmass, all would probably be considered lefties if transplanted to the USA, even some of our most staunchest conservatives. We don't seem to have a dramatic polarization of political views but instead have to deal with its antithesis in nearly indistinguishable ideologies.
posted by
gomedome
on December 10, 2006 at 10:19 AM
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By the way, Gome...
It's a good thing for the Gandhis of the world (and for all the other pacifists, like Bertrand Russell, etc.), that people like me exist, because we protect these misguided people from the Hitlers and Idi Amins of the world, and give them a chance to survive. Without us, they would become extinct the moment they stood in protest, or at best following a terrible decline in a Gulag somewhere.
posted by
arGee
on December 9, 2006 at 2:50 PM
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Two disparate comments, Gome...
1. I don't disagree with your comments about the Christian fringe crowd, but, while I belong to those who don't see a need for the supernatural in this universe, I find that most Christians exhibit considerably more decency and courtesy than members of the intellectual left. I don't mean the fringe left, I mean the mainstream majority. Never have I been shouted down by Christians, but I have lost count of the times so-called liberals have shouted me down, prevented me from speaking in the first place, removed my Wikipedia comments, trashed my exhibit tables, destroyed my posted signs, hacked into and trashed my blogs.... But you get my point.
2. I saw a bumper sticker some time ago that read: Jesus is coming back, and boy is he pissed!
posted by
arGee
on December 9, 2006 at 2:41 PM
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David1Spirit - there is the very real possibility that Jesus has not
returned because he refuses to acknowledge what Christianity has become.
We speak in reverence of a number of great men in history but to use Ghandi as an example, I wonder to what level of reverence he would have ascended to if born in ancient times. He has only been dead 50+ years and his persona is already undergoing complimentary revisions. Transplant these elements into ancient times, add the prevailing desire for there to be a messiah and allow the same period of two millenia to filter, revise, edit and especially magnify the legend and there is no doubt in my mind that Ghandi would be presented to us as God incarnate as man.
posted by
gomedome
on December 8, 2006 at 12:44 PM
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Very good post Gomedome (per usual)!
I agree with your take on Jesus.
What many Christians adhere to is the myth/mystery of who Jesus was. He was in fact just a man; like you, me and anyone else. The fact that he reached an incredible level of awareness is something that I truly do admire; and to be like him should be the goal of each and every Christian. But they couldn't leave it there.
The problem lies in the myth of the man. Instead of just letting his life/tao be the guide, man has turned him into a God, which he certainly was not. Well, not anymore than the rest of us anyways. If he ever did happen to "come back from the dead", non-believers such as myself would truly welcome the sight.
He could once and for all set the record straight on who he was and what his message really is. And his message would certainly be a far cry than the one that many so-called "bible-thumpers" believe it to be. They would truly be suprised.
posted by
David1Spirit
on December 8, 2006 at 9:52 AM
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GOME
THE ANSWER TO YOUR LAST QUESTION IS TO BE FOUND IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF YOUR PREVIOUS POST.
posted by
GEPRUITT
on December 7, 2006 at 5:38 PM
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GOMEDOME
THANK YOU FOR AN EXTREMELY WELL-WRITTEN AND BALANCED POST! YOU COULD NOT HELP BUT WIN ANYTHING BUT GENUINE RESPECT AND ADMIRATION FOR HONORING THOSE MANY GOOD CHRISTIANS EVERYWHERE! UNFORTUNATELY, WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE NUTS AND FRUITCAKES AROUND WITH US, BUT HOPEFULLY THEIR NUMBERS WILL DECLINE.
KUDOS!
posted by
GEPRUITT
on December 7, 2006 at 3:00 PM
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SuccessWarrior - same here, I wouldn't dream of saying some of the things
that have been said to me by believers.
. . and the funny part of it is that so many times I have simply countered with a measured reciprocal response, saying much the same thing as has been said to me to these indviduals, and they are taken aback. Sometimes caught completely off guard at receiving exactly the same treatment that they would impose on others. This type of reaction underscores the mentality of such people.
posted by
gomedome
on December 7, 2006 at 12:02 PM
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We can also learn from the negative experiences
I will never treat anyone the way that I have been treated by some religious people.
posted by
SuccessWarrior
on December 7, 2006 at 10:04 AM
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