Jonathan H. B. Lobl

It could still happen. Just in case it doesn't, keep your plans. If the world does not end, you will still need an income. And food. And a place to live. It's the curse of uncertainty. Things might work out. Then what?

Back to basics. If you want to find God -- If you want to search for God -- First, we must define God. Without a defined search, you won't find anything; because you don't know what you're looking for. Perhaps the God of Pantheism? Or Deism? They are both different than the Biblical God. The god that you're looking for, will not be a standard model. Perhaps, the Emergent Consciousness?

On reflection, I have to agree. When the pious don't want to do something, they turn the page and find a different quote.

It's an old joke with endless variations. "Look under your bed. You won't find it there, but by the time you are finished looking, you will have a clean place to sleep."

True. We can take that a step further. When right and wrong are arbitrary declarations from a god -- it's all following orders.

You seem to think that the Jesus movement was the only thing going on back then. There were plenty of God men, mystics and messiahs making claims. Or their followers were making claims for them. Through the centuries, there have continued to be various messianic movements. Jacob Frank and Shabbatai Tzvi were among the biggest. They still have underground movements. There were others. Even now, the world is full of God people and their movements. You probably don't care. I don't. If you do care, I can name some of them. A few have shown up on this board, trolling for followers. Which brings me to the point. Why should the silly claims, made by your Scriptures -- be taken more seriously, than all the other ludicrous claims, that have come to my attention? Some of them, quite current. Others of only historic interest. All of them expecting belief. Most of them with miracle stories of their own -- and yes. Fulfilled prophecy.

That depends on the mission behind the mission. If the true purpose of the faith, is to uproot and replace all other faiths -- then no. There is no contradiction. The goal is cultural violence. Physical violence is consistent. When logic and reason fail, there is always terror.

More than one man has found God in a burning bush. Somebody had to say it.

Life is odd. Sometimes, evil gets up and walks away. Let it go.

Then you stand with St. Augustine. "We believe because it is absurd."

We keep coming back to that. The lack of independent verification. There are no contemporary sources. Only allegations which can not be trusted -- at all. Which have been exposed as frauds.

They walked away from me. All of them. Just lucky, I guess.

Interesting perspective. When I was 21, my parents divorced. It had been a miserable marriage and a wretched divorce. I sided with my mother. My father's extended family -- my loving family -- exiled me. Screw them all. It's better to be alone, than to be with them.

Isn't this how families stay together, without flying apart? You let things go -- and move on.

This is good. Even better. Paper copies that refuse to rot. It would make a nice miracle.

I'm reminded of an old John Wayne movie. Somebody asks the character: "Is that your dog?" "Yes. That's my dog." "Is that your cat?" "No. He just lives here."

In fairness, it does sound like some heavy reading.

Yes.

Maybe.

Good one.

Perfection in anything is an elusive goal. That was your initial point. Still, we can strive for excellence.

There is a complication. The man who cuts off the ear is Peter -- the chief disciple.

1. Gravity is a physics question. Physics is concerned with "what". Not "why". 2. No. It doesn't. This is a baseless assertion.

You might want to rethink that part about owning a cat. It's possible to own a dog. Nobody owns a cat.

That is an odd assertion. What is it based on?