Jonathan H. B. Lobl

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Everything posted by Jonathan H. B. Lobl

  1. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    You did not ask this of me. I will respond anyway. I think it does little good to aid suffering humanity; if we don't help people. Even the American Cancer Society, in the end, serves individuals. If we must be Biblical, there is the example of the Good Samaritan. The Good Samaritan does not run a hospital. He rescues one person in dire need. We can also look to the healing ministry of Jesus. He did not wave his hands and heal every cripple, deaf person, etc. in a city. He healed one person at a time.
  2. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    This is good. I agree.
  3. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    As I just got through explaining; Agnostics like secular good works. The example that I gave was the American Cancer Society. Do you only support causes that are explicitly Christian?
  4. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    When a candidate professes to be a Christian -- as President Trump does -- we are left to wonder if this is a good thing. Maybe he is telling the truth. Maybe he is lying through his teeth. Maybe voters care. Maybe voters don't care. That is how Trump was elected ** Grabber 'N' Chief. A marvel of Christian values. I don't believe that an open, out of the closet, Atheist or Agnostic, can be elected to high office. Not even low office. Piety sells. Much like sex.
  5. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Are you going out of your way to provoke me?
  6. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    No. Not many charities using the Agnostic label. Agnostics tend to favor secular things. Groups like, for instance, the American Cancer Society. Not everything is about the label. I can accept that you did not mean to be insulting about "normal." Then you crack wise about Agnostic charities. It negates the apology and twists the blade.
  7. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Not to my observation. The people that I vote for seem to never share my beliefs or philosophy. They don't need to. The people that I vote for are there to do a job. I don't care about their philosophy. It would change nothing if I did. All I can do is pick the best person who is on the ballot.
  8. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Yes. I do agree. In the end, what we have in common, is more important than the many things that separates us. What we don't need is holy war based on "I'm right. You're wrong.".
  9. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    I never heard of an Agnostic terrorist. On the other hand, there is the KKK. A group of Christian terrorists. A group that uses a burning cross as the symbol and instrument of terrorism. A group that has killed more Americans and spread more terror than Islamists. Alright. The KKK does not represent the majority of Christians. Judging by prison populations, Christianity does not keep Christians from committing crimes. Maybe being Christian isn't enough. Maybe people need to be compassionate. Being Agnostic does not, of itself, make people better, or worse, than they would have been otherwise. Strong God beliefs are also not, of themselves, enough to make people good.
  10. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Life in a society that values kindness, is a better place to live, than where people are mean to each other. I call that self interest. Being an emotional cripple is a major downside. What do you mean like normal people? That's insulting.
  11. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Did you think that I was Agnostic about compassion and mercy? These have nothing to do with "knowing." A person who lacks compassion is not in need of theology, but of compassion and humanity.
  12. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Thank you. Well said.
  13. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    I am motivated by my Humanity and my values.
  14. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    You're suggesting that we need ideological convictions to do something good. No. We don't. We need humanity. Not ideology.
  15. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Thank you. I will now seize that statement and climb up on my soapbox. Strong belief makes people capable of anything. Strong disbelief makes people capable of anything. The world could use more Agnostics. I never heard of anybody committing atrocity, because they "didn't know" . Thank you for your time. Climbing down now.
  16. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Thank you for your concerns. The religious faith of others does not in any way, bother me. Where there is mutual respect, I'm happy. I'm not a Home Health Aide any more. That period of my life was just over three years. It was instructive. I'm not sure that my work with Reiki qualifies as Medical. It's a grey area of acceptance. I think it's even worse to know that the treatment for something is available, but not affordable. Either way, access to treatment is restricted. I recently had gall bladder surgery. It saved my life. Not everything is cutting edge innovative. I would have died without basic coverage.
  17. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Yes. Christian values. There he is. "** Grabber 'N' Chief." What have we done?
  18. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    That is not what I meant at all. I was speaking of the esoteric truths behind the Bible. They are there. Things like the third eye. Things like meditation. "Be still, and know that I am God." The meaning of Oneness. Deut. 6:4 God is One. I was not talking about Scripture wars.
  19. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    As Brother Kamen observed -- these are actions which have legal remedies. Nothing to do with correcting "belief."
  20. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Amusing. Not really a plan of action.
  21. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    This question assumes that I have "religious faith." No. I don't. Whether the Agnostic or Atheist label is applied to me, I don't have "faith." Of course, I have a sense of right and wrong. This is not theology. What would I change? An obvious issue is health care reform. I say, cut the crap and move to the single payer system. The way to get costs under control, is to get the for profit insurance industry out of the process. Yes. Taxes would go up. Other expenses would drop. Employers would get out from under a major business expenses. That would be good for jobs.
  22. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    It's hard enough to find good things in the Bible; without missing something because of the idiom. Sometimes, the obvious is easy to overlook.
  23. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Oh. Them. I see your point. The die is cast and the election is over. Nothing left but to brace for impact and see what happens. I also don't like the results. Such is life. I'm going to live with it. We will ALL live with the results.
  24. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    We all saw Fred Flintstone with his pet dinosaur. It has the same proof value as the Bible. Or to quote Penn of Penn and Teller -- "The Bible is equal parts history, science and pizza."
  25. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    I got that. Who on this board can't handle political reality? We have already seen who can't handle religious reality.