Jonathan H. B. Lobl

What are your intentions? it might make a difference.

In the ULC, we are all free to define our own ministries. That comes with radical religious freedom.

The real fraud out there is worse than anything you could offer. There is something so galling about spiritual fraud for profit. Well, the sheep are ready to follow the shepherd. All the way to the killing floor. You do know about real shepherds, don't you? They kill their sheep, eat their flesh and wear their skins. Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."

It would be the tactful thing to do. The usual IMO disclaimer. I'm in a bad mood. I'll pass. I would like to add that earlier today, in the subway, there was a woman screaming about how we all needed Jesus. I'm in a really bad mood.

Alright. Now a question for you. Is it good to have "faith" which is not supported by "reason?" If I am talking about what I "know" -- I can be reasoned with. If I am talking about what I "believe" -- reason never enters into it and there is nothing left to say after, "I believe."

The fraud and the fiction begin with the Bible. All the current fiction and fraud are only continuing what the Bible started. Consider one of the most obvious examples from the Gospels. At the time of the crucifixion, the tombs opened and the dead walked among the living. This was seen by many. We are expected to take this as history. A day in the history of Jerusalem. If we are expected to take this obvious crap seriously on any level -- then surely the latest round of crap is no worse. It is the Biblical tradition.

The fraudulent nature of new things is frequently more obvious. Consider the world of energetic healing methods. In the last ten years, the number of new methods in the marketplace has exploded. And they all begin by saying that they are better than Reiki. And they are all expensive to learn. My BS detector is working overtime.

As you wish. "In my opinion."

These outlandish fraud stories might give believers a warm fuzzy glow. They don't do anything for me.

Yes. Your lack of belief will not cause a tree to vanish from existence. I think I see where this is going. Lack of belief will also not cause God to vanish from existence. Neither will belief cause God to come into existence. Belief, non-belief and disbelief are all equally irrelevant.

Welcome to the board.

Yes. Acts of Nature do not require a witness.

Over the years, I have been involved with a few religious movements. In hindsight, they have left me wondering, what the hell had I been thinking? Mahikari, Nichiren Shoshu, PanGu ShenGong, Eckenkar, The World Light Fellowship, etc. There was also the time when my closest friends were hassidic. Wow. I've been stupid. It has all contributed greatly to my being Agnostic, now. There comes a point when even I have to snap out of it and grow up.

Let us not forget the other big lie. Eastern religion is more spiritual than Western religion. The grass is always greener in somebody else's Hell. Also, over the septic tank.

Are you talking about the Astral plane? Truly, I don't know. Maybe.

I don't think it helps anything to talk about people from other planets -- who are normal people from other planets -- and various entities from other planes of existence. Please. A little focus here.

If that were true, would there be so many people who change their world outlooks, their philosophies and their religions? It sounds good at first blush. I have my doubts.

Welcome. Enjoy the board.

I do hope you reconsider and stay. Your leaving would be a sad loss.

Over the years, I have looked into a lot of different types of energy/spiritual healing systems. Different types of Reiki, Therapeutic Touch, Pranic Healing, Mahikari, different qi gong systems, etc. More are popping up. Surprise. Everywhere I go, they have the best, most effective methods or highest energetic vibrations. I fell for a few of them along the way. Well, live and learn.

I never said that prayer was useful or effective as therapy. It's not. Only harmless. If a sick person gets emotional support from prayer, there is no reason to withhold it. Sick people need all the emotional support they can get. If there is a placebo effect, so much the better. If there is stress reduction, so much the better.

Even if prayer is worthless as therapy; at least it is harmless. Acetaminophen is very bad for the liver.

Just so. I also don't like telling people that their beliefs are wrong. When belief amounts to opinion, there is no point in arguing.

Information has a way of being illusory in spiritual matters. Everybody has opinions. Verifiable facts are more hard to come by.

I'm going to show some inconsistency here. The ideas of Heaven and Hell as places both seem silly to me. I can't take either seriously on any level. Reincarnation? I don't have any confidence in it -- but maybe.