Jonathan H. B. Lobl

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Everything posted by Jonathan H. B. Lobl

  1. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Even things that can't be defined have characteristics that can be defined. Life, for instance, can't be defined but has characteristics. Living things have digestion, elimination, growth, movement, etc. Does God have characteristics? In classic Monotheism, God is All Knowing, All powerful and All God. Pantheism goes into a different direction with different characteristics. The purely philosophic God -- First Cause, etc. -- has different characteristics. In the end, I doubt if any of it really matters at the end of the day.
  2. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    No. I did not say that. I said that God can't be defined. At least, not in a useful way.
  3. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Hello Rabbi: Agreed and seconded.
  4. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Go ahead and define it. I'm waiting.
  5. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    There are so many ways to become an Atheist. In my case, it helped a lot to study the Bible and religion. In time I mellowed to Agnostic. I still have Atheist tendencies.
  6. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Fawzo: So, this is the elephant in the room? Seriously, how would you disprove the existence of God; which can not even be defined?
  7. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    A negative can not be proven. Science or otherwise.
  8. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Atwater Vitki, If you want to focus on the "I AM" -- we can take that further. In Hebrew, "I Am is "Arni." The first letter in "Arni" is an aleph. The numeric value of Aleph is "One." It's all there in the first letter. "One."
  9. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Before the thought gets lost in this twisting thread; "Love" is not the same as "Balance."
  10. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Dan, There is nothing new about this. Mahatma Gandhi taught that going to prison is a natural consequence of standing up to power. For that matter, think of the early Christians who died in the Roman arena for their faith. Think of the religious persecution today, in China. Nobody said that "doing what's right" would be easy.
  11. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    In general, I find that the people who have all the answers, don't know as much as they think they do -- and much of it is mistaken.
  12. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    While Jesus was calling himself "Son of Man" -- he was addressing others as "Brother" and "Sister."
  13. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    In the Gospels, Jesus does call himself "The Son of Man." (King James translation)
  14. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    In fairness, this is similar to bad things done in the name of God. Things done in the name of God are not done "by" God. Things done in the name of Love are not done "by" love.
  15. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    It has been a while since I've seen this thread. 1. "Christ" is not the same as "Monotheism." Ask any Muslim or Jew. 2. The question is not -- "will Monotheism always clash with "Polytheism." It's -- "Can Monotheists and Polytheists live together?" I think they can.
  16. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    If I understood you; the most powerful force in the Universe is not "Love." It's "Balance." Is that what you meant to say?
  17. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    It is an old problem. Atheists seldom define the god that they don't believe in. Theists often can't define the God they do believe in. All that arguing and no clear terms. So much heat and so little light.
  18. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    To my observation, Nature is not a display of love. The fiercest thing I ever saw was when a wasp flew into a spider's web. (The spider won.)
  19. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    I used to be a Home Health Aide. One thing I learned -- the nearness of death does not change people. If anything, they become more of what they are. Death does not change the personality. Sometimes, people get meaner. Do not bring these people together. You think things are bad now? Wait till you see the explosion of venom that will follow, if these two meet under these conditions. Please, leave bad enough alone.
  20. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    It's just part of what I am. With or without the title.
  21. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    Considering the rich history of churches and religions being persecuted; I'm not bothered by people who don't recognize my ULC ordination. It is legitimate to me. That's enough.
  22. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    I read some of Kirby's stuff when it was current. He would say -- for instance -- that the immortality of a tree was in it's seeds. Not metaphysical at all. If anything, Kirby was a naturalist. He taught that we should live for the here and now. He was very clear that we should be happy in this life and not wait for Heaven to be happy.
  23. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    That is one of the studies they threw into my face. In their hands, this flawed study is a weapon. One either submits or takes serious abuse. This is not "scientific skepticism." Only hostility. Rather mean spirited hostility at that. It began with their asking me if I was familiar with the study. Yes, I was -- and I was not persuaded. From their reaction, you would think I had walked into their mass and spat on the Host. This is not science.
  24. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    That leaves two questions. 1. What is time? Really, from a question of physics -- What is time? 2. What do we mean by the eternal -- or God? There is an old saying: God remembers the future. Maybe extinction can precede death of individuals.
  25. Jonathan H. B. Lobl
    These prayers are not just for the dead. They are a means for the living to cope with loss and grief. In much the same way, funerals are also for the benefit of the living. That is the reason that dead bodies are not removed with the trash for disposal.