Jonathan H. B. Lobl

Well, you're different. This is the church for you. I think you'll fit right in. Enjoy.

Then it follows that we don't need it.

Now we have a chain of doubt. What is being interpreted? "The Word". Which word? "God's Word". It has not yet been demonstrated that "God" exists. Or that "The Word" has validity. Again, I want to be upfront about my own bias. I am Agnostic. We have no objective, verifiable information about "God". Not even a useful working definition of what "God" is. If the goal is to create a universal spirituality -- what ever that is -- Genesis seems like an odd place to begin.

Alright. I'm going to split a few hairs with you. Obviously, my own opinions. I say 'cosmic' as that's where life was created, out in the cosmos. "Out in the Cosmos" ??? Is that what you really intended to say? In my view, the Cosmos is not "out there". We are as much a part of the Cosmos as any star. I say 'spirituality' as within us we are Spiritual beings that are released when our physical form ends. Is the body not spiritual? Is the body not a temple? Is spirituality only for after death? Have a care. That sort of thinking can lead to hating life. I bring Genesis into this as we were intended as Spiritual beings, I expect you are talking about God's intentions. That kind of assertion needs something to back it up. Can you demonstrate that you know God's intentions? For that kind of statement, you need more than a bald assertion. At minimum, you need to demonstrate your reasoning. hence the early verses looking between the lines. People can't agree on what the meaning of the lines is. If you want to explain what's between the lines -- you have to actually explain. What ever you come up with, the Fundamentalists are going to hate it. You are now locking horns with FAITH. Good luck with that. Yet these early spiritual beings failed and life evolved to our physical forms. Do you really want to get into evolution? You are going to get the Creationists all hot and bothered. Not in a good way.

Yes. They do good in the world. I am put off by the swarm of beautiful young women around Rael. When Holy Men lead such groups -- I don't want to over generalize, but there it is. They worship him. when there is worship, is there really free will? To me, it stinks of exploitation. Did you notice how clean his white garments are? I doubt the great man does his own laundry.

You are making this overly complicated. The video kept interviewing the followers. Did they actually believe it was true? They all had the same answer. It doesn't matter if it's true. If they wish to spend their lives, self aware that they are participating in a fantasy -- let them. It's not my problem. If it makes them happy -- well, bless them. It's good to be happy. Role playing games can be fun. I like them. Then I go home and live my real life. I care about what's true.

I watched the video. Which part of this personality cult am I supposed to take seriously?

I think that you are trying to squeeze too much into one message. It is my firm opinion, that talking about Genesis and astral projection in the same breath, creates a hopeless muddle. I'm not clear about what you mean by Cosmic Spirituality. You seem to be looking for something that transcends individual culture or religion. If this is so, then dragging Genesis into the mix at all is going to defeat your purpose. Since I am not culturally neutral, this is a good place for me to be upfront and declare my own biases. I am Agnostic. I have no issues at all, with finding philosophic inspiration in Genesis, or any other sacred writings. As a science text, Genesis fails quite miserably. The Earth did not exist, filled with plant life, before the Sun. That simply is not how these things work. I am doubtful without being dismissive of astral projection. It could be real. I have my doubts. I think it is unreasonable to deal with astral projection as a given. This could be an interesting topic. Clearly it is important to you. I need more clarity. Cosmic is a vague term. Spirituality could mean almost anything. What is Cosmic Spirituality? Spring is here. Enjoy.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

What is it that the Freedom From Religion Foundation is objecting too? Citations, please. This seems implausible.

Perhaps, but how many truck drivers or accountants will qualify to fill them?

Don't confuse the "golden mean" with the "Golden Rule". The people with the Gold make the rules.

Within the general population, there are sets of behavior which seem to be "clumping'. By "clumping", I mean like a blood clot, only worse. 1. religiously extreme. Not just extreme Christians. Also extreme Jews and Muslims. 2. political extremists. Frequently the same people in the first group. 3. anti-vaxers. Frequently religious and political extremists. Generally on the far right. 4. Oblivious to social distancing 5. insistent on their personal "rights" to the point of madness. 6. given to conspiracy theory Say what you will about painting with too broad a brush. The people in each group tend to be the same people in all the other groups. I like to think that this is Nature's way of cleaning the gene pool. When everybody else is vaxed, these groups will continue doing their thing. I won't miss them.

The vaccines are here. Be strong a bit longer. Don't die. The vaccines are here.

True, but not my point. "Modern" sheep depend on shepherds -- and politicians -- to do their thinking for them. To lead them to green grass and slaughter. To fleece them for a lifetime, then off to the slaughter. The ancient rams had horns. It was how they dealt with wolves, politicians -- and shepherds. Psalm 23: "The Lord is my shepherd,....." The biggest con in history, was persuading rams to become sheep -- that they needed shepherds.

The ancient rams had horns.

I am 67. I turn 68 on March 13th. "The Dude abides."

Just so. Pork rinds are advertised as gluten free.

No matter what your inclinations are; someone will take offence. It's one of the great lessons of my life. These days, I tend to identify as Agnostic. I've taken a lot of crap from Atheists, who think that I'm too tolerant of religion. I also catch crap from the pious, who think I'm not spiritual. Surprisingly, it's paid off. "Be grateful for your enemies. They will show you truths about yourself, that your friends never would."

It is the joy of being awake. Would you rather go back to being asleep? If the sheep understood their shepherds, they would take their chances with the wolves.

I got my second dose of the Moderna vaccine on March 4th. 😃

While I tend to agree, this is overly esoteric for my taste. Working with negativity has consequences. If my goal is to live a long and happy life with a peaceful death -- then joining a street gang is inconsistent with my goals. On a side note, Pele is an interesting goddess. Nobody has hot flashes quite like Pele.

You seem to be saying that small amounts of gluten are harmless. Well? How little gluten is too much?

They both have silly hair.

Maybe I lack perspective. Maybe I lack understanding. Let's see: America has 4 percent of the world's population. American has 20 percent of the world's covid casualties. President Trump turned the White House into a virus hot zone. President Trump sent a mob to lynch Congress. What am I lacking that I don't see Trump's greatness?