Ex Nihilo

Do you believe God is not good? Interesting thought. Would you say that God's just plain bad or is God in some way beyond good and evil. What does that look like, I wonder?

" May the blessing of light be on youlight without and light within. May the blessed sunlight shine on you and warm your heart till it glows like a great peat fire."

Some Irish blessings are very beautiful, with no mention of deity, is that what you're looking for?

Beautiful work Salem! You're a very talented artist.

I've grown accustomed to the look, so it doesn't really bother me. But I wonder, don't communities have some right to define what acceptable dress? Isn't shaming one of the oldest and least detrimental forms of punishment that communities use to enforce community norms? If having your pants low is ok, is there any line that can't be objectively crossed? Is topless ok? What about bottomless? Should it be completely acceptable to be completely nude in public? Tolerance is no virtue when it tolerates the intolerable imo

Hi Bill, I've been intrigued by Urantia off and on for a number of years. However, I've read that science disproves a number of ideas posited (I recognize that science is fluid and the "facts" of today are the fictions of tomorrow and vice versa). How does Urantia ovecome the scientific criticisms like those found in this article (under the section titled "Critical Views": http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Urantia_Book

The old man who went to bed and bumped his head

Congratulations Raincloud! God bless you on your way.

Very cool, Maitre...Once, I heard it explained that the Loa were very much like archangels, they were the spiritual gatekeepers of God, who is remote. Sort of like divine middle management.

Happy mother's day to all the moms on this forum. Thank God somebody's looking out for us. There's not much in this life that can compare with a mother's love. We heart moms!!!

Hyman T Johnson: "What can Christianity learn from other religions" Archbishop Desmond Tutu: "That God is not a Christian."

I am. Just submit all questions and I'll make a determination in the order your question was received...

African proverb: "run from a naked man offering you a piece of cloth"

Personal...as in not through the medium of a book or some other indirect source...a mystical experience might be a good way to put it.

I found a paperback at the thrift store that I thought was really interesting. It's called Sri Isopanisad by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It's a book used by the Krishna Consciousness Society (the Hare Krishnas). It's very interesting and enlightening but what I'm most interested in is at the back of the book, an ad for a book called The Higher Taste, a Hare Krishna cookbook. Online, many folks say it's their favorite vegetarian cookbook. Anyone here have any experience with it?

I dig that a lot Hermano! Thanks and Peace!

I dig your signature quote Gwydion

I dig that!

hmmm...what is the difference between "being wrong" and "doing wrong"? It has been often remarked by theologian, philosopher, and mystic alike that the human condition is rife with imperfection and fallibility. Thus, being wrong is probably characterized more as an inevitability than a right. Of course, I could be wrong about this. But continuing in the lane, if thoughts are the genesis of action, if I am wrong about my perception or conception of reality, then it follows that "doing wrong" is also best characterized as an inevitability rather than a right. Even if I am right in my thinking, my own physical imperfections will probably mean that even if I am inclined to do "rightly" I probably still lack the ability, which again reinforces the idea that "doing wrong" is an inevitability. As for rights, we probably define what kinds of rights we're talking about. Do we mean legal rights or natural rights? As for legal rights, we are free to do everything not validly designated a crime or infraction. So in that case, we are able to do some kinds of wrong. As for natural rights, if we subscribe to Lockean theory, we have liberty to do anything that does not violate the right to life. Then there's the whole conundrum of what we mean by "being". Are we speaking existientially? Or do we just mean being mistaken? I need a latte for this...

Christopher Lee! Have you by chance seen the Wicker Tree? May you have a very happy holiday!

I believe in my own faith tradition that the Brahman/Atman paradigm has interesting correlations with God the Father, Son, & holy ghost divine relationship. I dig it Scott. This is a really fascinating thread!

No, l am well over 18 but I am still not assumed to be mature enough to run for president by the constitution, the highest legal authority in the land, at least not for another 4 months, and no case was made or required for that. The same is true for the offices of US Senator and Representative, and until it was amended relatively recently, the constitution assumed 18 yr olds were not mature enough to vote. All states assume that 18 yr olds are not mature enough to buy or drink alcohol. Obamacare assumes you are not mature enough to be required to buy your own health insurance until 26 and requires insurance companies to allow parents to keep their children on their policies until then. This works in the opposite way as well. Contract law generally allows parties 18yrs old or older to enter into contractual agreements and may make contracts voidable on the basis of minority if one or more of the parties is under the age of 18. Doesn't mean the contract is automatically void but it does allow the minor party the choice of ratifying the contract upon reaching 18. As far as the marriageable age goes, most states allow 18yr olds to marry without parental or judicial consent, but not all. In NE you must be at least 19, and 21 in MS. Then there's the whole issue of trying criminals as adults, which has been done as young as 12 in some cases. A number of states will not issue certain professional licenses to folks under 21. And then theres judges orders which are all over the place. My parents' order of divorce allowed me to pick the parent I wanted to live with as soon as I reached 13. The law is rarely easy and never simple. I would recommend never using the law as the benchmark for right and wrong. It does a poor enough job at establishing what is legal and illegal. Lol

Not really. Age of consent is not the same as age of majority in all legal contexts.

Awesome G! Thanks for sharing this. I've always been fascinated with Wicca and paganism. One thing though that gets lost sometimes is the reality of the divine, the personality of divine. So often in books that I've read, the gods come off more as math formulas that when plugged in for a particular task, then a certain result can be expected. That can come off as a little dry and is a problem in many faiths, especially in some more "prosperity gospel" forms of Christianity. While certainly this kind of thing has its place, it's refreshing to see that at their hearts these faiths are about communing with deity. God(ess) is not an app, but a person who wants to know and be known. It's like the saying goes, when you bow to the universe sometimes the universe bows back. Many thanks for opening up.

Interesting, I might just do that. Thanks Salem!