Pease be nice to our Muslim neighbors.

[Bonzo]

Simply: They made the rules easier to get more people to sign up!

[Chrisj CMA]

Simply: They made the rules easier to get more people to sign up!

There is no "They" Bonzo.  And you dont "Sign-Up".

By faith you trust Christ, you are forgiven the instant you truly believe that Christ is who and what he says and hes your only hope.  Its not a club or even a religion.  Its simply a relationship with God through Christ.

You guys can make fun of it all day long, but dont be fooled.......we all will be accountable for what we say and what we do with what we know.  Be careful out there

[Bonzo]

Thats if you belive in what you belive in. I meant no disrespect at all. Having said that, if a person belives their way is the only way and my way is not the right way or anyone elses way is not the right way, I reserve the right to discount all comments from the source, as they choose to discount my belives

[Chrisj CMA]

Thats if you belive in what you belive in. I meant no disrespect at all. Having said that, if a person belives their way is the only way and my way is not the right way or anyone elses way is not the right way, I reserve the right to discount all comments from the source, as they choose to discount my belives

Ill take your word that no disrespect was intended, although that is certainely not how it appeared.  Peace

[Wewaman]

You are right Chris it was Peter who was sitting on a roof praying.   God said What I call clean let no one call unclean.  God said kill and eat.   
  Also John 14.6 - (Jesus is speaking ) I Am the Way, the Trurth, and the Life, NO ONE comes to the Father (God ) but through ME.  So you have to put your faith in Jesus and ask Him to forgive you and save you from yourself.
So you can believe however you want but you will be held accountable for what you believe.  God says that He doesn't want anyone to perish but that all would have eternal life.
Make no mistake about it we will all have eternal life  but it is YOU who choose where.  Heaven or Hell
Choose wisely.  As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.

 Wewaman 

[Bonzo]

It may have been to simple of an explanation. Peace to all of us.

[The Anvil]

Well the Catholic church for their part has pretty much acknowledged that to remain a viable religion going forward that they'll need to adapt to the times and in effect, become more tolerant. That's pretty much "making it easier to get more people to sign up". This is hardly a new phenomenon among religions either.

[Chrisj CMA]

Well the Catholic church for their part has pretty much acknowledged that to remain a viable religion going forward that they'll need to adapt to the times and in effect, become more tolerant. That's pretty much "making it easier to get more people to sign up". This is hardly a new phenomenon among religions either.

The Catholic church can do wht ever they want.  You can sign up to their religion and follow a bunch of extra rules.  That does not a Christian make.  You compare apples and oranges.

[The Anvil]

Well the Catholic church for their part has pretty much acknowledged that to remain a viable religion going forward that they'll need to adapt to the times and in effect, become more tolerant. That's pretty much "making it easier to get more people to sign up". This is hardly a new phenomenon among religions either.

The Catholic church can do wht ever they want.  You can sign up to their religion and follow a bunch of extra rules.  That does not a Christian make.  You compare apples and oranges.

I'm not really comparing anything. I'm just saying that the concept of religion adapting is not unheard of.

[Chrisj CMA]

Well the Catholic church for their part has pretty much acknowledged that to remain a viable religion going forward that they'll need to adapt to the times and in effect, become more tolerant. That's pretty much "making it easier to get more people to sign up". This is hardly a new phenomenon among religions either.

The Catholic church can do wht ever they want.  You can sign up to their religion and follow a bunch of extra rules.  That does not a Christian make.  You compare apples and oranges.

I'm not really comparing anything. I'm just saying that the concept of religion adapting is not unheard of.

Yes. Religions adapt.  God remains the same.  Thats why trusting Christ, becoming a Christian is free from any religion.  Its a relationship.  You can sign up to be a member of any religion you want, be as religious as you can, wont make you a Christian. 

[The Anvil]

Well the Catholic church for their part has pretty much acknowledged that to remain a viable religion going forward that they'll need to adapt to the times and in effect, become more tolerant. That's pretty much "making it easier to get more people to sign up". This is hardly a new phenomenon among religions either.

The Catholic church can do wht ever they want.  You can sign up to their religion and follow a bunch of extra rules.  That does not a Christian make.  You compare apples and oranges.

I'm not really comparing anything. I'm just saying that the concept of religion adapting is not unheard of.

Yes. Religions adapt.  God remains the same.  Thats why trusting Christ, becoming a Christian is free from any religion.  Its a relationship.  You can sign up to be a member of any religion you want, be as religious as you can, wont make you a Christian. 

Well I think that's one of the reasons why many people don't care for "religion". Faith is a personal thing, religion is faith made public. Well when you get enough of the public involved in something that's supposed to be personal... you get the idea.

[Chrisj CMA]

Well the Catholic church for their part has pretty much acknowledged that to remain a viable religion going forward that they'll need to adapt to the times and in effect, become more tolerant. That's pretty much "making it easier to get more people to sign up". This is hardly a new phenomenon among religions either.

The Catholic church can do wht ever they want.  You can sign up to their religion and follow a bunch of extra rules.  That does not a Christian make.  You compare apples and oranges.

I'm not really comparing anything. I'm just saying that the concept of religion adapting is not unheard of.

Yes. Religions adapt.  God remains the same.  Thats why trusting Christ, becoming a Christian is free from any religion.  Its a relationship.  You can sign up to be a member of any religion you want, be as religious as you can, wont make you a Christian. 

Well I think that's one of the reasons why many people don't care for "religion". Faith is a personal thing, religion is faith made public. Well when you get enough of the public involved in something that's supposed to be personal... you get the idea.

Faith made public is just sharing the good news.  Religion is a man made set of rules designed to bring one to God.  Christianity is God institiuted relationship designed to bring God to us.

[Bobbo]

That reminds me of something I don't understand...  Why do Christians give themselves a free pass regarding Kosher and other Levitical laws?  After all, Jesus kept Kosher.  Where does it say Christians can eat pork and other non-Kosher foods?  After all, it IS in the Bible...

Sorry fro the delay...  Just got back from the Black Hills rally.

No baiting, just asking.  I thought Timothy (1 & 2) was written by Paul, as letters to Timothy.

If God decided to break the laws and make new ones (while incarnated as Jesus), why did He wait until much later to let everyone know?  Why did God reveal this to Timothy (or Paul, whoever wrote that passage)?  Why not tell everyone while disguised as Jesus?

If the inquiry was indeed sincere I'll offer you an explanation or perhaps a clarification.

By the way, I hope you had a good time at the Black Hills rally.  It's beautiful country and likely no place or time you'll find that many motorcycles in that tight a circumference.  That's both a positive and a negative for me.

I had a great time at the rally, thanks!  There were a lot of bikes, with drastically different riding skills (as usual), but we managed to stay away from most of the congestion, and take day rides to the area attractions.

Since the Bible isn't clear (at least to me) where Christians are exempt from restrictions, I appreciate the insight you provided.  Is your explanation based only on scripture, or other texts?  It would be interesting to read other texts if they expand on these restrictions or obsolescence.

[The Anvil]

Faith made public is just sharing the good news.

Eh, I disagree. Are the WBC people "sharing good news"? How about radical Islamic clerics?

I mean it CAN be that, but I don't think it is by default.

[Willow]

I had a great time at the rally, thanks!  There were a lot of bikes, with drastically different riding skills (as usual), but we managed to stay away from most of the congestion, and take day rides to the area attractions.

Since the Bible isn't clear (at least to me) where Christians are exempt from restrictions, I appreciate the insight you provided.  Is your explanation based only on scripture, or other texts?  It would be interesting to read other texts if they expand on these restrictions or obsolescence.

One of my favorite memories of my time around Sturgis is a ride from Devil's Tower to Belle Fourche.  The congestion within Sturgis was no so appealling although sufferable for the available atractions.

The explanation I presented is pretty much exclusively from the New Testament, specifically from the 15th chapter of The Acts, although I'm sure my thougts have been influenced over the years by other writings.

I wouldn't personally defend the obsolescence of the dietary restrictions, only that their application is specifically to the house of Israel.  Others' viewpoints will be different. 

[Willow]

Came across this in the news a little while back regarding biblical studies. Some here may find it interesting.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=newssearch&cd=2&ved=0CDIQqQIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fhostednews%2Fap%2Farticle%2FALeqM5itVOexAUQyzm63cPPJabqJgexpHw%3FdocId%3D6af926e599c0480daf772f95786ad395&ei=aEJJTrKLMYqIsAKhlKCSCA&usg=AFQjCNGcSwFunlQGdD8KLCS9qIc7eXPsHA

I find the contents of the article more than a little suspect.  An example:

The Book of Jeremiah is now one-seventh longer than the one that appears in some of the 2,000-year-old manuscripts known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some verses, including ones containing a prophecy about the seizure and return of Temple implements by Babylonian soldiers, appear to have been added after the events happened.

As the most recent copies extant are at least 300 years after the events referenced, I have to wonder how they determined how the manuscripts apeared before the events.

[Chrisj CMA]

Faith made public is just sharing the good news.

Eh, I disagree. Are the WBC people "sharing good news"? How about radical Islamic clerics?

I mean it CAN be that, but I don't think it is by default.

There will always be crazies and radicals and false teachers and prophets.  That whole mess is more tangled with religion.  I think thats the one place you and I agree some.  Religion is a big part of the problem when it comes to different people getting along in this world. 

The WBC people basically represent one man's delusional view of the Bible.  If it were just a slightly different but rational view, there would be many more followers.  Hes a radical similar (as you compared) to radical Muslims, except radical Muslims are way more organized and of much greater number.

Faith and religion made to be the same thing is what Christians are struggling to make more clear. They are NOT the same thing.  Most (what I consider true) Christians really detest the question "So, what religion, what church to you go to?"  Religious folks that are very proud to belong to some exclusive club (their religion) are not what I am talking about when I refer to a Christian (many times)

[Willow]

Faith and religion made to be the same thing is what Christians are struggling to make more clear. They are NOT the same thing.  Most (what I consider true) Christians really detest the question "So, what religion, what church to you go to?"  Religious folks that are very proud to belong to some exclusive club (their religion) are not what I am talking about when I refer to a Christian (many times)

I would definitely be one of the people that Jeff doesn't consider to be true Christians.  The whole "Christianity isn't a religion" assertion promoted vigorously by a minority of those who call themselves Christians arises largely from a single misapplied quote.  The argument in some form, emphasizing relationship over religious practice, has some value in discussions among believers, but serves no purpose when presented to unbelievers.

The claim carried to its unreasonable extreme is somewhat diffused by the apostle James' encouragement to early Christians (and us) to practice pure and undefiled religion.

I guess if one chooses to distort the definition of religion sufficiently one could find means of claiming that almost any belief system is not a religion.  I tend to go the other way.  I recognize that many who do not regularly assemble themselves together to worship religiously cling to a set of beliefs demonstrating that contrary to their claims they have a religion and are, in practice, religious in their adherence to it and evangelism for it.

[Chrisj CMA]

Faith and religion made to be the same thing is what Christians are struggling to make more clear. They are NOT the same thing.  Most (what I consider true) Christians really detest the question "So, what religion, what church to you go to?"  Religious folks that are very proud to belong to some exclusive club (their religion) are not what I am talking about when I refer to a Christian (many times)

I would definitely be one of the people that Jeff doesn't consider to be true Christians.  The whole "Christianity isn't a religion" assertion promoted vigorously by a minority of those who call themselves Christians arises largely from a single misapplied quote.  The argument in some form, emphasizing relationship over religious practice, has some value in discussions among believers, but serves no purpose when presented to unbelievers.

The claim carried to its unreasonable extreme is somewhat diffused by the apostle James' encouragement to early Christians (and us) to practice pure and undefiled religion.

I guess if one chooses to distort the definition of religion sufficiently one could find means of claiming that almost any belief system is not a religion.  I tend to go the other way.  I recognize that many who do not regularly assemble themselves together to worship religiously cling to a set of beliefs demonstrating that contrary to their claims they have a religion and are, in practice, religious in their adherence to it and evangelism for it.

Carl, while that all sounded learned and wise, Im not even sure if I know what you just said.

So, here is what I meant in other words.  Jesus had big problems with the pharasees (sp?) (religious folks) A dude from Samaria a place where people were supposed to be vile and to be avoided (Good Samaritan) whether real or hypothetical doesnt matter was used to show true "religion" if you will.  The Bible says true religion is getting out and serving and visiting the needy.  All Im saying is the true Christian takes on more the good samaritan role, while the person that looks more like the pharasee is the type that gives Christianity a bad name.  

So, since i feel like you are splitting hairs and have a must do to be on the "other" side of everything I say, Ill say this.  I have never heard you talk about super religiosity......It may be a tad arrogant on your part so say"deffinetly you can tell what Im thinking" especially when you seem to totally twist and misrepresent what Im saying

A persons "religion" if you will can be defined by the intentions of the heart.  I agree with you there. BUT, Christianity is not a religion.  Love and loving your neighbor can be your religious behavior as a Christian.  All Im saying is traditional "religions" Baptist, Catholic, Methodist etc.  these are Man Made and no matter how strictly or "religioulsy" you adhere to their rules, that can never make a man a Christian and it is far from what Christ called us to do when he gave the great commission.

[The Anvil]

Faith made public is just sharing the good news.

Eh, I disagree. Are the WBC people "sharing good news"? How about radical Islamic clerics?

I mean it CAN be that, but I don't think it is by default.

There will always be crazies and radicals and false teachers and prophets.  That whole mess is more tangled with religion.  I think thats the one place you and I agree some.  Religion is a big part of the problem when it comes to different people getting along in this world. 

The WBC people basically represent one man's delusional view of the Bible.  If it were just a slightly different but rational view, there would be many more followers.  Hes a radical similar (as you compared) to radical Muslims, except radical Muslims are way more organized and of much greater number.

Faith and religion made to be the same thing is what Christians are struggling to make more clear. They are NOT the same thing.  Most (what I consider true) Christians really detest the question "So, what religion, what church to you go to?"  Religious folks that are very proud to belong to some exclusive club (their religion) are not what I am talking about when I refer to a Christian (many times)

Well said.

[Chrisj CMA]

Faith made public is just sharing the good news.

Eh, I disagree. Are the WBC people "sharing good news"? How about radical Islamic clerics?

I mean it CAN be that, but I don't think it is by default.

There will always be crazies and radicals and false teachers and prophets.  That whole mess is more tangled with religion.  I think thats the one place you and I agree some.  Religion is a big part of the problem when it comes to different people getting along in this world. 

The WBC people basically represent one man's delusional view of the Bible.  If it were just a slightly different but rational view, there would be many more followers.  Hes a radical similar (as you compared) to radical Muslims, except radical Muslims are way more organized and of much greater number.

Faith and religion made to be the same thing is what Christians are struggling to make more clear. They are NOT the same thing.  Most (what I consider true) Christians really detest the question "So, what religion, what church to you go to?"  Religious folks that are very proud to belong to some exclusive club (their religion) are not what I am talking about when I refer to a Christian (many times)

Well said.

Thanks......its nice to throw around a discussion without the need for personal attacks

[Chrisj CMA]

Back to the original thread title...........

In the wake of Bin Laden's death, radical Muslims have gone on a rampage in Southern California, killing anyone who's a legal US citizen.

Police fear the death toll could reach as high as 2.

I will keep you posted on future developments.

Is this a joke?  If its not, even one killing like that is too much, back to my original statement, better fences, the radical terrorist types get stopped at the border (and shot if it were up to me) and no innocence has to die

[Jess from VA]

Yes Chris it was a joke.... no more. 

I decided to delete it after I realized you guys had a more serious discussion on Christianity, but was not quick enough.  Sorry to have interfered.

[Chrisj CMA]

Yes Chris it was a joke.... no more. 

I decided to delete it after I realized you guys had a more serious discussion on Christianity, but was not quick enough.  Sorry to have interfered.

Dont appologize.......I just didnt see the customary smiley indicating it was a joke so I asked........I was glad the topic seemed to get away from the deep stuff

[Wewaman]

ok so not everyone has the same beliefs thats ok.  But like I once heard and old preacher say:
you may be catholic, methodist, baptist, lutheren, muslim, or whatever religion you attend and when you die and you have your sign hanging around your neck indicating which group you are affiliated with it will either blow off on the way up or burn off on the way down. There will be no rooms in heaven or hell to seperate you into those groups.  so choose UP..  its your choice.
if you have children then this might be easier to understand,  you might be able to make your children obey and love you or you can let them make the choice. Take it from me it is so much better that my children choose to obey and love me, it is their choice and that is real love.  Likewise God could have created us and made us obey and love him but he lets us choose, and those who choose to love and obey God are the ones that please God. 
Take a trip down the Roman road   Romans: chapter 10 verses 9-10

Tony 

[DarkMeister]

"Thank God I'm an atheist"  (Ricky Gervais)

 

[bscrive]

Me, I am also an atheist and my wife is a Jehovah Witness.  We talk about the bible every now and then but to me it is a bunch of stories written by men after the fiction.  I don't care if a person follows any religion.  As long as they are a decent person, I usually like them. 
The main problem I have with the bible is that if it was really divinely inspired by god, who is supposed to be perfect, then there would be no two ways to interpret the writings.  Nothing you say can change my mind on this fact.  If it was the true be all to end all everyone in the world would be following it, but they don't.

[The Anvil]

Me, I am also an atheist and my wife is a Jehovah Witness.  We talk about the bible every now and then but to me it is a bunch of stories written by men after the fiction.  I don't care if a person follows any religion.  As long as they are a decent person, I usually like them. 
The main problem I have with the bible is that if it was really divinely inspired by god, who is supposed to be perfect, then there would be no two ways to interpret the writings.  Nothing you say can change my mind on this fact.  If it was the true be all to end all everyone in the world would be following it, but they don't.

The ambiguity of the bible is a sore spot for a lot of people. But there's a lot of clarity in the bible. My bigger issue is with the contradictions.

But even at that, unless you actually have a copy with flaming script written by the hand of Metatron himself then it's still a record handled by man, so it doesn't mean it's not the word of god. Remember that scene in History of the World? "I have these fifteen (smash!) TEN commandments!

[Chrisj CMA]

A famous military quote (author unknown to me):

"Funny how there are so few athiests in foxholes."  


When I was in Special Forces I could not help but to notice this:

I did see many more praying when the danger was live rounds vs blanks.


I also like this....think about this one:

What does it mean if you are walking down an abandoned path miles from nowhere and you find a perfectly good rolex watch in the middle of the path?

A. Means nothing perfectly natural occurance of nature, Im just lucky to find it.

B. A Rolex is only made by the Rolex watchmaking factory someone bought it was here and lost it, even though all the elements used to create this thing came from nature, still no way this is "by chance" not a natural occurance of nature, some one was deffinetly here

Well, the Bible says it and I agree.  Creation itself cries out that all the things you see had to be made and there is too much integrated design to fathom that its just all by chance. Better odds that all the minerals would just luckily fall together and become a rolex watch out in the wild all by itself.

So, if there is no God, who made all this stuff?........just askin, I think its  a fair question

[DarkMeister]

Me, I am also an atheist and my wife is a Jehovah Witness.  We talk about the bible every now and then

Man, those have got to be to be some interesting discussions!! 

[Bobbo]

A famous military quote (author unknown to me):

"Funny how there are so few athiests in foxholes."  

Truth; I did see many more praying when the danger was live rounds vs blanks.


I also like this....think about this one:

What does it mean if you are walking down an abandoned path miles from nowhere and you find a perfectly good rolex watch in the middle of the path?

A. Means nothing perfectly natural occurance of nature, Im just lucky to find it.

B. A Rolex is only made by the Rolex watchmaking factory someone bought it was here and lost it, even though all the elements used to create this thing came from nature, still no way this is "by chance" not a natural occurance of nature, some one was deffinetly here

Well, the Bible says it and I agree.  Creation itself cries out that all the things you see had to be made and there is too much integrated design to fathom that its just all by chance. Better odds that all the minerals would just luckily fall together and become a rolex watch out in the wild all by itself.

So, if there is no God, who made all this stuff........just askin, I think its  a fair question

The better question for creationists is, how many gods made all this stuff?  If you actually study all the different forms of life, you will see hundreds, if not thousands, of different ways life can exist.  The evidence of hundreds or thousands of gods is substantially more abundant than only one god.  Instead of one big life system with co-dependance, we find many independent systems, each with their specific co-dependance.  Just like watch manufacturers and car manufacturers, they draw from the same basic elements, but use very different methods and functions to derive a similar end product.

[The Anvil]

A famous military quote (author unknown to me):

Funny how there are so few athiests in foxholes.  

Truth; I did see many more praying when the danger was live rounds vs blanks.


I also like this....think about this one:

What does it mean if you are walking down an abandoned path miles from nowhere and you find a perfectly good rolex watch in the middle of the path?

A. Means nothing perfectly natural occurance of nature, Im just lucky to find it.

B. A Rolex is only made by the Rolex watchmaking factory someone bought it was here and lost it, even though all the elements used to create this thing came from nature, still no way this is "by chance" not a natural occurance of nature, some one was deffinetly here

Well, the Bible says it and I agree.  Creation itself cries out that all the things you see had to be made and there is too much integrated design to fathom that its just all by chance. Better odds that all the minerals would just luckily fall together and become a rolex watch out in the wild all by itself.

So, if there is no God, who made all this stuff........just askin, I think its  a fair question

You know, I used to call myself an atheist when I was much younger. I've come to realize that I'm not. I'm an agnostic. I don't subscribe necessarily to any one religion (though I do attend a congregational church semi-regularly) but I can't claim to know one way or another for certain. I do however find it impossible to grasp the concept of "not being". Maybe we're reborn and a part of our consciousness is transferred to another life, maybe we're absorbed into the life force of the universe, maybe we go to a Christian heaven, purgatory or hell. I dunno, but oblivion does not compute.  

Berke Breathed, the writer and illustrator of Bloom County is an atheist but much of his politics (admittedly left leaning) comes through in his work. In one strip an atheist character (Oliver Wendell Jones) wrestles with the fact that the universe is much too orderly to have just randomly "happened". That's kind of how I feel about it. All of the things that atheist point to as proof of god's absence are things that make me think that there's something bigger than all of this. What that is however, I have no idea and that's what really scares most people; not only not knowing but having to admit they don't know so they replace the void with faith, yes, even atheists. You wanna really piss off an atheist (try it, it's fun!) tell them that they have a faith; faith in a theory they cannot prove.

Me? I'm fine with it. Not everything in this world is meant to be written out and explained for us in minute detail. It's like seeing the secrets to a brilliant magician's trick; very interesting but you'll never appreciate the illusion the way you once did.  

[DIGGER]

So, if there is no God, who made all this stuff?........just askin, I think its  a fair question
[/quote]

The Devil and God are arguing over who is the most powerfull.  God says "Lets see you do this" and he reaches down and gets a hand full of dirt and packs into the shape of a man and reaches down and blows the breath of life into the man and he comes a live.

The Devil says "That's nothing....I can do that."  and he reaches down and scoops up a hand full of dirt..................

and God hollers "WOA THERE BUDDY.....GO GET YOUR OWN DIRT!!!!!"

[The Anvil]

So, if there is no God, who made all this stuff?........just askin, I think its  a fair question

The Devil and God are arguing over who is the most powerfull.  God says "Lets see you do this" and he reaches down and gets a hand full of dirt and packs into the shape of a man and reaches down and blows the breath of life into the man and he comes a live.

The Devil says "That's nothing....I can do that."  and he reaches down and scoops up a hand full of dirt..................

and God hollers "WOA THERE BUDDY.....GO GET YOUR OWN DIRT!!!!!"
[/quote]

This made me think of this...

Scariest kids tv show EVER!!	powered by Aeva

[Willow]

The better question for creationists is, how many gods made all this stuff?  

Not necessarily better, but certainly more difficult.  As with the Rolex, convincing someone to move from zero to one or more should be fairly simple.  Determining whether one or how many more is not so intuitively discerned.

Anyone who confesses to more than zero is, by definition, a creationist.  From there to what flavor of creationist rapidly becomes more convoluted.   

[DarkMeister]

Intelligent Design rears its head? That should earn its own thread...

Of course our mortality is a difficult issue. Speaking of foxholes - the other side of that coin is the preponderence of older folks in churches. Hard to accept that all that intelect, the complex feelings, personalities...are nothing more than random synapses firing until they run out of juice.
But what makes us special? I have four dogs and love them dearly. They are individuals - different personalities. They absolutely have feelings. Yes, they act more on instinct - I would, too, if my sustenance depended on another's benevolence - but are we that special, that different, compared to them? Are they slabs of meat, after death, but we are not? Food for thought. No pun.

Did ET's screw around with us, either in a helpful or experimental way? Glanced at something recently and have to find it again: the statistically tremendous growth of human brain matter in only the last few thousand years. If the ET's have a hand in that, this could explain the religious views as well.

I truly don't care who believes in what - we are people first and foremost. Is the person caring, compassionate, charitable? As long as we do the right things, it doesn't matter what labels are put on us. And none of us have THE answer.

[bscrive]

Here's one for all you Christian's.... where did god come from.  Did he/she/it magically appear or did he/she/it evolve, what created god?  If something did then god is not necessarily all powerful maybe one of many.  Maybe he/she/it was an alien that came to earth a long time ago.  Doesn't make god great, just better technology.

[Willow]

...  And none of us have THE answer.

With all due respect (you determine what's due) you can't really definitively state that in the plural.  By experience you can only speak authoritatively in the first person singular.

That is to say you can't say you know that no one has THE answer unless you're omniscient, and then, of course, you won't be able to honestly say it at all.       

[DarkMeister]

Ha! Willow, your point validates my point. If anyone among us mortals has the correct answer, it will be by fluke and not due to absolute conviction.

[Willow]

Ha! Willow, your point validates my point. If anyone among us mortals has the correct answer, it will be by fluke and not due to absolute conviction.

Quite the contrary, DM.  My point, and well made, is that you can only say for sure that YOU do not have THE answer.  You cannot say for certain that I do not, nor that the kid down the street or the Dalai Lama for certainty does not have THE answer.  Should you be able to speak with certainty for everyone in the world then you woul in fact, as you pointed out, not be merely mortal.

However, as you and I are mere mortals I can see where one of us could be confused.    

I believe the same principle can be applied to any universal negative.