Subject: Re: Music, religion, etc.
AntiUtopia@aol.com
Date: Tue Jan 11 2000 - 20:43:09 EST
In a message dated 1/11/00 6:11:56 PM Eastern Standard Time,
jjv@caesun.msd.ray.com writes:
<<
So what makes you ascribe your experience to God? Have you ever been
able to verify that it was actually God and not something else? Are those
people who believe God spoke to them and asked them to kill Barney
rational?
Look, I'm saying that God doesn't exist; But belief in God is
irrational. I think it's supposed to be. That's why it's Faith and not
reason.
-jason
>>
Those are very good questions, but you also have to realize I started out
atheist, and finally "converted" over a period of about five years, after my
own personal study not only of the Bible, but of Aristotle, Plato, Nieztche,
some Hindu stuff, Gestalt...you name it. Since I've been "converted" I've
continued to read these people and others. If someone intelligently opposes
my premises, I seek them out and listen carefully. I haven't read enough
Buddhists texts yet, but am catching up, and I am eventually going to force
my way through the Koran.
I've answered these questions before, and your questions deserve some
answers, but I've Stupidly let myself get frustrated at the lack of
experience of the teenagers I've been arguing with. In short, it's stupid
for me to expect people to have read everything they needed to have read at
their stage of life. What I'm seeing reflected back to me is the prejudices
of the society in which we all are educated. It's a pity. Such a pity.
At any rate, a quick answer would be that I'm not going on isolated
incidences, but continuing incidences. That what I experienced was very much
like physical perception without the physical referent. And that it happened
over and over again.
But my own experience is immaterial to you. It's your experience that should
matter to you. The more important question is How can I have such
experiences? What do I need to seek them out? An honest person will be
looking in all directions. I have and continue to do so.
The answer is, Seek and ye shall find. I can't go on in this vein without
preaching a sermon, because this is the essence of preaching. So I'll just
stop here.
Jim
-
* Unsubscribing? Mail majordomo@roughdraft.org with the message
* UNSUBSCRIBE BANANAFISH
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b25 : Mon Feb 28 2000 - 08:38:06 EST