"Just zis Guy, you know?" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sun, 2 Mar 2003 20:52:05 -0000, "Tony W" <
[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Just keep on incanting the mumbo jumbo Guy. If it makes you happy I'm
not
> >going to stop you.
>
> Nowt to do with it. Your assertion is incorrect and offensive, though I am unlikely to take it
> personally.
>
> Whatever your view on individual religions and their beliefs, it is simply not true to say that
> they all (or indeed any significant number) have as an aim "Keep your believers in ignorance,
> conformity and poverty."
>
> Guy
Guy, I have a great deal of respect for your views and personality, both as displayed on this ng and
your homepage and I would never wish to offend you in anyway whatsoever....but...no. no buts...just
your thoughts on......
Conventional Christian beliefs and practices are based on, I believe, faith, hope and charity, the
greatest of these being faith. It is faith in the 'good book', faith in the word and faith in the
representation of the Christian belief system.
I was drugged up a Cafflic and actually went to train to be a Marist Brother (teaching religious
order, missionaries etc.), although at a very young age. 12 -14 years old until the hormones kicked
in and the futility of the chastity vow featured large in my views ;-)
Anyway, what if an individual had experienced God, or the energy that is God ?...what if the
individual no longer required faith as they had first hand, personal experience of the creator
energy, knew and understood the reason for existence, reality (and all that) ?
From my personal experience, any individual who tries to pass on this received wisdom, the general
response is to call into question the sanity of the individual concerned. It just strikes me as odd
that the accepted spiritual path of the people doing the questioning usually involves faith in a
book created to control the masses and trust in a heirarchy that has been proven corrupt, time
after time.
Whilst I accept that within formal religious organisations there are 'good' people, whose intentions
are just, wholesome and honest, there are also those who are not.
I respect everyone's individual right to follow whatever path they choose and would never criticise
anyone for doing so. I appreciate the fact that there is no such thing as good or evil. We take the
actions we do because we are the result of our experiences to date. We have no choice. Our decisions
are based on the sum total of our experiences.
All I would say to you is that you seem like an extremely intelligent person. Please do not rely on
faith alone. The 'truth' is out there (cheesy, I know ;-) and it can be experienced by each and
every individual, first hand. There is no-one better at finding God than you yourself. How can they
? they have not had your life experiences. They do not truly know you. Only you know you.
Please don't be offended by this, it is certainly not my intention to offend you. If you feel I am
talking utter codswallop, please feel free to call into question my sanity ;-)
Dave,
signing off and getting me bike, with a promise never to mention it again...'onest! (what was the
OP, Valve Rubber about by the way ?..probably something to do with bikes ??)