Your eternal destination: you decide.

An apt analogy. I would like to see a response from Iano.___

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

He would send me to a place like Taiwan, only with cleaner air and wider sidewalks. Because he likes my company and knows I would appreciate it.___

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

Calling Colonel Sanders!That's okay, Iano. Subbie has already called you on your fear of creative thinking after asking it of others. But I never expected anything from you other than the programmed responses.Fundies are as fundies do. You can set a clock by the patterns.

quote:

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The wicked flee when no one pursues,
but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

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Proverbs 28.1

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___Edited by Archer Opterix, : Quote.Edited by Archer Opterix, : Brevity.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

subbie (paraphrasing the OP) asks: A fruitful question, Subbie. We learned a lot.We learned Iano is an unbeliever as rabid as any other(Message 22): And we got to watch Faith call down eternal damnation on herself (Message 39): It turns out Iano has more in common that anyone suspected with alacrity fitzhugh (25), while Faith could be a barbecue buddy for CK and RickJB (2/4, 18).Watch out for that atheist rabies. It's contagious.

quote:

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I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

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Stephen Roberts

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

Of course you do. Just like the Muslim knows Allah exists.It's an equivalent question.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

Donkey doo. Nothing stops a person from answering a hypothetical question regardless of what they know.One answers for the sake of argument. One answers hypothetically. One uses, in short, one's imagination.If one has any.I know the color red exists. That doesn't cause me to scramble for cover if someone asks how I might feel if it didn't. Nothing stops me from considering the idea and rummaging around in my being somewhere and framing an answer. And maybe I'll have some fun in the process.Your knowledge is clearly made of more fragile stuff. It doesn't say much for a person's confidence when they will not allow a question they ask of others to be entertained by themselves even hypothetically.People who know they stand on solid ground behave differently. They don't shrink from sticking their toes in the kiddie pool for fear that they'll drown. If they feel like sticking their toes in the water and swishing them around a bit, they do. They can.But I'm satisfied you won't answer. And truthfully, Iano, if your beliefs are that fragile I wouldn't want you to try. I would hate to be responsible for you losing your faith and undergoing an existential crisis and plunging yourself into a long dark night of the soul.By all means, protect what you have to protect. Keep those wagons circled. Give the world that stiffarm.Don't worry about your squeamish posts here. We'll just toss them into the old KFC bucket and call it a day.___Edited by Archer Opterix, : HTML.Edited by Archer Opterix, : Typo.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

Please forgive the raising of questions that make you feel so serene and unshaken.Keep fighting the good fight against those irrational Middle Eastern religious beliefs... you atheist you. ___Edited by Archer Opterix, : Brev.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

iano: subbie: I noticed that, too, subbie. I agree.iano, I don't think I've ever seen you use the word 'knowledge' before to describe an idea someone cherishes that you do not share.If you're inclined to back off that wording or rationalize it, please don't. Just let the paradox hang for a while.No harm done, living with a paradox here and there. None at all.___Edited by Archer Opterix, : HTML.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

!

If I may help you with any other questions you have, feel free to ask.

I'm with you about the tilde.It has a yinyang aspect to it that merits further consideration. Edited by Archer Opterix, : Face.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

The count is 2.1 billion according to adherents.com data. 1 person in 3 worldwide.It's worth mentioning that the overwhelming majority of these professing Christians are not recognized as 'real' Christians at all by fundamentalists. In all cases, of course, we're discussing adherents rather than eyewitnesses. I don't doubt it. Many people in my part of the world have the same experiences with Guan Yin, the Compassionate One. They get parallel messages, warnings that save their lives... the experiences are uncanny. A common misconception. It's 'beyond reasonable doubt.'___Edited by Archer Opterix, : HTML.Edited by Archer Opterix, : Clarity.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

No and maybe not, but they're respectful. It's benign indifference, not rejection. They know who Jesus is. Taiwanese Buddhists often have Christian friends. Catholics run a number of schools and missions here (most of the nuns seem to be Filipino) and Chiang Kai-Shek was a Methodist. They respect Jesus as they respect anyone's deity. Quan Yin devotees would have no problem with a person praying to both Guan Yin and Jesus if they felt the need.A number of deities, bodhissatvas, and revered figures are prayed to here. One never rejects a figure someone else worships. One never knows, after all, what wisdom may lie in those mysteries. It's wise to be respectful. At the same time, no one expects to keep track of every figure a person might possibly pray to.Quan Yin is hugely popular. Her whole aspect encourages an attitude of warmth and accommodation. The overall attitude toward religion is completely different than the kind of thing you see so often on these boards. People are very tolerant and accepting of whatever you want to do. They just let it hang.When my Taiwanese friends talk to me about the West they often express disbelief that anyone would ever wage a war over religion. What's the point? Just build a new temple on the street and invite everyone to your grand opening. We might even add a new altar in our temple. You can pray to your god there, with Guan Yin (Buddhist figure) on one side and Guan Gung (Tao Jio figure) on the other. We can all burn money for our ancestors afterwards and head out for rice noodles. Why not?I hope this answers your question. It's certainly safe to say the average Guan Yin devotee tends to be more knowledgable of, and accepting of, Jesus than the average Christian tends to be of Guan Yin.___Edited by Archer Opterix, : Revision.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.

I didn't take it that way at all, AF. It was a question to savor, and I did get the impression you have experiences of your own with it.When I described Buddhists as being 'respectful' of Christian beliefs I was only trying to get the right nuance. I didn't want to convey an attitude of total indifference. 'Benign indifference' may come closer to it. Indeed it is, and thanks for the link. You started me on a fascinating exploration of Cherokee lore and literature that I plan to continue.Being able to share these things is one reason why the Eastern attitude strikes so many people in the West as refreshing, I think. It allows more exchange. For practical reasons one accepts the fact that one can't possibly know every form of religious wisdom. For reasons related to this, and equally practical, one never dismisses the possibility of new insight.Can you share more about your interest in Ye ho waah?___Edited by Archer Opterix, : Typo repair.Edited by Archer Opterix, : Punctuation.

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ArcherAll species are transitional.