Open your mind!

[David Mauldin]

Amy and others, I appreciate what you have written about Catholicsim.  Yes I have read a lot by Scott Hahn and have thought much about converting, (Years Ago) Any educated person must admit that the Catholic church is as legit (if not more) than any Christian Church.  The doctrines of the church are more completely developed in Rome than in any other denomination.  I have spent my life seeing and hearing protestant ministers slam the Catholic church for years, (Oral roberts ect...)  they really don't know what they are talking about. It is so ludicrus! They are elementary school "Popes" who chew out college grad proffs. O.K. nuff said.  Keep reading good books! I have just finished a bio on John Addams! And a great movie  Whale Rider!!!!
My Peace Corps assignment is Poland!!! I will be teaching 6th grade this years which means I get to study ancient history!    

[David Mauldin]

Friends,  good friend of mine (Denise) former leader with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, has become quite skilled at "Documentary"  She just place 2nd at the Orange County Fair.  I with her help would like to do an essay on the Assembly. This would involve interviews with anyone willing 10-15 questions, "How did you get involved...etc...If you are willing please e-mail me at TeachDKM@netscape.net. Thanks"

[Oscar]

Tom are you saying these people  have proved me wrong?  In truth these people (and they will be the first to admit) are only giving their speculations as to what they think might be the truth. Your religion attempts to give an absolute answer to things we really don't know to be true.   i.e. gives you an explanation and reason to your suffering. Yes I have been entertaing the idea that the origins of the universe are (at this time) beyond our understanding.
You think this is foolishness? I am in good company.  The fact that we are inside this universe only allows us limited knowledge as to what it is, Thus you have religion. Thomas Aquinais expaining every little detail yet you yourself know that he was only speculating. I know you have read bios on Thomas Jefferson. To me this guys exemplifys what I believe.  Get outside of your limited understanding.  Investigate what others have to say, learned. Much of the evangelical church today is saturated with lies. Look at the hipocracy of our "Born Again" president who initiated a war based on lies, killed innocent people over wmd that have yet to be found?  In truth the U.S. gave IRAQ 7 starnds of Anthrax in 1980 to fight Iran with. But George who states "Jesus is my best friend" has refused to send aid to libyria because...it's not economicly to our advantage.

Dave,

This post shows that your understanding of science could use some improvement.

Have you ever heard of Einstein?  Special and general relativity?

Speculating!!!   E=MC2 comes from Einstein's work on special relativity.  Just ask the folks from Hiroshima and Nagasaki if he was just speculating.

On general relativity...do you know about Eddington's 1919 confirmation of Einstein's prediction that light could be bent by gravity?

Do you know about Hubble's work on the red shift of distant galaxies, confirming the expansion of the universe?

Do you know about Penzias and Wilson's discovery of the universal microwave background radiation in 1964...confirming Kurt Godel's 1932 prediction that if the universe began in a "Big Bang"  that we should find the remnants of its heat at about 3 degrees above absolute zero?

Do you know about Hawking, Penrose, and Ellis' refinements of the theorems of general relativity showing that time and space began at the same time matter and energy did?

You call all this theoretical work and its observational and experimental confirmations "speculation".

Dave, you frequently lecture folks that they need to "get outside of their limited understanding" and read and expand their minds.

So, why don't you get a copy of "God and the Astronomers" by Jastrow, or "The Creator and the Cosmos" by Ross.  You will find them mind expanding.

You might try a spelling book as well.

Tom

[Oscar]

Dave,

You wrote,
"Get outside of your limited understanding.  Investigate what others have to say, learned. Much of the evangelical church today is saturated with lies. Look at the hipocracy of our "Born Again" president who initiated a war based on lies, killed innocent people over wmd that have yet to be found?  In truth the U.S. gave IRAQ 7 starnds of Anthrax in 1980 to fight Iran with. But George who states "Jesus is my best friend" has refused to send aid to libyria because...it's not economicly to our advantage. "

There you go again Dave.  This is a strange thing that seems to accompany atheism.  They just can't stop making moral condemnations.  They seem oblivious to the fact that if they are right about God, (that there is no God), then objective moral standards are impossible.
Yet, they can't, or won't, stop their moral preaching to other folks.  

Dave, you have taken to proclaiming your new "autonomy" and "enlightenment" that has resulted from your liberation from God.  You seem to have liberated yourself from logic and rationality as well.

This is sad Dave, all you are doing is falling into the age-old delusion that man can live without God.  This was the promise in the garden..."Ye shall be like God, knowing good and evil".  There it is Dave, all you have done is to fall into believing Satan's lies, and now you are living out his promise.  Dave Mauldin, the source of moral truth.  

Dave, since you are nothing but hydrogen that has evolved through random chance...how do you know what is right and wrong?  What does the hydrogen teach you about morality?

Dave, you remind me of the verse in Roman 1:22 that says, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools."


Thomas Maddux

[Oscar]

Dave,

You wrote,

"Your religion attempts to give an absolute answer to things we really don't know to be true.  i.e. gives you an explanation and reason to your suffering"

This in nothing more than a form  of the genetic fallacy which is sometimes called "refutation by psychoanalysis".

The idea is that people believe in God because they fear death, need answers to the big questions, desire meaning for their lives.  

The problem with this is twofold:
1. How do you know what other people think?
2. It works both ways.  Perhaps people DON'T believe in God because of an underlying fear of judgement, or a desire to be completely autonomous.

As I said Dave, you seem to have liberated yourself from rationality and logic.

Thomas Maddux