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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Johannes Pilch who wrote (66171)	2/25/2000 8:13:00 AM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 67261

I will take a run at explaining myself a little better later, as I am on my first couple of gulps of coffee. I know you did not mean to offend, but, as you realize, the terms are somewhat abrasive, certainly when one actually believes something..... Anyway, I avoided "When Dreams May Come" like the plague. I would recommend "The Harmonists", a German film about a popular singing group with a comic slant that happened to have Jewish members, and was forced to disband by the Nazis. If you have not seen it them, there are a number of Chinese films that are good, over the last decade or so: "Farewell My Concubine", "To Live", "Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker", and "Raise the Red Lantern" come to mind immediately. "Burnt by the Sun", a Russian film about a prominent family caught up in the Stalinist purges, is good. I am not sure what you have and have not seen, unless I can recall discussing it, so forgive me if I am redundant: "Strictly Ballroom" is charming, "Sense and Sensibility" turned out to be better done than most such adaptations, "Blast from the Past" is amusing, "Liar, Liar" is often hilarious....Well, that should give you a choice, anyway.......

To: Johannes Pilch who wrote (66171)	2/27/2000 12:08:00 PM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 67261

I was going to dig up miscellaneous posts, but it has become harder to do so, unless they are within the last several months. Thus, I will summarize some of my approaches to the God question: 1. The Big Bang Theory: there is ample evidence that the universe had a discrete origin. Creation ex nihilo makes more sense than the sudden eruption of time/space from a "virtual vacuum"; 2. Evolution: the mechanism of natural selection is supposed to be statistical variation and the competition for resources, creating various niches in which distinct species may flourish. However, it is not clear why the earth is not populated by variations on unicellular organisms, which continue to flourish, and are adapted to a wide number of environments; and, since evolution is incremental, it is strange that there should be not only the differentiation of cell functions, but the existence of complex structures that do not work unless they are put together, such as the eye. As far as I can see, evolution cannot plausibly explain those things, and God must have had a hand in shaping the world that we know; 3. There have been a number of things that I have observed in my life that would reasonably be interpreted as providential unless one excluded the concept. I have taken some pains, in the past, to show the analogy with inferring that someone is following one, where the observed phenomena could be explained by chance, but it is more reasonable to suppose intent; 4. Kant thought that morality precedes belief in God, but creates a moral interest in belief, so that, as long as it is not irrational, it is good to believe, on the grounds that only God can vindicate morality in the long run. I think that our comprehension of morality comes first, and that it enjoins belief in a universe that reflects, in some manner, our moral concerns, which means a belief in God...... I have discussed aspects of this in different ways, but I think this summarizes the main thrust of my varied discussions of these matters on the various threads.....