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Politics : Should God be replaced? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: cosmicforce who wrote (3110)	11/3/2000 4:50:45 PM
From: Greg or e	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 28931

Hi Cos "The most important thing, IMO, is that we all respect each other. To the extent that our dogma makes us judgmental or critical of others, we should question these judgements and see if the clear harm we see is shared by the others. Always attempt to find the common ground." I agree with you that respect is very important, and that it is good, even necessary that we examine our firmly held beliefs, but I think these are not the most important things. The most important thing in my mind is that our beliefs correspond to the truth. Not the truth as we happen to want it to be, or as we perceive it, but as it is in reality. Of course this is what we are trying to establish. What is the ultimate reality? Is it strictly material, immaterial, or both? Is it personal or impersonal, finite or infinite, moral or amoral, and how would we go about determining an ultimate reality from such a proximate perspective. That being said, Lets suppose that after such an exercise in truth searching, that I determined that someone had switched some Tylenol caps with ones containing poison. What then would be the most loving, caring and compassionate thing for me to do? I could jump around and say tauntingly "I know something that you don't" perhaps I could slap it out of your hand without any explanation, or I could gently but firmly warn you and try to explain to you, that although the bottle says Tylenol in reality, if you consume it you will die. Probably not a great analogy but it seems to convey the sense of urgency that Christians feel. I don't look at our discussions as just a philosophical game of chess, or an argument to be won, but as something that has eternal significance. If God exists then we are all in big trouble. Equating him to an invisible friend or denying his existence does nothing to change that. Flew's invisible gardener argument works for most religions, but not Christianity. The Gardener has shown up, got lifted up,(on the cross) and rose up, from the grave. This is an historically verifiable event..So when you say; " it is best to not assert your dogma when others don't agree, even though you find yourself in a position to do so." I very respectfully disagree, because for me to do so, would violate the very essence of what it means to "love my neighbor" Have a great day Cos Greg