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

To: James Calladine who wrote (14776)	2/5/2003 9:25:33 AM
From: Solon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 28931

"The normal distinction that is made is based on the intent" And who is qualified to impartially judge that? "IF the original even existed!" I don't know on what basis you would doubt the magic in the bible given your belief in the magical realm. You did not doubt the story of your friend, did you? Why then doubt the stories of others? I say this not as a challenge but as a curiosity. "powers" of this kind (which are a phenomenon of the 5th stage of life) are what they are, and are not necessarily less in the hands of a black magic practitioner. They may last a shorter time, however." Well, this is where you can lend me a hand. There is a common conception that magical powers are gained by peforming the will of an ultimate source of evil or good--a "spiritual" progression of some sort. Otherwise, the designation of "good" is simply a matter of reference and opinion. Now if these powers directly relate to sources of "good" and "evil" then one wonders why they should be unequal in duration but not in strength? Perhaps if you could share the mechanism involved, it would assist in my understanding of the difference. Obviously, the display of magical powers entails a specific sort of activity contingent to ones will. Making a Nation fill up with spontaneous frogs is a different thing than filling up the ocean with milk pails. Turning water into blood is different than turning the moon into a sewing kit. WHAT is the difference in act, though, which necessitates a specific diffence in result? Does one simply think a thought and it happens? If that is the case, then how are such magical effects created by dead people who no longer possess the biochemical matrix for thought to occur? Perhaps a way to convey these understandings to us would be to indicate what exercises one may engage in order to become adept (or to reach the "fifth stage" if you will). This would surely relate to the specific actions taken while performing (by "performing" I do not mean to suggest shallow motive when performing such tricks). "The saying "absolute power corrupts" explains quite a bit." Perhaps, but I don't derive any clarity from it, nor do I know of any reason to consider it to have any truth value. It certainly does not help me to understand why the desert magic was lost.