To: ralfph who wrote (35580 ) 3/11/2007 8:32:43 PM From: E. Charters Respond to of 78416 Not to turn this into a religious whacko thread, but we have to solve this before we can move onto mining copper in Afghanistan. With all these ways of getting there, we can agree on one thing. If, there is, there can only be one god, and it ain't no chick.. And there are no 1000 heavens if there is one. Everybody agrees on that except for a few hippie females. The religions are ubiquitous so they must all be valid. And they all claim the other one is hooey so that must be true too. God has to be something like an amoeba spirit. People who worship spirits in trees are supposed to be wackos. But if you have ever spent some time beside a fire with one and had them look you in the eye and say " there is god in this rock" you realize that the Archbishop of Canterbury said that, and you thought he was a cynical geezer with a control problem at the time, but when the tribesguy said it he made you believe it. He did believe it, and in a reasonable way. The Archbishop I will bet is not half so sure. archbishopofcanterbury.org "The self that is brought into the light in study and prayer is a self that lives in a material world where crises and limitations call for response. Yet the identity of the monk is not exclusively or even primarily that of a producer, a pair of hands. The mind and heart have to be both self-aware and turned away from self towards a God who is to be praised. So labour exists in order for there to be a growing conscious self, expanding into the awareness of joy in God’s presence, ‘our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love’ (Prol.). The balance of the day’s rhythm is directed towards that state of being aware of advancing towards God in everything. " I like that. Click anywhere to enter. hmmmm. some kind of message here.. It is a gift to be simple and free.