What's Aleppo?

[RonD1120 62]

SkyDekker

So is turning the other cheek.

Can you explain the circumstances where one is preferable or commanded over the over?

Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

I can explain it how I understand it to work for you.

Non-white, shoot the motherfucker.

White, help him and pray for him.

[RonD1120 62]

Wrong on both counts.

Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

RonD1120

Wrong on both counts.

Maybe, but it is the impression you give off.

[DrSher 0]

Very true..

I have a feeling that at some time, we will all be turned into one of those Hollywoodesque' Buddhists and go chase the Nirvana high.

And philosophically as well as scriptural, ahimsa matters.

And our Holy scholar is right!! Without God, there is nothing. Think about it. Look at the stars and learn them. I spend 1/2 an hour a day or so. You are small!! Insignificant!! Puny!!

My 5 year old daughter lead climbs high cliffs. She looks sooooo small. Like nothing!!

There is still lots of time to learn it..

[DJL 235]

Quote

Without God, there is nothing.

Turtles all the way down, right?

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[DrSher 0]

Honestly have no idea what you mean..

What is question?

There is still lots of time to learn it..

[DJL 235]

DrSher

Honestly have no idea what you mean..

What is question?

Look it up but it's a saying to poke fun at the idea that at some point in the search for why or how we exist you just say, "Because God made us." It goes back to an allegory most popularly re-phrased from Stephen Hawking's book A Brief History of Time.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[DrSher 0]

I see..
So essentially it is an intellectual weakness to believe in any higher power.

We could use the same argument about any generalized issue that is reductionist in nature.

Assuming every scientist on the planet have no deeper spiritual paths is too easy, IMHO.

There is still lots of time to learn it..

[DJL 235]

Not at all. To address what what I'm reacting to, the opposite of believing in god is not Nihilism. Life exists, morality exists. I don't have to believe in god to value life, have morals, respect people, or live in the world. I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[DanG 1]

Gimme a good blaster...

- Dan G

[DrSher 0]

DJL

Not at all. To address what what I'm reacting to, the opposite of believing in god is not Nihilism. Life exists, morality exists. I don't have to believe in god to value life, have morals, respect people, or live in the world. I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.

Yes, I guess you are correct in the absolute term of nihilism. However, in a post-modern spiritual description it pertains mostly to the void when you reject a God.
Morality without foundations is worthless. Foundations are often inherited, acquired or conformed to. As an example, consensus morality leverages many unjust laws, who are taken advantage of by those who know the best.

Who is to say that something is more "moral" than anything else? We reach a certain moral foundation based upon time and when we try to whittle this away ASAP, we crack.

The longer I live; the more lives I deal with; the more things I see happening, the more I think there is nothing BUT divinity around us.

Morals have nothing to do with this; mysticism has nothing to do with it and certainly no energy field.

There is still lots of time to learn it..

[normiss 801]

Nor does someone simply thinking they are surrounded by "divinity", whatever the hell that is.
I see anything but a singular power, being, or anything silly like that - otherwise I would think there would be a lot less pain and suffering in this world - unless that god thing is just happy being a prick.

[billvon 2,991]

>Morality without foundations is worthless.

Agreed. Morality has to be based on fundamental values - for example, the value of human life, the value of individual rights and the value of truth. Those can come from many sources.

[jakee 1,490]

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Morality without foundations is worthless. Foundations are often inherited, acquired or conformed to.

And those foundations are often disgustingly amoral.

Quote

As an example, consensus morality leverages many unjust laws, who are taken advantage of by those who know the best.

That's not an example, that's a hypothesis. A poorly stated one.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[winsor 236]

DrSher

***Not at all. To address what what I'm reacting to, the opposite of believing in god is not Nihilism. Life exists, morality exists. I don't have to believe in god to value life, have morals, respect people, or live in the world. I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.

Yes, I guess you are correct in the absolute term of nihilism. However, in a post-modern spiritual description it pertains mostly to the void when you reject a God.
Morality without foundations is worthless. Foundations are often inherited, acquired or conformed to. As an example, consensus morality leverages many unjust laws, who are taken advantage of by those who know the best.

Who is to say that something is more "moral" than anything else? We reach a certain moral foundation based upon time and when we try to whittle this away ASAP, we crack.

The longer I live; the more lives I deal with; the more things I see happening, the more I think there is nothing BUT divinity around us.

Morals have nothing to do with this; mysticism has nothing to do with it and certainly no energy field.

Religion is but mental malware, a communicable form of psychosis.

Like the biological variant, the pathology of various strains of psychocybernetic viruses varies greatly, from relatively benign to the positively lethal.

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is not king - he's a pariah.

[RonD1120 62]

Religion wears a person down with the burden of rules, rituals and mostly guilt. I prefer seeking life and life more abundantly. I found the door to that experiential reality.

When the five co-founders and I started the Christian Skydivers Association in 1987 we believed that jumpers would grasp the concept easily since they were, well, skydivers. They were already living in a world of expanded consciousness.

At some point early on I was invited to make a presentation at a local high school in Tampa along with a representative from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. After the students had returned to class we were gathering our props and sharing testimonies.

He told me not to expect a great influx of membership but rather to expect about a 2% of the skydivers to join. The CSA went worldwide in a few years but he was right. Membership trailed off at 2% of the USPA membership.

The greatest and most powerful enemy of God's best is God's good. It is the spiritual equivalent of the Peter Principle.

Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

[jakee 1,490]

Quote

When the five co-founders and I started the Christian Skydivers Association in 1987 we believed that jumpers would grasp the concept easily since they were, well, skydivers. They were already living in a world of expanded consciousness.

Funny, 'expanded consciousness' is pretty much exactly what I'd have said would stop someone from joing the christian anything ssociation.


Purely an anecdote, but the only person I ever met wearing a CSA patch on their jumpsuit also refused to believe that weight belts made people fall faster, because he'd once been told in high school that Galileo had proved heavy objects and light objects fell at the same rate. Wouldn't listen to explanations, wouldn't accept that he'd been taught a gross simplification of one aspect of the science, wouldn't even believe the evidence of his own eyes - just stuck to his blind dogma. 'Expanded consciousness' indeed...

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[RonD1120 62]

Do not equate or confuse learning with consciousness. Learning is part of consciousness but consciousness is the infinite realm past learning.

Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

[DanG 1]

Quote

Do not equate or confuse learning with consciousness. Learning is part of consciousness but consciousness is the infinite realm past learning.

Convenient that "consciousness" is also untestable, undefinable, and completely internal.

Learning is the opposite of those things. Anyone can claim "consciousness". You have to prove you're learned something to be taken seriously.

Finally, to get this thread back toward the original point "consciousness" doesn't help a President figure out what to do in Syria. For that you need learning, logic, and understanding.

- Dan G

[DJL 235]

No, I like where this has gone. Hey Ron, what would Jesus do about Aleppo and its refugees?

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[RonD1120 62]

DanG

Quote

Do not equate or confuse learning with consciousness. Learning is part of consciousness but consciousness is the infinite realm past learning.

Convenient that "consciousness" is also untestable, undefinable, and completely internal.

Learning is the opposite of those things. Anyone can claim "consciousness". You have to prove you're learned something to be taken seriously.

Finally, to get this thread back toward the original point "consciousness" doesn't help a President figure out what to do in Syria. For that you need learning, logic, and understanding.

Good turn back, I agree.

Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

[billvon 2,991]

>Hey Ron, what would Jesus do about Aleppo and its refugees?

I have a feeling if Jesus returned today Ron would condemn him as an "inner city type" - and probably shoot him if he tried to enter Ron's compound. (Perhaps he'd get away with just a warning shot.)

[RonD1120 62]

DJL

No, I like where this has gone. Hey Ron, what would Jesus do about Aleppo and its refugees?

I believe He is doing it. That is, offering Holy Spirit guidance to the believing Christians. Telling them to walk in faith, to preach the gospel and to proclaim the day of the Lord.

Our command is to go into the world preach the gospel and make disciples. That does not change because we are in a horrible situation. Paul was condemned to death, in prison and he still kept preaching the gospel.

Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

[DrSher 0]

jakee

Quote

Morality without foundations is worthless. Foundations are often inherited, acquired or conformed to.

And those foundations are often disgustingly amoral.

*With 20/20 hindsight and the correct climate, yes. AS entity it is always true.
immoral is not "a tad" worse than moral, it's the opposite.

Quote

As an example, consensus morality leverages many unjust laws, who are taken advantage of by those who know the best.

That's not an example, that's a hypothesis. A poorly stated one.

It is an example of how laws are created. Yesterday, today or tomorrow. Those in power writes laws and often in accordance with their backers (today called lobbyists).
If it is poorly stated (to you) maybe you were looking for something else. There is no doubt that laws are shaped by norms, morality and influences, to say such.

There is still lots of time to learn it..