.
but could foresee the future and saw that your body was thrown into the woods to rot, would it bother you?
I did some chemically assisted meditation last night, wherein I discovered what it's like to be dead:
Your body and soul expand to the farthest reaches of the universe, which spreads you mighty thin -- so thin, in fact, that you are no longer aware of your own existence at all; only of the vast cosmos of whirling jewels and tumbling stars.
It's wonderful. Which renders the whole question moot, really.
Now, the process of dying -- that's a bitch. Still not looking forward to that.
GentlyFeral
thanks to simon and his nifty new image attachments i got these ready.
please let me know which one you prefer.
and i have already made matching banner ads for the site (saves simon having to do it.
i like the new covers, but I personally don't think we're there yet.
One last suggestion --
#5 - but lose the candles and replace the ornaments with apples-and-pears or some kind of christmasy-looking fruit.
GentlyFeral
thanks to simon and his nifty new image attachments i got these ready.
please let me know which one you prefer.
and i have already made matching banner ads for the site (saves simon having to do it.
I think #1 is too busy and #2 is too plain. And #3, unfortunately, is too "1950's" - it's the color scheme I really like the red-to-green background of the first 2 covers.
Suggestions:
GentlyFeral
.
willyloman used that expression in a different thread.
what publications do you have in your "theocratic"----i mean, "apostate library"?
Some limiting factors:
I haven't bought CoC or any "cult-exit" books, although I have read Combatting Cult Mind Control and CoC, & recommend both.
I live in a trailer - limited space for books.
However: my library now consists almost exclusively of books I could not have in the house as a jaydub. Partial list:
There's more, but isn't this enough?
GentlyFeral
.
do you think most people would serve him?
I think if you care about whatever is best or whatever is right, then you are happy as a matter of doing that, and not requiring another reward in order to act in that manner.I actually am sure there is a reward for serving God, but it is not the reward of "getting stuff" (even Paradise Earth (TM)). I think the reward is God's Presence:
Good stuff, bebu, but being a poet I feel compelled to illustrate your remarks.
There's rewards - heaven/paradise, the granting of urgent prayers, or as bebu puts it, "getting stuff" -
and there's rewards: the smell of incense lit in Their honor, the hypnotically restful shine of candles or scrying mirror, the pleasure of preparing a little food- or drink-offering, the beauty of a well-retold myth...
the presence: the flicker of Their fondness or amusement in your mind's eye, the toe-curling power as they overshadow you with a message just for you...
So, in conclusion, what was the question? Oh yes.
Um, any god who does not reward you with his love and company as you serve him ... is a false god. For you.
GentlyFeral
whose altar awaits
you know the saying, you have to earn respect.
has god earned it?
thousands of years of human suffering does it all for me.
You're assuming that the only god available is the omnipotent transcendent creator-god of the Bible. I don't respect him because of what I might call "Epicurus's paradox," namely: "If God wishes to prevent evil, but cannot, then He is not all powerful. If He can prevent evil, but will not, then He is not good. If He has both power and the will to eliminate evil, then WHY is evil in the world?"
Jehovah is either a liar or a contradiction in terms.
Looking farther afield, though, I see a whole array of gods who are helpers but not all-powerful creators; helpers, "guardian angels," partisans, advocates ... friends. I respect them, at least my friends among them, only a little more than they respect me.
GentlyFeral
still pagan tonight
i was baptised around 1978 - don't remember the date anymore.
this was before the "organization-centered" baptism questions.
did i sign anything in order to get baptized?
Baptized in '73, the year before the baptism questions changed. I was 18. There was nothing to sign.
GentlyFeral
be honest
I have been hurt a lot by different ones over the years and after the initial anger/hurt I just forget about them. By hating and holding grudges against anyone I would allow that person to have power/control over me.
Noble indeed, but what about the person who comes back to hurt you again and again and won't go away? Such people certainly deserve whatever deterrent you can muster.
I have laid curses on such people and wouldn't hesitate to do so again; but I did attempt to make peace first.
GentlyFeral
hey--i could really use some input from parents and kids at heart.. i am volunteering to do a story time this saturday.
i am supposed to read whatever i want to the kids for an hour.
i left a message that i would take requests for stories, but so far no one has made any suggestions.. i am just wondering what some of you would suggest i read.
If you can find it, Just for You by Mercer Meyer. The characters are all portrayed as beavers, or maybe hedgehogs? Anyway, the kid beaver tries to clean house and make breakfast-in-bed for mama, and everything goes wrong, but his love for mommy just shiiiiines through, and that's all she sees, actually. And I love the artwork.
Oh, hey! It's still in print!!!
edited to add:
GentlyFeral
Who particularly treasures, "I tried to cook you breakfast in bed, but the eggs were too slippery."
this month, mit officially launches its opencourseware initiative (at ocw.mit.edu).
with opencourseware, which has been in pilot mode for one year, mit has put a large amount of its course materials, including videos of lectures and classes, online for anyone to access freely.
this is a brilliant win/win proposition for mit in nearly every way.
Whoa, there's plenty of humanities stuff on here. THANKS!
GentlyFeral
budding litgeek
