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God only speaks to me when I speak to him. He doesn't intrude unless asked. And when he does speak, it's ALWAYS words of support, even though they're sometimes ones I don't particularly want to do such as, "you already know that, answer it yourself." I don't hear Him as an outside voice, it's...

I've pondered this, too and had to laugh at the response of "boredom" as that makes a lot of sense to me and indicates a sense of humor, which I can't imagine God as not having. However, after thinking more about it, the best I've come up with is the principle of recursion, where at some...

When Jesus said, "He who believeth in me shall not perish but shall have everlasting life" (or something to that effect), who did he mean by "me" if not God? Why would he think he could promise people who believe in him (believed what about him?) that he could guarantee everlasting life...

This was posted on another board. Although I question the legitimacy of it (if the woman was killed, how does she claim anything?), it does fit into this discussion, though in a rather tongue-in-cheek manner. Arkansas Woman Killed in Mistaken Rapture ARKANSAS CITY (EAP) -- A Little Rock...

The "uber problem," IMHO, is one of judgmentalism. The way around it is ownership of feelings and beliefs. Therefore, "you're an idiot" becomes, "I don't agree" or "I really dislike your saying x." "Those who are humble are greatest before God" becomes "I believe God prefers people who don't...

I'm certainly not trying to be antagonistic, but this sounds like you're doing the same thing you're lambasting others for doing--claiming moral superiority of a certain group over others. What you've said sounds like another version of "God loves us better than he loves you." Have I...

Would that apply to all of North American, IYO, or just to the United States? The Baptists are pretty fundamentalist, from what I know of them. Aren't they a worldwide sect? As an American, I do believe Christian fundamentalists are far more vocal than their actual numbers indicate. For...

As an educator, I'll take a shot at this one. I've long contended that you can't give an answer until the question is asked. Otherwise, it falls on deaf ears and there's no learning involved. That said, a "good" teacher can help create the motivation for students to ask the question. I...

This was actually very helpful to me. There's a UU church that's set back in woods--very lovely, only a couple of miles from me. I was also looking at a Unity Church that's farther away and has services in a school. While Unity beliefs seemed closer to my own, I really like the convenience and...

Not unless man and God can be, essentially, one and the same--at least to the extent that's relevant for humans to know. (I cede there may well be aspects that are simply irrelevant to human life and if so, they don't matter, anyway--not to us.) During Creation, did God implant within...

I didn't read this post before writing mine but when I did read it, assumed it was in response to mine until I realized it had been written before. Spooky! Since we live within time, I doubt we have the ability to conceive of timelessness, much less the relationship between the two. Even "the...

This is only true if one assumes that God, exists within time. If, however, time is an essential distinction between God, the creator, and His creation, then by definition, He woul be all-everything.

If one accepts the notion of immaculate conception, then the Holy Spirit, who impregnated Mary, had a way to create a Y chromosome. That seems no more illogical than the notion of impregnation by the Holy Spirit in the first place. I know they've been able to stimulate an egg in a laboratory...

Brian, the link you provided isn't working. Wanted to let you know.

I do see a way to reconcile these apparent discrepancies and that reconciliation lies in human definitions of the terms. At least I've reconciled it for myself. Perhaps I should take the link given to get into it further. If anyone's interested, I'll be happy to explain it here, too, with...

I just finished reading a book on this very same thing! The title doesn't sound like it but it is, "I'm Rich Beyond my Wildest Dreams." The book contends that if you ask the universe (God, Goddess, creation, whatever) to provide and tell it what you want, it will. (I wrote a review of it on...

What about Jesus? Knowledge of his life and beliefs about it or the "Jesus spirit?" Personally, I've found that too many people focus on the former and not the latter. They have no idea what it means at all when translated into an individual's life, but have convinced themselves, with the...

Free will is implied by time. Time is a function of creation (existence of things) and vice versa. (If this isn't clear to anyone, let me know and I'll go into it in more detail.) God created the world (etc.) and therefore, created time. From this perspective, Divine Will is implicit within...

Just as a follow-up, I did some research over the weekend. I took a look at the Unitarian Church (which does not describe itself as a Christian Church but has many members who consider themselves Christians) and also the Unity Church. I found Unity beliefs to be very similar to my own. I...

Thanks for the response, Arete. It's refreshing to be able to discuss these things without fear of being lambasted for being where one is at--to feel emotionally safe to question and discuss. I think free will was pretty well a foregone conclusion when God decided to create time from...