Re: POLITICS White Missionaries' Contact with Inuit (Fern)

[Guest guest]

>>[suze] Ah, you are right - my example does show that the *likelihood* of any

one

>>religion being the true one (or the winning ticket) is not very likely.

>>

>>

>[Chris] Not really, because the the lottery is random, whereas most religions

*claim*

>divine revelation. If there is a God, than divine revelation could be taken

>quite seriously, which would change the odds much in a way that someone

>rigging the lottery and passing on insider information to someone playing the

>lottery would.

>

>Say by random probability the odds of God existing are 50/50. Suddenly it

>looks like a better shot than the lottery.

>

First it's a discussion of the chance of one religion being spot on, but

then has to go off the deep end with math again. Uh, what about

the possibility of more than one God? That's not considering all

possibilities.

Deanna

[Guest guest]

>[Chris]I was just making up numbers put to an inaccurate usage. Sorry. I

concede

>this point. You win.

>

>

Yo dude. I only saw some discrepancy... I win! How much $$$ ? Ha

ha. I just wanted to note other possibilities. Sorry, you ain't my

sparring partner this time around, or I'd pop you one. I only pop in

for distraction on occasion.

>[Chris]What I was trying to say, aside from the stupid probability comment, is

that

>it is silly to apply probability to the subject, because no religion claims to

>be doing guesswork. If all or most religions claim divinely imparted

>knowledge, IF one of them is true it would not be random at all.

>

Yeah, probability is improbable when contemplating religion. But let's

not forget Buddhism, a non theistic (or atheistic) religion. I don't

see how they could claim divine intervention. But yes, many many

religions claim, " Thus sayeth the Lord, " or some such similar thing. My

Iraqi Muslim boyfriend from high school said it best, " Different

religions exist because God gets bored with us. " Hey, why not? Okay, I

know, it assumes theos.

Deanna

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 12/13/04 8:48:59 PM Eastern Standard Time,

mfjewett@... writes:

> Who is considering adding to her list of respect-worthy people,

> depending on the circumstances of how he managed to not swat somebody right

> back and floor da suckah. This I do not quite believe.

____

Well, I don't know how to fight. I also cannot find the anger within me to

summon and concentrate behind a punch, which is the only way to make a punch

effective. I didn't feel any anger at that guy for hitting me. I did get

somewhat angry at my friend who expressed no concern over the fact that I just

got

punched repeatedly in the face for no reason, and who, after she found out,

said nothing to me about it except asked me to buy her a drink. But I didn't

get mad at the guy who punched me, because he didn't have any responsibility of

friendship toward me, and it is also expected behavior of him.

I will be honest: I panicked. I tried to diffuse the situation as rapdily as

possible, because I knew that if I escalated the situation in any way I would

be missing teeth (already at that point I had a tooth knocked slightly loose,

which is still, a few weeks later, a little loose and which for a week gave

me shooting pains up my cheek in response to the least bit of pressure or

coldness). The fact that I haven't been in a real fight in my adult life, while

he

gets into them almost every week and has been to jail for beating a women,

which probably led him to get into many, many fights in jail, are both clear

indicators that I could not " win " the fight. And obviously, there is no such

thing as " winning " a fight, because even if I compelled him to forfeit, I would

still be much more beat up than if I had not fought at all, and yet would have

derived no benefit of any sort from causing him any pain.

Chris

____

" What can one say of a soul, of a heart, filled with compassion? It is a

heart which burns with love for every creature: for human beings, birds, and

animals, for serpents and for demons. The thought of them and the sight of them

make the tears of the saint flow. And this immense and intense compassion,

which flows from the heart of the saints, makes them unable to bear the sight of

the smallest, most insignificant wound in any creature. Thus they pray

ceaselessly, with tears, even for animals, for enemies of the truth, and for

those

who do them wrong. "

--Saint Isaac the Syrian

[Guest guest]

> Well, I don't know how to fight. I also cannot find the anger within me to

> summon and concentrate behind a punch, which is the only way to make a punch

> effective.

" Emotional content, not anger.. "

~~Bruce Lee from the movie " Enter the Dragon. " ~~

Anger is counter productive in the Martial Arts.

It clouds reason and increases mind and nerve " noise "

which slows down decision and response.

Bruce

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 12/24/04 2:00:55 PM Eastern Standard Time,

stordock@... writes:

> Anger is counter productive in the Martial Arts.

> It clouds reason and increases mind and nerve " noise "

> which slows down decision and response.

____

Good point, but you still need intent that springs from a desire to execute

the action (in this case, the punch). I didn't have any desire to punch him,

and I'm positive it would have been counter-productive to self-defense, because

it would have induced him to punch me again, possibly freely and

interminably. Also, it would have been a sin.

Chris

____

" What can one say of a soul, of a heart, filled with compassion? It is a

heart which burns with love for every creature: for human beings, birds, and

animals, for serpents and for demons. The thought of them and the sight of them

make the tears of the saint flow. And this immense and intense compassion,

which flows from the heart of the saints, makes them unable to bear the sight of

the smallest, most insignificant wound in any creature. Thus they pray

ceaselessly, with tears, even for animals, for enemies of the truth, and for

those

who do them wrong. "

--Saint Isaac the Syrian