Ralph Scherer

Whenever I hear people say that they do not just believe in God but experience God or Christ as a watchful presence in their lives, I am not impressed with the reality of their faith. Rather, I fear for their sanity. They are cultivating a delusion. Even if there is a God, what else is going on in their heads but the cultivation of a delusion?

The Pilgrims and the Puritans did not come here to establish religious toleration. On the contrary, they wanted to be in a place where they could be tolerated, not tolerant. The founding fathers must have known this well because the First Amendment calls for the separation of church(es) and state.

First the Anabaptists, then the Quakers, the Shakers, the Ranters, the Levellers, the Diggers, the Calvinists and the Methodists (not to mention the non-denominational institutions or churches). Martin Luther must be “rolling in his grave.” So many sects and the process has not stopped nor is it showing any signs of slowing down. The Thirty Years’ War ended with Catholicism, Lutheranism and Calvinism gaining the right to existence. These three forms of Christianity tolerate each other but sadly none of them seem to tolerate anyone else.

Where does toleration come from? If I accept your right to believe differently from me, but I think I believe the truth and you think you believe the truth, then what has become of truth? And then what are the implications of toleration for “truth”? So many questions, so few answers.

What would make you give up your position on god, and how would you feel about it?

The observer has been observed and now the observed has become the observer. And so it goes.

However, if the observer wants to be observed then by definition he/she gives up his observerhood.

I suppose it’s possible to be observed while observing. I guess it all depends on your power of observation.

True happiness is being an unwitting sower of jealousy.

Maybe nothing we do now will matter in a thousand years, but IF SO, then it also would seem that nothing that will matter in a thousand years makes a difference now, either. In particular, it doesn’t make a difference now that in a thousand years, what we do now won’t matter. –JAP

Life is momentary. There are happy moments and sad moments and to experience life to its fullest you must stay in the moment. I think I understand what all the monks meditating out there are doing. They are making a valiant effort to stay in the present moment.

I submit this is impossible to do because there is no such thing as the present moment. The future is feeding on the past.

It takes more energy for good to reside in evil than it does for evil to reside in good.

…. and not bad is better than pretty good.