Words of Wisdom for our friend Wayne

thats easy.
ignorance + cowardice = religion.
at what age did you drop out?

 

Zippy is on track. The horrific portrayal of hell is to describe an existence apart from the goodness the presence of a benevolent creator provides. God does not force anyone to chose Him. Instead, in this instance, He says "thy will be done", and that existence, which lacks all the benefits, is not a good place.

 

So is God like the sorting hat in Harry Potter?

 

A simple but not comprehensive illustration. Parents provide a good home, with some parameters in attempt maintain a decent peaceful environment. Although, the home does not have perfect decorum, as inside the home "the imperfect dwellers" do not necessarily make it perfect. Still, some of the kids appreciate the good parents, and don't mind their parameters, precepts, principles. Others find problem and fault, and disrupt the nest, say screw you, to which the parents say, you are on your own, there is the door.

In this limited illustration, the one who chooses to walk, has the potential to create for himself his own domain and live with it. I realize that all children are destined to leave the nest eventually. The problem is, that when it comes to eternal existence, if one removes the eternal power and goodness of God, there is no capacity to fashion the existence you've chosen.

So again, the choice is not forced. I realize it can be difficult at times to see the goodness of God amongst all the evil in the world, especially when at times it is propagated "in the name of religion", which in my estimation, is the same old selfish power grab that has plagued mankind forever. Personally, I view a lot of the problems we experience as families, communities and societies happen when the basic principles, which are rooted in the goodness and love of God are departed, leaving a void that all sorts of evil fills, giving a taste of "hell on earth". This in itself, illustrates a greater spiritual truth.

 

Jesus would've surfed back in the day. He wore kick ass sandals, had long, cool hair, and a Donovan beard, unfortunately we can never ask him BEACUSE HE'S NOT COMING BACK....ever. So the religious freaks might as well just quit waiting for him to rise and go surf. 99.9% of all wars ever started involved religious beliefs. Don't believe the hype...just believe mother nature. Pura Vida amigos...............

 

I think that cracker dosed everyone at the last supper too.

 

Great post CCdog, I think that explains it well in an intelligent fashion.

However, if you will allow me to play devil's advocate for a moment and use the same family analogy...

Dad comes to his son and says, "You need to prove your loyalty to me. I know you love your dog more than anything, so I want you to sacrifice it to prove your loyalty is to me and me alone."

Son is understandably very distraught, but sees no other choice. He raises the blade, tears in his eyes, and as he's about to plunge it into his beloved companion, Dad stops him and says, "You don't have to kill him, it was just a test to see if you would really do it. I know now that your are loyal to me".

What would you say about Dad's parenting skills?

 

Thanks Tlok and that is indeed a toughie. Hmmm ...I think Dad already knew the son was loyal. However, now, because of this test, everyone else knows that this particular son trusts and is loyal to Dad. And additionally, Dad made good on his promises to him. The other children can have a bit more confidence in trusting dad and the blessings that follow, as he truly is not like the other dads that may require the sacrifice of their children and may fall through on their promises.

So maybe it was an object lesson for the rest of the domicile. In this case, Dad may have been extreme, but effective. No harm, no foul.

 

Very good and well thought out response CCdog. I'm sure you can see where this comes from. But the question I have...was there no harm? I don't know if I could fully trust someone who put me through that just to prove a point, to me or someone else.

 

My dad made me do this with my girlfriends in high school.

 

the Annunaki?!?!?! The Sumerians thought so.

 

Here's the soundtrack to you little tale.

[video=youtube;QrNo5LTa62U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrNo5LTa62U[/video]

 

True .. I can't answer whether there was harm or not to the psyche of the son. What comes to mind though, is the experience I (and likely most of us that participated in organized sports) have had when a coach pushed us to our limits, because they saw something in us that we failed to see, and helped us achieve something we would be unable to do on our own. At the time, it was not pleasurable and the end game was not in site, and the the trust was certainly not "full". However, in retrospect, I realize it was to my benefit and my teammates, and I have a different perspective of trust and confidence.

 

Another well thought out response. Not sure if I agree or not, but I don't have time to give this the response it deserves. If our paths cross some day and you are so inclined, I would be happy to ponder the yonder with you and the first round is on me.

Take care CCdog, hope you catch that swell creeping up the coast.

 

Thanks man & will do. If I'm ever in range in NC or if you head this way, that would be cool.

(I'm a bit bummed I did not get on it today (due to work) as the it looked clean on the cam, with nice offshores and buoy 4.3'@11s).

 

Sounds like a plan. I'm based in Raleighwood but my 'rents and lotsa friends are down in Wilmy so I'm usually either there or here. So whether its beers here or beers on the beach after a sesh I'm down. No plans to head NE anytime but if I do will let you know.

Good luck this weekend, I'm on-call so I'm gonna miss this one. Catch a few for me!

 

I Believe in the ten commandments.
Any other form of religion is a business
If the east coast is hit with a bad hurricane
season I will be in heaven. Been storm surfer
for years.