Wrandom
ramblings
Codemorse points us to an interview with Karen Armstrong former nun and authour of A History of God among other things.You say one of the common messages in all these religions was what we now call the Golden Rule. And Confucius was probably the first person who came up with this idea.
All these sages, with the exception of the Greeks, posited a counter-ideology to the violence of their time. The safest way to get rid of egotism was by means of compassion. The first person to promulgate the Golden Rule, which was the bedrock of this empathic spirituality, was Confucius 500 years before Christ. His disciples asked him, "What is the single thread that runs through all your teaching and pulls it all together?" And Confucius said, "Look into your own heart. Discover what it is that gives you pain. And then refuse to inflict that pain on anybody else." His disciples also asked, "Master, which one of your teachings can we put into practice every day?" And Confucius said, "Do not do to others as you would not have them do to you." The Buddha had his version of the Golden Rule. Jesus taught it much later. And Rabbi Hillel, the older contemporary of Jesus, said the Golden Rule was the essence of Judaism.
What is religion?
Religion is a search for transcendence. But transcendence isn't necessarily sited in an external god, which can be a very unspiritual, unreligious concept. The sages were all extremely concerned with transcendence, with going beyond the self and discovering a realm, a reality, that could not be defined in words. Buddhists talk about Nirvana in very much the same terms as monotheists describe God.
In my book "A History of God," I pointed out that the most eminent Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologians all said you couldn't think about God as a simple personality, an external being. It was better to say that God did not exist because our notion of existence was far too limited to apply to God.
Jesus did not spend a great deal of time discoursing about the trinity or original sin or the incarnation, which have preoccupied later Christians. He went around doing good and being compassionate.
very often, the opinions of the deity are made to coincide exactly with those of the speaker
People such as the Buddha thought miracles were rather vulgar -- you know, displays of power and ego. If you look at the healing miracles attributed to Jesus, they generally had some kind of symbolic aspect about healing the soul rather than showing off a supernatural power.
Western people think the supernatural is the essence of religion, but that's rather like the idea of an external god. That's a minority view worldwide.
Is faith a struggle?
Well, faith is not a matter of believing things. That's again a modern Western notion. It's only been current since the 18th century. Believing things is neither here nor there, despite what some religious people say and what some secularists say. That is a very eccentric religious position, current really only in the Western Christian world. You don't have it much in Judaism, for example.
People can perform their good deeds in the spirit of putting their installments in their retirement annuities. And there's nothing religious about that. Religion is supposed to be about the loss of the ego, not about its eternal survival.
Just a post to say that this has been a great Memorial Day/celebration of my oldest's sixth birthday. And also to say that the spousal unit and I shall be partaking of X3 in T minus 150 minutes.
I've noticed and interesting phenomena on the 'net. It happens through e-mails, message boards, and all manner of other ways that we communicate electronically. Somebody makes a statement (or doesn't), someone else takes offense (where none was intended) , and the whole thing escalates until it either explodes and people engage in flame wars or it immediately collapses into a black hole.
Okay here's a snapshot of what's on my mind.
Well the weekend was truly awesome. We talked about love, commitment, good sex, conflict resolution, predestination, the whole ball of wax. The Song of Solomon is a much deeper book than I understood and I’m looking forward to continuing our study.
Gas money - $30
I'm reading on the bus and I've decided to catch up on some heavy theological reading. If you ever want to stretch your brain, understanding of God, and vocabulary all at once, read Calvin's Institutes.Since the perfection of blessedness consists in the knowledge of God, he has been pleased, in order that none might be excluded from the means of obtaining felicity, not only to deposit in our minds that seed of religion of which we have already spoken, but so to manifest his perfections in the whole structure of the universe, and daily place himself in our view, that we cannot open our eyes without being compelled to behold him. His essence, indeed, is incomprehensible, utterly transcending all human thought; but on each of his works his glory is engraven in characters so bright, so distinct, and so illustrious, that none, however dull and illiterate, can plead ignorance as their excuse. Hence, with perfect truth, the Psalmist exclaims, “He covereth himself with light as with a garment,” (Psalm 104:2); as if he had said, that God for the first time was arrayed in visible attire when, in the creation of the world, he displayed those glorious banners, on which, to whatever side we turn, we behold his perfections visibly portrayed. In the same place, the Psalmist aptly compares the expanded heavens to his royal tent, and says, “He layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters, maketh the clouds his chariot, and walketh upon the wings of the wind,” sending forth the winds and lightnings as his swift messengers. And because the glory of his power and wisdom is more refulgent in the firmament, it is frequently designated as his palace. And, first, wherever you turn your eyes, there is no portion of the world, however minute, that does not exhibit at least some sparks of beauty; while it is impossible to contemplate the vast and beautiful fabric as it extends around, without being overwhelmed by the immense weight of glory. Hence, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews elegantly describes the visible worlds as images of the invisible (Heb. 11:3), the elegant structure of the world serving us as a kind of mirror, in which we may behold God, though otherwise invisible. For the same reason, the Psalmist attributes language to celestial objects, a language which all nations understand (Psalm 19:1), the manifestation of the Godhead being too clear to escape the notice of any people, however obtuse. The apostle Paul, stating this still more clearly, says, “That which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead,” (Rom. 1:20).
I should get a food/beer button, I really should. Anyway...Espresso Bock
Availability: Available at the Rehoboth Beach brewpub while supplies last!
Release Date: 5/3/06
Dogfish Head Espresso Bock
Our Espresso Bock was made with actual Espresso Beans & 5 Malt Varieties. It is a dark brown color with attractive garnet highlights. The bouquet is noticably coffee-like. The malty-sweet flavor is complimented by the roasty, chocolate notes of the espresso beans and balanced by a medium to full body. Try this delicious offering with our Chicory Stout Rib-eye, our sweet-n-spicy BBQ ribs, or one of our homemade pastries!
Bottom fermented, a Bock beer is named for the famous medieval German brewing town of Einbeck. The style is generally a heavy bodied lager and is darkened by high-coloured malts. Bock is traditionally brewed in the winter time for drinking during the Spring.
Bocks have a long history of being brewed and drunk by Catholic monks in Germany. During the Spring religious season of Lent, monks were required to fast. Bock beers are higher in food energy and nutrients than other beers, thus providing sustenance during the holiday.
Many bock beer producers have displayed goats on bottle labels since Bock in German means billy goat. In the local dialect, Einbeck is pronounced similar to "Einbock", which sounds like ein Bock (a goat).
30 IBU's 7.5% ABV
the music business. Specifically the online music business.It comes integrated into the latest version of Microsoft's Windows Media Player, which Windows users will soon receive as an upgrade. Before then,the player upgrade will be available for download at the URGE and Microsoft websites.
At launch, URGE will have more than two million tracks, which can be bought individually for US99c ($1.29) or as full albums starting at about $US9.95.
The service will offer unlimited downloads at a monthly rate of $US9.95, or $US14.95 for the ability to transfer songs to any of more than 100 compatible portable music players.
Initially, URGE will feature streaming video, with video downloads becoming available to buy later this year.
URGE will be the featured music service on Microsoft's Media Player, which will continue to have built-in links to several other services.
Oh and while I'm pimpin' web sites, I'll pimp the tech blog again. Got to dev/irregulars for all things techie that I (and a select few) find cool and interesting.
Matt and Jabba blog the hard stuff so I don't have to.
This is the first season of Idol I've watched and it is due in large part to Taylor, Chris, and Elliot. This week Chris got voted off because he didn't have breasteses. However it looks like this won't be his last shot according to Extra.Chris Daughtry Gets 'Idol' Boot and Offer of a Lifetime
May 11, 2006
Twenty-eight million jaws dropped to the floor Wednesday night as Chris Daughtry got voted off “American Idol.” But don’t think this rocker is down and out.
Only “Extra” broke big news about Chris that’s making headlines from Ryan Seacrest’s radio show to stations across the country.
“You have an offer to be the lead singer of a major band,” Ryan revealed to Chris Thursday morning on his hit radio show. “Theyre going to be on ‘Extra’ tonight, and they’re going to submit the formal offer for you.”
Thursday, Fuel bass player Jeff Abercrombie and songwriter/guitarist Carl Bell came straight to “Extra” with the offer of a lifetime -- they want Chris.
"Chris, if you are watching, we've talked about this before, and if you want to entertain it again we'll take it and go," Abercrombie offered.
Chris’ rendition of Fuel’s “Hemorrhage” was his first groundbreaking “Idol” performance. The band, which has been searching for a lead singer, saw Chris’ performance and they want him in the band.
Well Chris, it’s up to you, but first “Extra” has another “Idol” exclusive. Our Terri Seymour was with Ryan and Randy for LA’s FOX 11 just moments after Chris’ shocking send off.
"Obviously, it wasn't based on singing tonight because the wrong person went home," Randy admitted. "Catherine probably should have gone home tonight."
It’s down to the final three, and Simon came to “Extra” telling us now there are no favorites. “The funny thing about this show is when someone goes, you never know where their votes are going to go,” Simon confessed. “I genuinely don't know who is going to win.”
I loved this book as a kid. I believe that there was also a Saturday TV special of it as well. Now, there's a movie. I saw the trailer in front of RV. It was actually pretty cute with a healthy dash of gross out humor, but 98 minutes worth? We'll see. Or probably we won't.
I loved the movies. Most of that was Wesley Snipes and Mr. Kristofferson, but a vampire half breed hunting vampires with a sword is so cool in general. I've known about the TV series coming up for a while, but I cruised by deltorofilms.com/ and saw this update (fyi both sites linked to have a hot woman in a neckline that doesn't so much plunge as plummet):Spike TV has put a wild new site online promoting the new Blade TV series, starring Kirk "Sticky" Jones. It is at HouseofChthon.com, and it plays like a recruiting site for a sort-of erotic, self-healing cult, which is obviously the vamps. Cool.
Also, go here to register for a contest to win 1) A trip to Vancouver to visit the set of Blade, 2) Blade 1, 2, or Trinity DVD's, or 3) a pair of Oakley sunglasses.
Kirk "Sticky" Jones talked with SciFi Wire about his upcoming portrayal of Blade in the new Spike TV series.
"Well, first and foremost, I think Blade is going to be a little more street," said Jones, a rap musician who was last seen on F/X's war series Over There. "He's going to have a little more of that human side and a sense of humor, but then it's going to be the same Blade that everybody knows."
According to SciFi Wire, Hellboy star Ron Perlman has hinted that the long-awaited sequel may be announced soon.
"What that means? I know they're incredibly close. I know that there's one studio in particular that I probably shouldn't name [that] is pounding away at looking at the budget and has expressed a huge enthusiasm for [Guillermo] del Toro's script and the desire to do the project. Now they're just pushing numbers around. And I wouldn't be surprised if it's announced very soon."
or something.
This weekend flew by. I took the kids to a birthday party Saturday morning and out shopping in the afternoon while a friend helped Leigh redecorate/organize. We got a lot of stuff done around the house and I managed a nap Sunday to recover from the two of us herding nine two year olds in church nursery. We had a micro-date at Panera after small group and discussed how selfish we are as a race.John 5:21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.
I have reviewed this book:
So I took a ride on PART this morning and it was quite nice. I think I shall definitely be doing this on a regular basis. I encourage you to look into mass transit in your own area.
I read about this 
Congress is pushing through a law that would permit large telephone and cable companies, like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast, to control what you do, where you go and what you watch online.
I think I'm gonna put my money and time where my mouth is and start using PART the local bus. It means a slightly longer morning routine, but a monthly pass is fifty bucks for unlimited rides and I spend about thirty a week in gas. And it's eco-friendly to boot. We'll see how it goes.
Well my third review has gone up over at HollywoodJesus.com which means I now have my own official blogspace there where you will be able to read all of my reviews, including my latest review of RV.