MM,  my sincere apologies.  In my classes at Temple, Zen Center, and colleges, people have said the same thing.  I forget I am one of those "pointy heads" and that I need to remain mindful and define terms.

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy which addresses how we know what we think we know.

Phenomenology is a later philosophical school that argues for the subjectivity of things and asks us to investigate the thing for itself.

Empiricism is that school of philosophy which argues for the "objective" nature of things and says that what is true is only what we can test and verify through our senses.

Symbolic Interactionism is a sociological theory that derived from phenomenology and that argues for the subjective nature of our understanding of each other and our world through symbols we assign to various aspects of that world.

I hope this helps.  Again, my apologies.

Be well.

No apoligies needed, tis my own fault that I remain so lacking in education. I need to use the dictionary more so I can keep up with you. Please do NOT stop using big words.

hey mm..

check your private messages!

will do right now.

Check your PERSONAL E-mail.

Introduction of Legalism?

Fundamentally there is only one way: Faith.  Where I see the error is in what 'one' thinks that looks like.  There isn't an objective view of faith it is purely subjective.  I think religions confuse holiness (observance of set of laws/rules) as faith. 

Salvation can only be found in Faith in G-D.  Salvation is the key that lets you into G-D's house.  There are no man made laws/rules that one can do to replace faith.

Yep pretty much how I feel about the subject.

I like this quote from R.Scott Bakker's Thousandfold Thought:

They excuse themselves and heap blame upon others. They glorify their
peoples over other peoples, their nation over other nations. They focus
their fears on the innocent. And when they hear words such as these,
they recognize them -- but as defects belonging to others. They are
children who have learned to disguise their tantrums from their wives
and their fellows, and from themselves most of all...

No man says, 'They are chosen and we are damned.' No worldborn man.
They have not the heart for Truth.

Still, though I'm pretty much an ardent secularist as well as atheist/agnostic, my girlfriend - one of the strongest women I will ever know - believes in God. I do wonder how someone could deal with all the things that have happened to her and still believe not only in the goodness of people but also forgive.

One of the most incredible moments was when praying with her, she did the usual think of your family, think of your friends, etc. Then she ended with "Let us pray for our enemies". It was pretty intense and I still think about it a lot, this idea of loving your enemies. I know its not a knew idea but coming from her it really hit home.

Just the fact that she can pray for her enemies shows how deep her faith runs, you are a lucky man to have her in your life.

Yes I am.

Excellent AD.  Well said. 

Ditto.

Three of these statements started with the word "I."  Have you ever read Isaiah 14? 

Where does Satan fit in as the "god of this world?"  Certainly you can't believe he and Jesus are both leading us in the same direction? 

Also, how do you reconcile what you said with say....."Have no 'other God's' before me" which we all know is the very first commandment?  How about Joshua 24:14-15? 

That's weird, KFC. I took it for granted that LW is neither Christian nor Jew nor Muslim and therefore doesn't believe in those commandments.

Are you praying towards Mecca five times a day just because somebody else's religion says you should?

An excellent point, subtly discerned, Leauki. God is far larger than any one religion. We cannot use text in one faith's revelation to prove or disprove another faith's revelation. He says His name is "I Am that I Am"  or "I will Be what I will Be".  Every group has its own capacity for understanding and appreciating God; He speaks to each in His own way that will be acceptable to them. So how is one true and the other not?

Be well.