Ummm, Eve didn't eat an apple, she ate the 'forbidden fruit' that came from the 'tree of knowledge'. Humans were supposed to be and remain stupid, or at least ignorant.

I don't believe nor disbelieve. I have no problem with people from either camp unless they insist on pounding their personal beliefs into others and insisting everyone believe as they do. I see no sign of a higher being, but then, I don't see germs either but know they do exist. Just because I don't see something does not mean it isn't real.

I just wish people who are those 'true believers' would read what it is they are supposed to be believing in. I would like people to be as determined to follow the ten comandments as they are to post them. I would like 'Right to Life' people to realize women are life too. So are innocent people who are being bombed for empire, and unfortunate people who are imprisoned because they didn't have the money or pull needed to avoid being shut away and too often tortured because 'I can do it'.

Just because we can do something does not make it right to actually do it. I would like the holier than thou people to remember that.

There are many wonderful religious people, and many wonderful non-religious people. Why can't Christian people pay attention to the teachings of Jesus and judge not lest ye be judged?

Question: "Who is Satan?"



Answer: People's beliefs of Satan range from the silly to the abstract: a little red guy with horns who sits on your shoulder urging you to sin; an expression used to describe the personification of evil. The Bible, however, gives us a clear portrayal of who Satan is, and how he affects our lives. Put simply, the Bible defines Satan as an angelic being who fell from his position in heaven due to sin and is now diametrically opposed to God, doing all in his power to thwart God's purposes for humanity.



Satan was created an angel. Ezekiel 28:12-14 describes Satan as having been created a cherubim, and was apparently the highest created angel. He became arrogant in his beauty and status, and decided he wanted to sit on a throne above that of God (Isaiah 14:13-14; Ezekiel 28:15; 1 Timothy 3:6). God then threw him out of heaven.



Satan became the ruler of this world that functions apart from God, and the prince of the power of the air (John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2). He is an accuser (Revelation 12:10), a tempter (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5), and a deceiver (Genesis 3; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:3). His very name means adversary or opposer. Another name used for Satan "devil" means slanderer.



Even though he was cast out of heaven, he still seeks to elevate his throne above God. He counterfeits all that God does, hoping to gain the worship of the world and foment opposition to God's kingdom.
Why did Satan fall from Heaven? Satan fell because of pride. He desired to be God, not to be a servant of God. Notice the many "I will..." statements in Isaiah 14:12-15. Ezekiel 28:12-15 describes Satan as an exceedingly beautiful angel. Satan was likely the highest of all angels, the most beautiful of all of God's creations. Satan was not content in his position. Instead, Satan desired to be God, to essentially "kick God off His throne" and take over the rule of the universe. Satan wanted to be God, and interestingly enough, that is what Satan tempted Adam and Eve with in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-5). How did Satan fall from Heaven? Actually, a fall is not an accurate description. It would be far more accurate to say that God cast Satan out of Heaven (Isaiah 14:15; Ezekiel 28:16-17).

Question: "Why did God put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden?"



Answer: God put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden to give Adam and Eve a choice – to obey Him or disobey Him. Adam and Eve were free to do anything they wanted, except eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:16-17, “And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.’” If God had not given Adam and Eve the choice, they would have essentially been robots, simply doing what they were programmed to do. God created Adam and Eve to be “free” beings, able to make decisions, able to choose between good and evil. In order for Adam and Eve to truly be “free” – they had to have a choice.



There was nothing essentially evil about the tree or the fruit of the tree. It is unlikely that eating the fruit truly gave Adam and Eve any further knowledge. It was the act of disobedience that opened Adam and Eve’s eyes to evil. Their sin of disobeying God brought sin and evil into the world and into their lives. Eating the fruit, as an act of disobedience against God, was what gave Adam and Eve knowledge of evil. Genesis 3:6-7, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”



God did not want Adam and Eve to sin. God knew ahead of time what the results of sin would be. God knew that Adam and Eve would sin, and would thereby bring evil, suffering, and death into the world. Why, then, did God put the tree in the Garden of Eden and allow Satan to tempt Adam and Eve? God put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden to give Adam and Eve a choice. God allowed Satan to tempt Adam and Eve to force them to make the choice. Adam and Eve chose, of their own free wills, to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit. The result – evil, sin, suffering, sickness, and death have plagued the world ever since. Adam and Eve's decision results in each and every person being born with a sin nature, a tendency to sin. Adam and Eve's decision is what ultimately required Jesus Christ to die on the cross and shed His blood on our behalf. Through faith in Christ, we can be free from sin's consequences, and ultimately free from sin itself. May we echo the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 7:24-25, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Why Can't I Own a Canadian?


Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. Recently, she said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura penned by an east coast resident, which was posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative:



Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other specific laws and how to follow them:

When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15:19- 24. The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? - Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted fan,
Jim [not Gulley]


Catherine

When God allegedly destroyed Sodom for their wicked ways and turned Lot's wife into a pillar of salt for looking back at the fire and brimstone, why did Lot commit incest and not get Smote by the Hand of God?

Homosexuality is a sin, but incest is Okay with God?

Kind of twisted logic in that book

Right you are, Outside...

Last Christmas, my 8 year old granddaughter danced in a "Trail of Light" Christmas pageant, put on by the church she and her mother attend. (I'm one of the unwashed heathens in my family. I don't attend church.) Anyway, the story was about the lineage of Jesus Christ, and the roles were played by various locals. I was struck by the number of times female characters were mistreated, maligned, and forced to subject themselves to the wills of their male counterparts, yet the people taking part in the performance seemed to be blind to that fact. Their approval was evident in their worshipful attitudes. Just listening the lines these people spoke made me wonder how their intellect could be turned so completely off, making them have no questions at all about what they were actually saying.

Of course, I know this is the historical thread that flows throughout so many cultures, including our own, and is continuing to this very day.

Catherine

Religion does seem to be the ultimate form of oppression and forced ignorance doesn't it. It really drives me insane that some people really think that I need to be saved, and the only way of being saved is through their twisted dogmatic beliefs. What drives me over the edge a bit more though is those who try to save me, yet I see doing what I would consider to be "sins" (Not nice to others, prejudice crap like that) yet they are so sure that just because they believe in Jesus, they automatically get a free ride. How absurd. These people try to tell me that it does not matter if you are a murderer for your whole life, as long as you ask for forgiveness just before they inject the needle into your arm, all will be forgiven. I think that if there is a heaven/hell concept such as what these fools believe they will be very very disappointed. If there is a heaven/hell concept like these people believe, I think that they misunderstand that the only way they could go to "heaven" would be to live as the prophets taught. Instead of worshiping the message though, they choose to worship the messengers which they were instructed NOT to do. If their is a hell (lake of fire and all of that other ludicrous bullshit) I will save a spot for them right next to me so that for the rest of eternity I can badger them for being the fools that they are.

They fought against the fact that the earth was not the center of the universe.
They fought against the fact that the world was not flat
They fought against the study of the human body for medical science.
They fight against evolution
They fight against peace among all people.

How can I respect these fools?

I walk in "God" every waking moment. I practice loving my bother, I practice peace among all men, I practice compassion. As far as I am concerned, this is all that we have to do. As long as a person does not live in a way that harms others, what would give me the authority to dictate how they live? I myself don't take kindly to someone attempting to force something which I don't believe down my throat, I wonder how these religious freaks would like it if I attempted to do this to them?
I really have no respect for them. They have not earned it.

CrimsonEagle

This is for my associate the flying crimson eagle. Use these as a reminder to those self serving false 'profit' theocrats whenever they begin their revenge/fear motivated oppression based, intolerant, bigoted, hateful rant.

"The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself"
[Sir Richard F. Burton]

"It is clear that the individual who persecutes a man, his brother, because he is not of the same opinion, is a monster."
[Voltaire]

"The [Christian] supremacists who lead the anti-gay crusade are wrong morally. They are wrong because justice is moral, and prejudice is evil; because truth is moral and the lie of the closet is the real sin; because the claim of morality is a subtle sort of subterfuge, a strategem which hides the real aim which is much more secular(an extended period of time). The supremacists don't care about morality, they care about power. They care about social control. And their goal, my friends, is the reconstruction of American Democracy into American Theocracy."
[Urvashi Vaid (April 25, 1993)]

"Primus in orbe deos facit timor.(Make a T-shirt of this)
(Fear created the first gods in the world.)"
[Caecilius Statius (220-168 B.C.), Thebais]

"Today, Jesus' name is used to divide us, to make us intolerant, bigoted, hateful. There is nowhere Jesus could be born today were he would feel comfortable. Jesus is being betrayed by the people who claim to believe in him."
[F. Forrester Church, Unitarian minister and author of "God and Other Famous Liberals", quoted in Life Magazine, Dec. 1994 "Jesus" issue]

For Catherine- the next time you go to a christmas show, you can remind the clones that the real meaning of christmas was based on the change of seasons more than a birth of a man. I love Joseph Campbell. His Quest for the grail is a masterpiece, as are other PBS/Bill Moyers Power of Myth specials.

"A one sentence definition of mythology?

"Mythology" is what we call someone else's religion."
[Joseph Campbell]

"The night of December 25, to which date the Nativity of Christ was ultimately assigned, was exactly that of the birth of the Persian savior Mithra, who, as an incarnation of eternal light, was born the night of
the winter solstice (then dated December 25) at midnight, the instant
of the turn of the year from increasing darkness to light."
[Joseph Campbell, _The Mythic Image_, Bollingen
Series C, Princeton University Press, 1981, p. 33]

"Believing is easier than thinking. Hence so many more believers than thinkers."
[Bruce Calvert]

"The bible teaches that woman brought sin and death into the world, that she precipitated the fall of the race, that she was arraigned before the judgement seat of Heaven, tried, condemned and sentenced. Marriage for her was to be a condition of bondage, maternity a period of suffering and anguish, and in silence and subjection, she was to play the role of a dependent on man's bounty for all her material wants, and for all the information she might desire . . . Here is the Bible position of woman briefly summed up."
[Elizabeth Cady Stanton]

"Freethinkers are those who are willing to use their minds without
prejudice and without fearing to understand things that clash with
their own customs, privileges, or beliefs. This state of mind isn’t common, but it is essential for right thinking; where it is absent, discussion is apt to become worse than useless."
[Leo Tolstoy, "On Life and Essays on Religion"

Good sources, D.Og's. Thanks! You can also tap into the writings of Robert G. Ingersoll.

And Crimson, I love this line from your post:

I attend those kinds of Christmas performances as little as possible. If my granddaughter's dance hadn't been so darned late in the thing, I'd have left after her performance.

SHE was the only reason I was there.

Catherine