Blog Posts

I took this header from something Nehemiah posted, and considered it a good way of saying something about God.

From childhood we were taught that the God of our faith was omnipotent, omniscient, all loving, all merciful...and a host of other attributes that really serve to say that God is beyond limitations. Even the name is considered unnameable by the Jews lest we associate God with something less.

continue reading ""How Inspiration Can Come From Anywhere""

A chasm is forming between the Knows and the Know-nots. As the Information Age accelerates, a new economy is growing and overlapping our capital based, manufacturing economy. Class and status will become less determined by spending power and financial independence, and increasingly determined by knowledge and one's ability get and use it—knowledge independence. The widening gap between those prepared for the new economy based on knowledge as capital and those unprepared, has only recently grown wide enough to be noticable.

continue reading "A Chasm Is Growing Between the Knows and the Know-nots"

In his recent post, Bill asks the question, "Can the Message of Jesus be Multi-Religious?"

I'd like to tackle that question from a perspective that's almost certainly different from that shared by most members of the Commons. From that perspective—rationalist, scientific, historical, anti-monotheist, heavily influenced by the Buddha's teaching and by Taoism—I see several problems with presenting Bill's "Good News" to other cultures as a message that they can accept without significant alteration in their cultural world view.

continue reading "A multi-religious Jesus: an answer to Bill"

Friends,

Recent events have interrupted and changed life to a great extent since Monday.  I was out of town on a design project and the family had been trying to reach me all night (my cell was locked in the control room).  When I finally did get there and got my phone charged enough to check messages, there were several calls logged.  The urgent message was that my brother had fallen at work and broken his neck and was paralyzed from the neck down.  After a few calls to get a power of attorney drawn up for his son, I dropped everything and drove back to Nashville. 

continue reading "A New Page"

“Truthdig asked [Sam] Harris to write a charter document for his thesis that belief in God, and appeasement of religious extremists of all faiths by moderates, has been—and continues to be—the greatest threat to world peace and a sustained assault on reason.” That document, titled An Atheist Manifesto makes a strong indictment of organized religion's failure to make the world a better place and to fulfill its claims. He also gives examples of, and argues that, religion has actually made the world a less humane place. But his main point, at least the point that I got, is that religion is unreasonable and that those subscribers who are reasonable, the “moderates” among believers, are accessories to the crimes of fundamentalists.

continue reading "A Rationalist Manifesto"

I came across this story today. I will let it speak for itself.

http://www.whosoever.org/v7i4/married.html Part one

http://www.whosoever.org/v8i5/married.shtml Part two

Carnage. That is what was caused here. Who is to blame? Everyone involved. We have to find a better way people. We just do.

I cannot justify this man's actions but I can relate to his struggle.

continue reading "A Sad Story"

It seems that many people may be more comfortable starting threads and discussing topics within a forum than they are posting comments to a typical blog post. Forums are usually less formal and usually not posted to the front page of a web site. Responses may be shorter and less formal.

Also, forum topics are usually less wordy and less complicated

continue reading "A Switch in Focus and a Shift in Gears"

Here are some quotes from Spencer Burke's and Barry Taylor's just released book, A Heretics Guide to Eternity.

[William Ventimiglia] goes on to quote Jesus' analogy of the Holy Spirit as a wind that blows where it chooses and writes that this element of God's action in the world has “always been a problem for organized religion with its well-established categories of understanding.” (Heretic's Guide, p8)

This reminds me of Reido's use of this same quote. Let's look at it.

continue reading "A Very Quick Look At "A Heretic's Guide To Eternity""

continue reading "A Writhing"

A friend and I were talking over the weekend about religions and such, and the idea of the "exclusiveness of Christianity" came up. We talked about it in terms of "spiritual aliveness," salvation, and its role in the way we approach other people. I asked her the same question that I asked in the poll. My objective was to learn what was more important to her, "spiritual aliveness" or Christian religion.

continue reading "About that poll"

The more I learn, the less certain I am. As my knowledge grows, so does my perceived ignorance. These observations may seem contradictory but they're not. Not really. Paradoxical perhaps but not contradictory.

There are two reasons for the apparent contradiction. One reason is the incorrect definition of knowledge that we've been operating under for the past several centuries. The other reason has to do with perception or breadth of view.

continue reading "Absolute Truth Usually Isn't"

For a long time I have wanted to write a post concerning the many issues surrounding homosexuality. With a baby at home it has been nearly impossible to do the necessary thinking and studying to express my feelings effectively. Time is not something i am ever going to have enough of, so here is my best effort without it.

For those of you who don't know, around this time last year I confessed to struggling with same-sex tendencies (I am a happily married man by the way). I can report to you all that I still do. I have been able to make some peace with it, but I still struggle.

continue reading "Affirmation"

The imposing buildings at Indian Military Academy the prestigious and world famous Institution no doubt greatly inspires the cadets who undergo training. Sadly they are ignorant of life ahead of them and fate awaiting them. No career in society is nobler than the career in Army, Air force or Navy. But sadly in the current days it has been downgraded. In the melee of civil domination great damage has been done to these Institutions. Yet our officers and men go about their duties in mechanical way sticking to the oath they have taken at the academies. Within few years the cadets who gointo life realise the facts. But it is too late. They have to do their best in the circumstances, slog it out only to fade into oblivion unsung and unheard. As some one said, they are fed, housed marginally and spent off as gun fodder.

continue reading "AFTERMATH"

In the recent development, renowned Jihadi Group led by terrorist and criminal, Osama Bin Ladin Al-Qaeda on June 08, 2007 declared Jihad against India (Ailan-e-Jahad-e-Hind). In a statement Abu Abdul Rahman Ansari who claimed to be the spokesperson of ’Al Qaeda Hind' warned all Mainstream and Separatist political organizations to stop deceiving the people of Kashmir.

“With the blessings of Almighty Allah we declare a Jihad against the Indian occupation in Kashmir, and we warn the all political and militant organizations operating in Kashmir, not to mislead Kashmiris”.

continue reading "Al Qaeda Declares Jihad On India"

The word Al Qaeda has become world wide known as an infamous blood- thirsty terrorist organization that has dared to attack American main land. Even after five years of pursuit by the world’s most powerful military and intelligence net work, the top leaders are evading arrest and have regrouped. It is feared by most of the countries in the world. The top leaders of Al Qaeda fled to lawless North West mountainous areas of Pakistan when Taliban fell from power under the combined onslaught of US led allied forces and Afghan Northern alliance forces. Osama Bin Laden with US $27 million bounty on his head reportedly escaped from Tora Bora bombings in Afghanistan with his most trusted lieutenants. His escape from the caves is attributed to refusal to deploy American ground troops by Pentagon. (1). Apart from them, the Taliban terrorists with Al Qaeda connection such as Mullah Dadullah( The former Taliban intelligence chief), Mullah Omar(Founder of the movement), Maulvi Obaidullah(Former Defense Minister), Jalaluddin Haqani( Former minister of tribal affairs) escaped from the US forces and are reportedly hiding in Pakistan. Al Qaeda’s deputy Ayman Al Zawahiri one of the most wanted criminal after Bin Laden and number two on the list of wanted of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of USA is also reportedly hiding in Pakistan. Although USA and Pakistani commandos are conducting search operations, the terrorist leaders are still at large. It is nearly five years since the hunt for these criminals is on inside Pakistan. America claims that when a person chooses to hide, his capture becomes very difficult. It is also claimed by US government that nearly three fourths of Al Qaeda leaders engaged in 9/11 attack and plotters are already eliminated in the war on terror (2). As a matter of fact although Taliban and Al Qaeda are different organizations both are synonymous to each other and are to be tackled with equal vigor, determination and ferocity.

continue reading "Al Qaeda is Still Strong and Active. It is Time To Go Full Steam Against Them"