Louie, sorry for the time between posts. I haven't figured out WP's road map back to my posts. As to your question, yes I do because I do not think it is I who chose God but He introduced Himself to me through His Son Jesus Christ. He chose me. There may indeed be many roads to God but only ONE leads to life. The Lord Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but through Me." I pray He introduce Himself to you.

In fact, it is one's view of God that builds itself up as our consciousness expands and our experience the many facets of life in the flesh/sensual dimension and in the spiritual/extra-sensual dimension develops.

The Templeton Foundation currently has a research project on the many dimensions of faithand the competitive dynamics of God-concepts and religion-concepts. The related website Metaxus.net contains comprehensive research proposal write-ups, and in particular, displays one excerpt under a Classics of Religious Discourse entry from the William James essay "The Varieties of Religious Experience".

It reads : " “A science of religions would depend for its original material on facts of personal experience, and would have to square itself with personal experience through all its critical reconstructions. It would forever have to confess, as every science confesses, that the subtlety of nature flies beyond it, and that its formulas are but approximations.”

Thus the God concept is not only a dynamic, interactive one, there is also a historical-dynamic process articulating an evolutionary-competitive selection of God concepts, with the one concept of God that most effectively promotes human survival in an evolving historical context having sway at that particular point of time.

The literature draws not only on theology, philosophy, and evolutionary biology but also on physics and mathematics, computer science and artificial intelligence, game theory, and neuro-science. In particular neuro-science based theories of what is consciousness and how does consciousness evolve is central to this dynamic concept of the idea of God.

One layman's guide to neuro-science that I have found helpful in this respect is the book "How The Brain Makes Up Its Mind" by Walter J. Freeman. The ideas articulated therein enables the reader to work out for himself how the idea of a benevolent, omnipotent and onmiscient God can be reconciled with the existence of evil and free will, and goes some length in explaining How God Wills.

Question for JD,

Do u think you would still beleive what you believe had you been born in an Arab or Asian country and raised according to their religious traditions?

Clark Griswold,

Thanks [I guess?!] for your posts.

The paperback book "Does Anal Retentive Have A Hyphen" is only 106 pages long. That's very short for a book.

"And, who gives you the right to criticize books, anyway?"

Everyone in a civilized country has the right to criticize books, politicians, government, churches, and anything else they want. You have the right to criticize me, and I you.

"Norrie Hate, is it? It's all about you, isn't it?"

I suppose it is all about me in the sense that, for everyone, it's all about them. We're wired up that way - a product of evolutionary survival mechanisms. If it hadn't been all about them, cavemen would passively have allowed saber-toothed tigers to devour them.

I think that I don't hate any more than other people hate. In fact, while I passionately oppose some things: ideas, organizations, people, religions, and so on, I try not to hate them.

Hating is a fruitless waste of energy that would be better spent in effective opposition.

Regards.

I am of the impression that religious people do not want a God that is "big enough for all." Each creed, as it states what God is, also says what God is not. I believe God is far beyond the comprehension of mere humans, and all creeds must fail to adequately define the Ultimate Reality. Instead, they cut God down to a size they can handle, put Him in a box, and make Him say whatever they want to hear. And claim it is a Divine Revelation.

I am of the impression that religious people do not want a God that is "big enough for all." Each creed, as it states what God is, also says what God is not. I believe God is far beyond the comprehension of mere humans, and all creeds must fail to adequately define the Ultimate Reality. Instead, they cut God down to a size they can handle, put Him in a box, and make Him say whatever they want to hear. And claim it is a Divine Revelation.

I won't to apologize for my prior comments. I have failed to take grammar, punctuation, and other use of the Engrish langauge seriously and have deeply offended some. Such was not my ntent. I am sory.

Norrie, I am on it. But, books aren't short. Are they?????? Those are short stories.

And, who gives you the right to criticize books, anyway?

Norrie Hate, is it? It's all about you, isn't it?

I want to know, is it God-fearing Americans, or God, fearing Americans.., or ???? Gosh Darnit, I am AR.

Or is it, I ARE AR? I am in crisis.

Clark Griswold,

I planned to give you a definitive answer to your question, but when I googled "anal retentive + hyphen" I was confronted with 14,600 results.

There is even a short book whose title is your exact question, "D..A..R..H..A..H..?

Since I had planned to use my remaining days for other things, I'm afraid I'll have to leave it to you to provide your own answer [if you are sufficiently A.R. to pursue it].

Good luck, and please check back in three or four years and tell us what you've found.

Regards.

Isn't this merely substituting an adult test of God (does He uplift/empower/validate me?) for the infantile one (will He make my letter disappear?)?

Maybe the problem is with us, and what we've decided uplifts/empowers/validates us, not with God.

Chris and Norrie, does anal retentive have a hyphen?

Hi, Chris,

Yes, you're right: most people don't understand or know how to use the English language - for them Elizabeth's misuse of "enormity" is just fine.

But I'm quite sure that Elizabeth aspires to be a good writer, one who understands the language and uses it correctly.

As long as she misuses words like "enormity", a sizable proportion of her readers, the best educated part, will instantly conclude that if she doesn't know enough to use words correctly, the substance of what she writes is not to be trusted either.

That would be too bad because she has interesting things to impart to her readers.

Elizabeth's misusing "enormity" is like her driving a classy car with bird droppings on it.

Best wishes.

Norrie:

As much as I dislike the thoughts and writing style of the author, I have to say your beef with her use of "enormity" is a nothing less than ridiculous. Even if a "usage panel" rejects this definition, it's the only way most people would ever use that word. Because of that, "enormity" as Elizabeth used it is really the only acceptable form.

But I'm not one for prescriptivist rules.

Elizabeth,

You wrote:

"The Jesus I learned about taught humans lessons for living on earth, but that God seemed so far away when I looked up at the sky’s ENORMITY".

From The American Heritage Dictionary of The English Language:

ENORMITY n.

1. The quality of passing all moral bounds; excessive wickedness or outrageousness.

2. A monstrous offense or evil, an outrage.

59% of the Dictionary's Usage Panel rejects the use of ENORMITY as a synonym for IMMENSITY.

I only mention this because you're in journalism school and I hope you won't repeat this barbarous usage

Its enormity can't be underestimated.

All the best.

The question deffinately sounds like something an unbeliever would whip up.

"Does your view of God build you up? Does it give you courage to explore and be creative and make you open and welcoming to those who hold other views? Or does what you have learned about God make you feel worthless, guilty, timid, or skeptical?"

WHAT would be the need to become opened to other views when, IF you have found God, what would you need to be opened to? The God of the Jews (after all salvation is from the Jews, isn't that what Jesus said?) is VERY specific in His requirements for the person who wants to come to Him as a believer. The believer MUST come in Jesus Name, trusting in Jesus as the ONLY way a person can come to Him. After all Jesus Himself said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. NO man come to the Father but through Me." Either Jesus was telling the truth or was lying. God veryified Jesus veracity by raising Jesus from the dead and many people from the creation of planet earth to this very day until His soon return KNOW Him to be Who He said He was and IS. He Is Alive!
As far as the rest of that silly quote its easy to put out accusation. Isn't that what Satan is best at?