All that said.

Post #386,706 by mmoffitt 2/23/14 10:45:52 AM Reply	All that said. I maintain it is the sanest of the Western religions (with the obvious: that ain't sayin' much). And I did say "If". ;0)
Post #386,711 by Andrew Grygus 2/23/14 12:13:30 PM Reply	I consider a serious flaw. "Behold, he has become as we, knowing the difference between good and evil". This statement announces the "fall from grace" and expulsion from the Garden of Eden - to be lamented forever - with hopes of returning to grace somehow. This is the mistake. This heralds a major step in the evolution of mankind - a step beyond the animal state into something more advanced - on the long, long path to becoming God. It should be celebrated, not lamented. Yes, it involves an "expulsion". God is no longer responsible for your actions. You are no longer part of the animal world - you know better (or certainly should), and are fully responsible for your own acts - and Karma is watching how you handle it. While Judaism has largely learned to deal with this problem, and Christians pretty much ignore it, it is the heart of Islam. The core of the religion is to return to the "state of grace", the animal state in which God is responsible for your actions, through total submission to God's will. Unfortunately, God isn't actually paying attention, and the local mullah acts as interpreter of God's will, and expects to receive the submission due to God in return. This causes problems, especially as there is no central authority. Of course, Judaism also has no central authority, but, due to various factors, it has been much less of a problem.
Post #386,715 by malraux 2/23/14 1:33:46 PM Reply	Similarly: http://www.youtube.c...tch?v=HwEGP441p1A Regards, -scott Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
Post #397,170 by CRConrad 12/15/14 6:10:38 PM Reply	Yup: Growing up, stepping outta the Kindergarden of Eden. As Heinlein says in some of his later works, Lucifer was obviously the good guy, but he lost and the winner wrote his tory. -- Christian R. Conrad Same old username (as above), but now on iki.fi (Yeah, yeah, it redirects to the same old GMail... But just in case I ever want to change.)
Post #397,171 by drook 12/15/14 6:42:31 PM Reply	I read one where Lucifer was the good guy Can't remember the author. Going to go look for it. -- Drew
Post #397,180 by Another Scott 12/16/14 8:12:37 AM Reply	Didn't Twain write something like that? E.g. http://www.online-literature.com/twain/letters-from-the-earth/2/ Dunno if that is what you're thinking of... Cheers, Scott.
Post #397,197 by drook 12/16/14 2:24:54 PM Reply	Nope, not that Setup was a spaceship crashes into an artificial microclimate created in what seems to be a huge volcanic crater. The mythology among the locals is that their creator was a large humanoid creature with horns, batlike wings, etc. He loved his creatures and wanted to give them knowledge of science, his father wanted to keep them ignorant and subservient. Oh, and there were giant intelligent spiders that passed knowledge from one generation to the next by eating the elderly and absorbing their memories. -- Drew
Post #397,202 by Ashton 12/16/14 3:22:31 PM Reply	Smart spiders! ... hmmmm this embattled planet could do with a few new umm, practical goals? Eat the rilly-old; save lots of last-month $$medicos, assist greatly the population Elephant-in-all rooms. [and, what if it Did smarten-up the mouth-breathers?] Need some stats, of course: would this be Enough? to beat the tipping-point. Active Geo-pro-Survivalistas Demand to Know. Yes, I see that imperils my continuing oxygen ration.. but them's the breaks, if ya wanna do Good and stuff; (Spock put it a bit woodenly but ... you know..) (And no, I don't expect 17 virgins, but with Time suspended ... there are all those books. And Nakariakov Celestial-CDs, a few cohorts. Bliss.) ;^>
Post #397,206 by boxley 12/16/14 4:32:41 PM Reply	saw a paragraph on that today Everyone dies. Its only a matter of timing and whether a bunch of doctors get the money or you. (from the book "the informant") Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free American and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 59 years. meep
Post #397,234 by a6l6e6x 12/17/14 6:30:57 PM Reply	Mmmmmm. Soylent green is spiders! :) Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov

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