![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 17 to 41 of 52. Go back in thread:
Posted by lil' jimi on July 14, 2003, at 14:51:25
In reply to re: :: Belief-O-Matic :: ~my ORIGINAL results(!), posted by Mercury on July 13, 2003, at 11:05:12
hi Mercury,
i hear what you're saying about church there ... ... but while we are here at pBab Faith, civility dictates a certain delicacy so we don't oppress the devout, but i'm going to give it a shot ... but you may understand if i sound a tince stilted ... know what i mean?
you have written:
> So my wife and 2 of my kids just took off for church. As usual, I didn't want to attend. She says I will appreciate the fellowship and friendships I would make should I choose to go. I want to be supportive, but I just can't get by the "belief gap". Its a methodist church, and as you can see by my belief-o-matic results (**wink**) I'm no methodist. Despite the various "activities" that this church sponsors, I know that there are only 2 reasons they want us to show up...and that's to "save our soul" and increase the the church income. Not necessarily in that order. I have no use for either of those two things. And I know that by attending I'll be setting myself up for a confrontation I don't want to have.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> Mercuryso, yes indeed, i have many thoughts about this ... and stories too ... ... i have been thinking about it ever since it was posted ... ...
first, my story:.
my folks were in the choir and so we went to church every sunday ... a regular routine ... somewhat mindless ... we would never discuss our faith at home, but i would attend sunday school and until i was 8, it was all the theology i had ... ... by 12 i had developed a problem i felt was overwhelming and overlooked ... turns out it was neither, but i was 12 ...
( ... i was brought up and confirmed an Episcopalian.)
actually i had more than one problem ... ... for instance, the observable fact that the vast prepondernace of the congregation were wealthy (to the apparent exclusion of poor or minority folks) would seem to fly in the face of the church's avowed commitment to social justice ... .. ...
... .. ... but the metaphysical issue i had discovered was the more worrisome::
IF God really WAS
all good, all powerful AND Creator of Everything ...
THEN
how could evil exist?
how could injustice exist?
how could suffering exist?
????????evil exists.
suffering exists.THEREFORE (my 12 year-old logical mind reasoned)
God was either not all good
(and therefore unworthy of our worship)
OR
not all-powerful
(and perhaps could have competitors for our worship?)
OR
not Creator of the universe
(well, okay 2 out of three ain't so bad!)
... ... but any of these options meant we weren't getting the whole story ... ... and this discussion wasn't even taking place ...
... .. ... heck, it wasn't even being noticed!(we are, of course, told that human's Free Will accounts for the existence of evil ... that God in His magnanimity chose to give us Free Will and apparently in so doing decreased His all-powerful-ness ... ... or set up a Star Trek-like "Prime Directive" or something ... ... so anyway tne existence of Free Will let us humans let evil sneak in the back door, sorta ... ...
... ... this explanation dissatisfied me when i was 12 and still seems a complicated contrivance which does not seem to cover all the forms that evil takes ... ... but i shall not go on ... ... i came to repudiate the whole deal.)i learned that this "Problem of Evil" is a whole area of discussion in theology ... ... but i also noticed that on its best day, the solutions relied in some form of dualism, which i was beginning to have less faith in ... ...
all of these considerations turned me into a non-believer and then into a rabid atheist ... ...
and i was really obnoxious with it!thus, the church turned me 'anti-church' at an early age ...
story over, here are my thoughts:
now, there exist hypocrisies and ulterior motives in even the most devout spiritual communities and we find that where unenligthened humans command spiritual authority, often... very often, authority is abused ... and as a buddhist, i know of well-documented cases of such malfeasance in buddhist communities ...
... and these issues become even more revulsive where money becomes involved ...
... ... all of which is my confirmation of my agreement about your feelings ... ...
... and although i had felt church-hostile from 12 to about 25, i don't feel so much that way now ... ... here's why:as i began to accept mahayana, i, for a long time, ignored my issues with the church (in the christianity sense of The Church) ... and when i came to witness the human imposed weaknesses in non-christian institutions, it became clearer to me that these hypocracies were endemic of all human activity and it was self-indulgent of me to expect this state of affairs to be different in church/spiritual organizations ... ...
(there's a part of my buddhism which insists on the mutually interdependent co-origination of all things ... )
... and it turns out that the solution to these hypocracies is/could/should be more particpation by more people of good will to provide more oversight and more self-regulation/self-restraint ... ... and i have witnessed that this can succeed and that decent christian church alliances can and have done good acts for social justice, working for the downtrodden, the disadvantaged. and opposing oppresion ... ... and raising awareness of important social issues ...
another story:
... the first time i went to my wife's presbyterian church in our neighborhood, i brought few expectations ...
... ... as the sermon began, the pastor said,
"If this BB represnted all of the fire power expended by all of the allies AND axis powers during World War Two .... "... from a few feet he dropped the BB into a large stainless stell bowl, which caused a loud PING!
he then produced a large steel water pitcher and said,
"... Then this represents the fire power of all of the nuclear weapons of JUST the United States."... ... then the pastor began to slowly pour the pitcher of BBs into the steel bowl ... hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of PINGS! ... ... it took some time and seemed to last forever.
he then spoke to our need as a congregation to oppose nuclear weapons .... .... he was an old man and he was speaking to a congregation old old people (i was among a small number of younger folks) and he was raising their awareness ...
my thoughts: i think that many a church may be able to benefit by the participation of those us blessed with revealed religion in contrast to the standard prescribed religion ... ... i think there are a very great many people who need a prescibed religion and many many times it is beneficial and helpful for them ... absent the rare direct experience we have had, they can have so little else to believe in ... ... of course there are many dogmatic situations where such participation would not be appreciated ... ... but with my ever so meager understanding of Methodism, they ain't so bad and are remarkably open to innovation ... at least the Methodist clergy i have met were very open-minded ... down right receptive folks ...
... now i have spoken of hypocracies, and i speak now of my own ... .. ... Mercury, i do Not go to church ... ... sorry, folks, i am too lazy, just yet ... ... i have "corrupted" my wife and we no longer participate at her family's local church ... ... because the leadership changed; we asked if we could be married there; we weren't active enough to qualify .... .... they weren't nice about it ...
... ... i'm looking for a buddhist congregation now... well, we are still looking and considering the options ... ... but i had to tell you that although i would encourage you to go with your family to church ... .. we do not go presently.
now if i encounter the folks who want to "save my soul", i ask then why they feel Jesus needs their help with my soul ... ... the bad ones will perservere with some quotations from the scriptures. ... ... then i ask then why their scriptures believe Jesus needs their help ... ... if they haven't quit yet ... .. ... i tell them their scripture must be wrong because Jesus Christ does not need their help to save my soul, thank you for being so concerned ...
and when i find a church i feel i want to support, i will want to contribute financially to their efforts ... ...
i think/feel that we should be able to participate without having to be too confrontational, even if it means having to deliberately give-ground in the name of civility ... ... like we do here sometimes.
i do have one more thought on this, but i am going to consider it some more before i offer it here as it may be impossible to post it AND be civil, if only because it amounts to what others probably should call heresy and i am not sure this can be done without offending ...
... .. ... and i do NOT wish to offend, nor be uncivil ... .. ...anyway those are my thoughts ... ... i'm an accommodationist ... ... i admit it ... so shoot me! <wink!>
peace,
~ jim
Posted by lil' jimi on July 14, 2003, at 19:41:28
In reply to Re: :: Belief-O-Matic ::, posted by stjames on July 13, 2003, at 22:54:56
hey stjames,
thanks for posting your results:
> 1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
> 2. Liberal Quakers (95%)
> 3. Secular Humanism (95%)
> 4. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (93%)
> 5. Neo-Pagan (77%)
> 6. New Age (72%)
> 7. Theravada Buddhism (67%)
> 8. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (65%)
> 9. Nontheist (64%)
> 10. Bahá'í Faith (62%)
>so, what do you think?
an accurate reflection? ... useful information?
any comparison to your own views?thanks for participating!
~ jim
Posted by stjames on July 15, 2003, at 19:56:29
In reply to re: :: Belief-O-Matic :: » stjames, posted by lil' jimi on July 14, 2003, at 19:41:28
> so, what do you think?
> an accurate reflection? ... useful information?
> any comparison to your own views?
>
> thanks for participating!
> ~ jim
>Pretty good
Posted by Dinah on July 15, 2003, at 21:34:13
In reply to :: Belief-O-Matic ::, posted by lil' jimi on July 12, 2003, at 2:08:24
Reform Judaism 100%
Sikhism 99%
Bahai Faith 99%
Islam 94%
Orthodox Judaism 94%Everything else way down.
Posted by lil' jimi on July 15, 2003, at 22:28:21
In reply to Re: :: Belief-O-Matic ::, posted by Dinah on July 15, 2003, at 21:34:13
hi Dinah,
thanks for participating and sharing your results ...
so, your top rankings are:> Reform Judaism 100%
> Sikhism 99%
> Bahai Faith 99%
> Islam 94%
> Orthodox Judaism 94%
>
> Everything else way down.... ... and, of course, you are unique!
do you feel this is reflective of your faith?
... so consistently middle-eastern, i must say ...any feedback's appreciated!
thanks again for being a good sport!
hope you had fun!~ Shalom ~
~ jim
Posted by Dinah on July 15, 2003, at 23:20:20
In reply to re: :: Belief-O-Matic :: » Dinah, posted by lil' jimi on July 15, 2003, at 22:28:21
Hmmm, I guess it's pretty accurate. I think Conservative Judaism would be a better choice for me than reform or orthodox, but I don't think it was an option. It's the same results I got last time I took the test, so it's consistent. I don't know all that much about Sikhism. I liked what I've read about Bahai. And Islam covers a lot of ground. That would be like saying Christian with no further qualifier.
When I was in college I wanted to join the Zoroastrians. Until I learned about the ox urine thing. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I respect everyone's customs. It just didn't sound right for me.
Posted by lil' jimi on July 16, 2003, at 2:01:09
In reply to re: :: Belief-O-Matic ::, posted by Dinah on July 15, 2003, at 23:20:20
and Zoroastrianism isn't on the list, either ... ...
what else have these BeliefNet.com-ers left out?... ... "ox urine" ... ... ?
... if i beg will you tell me?
Posted by habbyshabit on July 16, 2003, at 3:53:30
In reply to re: :: Belief-O-Matic :: » Dinah, posted by lil' jimi on July 16, 2003, at 2:01:09
What an interesting thread! Thanks Jim for getting this thing going. I looked up universal unitarianism on line just to see what I was so 100% of! Of course, I didn't have much time to read much. I did find out there is a local chapter and church in the town close to here. I may have to visit them for a service or two to get a feel for it. It is located in a College town and so they are not having any services during the months of July and August. There are only 45 members to begin with - so if most are students, they'd be off home or something I guess.
It's kind of amazing that most who have taken the test come out with a high percentage of that particular religion on their lists. Does that mean those types are more likely to take the test?
I guess truly, this is only a small sampling and two contributors to the thread came our significantly different - and different from each other - so it's all very curious and interesting. I've enjoyed the whole thing quite a bit.
I'd grovel to find out about Ox urine also....
Habby
Posted by Dinah on July 16, 2003, at 11:47:51
In reply to re: :: Belief-O-Matic ::, posted by habbyshabit on July 16, 2003, at 3:53:30
It was bull's urine which is considered a powerful purifying agent in Zoroastrianism.
http://www.pyracantha.com/Z/vendnet.html
"Most of the purification rituals in the Vendidad consist of multiple baths or rubdowns with bull's urine, earth, and water, accompanied by the recital of the proper prayers. The most powerful ritual is the barashnom, a rite that lasts nine days and nights, in which the person to be purified is isolated in a special enclosure and bathed nine times with the sequence of bull's urine, dry earth, and water, as he moves through a series of sacred patterns and spaces laid out on the ground. This ritual can take away the pollution of close contact with corpses, but is reserved for serious occasions due to its length and complexity."
http://www.darkendreams.com/zoroastrianism.html
http://www.mystae.com/restricted/streams/gnosis/zoroaster.html
It's a fascinating religion. One of the first monotheistic religions, although actually it is more of a dualistic religion. Good/Evil.
Posted by trucker on July 26, 2003, at 21:23:24
In reply to re: :: Belief-O-Matic :: ~jim's results!, posted by lil' jimi on July 12, 2003, at 2:34:30
> ... And here are our lil' jimi's results ...
>
> 1. Neo-Pagan (100%)
> 2. Mahayana Buddhism (98%)
> 3. Unitarian Universalism (91%)
> 4. New Age (91%)
> 5. Hinduism (85%)
> 6. Theravada Buddhism (85%)
> 7. Liberal Quakers (78%)
> 8. New Thought (74%)
> 9. Taoism (71%)
> 10. Sikhism (70%)
> 11. Jainism (69%)
> 12. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (69%)
> 13. Scientology (64%)
> 14. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (59%)
> 15. Secular Humanism (54%)
> 16. Reform Judaism (51%)
> 17. Bahá'í Faith (45%)
> 18. Orthodox Quaker (43%)
> 19. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (32%)
> 20. Orthodox Judaism (31%)
> 21. Nontheist (29%)
> 22. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (27%)
> 23. Jehovah's Witness (21%)
> 24. Islam (19%)
> 25. Seventh Day Adventist (19%)
> 26. Eastern Orthodox (14%)
> 27. Roman Catholic (14%)
>
> ... ... and he calls himself a Buddhist!!
>
> .... .... i can find out about these Neo-Pagans, maybe ... ...
> ... ... any Neo-Pags out there?
> ... ... Not Sure?
> ... ... Then try the ol' Belief-O-Matic!
>
>
> (98% ain't too bad ... ... that's a solid 'A'. right?)
>
> ~ jim///////////////////////////////////////////////
what religion are you dear???
trucker
Posted by lil' jimi on July 27, 2003, at 10:46:14
In reply to re: :: Belief-O-Matic :: ~jim's results! » lil' jimi, posted by trucker on July 26, 2003, at 21:23:24
i am a Buddhist ... a Mahayana Buddhist.
how about you?
~ jim
Posted by trucker on July 27, 2003, at 14:57:28
In reply to re: :: Belief-O-Matic :: ~jim's results! » trucker, posted by lil' jimi on July 27, 2003, at 10:46:14
> i am a Buddhist ... a Mahayana Buddhist.
>
> how about you?
>
> ~ jim////////////////////////////////////////////////
don't know much about buddist
i am christian of the bible the whole thing
truckerwe all have our own beleifs don't we? i really didn't see mine on the test.
Posted by lil' jimi on July 27, 2003, at 16:10:33
In reply to re: :: Belief-O-Matic :: ~jim's results! » lil' jimi, posted by trucker on July 27, 2003, at 14:57:28
you could write your own questions and make up a test and post it here and then see what kind of answers people give ... ...
... could be fun ...... what question would seem to be missing ?
Posted by trucker on July 27, 2003, at 16:53:44
In reply to re: :: Belief-O-Matic :: Belief~O~Trucker ! » trucker, posted by lil' jimi on July 27, 2003, at 16:10:33
> you could write your own questions and make up a test and post it here and then see what kind of answers people give ... ...
> ... could be fun ...
>
> ... what question would seem to be missing ?/////////////////////////////////////////////////
I HAVE FOUND THAT IT IS A GOOD CONVERSASATION NOT TO HAVE WHEN THERE ARE TWO OR MORE BELEIFS... NO OFFENCE! WHAT IS A BUDDIST? THIS IS PROBABLY SPELLED WRONG...TRUCKER
Posted by lil' jimi on July 27, 2003, at 17:59:20
In reply to re: :: Belief-O-Matic :: Belief~O~Trucker ! » lil' jimi, posted by trucker on July 27, 2003, at 16:53:44
> > you could write your own questions and make up a test and post it here and then see what kind of answers people give ... ...
> > ... could be fun ...
> >
> > ... what question would seem to be missing ?
>
> /////////////////////////////////////////////////
> I HAVE FOUND THAT IT IS A GOOD CONVERSASATION NOT TO HAVE WHEN THERE ARE TWO OR MORE BELEIFS... NO OFFENCE! WHAT IS A BUDDIST? THIS IS PROBABLY SPELLED WRONG...
>
> TRUCKERi'd hope i was easy-going enough for it to be a good conversation, ... but that could depend on you, of course ...
i, the unqualified, would venture that one who believes in Enlightenment and believes Enlightenment is possible for humans,
... would be considered a buddhist ... ...i pray to the buddha that i am not being graded on my spelling ... that's one of my beliefs ... HA!
peace,
~ jim
Posted by trucker on July 27, 2003, at 21:12:33
In reply to re: :: Belief~O~Trucker ! :: » trucker, posted by lil' jimi on July 27, 2003, at 17:59:20
> > > you could write your own questions and make up a test and post it here and then see what kind of answers people give ... ...
> > > ... could be fun ...
> > >
> > > ... what question would seem to be missing ?
> >
> > /////////////////////////////////////////////////
> > I HAVE FOUND THAT IT IS A GOOD CONVERSASATION NOT TO HAVE WHEN THERE ARE TWO OR MORE BELEIFS... NO OFFENCE! WHAT IS A BUDDIST? THIS IS PROBABLY SPELLED WRONG...
> >
> > TRUCKER
>
> i'd hope i was easy-going enough for it to be a good conversation, ... but that could depend on you, of course ...
>
> i, the unqualified, would venture that one who believes in Enlightenment and believes Enlightenment is possible for humans,
> ... would be considered a buddhist ... ...
>
> i pray to the buddha that i am not being graded on my spelling ... that's one of my beliefs ... HA!
>
> peace,
> ~ jim
>
>////////////////////////////////////////////////
EASY GOING YES, BUT SEE I DON'T LIKE TO HAVE CONVERSASTIONS ON RELIGION, BECAUSE WE ALL HAVE A FAITH OF SORTS AND WE ALL BELEIVE THAT OURS IS THE RIGHT ONE. SO I DON'T GET INVOLVED IN THAT TOPIC TO MUCH EXCEPT TO LEARN ABOUT THE DIFFERENT RELIGIONS. mine is from the HOLY BIBLE, i beleive in JESUS, and i usually get attacked for that beleif. so rather than destoy a budding poster relationship with any of you, i just stay back from it...hope you understand.
trucker
Posted by Dr. Bob on July 27, 2003, at 22:27:18
In reply to re: :: Belief~O~Trucker ! :: » lil' jimi, posted by trucker on July 27, 2003, at 21:12:33
> WE ALL HAVE A FAITH OF SORTS AND WE ALL BELEIVE THAT OURS IS THE RIGHT ONE.
I think it's interesting, how believing it's *the* (one and only) right one does sometimes seem to be part of it...
Bob
Posted by lil' jimi on July 27, 2003, at 22:31:03
In reply to re: :: Belief~O~Trucker ! :: » lil' jimi, posted by trucker on July 27, 2003, at 21:12:33
well, i would be the last one to attack anybody's belief's ...
. .... (not to mention that such attacks are forbidden here) ........ but i have every respect for your desire to not go into ...
... as you wish, my poster buddy!
~ jim
Posted by Dinah on July 28, 2003, at 4:56:31
In reply to re: ours is the right one, posted by Dr. Bob on July 27, 2003, at 22:27:18
> > WE ALL HAVE A FAITH OF SORTS AND WE ALL BELEIVE THAT OURS IS THE RIGHT ONE.
>
> I think it's interesting, how believing it's *the* (one and only) right one does sometimes seem to be part of it...
>
> BobYou find that interesting, Dr. Bob? I sort of thought that's what "faith" is. And that it takes a conscious effort to remind ourselves otherwise. Either that, or my "faith" is rather circumscribed to the basics and I'm pretty open to the particulars. (In other words, my faith in any given religion is not that strong.) One of the two.
But perhaps your apparent surprise explains the faith board, with all its many and sundry traps for the unwary. :)
Posted by Dinah on July 28, 2003, at 4:57:13
In reply to re: ours is the right one, posted by Dinah on July 28, 2003, at 4:56:31
Posted by lil' jimi on July 28, 2003, at 11:51:05
In reply to re: ours is the right one, posted by Dr. Bob on July 27, 2003, at 22:27:18
hi Bob,
trucker wrote:
>>> WE ALL HAVE A FAITH OF SORTS AND WE ALL BELEIVE THAT OURS IS THE RIGHT ONE.And you've responded:
>> I think it's interesting, how believing it's *the* (one and only) right one does sometimes seem to be part of it...i agree with both you and what Dinah has posted: It is not surprising, but it is interesting ...
(all of my comments are to refer to NO Specific RELIGION(S) and
NO Offense is intended to any Non-Specific RELIGION(S), PLEASE. ... ... please ?)to make Dinah’s point(s) (forgive me Dinah, for i know not what i do),
... it is not unexpected that the True Believer of the True Religion would tend toward exclusivity and endogamy ... ... compromise being contradictory to the idea of the Absolute for some folks ... ... and to the specific exclusion of all of the “False Believers” in those “False Religions” ... and we may expect that the enforcing of the orthodox doctrine(s) gives rise to the harsher sanctions against heresy ... ... this is certainly the common path for the Devout in their Devotion ...... for the Fundamentalists of whichever stripe, steeped the One True Faith, it is virtually inescapable that the rest of the world (and all other religions) look(s) like delusion(s) peopled by the deluded ... all of which would seem to pose a peril to the Faithful ...
(mightn’t we expect that the bull-urine-bathers of the Zoroastrianism would exercise similar intolerance(s) ?)
what i believe makes this an interesting phenomena is that there are examples (of world religions) where this common feature does not obtain, but we may believe that nearly every religion would have its fundamentalists who might not endorse such inclusiveness and openness ... ...
( ... i now feel that this contribution has come to its end ... ... for fear that one might transgress, not only on our civility, but on our fellow posters’ religious feelings, and i do not want, nor you need, that ... ... the tenderness of the subject demands (i feel) being even less specific (less pointed) than i might have been headed for here, lest any one be ... offended.)
i will say that i find it easy and comfortable to be accepting of others’ religious beliefs ... ... even when they have difficulty with mine ... ... that said, what i do find difficult, for me, is tolerating / indulging attacks and tirades against any persons of faith for their faith ... and this is all too common in our less-than-civil world of exteriority.
May All Hearts Hope,
~ jim
Posted by Dr. Bob on July 28, 2003, at 22:31:05
In reply to re: ours is the right one, posted by Dinah on July 28, 2003, at 4:56:31
> perhaps your apparent surprise explains the faith board, with all its many and sundry traps for the unwary. :)
But no longer, at least, for the wary? :-)
Bob
Posted by Tabitha on July 29, 2003, at 3:11:46
In reply to re: ours is the right one, posted by Dinah on July 28, 2003, at 4:56:31
while I was browsing beliefnet after taking the quiz, I found this interesting article.
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/chopra/everyday/excerpt.html
It says basically we can't know god directly, but we can experience the presence of god in different ways. He lists seven different ways, including the authority figure god, the creative god, the peaceful god, etc. I guess it's kind of like the blind men and the elephant story.
I thought this was a nice way to reconcile how people have such different ideas of god, and how they can all be correct, even if there's only one god.
Now why people are inclined to get adamant that their idea is the most correct one, I don't know.
Posted by MissouriGal on July 29, 2003, at 14:29:38
In reply to :: Belief-O-Matic ::, posted by lil' jimi on July 12, 2003, at 2:08:24
> ..... ..... Belief-O-Matic ..... .....
>
> http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html
>
> It's simple!
> It's perplexing!
> It's multiple-choice!
> Will it tell you what religion you are? ... ...
>
> Just take the Belief-O-Matic survey
> and
> then post back here what your results were!I know, I'm late in on this, but I just found this site today. I found this thread interesting, and I took the quiz, just to see what it would show. Don't know about others' result, but for me it is pretty much on the mark. Here are the results I got:
1. Neo-Pagan (100%)
2. New Age (95%)
3. Unitarian Universalism (84%)
4. Mahayana Buddhism (78%)
5. New Thought (76%)
6. Liberal Quakers (72%)
7. Hinduism (71%)
8. Scientology (69%)
9. Reform Judaism (69%)
10. Jainism (66%)
11. Sikhism (61%)
12. Theravada Buddhism (59%)
13. Taoism (57%)
14. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (54%)
15. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (54%)
16. Bahá'í Faith (53%)
17. Secular Humanism (49%)
18. Orthodox Judaism (46%)
19. Orthodox Quaker (40%)
20. Islam (37%)
21. Nontheist (26%)
22. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (19%)
23. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (18%)
24. Seventh Day Adventist (16%)
25. Eastern Orthodox (12%)
26. Roman Catholic (12%)
27. Jehovah's Witness (9%)
Posted by lil' jimi on July 31, 2003, at 9:12:37
In reply to re: ours is the right one, posted by Tabitha on July 29, 2003, at 3:11:46
hi Tabitha!
you have written:
> while I was browsing beliefnet after taking the quiz, I found this interesting article.
>
> http://www.randomhouse.com/features/chopra/everyday/excerpt.html
>
> It says basically we can't know god directly, but we can experience the presence of god in different ways. He lists seven different ways, including the authority figure god, the creative god, the peaceful god, etc. I guess it's kind of like the blind men and the elephant story.
>
> I thought this was a nice way to reconcile how people have such different ideas of god, and how they can all be correct, even if there's only one god.
>
> Now why people are inclined to get adamant that their idea is the most correct one, I don't know.... i thank you for your contribution here ... i have been meaning to post how much i appreciated your post ... it is BEAUTIFUL ... and you write so well ... very clear and relaxed ... i wish my posts as direct and lucid ... you have inspired me ... and it has taken me from when you posted to now, trying to figure out how to express how much i like your post ... ... so i gave up and posted this instead ...
... ... anyway, THANKS!
~ jimp.s. if you took the quiz, did it reflect your beliefs?
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