I found this interesting enough to share. It is about the definition of religion. It is about 'lifestyles." It is about why I have the duty to my children to stamp out beliefs that harm my property and rights and happiness.
BR wrote:
> CH,
>
> Please explain to me what my religion is; then we can both know.
Sure. It is the same as mine. It is your belief system. It is your faith in things unseen. Atoms, Molecules, Science you did not do yourself or Science done with the instruments developed by others that you have faith will be accurate. You and I live in a world based on hearsay. You THINK you know what your birth date is but in fact you just have faith in what some other person that CLAIMS to be your mother or father told you it was. Many people believe in the words allegedly written by Moses or Joshua or some Pope or some Priest or some alleged prophet. Some, like me, have talked with something they suppose to be Angels or God or some higher power or maybe a Space alien. Some, like me, have seen a vision or experienced a super natural experience. Some worship science by having faith in it while claiming they only believe in that which they can touch or see and yet they cannot see a virus but believe they exist because they got sick and so live on cause and affect which is what I do concerning MY religion or "lifestyle" and what you do with yours.
If you believe you are in the Matrix then that is your religion. If you believe you are not in the Matrix then that is your religion. If you believe in some form of deity then that is your religion. If you believe there is no deity then that is your religion. If you doubt there are any deities then that is your religion.
OR
You just have a "life-style" and I, like you have no religion but just a "lifestyle". Our "lifestyles" are why we act the way we do and why we make the choices we make. Either no man has a religion or all men do.
> Concerning your "religion" I have neither asked you for it nor challenged it. Your religion - what ever it is - is a irrelavant to me as mine - what ever it is - > is to you.
And yours to me. EXCEPT that I have neither asked you for it nor challenged it. Your religion - what ever it is - IS relevant to me as we have a symbiotic relationship so, like the butterfly affect your wing beats affect my life.
>
> What is your definition of "faith"?
A belief in things unseen. A belief on the words of others. A belief on the words or printouts or test results of machines. A life built essentially upon hearsay.
>
> True enough, science is a religion and I certainly do not believe (believe/faith = not knowing) in it either. In any event I am not, as you admit, merely giving you the "words of others", rather you are getting my words directly, to wit:
I am getting words on a screen that I have faith in. I do not know you. I do not even know if you are a human being and not a computer program or an alien. I have FAITH you are a human being by cause and affect.
>
> Good is in all of us and all things though free will is not always good will. - copywrite Bjørn
>
Then that is your religion or lifestyle or whatever you choose to call it. It affects me because I believe it is an incorrect belief. If I do not counter it it will become as a weed in my garden. If I leave it and do nothing about it it will spread and harm MY happiness. It will rob me of a full harvest. It is a beetle eating away at my fruit. I have a natural right to defend my rights to my harvest and to pursue happiness. Your pursuit hinders mine. It is a natural occurrence, at least in my cause and affect lifestyle or religion or whatever. I believe the Supreme Court used this phrase to describe it: “whatever they may be called, or in whatever form they may adopt.” Your religion is another man's hysteria. His religion is, to you, is a fantasy.
I do not believe that there is good in all of us. I believe some people are evil. In fact that is essentially what the Bible says:
Matt. 7: 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
To me, those words are correct no matter who wrote them or from what source they sprung.
So evil people bring forth evil and cannot bring forth good. So IF there was good in ALL of us there would be no Evil but only error. Intent is everything.
> Since you appear to claim this is a false statement, are you implying you are no good?
I am implying that some people are no good. You used the word "All". I totally disagree with that. You did not write: "Good is in Christopher and SOME things though free will is not always good will." I could have agreed with that.
>
> The "VOLUNTEER firemen" down the street from me steal from me hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly.
> And after stealing money from all of us for three years now (since Prop. "L") the bastards went around and put red tags on most of the properties up here on Palomar as the fire approached last fall, yellow tags on some, and green tags on all the hand full of properties owned/leased by some of the "volunteers" that actually live up here (most of the "volunteers" come from off the mountain, put in enough time to bolster their credentials, and then eventially get hired by a company elsewhere). Can you guess what those low tech traffik signals meant?
Are they "volunteers" or do they receive pay or some benefit? Men that try to do good and do it without compensation for the government are usually good but then again if they are "evil trees" they will have no good deeds for their actions are only of self interest.
>
> Finally the so called "Founding Fathers". I assume you are refering to the handful of guys, vis-a-vis the people that signed the US Constitution (and some other docs) for the purpose of obtaining surity (from Lloyd's of London actually) in their effort to elevate themselves financially amongst other nations given they were having some maritial problems with King George whilst in the process [of being untrue - Lol] of reorganizing their East-India Company holdings.
If that is your religious belief you are entitled to it. I believe differently and my sources are not your sources nor do I trust your Hearsay evidence and you, naturally do not trust mine. So I must do my best to spread the weed killer to eradicate your beliefs or they will affect my harvest. You become a robber that must be stopped. It is nothing personal. Just a selfless act, on my part, done without compensation from an earthly source, done to benefit mankind.
> As to the religious convictions of the people, I have no idea, and further, no interest.
As is natural for a person that has the religion you follow.
Christopher
