Posts Made By: Daryl Crowley

Doug, Brien, and everyone else.

A question for followers of "organized" religious faiths. I have hoped to explore the existence of a creator but we keep getting bogged down in rituals. Let's come to an understanding.

Consider 2 men.

1 - A non-Christian but devout believer in God. A good man who follows the golden rule. Prays to God and is kind and fair to all his fellow humans. Lives by the 10 commandments faithfully. He does not recognize Jesus as his savior. Perhaps he is Jewish, or something else.

2 - A non-believer in God. A good man who follows the golden rule. He is kind a fair to all his fellow humans. He lives by the 10 commandments, not through conscience effort, but because he loves his fellow man and wants to do right by them. He does not pray, or recognize God, but otherwise lives a clean life and the lives of his fellow men have been improved by his existence.

What is the fate of these 2 men, and why?

Daryl

As I said before, they have the perfect weapon now - us and our own fear. Check out this article:

Flight Sim enquiry raises terror alert
By Andrew Orlowski in Las Vegas

A mother's enquiry about buying Microsoft Flight Simulator for her ten-year-old son prompted a night-time visit to her home from a state trooper.

Julie Olearcek, a USAF Reserve pilot made the enquiry at a Staples store in Massachusetts, home to an earlier bout of hysteria, during the Salem witch trials.

So alarmed was the Staples clerk at the prospect of the ten year old learning to fly, that he informed the police, the Greenfield Recorder reports. The authorities moved into action, leaving nothing to chance. A few days later, Olearcek was alarmed to discover a state trooper flashing a torch into to her home through a sliding glass door at 8:30 pm on a rainy night.

Olearcek is a regular Staples customer and schools her son at home. The Staples manager simply explained that staff were obeying advice. Shortly before Christmas, the FBI issued a terror alert to beware of drivers with maps, or reference books.

At one time it was rare to find US citizens, in the safest and most prosperous country in the world, jumping at their own shadows. Now we only note how high. *End*

I'm an AVID flightsimmer and have been for years so you better be nice to me because I'm a huge threat with my Microsoft Flight Simulator!

They just have to say Boo!

Daryl

Did anybody pull themselves away from mindless football last night and watch that show on "who wrote the bible?" (I am NOT a football fan – Superbowl to me super boring.)

According to this show a biased Roman Emperor selected the books that made it into the bible. How can any claim that the Bible is the definitive word of God under those kinds of construction rules? Please don't tell me God guided his selection.

Daryl

I haven't seen the sky in so long here on the west cost of Michigan I'm not sure if I remember how to use my telescope.

Which end of the binos do I look through, the big end or the small end?

Seriously, this winter is WORSE than than last year! Even the very cold nights have been socked in cloudy.

I hope it's going better for the rest of you.

Daryl

I don't want to start a thread on Janet Jackson’s escapades, but I just think it is ironic that the nation is so upset by her actions (and rightly so) when these same people all love the sex filled sitcoms and racy humor on television, and watch far more titillation stuff on TV dramas and home videos with their children?

I just don't understand why one thing is so shocking when they allow far worse into their homes via TV and video almost everyday in full view of their children.

I'm not looking for feedback here, just confused how people are stirred to such far reaching actions against Jackson, Timberlake, and MTV, but wouldn't miss an episode of Friends or some of the racier dramas that air on prime time to the stuff they view on PG-13 movies and above, yet all that is somehow OK for the whole family.

Beats the hell out me.

Daryl

I wish they would make the presidency an 8-year term, and out. That would make sure that whoever was in would get the chance to bring their policies to fruition without having to hedge against a 4 year election.

And Bush bashers don't start whining about how you couldn't live 8 years under Bush. I made it through 8 years of Clinton so anything is possible.

But, Republican or Democrat an 8 year no re-election would remove more politics out of the presidency.

Daryl

I have not seen the movie but I gather that people are taken with the suffering that Jesus did for us. That the movies made it clear that he suffered all the sins of the world.

My observation of this reaction is that due to the graphic nature of the movie people were put in touch with a realistic depiction of torture and pain.

But would this pain be any greater somehow than that felt by an innocent child tortured and murdered by some fiend, or that endured by soldiers at the hands of merciless enemy, or that endured by those forced to fight in the Coliseum? Could it be any worse than what millions of other normal humans have been put through by design or accident?

It seems that the suffering has struck a chord with people who have translated that into Jesus suffering somehow "beyond" that, which could be endured by man. Because it’s obvious that his suffering was so great it must have been for all of us.

It's as though they are shocked into some sort of faith by a graphic representation of dire “human” suffering: Human suffering, which has been going on for millions of years. Torture and slow death is intense for sure and many of our fellow humans have suffered tremendous pain and torture, my guess is that many have suffered greater pain and torture than the imagination of Mel Gibson can conjure.

How is this interpreted differently for Jesus in the movie, or is it just the shock value of a fellow human suffering that has people so worked up?

Comments?

Daryl

I've been gone for a week on a nice Caribbean cruise and now that I'm back the past few days of looking at all these posts has me shaking my head. What the hell has happened? Where is the intellectual discussion, point-counter-point?

You are all arguing about your Sunday school beliefs and if you were face to face I think some of you would come to blows.

It promises to only get worse with the up-coming election.

I see little intelligent discourse here these days and I have had no stomach for jumping in.

Life is too short for such banter and whether it's God's fault, Satan's, or the Whirlpoolians, the point is moot.

I'll check back in from time to time to see if any sanity has returned to this forum. Until then, I will concentrate on sky gazing where I can discuss the whole Universe with God or whoever with no stones hurled.

Daryl

Now that "Dawn of the Dead" has pushed the Passion out of the top spot, maybe we can get some new subject material on this forum.

Amazing how the American people respond to hype, either Christ or flesh eating zombies, we don't care. Just tell us its cool and it's "in" and we will eat it up. (The masses are a bunch of sheep and I guess that's why they are referred to as the Lord's flock.)

That's also why we have top 40 radio!

Daryl

I got my 5 inch Mak back from Orion yesterday. I had sent it in for a minor repair.

On the very night of it's return the skies were clear! The seeing was not the best but I actually got to use it the day it came back.

I looked at the planets, except Mercury, and a few galaxies. Split a few doubles but seeing was fair at best. Could not see a lot of nebulosity in Orion and the galaxies were faded out and some of my regulars I couldn't see at all. But the scope came back perfectyl collimated, which it was before I sent it out. Also I put the finder scope back on and it was dead on!

But, its the first I've been out with my scope in sometime. I figured once the scope was back it would be cloudy until the full Moon, but what a surprise. I should have bought a lotto ticket last night ;-)

Daryl