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James Howard Kunstler's avatar

It's possible that you don't know that for sure.

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Thomas's avatar

Mr. Kunstler: There are no certainties in this life, therefore, I cannot state that I know this to be a certainty. However, one can observe and deduce. All that I know is that God made the plants for their simplicity, animals for their innocence, and man to serve him wittily in the tangle of his mind. This may very well be an instance where the creator has a course of action in mind for the nation and has chosen an individual to fulfil his will. I don't know this for certain, but one can at least be open to the possibility. One can have faith.

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Art's avatar

тАЬOne can have faith.тАЭ

Sure beats the alternative.

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JimmyC's avatar

Faith is a tricky thing.

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Thomas's avatar

Indeed, it surely is. Daily one sees the detritus of misplaced faith.

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Cankerpuss's avatar

Or, perhaps, the people have become so corrupted and godless in their hearts that God has given them over to reap the rewards of their actions. Seems to me that wickedness and corruption is having its way with the good and decent these days.

A truly righteous people would not tolerate a wicked government. The fact that the people have allowed their government to become such as it is today speaks volumes to the condition of the general American citizen.

We as a people have become immoral, amoral, anti-God, anti-religion, lovers of ourselves, greedy, selfish, and slaves to our debt. Hey, this sounds just like our own government doesn't it?

God's plan, if he/she has a plan, may be to let humanity stumble through and resolve the mess they themselves have created.

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Te Burt's avatar

"A truly righteous people" voted - for liars, cheats and traitors. Without reading their minds, we can't know if a politician is worth his salt until he acts. We waited for them to prove themselves, waited for the "white hats" to effect a correction, and chose the only path that does not involve immediate civil war or lynchings: vote for different people. About 60-70% of us voted for better people. That is the contract we've all agreed to. We have something that separates us from France (Le Pen), Brazil (Bolsinaro), Romania (Georgescu), Germany (AfD): a Constitution like no other. It's what is keeping those "truly righteous people" from acting out. It may come to war, but we're yelling as loudly we can, and somebody has acquired the authority to listen and DO something about it. Laura Loomer talked with Trump about what she knew, and he fired 3 NSC people. But there is another aspect of "truly righteous people" that nobody mentions. Humanity are a spiritual beings, above ALL else, for without it, that body you inhabit is nothing but rotting meat. And there is a confluence of positive thought, prayer, intent on an unseen, unrecognized, unacknowledged level that influences everything. It's part of "being awake," and it appears to be working. Think positively. That doesn't mean begging "God" for an outcome, but thinking, encouraging, applauding the good in every way possible. It does matter, and it does make a difference. Why, we have a manifestation of it today: Klaus Schwab quit! What gets more positive than that?

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Anna's avatar

I see that in Hollywood. Melissa Gilbert wrote something on X. She said that oh we were woke in the days of Little House on the Prairie on t.v. She just doesn't get it. They cannot tell a story. They start out moralizing because they are the best people in the world. I hope I don't think that about myself! Go look at the self righteous yard sign. IN this house we believe, meaning those that don't are inferior. If you go to a church, they recite a creed. The creed is for the person reciting it, the creed is not for other people. Hollywood will go bankrupt. I know the mind of Blind and they cannot see now.

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The Real Mary Rose's avatar

They all live in a woke silo, all we can do is ignore them or pray for them. I haven't watched any of the filth that's come out of Hwood for well over 10 years. I also don't have any use for current "music" out of that industry.

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Dennis Merwood's avatar

Christians believe that God has planned everything, and that includes planning for some people to go to hell.

There's nothing you can do about it, since that would go against God's plan. Praying is asking him to change his plan. Telling God he has it all wrong and you have a better idea!

The fact is Christians don't think they're smart enough to live their lives without some sort of divine intervention.

Why would anyone who is intelligent and educated get duped into believing 1st Century/Bronze Age superstition?

Myths based on ignorant men "making shit up" in order to try and understand the natural world.

Without one shred of verifiable, concrete data or experiment-based evidence of a single supernatural "God" or event?

We should stop wasting our time trying to please the supernatural and concentrate on improving the welfare of human beings.

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SocratesDetroit's avatar

God gave man free choice. People's individual choices, and mankind's cumulative choices are why things are the way they are.

The Devil is real. He is the great "deceiver". People are being deceived, which explains the bad choices that are manifest at every level, from petty lies and theft to embezzlement to wars big and small.

It is good to have faith. I share your view that the bullet "missing" by an inch or two is miracle, in the positive sense. God can, and does, thwart the powers of evil. It is possible that nefarious forces or people sought Trump's removal, and God thwarted their plans. The Holy Trinity is, ultimately, "the boss."

I like to think this experience (even more than his advanced age) reminded Mr. Trump of his mortality, of the fact that we are not going to be here forever.

I can't read Trump's mind though. I can perceive his ACTIONS by what I DISCERN from what I see and read. And his actions, whether they reflect his beliefs or whether he is being manipulated, when it comes to war and peace are not encouraging. While I recognize it is impossible to satisfy everyone, all the time, President Trump could have pulled the plug on the Ukraine war. He has not done so. And his words and actions in the Middle East, at least to me, point to wider war with a lot more death and destruction coming, and very likely adversely impacting the US economically, perhaps kinetically.

Now, he may think he is really a peacemaker, and his actions are necessary to pave the way to a long-term peace. I just don't see it. Time will tell.

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Suzie's avatar

Zelensky, galaxies far from a great mind, is being manipulated by the EU and the UK, based on their delusional and diabolical motives, to keep throwing wrenches into the ceasefire/peace efforts, convincing him via promises to have his his back based upon pure fairy dust.

The combination of their certifiably insane TDS, and their utter hubris have brought us to the brink of WWIII, and mutually assured destruction.

Ironically, it has only been PutinтАЩs personal resistance to pulling the nuclear trigger that has kept us from crossing that Rubicon.

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Kathy S.'s avatar

Vladimir Putin is the greatest leader Russia has ever had (possible exception Catherine the Great), and one of the greatest leaders in the world today. Hungary's Orban and El Salvador's Bukele are equally brave and visionary, but their countries are not as huge and consequential as Russia. (Although they are certainly playing key roles in the current world situation right now, aren't they?!)

What remarkable times we live in....

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Miriamnae's avatar

Putin is a great leader. HeтАЩs shown remarkable patience in the USA proxy warтАжhe knows our deep state put Z in place.

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Suzie's avatar

I donтАЩt know if IтАЩd use the word тАЬgreatestтАЭ, as it can imply characteristics I wouldnтАЩt necessarily apply to Putin. But I would go with smartest.

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Miriamnae's avatar

Amen. You forgot the Democrat machine backing Zelensky.

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Cankerpuss's avatar

"God gave man free choice. People's individual choices, and mankind's cumulative choices are why things are the way they are."

Exactly. This principle tells me two things, Socrates.

1. God cannot violate his own laws and therefore cannot get involved which means we humans are on our own to fix the mess our actions and inactions have created.

2. God is not all powerful and cannot intervene. If God intervenes God breaks his own law of human free choice and free will and if he breaks his own law he becomes a liar. If God becomes a liar he loses his authority which comes from his honor and the honor of his creations.

Either way, I don't believe God is going to save us from our wickedness. We made this mess. We need to fix it. We fix it by first fixing ourselves, inwardly. Once we as a people fix ourselves inwardly and turn ourselves back to righteous principles and righteous living, everything else will fall right in line. I truly believe this.

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Cankerpuss's avatar

Oh, and Socrates, a close friend of mine is a police chief in my town and believe me when I tell you, the people themselves are corrupted and wicked. The heart breaking stories of drugs, crime, child abuse, spouse abuse, infidelity, pornography and so forth are stunning. And I live in a rural Utah community.

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Kathy S.'s avatar

Drugs can turn people into MONSTERS. Like you, I am closely acquainted with this fact. I have friends who have adopted foster children.... The hell that those kids endured as victims of drug-addicted parents is unimaginable.

As for porn, I have seen marriages destroyed. And I know of at least one man who always tried to be a good and decent husband, father, church member and community leader, but was addicted to online porn. He committed suicide because of the crushing guilt he felt at leading a double life.

If anyone reading this has this problem, I beg you: Get help!!! I just did a search for "porn addiction hotline christian" and a TON of resources came up. Get help. Today.

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Lugh's avatar

Well said. And many women are addicted to social media, doing all kinds of crazy things for likes. Many of them are still on dating sites after being married just for the validation, or to keep their options open. About 60% of married women admit to having a "Plan B" or back up man if things get bad.

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Ron Anselmo's avatar

Janos - Plan B's aren't all bad. About 95% of Americans don't even have a Plan A, so they're already screwed.

About 4% have a Plan A, so they're on the right track.

It's the 1% that have a Plan B, that'll come out the other side, knowing full well, that something always goes awry with Plan A.

Those women are just covering their downside risk. Problem is that a lot of one-time losers - men or women - end up becoming two-time losers. It's a pattern.

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Jane De Haven's avatar

Plan A will definitely go awry if you have a Plan B. ThatтАЩs not a marriage, it's a "situationship," as the kids say. ThatтАЩs no way to live.

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Lugh's avatar

And if wifey meets a better man online, she'll start talking with him. If it all checks out, she'll replace her husband and blame him for it. Such is the feminine nature which you adore.

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Paul B, Cohen's avatar

God rules absolutely. We have all been subjected to vanity. That's the point of this exercise. God makes what He will of every vessel, honorable or dishonorable. He creates good and evil. You have no choice in when you were born, to whom, and all your personal characteristics. You have no choice in life but what He puts before you. After choosing wrong for so long and reaping the consequences, you will learn to choose right by His grace only. Repentance and faith are a gift.

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Dennis Merwood's avatar

John 3:16. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son for part of a weekend."

We are told an all-knowing God designed the incredible complexities of life, yet was so unimaginative & primitive it could only resolve issues by killing people.

"In the beginning man created God, then he created stories in which God created man."

Repentance and faith are a gift.

Oh, no! Please! No!

Not Hell! Not the Lake of Eternal Fire!

Lord, I believe! I repent!

I'm saved now, praise Jesus!

I'm saved!

Thank you, Jesus, thank you!

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Paul B, Cohen's avatar

The anti-Gospel according to a perverse and corrupt mind.

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Blackbird's avatar

When I was 4 years old, my grandmother was given a couple of red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) by one of her students (she taught third grade). She made up a terrarium for them where they did - nothing. Not satisfied with this inactivity, I took a pencil and started prodding them to get them to move, to do - something... Well, I may have prodded too much because eventually they became VERY inactive.

I don't think that "God" is a 4-year-old with a terrarium.

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JohnAZ's avatar

Cankerpuss

Your last paragraph is a wonderful summation of the message of Jesus. The key to salvation is within every one of us.

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Dennis Merwood's avatar

Oh, no! Please! No!

Not Hell! Not the Lake of Eternal Fire!

Lord, I believe! I repent!

I'm saved now, praise Jesus!

I'm Saved!

Thank you, Jesus, thank you!

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Tony Lauria's avatar

Yes. "...within you but you don't realize it."

That is, make it real.

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Mark's avatar

God has interviened many times in the Bible. He has a master plan, and will follow that to the ultimate end.

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Cankerpuss's avatar

No argument here, but maybe included in that master plan is to let humanity fail because humanity no longer believes in or listens to God.

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JohnAZ's avatar

The message of Revelation.

If Vegas could vote on the likelihood of human self-salvation, I think the odds would be very long.

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Dennis Merwood's avatar

Carl Gustav Jung, whose work was influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philosophy, psychology and religious studies, in his autobiography "Memories Dream Reflections" said "I will not discuss the transparent prophecies of the Book of Revelation because no one believes in them and the whole subject is felt to be an embarrassing one."

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Dennis Merwood's avatar

Beware of those who claim to interpret GodтАЩs тАЬword.тАЭ

They donтАЩt know any more than you do.

What they want is not truth, but power.

The bolder their interpretations, the more power they want.

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Sedgwick C. Hartung's avatar

"(God) has a master plan, and will follow that to the ultimate end."

In which everything plays a part, with humanity a barely noticeable background blip.

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Dennis Merwood's avatar

If God is willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.

If he is able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.

If he is both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?

If he is neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

People put in far too much effort to still end up being wrong.

The God excuse: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument.

"At what point does all of this stuff just break down and become just a lot of stupid shit that someone made up! They fucking made it up folks! It's make-believe!тАЭ тАУ George Carlin

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Lugh's avatar

Yes, there seems to be different factions of globalists striving for dominance. Trump is part of the Neo-Con/Israeli faction - and they are terrible warmongers.

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Paul B, Cohen's avatar

Israel is a warmonger? You can't be more upside down that that, Lugh. Look up Raymond Ibrahim and read some of his stuff or watch his videos. It's not about Israel, but it will show you who the real warmongers are.

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Lugh's avatar

The Greater Israel Plan means taking over whole nations such as Lebanon and large parts of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. It's imperialism on steroids and the burning wick of WW3

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Paul B, Cohen's avatar

How far God will extend Israel is up to Him, but as for your accusation, it's patently ludicrous. If Israel had been planning to take over territories it would have done so after the '67 war and in the years since. Instead, it didn't take over Judea and Samaria, gave Sinai back to Egypt, and vacated the small Jewish population of Gaza.

I would say you should limit yourself to talking about things you know about, but I'm not sure any of those apply to the topics on this blog.

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Lugh's avatar

The IDF wear a patch of the map of Greater Israel on their shoulder. Do you really not know this or are you lying?

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Paul B, Cohen's avatar

You're the liar. The IDF banned those patches, which were taken on by some orthodox soldiers.

That said, I fully support Israel expanding as much as God wills, which is more than what's held at present. Judea and Samaria, Gaza, Sinai, some of southern Syria and Lebanon for sure.

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Lugh's avatar

They always intended to expand, the two blue lines on their flag being the two rivers, the Nile and the Euphrates.* Thus they never negotiated in good faith.

*Whether this is the actual dimensions delineated in the Bible is debatable. It says the "spring of Egypt", is the Nile a spring? And by the Euphrates, did it mean the Euphrates in the north or in Iraq?

In any case, this is not the Israel of God. But it is the Israel of the Antichrist.

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Dennis Merwood's avatar

God does not exist Paul.

And the one the Israelis invented conveniently played real estate agent in their favour.

"God gave us this land"....

"It's bullshit, and it's fucking stupid." Probably the best and most accurate description of religion I've ever heard.

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Paul B, Cohen's avatar

No, thatтАЩs a self-description, Dennis. ThatтАЩs on you. тАЬThe fool has said in his heart thereтАЩs no God.тАЭ

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Paul B, Cohen's avatar

...than that....

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rd3's avatar

How do you even talk to people like this "Cohen?" Shouldn't he be engaged in a check cashing racket or scamming life insurance policies from veteran's widows? Why is he here mudding up the chat?

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Paul B, Cohen's avatar

You can't answer me directly because you have nothing and can only resort to wild ad hominins born of your own moral depravity.

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Blackbird's avatar

That bullet didn't really miss though, did it? Just barely nicked Trump's ear, not even leaving a lasting scar. A few millimeters to the right and it busts off a chunk of Trump's head. A few millimeters to the left and he doesn't even feel the breeze. Certainly a miracle - or possibly something a little more profane.

I can't read Trump's mind either - fortunately, there are many who can. Many of them can also read God's mind and know that Trump has been chosen by God to lead us out of the wilderness. "Mysterious ways" indeed. The shadow of doubt need never darken our lives again.

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Dennis Merwood's avatar

"Many of them can also read God's mind". Give me a fuckin break.

The same folks that are delusional.

IтАЩm delusional and talk to an imaginary friend in the sky. You guys are too naive and donтАЩt make enough efforts to become delusional like me. If you don't agree with my God delusion, then you're naive!

'My God has ALL the answers. ''

"Okay, tell me one of the answers.''

"My God doesn't have to tell YOU." "Na na na Neener neener nee ner"

"Oh, but there's plenty of evidence for Gods existence! There are so many things!"

тАЬThere's...... uhh......eeermm ... I saw GodтАЩs face and I talk to him!тАЭ

Every fucking time.

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Blackbird's avatar

I hope you feel better now.

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Dennis Merwood's avatar

"Faith" is the excuse people give when they don't have a good reason to believe something. If they had a good reason, they would offer that as justification for their belief, not "faith".

Faith is the deliberate refusal to think critically and the glorification of wilful ignorance that follows. Religion is the permission slip to set aside truthful thought.

EVERYTHING happens according to God's PLAN Christians will say.

But when SOMETHING tragic happens, the Christian says God gives us FREE WILL.

The age-old trick of constantly moving the goalposts.

Or the cop-out: God moves in mysterious ways his wonders to perform

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JohnAZ's avatar

Hmmm, тАЬThe Devil is realтАЭ? Could it be he is the cumulative of ManтАЩs evil side, that he represents the тАЬevilтАЭ side of our nature, inside our minds and souls, as God represents the тАЬgoodтАЭ side? Is the battle between good and evil within ourselves?

LetтАЩs give Trump a break relative to his being a peacemaker. I think Putin dropped a turd on his idea of what it would take to make a deal to stop the Biden stupidity. IMHO, Putin is using the slowdown from Trump to his advantage and will continue to push his land grab in East Ukraine until stopped. Watch Odessa.

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Magdalene's avatar

Putin will definitely finish the denazification by fall, when the now clearing Rasputitsa (literally "season of bad roads") muds return. Only then will peace be made. And who can blame the Russians for not trusting any deal to restrain those who mercilessly murderered their own Russian speaking civilians in Donbass? They haven't forgotten about Minsk! Merkel herself admitted to acting in bad faith to rearm the Ukraine.

Can you imagine what the US would do if Mexico contained a significant concentrated enclave of Americans & the Mexican gov't shelled & slaughtered them? We would not stop until every last Mexican combatant was killed to ensure an end to the threat. It's a very loose analogy since the Ukraine, a term meaning periphery (as the center of the empire had moved east to Moscow) was always an artificial construct; empires such as the Hapsburg (Austro-Hungarian) & Polish-Lithuanian pushed Ukrainization (to make them feel like a separate people from their fellow Russians, despite the Kievan Rus being the origin of Russia) even before Vladimir Lenin's wheeling & dealing fraudulently officialized it through Soviet "Republic" status. Other neighboring countries also lost some land to the north & west of the Ukraine, but Russia is likely to take back much of their own lost land, probably to include Odessa. This will leave a landlocked rump state of a demilitarized zone ripe for regional reabsorption into respective parent nations once EU & NATO military support collapses & US subsidization ends (the Ukraine has been FULLY subsidized, military & civilian operations alike- the whole enchilada- since at least 2022).

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JohnAZ's avatar

Good summary, thanks.

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Catherine Cronin's avatar

Faith is the most important. So is knowledge wisdom and understanding. All of these qualities followed by works pleases God. Trump is fulfilling this role to make America great again in a morally profound way.

He will prevail as well as those who have faith that God is really in charge but we humans still have the power of choice given to those who wisely choose life.

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Dennis Merwood's avatar

We're blessed with tape worms, plague, cancer, leprosy, dengue fever, malaria, and mosquitoes that spread diseases. The brain-eating amoeba is a special gift from a creator if you believe in a Creator.

Faith is the deliberate refusal to think critically and the glorification of wilful ignorance that follows. Religion is the permission slip to set aside truthful thought.

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Anti-Hip's avatar

"There are no certainties in this life, therefore, I cannot state that I know this to be a certainty."

That applies to absolutely everything that you, or any human, "knows" about anything. Therefore, it also applies to any claim whatsoever about God. It's all belief, and that "fact" is inescapable.

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Sedgwick C. Hartung's avatar

"There are no certainties in this life"

death

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Anti-Hip's avatar

Arguably, death is external to "in this life" ;)

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Paul B, Cohen's avatar

But if God informs you, take it to the bank. He is Real, you know.

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Anti-Hip's avatar

"He is Real, you know."

No, I don't know. Neither do you. The difference is that you believe you possess truth, while I believe everything in a human's consciousness is, and can only be, belief. Your "God informing you" is, to me, completely indistinguishable from your hallucinating, and I challenge you provide a way to demonstrate to me otherwise. Highly problematic when one wants to spread "Good News" to skeptics.

More generally, my stock reply (ordinarily, just to myself) to literally anything someone tells me -- "revealed" religion or not -- is "WWIBT?" or "Why Would I Believe That?" I have learned well over many decades, especially in the [post]modern West, to have less than zero *automatic* respect for "experts", who are more often than not simply feral political animals who are primarily Aristotelian ethos-hucksters, whatever else they do in life. That goes double for godmongers of all kinds. I find it very useful in keeping my mind open to what evidence and possibilities are plausible and which are not.

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Paul B, Cohen's avatar

If you don't know, you also don't know whether I know.

I suppose you think you came from an explosion of gases. Or maybe you'd admit you don't know that either.

Faith isn't airy fairy imaginations. It's the evidence of things not seen. So you're not going to know with your native senses. However there's more to life than those, much more.

The truth is, you think you know a lot because you're relying on your carnal, non-spiritual senses, so there's no point in trying to argue with someone so limited and self-contradictory, and I'm not.

I can wait for you to find out. Not a problem at all.

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Dennis Merwood's avatar

I suppose you think you came out of a magic Sky Daddies finger....ABracadabra. Shazaam.

It's impossible to argue from logic when your opponent basically claims "MAGIC."

They never lose a debate in their minds.

These are the ones who say their God is unknowable and then proceed to tell us what all we need to know about their God.

Imagine what goes on in these peopleтАЩs heads.

ItтАЩs amazing to me how people can believe these religious stories that play over and over in their imaginations.

ItтАЩs mental illness. How do they function in the real world?

The depth of their delusions and their grip it has on their mind is terrifying.

I just hope they have someone caring for their well-being.

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Anti-Hip's avatar

"If you don't know, you also don't know whether I know."

Correct. I did not deny that. But it is not relevant to my belief or not in God. Please read again, carefully: "Your 'God informing you' is, to me, completely indistinguishable from your hallucinating, and I challenge you provide a way to demonstrate to me otherwise. "

"The truth is, you think you know a lot ..."

False. I know nothing; I only believe. Here, I'm simply challenging *your* beliefs with *my* beliefs. I believe there is much of my beliefs that you're assuming, and others you're just not getting. I'll happily confess some of that is doubtless my own lack of clarity in places.

"... because you're relying on your carnal, non-spiritual senses,"

If the alleged reality of this cannot be systematically *transferred* from a believer to a receiving skeptic (because of missing "senses"), it's useless to the receiver. At least for much of science, limited as it is, can widely be transferred to, and then tested by, a theory's skeptic, limited only by the receiver's ability to understand its complexity, not to "sense" it. So, as far as I can see, and in this late stage in life, either (in the words of a Steve Martin '70s skit), regarding religion, either you're "feelin' it" (to me, i.e. the apparent God hallucination), or not.

"I suppose you think you came from an explosion of gases. ... [etc. etc.] "

It is not important to me where I believe I came from. It is ultimately unknowable to any human being how that belief and many others work. What we perceive about the entire universe could be a massively complex illusion. We can forever hunt for evidence whether I came from a "Big Bang" or anything else, and it's entertaining and useful (within a frame of reference), but ultimately forever unsettled.

I am able to sit with the void of that lack of knowledge. Most amazing to me, however, is the tendency of most humans to be utterly incapable of accepting their not being able to know something. They especially cannot accept that some things may be unavoidably unknowable by *any* humans, smart and/or educated about whatever. That lack of comfort drives them crazy, until they latch onto some kind of belief-rock. But as I said earlier, *nothing* is knowable -- it's *all* belief. It's in the nature of all humans. I'm now convinced this emotional weakness we humans have is at the heart of humans' need to stuff a God/gods into their heads.

But it's not the only dimension of pretension. Most relevantly and importantly today, is it also behind the need to stuff their heads with certainty about which (major) political "side" is factually correct and morally "correct", when it is entirely plausible that both are. IMO, because both Right (simplistically put, for brevity: prioritizing individuality/freedom) and Left (prioritizing society/fairness) are "correct", they exist as political forces in perpetuity (although each instantiation is usually heavily distorted by the forces in each context). Once we drop that pretension and regain our humility, accepting that everyone possesses (human) truths, we may be able to get back to functioning politics again. The same thing applies to pretentions about divinity or lack thereof.

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Paul B, Cohen's avatar

I didn't know, admitted it, asked God to show me, and He did (this was 48 years ago and has continued to this day). Admittedly, I asked by faith, which is a gift from God. He gives to whom He wills when He wills. He's in charge.

As for your condition, it's caused by what the Bible calls "sin," a word many are not familiar with its actual meaning. You're eating from and relying on the Tree of Knowledge, being your own god, and you call your knowledge "beliefs."

You won't see or know God till you eat from the Tree of Life.

You are also responsible for your condition, which is a good thing for you. It's how you'll come out of that darkness when your time of repentance and faith arrive. And they will. Every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord - readily with great peace and joy.

Only our Creator can, has, and will accomplish this. I am a witness.

"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea" (Hab 2:14).

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Dennis Merwood's avatar

"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea" (Hab 2:14)."

LOL.....just a CLAIM scribbled down by unknow ignorant goat herders two centuries ago. With no evidence. Anonymous undated ancient writings. Sounds like a solid foundation for basing your life on!

The Bible only makes claims. The Bible is not evidence.

Why is it so hard for people to understand that "My book is true because my book says it is true" is not a valid form of reasoning?

Why do a Christian expect a book written by unknown authors in a variety of languages, that was translated, rewritten, edited countless times ~ is evidence for anything?

It's just a book.

Every statement of "Jesus says" needs to start with "my old book says Jesus says...."

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Anti-Hip's avatar

If, instead, you could believe that alien (non-infinite, non-"loving") intelligence(s) is/are behind the origins (and maybe continuance) of the Abrahamic God -- *that* is something I can find plausible.

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Anti-Hip's avatar

"[I] asked God to show me, and He did"

Now you've circled back to square one. Again, you believe what, to a skeptic, is indistinguishable from a hallucination. You didn't address it the first time, so I must assume its import whooshed over your head.

"You're eating from and relying on the Tree of Knowledge, being your own god, and you call your knowledge 'beliefs.' "

Again, I make no such claim to being a god. Quite the opposite. As I said above: "I know nothing; I only believe. Here, I'm simply challenging *your* beliefs with *my* beliefs." I say only that in the obvious absence of such a creature as God, I take matters into my own hands. You're right only about the pro-active part of my beliefs -- but nothing else about my attitude.

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Anti-Hip's avatar

"If the alleged reality of this cannot be systematically *transferred* from a believer to a receiving skeptic (because of missing "senses"), it's useless to the receiver."

I should add that this failure to receive (due to missing senses) also makes the receiver *unaccountable* to the alleged God the godmonger asserts. So much for pistol-whipping many of the thinking non-believers into compliance post-Enlightenment, the way it had been done successfully prior to that time.

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Dennis Merwood's avatar

John 3:16. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son for part of a weekend."

тАЬFor all addicted religious person who lights a candle for me, then verily it shall be immediately bloweth out by me.

I didn't ask for your candle to be lit for me.

I don't want it.

I don't need it.

Please have your Candle back thank you very much.тАЭ тАУ the great atheist Cristopher Hitchens

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Anti-Hip's avatar

John 3:16. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son ... "

The entire premise that there is some great "loss" to the all-powerful creator of the universe, one that binds people to "owe" him or otherwise pay the price, is simply insane. Yet I understand it is the most quoted Biblical phrase. Who knew he was such a bean-counter? It conjures up those pagan gods always looking for human sacrifices to throw into the fire pit.

As Hume pointed out (thru a dialog character), "It is an absurdity to believe that the Deity has human passions, and one of the lowest of human passions, a restless appetite for applauseтАЭ

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Anti-Hip's avatar

Re thee, thou, [verb]-eth, verily, etc.

It's also preposterous that many Christians seem to be awed by mid-second-millennium English. As if it has magical powers to sound like "God's voice", rather than being completely an accident of time and place, and a translation to boot.

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Shnarkle Von Barkle's avatar

Re: "This may very well be an instance where the creator has a course of action in mind for the nation and has chosen an individual to fill his will."

The infamous Egyptian Pharaoh of the book of Exodus comes to mind. Trump epitomizes the collective greed of society today and one would have to be blind to not see how he has been energized by everything that is thrown at him. The biblical God "hardens" (another good translation is "strengthens") what's already there to make sure that as H.L. Menken has said, "the people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard."

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Paving the Way's avatar

That attitude allows Dispensationalist Christians to do nothing.

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The Real Mary Rose's avatar

Sometimes doing nothing has a massive impact. Ignoring demons is immensely effective. Praying keeps them away. We can only take care of ourselves and our communities, to a lesser extent. That's not doing nothing.

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Carolyn's avatar

GOD'S will is going to be done. Like it or not. HE has already won this war. The final battles are now being fought.

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The Real Mary Rose's avatar

It's amazing how many people understand this that I run into lately! So heartening. I found out a woman I play pickleball with and hike with is a conservative Christian. She didn't advertise, so I didn't know. Once we started chatting about the trans agenda, I knew! A kindred soul. Hallelujah!

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MarshaLouise's avatar

Faith!

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Paul B, Cohen's avatar

I don't see that his post asserts absolute surety. It only postulates a reasonable scenario described using words such as "if" and "seem."

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