It would be my criticism of ‘evangelicals’ also waterboy, where faith becomes a retreat into some kind of safety net, rather than perhaps showing a strength of confidence in the face of great risk and uncertainty. I think the risk many evangelicals also face is in their failure to understand Jesus as a Jewish figure teaching and acting within Judaism, here the risk is great that they misunderstand as to what he was on about.

As to the question of “Why?,”Michael Novac gives a poignant expression of this in, ‘ No One Sees God: The Dark Night of Atheists and Believers’, “..Granted that I am overcome with the experience of nothingness, how should I live? The alternatives come down to two: some form of suicide (drugs, drink, fast living, killing time will do) such as Albert Camus contemplated in the Myth of Sisyphus. Or this: creatio ex nihilo,reaching down into nothingness to create a new being..." He adds also, but by what light? Following which stars? For in order to have one’s "soul go far beyond any human contrivance you must be willing to go out into the desert and the night" (as did Elijah).

What is our modern nihilism? Nietzsche gave good answer: "The aim is lacking; 'why?' finds no answer." Some thing is to be achieved through the process - and now one realises that ‘becoming’ aims at nothing and achieves nothing."

HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH

This article states---- <Not the old life of the living dead but the new life of the living dying.>

Wasn't it once stated by some author that---- < the only thing sadder than life is death itself> A more realistic statement,one not based on the belief in life after death.

Then there are the words of the song <HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH>
Our only option then is to try to live as fulfilling a life as we can while we are alive. Find some kind of hope and joy in every day despite sometimes bleak circumstances.

<TWO MEN LOOKED THROUGH PRISON BARS, ONE SAW MUD THE OTHER SAW STARS

Waterboy,

To quote Sells:

"We are told that speed kills and we are fined if we exceed the limit by only a fraction. Without speed we could go nowhere, which is the point of the motor car. What kills is recklessness, not speed."

So while Sells might have been trying to say "Carpe diem" or seize the day, he gave a couple of very bad examples.

Taking advantage of what life offers is always good advice, but to suspend rationality is not.

Shadow

I would say that it is not possible to live without 'suspending rationality' on a pretty regular basis.

How often do you have to make decisions without full information to guide your 'reason'? What place do emotions like love and wonder play in the 'rational' life? What 'reason' fires the appreciation of a Beethoven symphony?

Perhaps Sells choice of example was intended to illustrate how simplistic legislation often misses the point. Speed limits are used largely because they are relatively easy to enforce but they address safety issues only indirectly and with limited effect. Its a lot easier to write legislation that 'reduces risk' than it is to write legislation that 'gives life'. You cannot make yourself safe on the road just by obeying the speed limit. The question is not whether you are safe but whether the risk is worth it.

Driving at any speed involves risk, we used to ride horses for transport and how 'risky' was that? We choose to travel in spite of the risks involved because it turns out to be a necessity of life and a pathway to greater enjoyment of life. We take risks of all sorts in order to engage with our world and participate in society.

Sells point is not that speeding is ok but that it can be life-denying to elevate risk aversion to be a dominant factor in life choices and everyday desicion making. Risk can not be eliminated but it can be denied and it is cerftainly a fair question to ask whether that is a good thing.

OUG,

I'm not judging God....I am questioning the honesty and truth behind the stories about God as laid out in the Bible, and as taught by religions.

People who believe that GOD drowned innocent women and children are actually the ones totally misrepresenting their GOD. Churches are unreliable teachers because they skim over these falsehoods!

It is inexcusable to call God a loving, caring, compassionate GOD and then accept that GOD killed and authorised the killing of so many people as stated in the verses I have quoted.

Either GOD is a mass murderer OR the accounts are wrong!

It is the people who believe that the most intelligent being in the Universe could allow such things, and teach myth as fact that undermines GOD moe than anything I have stated.

If God exists, I am actually defending him/her/it against the untruths taught by the religions about the alleged actions based on myths contained in the Bible!

How will GOD judge those who are crazy enough to accept and teach he authorised these atrocities?

I believe the process of spiritual growth goes much deeper than what you suggest. The first thing is to realise that GOD couldn't have done such horrors. To undo false indoctrinations as taught from the texts and open ones life to love one another unreservedly.

To do this one can't oppress homosexuals, women, aboriginals or anyone. One can't limit women and homosexuals from travelling their spiritual journeys by implementing, with an iron bigotted fist, rules made by stupid men.

The rubbish that comes from the mouths of many religious people, that continues to encourage the oppression of others based on flawed and falsified religious texts is the greatest sin.

Show me a Christian who follows the command DO UNTO OTHERS....Matthew 7:12, and I'll be seeing a rarity in Christian society.

Are we safe? when the fact is most don't even know their Bibles, accepting blindly obviously wrong teachings? God gave us an enquiring mind...perhaps we should use it!

That is why I question so harshly...hopefully some might be brave enough to actually realise they are wrong!

Waterboy,

Rationality involves mitigating risk to an acceptable level, not eliminating it.

For example I am a far from placid driver, but shortly after getting my license, I put myself on an advanced drivers course with a police instructor who taught me to anticipate problems and to handle a car at speed and in adverse conditions such as a skid. The result is that in 30 years I have never had an accident, and have several times been able to avoid close calls from P platers etc.

There is no need to suspend rationality to enjoy art, love or any other emotion, rather to enhance it. It is a complimentry not an either/or situation. Likewise it would not be wise to exclude emotion from decision making, rather to acknowledge its limitations.

Life can be lived to the maximum without recklessness or suspension of rationality. Religion requires both.