Dear NNS,

I wanted to sign off, but your remarks get up my nose. You wrote:

"Who defines what sin is? God does."

Which God does the defining? Is it Allah or Krishna? The poor Muslims and Hindus get their guidance from Allah and Krishna, and there is no evidence that they behave any the worse for it. It is so narrow and parochial to think the god you believe in should decide what is sin for people who have other gods or no god.

Is the concept of sin even necessary to live a good life? As I wrote I would rather not think in terms of sin but in other ways of getting along in society - altruistic - selfish, considerate - inconsiderate etc. As far as I am concerned morality has nothing to do with sin or your silly religion. Morality is merely a way that people have worked out to get along in society. If you treat other people well they generally will treat you well. Doesn't have to have anything to do with God or sin.

Dear Not_Now.Soon,

Indeed, hatred will not disappear in a puff of smoke if you become less pushy, but at least it will not grow further, then have a better chance of healing sooner.

Some people do like to be corrected, provided it is done sensitively with genuine concern, at the right time and place. Your claim, however, that what is good for you is good for everybody, that what works for you works for everybody, is not a correction, but comes from ignorance.

I was not discussing any arbitrary paths, but only paths that lead to God, and all paths that lead to God, lead equally to the same and only God. Some take longer, other shorter, some are relatively easier, others extremely tough and arduous. Regardless, everyone and everything has a path and all will return to God in due course.

Surely you should hold onto high standards and not switch away in times of crisis when the wind blows the other way. First, however, you need to accept those standards in your heart. As you can see, your style of operation does not encourage others to accept your standards in their hearts.

I have much appreciation for your teacher and saviour, Jesus Christ, who incarnated to save the souls of Jews and show them their path during a spiritually very low point in their history. This however is far from being the first nor last time that God came down to guide and help.

In the Bhagavad-Gita, 4:7-8, Shri Krishna says:

"Whenever there is decline of righteousness and rise of evil, I manifest Myself. For the protection of the righteous, for the destruction of wicked, and for the establishment of Dharma¹, I am born in every age."

While your individual path to God is clear, I wish you can have similar respect for all other incarnations of God: past, present and future.

---
¹ "Dharma", often translated roughly as "religion" or "righteousness", is more accurately derived from the word "carry", thus means "the conditions/environment that is necessary to support/carry spiritual evolution".

Dear Toni,

«They keep coming up with artifacts and remains and stuff that they claim to be older than the beginning of the universe in circa 6,000 BC.»

Incidentally, according to literal reading of the bible, the universe is about 2 million years old (as old as mankind). This wouldn't satisfy archaeologists and physicists, but nevertheless it's significantly more than 6000 years.

You see, men and women were created on the 6th day (Genesis 1:27), but Adam was only created in Genesis 2:7, directly from earth+soul, unrelated to the previous human race. Without that, Genesis 4:17 cannot be explained: "And Cain knew his wife and she conceived" - where else could Cain (and later Seth) get a wife from otherwise?

Apparently, Adam was the first man to have a soul, yet not the first man, whereas the previous human race was for many generations soulless like animals.

... just an interesting thought...

//Incidentally, according to literal reading of the bible, the universe is about 2 million years old (as old as mankind). This wouldn't satisfy archaeologists and physicists, but nevertheless it's significantly more than 6000 years.//

Yeah, I prefer to go with the physicists and the geologists.

//but Adam was only created in Genesis 2:7, directly from earth+soul, unrelated to the previous human race. Without that, Genesis 4:17 cannot be explained: "And Cain knew his wife and she conceived" - where else could Cain (and later Seth) get a wife from otherwise?//

Genesis 2:21-23
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

I think that's generally the accepted version of the birth of womankind. And yes, it is entirely too Freudian and Norman Bates for my liking.

But in Jewish folklore, it is accepted that when Cain was banished to the land of Nod for his murder, he consorted there with the creatures that dwelt in that land. One in particular by the name of Lilith, who is a dark character indeed - a sort of mother of demons.

//Apparently, Adam was the first man to have a soul, yet not the first man, whereas the previous human race was for many generations soulless like animals.

... just an interesting thought...//

A very interesting thought indeed. We've had our disagreements in the past over metaphysics, but nevertheless I enjoy your posts. Keep on doing what you do... maybe I'll understand it in my next life.

Dear Toni Lavis,

You may find the following interesting.

http://www.greatnewstory.com/the-sumerian-legacy/

"Finally Ninhursag comes back and she places Enki between her legs and asks him in what body parts he is ill. Then she creates eight healing goddesses, one for each body part, and soon Enki is well again. One of the sick body parts is the ribs, and in Sumerian the word for rib is “ti”. The goddess created to heal Enki’s rib is called “Nin-ti”, which means the “rib woman”. However, the Sumerian word “ti” also means “life” or “to make life”, so “Nin-ti” also can mean “the woman who makes life”. The Sumerians were very fond of such puns, but this pun was of course lost on the bible authors, since the name Eve in Hebrew (Chavvah) may resemble the Hebrew word for “life” (Chay), but have no resemblance with the Hebrew word for “rib” (Tsela)(or `ala` in Aramaic)."

To David f.

I get what you mean wanting to be done with this conversation but keep being pulled back to it. Believe it or not, I didn't start this conversation looking for a fight. I meant to start it on a way To find God and test if it's true or not. That was all. Of course that's not where the conversation went. And what many people have said also got up my nose, regardless of intent of the conversation. Instead of giving an opportunity to see if there is merit by what I'm saying, I am pushed to defend Christianity, by both those who want me to prove my religion is right instead of any other faith's, as well as by trying to correct common lies and misconceptions applied to Christianity. I am pushed to fight for my faith as a whole, by just offering any points within it. When you said, "Enough," my first thought was finally something we can agree on.

But I will try to answer your questions. Your points, I suppose that weren't suppose to be answerable.

(Continued)