Re: Rationalism

Hi Ya'll,

Sorry to have arrived so late to the party, and thnaks for having me.

& for saving some of that good Episcopalian punch for me; that's what
my granMa preferred (as opposed to Baptist punch).

On Nov 10, 4:29 pm, Janice <jan...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


It is my understanding that the definition of "atheism" means a
rejection of deities (& possibly the supernatural). I haven't heard
of any doctrinal belief system associated with atheism. Perhaps you
are confusing atheism & atheists with Humanism & Humanists?

The arguments get confusing and misinterpreted when we don't define
our terms.

Even given definitions, things can remain confusing if different
people believe in different dictionaries. One source i find says
simply: "the doctrine or belief that there is no God".

IF we could all agree on Merriam Webster:

}
Main Entry: athe·ism
Pronunciation: \ˈā-thē-ˌi-zəm\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French athéisme, from athée atheist, from Greek
atheos godless, from a- + theos god
Date: 1546
1 archaic : ungodliness, wickedness
2 a : a disbelief in the existence of deity b : the doctrine that
there is no deity
{

2b Indicating that atheism is indeed doctrinal. In the Opinion of
some, it is also dogmatic.

More simply, altho' my ignorance of etymology is surpassed by only my
ignorance of lots of stuff, atheism derives from "without god", as
agnostic (see Huxley?) stems from "not known".

Here's some up2date related newsItems:
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2009/11/13/Atheist-billboard-is-moved-after-threats/UPI-87491258091561/
http://www.examiner.com/x-2044-Atheism-Examiner~y2009m6d29-Florida-gets-atheist-billboard
http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2009/11/12/britney-spears-twitter-account-hacked/

On Nov 10, 3:48 pm, really real <reallyr...@xxxxxxx> wrote:

My problem with Tibetan Buddhism is that it seems to drag people down,
taking away from their life on earth, in the hope that an afterlife will
be better.

What?

The goal of Buddhism is enlightenment in order to help others to
enlightenment...

You may be right, you may be wrong. I ain't gonna worry all day long.

When i was a wee lad i always heard the Bodhisattva Vow to contain the
phrase "to alleviate the suffering of all sentient beings".

Now with the Advent of the innernest, thnigs are evermore confusing &
misinterpreted; but i think (or feel) it doesn't matter so long as the
end purpose is achieved (but the Desire to Attain "It" is a boonDoggle
in itSelf).

Whether by the Small Boat which carries only the one, or the Large
Boat which carries the many.

I wish i could post a U2B of Van's "enlightenment", but his stuff is
wellPoliced.

& rr, remind me sometime to tell the story of the Tibetan Buddhist
butter sculpture from my granMa's purview.

i'd like to get some sleep before i travel,
rdd
+++
Chop that wood
Carry water
What's the sound of one hand clapping
Enlightenment, don't know what it is

For DL (sadly compressed & clipped; if u like it, buy the product, not
the mp3 download) (5.65MB):
http://www.mediafire.com/file/ujxhgdodxml/VM_Enl.mp3



Wake Up!


It's up to you





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mcMApFCQkk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MusfLf3Wkl0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVwp1NTacpo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LAMA4trapI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUKB3PxG-0E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFMd_xY9HD0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jJiLDXpKJs
.

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