~LOA

I do happen to believe in reincarnation, that we are souls with bodies on a...journey of seeking, of understanding. I'm not really making sense am I? But what i've tried to explain is pretty much how I percieve things to be.

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"Well if it's gonna be that kind of a party, I'm putting my dick in the mashed potatoes!"

P.S. Quatre Winner, do you know how WEIRD it is responding to someone with the name of a Gundam Wing character? I keep forming a mental image of a short, compassionate, Arabian blond with a high-pitched voice. Very strange.

P.P.S. Again to Quatre Winner. You ARE making sense. At least to me. Thank you for enlightening us with your views.

*L* Wanna know something? I AM short, thin and very blond. My boyfriend says i'm compassionate but sometimes i'm not so sure. And my voice isn't all that high. it's not all that deep either.

Dan also said: P.P.S. Again to Quatre Winner. You ARE making sense. At least to me. Thank you for enlightening us with your views.

Thanks!

Revelations is silly.

It occurred to me, that saying that what is written in Revelations MUST happen is in direct conflict with the concept of "free will" used by so many religious types to try and justify why people suffer for what is seemingly, to rational people, 'no good reason.'

That aside, one would accept that the Antichrist will have a thorough understanding of scripture (otherwise how would he know what prophecies to fulfil?) Therefore he will most likely be a religious leader rather than a temporal one. Pat Robertson comes to mind.

Now, we know that the AC is supposed to be a man... The "Omen" movies notwithstanding. Therefore, he must have Free Will. Now... if the AC REALLY wanted to twist God's panties in a bunch... he'd be best off not doing ANYTHING that was in Revelations. It'd be too obvious.

Really, religious experts have been predicting the imminent Apocalypse in signs of the times as far back as when it was first written. Heck, when Christ was ACTIVE there were several groups of Apocalyptic Jews, who believed that the end of the world was near. Some scholars even hypothesize that Jesus was one... which would explain, a lot more easily than twisting it into 'metaphor,' why JC told some of his followers that they would "not taste of death before the kingdom of God shall arrive."

It occurred to me, that saying that what is written in Revelations MUST happen is in direct conflict with the concept of "free will"

Hey, now, predicting what's going to happen isn't the same thing as causing it to happen. We're not talking about self-fulfiling prophecy. We're talking about LEGITIMATE prophecy, which is a whole other deal.

And before you try to argue about it being legitimate, remember, I'm arguing against your interpretation, not your views.

That said, your next point is also negated.

if the AC REALLY wanted to twist God's panties in a bunch... he'd be best off not doing ANYTHING that was in Revelations.

Only assuming his main objective is to prove God wrong, as opposed to deceiving as many souls as possible.

Oh yes, yes it is.

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Not even a god can deny that I have squared the circle of a static Earth and cubed the Earth sphere by rotating it once to a dynamic Time or Life Cube.
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Gene Ray
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Read three (three!) chapters of "Dirk Tungsten in...The Disappearing Planet" Or don't. You know, whatever.

What's this? God didn't expect to think that all of us to think out of the box, did he? If somebody is gonna layeth the smackdown on MY planet, I damn well wanna now WHY!

So, to quote the humans, up YOURS!

It is when you're GOD, and you DO cause it to happen.

See, when you're GOD, an omnipotent, omniscient being in CHARGE of running the Universe, the words 'cause' and 'allow' are semanticaly identical.

"Only assuming his main objective is to prove God wrong, as opposed to deceiving as many souls as possible."

Same difference.
Of course, nobody YET has explained to my satisfaction just what it is Lucifer/Satan/Sammael wants with human souls. Are they, like, fuel for the war effort? Soldiers? Bricks in the Wall?

What does God need with a starship? What does Lucifer need with souls? They won't give him what he wants, rule over Heaven, so what's the deal?

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The government that seems the most unwise, oft goodness to the people best supplies. That which is meddling, touching everything, will work but ill, and disappointment bring. - The Tao Te Ching

Ah, but there's your problem. God DOESN'T run the universe. He COULD, but he chooses not to interfere most of the time. See, God's not a liberal. He doesn't believe in micromanaging every little portion of your life. I suppose you could legitimately say that God is the cause of every event in history, as God is the ultimate Source, but every event that has ever happened has NOT been God's will. There's a difference between setting up a sequence of events that causes something only after being interfered with by others; and actively DOING it.

Of course, nobody YET has explained to my satisfaction just what it is Lucifer/Satan/Sammael wants with human souls.

Simple: he wants to hurt God as much as possible, and that's the way to do it. If you can't hurt Him directly, hurt something He cares about.

quote:

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God DOESN'T run the universe. He COULD, but he chooses not to interfere most of the time. See, God's not a liberal. He doesn't believe in micromanaging every little portion of your life. I suppose you could legitimately say that God is the cause of every event in history, as God is the ultimate Source, but every event that has ever happened has NOT been God's will.

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"If you can't beat your computer at chess, try kickboxing."