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Pastor Rick
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Registered: 07-2005
Location: Texas
Posts: 1900
Karma: 29 (+42/-13)
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Re: Melchizedek
I know a lot of boards attempt this. I think James did a good job recruiting Lesigner Girl to act as a counter to James and I and keep things honest I also know that he wants a couple of mods with opposing views as well so everything doesn't fall to the admin level...
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8/25/2008, 9:38 pm
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Morwen Oronor
Resident Scholar
Registered: 01-2008
Location: South Africa
Posts: 1743
Karma: 15 (+28/-13)
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Re: Melchizedek
I didn't want to allow controversy on Anything Goes because of Iris who is very special to me. She and I have strong opposing views, as is pretty obvious, and I really don't want to upset her by arguing with people in her forum, so I have to shut down any talk that looks like it's going to lead to argument.
I had hoped that Political Forum would develop into more than just the politics blog that it has become for three or four of us who comment there, but it seems that most people don't want to debate politics or that it is difficult to do that and not attack your opponent, although why that should be I don't know.
In that board's religion forum, I have a problem with the Bible being used as a source of explanation for everything because it isn't. It is not accepted in history apart from as Lesa and I have said so many times on this board, because it confirms the existence of the places that history confirms it doesn't confirm that that book itself contains true stories.
For example in the part of my course that dealt with the Romans in Judaea, we were allowed to quote from the Bible regarding the existence of Jesus as the origins of Christianity but only from the point of view of the belief system of the early Christians.
And it is because of this that if someone is going to argue a philosophy with me, I want more than "the Bible says" as a counter-argument.
The Political Forum is not meant as a forum for intense philosophical debate, really only as a day-to-day commentary on everyday events. This board gives me the opportunity for more intense philosophical debate so I am really pleased to be able to express my disbelief in an atmosphere of friendly understanding.
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8/25/2008, 11:15 pm
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Morwen Oronor
Resident Scholar
Registered: 01-2008
Location: South Africa
Posts: 1743
Karma: 15 (+28/-13)
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Re: Melchizedek
True I don't want to fight with anyone anyway and I'm never going to be convinced about the Bible so we can agree to disagree and we can do that in a spirit of mutual respect.
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8/26/2008, 12:10 pm
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Morwen Oronor
Resident Scholar
Registered: 01-2008
Location: South Africa
Posts: 1743
Karma: 15 (+28/-13)
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Re: Melchizedek
To be honest, I never really gave it much thought except that it was an irritation when I was growing up because my father insisted that we needed to know the history of 'our people' and he desperately wanted to visit Israel and take us with him. He just never got the chance because he died before he retired.
I found it boring as a child, all the laws and the begats and so on. Then when I got older and learned more about the world, some of the poetry struck me as rather lovely (I love classical music and I particularly love the message behind the concept of Christmas and the carols) so there was beauty in it for me.
But as a work of history, I discounted that as soon as people tried to convince me that Moses lived for hundreds of years and Methuselah was 900 years or that Abraham begat Isaac when Sarah was an old woman and so on. And that was when I started questioning that it wasn't truth but mythology.
Then when I started reading Ancient History for a degree, it was discussed from the point of view of source material and we were told in our first year course on the ancient history of the Near East that it was not acceptable because it's authenticity is questioned and I said 'thank you' because I had been right all along. It is accepted from the point of view that is it accepted by the Jewish people as their ancient history and there is a distinct difference. Because the Jews believe that Moses wrote the stories in the first 5? books, that doesn't make the belief valid nor does it make it true.
As my course and my reading of other source material showed me that no other sources quote it as their source, I questioned it even further.
To cut a long story short, I gave up on religion at about 16. I've never taken part in any religious service or process since then. I've chosen rather to make my own decisions about our origins and our cultures from reading all the source material I could find, rather than base my own philosophy on one person's opinion.
Much like in the way that I deal with psychology - my other major subject and interest - I don't subscribe to one psychologist's point of view about the way our brains work. I prefer to consult all the different viewpoints and then figure out what the problem is and how to solve it by making sense out of what the various theorists have in common.
To me the Bible is a book or a collection of works written by various different authors about the mythology behind and philosophy of the Jewish religion (Old Testament) and the mythology behind and philosophy of Christians (New Testament). I don't think that the philosophy is bad. Not at all it's wonderful philosophy but it's the same thing that has been said by every humanitarian before and since and it is the basis of the Human Rights Movement - treat other people the way you would like to be treated yourself.
But as proof that God exists and that Jesus either existed or that he was the son of a god that I don't believe in, would be the same as if I were to believe in Zeus and the gods of Ancient Greece. It's just mythology and I'm know starting to think that a lot of it was very early man's attempt at composing fiction from ancient mythology.
I don't think it's stories are unique. And again I would urge you to take a look at the mythology I've summarised on the League of Nationalities board and you'll see what I mean. it is different in that it is the first early anthology of different peoples' work and I don't disbelieve some of the history like for instance the building of Solomon's Temple. That temple has been shown to have existed by modern archeology but I do disbelieve the story of Noah's Ark for instance.
But as the basis of a belief system. No, I've managed to live without a 'belief' system for all of my adult life. I prefer to live according to a self-formulated philosophy that applies to my individual life.
I hope that long waffle answers your questions.
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8/27/2008, 10:48 am
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Order ofMelchizedek
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Registered: 07-2006
Location: Here I am
Posts: 504
Karma: -2 (+21/-23)
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Re: Melchizedek
quote: I hope that long waffle answers your questions.
Yes, thanks for that explanation. Of course, I see it quite differently, probably the exact opposite, but it is interesting to see where people are coming from in their beliefs.
So, it seems that you're strictly atheist then, with no belief in any kind of deity? And you believe that this is it, there is nothing after death?
--- Lord, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I’m not scared 'cause You’re holding my breath.
I only fear that I don’t have enough time left, to tell the world that there’s no time left. -G1C
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8/27/2008, 2:32 pm
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Morwen Oronor
Resident Scholar
Registered: 01-2008
Location: South Africa
Posts: 1743
Karma: 15 (+28/-13)
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Re: Melchizedek
Absolutely. I have no fear of death because I have no fear in life. The only thing I fear is that someone may hurt me physically but there is very little else that I fear. Certainly not people and I never think of myself as 'sinning', except when it comes to chocolate. I enjoy life and I embrace it, the good and the bad and I know that nothing lasts forever, so if the good comes to an end, so does the bad and life is for living and for enjoying everything that there is on offer, as long as the enjoyment is not interfering with someone else's enjoyment of their fair share.
I would never die for any cause. I believe in living and in protecting life because it is the only shot that any living creature has at it.
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8/27/2008, 2:39 pm
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Sertab
Registered user
Registered: 05-2005
Posts: 176
Karma: 10 (+15/-5)
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Re: Melchizedek
I just wanted to say hi and welcome
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8/31/2008, 9:11 am
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