Learning what others believe has absolutely nothing to do with compromising your own beliefs. Just because one is learning about others beliefs doesn't mean that one is searching for a new religious belief for oneself. It simply means that one is learning what others believe. Why are so many afraid of opening their minds up to knowledge. Knowledge is power.

Oh by the way, I agree that in the beginning Jesus never meant for his followers to branch out into so many different denominations. That is indeed man's doing. Still, there is nothing wrong with learning what others believe.

I encourage you to watch this video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsYF-41Pvtg

Not all denominations within Christianity believe this doctrine you speak of. Try researching the beliefs of other denominations within Christianity, instead of staying within your own little box (your own denomination).

In spite of me not being a hard core conservative I still listen to talk shows like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, ect. quite often. I missed today's Glenn Beck broadcast, but I did receieve the today's email newsletter. I was quite miffed at all the "Christians Attacking Christians" that's going on as I read the newsletter. Read on and you'll see what I mean.

From the Glenn Beck email newsletter:

Glenn not a Christian?

Glenn talked about his appearance on GMA yesterday in which the other guest involved in the segment said he did not believe Mormons were Christian. Fortunately, Glenn was too tired to bother getting overly upset about that claim, but it was still extremely frustrating. It got worse, though, because Glenn was asked to basically explain all of the beliefs of the Mormon Church---in about 40 seconds. Read the transcript here. Insiders listen here.

Read the transcript of the GMA appearance here.

Glenn's not Christian?
DECEMBER 07, 2007

GLENN BECK PROGRAM
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

GLENN: ABC wanted me to do something on Good Morning America. It was my understanding, but I've been so busy, I haven't been involved in all the details, but it was my understanding that Diane was going to have a conversation with me on Mitt Romney and what was happening with Mitt Romney and what I thought he should say in the speech, but that would be too reasonable. That would be a reasonable conversation to have. Instead when I arrive, Richard Land is there and he is a Southern Baptist and I said, hello, Richard, how are you? And we talked for a few minutes and he was a very pleasant man. We get on the air and Diane Sawyer, I think the first question out of her mouth is, are Mormons Christian? And, of course, his answer is no, they're not which, you know, under two hours sleep I've got to tell you I had a hard time, you know, just smiling and letting it pass, especially since I only had two hours sleep because I had done a Christmas show the night before where I was talking about the real meaning of Christmas being with redemption and about not the birth of the baby, about the empty tomb and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So I had a little hard -- it was very difficult for me to let that one pass, but I did.

The next question, with about 40 seconds to go, was about the deep doctrinal issues of Mormonism, and I've got to tell you something. I want you to put yourself in my shoes. Mormons, the doctrine is different. However, that's what attracted me to it. For me some of the things in traditional doctrine just doesn't work, but it works for millions of other people and that's great. Happens to work for millions of Mormons the other way. That's great. You know, I'm not going to preach to you, you don't have to preach to me. We'll pray for each other and we'll see each other on the other side hopefully.

Now, imagine, put yourself in this position. Let's say you are in Saudi Arabia where nobody's ever heard of the trinity. You're a Catholic. Nobody's ever heard of the trinity. What, the trinity? What, it's three in one, they're everywhere and nowhere. Jesus is on the cross but he's really God. So God has died but yet he didn't die and how does this -- imagine you've never heard this before. So you've never heard any kind of explanation. So it works. You know what I mean? You've never heard anybody say, no, no, no, wait, wait, wait, you've got to slow down. She asked me two questions about deep doctrine issues and I had in my ear, 40 seconds. Oh, well, hang on. I've got 40 seconds. Let me explain this to you. You can't explain it in 40 seconds. You can't explain anything of deep philosophical viewpoint or deep theological viewpoint. It took me a year of real studying to be able to understand some of the stuff in all of different doctrines, which leads me to this. Nobody really cares. Nobody really cares.

Look, I've said this before. You have more Jello with stupid carrots in it than you've ever -- I don't even know who came up with Jello and carrots but somehow or another the Mormons did and they're like, "Here, somebody's died, here, have some Jello and carrots." That just makes it worse for me. If you want to know, ask a Mormon. If the media wants to know, why don't you call somebody who, like, actually does this for a living. I hear the Mormons have a university. That's weird. Maybe you should call somebody at the university and talk about their theological doctrine. Have the theological issues taken care of by those people. But see, that's not what it's about. It's about an agenda. It's about an agenda that I'm telling you is going to backfire on the media because if Mitt Romney would get the nomination, Christians will then rally around him and say, whoa, wait a minute, hang on, this looks like it's a persecution of religion because that's exactly what it is.

If I got on the air and I said to you, I'm going to vote for Mitt Romney and I'm going to vote for Mitt Romney because he's a Mormon. Well, wouldn't you think that I'm the dumbest man in America? And you know what, you'd have every right to think that because if I just voted for Mitt Romney because he was a Mormon, I would also have to vote for Harry Reid, and I got news for ya. I ain't ever voting for Harry Reid. I don't care if he is Jack Mormon himself.

END TRANSCRIPT

The Goddess Companion

Hail to Inanna, the sky torch, the pure one.
Hail to heaven's noble one, crowned with great horns.
Hail to the Moon's oldest daughter, heaven's great queen.
I sing of her greatness, her beauty, her nobility.
I sing of her brilliance in the evening sky.
I sing of her rising, to shine down on all our lands.
~Babylonian Star-Rise Incantation

Winter nights give us an opportunity to see one of nature's great exhibitions: the star-filled sky. How many of our forebears saw the features of their gods and goddesses in those stars! In the many eons of prehistorical time, our ancestors studied the stars so closely that they have left astonishingly accurate star-maps all over the world, even predicting eclipses that have not yet occurred.

How much more distant we are today from the stars and from the earth. Once every child could find her way home on a dark night by noticing the positions of the stars. What intimate connection was forged between the heavens and the earth, when a star stood, like a beacon or a street sign, revealing directions and illustrating myths. As we sit by the starry blue light of our cathode tubes indoors today, have we really gained so much?

From "The Goddess Companion" by Patricia Monaghan

Today's Goddess: Ix Chebel Yax
La Quema del Diablo (Guatemala)

Themes: Protection; Banishing; Health; Providence; Home
Symbols: Lunar Emblems; Spinning Tools; Baskets

About Ix Chebel Yax: In Guatemala, this Goddess bears a striking resemblance to Ix Chel in that she teaches spinning, weaving, and basketry to humans. More important, she is a mother figure who watches over all household concerns from the moon, her home.

To Do Today: Part of the Guatemalan advent season, this festival finds people burning bundles of garbage in ritual fires to banish the spirit of evil, negativity, and sin from their midst, especially from the home. Doing so also purifies the people, keeping them healthy and staving off hunger. Go through your living space and gather up any garbage (including items that have been wanting for a trip to the secondhand shop). Find one item that can be safely burned, and snip a swatch off of it. Release it to any fire source to burn away any tensions or sickness troubling your home.

Afterward, clean as much of your house or apartment as time will allow. Invoke Ix Hebel Yax's blessing by placing a spool of thread in the room where you're working (white or green thread are good choices for peace and health, respectively). Carry this spool from room to room, then put it in your pocket for the day to keep the Goddess and her providence close by.

From "365 Goddess" By Patricia Telesco

Elder's Meditation

"A man should rely on his own resources; the one who so trains himself is ready for any emergency." --Oral Tradition, OMAHA

Man is designed to function independently and to rely on the Creator for his resources. If we build our relationship with the Great Spirit, we are ready when emergencies occur. We need to build a trusting relationship with the Creator. We do this by constantly talking with the Creator. It's good to talk to Him many times a day. Then we will realize, even though we can't see Him, that He is always with us and He is ready to respond to our requests.

God, let me remember to talk to You many times today.

http://www.whitebison.org/

Happily Addicted to the Web

(to the tune of "Winter Wonderland")

Doorbell rings, I'm not listenin';
From my mouth, drool is glistenin'
I'm happy -- although my boss let me go,
I'm Happily Addicted to the Web.

All night long, I keep clicking;
Unaware time is ticking;
There's beard on my cheek, same clothes for a week,
I'm Happily Addicted to the Web.

Friends come by, they shake me, sayin' "Yo, man!
Don't you know tonight's the senior prom?"
With a listless shrug, I mutter, "No, man --
I've just discovered Letterman-dot-com!"

I don't phone, don't send faxes;
Don't go out, don't pay taxes.
Who cares if someday they haul me away?
I'm Happily Addicted to the Web.
Happily Addicted to the Web.
Happily Addicted to the Web!

by David Pogue, writing in Macworld magazine; http://www.davidpogue.com/pogue_unplugged/songspoofs.html

Reread it sweatpea... I did speak for myself.

Frankincense Bath Kisses

These lusciously scented "kisses" are a bathtime luxury. Melt one ounce cocoa butter and 2/3 ounce shea butter (available in most health
food stores)in a microwave, then add 1/3 ounce sweet almond oil and 1/8 teaspoon each frankincense and sweet orange essential oils. Pour
into small candy molds and place in the freezer for 20 minutes. Remove from molds. Place one or two 'kisses' into hot bath water. Store the rest in a ziplock bag in the freezer.

The Goddess Companion

Where is the woman who refused to marry?
Look: she is in a kayak going to sea with a puffin.
Where is the father of the woman who refused to marry?
He is taking her home in a kayak to the mainland.
Now he is taking the woman back home.
Now a storm is rising. Now the wind is rising.
Now the man is pushing the woman into the sea.
Now she is clinging to the boat. Now he is striking her.
With a knife he is cutting her fingers. Seals emerge.
Again he is striking at her arms. Whales emerge.
Now she is sinking, Sedna the beautiful.
Now she is sinking. The tide is taking her.
~Inuit Song

One of the most powerful and violent of the world's goddess myths is the story of Sedna, the great Goddess of Abundance to the Artic Inuit people and their relatives the Inupiat and Yup'ik. A woman who found no human man appealing enough to marry, Sedna was finally courted and won by a sea bird. He took her to an island, where she lived in a huge best and ate fish scraps. After some time, her father came to rescue her, but the sea rose up against him, for the bird was a prince of the ocean.

The man, realizing he could not win against the elements, pushed his daughter overboard. She clung to the side of the boat. He pushed her away. She sank beneath the waves. And there, she underwent a
transformation. From her arms, whales emerged; from her fingers, seals. The foodstuff from which her people would rely came from Sedna's body.

Variants of this myth - in which a primal mother gives up her body in order to feed her people - appear across the world. However shocking it might seem, it encodes an inescapable truth: we live of the lives of others. To do so without gratitude is the ultimate insult to our great mother, nature.

From "The Goddess Companion" by Patricia Monaghan

Today's Goddess: Takanakapsaluk
Kashim (Alaska)

Themes: Providence; Purification; Strength; Thankfulness; Luck; Health
Symbols: Saltwater; Artic Animals

About Takanakapsaluk: This Artic Sea Goddess rules over the successful catching of game and over
personal health. Takanakapsaluk lives far beneath the cold waters, where she also recieves the spirits of the dead and cares for them.

To Do Today: Among Inuit hunters, this is the time of year when special rituals propitiate the spirits of Takanakapsaluk's animals, who give themselves for the tribe's food. Specifically the bladders of seals, whales and polar bears are returned to her icy waters in thankfulness. In a similar spirit, go to any open body of water and toss in a small biodegradable offering to the Goddess in thanks for your food. Consider abstaining from meat today, or from some other beloved food, as a way of showing appreciation for the Goddess's bounty.

The Kashim traditionally includes ritual fire jumping and sweat baths for purification. Try this yourself by jumping a small candle (carefully, please) or taking a steamy shower (the goddess is part of that water). Additionally, any show of physical prowess todaybrings continued strength. So, add a little exercise to your day. Take a brisk walk, do some jumping jacks. As you do, think of Takanakapsaluk filling you with revitalizing health.

From "365 Goddess" By Patricia Telesco

Elder's Meditation

"I've had a long regard for generational things: pottery, cultural things, participation in dancing, extended family. Only in that way does culture survive; only in that way is culture active." --Tessie Naranjo, SANTA CLARA PUEBLO

Culture teaches us how to live and it ensures that knowledge about life is handed down from generation to generation. Culture gives us the feeling of belonging. It helps us raise our family in a good way. It teaches us how to treat one another. Culture sets boundaries for societies. We need to develop our culture. If we have left our culture, then we need to come back to it. Culture leads us back to the Great Spirit. Sometimes in our lives, we leave what we know works and experiment with something else. Then we get into trouble. So we need to come back home. Indian people are lucky to have a culture to return to.

Creator, thank you for the culture. Let me live it today.

http://www.whitebison.org/

The pentagram/pentacle has been associated with many cultures around the world throughout history including Christianity. It's one of those symbols universal symbols that has meant many things to many peoples.

I don't believe I contradicted myself. I was explaining my beliefs in further detail. If you are asking for one specific description of God, in my opinion you won't be able to get it, because God can't be described in just one way. This entity that we call God, in my opinion, is a Spirit without form. But as I stated already, because we are mere humans, we have a hard time with grasping the nonphysical. So our minds have to put a name and a face to this Entity we call God. This Entity is anything and everything to all who believe. You will get many different descriptions of this Entity, some if not all (especially if you choose not to believe in such an Entit) will sound "delusional" to you. I haven't even read this entire thread and I can see that you are just baiting everyone and not really offering any of your own thoughts. What you are doing is called trolling.

Is that a most recent picture of yourself? Not bad for a guy in his 50's.

It meant that we are all delusional, at least according to the author of this thread from what I gather. Anyway, I'm not empty, I just ate dinner, it was quite yummy... garlic chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy... yummmm.

I'm still reading back on page 10 trying to play catch up... yeah it is like a train wreck... you just can't stop looking.

You're delusional. Here, take one of my Zoloft, Topamax, and Celexa and go meditate in the corner.

I believe "The Great Big Entity In The Cosmos" has many "faces" so to speak. This Entity can't be described really, however, it can be anything and everything to everyone who believes. I believe we humans have a hard time grasping the concept of an Entity without physical form, so through mankind's history we have given this Entity a physical form in ways that are familar to us. Some have seen the Entity as half human, half animal, others as a god or goddess, others have seen the Entity as a whole host of other familar forms. So am I "delusional" as well, funches?