No, to be honest with you, I'm not interested in any of that. I am
secure with my faith and am not open to debate about it. But thanks for
your comments, nonetheless.

Yeah, I agree. This one was only like $21, tax and all, so it's easily
replaced.

well, like i say....it was working PERFECTLY yesterday...so who knows?

Could be a bug, could be faulty driver...could be anything. I just know
it'll be easier to just go out and buy a new cam for 20 bucks than it
would be to stand on my head.

LOL.

well, mine sure wore out fast! even though I've had it for about a year,
I've only used it for about a week. LOL.

Hmm..nope, tried it again, still didn't work. It's an elcheapo Icatch
webcam from wally world.

uses sunplus spca561

Ok, I'll try stomping on it. Thanks.

did that but I'll try it again

I don't drink.

Better her than me, is all I've got to say.

lol

Was working perfectly fine yesterday, clear picture, normal, vibrant
color...

Turn it on a while ago and it's somewhat dark and green.

So I messed around with the settings a little bit, didn't seem to help
much, so downloaded a new driver for it.

That didn't seem to do much either, so I messed around with settings
some more (just bright and contrast and speed and so forth) and, all of
a sudden, the picture turns upside-down!

Now I don't know how to change it back.

I didn't change any setting that had to do with the position of the
picture.

There's something awfwy scewy going on awound heah.

Pretty!

:-)

Yes, it happened to me when I was about 14, and was a precursor to my
having panic attacks. Whether or not it was related to that, I'm not
sure. I also got hit indirectly by lightning before the PAs started, so
that might also have had something to do with it.

From Wikipedia:

"Sleep paralysis is a condition characterized by temporary paralysis of
the body shortly after waking up (known as hypnopompic paralysis) or,
less often, shortly before falling asleep (known as hypnagogic
paralysis).


The Nightmare, by Henry Fuseli (1781) is thought to be one of the
classic depictions of sleep paralysis perceived as a demonic
visitation.Physiologically, it is closely related to the paralysis that
occurs as a natural part of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is
known as REM atonia. Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain awakes from a
REM state, but the bodily paralysis persists. This leaves the person
fully aware, but unable to move. In addition, the state may be
accompanied by hypnagogic hallucinations.

More often than not, sleep paralysis is believed by the person affected
by it to be no more than a dream. This explains many dream recountings
which describe the person lying frozen and unable to move. The
hallucinatory element to sleep paralysis makes it even more likely that
someone will interpret the experience as a dream, since completely
fanciful objects may appear in the room alongside one's normal vision."

Hope that helps.

Miles, so what if you can look it up in an encyclopedia? I'm not sure I
get your point. There are lots of religions that have things in common
with Christianity.

and what that has to do with my belief in God is beyond me.

i don't believe in Greek mythology, etc.

Miles, I don't say "well, I've believed this all my life so it must be
true." There again, yet ANOTHER person who thinks that just because
someone chooses to worship God and follow Christianity that they must be
some kind of a "moron." Yes, only those smart enough to have 'figured
out' are the ones with any "brains." GMAFB, wouldja?

I can't speak for Abra, but non-believers often have to have thick skin
when called upon to make a declaration of their own beliefs.

And you presume believers don't???

****

Often one doesn't ask for these confrontations, they just happen. Such
as when strangers knock on the door and try to convert me.

How do you think *I* feel when strangers knock on my door and try to
convert me, even AFTER I tell them I'm already a Christian???

***

When you *try* to tell them "No, thanks", they'll do the 20 questions
dealie on me, and when my reasons don't resonate with their beliefs,
*they* often become haughty and, sometimes, even abusive.

Preaching to the choir. A JW followed me around while I was mowing the
yard one day! I turned around and started "chasing" her with the
lawnmower!

***

If I had absolutely had to wear a label, it would say 'Secular
Humanist'. Or John Donne-ist (paraphrased):

"Anyone's death diminishes me, because I am involved in humankind; and
therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for
thee."

Wonderful.

***

See, I think if your faith brings you comfort, if its rites and rituals
lift your spirits, I wholeheartedly think you should not be dissuaded
from that which sets you free from the pain, the uncertainty, the fear
of the unknown and whatever else wounds your psyche.

It's not a matter of that and that alone. I don't believe in God simply
as a way of "managing my fears." For one thing, my belief in God has
very few times brought me any level of emotional comfort. That may sound
"odd," but it's true. But I know that having a belief in God doesn't
guarantee me any measurse of comfort, of happiness or of a sense of
well-being, necessary. Many people who are belivers have suffered
siginificantly, and far more than what I ever have.

***

I just wish fundamentalists would do God's work, not his job.

Totally agree with you there.

***

There's just so much out there yet to do, and couldn't care less who
gets the credit. I think eternity will take care of itself. To yet again
paraphrase, "Like charity, eternity begins at home." By that, I mean the
human heart and soul empties itself into the great ocean of the Racial
Memory, which goes forward without end as long as there is a single
person left to remember.

Strive to be Excellent to each other.

Sounds good to me.

You addressed this to me specifically, so I will point out for you that
I'm the farthest thing from being a "fundamentalist" there is.

-Sheila C.

Abra, i guess I take issue with the fact the only people you seem to
have a problem with are Christians. And oftentimes you don't just
present a point of view, you speak as though because Christians believe
what they believe, that they are ignorant.

I say, how can millions upon millions of people be "wrong," and your
point of view is "right?" I know that it is your perception, but, being
that it's ONLY perception and not based on FACT, then you're not in any
kind of position to say that my belief is wrong, any more than for me to
say that yours is.

Some of your philosophies I agree with...others I vehemently disagree
with. But I won't attack you for your beliefs unless I'm
"counterattacking" an affront to my own.

The last few posts you seem to have done a "good job" of stating your
views without "dissing" other people for theirs, and I do appreciate
that. Thanks.

then why do you oftentimes write about God and particularly those who
believe in Him in such a negative and nasty way?

I said within the context of the conversation...I meant that He doesn't
intervene with freewill. Abra, I question what the Bible has to say all
the time. I question the logic -- or, shall the say, the "perceived
illogic" of it all the time.

I am a very analytical person...perhaps to a fault. But when it comes to
God, I have come to the conclusiont that MY perception of Him is the
"correct" one....for me.

and I don't have a problem whatsoever with YOUR perception of Him,
either, except when you disrespect others' -- especially Christians', if
not ONLY Christians' -- or the Bible's interepretation of Him.

What the Bible has to say about who God is and what He's all about,
though certainly doesn't make sense to my "logical mind," all the time
and, in fact, probably most of the time, I have to just accept on faith
and my own conscience that what I believe is true.

What's more than that is I have seen too much evidence of proof of God
in my own life.

If I continually questioned why God allows such and such to happen or
why He did so and so, I'd go freaking nuts.

I do know that I don't express my views on this nearly as eloquently as
many others on here, and you've rejected what they've had to say, so
you're certainly not going to be convinced of anything I say, either.

And I don't think it boils down to having to be "convinced," by another
human being, anyway.

I cannot understand how you accepted Christ at one point in your life
and then later denounced Him. You state it had nothing to do with any
specific "traumatic" event, but yet your posts reflect anger and
resentment toward Him ...they seem to claim, "If God is so loving, then
why does He allow (fill in personal reasons) to happen?"

It's almost as though you couldn't make sense of it and, because you are
so intellectual and so good at "figuring everything else out," rather
than admit "defeat," you simply chose to come to the conclusion that He
(as depicted in the Bible) couldn't possibly exist.

Of course, I may be totally wrong about that, but that's what I
interpret from your words.

Sheila,

I appreciate what you are saying. I it’s never my intent to group
everyone who calls themselves a Christian into one box. In fact, when I
refer to the “Christian’ religion I’m not referring to the individual
followers at all, but rather to the official institutionalized religion
itself (which is based on the Bible)

I mean, the fundament point of modern Christianity is a need to accept
Jesus Christ as the savior.

Well, that IS what makes someone a "Christian," as opposed to those who
are not Christian, and is the core belief of all Christians.

***

However, this very notion is based on the idea of an external Godhead
that had sent his ‘only begotten son’ to die for our sins.

This is true.

***

I mean, how can a godhead that can ‘send’ its only begotten son on a
mission to earth, not be a separate entity with a mind of its own.

Again, I think you're thinking in too "human" of terms. I cannot answer
the question for you, for it would be mere speculation on my part.

***

I just don’t see how this idea can even be imagined without thinking of
God as a separate entity who is making these specific events happen.

I guess because the Almighty God is the creator of all, that He is in
the "position" to make such events happen. That's the best way I can
answer that.

***

And the Old Testament is full of reference to God as though it is a
separate entity.

I cannot think in terms of God as an "it." Though, when I think of Him
in terms of a "He," and though I may get an image of a man in my mind,
it is not the image, entirely, as a human being. I guess I think of God
as "man" in the "mankind" sense, which includes both the masculine and
the feminine.

I tend to think more of God in the spiritual sense, not in the he/she OR
*IT* sense.

***

I just read the book of Job (which I had started a thread about). In
that story God and his angels are clearly assembling
somewhere other than in an earthly place, and God gives Satan the ok to
purposefully destroy the life of Job short of killing Job himself.

I mean, here God is not only depicted as clearly being a separate
entity, but God is even plotting how things should unfold for Job.

****

Why wouldn't it be beyond the realm of possibility that we could be a
part of God, children of God, yet not have the "ultimate authority?"
That, because He IS God, that that places him above and "separate" from
us, but that doesn' have to mean that we are "separate" from Him. Does
that make sense?

***

According to the story clearly God has given Satan permission to destroy
Job, but not kill him.

How do you interpret this picture of God if not as an external entity
that is plotting the fate of individual humans?

I think that God allowed Satan to try to destory him in order to test
and prove Job's faith in Him. You have to remember that all the while
Job had the choice to renounce God -- and many under much less strenuous
circumstances would have. If God was a separate entity that is plotting
the fate of individual humans, what would be the point of our having
"free will?"

***

I’m not trying to challenge you. I’m seriously interesting in hearing
how you can say that god is not being depicted as a separate conscious
and controlling entity in these cases.

Asked and answered, as best I can.

***

Perhaps you can offer something that will alter my perception of things.

Hopefully I did, somewhat.

***

As it stands right now, I just don’t see how the picture of God as
depicted the Bible can be anything other than a picture of a separate
controlling entity that plots things out.

Again, as I said, the difference is in free will. In the context of this
conversation, I don't believe God "makes" things happen, but I do think
He "allows" things to happen. He knows in advance the choices that are
going to be made, but doesn't intervene--in the way that you're
depicting, anyway.

Let me say this:

Since God is depicted as a loving, merciful God, and if He was
completely "running the show," as it were, and we didn't have free will,
then what logical sense would it make for Him to destroy His own
creation, or allow Satan (or anyone or anything else) destroy it?

I apprecaite that, but you really need to quit grouping Christians and
the Bible into one little box. As Christians, and as a separate
individual, I, for one, believe the Bible is open to personal
interpretation. There are some things that some people believe about the
Bible that I would consider absurd.

I agree with a lot of what Spider says, and most of the time I respect
his POV, but certainly not always. For one thing, I believe there is a
hell. I can't say WHAT or WHERE it is, specifically, but I believe it
exists, nonetheless.

There are some Christians who believe in the literal interpretation of
the Bible, those who will "take up serpeants and drink strychnine." With
all due respect, I think these people are NUTS.

I do not believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible, in all
instances, nor do I believe that all admonitions were meant as
"God-mandated" laws. As an example, the "obey" thing in marriages or
that the husband has dominion over the wife. I think that that was the
law of the land, the law of the times, and does not apply to today. As
people evolve, so, too, does their level of logical thinking. Or one
would hope so, anyway.