The Great Dialogue

Welcome Back, David Moyer! Be Sure to see the Survey at the bottom of the Great Dialogue Page...

I really have trouble reading purple and blue on black. They work great on white, as does the standard black.

Something funny from the Net: Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Steve   Welcome back!    Yes, in religion positions are often very staunchly held to--even when it would make more sense to carefully consider and respond at a later time. I think you are on the right path with your expressed thoughts about how religious practices Are helpful to members of a society; Sadly, I suspect many Christians are ready to "fight" against what sounds incompatible with their views, rather than start first from a position of Lovingkindness, careful forethought, etc.  I have not read the posionwood Bible.   Winnie the Pooh is accessible to me - Pooh certainly had a hold on a certain calm stability in the face of adversity and change--one wonders if Owl ["WOL"] is not a good example of how seemingly learn-ed persons can be pushed about by their imperfect assessments of events? :) Anyway, I think the Heart of sharing worldviews is NOT merely saying "all viewpoints are right, must be right," [that just seems impossible...several diverse ...

Wayne, I like what you said about uncertainty. The way I see it, the less we know about a proposition, the more staunchly we tend to defend it. It happens in science too much. But it happens in religion, even more. In the end, we can know with some certainty what we feel at the moment. And with a great deal of reasoning we can be pretty sure of the proposition "I think I think; therefore I think I am." Further afield, we actually know very little. So I tend to think that the truth of a religious proposition lies not in some essence of fact, but in how we would feel about living in a group, a society, a world that embraces the same proposition. For example "all people are equal before the law." When religious ideas and practices help us to be more kind, reflective, and open to other people, I think they can help us feel better about our place in society. And they can help us be part of a happier society. It is my opinion, however, that a great deal of theolog...

…The certainty of ANYTHING can be questioned; matter is not solid but packed with spaces, Light is made of particles [or is it waves?], and an honest man is a good man—and a good man is an honest man, right? I have, for much of my life, dealt with people who—with great certainty—assert that they believe in god and in heaven, but just NOT the version of God and heaven that I believe in…They are often just as self-assured that THEIR heaven is the same one as MY heaven…but, in fact, it is never MY heaven that I am referring to…If they are correct, then it is just as likely that the heaven I am going to is DIFFERENT than the one they are going to…who will reach heaven? No one can say with any certainty…as I write this, many people are being tortured and often dying, because of their belief in Jesus Christ…not that there are no other martyrs from other religious disciplines [I know there are, and I fear for those persons, too]…But this I DO know with certainty: many Christians choose to die...

...Good points!  Some of that can be managed by the administrative controls...with the Blog format the Moderator can edit and prevent invective, if needed...the Moderator would not do this unless a problem arose...since I am the only moderator [at this point] I can make those decisions at any time...but what you have written will help me in developing the POSTING GUIDELINES and Disclaimer's which I hope to have ready soon...

I think the only thing you can do is have a policy to which all participating must agree that, as a condition of joining in on the conversation, one must forgo taking the intellectual positions of others personally, remaining civil at all times and focused on gaining insight rather than competing for dominance. Beyond this, I think, we cannot control the pettiness to which humans are drawn. Colleen Yeany

...I am contemplating the problem of Dialogue...It seems to me that most people are unable to share their thoughts in writing [let alone in face to face conversation] without personalizing what the other person just said, or having to rebut - does no one listen and accept that another person can disagree? Worse, it seems that when we do get along, many of us accede but secretly disagree with others and never express this...I fear that Dialogue about our spiritual beliefs may be unfruitful, unless somehow the right climate can be established of honest, egalitarian exchange of ideas, and friendliness? How to make this happen? Dr Schmoyer

...My friends!    I have decided it is time...Time to resume the conversation that ended when the Great Dialogue Listerv Ended...This new BLOG format will allow for better communication and some administrative oversight not available before...Won't you join me once again? Wayne David Schmoyer