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In the Beginning There Was ()

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posted on Jul, 29 2020 @ 04:31 PM
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a reply to: Nothin

I realize that I probably didn't address all your questions and points.

I am in a very agitated state. Already today I've called:
Enlil a liar
Marduk a lying cock-biter, and a total lie himself
Monotheism, in concept, probably a lie
Brahma may or may not overlook my loutishness

The whole pantheon of human made gods may just call me to task.

"I've said too much"
well, maybe for today anyway.

Maybe a time out and a nap.



posted on Jul, 29 2020 @ 05:08 PM
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originally posted by: pthena
a reply to: Nothin

Really short short story.



is my thoughts that there is nothing inside of those parenthesis, due to my bias, and interest in 'nothingness'; just as much as a Christian believes that God is in and of all, and therefore: of course God is inside of those parenthesis ?

So I was going to post the video, losing my religion by R.E.M. then the youtube played this video as the add. Instead of clicking ( skip add ) I listened to it.
...


Perhaps you have lost your ability to read within parenthesis, as well as some religion ?



posted on Jul, 29 2020 @ 05:46 PM
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a reply to: Nothin



Perhaps you have lost your ability to read within parenthesis, as well as some religion ?

Yes, posting it was a thought experiment. The graffiti has () instead of ( ) because maybe people shouldn't have space to plug their own ideas in there.

There is a very good reason that my religion does not include any notion of creation or end. There is absolutely nothing whatsoever that I can do about either one of those. So why torment myself over it?

In concept, my definition of religion is how I, as a person, relate to the World; including the people around me. That has nothing to do with ends and beginnings of the universe. For I, as a person, exist only in my own lifetime.

As backup for my definition, in concept, of religion, I cite Wikipedia.

The classical explanation of the word, traced to Cicero himself, derives it from re- (again) + lego in the sense of "choose", "go over again" or "consider carefully".

Religio was most often used by the ancient Romans not in the context of a relation towards gods, but as a range of general emotions such as hesitation, caution, anxiety, fear; feelings of being bound, restricted, inhibited; which arose from heightened attention in any mundane context.


Now that I think about it: (religion).
When people hear that, they read into it what they think, not what I think.
That's perhaps what you were getting at ?

Perhaps I should lose the word (religion) and yet retain my bonds with and attention to reality, at least my worldview.

My worldview includes time, space, matter, size, duration, ... all that stuff you read about in physics books. And people who are individuals not me. There is thus preserved an I - Thou relationship with people and things. Well not completely. Elements (atoms and such) migrate around in the things and people. An unavoidable interconnection.
edit on 29-7-2020 by pthena because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 29 2020 @ 08:33 PM
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a reply to: pthena

( I have a lovely bunch of coconuts. )

( Nothing between parenthesis is important. )

Me ( My woman ) Me.
Okay : that one's kinda important.



posted on Jul, 29 2020 @ 08:55 PM
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a reply to: Nothin

Did I ever tell you that I'm a superstitious person ?

I will fight the urge to fear parentheses.

I won't resort to using [ ] as a substitute for parentheses.
nor will I substitute [ ] or even ; cleverly placed,
as a substitute for parentheses.

You won't see me using " " or ' ' instead of parentheses.

See? I have conquered my fear of parentheses.

/open parenthesis/ Ha! ha! ha! /close parenthesis/
I defy and laugh at my fears!

Edit to add:
In the editor, the brackets look like brackets. In the regular post, they look like braces.

Now I'm scared.

edit on 29-7-2020 by pthena because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 29 2020 @ 09:44 PM
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a reply to: pthena

We are making some excellent headway, to mitigate our illogical fears involving grammar !

You even gently gently reminded me, that was misspelling : 'parentheses'.

In the editor : all my posts are brilliant ! And then they're posted ... ( Sad trumpet music. )



posted on Jul, 30 2020 @ 01:10 AM
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a reply to: Nothin



We are making some excellent headway, to mitigate our illogical fears involving grammar !


Involving punctuation actually.
and skipping past vocabulary, grammar, syntax, semantics, and epistemology; let us proceed to fears.

A closeted atheist fears: not gods, but people who have gods.
The fear comes from the same place as any other closeted person's:
social anxiety; lose of friends, family, associations,
fear of stigmatism, pariah-hood, demonization, violence, death.

The author of the graffiti is protected by anonymity, therefore honestly leaves () with no space. It isn't a place holder for anything, because there is no space to provide a place to be a holder of.



posted on Jul, 30 2020 @ 10:51 AM
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originally posted by: pthena

I just realized how imprecise language can be. I never even thought of 'free' like that. I was thinking of free as in free to walk through walls and fly like Peter Pan or Superman.


Those babies hatched!
While I do think we're capable of what many of us would consider superhuman feats, those mentioned above sound a bit like testing God (of course, if you no longer subscribe to the belief, this passage from Luke does not apply)

9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’

11 and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.
Luke 4:12


When you consider the feats of Sally Becker who saved 170 children from a war zone (yes, that there was a war there at all, and that other children were not so lucky is also a very sobering thought worthy of consideration), when you imagine the world Leonardo dreamed into existence, and how his contemporaries would laugh at the notion that you and I would be able to communicate ideas immediately and remotely through such a medium as this, what man is truly capable of through his/her own will is nothing to scoff at!
Sally, armed only with her courage and free will, walks through walls, so to speak:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Have a good one!!
edit on 30-7-2020 by zosimov because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 30 2020 @ 12:20 PM
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a reply to: zosimov


Those babies hatched!


I'm avoiding checking on the wrens because their lives seem precarious enough as it is. I've noticed that they are much more cautious while out for food than those other wrens that I don't see anymore.



If you notice what I did yesterday, while in a certain state, you will see that I tested some gods. There is a reason that I was more cautious with Brahma than I was with Enlil and Marduk.

Your God may be very much similar to the God I had back in the Summer of 1972. This is my thread so I will will myself the permission to share this story:
----------------------------------
It was a dark night. The Jesus People meeting had just ended. The study had been on Psalm 91.

Since I was one of those Jesus People, I rarely wore shoes. Not because I was a Jesus Person, but being one didn't influence my normal Summer routine of going barefoot. Shoes were not required in such company.

Brett, Grant and I were discussing the part in Psalm 91 about not "striking your foot upon a stone". Now I must admit that we were acting and talking in a frivolous manner. I started laughing too. Then I struck my foot upon a stone. The laughter ended quite abruptly.
-------------------------------------
So you see ( wait! Do you see that wording? When someone starts a sentence like that they may just be trying to sell you something.) ... No, I won't tempt you like that. The truth is, I don't even draw any particular moral from that story. It's just one of those things that happens. Of course, upon further reflection, I may reach some other tentative conclusion, which I may or may not will myself to post.



Sally, armed only with her courage and free will, walks through walls, so to speak:

Don't forget the naivete. That seemed important in her story too. For it is written:



"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.



edit on 30-7-2020 by pthena because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 30 2020 @ 01:13 PM
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I'm impressed with your memory (or disappointed by mine) as so many summers and beliefs have blended together for me--be hard for me to pin down space and time like that

And loved your anecdote as usual. I too am a barefoot in the summer type.

As for the birds--I don't know how many yet--only that mom is off the nest and her and her mate (the proud father) are on a non-stop mission for food. Luckily, they've found a home where earthworms and insects have been happily cultivated for the past few years (they really enjoy the compost, and I've seen huge monster earthworms in the garden that reminded me of the movie "Tremors.")

As for this:

originally posted by: pthena



Sally, armed only with her courage and free will, walks through walls, so to speak:

Don't forget the naivete. That seemed important in her story too. For it is written:



"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.




YES, beautiful! Thanks for adding that important bit.



posted on Jul, 30 2020 @ 03:16 PM
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a reply to: zosimov



hard for me to pin down space and time like that

It's called Eidetic memory. Remember what 'it looked like', use that image as a mnemonic device, connect with more significant close by memories for time clues. It really helps when someone feeds me some key words (like you did).


Not perfect; not even infallible. I don't remember what I ate today.



Luckily, they've found a home where earthworms and insects have been happily cultivated for the past few years

I wonder if birds remember what they ate today.
"Do you remember that time when we found that great big juicy worm?"

"Uhmm, if I'm not mistaken, we're still eating it."

"Oh yeah, it must have slipped my mind."

Bird brains! Right?



posted on Jul, 30 2020 @ 03:26 PM
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close my eyes
Only for a moment, then the moments gone
All my dreams
Pass before my eyes, a curiosity



posted on Jul, 30 2020 @ 03:44 PM
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a reply to: Raggedyman



I just believe some have been redeemed (yet to come) and should offer that hand of help when they can.

It's August in Australia I believe,
( no, I forgot July has 31 days )
but that's when it isn't Summer there.

Happy August (tomorrow) from the Northern Hemisphere.

edit on 30-7-2020 by pthena because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 30 2020 @ 09:50 PM
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originally posted by: pthena
a reply to: Raggedyman



I just believe some have been redeemed (yet to come) and should offer that hand of help when they can.

It's August in Australia I believe,
( no, I forgot July has 31 days )
but that's when it isn't Summer there.

Happy August (tomorrow) from the Northern Hemisphere.


It aint no hot august night here matey, its just shy of mid winter and like koala bears, every Aussie I know has curled up in the hollow of a tree for 6 months till its over.

Anyway, appreciate the sentiment, Mr Diamond, truly one of the greatest and/or under rated or appreciated


edit on 30-7-2020 by Raggedyman because: (no reason given)



posted on Jul, 31 2020 @ 12:48 AM
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a reply to: Raggedyman

Thank you.

When ever I bet that I hear myself sweat
I'll think of cold cold hills.




posted on Jul, 31 2020 @ 02:57 AM
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originally posted by: pthena
a reply to: Raggedyman

Thank you.

When ever I bet that I hear myself sweat
I'll think of cold cold hills.



To much of Paul Kelly and you will become an Australian like it or not
Australia’s minor version of Bob Dylan

edit on 31-7-2020 by Raggedyman because: (no reason given)



posted on Aug, 2 2020 @ 04:25 PM
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a reply to: zosimov

So yesterday the male wren stood shoulder to shoulder telling that black and white cat to scat.

By shoulder to shoulder I mean he was about 10 feet away from me. But he flew there on purpose. He was in the tree saying scat. Then I said scat. And then he flew over to the deck so we were facing the cat together, like a team.




posted on Aug, 4 2020 @ 09:13 AM
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a reply to: pthena

(
What ?
What the heck is that ?
An entire post that begins with an opening parentheses ?
Does that mean that whatever is within, is meaningless without ?
[ Where will this madness lead ? ]
)



posted on Aug, 4 2020 @ 10:11 AM
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a reply to: Nothin

[ Where will this madness lead ? ]

Just to prove that Eidetic memory is shot full of holes:

There's this joke I heard in school once. In my memory it is associated with the time we were learning about the Erie Canal ... or was it the Mississippi steam boats ... ? What grade was that? Was it 4th grade or 5th grade? I'm pretty sure it wasn't 6th grade, because 6th grade was about Mexico History.

Anyway:
So this traveling merchant with his cart load of merchandise was riding up the road. He came to a fork in the road. There was no sign post marking which way where. So he asked a farmer standing close by: "Say, where does this road go?"

The farmer looked at the road for a bit then looked at the merchant and said, "Why mister, this road don't go nowhere. It just sits right here."

Since the farmer had a Missouri drawl, I'm pretty sure it was the Mississippi steam boats. But then again, maybe I'm just imagining the Missouri drawl. In which case:

I don't know!!!


edit on 4-8-2020 by pthena because: (no reason given)



posted on Aug, 4 2020 @ 10:20 AM
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originally posted by: pthena
a reply to: Raggedyman



We should write this on a wall.

2 Cor 3

1Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as do some, letters of commendation to you or from you? 2You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3being revealed that you are a letter of Christ, served by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in tablets that are hearts of flesh.

4Such confidence we have through Christ toward God; 5not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God; 6who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

No! Not on a wall.

(Note: the following is a general comment that I am making, please don't take it personal if it doesn't apply to you.)

Sometimes I think Christianity is wasted on Christians.


True spirituality is never wasted on anything.



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