AweBurn

Awww. I feel like the minority begging that you not eliminate the Religion/Philosophy Forums. I thoroughly respect the scientific community but my passion is philosophy. I dont know where else I'll get the scientific approach to philosophy. I'm new to this community and hope to contribute as often as possible but it seems thats not valued = /. -AweBurn

Whoa! Was bombing the hell out of Baghdad necessary to eliminate this one man? I still love listening to the local conservative radio station to hear such comments as, "We're at war here, Pres. Bush has a right to know our phone conversation if they compromise the security of this nation." (2 days ago) Who on earth are we at war against????? We're fighting an ideaology not a person anymore. I agree Saddam was a horrible man and had to be held responsible for all the murders and such but the war is over. If you disagree I suggest you take a look at Vietnam. We can't be imperialistic war mongers and expect to win wars against ideaologies that transcend the killing of a few guilty individuals. -AweBurn P.S. This "war" is useles....we better pull out now before America goes bankrupt.

At what cost? Why force an economic trend on a system when all you really have to do is create a firm foundation and let the system take over. Right now the gov't controls our money better than we do. In resposne to the first comment. They print more money than they destroy which results in the rise of prices and more dollars in their pocket to support shitty spedning habits. -AweBurn

From my limited reading on the topic, I understood that gravity is dependant on both mass and distance from the center of the mass in question. That being said, its much easier to get to the center of the star when the mass has become much more dense. The event horizon is the point at which light can not escape the gravitational pull of the blackhole and in a live star this imaginary line would probably be well within the star meaning you would also negate the influence of any mass above that point. The event horizon of a blackhole may be 100 miles away from the center for its mass but at that level on an equally heavy live star that would be buried deep inside and consequently not be an event horizon at all. Please correct me if I am wrong, im simply an enthusiast. -AweBurn edit: Spelling. Rush rush rush.

Though I act as though im exposing a big secret. From what i gather in the academic community, this fairly simple concept doesnt seem to be very well understood. Forewarning, I don’t believe any of this to be provable truth it is simply a novice’s speculation from a bit of personal research. After the Great Depression FDR took the financial security of Americans into his hands and took America off the gold standard. Previously, each dollar was backed up by a specific amount of gold to be held in Fort Knox. It was a portion of his New Deal to remove this stipulation and create the Federal Reserve Board whose sole concerns were to monitor interest rates and the amount of money in circulation. I believe the government has overstepped its boundaries and simply created a hidden tax that most Americans are unaware of. To demonstrate what I mean by a hidden tax, I will create a scaled sample case. Let’s say, there are $10,000 dollars in circulation in America and I personally have $100 in the bank Inflations is usually about 2% a year meaning at the end of this year there will be $10,200 in circulation and the Federal Government will have $200 to spend on whatever they see fit. Nice situation, right? Wrong. $100/$10,000 = 0.01 or 1% 1% * 10,200 = $102 As shown above, after printing the money I should have $102 because of the increase in volume. However, as it stands, the money people lose due to inflation is printed and taken control of by the fed’s to support their irresponsible spending habits. The countless taxes we are subjected to daily simply muddle the picture making it virtually impossible for an average citizen to ascertain their tax liability each year. Gas tax, sin tax, income tax, cigarette tax, lottery (a paper in and of itself), and now inflation, when will it end? If I may draw a parallel to the automotive industry, I can’t help but thinking about the current competition between Toyota and GM. I recently read an article about the business tactics Toyota has adopted to streamline business and create profits. They are required to keep memos on one 8.5”x11” sheet of paper. Reducing complicated business plans to fundamental laws that anyone in the company can quickly understand and adapt to. General Motors, on the other hand, has become the epitome of red-tape and consequently is failing in the American market. I see the same happening to our government’s strategy for taxing the public to perform its very basic duty of providing a firm foundation for citizens to thrive in. My aim was simply to dispel the common belief that inflation is due to greedy businessmen raising prices. It is, however, due to greedy government officials who want to support their poor spending habits at home and abroad. -AweBurn

Unitarian-Universalist

Yes you understood me correctly. Why appreciate this life when the next is infinately better? If the chuch continues to preach of Heaven and Hell our lives will be trying to adhere to a set of rules to get into a place that has yet to be verified by any substantial means. -AweBurn P.S. I'm talking too much but this sort of conversation is what really gets me fired up.

No, I dont believe our minds exist anywhere but in the neurons they are composed of. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle is a good read that will help you identify the difference between being and thinking and clarify why your thoughts dont make you. I think that was a vague answer but I tend to have difficulties speaking to something that is so subjective like this. Moral of the story, I dont take authoritative answers from gov't, churchs, etc. Sorry! -AweBurn

I dont believe in the God that Western theology has created. I dont believe in a Zues looking figure clad in a toga sitting at the gates of heaven. I believe the idea that God has only spoken to a select few individuals/prophets is simply a tool for control of the religion. I believe we all have access to the humbling presence of something infinantly greater than us. When i use the term i most definatly am not refering to a seperate conscious entity that acts as a governing body for virtue. -AweBurn P.S. Though you didnt ask I also have SEVERE distaste for the concept of Heaven. It is life denying. What reason is there to appreciate a beautiful flower in this life when, in your afterlife, (if you adhere to the necessary regulations to do get to heaven) you will be presented with infinite beauty for eternity.

Being such an open topic I feel like I should write a book and simply link you its Amazon.com page. I love your mention of knowing how it "feels to be on the other side". I think this is an aspect of human morality that is often overlooked. I dont believe in divine command ethics for this exact reason. Rather than allowing the individual to actively engage in a personal exploration of truth, the religions often dictate truth that means nothing to its recipient. To understand how those affected by your actions feel as a result of them is a necessary component of moral fiber many have lost. -AweBurn ======== "Those who know they are profound strive for clarity. Those who would like to seem profound to the crowd strive for obscurity..." -Nietzsche

Thank you very much for your appreciation. I think you would be happy to know I dont believe in God in the traditional sense. Im affiliated with the Unitarian-Universalist church. If in need of a nice sense of community with other religious liberals, i would suggest looking to the UU scene. The UU church in Harvard Square is a fanstastic destination to see what we're really about if you're in the area.

My comments are meant to show i would prefer to lead by example rather than forcing our ways on others. I completely agree that the man protecting the defenseless woman is doing the right thing but his methods are too violent. I think it can be best TAUGHT to these people rather than FORCED on them. Our first lesson should be in not meddling in other peoples affairs and concentrating on that which you can actively influence....YOUR FAMILY. I'm glad to see you sing for your local church. I am a minister at mine. Please dont blame religions for the aggression of these very oppressed people. They have so many countries fooling with their lives they dont know which way is up. I dont blame any of those men, women and children for feeling the way they do. -AweBurn

That is the misconception. If that is their goal-and i assure you it isn't-what does flying planes into our buildings do to assist them in converting us to their ways? Not a very effective strategy if you ask me. It seems theyre trying to accomplish something else with these horrible actions....maybe deter us from continually invading their countries? It seems thats a more plausible purpose. -AweBurn Edit: Please clarify your terms here. When you talk of this oh-so-laborous work that all nations should do together, you're really speaking of straight up imperialism. The Swiss realize that they wouldnt want any other world power to show them how to run their country and, therefore, (categorical imperitive..) realize it's not something they should do. If you can't see the hypocrisy in the USA saying they dont believe anyone else should screw with thier home-turf yet they continually topple governments abraod to protect "OUR INTERESTS" (aka-oil) then this conversation is not worth my time.