Dagobert II

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism)

Organizations and individuals can be quite different things. Furthermore, individuals within an organization can vary widely to the extent we find their company amenable. As a young soldier stationed in Germany I found most Germans quite pleasurable to be around. One of the friendliest Germans I met was an old fellow who owned a gasthaus right outside the gate of our kaserne. He was old enough to be my grandfather and had no interest at all in trying to speak English so I made do with my limited German and mostly just listened to him. No other soldiers went to his gasthaus as we were told he did not like Americans and was most likely a Communist. He did not, however, throw me out of the place, so I stayed, drank his beer and listened as he and his older, German patrons sat at the stammtisch and talked. One day, none of the older patrons were present so Ludwig invited me to sit at the stammtisch. Trying to make conversation, I looked at the pennants of local soccer teams on a small table near the stammtisch. Nestled among the soccer pennants was a black shield-shaped plaque with a silver oak leaf on one side and a strange pattern of lines on the other. The plaque looked vaguely familiar. Finally I realized that the lines on the plaque were the three superimposed letters A, H and L. The plaque was Ludwig's old military unit, the Liebstandarte, Adolf Hitler. Sitting before me was a former member of the 1st SS Division, and he was a kind, and gentle and good old fellow as far as I could tell. He also appeared quite healthy for his age, but then I guess the SS selected for and encouraged such traits. For all I know, perhaps every member of the 1st SS Division was kind, and gentle and good, but a rational consideration of history leads me to think otherwise. No, I didn't avoid Ludwig like a carrier of typhoid from then on out, in fact we had some rather interesting conversations about his experiences and opinions, but neither did I change my opinion of the nature of the SS based upon one kind, and gentle and good individual. (16 hrs ago | post #16128)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism)

especially if one party can not or will not limit themselves to reason. (Yesterday | post #16118)

The authors of the article speculated on some very secular reasons that natural selection may have favored such hard wiring. Beyond that speculation it should be noted that the morphology encouraged by natural selection is not always appropriate for experiences beyond those found in nature. Consider human flight as an example. Ask a pilot who has become disoriented in darkness or fog whether it is better to fly by one's hard-wired instincts or one's instruments. Instruments will win over instinct every time as we have evolved no adequate instincts for flight, that not being our natural mode of transportation. We have hard-wired instincts in what has been called 'spiritual' matters, but perhaps, as your article points out, those instincts are really more about the development of, "tribe loyalty or reinforce kinship ties or the stability of a closely knit clan." as a survival trait in our natural environment and have nothing to do with a 'supernatural' realm at all. (Friday | post #16108)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism)

Just because a person attains an office by constitutional means is no guarantee that all of their official acts are constitutional. Roland Friesler's boss was elected by constitutional means yet some of his officers saw it as their duty to try to kill him. Roland Friesler condemned these officers as traitors yet today the country they served calls them heroes. An oath is taken by an individual and it is that individual's opinion that is the only one that matters in deciding what action that individual feels compelled to take. Today's traitors can be tomorrow's heroes and vice versa. (Thursday | post #1114)

Given that all scripture (and science)is the result of human interpretation, at what point does the Divine end and the human interpretation beginAgain, the Bible, like all scripture, is a human construct. There is no reason to assume any particular version of the Bible is any more authoritatively Divine than any particular edition of the Book of Mormon or last weeks comicsPerhaps the coincidental patterns that our minds perceive are no different than the bunny rabbits and sailing ships we see in the patterns of clouds. "Bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air And feather canyons everywhere, I've looked at clouds that way But now they only block the sun they rain and snow on everyone So many things I would have done, but clouds got in my way" "I've looked at clouds from both sides now From up and down and still somehow It's cloud's illusions I recall I really don't know clouds at allWe certainly do perceive patterns, don't we. This inherent trait of our species has proven quite useful, but does that mean there is a designer creating the pattern or that the perceived pattern is itself the nature of existence that has always existed without beginning or end. Were it any other way, we wouldn't be here to notice the pattern. Of course one might argue against the probability of any existence randomly having the nature we perceive in ours, but no matter how improbable winning the lottery may be, someone always wins it. That's not to deny the existence of Divinity, but instead to propose that existence, in the summation of ALL its eternally changing forms, without duality, IS Divinity. (Thursday Nov 26 | post #16081)

It this an example of a proposed ruling from a 'people's summary tribunal'? (Thursday Nov 26 | post #1082)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism)

That's what Roland Freisler said. http://en.wikipedi a.org/wiki/File:Fr eisler02.jpg Remember, the oath is to preserve the constitution of the United States, not any particular regime that may have been voted into power. (Thursday Nov 26 | post #1081)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism)

Well that's the trick isn't it? The heart can always find a messiah, but the mind is a bit more selective. Departure from reason is not a problem that is confined only to the LDS. (Wednesday Nov 25 | post #16062)

This ability to believe is rather weak in some circles, above all in those with money and education. They may trust more in pure cold reason than a glowing idealistic heart. Our so-called intellectuals do not like to hear this, but it is true anyway. They know so much that in the end they do not know what to do with their wisdom. They can see the past, but not much of the present, and nothing at all of the future. Their imagination is insufficient to deal with a distant goal in a way such that one already thinks it achieved." Joseph Goebbels' New Year's Eve Speech, 31 December 1939 It's a terrible thing to not have faith in the Messiah, whomever he may be. (Wednesday Nov 25 | post #16057)

Bullets are speeding faster out of gun shops in U.S.

"In between, in the 12 months since last October, gun shops sold enough bullets to give every American 38 of them" Whomever thinks it will take 38 shots to kill each American either has a very overinflated estimate of American durability or is a very poor shot. (Wednesday Nov 25 | post #2)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism)

Given that observation, my conclusion would be that 'God' didn't and doesn't author any scripture or run any religion. On the other hand, perhaps Chaos Theory is 'God's' modus operandi. Chaos Theory: http://www.imho.co m/grae/chaos/chaos .html (Wednesday Nov 25 | post #16044)

Jillian Bandes Obamacare May Target Gun Owners

Let's see, just before answering that question with a 'no' I will have mentally transferred ownership of all my firearms to my spouse having not yet told her of the transfer. She, of course, will have done the same when it is her turn to answer the question. (Wednesday Nov 25 | post #4)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism)

Why is it that the enemies of liberty want the people disarmed? (Tuesday Nov 24 | post #1009)

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism)

Good point. I guess it depends again upon how one defines one's 'world'. In the world of Israeli politics, the rulings of this reconstituted Sanhedrin obviously don't carry much authority. In their own small religious circle, the rulings of this reconstituted Sanhedrin are obviously very important. I suppose if a large enough faction of the inhabitants of Israel or the world at large were to BELIEVE in the authority of this reconstituted Sanhedrin, they would find themselves a very, very influential bodyAgreed. It is simply a general observation that folks who think they have some royal or Divine right to something tend to have very long memories. I understand there are still Stuarts, Romanoffs, Hapsburgs and Hohenzollerns who have maintained their pedigrees and stand ready to reoccupy their currently vacant thrones should the opportunity present itself. There's probably even a few 'pretenders' who would happily join the ranks of the royal given the opportunityI haven't seen King Yosef's 'proof' but whatever it was it supposedly satisfied the modern Sanhedrin and supposedly some third party peerage experts as well. King Yosef Dayan: http://www.sabbath covenant.com/News% 20Items/Sanhedrin_ in_Israel.htm (Tuesday Nov 24 | post #16038)