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  1. RobGelber

    Can you be a Pagan without Psychedelics?

    Well you're right about the origins of the word pagan. But people often reclaim a word from their opponents. If you want to call yourself Emissary of Wotan, I don't think anybody's going to stand in your way. But I find the 'pagan' label useful because a lot of people basically understand what...
  2. RobGelber

    Can you be a Pagan without Psychedelics?

    Very early in my spiritual journey outside of Christianity, I came across a story about a Yogi who some hippies gave LSD. It didn't do anything for him because through his practice of meditation he'd already replicated all of LSD's mind altering aspects. I don't remember the source for this...
  3. RobGelber

    Those with christian backgrounds

    Hell was never a big deal for me. As a Seventh-day Adventist, hell wasn't a big deal anyway since the church doesn't teach it's eternal. It's more like if you aren't in good with Jesus, then all of your bad karma catches up with you at one time and you hurt to pay for it, but then once your bad...
  4. RobGelber

    Those with christian backgrounds

    Hell was never a big deal for me. As a Seventh-day Adventist, hell wasn't a big deal anyway since the church doesn't teach it's eternal. It's more like if you aren't in good with Jesus, then all of your bad karma catches up with you at one time and you hurt to pay for it, but then once your bad...
  5. RobGelber

    Art, Erotica, and Porn

    No offense meant. I'm simply trying to look at the implications of the distinction being made. I personally don't think there's a hard distinction. The one Ranjana sets up is pretty good and seems to reflect the ways these words are used. I see what you mean. But in the -isms you list, a...
  6. RobGelber

    Art, Erotica, and Porn

    Interesting distinctions, Sunstone! I'm also curious about the purpose of making these distinctions. It seems to me that you're setting up an opposition in order to condemn certain things. Pornography = bad. Erotica & Art = ok/good. With these distinctions in place a person could write...
  7. RobGelber

    Belief in demons

    The problem with discussing demons is that it can be difficult to know whether it's a demon or not. Say I experience negative emotions and do bad things because of them. Was it a demon playing with me or was it just my own lack of ability to keep my feelings in balance? How can I know the...
  8. RobGelber

    Belief in demons

    Malicious spiritual entities. I think that's my favorite definition of demons so far. Thanks Reioroeska! I also agree with Doppelganger's point that one person's demon can be another person's angel. The label depends whether the spiritual entity is feeling malicious toward you or not! But...
  9. RobGelber

    Does Satan Exist?

    True, but whether they're stated or implied, most people make them somewhere. :)
  10. RobGelber

    Hi there Ceridwen! I've been looking for sources relating to the goddess Ceridwen. From what...

    Hi there Ceridwen! I've been looking for sources relating to the goddess Ceridwen. From what I've found she's in the Mabinogi(on) and the Charge of the Goddess. As part of my quest, I've been dug through a couple of religiousforums searches, and, well, your name came up. Are there more good...
  11. RobGelber

    Does Satan Exist?

    Interesting thinking! If you've read my earlier posts, you know that I basically agree with your conclusions. I have a question though. If you are neither wholly omnipotent nor wholly benevolent, then how do you know what a God would do who was, hypothetically, both of those things? Of course...
  12. RobGelber

    Does Satan Exist?

    Based on an earlier post, I would have thought you'd have said yes, Satan does exist and I'm H/him! Which is an interesting way of responding to the question! Here's my question for you. If you rebel against a system, aren't you still, to some extent, letting that system set the agenda...
  13. RobGelber

    Does Satan Exist?

    I think it's also worth noting that the completely polarized conflict between God and Satan roughly approximates the polarized conflicts that can arise between nations at war, only it does so based on good and evil. Notice, it's pretty rare for those who do believe in Satan - mostly Christians...
  14. RobGelber

    Should ID be taught in public schools?

    My parents raised me to be a good Christian who loved nature but didn't believe in evolution, so I've heard from a lot of folks who billed themselves as Christian scientists - everyone from people who believe in a 6,000 year old earth to people who believe the stories in the Bible should be read...
  15. RobGelber

    Should ID be taught in public schools?

    Since my scenario introduces an event that would have happened in the past and cannot be repeated, we can't use the scientific method. We can't form a falsifiable hypothesis and then set up an experiment to test it to see if it's true or not. The best we can do is look at the evidence available...
  16. RobGelber

    Should ID be taught in public schools?

    Well, after reading through this thread, I've come to the conclusion that I.D. should not be taught in science classes, and probably shouldn't be taught in schools in general either. I thought maybe it should before, but now I don't. For the record, I am agnostic regarding the existence of the...
  17. RobGelber

    Religious Pluarlism God

    That's one kind of pluralism. We may be following different trails up the mountain, but it's all the same mountain, and some day we'll all arrive at the top and be together. I agree that there are certainly commonalities between the world's religions. There are, for example, similarities...
  18. RobGelber

    Religious Pluarlism God

    My beliefs seem to be continually a work in progress. I have trouble with religious labels because my ideas change over time. Plus sometimes I feel like religions and denominations are used like football teams where they let people decide whether I'm on their side or not and we can have...
  19. RobGelber

    Religious Pluarlism God

    Guess I better read the rules more carefully. :)
  20. RobGelber

    Greetings!

    Hi everybody! I just recently found this website. I did a google search on the question 'does Satan exist?' and found an interesting thread and a few posts later, it looks like I'm hooked! So you're probably wondering about that search and my religion. Well as far as Satan goes, I'm interested...
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