Recent Entries

• Theory vs Practice

  by radar pangaean December 30, 2011
  One of our members recently advised another member that those who read the bible own one already, can read it for themselves, and don't need to have it quoted a verse at a time here. The original poster claimed that he was seeking discussion, and (implicitly) that he made the posts of verses that ha...
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• The Many Who Got Away

  by radar pangaean December 28, 2011
  Someone here posted a comment about a recent (?) Kate Perry video "The One that Got Away". I am not too hip on modern pop culture, but i know who she is, and i have seen some of her other work and liked it, so i checked it out.   OUCH. MANY years ago, after my first divorce, the first woman w...
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• The TRUE meaning...

  by radar pangaean December 23, 2011
  I continue to see assorted rants about the 'true meaning of Xmas'. Last evening, i made the grievous error of inserting some historical facts into yet another person's post on the "meaning of Xmas", and i really should have heeded my own recent conclusion about inserting facts into any discussion th...
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• Action, Comedy, Horror... ANYTHING but Drama

  by radar pangaean November 11, 2011
  When my wife and i are picking out a movie to watch, she is generally more focused on who stars in the movie, whereas i'm more foused on the storyline. We both appreciate a wide range of genres, but for the most part we watch movies to get away from real life for a bit. Not that there's anything WRO...
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• Forgiveness

  by radar pangaean October 19, 2011
  There's a really great song by Don Henley, a former member of the Eagles. It's called 'Forgiveness'. It has a line in it that spoke directly to me decades ago when it was still new: "You keep carryin' around that anger, it'll eat you up inside"   I have thought long and hard about the concept...
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• Durci Geometry, and Wisdom

  by radar pangaean October 14, 2011
  I'm going to share an observation i made some time ago, but also share the path that i took deriving it. The final conclusion i will present was not born fully formed, but was instead the culmination of many previous observations and conclusions which were incomplete at the time they occurred. The p...
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• Thank you for being a friend.

  by radar pangaean October 9, 2011
  I just accepted two friend requests from people i don't know, and with whom i have never had a conversational exchange. I am NOT a 'friend collector' here, or on any internet site. I currently am 'friend connected' to almost EXACTLY 1% of the members here. I think *i* have only initiated such connec...
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• Offensiveness: Can it be avoided... SHOULD it be?

  by radar pangaean October 6, 2011
  A week or so back, one of the members here posted a question along the lines of: "What do you believe and why do you believe it?" She followed it with something along the lines of: "I would also ask the NON-believers why they don't believe, but i ask that they be careful to do so without belittling ...
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• True to oneself AND to one's spouse

  by radar pangaean September 30, 2011
  Those of you who are married or otherwise in a committed relationship are most probably married to someone with similar beliefs. Demography data confirms that most stable marriages require significant overlap in creed and deed. But there are exceptions out there, and my current (and LAST) marriage i...
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• Princesses and frogs

  by radar pangaean September 30, 2011
  One of our members posted a picture to FB today. I commented on it there, and have decided to cross post the entire package here. Please see this picture to get the context for the following commentary.     http://ministers.themonastery.org/albums/photo/view/album_id/3626/photo_id/97794...
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• No, you actually don't, at least not as stated...

  by radar pangaean September 29, 2011
  This post is NOT directed at any specific individual. The reason i'm making it is that what i'm about to discuss is so COMMON here that i want to make a POINT that is clearly MISSED by many.Nor is it an attempt to change anyone's position. I am going to point out a SEMANTIC error, which many of you ...
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• Does spelling matter?

  by radar pangaean September 27, 2011
  No, not intrinsically. But it's a clue. I've mentioned a few times that i don't take people as seriously as they may wish to be taken (not necessarily by ME, but in general) if they can't communicate effectively. I have another post here which states, unambiguously, that i'm not likely to even ...
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• Maybe we could speak for ourselves, instead?

  by radar pangaean September 26, 2011
  The main ULC site has pages where the site administrators give their perspective on what each of the various belief systems entail. Their page on atheism is surely a hoot: http://www.themonastery.org/jcontent/training/12-guide-to-divinity/97-agnosticism-atheism-non-religion?template=themonaster...
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• Please DO judge me. I am judging you either way.

  by radar pangaean September 12, 2011
  This is SUPPOSED to be a site of spiritual peers. I am expected to treat everyone here as an equal, both intellectually and spiritually. There's no objective standard for the latter, but as with anyone else i have my own standard which i apply. there are objective standards for intellectual status, ...
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• pseudo-martyrs

  by radar pangaean September 11, 2011
  Sigh... People wonder why i have drawn the conclusion that MANY who practice the Christian faith suffer from a martyr/persecution complex and see everyone who is not a member of their club as an enemy, and every comment that isn't 100% in agreement with their position as an attack. I wasn't born wit...
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• The roots and fruits of terrorism

  by radar pangaean September 9, 2011
  Here's another post from my personal blog. This one is about 3 years old, written for a previous anniversary of the 9/11 attack...    There's been some lively and well thought out discussion associated with the recent posting i made regarding my opinion of the underlying factors that hav...

• OK ill repeat it: Disagreement is NOT hate

  by radar pangaean September 3, 2011
  My very good friend Michael Collins just made a detailed post explaining why he believes in the Bible, Jesus, God, etc. It was scholarly, well organized, and persuasive for those of that mind set. I'm sure that it would be a comfort for those seeking to justify their faith, and for me it was an inte...
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• Pick one

  by radar pangaean September 2, 2011
  I have many discussion with 'believers', as i'm still trying to understand how otherwise intelligent people can consciously, purposefully, knowingly prefer to base their lives around beliefs in things for which they cannot produce a shred of support... beyond their belief in it. That recursive situa...
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• The PROPER role for a priest (minister, etc.)

  by radar pangaean August 2, 2011
  This is the 3rd in a series of posts from 5-6 years ago on my personal blog. The previous two are also posted here, as my last two blog entries.   Page 1: Even if they don't happen to be pedophiles, do we REALLY need 'em?   When i'm analyzing a problem, i usually note that there are ma...
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• The likelihood of corruption within a priesthood

  by radar pangaean August 1, 2011
  Part 2 of a series i started earlier today (i.e. my previous blog post). NOTE: AS used in this series, te term 'priest' is a generic catch-all for anyone who claims a role of spiritual leadership, ESPECIALLY if they also claim that this role conveys to them some special relationship with the superna...

• Why i don't share your beliefs

  by radar pangaean August 1, 2011
  About 7 years ago, i had a blog on which i posted my musings of that time. Someone at that time had asked me "how can an atheist have any morals or ethics?" I found the question LAUGHABLE, considering the abysmal level of the average ethical behavior of tbose who DO claim belief in a god, but i deci...
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• Equal does NOT mean "the same"

  by radar pangaean July 19, 2011
  A bit of humor. I am a FIRM proponent for equality. Not JUST equality between men and women, or gays and straights, or any two other subgroups you care to mention, but TRUE EQUALITY for all.   From MY view, the people who focus on ONE aspect of that are more often simply looking out for thems...

• Common Ground

  by radar pangaean July 18, 2011
  There are people here, and in real life, with whom i cannot have a meaningful dialog. The same is true for each of you, whether you realize that or not. I make every effort to keep an open mind, and to understand the other person's point of view in a discussion, but as with any person my abilit...

• A Capital Idea!

  by radar pangaean July 16, 2011
  Steven & arlia: For the most part, i don't explain this subject in great detail, as it's actually a personal internal matter. However, you BOTH expressed a personal interest for your own spirituality regarding my choice to cease capitalization of my name, and the pronoun i (though in the latter case...

• Disagreeing with CONTENT is NOT censoring you.

  by radar pangaean July 15, 2011
  As a followup to my last post, i must also say that i may have been the only reader who noted the IRONY of the complaint that people sometimes forget to focus on the message instead of each word, because in MY view, that's exactly what this complainer had done. As *i* saw this situation, someone had...
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• Humaneness, Core of Confucian Beliefs, and of others as well

  by radar pangaean July 13, 2011
  I've had a few people ask me to post the paper i just submitted to a course i'm taking. Here ya go! Enjoy (or not!)HUMANENESS The Core of Confucianism and Shared with The Three Primary Western Religions                 radar pangaean CST 232 Summe...
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• I may/may not care what you say, but you can't offend me

  by radar pangaean July 5, 2011
  It's nice when someone here concerns her/himself with offending those with different beliefs, but IMO one should not worry TOO MUCH about giving offense if he/she is operating out of their best effort to be respectful and courteous. This is a site which explicitly and purposefully attracts people wi...
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• The ULC Monastery is NOT a Christian Sunday School

  by radar pangaean July 3, 2011
  You know, i've just about had it. It gets really annoying being 'required' to tiptoe around a FACT because not everyone will look at what OCCURS and see things for what they are, but THIS FACT is now undeniable for ME. I think it's time that the moderators modify the logo posted at the top of the pa...
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• Respect, Earned or Required?

  by radar pangaean July 2, 2011
  If you're one of those people who assert that we should all 'respect each other's beliefs', i have a question or two for your consideration...Do you respect the practice of insinuating yourself and your fellow believers into a traveling caravan, and then... when the opportunity presents itself, murd...
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• A Different Perspective on a Wedding Ceremony Custom

  by radar pangaean June 24, 2011
  Greetings, fellow ULC'ers.FRom time to time, members ask for advice on how to counsel aspiring brides/grooms, or for advice on how to perform the ceremony. I sometimes chime in, but of course every situation is unique and the minister asking the question is far better prepared to answer that questio...
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• Excerpt from my son's discussion with a homophobe

  by radar pangaean June 18, 2011
  My son is a practicing Buddhist. He lives in Japan, a country which does not have a dominant Xtian presence. As an ex-pat, he does enjoy associating with other Americans who live there, but he finds it tedious at times to listen to a subset of them denigrate the culture of the country in which they ...
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• An Atheists Prayer

  by radar pangaean June 9, 2011
  ‎"Dear... uh... God,   Can i call you 'God', or should it be Mr. Almighty? Look, i'm pretty new at this, and it still seems like i'm just talking to myself here, but my theist friends have challenged me to give this a try and UNLIKE them, i'm pretty open-minded so i'm doing my best h...
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• Who Decides Who Can Marry?

  by radar pangaean June 1, 2011
  My state, Ohio, passed one of the shameful and misnamed "Defense of Marriage Acts" (DOMA) a few years back, thus encoding religious bigotry into our state law. I could not be more ashamed to be a citizen of a state that would do this.  During the campaign for the act, the usual group of guardi...
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• MacNazarene's - Fast Food circa 30 CE

  by radar pangaean May 30, 2011
  I'm posting this one for my more liberal Christian friends. It's another cross-post from 5+ years ago on my personal blog. It's a different reading of one of the Biblical miracle stories. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   I con...
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• Agreeing to agree upon that which we can disagree

  by radar pangaean May 27, 2011
  I wrote this over 5 years ago for my personal blog. I'm cross-posting it here as i feel it is pertinent to the high level issue of communication among people with radically different premises.      Page 1: A few starting premises... nothing too drastic   I hope we can agree ...
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• Golden Opportunity

  by radar pangaean May 26, 2011
  I've seen far too many people throw away their chance for spiritual/intellectual growth. They don't come every day, and they come less and less often as we age. If you grow up with a list of X (pick your own number for X) things that your church teaches you are TRUTH, but upon reaching adulthood yo...
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• The Martyr Complex vs Spiritual Maturity

  by radar pangaean May 18, 2011
  A challenge: Throughout history, members of almost every belief system have been persecuted for their beliefs. For that matter, NON-believers have been persecuted for their non-beliefs as well. I acknowledge that persecution of Christians occurred in the early days of that movement at the hands of t...
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• Did Jesus Christ Really Live?

  by radar pangaean April 29, 2011
  An interesting study for those more concerned with fact than blind faith. I'm cross posting this document from a friend's feed at FB. It was written in 1922, which made it pretty daring :-).  Enjoy ---------------------------------------------------Scientific inquiry into the origins of Christ...
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• Worthwhile Discussions

  by radar pangaean March 27, 2011
  I had posted this to the wall here recently, but i realize i'm probably going to need to refer to it from time to time, so i'm preserving it here.If you've never looked past your own beliefs, if you can't master the reasoning that motivates those with different beliefs, if you don't even know the hi...

• The Bible as a Source of Tolerance/Intolerance

  by radar pangaean March 25, 2011
  For my fellows here:I just completed a required gen ed course for my degree at the college i am attending. I took a course on the Bible, since i have previous studies there already and figured i'd have a relatively easy time. One of the requirements of the course was to write a paper on any of the p...
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• Close the Book and Open Your Heart

  by radar pangaean March 25, 2011
  Michael, i love you too, but i disagree with your underlying thesis. I just read your blog post, which is both scholarly and logical. For those who use the Bible as their source, it may be quite persuasive that they can stop hating and still be OK :-).But i will also say a few things here since *i* ...
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• When Faith Brings Pain

  by radar pangaean March 22, 2011
  Greetings, all. This post is for open minded believers ONLY.  If you're sure that un-questioned acceptance of counterproductive bronze age ideas is better than a positive self-image, please read no more. I know many people whose faith leads them to acts of unselfishness, and brings ...
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• A question for the Christian ULC ministers

  by radar pangaean December 15, 2010
  Brothers and sisters,I have been browsing through some of the bios of the other ministers here. I'm very curious about something. Many of the ministers here appear to line up with the interfaith/no-faith policy that seems to me to be central to the core value of the ULC. It seems to me that being a...
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• This site's software

  by radar pangaean December 15, 2010
  The software used on this site strips carriage control from the posts i make in comments on the message board. When i compose a reply, i break it up into paragraphs to improve legibility. Once i submit it, the software strips out my blank lines and posts it all as one big paragraph. Could that ...