tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16826897644768122652024-03-13T10:07:01.257-07:00You, Me & ReligionYou, Me & Religion
A blog exploring religion, and how it affects us.
A series of questions are asked of participants, and then posted here on
You, Me & Religion. Whether you are of a certain faith or not, I believe you will find their answers quite interesting!
If you would be interested in participating, please contact
ymr@bell.net
Would love to hear from you!You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.comBlogger425125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-18461766316668383062014-01-01T09:43:00.003-08:002014-01-01T09:43:40.880-08:00Happy New Year!<b>Hello and Happy 2014 Everyone!</b><br />
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<b>I wish to thank all of 2013's wonderful participants:</b><br />
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<b>Fred Hunsberger, Serenity Raven, William Wright, Jeremy Keong, Mike Landry, Mary, Seth Alfodurson, Brian Greenhow, Siegfried Goodfellow, Recovering Agnostic, Mano Singham, Agnostic Wife, The Wise Fool, Doug Doan, Dennis Heil, Sherry M. Peyton, Sheldon and Kerr Cuhulain.</b><br />
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<b>All awesome interviews and I thank you all for sharing your unique and wonderful perspectives! </b><br />
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<b>I am thinking of turning the blog into a more website friendly theme, but I will keep you posted of any changes. Until then, be well, and I wish you all a safe, healthy and exciting New Year!</b><br />
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<br />You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-15771204164008474792013-10-30T08:26:00.001-07:002013-10-30T08:26:28.881-07:00Henri Nouwen Quote<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><b>Hello and Happy Wednesday!</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><b>Today's quote is brought to you by Henri Nouwen:</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.</span></span><br style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;" /></b><br />
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<b>Have a wonderful day everyone!</b>You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-67200264833143760702013-10-26T09:27:00.001-07:002013-10-26T09:27:46.341-07:00Thank You!<b>Hello and Happy Saturday!</b><br />
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<b>I wish to thank the wonderful ymr participants:</b><br />
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<b>Agnostic Wife, The Wise Fool, Doug Doan, Dennis Heil, Sherry M. Peyton, Sheldon and Kerr Cuhulain!</b><br />
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<b>Such a unique group of interviews! I really enjoyed reading all of them and I thank you for sharing with the ymr readers!</b><br />
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<b>Take care everyone and have a wonderful Saturday!</b><br />
<br />You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-8573123917871727872013-10-23T07:22:00.004-07:002013-10-23T07:22:42.600-07:00Christopher Hitchens Quote<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hello and Happy Wednesday!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Today's quote is brought to you by Christopher Hitchens:</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><b>I don't think it's possible to have a sense of tragedy without having a sense of humor.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Have a wonderful day everyone!</b></span>You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-11199835909823192182013-10-19T08:04:00.005-07:002013-10-19T08:04:57.149-07:00Kerr Cuhulain<b>Hello and Happy Saturday!</b><br />
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<b>I wish to thank Sheldon for his wonderful interview! I enjoyed reading your answers and I thank you for sharing with us Sheldon!</b><br />
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<b>Today we have a new interview so please welcome Kerr Cuhulain. Kerr is a Wiccan and I know you'll enjoy his interview as well!</b><br />
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<b>Here Is Kerr Cuhulain's Introduction:</b><br />
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<b><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Kerr Cuhulain has been a Wiccan for 44 years and was involved in anti-defamation activism and hate crimes investigation for the Pagan community from 1986 to 2005. Kerr was awarded the Shield of Valor by the Witches League for Public Awareness. Kerr is the author of the </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><i style="line-height: 22px;">Law Enforcement Guide to Wicca, Witch Hunts, </i></span><a href="http://www.kerrcuhulain.com/Wiccan_Warrior.php" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><i style="line-height: 22px;">Wiccan Warrior</i></span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><i style="line-height: 22px;">,</i></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"> </span><a href="http://www.kerrcuhulain.com/Full_Contact_Magick.php" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><i style="line-height: 22px;">Full Contact Magick</i></span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">, </span><a href="http://www.kerrcuhulain.com/A_Quantum_Approach.php" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><i style="line-height: 22px;">Magickal Self Defense</i></span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">, </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pagan-Religions-Handbook-Diversity-Shamanism/dp/0971005060/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321340589&sr=8-1" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Pagan Religions: A Handbook for Diversity Training</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">, and </span><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/34975" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Modern Knighthood</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Kerr has a column with 182 articles on anti-defamation issues and hate crimes on The Witches’ Voice web site called </span><a href="http://www.witchvox.com/_x.html?c=whs" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><i style="line-height: 22px;">Witch Hunts</i></span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">. His latest book, </span><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/94453" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">How to Be Glorious: Step by Step Empowerment</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">, is now a Smashwords ebook. He is the co author of a safety book for social workers and nurses: </span><a href="http://safeapproach.wordpress.com/" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Safe Approach</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">. </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Kerr is also the author of </span><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/36267" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Ancient Recipes for Modern Kitchens</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">, a cookbook of ancient recipes. </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">He writes sword and sorcery </span><a href="http://caennis.wordpress.com/" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">fantasy fiction</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"> as C.A. Ennis and paranormal romance as </span><a href="http://carriebrycewriting.wordpress.com/" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Carrie Bryce</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">.</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Kerr is the former Preceptor General of </span><a href="http://www.officersofavalon.com/" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Officers of Avalon</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">, an organization representing Neo-Pagan professionals in the emergency services (police, firefighters, emergency medical technicians). Kerr retired from the Vancouver Police Department in November 2005 after serving 29 years with them. He was awarded the Governor General’s Exemplary Service Medal. Kerr's past job assignments within the VPD include the Emergency Response Team, Hostage Negotiator, Child Abuse Investigator, Gang Crime Unit, and the Mental Health Emergency Services Unit. Kerr went on to be a police dispatcher and trainer for ECOMM for Southwestern BC from 2005 to 2013. He has now retired from law enforcement work.</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Kerr is the Grand Master and founder of a Wiccan order of Knighthood called the </span><a href="http://www.dunscathach.com/" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Order of Scáthach</span></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"> in Surrey, British Columbia in October 2007. The Order is now a registered society in the province of British Columbia and the sponsor of Vancouver Pagan Pride.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">The Order of Scáthach embraces the Warrior philosophies, precepts and code of chivalry outlined in Kerr’s books.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">The Order of Scáthach is a study group for people interested in Wiccan magick, energy work and rituals related to the Warrior path, focusing on empowerment, personal development and creative expression. The training focuses on the effective use of magickal energy and developing psychic skills. The Order of Scáthach is constantly developing new rituals, and magick and studying our Warrior philosophy. Our members are spread across the globe and connect through local preceptories and on line.</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Kerr Cuhulain’s blog: </span><span style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><a href="http://kerrcuhulain.blogspot.com/" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank">http://kerrcuhulain.blogspot.com/</a></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 22px;"><b>1) What religion do you practice?</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">2) Are you a convert/revert or were you raised within this religion? If you converted, what did you need to do to convert? And what did you practice prior to converting?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">I discovered Wicca back in 1969 when browsing in a high school library. I’d been a seeker for many years. I didn’t belong to any established religion prior to this.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">3)Within your religion are there degrees of observance (ie. Orthodox,conservative, moderate, liberal)? What are the defining differences between the degrees of observance?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">There are many different traditions and varieties of Wicca reflecting variations in the pantheons used.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">4)Within your religion what degree of observance are you ((ie. Orthodox,conservative, moderate, liberal) ? Why did you choose this degree of observance?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">I am the head of a Wiccan order of knighthood called the Order of Scáthach. I started writing about the Warrior archetype in Wiccan practice many years ago and it led to me founding this Order.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">5)What is the Afterlife within your religion? For example: what happens when a person dies? Are there places for reward/punishment? (such as a Heaven/Hell concept)</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">There is no equivalent to Hell in Wiccan religion. We pass on to rest in the Summerland and then are reincarnated.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">6) In your opinion, does everyone make it into heaven/paradise? If they do not, why?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">We don’t have a heaven/paradise in Wiccan practice. There is a concept of karma (you get back what you put out there).</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">It works for me. It allows me to take charge of my life.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">8) What are your holy days and what do you do to celebrate them?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">We have eight seasonal festivals that allow us to follow and honor the turning of the seasons and our connection with the living world around us. We also worship on or around the full moon.</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">9) Do you consider people of other faiths to be your friends?</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">We are all looking at the same thing out there but because we come from different social, educational, and cultural backgrounds we perceive things differently. If we can all come to the realization that we are all seekers and share our perspectives we’ll all be able to get along. Religion isn’t a one size fits all proposition. It is an individual path.</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">10) Would you ever join people of another faith to celebrate one of their holy days? Please explain why?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">Sure. I’ve done interfaith work for years. Experiencing other faiths helps me to understand my own.</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">11) What are your thoughts on the burka, and Shariah Law?</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">Many religions form the basis for law in society. Many have a list of “thou shalt not” rules. My religion differs as the emphasis is “I will not”. In other words taking personal responsibility for your actions and owning them. If you harm another, you fix it.</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">12) Are women allowed to hold religious office (priest, minister, rabbi, iman etc) in your religion and how do you feel about it?</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">Yes, there is sexual equality in Wicca. Both females and males have equal opportunities. It takes both genders to hold up the world.</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">13) Does your place of worship segregate? If yes, how does this make you feel?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">No, it does not. We actually don’t have permanent temples either. We set up our sacred space when and where we need it.</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">14) How much does your religion affect your daily life and how much thought do you give it when making a decision? Does it affect in any way your decision on abortion, gay marriage, etc?</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">Wicca is my identity and definitely informs my decisions. We don’t have any problem with gay people.</b></span></div>
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<b><br style="line-height: 21px;" /><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">15) How would you react/feel if your child wished to marry outside your religion?</span></span></b></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">It is there choice. We don’t proselytize.</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">16) In your opinion, if someone is not of your faith, will they go to hell?</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">We don’t believe in hell and we see the devil as a Christian personification of evil that we don’t subscribe to.</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">17) Who do you think is not a practicing ----- in your religion and why? ie who in the public domain claims to speak for your religion? Do you agree with them or not?</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #741b47;"> </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">Elders in our religion have disagreements from time to time but for the most part we stand together on things even though we may come from different traditions.</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">18) Have you ever been the target of a hate crime? Please explain.</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">Oh yes. I spent 25 years engaged in anti defamation work for the Pagan community arising from a very vocal but small group of fundamentalist Christians trying to create the impression that there was a Satanic conspiracy out there and that my religious community was part of it. They did not succeed.</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">19) Do you ever feel like your religion devalues you?</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">No. It is about empowerment.</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">20) Does your religion give you peace of mind?</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #741b47;"> </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">Absolutely.</b></span></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b style="line-height: 22px;">21) Do you believe in reincarnation? Why or why not?</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">I do. Lots of evidence of it out there. I think we live multiple lives to develop ourselves.</span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<b style="color: #444444;"> </b><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Order of Scáthach web site: </span><a href="http://www.dunscathach.com/" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">http://www.dunscathach.com/</span></a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Order of Scathách training blog: </span><span style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><a href="http://dunscathach.wordpress.com/" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank">http://dunscathach.wordpress.com/</a></span></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">
<b><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Kerr Cuhulain’s blog: </span><a href="http://kerrcuhulain.blogspot.com/" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">http://kerrcuhulain.blogspot.com/</span></a></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">
<b style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Kerr’s latest Smashwords book: Modern Knighthood:</span><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/34975" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/34975</span></a></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b>Check out Kerr’s daily affirmations:</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b>Twitter: @warriorwitch</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;"><b>Facebook: Kerr Cuhulain</b></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">
<b><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">YouTube channel for the Order of Scathách: </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/goibhniu13?feature=mhum" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">http://www.youtube.com/user/goibhniu13?feature=mhum</span></a></span></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">
<b><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">Pagan Religions: A Manual for Diversity Training: </span><a href="http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Pagan-Religions-Manual-Diversity-Training-Kerr-Cuhulain/9780971005068-item.html?cookieCheck=1" style="cursor: pointer; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; line-height: normal;">http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Pagan-Religions-Manual-Diversity-Training-Kerr-Cuhulain/9780971005068-item.html?cookieCheck=1</span></a></span></b></div>
<br />You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-4499750667359419122013-09-28T07:42:00.000-07:002013-09-28T07:42:08.760-07:00Interviews Coming Shortly!<b>Hello and Happy Saturday!</b><br />
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<b>YMR will be posting interviews shortly- just taking a bit of a break but will be back and with more interesting interviews soon, so be sure to check back! Thanks for following, very much appreciated!</b><br />
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<b>Have a great day everyone!</b>You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-9203643082306911062013-09-25T06:13:00.001-07:002013-09-25T06:13:31.108-07:00Franka Potente Quote<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>Hello and Happy Wednesday!</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>Today's quote is brought to you by Franka Potente:</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;">To give somebody your time is the biggest gift you can give.</span></b></span><br />
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<b>Have a wonderful day everyone!</b>You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-10090763400926433032013-09-18T08:50:00.004-07:002013-09-18T08:50:50.377-07:00Gilda Radner Quote<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>Hello and Happy Wednesday!</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>Today's quote is brought to you by Gilda Radner:</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">While we have the gift of life, it seems to me the only tragedy is to allow part of us to die - whether it is our spirit, our creativity or our glorious uniqueness.</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>Have a wonderful day everyone!</b></span>You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-34143052587728372092013-09-11T09:01:00.002-07:002013-09-11T09:01:48.407-07:00John Barrymore Quote<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>Hello and Happy Wednesday!</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>Today's quote is brought to you by John Barrymore:</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>Have a wonderful day everyone!</b></span></span>You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-79545989286755727702013-09-04T12:21:00.002-07:002013-09-04T12:21:29.455-07:00Jim Rohn Quote<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hello and Happy Wednesday!</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today's quote is brought to you by Jim Rohn:</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: #38761d;">The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy.</span></span><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="line-height: 20px;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Have a great day everyone!</span></b></span>You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-3888017990763954882013-08-28T11:05:00.000-07:002013-08-28T11:05:08.908-07:00Golda Meir Quote<b>Hello and Happy Wednesday!</b><br />
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<b>Today's quote is brought to you by Golda Meir:</b><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: #990000;">Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>Have a wonderful day everyone!</b></span>You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-9365596357982170402013-08-24T14:10:00.004-07:002013-08-24T14:10:59.278-07:00Sheldon Cooper<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b>Hello and Happy Saturday!</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b>I wish to thank Sherry M. Peyton for her wonderful interview! I very much enjoyed reading your answers and I thank you for sharing with us Sherry!<br /><br />Today we have a new interview so please welcome Sheldon Cooper. Sheldon is an Agnostic and I know you'll enjoy his interview as well!</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b>Here Is Sheldon Cooper's Introduction:</b></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">I go by Sheldon Cooper online, (and yes, the name does come from the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQE2qcEYf2A" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">character on the show The Big Bang Theory</span></a>), I’m a warehouse clerk from Granite City, Illinois, a St. Louis suburb. I grew up in a Christian fundamentalist family, and I myself was a Christian fundamentalist until nearly 4 years ago. I am an agnostic now, but I have only “come out” to 5 people in my life so far, and to keep my cover, I still <a href="http://ramblingsofsheldon.blogspot.com/p/my-story.html" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">attend church</span></a>. On my blog, <a href="http://www.ramblingsofsheldon.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-most-intense-guest-post-i-have-ever.html" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Ramblings of Sheldon</span></a>, I talk candidly about my past, and my life and beliefs now, as well as my struggles with mental illness. I have depression, and I strongly suspect that I may be a high functioning autistic.</span></b></div>
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<a class="c_nobdr t_prs" href="http://www.ramblingsofsheldon.blogspot.com/" style="cursor: pointer; outline: none;" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Ramblings of Sheldon</span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> <a class="c_nobdr t_prs" href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/117698492235814982747/posts" style="cursor: pointer; outline: none;" target="_blank">Google + profile</a></span></b></div>
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<b>1) What religion do you practice? </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">I don’t consider atheism/agnosticism a religion, but for the sake of this interview, I’ll respond to questions as though it is, I understand that most people interviewed probably are religious, and questions were written with that in mind.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span><br /><span style="color: #444444;">2) Are you a convert/revert or were you raised within this religion? If you converted, what did you need to do to convert? And what did you practice prior to converting? </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">I came to the conclusion of agnosticism after quite a bit of questioning and doubting nearly 4 years ago at the age of 21. It was a long and hard process, I had doubled down on the Christian fundamentalism that was my passion and the only faith I knew in response to ignorance and bigotry about mental illness from my mother. I had just returned from a prominent Southern Baptist university that I had spent a year in as a political science major/Biblical Studies minor after a complete nervous breakdown due to depression and anxiety (I even had some <a href="http://ramblingsofsheldon.blogspot.com/2013/02/descending-into-alternate-dimension.html" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">extreme panic attacks</span></a>).</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">She said it was nothing but the result of “guilt”, and “not having a right relationship with God”, unfortunately, at the time, I believed her, and I started diving back into my faith with a zeal I had never known before, intensely studying the Bible, diving into theology and the beliefs of popular ministers in the Southern Baptist circles I was in, like John Piper.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Ironically, this was the beginning of the end for my Christian beliefs. I had read the Bible through and through, but I felt like I was reading it for the first time as I finally saw just how cruel and barbaric the Bible truly is. I started becoming disgusted with what I was reading, and with the Christian concept of god. How could a god who was supposedly a loving caring, creator as I had been taught all my life command the Jewish people to carry out the acts of genocide that they committed in the Old Testament? Why would he send someone to hell just for not believing in him? These questions and many more factors lead me to believe that even if this god existed, he was not worthy of my worship, I would rather live my life to the best of my ability, and go to hell for it if it existed, than worship such a monster. At first I toyed with the idea for a few months that I might become a deist, but eventually I began to realize I was an agnostic.</span></b></div>
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<b>3)Within your religion are there degrees of observance (ie. Orthodox,conservative, moderate, liberal)? What are the defining differences between the degrees of observance?</b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Well, within the atheist world there are actually more differences in opinion and schools of thought than you might think. First, there are the three major divisions of belief, you have atheists, agnostics, and the much smaller, and less known group, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignosticism" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Ignostics</span></a>.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Atheists of course, believe that there is no god, and there is not even a slight chance that one exists, agnostics leave open a slight possibility that there may be a god, but challenge believers to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is one, and Ignostics believe that the very concept of a god is too hard to define.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Then, beyond that, you have divisions when it comes to political philosophy, gender issues, and how to react to religion.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">In politics, most in the atheist community are on the left side of the spectrum somewhere, there are socialists, progressives, libertarians, and even anarchists. There is also a very small group on the right wing who consider themselves conservative atheists, a good example of them is the writer Cephus of the blog <a href="http://bitchspot.jadedragononline.com/" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Bitchspot</span></a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">On gender issues, you have extremist feminists like the bloggers at Freethought Blogs, moderate feminists like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/lacigreen?feature=watch" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Laci Green</span></a>, and even some people who have their criticisms of feminism like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/TheAmazingAtheist?feature=watch" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">TJ Kirk</span></a></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">There are also three major divisions when it comes to how to react to religion, and it’s role in society. You have the anti-theists, who feel that all religion is harmful, it should have no role in society, and they wouldn’t mind if it ceased to exist altogether. Then on the opposite end of the spectrum is the accommodationists (some of them use this term with pride, some shy away from it, because it can be considered an insult in the atheist community), who see religion in a more positive light, and want to build connections between the religious and non-religious.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">There are also those who are in between the anti-theists and the accommodationists, people like me who do believe that religion can be extremely harmful in it’s more fundamentalist forms, and want religious extremism out of politics and society, but tolerate, and even sometimes get along quite well with more liberal/moderate religious people. I don’t agree with them, and I don’t understand them sometimes, but I get along quite well with Wiccans and liberal Christians.</span></b></div>
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<b>4)Within your religion what degree of observance are you ((ie. Orthodox,conservative, moderate, liberal) ? Why did you choose this degree of observance?</b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">See the major divisions in the atheist community above that I talked about. When it comes to reaction to religion, like I said, I’m opposed to harmful religious extremism, but don’t mind liberal/moderate religious people. I do hope that the US becomes a society, and develops a government that is more secular, neutral to religion, and guided by proven facts instead of belief.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">On gender issues, I think feminism does have it’s good side, and can be a force for good, but has become rather extreme lately, and has started to ignore some gender issues that it should be paying attention to.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Politically, I’m somewhere between a progressive and a libertarian. Too economically moderate to be either, but I tend to agree with the libertarians more on foreign policy/war, civil liberties, etc.</span></b></div>
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<b>5)What is the Afterlife within your religion? For example: what happens when a person dies? Are there places for reward/punishment? (such as a Heaven/Hell concept) </b></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">There is no heaven or hell, but honestly, <a href="http://ramblingsofsheldon.blogspot.com/2012/11/sometimes-i-wish-fundamentalists-were.html" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">sometimes I wish there was</span></a>. I mean, wouldn’t it be nice to know that some of the worst murderers, terrorists, and dictators in history or even people that have abused you in your lifetime will get what’s coming to them in the next life?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Wouldn’t it be great if the good people in this world who received quite a bit of undue suffering finally received the peace and happiness they deserved in Heaven?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">It all sounds nice, and I think this yearning for final justice is what attracts many people to religion, but then I come back to reality, and look at the suffering in this world, much of which happens to people who didn’t deserve it, and think that even if there was a god and an afterlife, a god that isn’t just in this life isn’t likely to be just in the afterlife either.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">I think the belief that there is no heaven or hell is a more fulfilling belief in the end, because I don’t believe in an afterlife anymore, I feel like I want to do more to make the world a better place, and speak out against injustices. I think it’s also made me more open minded, and forgiving of people, because this world is all we have, we should do are best to make it a better place for everyone.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><br />6) In your opinion, does everyone make it into heaven/paradise? If they do not, why? </b></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Now I believe that there is no heaven, but during my Christian days, I would have said that only Christians who had asked God to forgive them of their sins, and accepted the essential basic doctrines of Christianity, like the subsitionary atonement of Jesus’ death/resurrection would make it into Heaven. I’m not proud of that, but that is indeed what I believed, like other fundamentalists.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">I do find the concept of Christian univeralism to be rather interesting (the belief that all people, Christian or not are going to Heaven because of God’s forgivness), because it is so dramatically different than the doctrines I grew up with, and because I honestly wonder how they reconcile that with the Bible. Maybe I should ask my good blogging friend <a href="http://www.wideopenground.com/" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Lana Hope</span></a> about that.</span></b></div>
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<b><br />7) What makes your religion a good fit for you? </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">I think agnosticism is a good fit for me because I have always wanted to question, to know more about this world, and the atheist community welcomes that kind of seeking, of always wanting to know more, and learn more. Fundamentalism in any religion feels that questioning is OK, only up to a certain point, certain topics and beliefs are off limits to question, because they are just simply true because either God supposedly said it, or your faith believes it, and that settles it. That limits questioning and debate to a large extent.</span></b></div>
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<b><br />8) What are your holy days and what do you do to celebrate them? </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Well, of course, there are no holy days in atheism. ;)</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">I celebrate the typical holidays that are widely celebrated in the US, and I don’t mind the typical get togethers and feasts associated with them, but I have found that some of them have become rather hollow, and have no real meaning to me. Some, because of their religious origins, like Christmas and Easter, even though Christmas has become more and more of a secular holiday in recent decades in the US. Maybe it’s because my family always stressed the religious meanings of those days (“remember the real reason for the season”), and I tend to associate them too much with the Christian fundamentalism of my past. Maybe my feelings will change in time.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">I have noticed that the 4th of July has also become hollow to me, mostly because many people associate patriotism with support of the government system as a whole, and I have quite a few issues with the two party system, and have become rather anti-war in recent years. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span><br /><span style="color: #444444;">9) Do you consider people of other faiths to be your friends? </span></b></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">A few years back, I became good friends with a family that ran a music store in my community, the father was into Native American spirituality, the wife and daughter weree Wiccan, and the son, whom I met later was agnostic.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">It was quite an experience meeting the mother and father, because I had always been taught that Wiccans/neo-pagans were “Satanists”. A lot of misconceptions melted away after getting to know them, and I began to see a lot of beauty in the simplicity, and open mindedness/tolerance inherent in Wicca and native beliefs. They really were a great family.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Unfortunately, I have drifted apart from them due both to their store closing last year, and the fact that I am in the middle of <a href="http://www.ramblingsofsheldon.blogspot.com/2013/07/rebuilding-in-more-ways-than-one.html#more" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">rebuilding a foreclosure house I bought</span></a> in order to move out and separate myself from my <a href="http://ramblingsofsheldon.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-most-intense-guest-post-i-have-ever.html" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">abusive mother</span></a>. Once I get settled into that house, I’m going to try and get in contact with them again.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Online, I’m good friends with some great liberal Christians, both on Google’s social network, Google +, and through blogging. </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><br /></span><br /><span style="color: #444444;">10) Would you ever join people of another faith to celebrate one of their holy days? Please explain why?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">I would, if given the opportunity; it would be rather interesting, especially the holidays of Judaism and Islam, it would help me to understand other faiths and their traditions.</span></b></div>
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<b><br />11) What are your thoughts on the burka, and Shariah Law? </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Sharia law is cruel and barbaric and has no place in the modern world, period. As for burqas, I don’t believe that in the vast majority of cases, Islamic women wear them or their own choice and volition, even if they live in Western nations. Even if they don’t face violent retribution for not wearing it, they still live in fear of rejection by their family and the Islamic culture around them, and the shaming that would come with that. </span></b></div>
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<b><br /><br />12) Are women allowed to hold religious office (priest, minister, rabbi, iman etc) in your religion and how do you feel about it?</b></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">They weren’t allowed to hold clerical positions in any Christian church that I was in during my Christian days, including the church that I am <a href="http://ramblingsofsheldon.blogspot.com/p/my-story.html" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">"undercover"</span></a> in. The only Christian group that I am a part of that even comes close is the Assembly of God denomination, which leaves that up to individual congregations, the Assembly of God church I was in didn’t allow female pastors, but did allow for female board members in the church.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">In the atheist movement, there are no “clergy” or formal leadership, and all non-believers/skeptics are welcome, regardless of gender, orientation, etc.</span></b></div>
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<b><br />13) Does your place of worship segregate? If yes, how does this make you feel? </b></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">As I said in question 12, atheism is a very accepting movement. Atheism didn’t used to have anything resembling churches until very recently, some people have started <span style="color: #b45f06;"><a href="http://www.mysecretatheistblog.com/2013/01/atheist-church-holds-its-first-service.html" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">"atheist churches"</span></a> </span>not to poke fun at religion, or to try and turn atheism into something resembling a religion, but to act as a gathering place, and to provide a sense of community that many people experience in religion. I could see how this could appeal to many people, especially the ex-religious like me. If one started here in the St. Louis area, I would definitely be interested in checking it out.</span></b></div>
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<b><br /><br />14) How much does your religion affect your daily life and how much thought do you give it when making a decision? Does it affect in any way your decision on abortion, gay marriage, etc?</b></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Going from Christian fundamentalism to agnosticism greatly changed my view on social issues completely. I began to realize that many of my former political beliefs, such as opposition to abortion and gay marriage are completely rooted in religion, and once that era of my life closed, it all crumbled. Now I am pro-choice (but feel that wider and more affordable availability to birth control is preferable to abortion), and I fully support the gay rights movement, and I’m proud to say that.</span></b></div>
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<b><br />15) How would you react/feel if your child wished to marry outside your religion? </b></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Honestly, I don’t feel that I would be able to handle the stress of having children, at least not until later in life, and I want to experience life more before becoming a parent, if I ever do become one. If I did have a child, and they grew up and wanted to be something other than an atheist, well, that’s their choice. I wouldn’t have objections unless they become a religious fundamentalist, and/or join a dangerous cult. I’m not of the mindset that one’s children, especially when they become young adults, <a href="http://defeatingthedragons.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/learning-the-words-rights/comment-page-1/" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">shouldn't have no rights</span></a>, which is the way I was treated. That’s a toxic mentality to have in a family.</span></b></div>
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<b><br />16) In your opinion, if someone is not of your faith, will they go to hell? </b></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">I don’t believe hell exists, so that’s kind of irrelevant……</span></b></div>
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<b><br /><br />17) Who do you think is not a practicing ----- in your religion and why? ie who in the public domain claims to speak for your religion? Do you agree with them or not? <br /></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">There’s many people who are vocal atheists, and since the movement is not formally organized, there’s no official spokespeople for our movement, and there’s not very many people that in the public would recognize as coming close to filling that role, the closest person to that role would probably be Richard Dawkins, whom I have a lot of respect for.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">The only person who comes to mind that at some point claimed to be atheist, but clearly wasn’t, by their beliefs and actions was the cult leader Jim Jones, though as the blogger Hemant Metha (aka the Friendly Atheist) once said he was a <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/06/21/insane-in-the-brain-a-rare-video-of-mass-murderer-jim-jones-preaching/" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">"riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a ball of f***ing insanity"</span></a>. At times he claimed to be an atheist, but never discouraged his followers from their ideas of him being a prophet type figure, or even divine, and he believed in reincarnation.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">I don’t mind disagreements with fellow atheists, and unless someone claims to be atheist, and yet believes in an afterlife (like Jones did), or believes in a god, then I wouldn’t say that they aren’t a “true” atheist. (That would be rather absurd for someone to claim to be an atheist, and yet believe in a god, wouldn’t it?).</span></b></div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">I will say that one segment of the atheist movement that I absolutely can’t stand, and feel is toxic to the atheist movement is the Freethought Blogs/Atheism + crowd. They are as dogmatic, spiteful, and close minded about their opinions as fundamentalists, and have been rather vicious to their opponents, <a href="http://www.atheistrev.com/2013/08/more-internet-vigilantism-as-shermer.html" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">accusing people of rape without investigating the claims or proving them</span></a>, <a href="http://www.atheistrev.com/2013/06/my-initial-reaction-to-latest-doxxing.html" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">outing and doxing an anonymous blogger they disagreed with</span></a>, and saying that people who defend due process when others are accused of sexual misconduct <a href="http://www.atheistrev.com/2013/08/if-you-defend-due-process-you-might-be.html" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">may be abusers themselves</span></a>. I can’t stand them, I will not link to them, and I will not link to blogs that either have a good deal of links to Freethought Blogs, or sing their praises.</span></b></div>
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<b><br />18) Have you ever been the target of a hate crime? Please explain. </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">No, neither as a Christian, or now as an agnostic, perhaps in the second case, it’s because I’m not living openly as an agnostic yet.</span></b></div>
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<b><br /><br />19) Do you ever feel like your religion devalues you? </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">No, I feel atheism/agnosticism actually gives more value and meaning to a life, because as I said earlier, this life is all we have, so we should enjoy it, live it out, and strive to help others, there are no second chances, no extra lives, no afterlife, so make the most out of it.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">I do feel however that the Christian fundamentalism of my past is denigrating to all of humanity, especially the Neo-Calvinism of people like John Piper.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Fundamentalism in general is built on the premise that we are worthless, contemptible sinners that can’t achieve holiness or the forgiveness of god, but god decided to sacrifice his son Jesus so that we could be forgiven anyway. One verse that I often quoted in this regard was <a href="http://biblehub.com/isaiah/64-6.htm" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Isaiah 64:6</span></a>, all of our righteousness (<i>our attempts to become holy and win god’s favor</i>), is as filthy rags, unacceptable to god. As one meme once put it, it’s “the idea that you are so awful that you made god kill himself”.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> That’s a rather depressing and degrading way to look at humanity, and it only goes from bad to worse when you get deeper into Calvinism, into what is known as the Neo-Calvinist movement, which is popular in some Baptist circles today, and among some famous ministers like John Piper. In <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taYhbRm6pnU" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">this infamous video</span></a> (only watch it if you can stomach it), John Piper explains why he felt it was OK for God to order acts of genocide in the Old Testament:</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><i>“It’s right for God to </i><i>slaughter women and children any time he pleases</i><i>. God gives life and he takes life. Everyone who dies, dies because God wills them to die.”</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><i>“God rules and governs everything</i><i>, so everything he does is just, right and good. God owes us nothing.”</i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Does that sicken you to listen to and read like it does to me?</span></b></div>
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<b><br /><br />20) Does your religion give you peace of mind? </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">I have depression, so nothing gives me peace of mind, lol. Well, my medication helps with that quite a bit, I’m not as restless as I used to be, and my mind doesn’t constantly race, and have conflicting thoughts <a href="http://ramblingsofsheldon.blogspot.com/2013/07/lottery-balls-and-superheros.html" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">bouncing around like lottery balls inside my head</span></a>.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Cymbalta is about the only thing that has brought me close to some sort of peace in life.</span></b></div>
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<b>21) Do you believe in reincarnation? Why or why not? </b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">No, I definitely don’t, but I would like for someone to try and show me the proof that they have been reincarnated, that would be fun. I find it interesting when people claim that they have been reincarnated that they don’t have many of the memories associated with that past life, for instance, someone who thinks that there were a Roman solider in their past life, but can’t speak the form of Latin spoken at that time.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #b45f06;">In my Christian past, I would have simply quoted <a href="http://biblehub.com/hebrews/9-27.htm" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Hebrews 9:27</span></a>, “it is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgement”.</span></b></div>
You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-11272761704902006522013-08-21T07:44:00.002-07:002013-08-21T07:44:47.216-07:00Emma Thompson Quote<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>Today's quote is brought to you by Emma Thompson:</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Its unfortunate and I really wish I wouldn't have to say this, but I really like human beings who have suffered. They're kinder.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /> </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b>Have a wonderful day everyone!</b></span>You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-48427867145071863802013-08-14T07:38:00.006-07:002013-08-14T07:38:57.986-07:00Sai Baba Quote<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Hello and Happy Wednesday!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Today's quote is brought to you by Sai Baba:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Life is a song - sing it. Life is a game - play it. Life is a challenge - meet it. Life is a dream - realize it. Life is a sacrifice - offer it. Life is love - enjoy it.</span></span><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Have a wonderful day everyone!</b></span></span>You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-33654585451370814682013-08-10T08:28:00.003-07:002013-08-10T08:32:59.257-07:00Sherry M. Peyton<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Hello and Happy Saturday!</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">I wish to thank Dennis Heil for his very interesting and candid interview. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your answers and I thank you for being so open and sharing with us all Dennis!</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Today we have a new interview so please welcome Sherry M. Peyton. Sherry is a Catholic and I know you will enjoy her interview as well!</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Here Is Sherry M. Peyton's Introduction:</span></strong></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"><strong> </strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Tahoma;"><strong>I'm a retired attorney from Detroit Michigan, now living in Las Cruces, New Mexico with my husband and our dog Diego. I consider myself a writer now, and I blog daily. My interests are fairly eclectic so I read widely, do a few crafty things, walk in the desert, swim, cook and garden. I try to devote time to working at our local food pantry and collecting food for them. Life is pretty darn good. My faith is an important part of my life, and I love the more meditative side of spirituality. </strong></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: small;"><strong><span style="color: #0b5394;">My main site is www.afeatheradrift.wordpress.com but my spiritual blog is www.witshadows.wordpress.com. I have a food blog, a writing blog, and a lifestyle blog as well. They can be located by the sidebar of either of the two listed.</span></strong> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>1) What religion do you practice?</b></span></div>
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<br /><br /><b>2) Are you a convert/revert or were you raised within this religion? If you converted, what did you need to do to convert? And what did you practice prior to converting?</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b> <span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span></b><span style="color: #0b5394;">I was not raised in any faith. My parents were ostensibly believers but faith was not discussed. I converted to Roman Catholicism at age 42. The process is quite long. Classes are once a week starting in September, you are baptised and/or confirmed on Easter, and classes formally end at the end of Pentecost.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>3)Within your religion are there degrees of observance (ie. Orthodox,conservative, moderate, liberal)? What are the defining differences between the degrees of observance? </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">There are no official degrees. One is supposed to attend mass each Sunday and on all Holy days as well as observe certain eating practices during Lent. There are however informal groups--there are some ultra conservatives, but most Roman Catholics attend Mass semi-regularly I would say especially on things like Easter and Christmas. I would also say that there are liberal or progressive Catholics who work to move the Church in a more liberal stance on the issues of the day. Most Catholics are more liberal than church teachings but pretty much ignore those teachings they don't agree with.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>4)Within your religion what degree of observance are you ((ie. Orthodox,conservative, moderate, liberal) ? Why did you choose this degree of observance? </b><span style="color: #0b5394;">I'm liberal/progressive. I am in dissent within my Church on issues such as marriage equality, women in the priesthood, and the need to welcome everyone to the table and let Jesus sort it out if you will.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>5)What is the Afterlife within your religion? For example: what happens when a person dies? Are there places for reward/punishment? (such as a Heaven/Hell concept)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">My Church definitely teaches a heaven and a hell, and a purgatory where one "pays" off one's sins before entering heaven, but personally I don't believe in such concepts.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>6) In your opinion, does everyone make it into heaven/paradise? If they do not, why?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">I believe every person regardless of faith or lack of it returns to the Oneness of the Creator at death. A loving God does not punish the ignorant for not being able to transcend this reality and "see" the other side as I see it. Perhaps it is more like the Hindus and reincarnation, and we continue to evolve with each life until we are able to pierce the veil and "see." I don't know, I only know that a God who consigns his own creation to a hell is not a God I think worthy of worship.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>7) What makes your religion a good fit for you?</b><span style="color: #0b5394;">I love the fact that the Roman Church is the oldest institution in the world that has been ongoing for over 2,000 years. I love the rituals of the mass, and to the degree that they are still around, the beautiful old cathedrals that make at least my heart soar to my God.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>8) What are your holy days and what do you do to celebrate them?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Easter is the highest of holy days followed by the birth of Jesus (a not-accurate date I might note) on Christmas. Beyond that there are several holidays of lesser importance such as Marian observances, Ash Wednesday, Pentacost. All are celebrated by special masses.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Indeed I do. One learns that in the end most faiths teach essentially the same things, just in different ways. I think God works with the habits and customs of individual areas of the world, and religions arise around what speaks best to the people.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Yes</span> <span style="color: #0b5394;">certainly I would, especially Muslim or Jewish. In fact it is common in the Catholic church to have Seder meals at Eastertime to commemorate the Last Supper which Jesus celebrated right before his death.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>11) What are your thoughts on the burka, and Shariah Law?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b> </b>I am not in favor of requiring women to wear specific attire because men require it. If women wish to attire themselves that way, it is surely their right, as many Catholic religious used to and some still do. As to Shariah law, I am very opposed to theocracy. It doesn't work. It got us into much trouble in Europe and hopefully we can stave off those in this country who wish it, which seems to be the desire of some on the far right evangelicals.</span> </span><br />
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<b><br /><span style="font-size: large;">12) Are women allowed to hold religious office (priest, minister, rabbi, iman etc) in your religion and how do you feel about it? </span></b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Women cannot be priests or deacons in the Roman Church. It is almost certain that there were women deacons in the early church, and many believe that people like Mary Magdalen were essentially apostles like Paul and Peter. Since God makes no distinctions between sexes, I find it hard to understand why some men do. I suspect it has to do with power rather than anything defined in scripture. In fact the latest Papal pronouncement on the subject from John Paul II suggested that it was purely tradition and not scripture that forbids women from the priesthood. I find it appalling since I know wonderful women who would make amazing priests. In many parishes, women do all the work except the consecration of the bread and wine anyway.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>13) Does your place of worship segregate? If yes, how does this make you feel? </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">No. I would find it unacceptable.</span> </span><br />
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<b>14) How much does your religion affect your daily life and how much thought do you give it when making a decision? Does it affect in any way your decision on abortion, gay marriage, etc? </b></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">I am forced at major junctures in my life, especially as they pertain to moral matters, to really sit and ponder for long periods these issues. One is required in my tradition to follow one's own beliefs in the end, but one is required to learn on a very deep level what the church teaches and why. One must then research the issue as best one can before attempting to form an opinion that differs from the Church. It is laborious and painful since I for one dislike finding myself on the other side from my church. However, I take the rule seriously that I must decide what my heart tells me is truth, and follow it no matter what the Church says.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>15) How would you react/feel if your child wished to marry outside your religion?</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">No problem whatsoever. Some of my very best friends are agnostic at best if not deliberate atheists.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>16) In your opinion, if someone is not of your faith, will they go to hell? </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">No. That is the height of arrogance and usurps the position of God who I assume can make that determination all by Herself. :)</span></span></div>
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<b>17) Who do you think is not a practicing ----- in your religion and why? ie who in the public domain claims to speak for your religion? Do you agree with them or not? </b></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">The Pope speaks for me, as well as the USCCB--the bishops. I rather like this new Pope, but certainly he is still not there on some issues that are important to me. I am mostly not on the same page with the Bishops except when they speak to issues of poverty and immigration where they do seem to adhere to what I think of as Catholic principles.</span><br />
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<b>18) Have you ever been the target of a hate crime? Please explain.</b></div>
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<b> </b><span style="color: #0b5394;">No</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>19) Do you ever feel like your religion devalues you? </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Yes, I think that to the degree that women are prevented from certain jobs, and even certain groups within the church (knights of Columbus), they demean women and make us seem less valuable. I'm really tired of being told how important our Blessed Mother is, and that she makes us "equal" to men somehow by her being venerated. It's a palliative statement at best.</span></span><br />
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<br /><br /><b>20) Does your religion give you peace of mind? </b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Yes, frankly it does. I always feel I'm home when I arrive in the pew, and kneel. That is my first thanks--to God for bringing me home to Mother Church. It is my church, where I express my faith, with all it's scars and wounds from it's own sins. It's still mine and I love her and hope she continues to evolve. Perhaps Pope Francis is the Holy Spirit coming forth in renewal, a renewal we badly need.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>21) Do you believe in reincarnation? Why or why not?</b> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">I don't disbelieve in it. I think it would be kind of cool actually. I like the idea of coming back until one gets it right. I find a lot of logic and symmetry in that system, and I would not be unhappy if it were true. The fact is that NO earthly religion gets it all right. We all have parts, some overlapping, and some very wrong I suspect. We see but through a glass darkly as Paul said.</span> </div>
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You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-31421933354702336732013-08-07T07:52:00.003-07:002013-08-07T07:52:57.418-07:00Ernest Hemingway Quote<span class="bqQuoteLink"><strong>Hello and Happy Wednesday!</strong></span><br />
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<span class="bqQuoteLink"><strong>Today's quote is brought to you by Ernest Hemingway:</strong></span><br />
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<span class="bqQuoteLink"><strong><span style="color: #b45f06;">The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span class="bqQuoteLink"><strong>Have a wonderful day everyone!</strong></span><br />
<br />You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-4903662913353728282013-08-03T08:20:00.002-07:002013-08-03T08:20:16.741-07:00New Interview Next Week<strong>Hello and Happy Saturday!</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>YMR is always on the look out for new participants, so if you'd like to participate please email </strong><a href="mailto:ymr@bell.net"><strong>ymr@bell.net</strong></a><strong>.</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>And don't forget to check us out on facebook and twitter (ymr follows back)!</strong><br />
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<strong>There'll be a new interview next Saturday so be sure to check it out!</strong><br />
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<strong>Have a wonderful day everyone!</strong><br />
You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-33127569491747703892013-07-31T05:58:00.002-07:002013-07-31T05:58:38.035-07:00Sidonie Gabrielle Colette Quote<span class="bqQuoteLink"><strong>Hello and Happy Wednesday!</strong></span><br />
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<span class="bqQuoteLink"><strong>Today's quote is brought to you by Sidonie Gabrielle Colette:</strong></span><br />
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<span class="bqQuoteLink"><strong><span style="color: #38761d;">Total absence of humor renders life impossible.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span class="bqQuoteLink"><strong>Have a wonderful day everyone!</strong></span>You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-43826111318144526642013-07-27T07:44:00.000-07:002013-07-27T07:44:03.742-07:00Dennis Heil<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Hello and Happy Saturday!</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">I wish to thank Doug Doan for his wonderful interview. I very much enjoyed reading your answers Doug and I thank you for sharing your journey with us!</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Today we have a new interview so please welcome Dennis Heil. Dennis is a Core Spiritualist and I know you will enjoy his interview as well!</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Here Is Dennis Heil's Introduction:</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Salutations. My name is Dennis Heil (alias Grimm). I am a 33 year old </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">with Type 2 Bipolar Disorder with Major Depression and High Functioning </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Autism that spent 15 years undiagnosed. After a few years of working on </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">getting well; I now use my experience, misery, and insanity to help and </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">educate others that I cross paths with in life and through my Bipolar </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Manifesto (www.bipolarmanifesto.com). I've been homeless, lived in the </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">ghetto, struggled with drug and alcohol abuse, racked up a half-dozen </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">suicide attempts, and lost almost everything to the Disorder over and </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">over until I was finally diagnosed. Today I work as an online </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">marketer/writer, amateur currency trader; and I'm pursuing a career as a </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">mental health Peer Specialist.</span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">1. What religion do you practice?</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I most identify with a concept called Core Spirituality. Essentially- it </span><span style="font-size: large;">accepts that there is an underlying spiritual connection through all of </span><span style="font-size: large;">creation and the universe. The act of belief or just being in tune with </span><span style="font-size: large;">the spiritual allows a person to tap it. No one belief system is right </span><span style="font-size: large;">or wrong; they are all "right" because they all exercise the part of the </span><span style="font-size: large;">mind that governs this connectivity. Some people are naturally in tune, </span></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">others have to work at it. The mind needs exercise like any other </span><span style="font-size: large;">muscle to improve and stay in shape. Example- critical thinking and </span><span style="font-size: large;">problem solving exercises can help stave off mental degeneration in the </span><span style="font-size: large;">elderly.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">When I was younger, rejecting Christianity, and more angry; I was a </span><span style="font-size: large;">Laveyan Satanist. No- I didn't hurt any animals or anyone because of it. </span><span style="font-size: large;">I still carry quite a few of those beliefs with me as well that I use in </span><span style="font-size: large;">my day to day life. Man is just another animal, although more </span><span style="font-size: large;">intelligent and cruel. Waste no love on ingrates, lavish it on those </span><span style="font-size: large;">that are deserving. Ignorance is the only true sin. Satan just served as </span><span style="font-size: large;">a metaphor for your own soul and whatever desire, love, darkness, or </span><span style="font-size: large;">light resided there. No greater power gives a shit about you- so you </span></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><strong>better do for yourself through any means necessary.</strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">2. Are you a convert/revert or were you raised in this religion? If you </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">were converted, what did you need to do to convert? And what did you </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">practice prior to converting?</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I was raised as a Christian Methodist. You don't really do anything to </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">adopt any of the beliefs previously mentioned other than adjusting your </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">own world view. There are some psychotic Satanists that do stupid shit </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">to "show their allegiance" but I never did. I didn't feel like it was </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">empowering to do harm to anyone or anything weaker than me. Those idiots </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">are the main reason I moved further away from it. Nobody wants to spend </span></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">time with a bunch of narcissists who won't shut up about how great they </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">are and how inferior everyone else is. You're not a delicate, unique </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">snowflake; and neither am I.</span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">3. Within your religion are there degrees of observance (ie. orthodox, </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">conservative, moderate, liberal)? What are the defining differences </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">between the degrees of observance?</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">No. The few people I've talked to who are Core Spiritualists all seemed </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">to be on their own individual headings. It's not an incredibly popular </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">or well known belief system so I don't feel like there are the numbers </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">required to actually cause those divisive splits in belief.</span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">4. Within your religion what degree of observance are you (ie. orthodox, </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">conservative, moderate, liberal)? Why did you choose this degree of </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">observance?</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Casual. Very casual. I find it strange that I got your email when I did </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">as not even a week ago I started spiritual research again. For the most </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">part- I have plenty going on here in the meat world and after the life </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I've lived; I really don't give a shit about impressing any higher </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">powers. I am what I am. I do what I do. I do what I can with the hand I </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">was dealt. I didn't ask to be Bipolar. Today- I do the best I can to </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">make other peoples' lives better when I cross paths with them and use </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">all that negativity I racked up when I was younger for something </span></strong></span><br />
<strong><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">positive. If that's not good enough for "the higher power"; then fuck 'em.</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">5. What is the Afterlife within your religion? For example: what happens </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">when a person dies? Are there places for reward/punishment? (Such as a </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Heaven/Hell concept.)</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Core Spirituality assumes that the soul is an energy of sorts. Dying is </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">just to leave your body behind and move on to a different state of </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">existence. A good analogy is water- it's the same whether it's vapor, </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">liquid, or ice. It's just in a different state. Within that existence </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">are varying levels. In the lower vibrations you find dark spirits, evil, </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">and other malevolent entities. In the upper vibrations you find good </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">spirits, good, or ambivalent entities.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Does the spirit move on to reward/punishment? No. The universe is </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">ordered chaos. Concepts like Heaven/Hell, Westernized Karma, and The </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Rule of Three all exist to provide comfort in an understandable way. </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Good is rewarded, evil is punished. But you don't really see that as a </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">natural part of humanity. It is imposed through law and order. Go to a </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">lawless land and you see that strength and fear rule. Some people are </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">just evil, some are bastions of goodness; many are just in the middle.</span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">6. In your opinion, does everyone make it into heaven/paradise? If they </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">do not, why?</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I don't think there is a "heaven" type plane. There's most likely many </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">planes of existence; some good, some bad.</span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">7. What makes your religion a good fit for you?</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I looked at a lot of religions while I was trying to "find myself" and I </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">noticed a lot of overlap. That overlap strengthened when I took a </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">heavier interest in the paranormal. As an example- mention "exorcism" </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">and most people think of Catholic exorcists. However, almost every major </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">religion has some form of exorcism to drive off an invasive spirit; </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">whether it be a demon, angry ancestor, or a Djinn.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I've also long looked for answers to a few strange things that have </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">happened in my life. The three starkest involved feeling and knowing </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">things I should not have. I've been engaged twice. The first woman was </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">pulled into an alleyway and raped in California, the second was in a bad </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">car accident in Michigan. In both cases, I was in Ohio. Both times, and </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">only on those two times; I was filled with overwhelming dread and it </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">felt like someone stuck a white hot knife into my stomach right where a </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">belt buckle would be. This happened as these actions were taking place.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">The third strange occurrence I was sitting at a light; it turned green, </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">but something in my head say "No, wait." So I did. About five seconds </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">later a pickup ran the red and either would have t-boned me, my ex, and </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">her family; or the car behind us. Sprinkle that with various happenings </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">in my life like dread before going into an abandoned house or alley; or </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">knowing when a drive by or something else was going to occur a couple </span></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">minutes before it did when I lived in the ghetto. In my eyes, the only </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">thing that could accommodate these kinds of things is a much larger </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">tapestry that we're all apart of.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I'm also a great believer in science. I think science and spirituality </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">can co-exist. The truth is the truth. It doesn't matter what you believe </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">or how you feel about it. At their core, they both are essentially a </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">quest for the truth. Scientific principles should be applicable to </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">spiritual principles and come up with roughly the same answers. As an </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">example- ghosts are suspected to be an energy state. When a ghost is </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">going to take an action it needs energy to do so. Many times a person </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">will feel a blast of cold air or an electronic device will die as the </span></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">spirit takes thermal or electrical energy. These kinds of things happen </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">over and over in investigation to the point where experienced </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">investigators will often bring an entire bag of back up batteries. A </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">blast of cold air can be explained a number of ways but makes far less </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">sense in regards to Thermal Dynamics if you're investigating a </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">decommissioned prison in Georgia in 100 degree weather.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Core Spirituality feels right because it accommodates everything without </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">trying to force it. I felt like any spiritual belief had to accommodate </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">these things I've felt and "known". I concluded it had to be some </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">greater connection otherwise how could I have felt these things </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">transpiring around me or to people I loved?</span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">8. What are your Holy Days and what do you do to celebrate them?</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I don't observe any personally. I would observe with friends and family </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">though. Christmas is pretty normal. I think for a lot of people it's </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">taken on a different meaning than just celebrating the birth of Christ </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">by observing Pagan traditions. To me it's just a holiday to celebrate </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">family nowadays.</span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">9. Do you consider people of other faiths to be your friends?</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Yes. I don't particularly care what religion someone is so long as they </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">aren't an ass-hat about it. I also have a very good Christian friend who </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I just don't discuss spiritual matters with because I always </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">inadvertently make her cry. So I feel like not discussing it is as an </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">option too.</span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">10. Would you ever join people of another faith to celebrate one of </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">their holy days? Please explain why?</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Yeah, for the most part. I think there may possibly be some lines. Like; </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I don't know if I would go out of my way to try and shoehorn my way in </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">but if I was invited then yes. So long as I don't end up accidentally </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">married to someone- I'm good with it!</span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">11. What are your thoughts on the burka, and Shariah Law?</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">A burka should be the woman's choice. If she wants to wear it; that's fine.</span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">The question of Shariah Law is a whole different can of worms. As an </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">American, I believe in separation of Church and State. That goes for </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Christian ideals just as much as Shariah Law. I don't believe anyone </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">should be forced to live under religious beliefs. I also realize there </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">are varying degrees of Islamic belief. They have their </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">ultra-conservative whack-jobs like Christians have their Westboro </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Baptist Church. Although I'm not sure if I even believe WBC are actually </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">religious. If you've used the internet for awhile, you'll probably note </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">their behavior is pretty standard internet trolling. They're loud, </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">obnoxious, and won't go away because they keep getting attention.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Neutrality in governance ensures that those whack-jobs never have enough </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">power to strip rights away. I would go so far as to say that I would </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">like to see less accommodation for religions in government. It's </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">absolutely ridiculous that the Church of Scientology could perpetrate </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">the largest infiltration of the United States government (Operation: </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Snow White) and they're still a fully functional cult hiding behind that </span></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">constitutional protection. Same goes for the Catholic church jockeying </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">around child rapists instead of assisting law enforcement to put those </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">sick fucks behind bars where they belong.</span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">12. Are women allowed to hold religious office (priest, minister, rabbi, </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">iman etc) in your religion and how do you feel about it?</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I have little respect for any religion that does not treat women as </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">equals. It just makes no sense to me to treat a woman as an inferior. </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">For what reason? Because they have different genitals? Just seems like a </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">relic of a bygone era of male dominance.</span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">13. Does your place of worship segregate? If yes, how does this make you </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">feel?</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">I don't attend one and I would not if it did.</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">14. How much does your religion affect your daily life and how much </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">thought do you give it when making a decision? Does it affect in any way </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">your decision on abortion, gay marriage, etc?</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Core Spirituality really doesn't. I pretty much just do the best I can </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">with what I'm given. That's just going to have to be enough. As to the </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">major social hot button issues; I'm mostly only concerned with ones </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">surrounding mental health. I don't have the energy to be incredibly </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">involved with several other issues and what I do working with mentally </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">ill people and their loved ones in addition to my job.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">There are different concepts in Laveyan Satanism I use regularly. I deal </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">with a wide range of mentally ill people. Some are genuinely in need of </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">help, some just want me to tell them it's okay to be shitty because they </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">have problems, and still others just need a friend who understands.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">That is where the phrase I mentioned before "Waste no love on ingrates, </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">lavish it on those that are deserving" comes into heavy play. I don't </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">pity anyone. I've had people try to guilt me into endlessly consoling </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">them. I do not waste love on ingrates- I do not give a huge amount of my </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">attention to people that aren't trying to help themselves. I cannot make </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">anyone get well. They have to realize it. They have to look down and </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">realize they are at the bottom. That the only way up is for them to </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">climb. And patting their ass and telling them "no, it's okay if you </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">don't do anything about it" is not how it's going to happen.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">If I spent all of my "love" on these people; I wouldn't have the energy </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">for those that are ready. </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Similarly; you can't afford to be weak-willed or minded if you're </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">involved with someone who has a potentially dangerous psychiatric </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">problem. I had one person I was involved with who, though there were </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">some serious psych problems at work, wasn't that difficult to work with. </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">The actual problem was the person's family who were all mentally ill in </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">some way and had torn said person down since they were a toddler. You </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">cannot walk into that kind of situation with weakness.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">To those of you reading this that have a mentally ill person in your </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">life that treats you like crap but does nothing to fix themselves- they </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">will drag you straight to the bottom. It can hurt like hell; but </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">sometimes you just have to cut them loose so they can hit the bottom and </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">realize that they have to change themselves. Accommodating their </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">bullshit will only destroy you and prolong their realization.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">On the flip side of the coin; I have infinite patience for someone who </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">is genuinely trying. I will gladly lavish on whatever attention, advice, </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">or help I can give them. I'm also more than willing to help someone I </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">had to part with prior if they are ready and willing to do what needs to </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">be done.</span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">15. How would you react/feel if your child wished to marry outside of </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">your religion?</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">No problems so long as it wasn't a cult or some extremist group.</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">16. In your opinion, if someone is not of your faith, will they go to hell?</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Nah. I believe there are lower planes filled with plenty of nasty things </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">but I don't think there is a specific hell where bad souls go to be </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">punished. Even Laveyan Satanists don't believe in Hell as they treat </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Satan as a metaphor rather than an actual being.</span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">17. Who do you think is not a practicing ----- in your religion and why? </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">ie who in the public domain claims to speak for your religion? Do you </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">agree with them or not?</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I don't know of anyone that "represents" that belief system in a way </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">that would be identifiable. It's not really something that has a lot of </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">organization to it as most of the journey is individual in nature. </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">There's no places of worship or dioceses or anything like that; to the </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">best of my knowledge.</span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">18. Have you ever been the target of a hate crime? Please explain.</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Yes, but not due to religion. I used to live in the Detroit ghetto and </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">am a 6'4", 350 pound white man- so I might have been carrying around a </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">neon sign that said "TARGET". So I got to get my ass kicked on a number </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">of occasions for just living there. I have to say that I don't </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">particularly blame them either. Pretty much everyone ignores the poor in </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">this country unless it's time to cut social service programs. And since </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">white people pretty much have the power- well, that's where the anger </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">gets projected.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Some examples- kids were getting hit by strays in schools from drug and </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">gang violence in the ghettos long before Columbine, but there was no </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">outrage or national media attention until it was middle class white </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">America dealing with it. Occupy Wall Street was a complete farce because </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">it's the exact same problem anyone coming out of prison or who lives in </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">known ghetto areas run into. Jobs were disappearing long before it hit </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">middle class America. Few knew or cared until the news could cover the </span></strong></span><br />
<strong><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">"plight" of white college kids.</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">The illegal drug trade in America was twice the size of the automotive </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">industry during the 80's when crack was tearing apart black </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">neighborhoods. Number of black people with the fleets of ships and </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">planes to move it or resources to protect it? Not many. And then it took </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">the government 30 years to figure out crack is identical to cocaine in </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">addictiveness and fix their biased legislation that gave ridiculous </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">penalties to possessors of crack (poor people/minorities) as opposed to </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">cocaine (rich people/whitey).</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Privatization of prisons is just going to make matters worse. America </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">has a higher rate of incarceration in it's population of 300m than China </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">or India who both have approximately 1.1b residents. Because, of course, </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">corporate America is so trustworthy and would never do anything to </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">exploit the poor except on all those occasions when they do. (Slave </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">wages, union breaking in foreign countries, barely legal labor </span></strong></span><br />
<strong><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">practices, hiding/burying criticism, etc)</span></strong><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">I think it's best exemplified in a news headline I saw a few months ago. </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">It read something to the effect of "Gang Members Prefer Work To </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Violence". It was a study that polled gang members about how they viewed </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">their lives and futures. It's the kind of conclusion anyone could reach </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">if they gave about five minutes of consideration to the question. You </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">mean people don't want to be involved in something where their life </span></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">expectancy is 25, who have been burying friends for years, who have lost </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">family to violence and drugs or didn't have any in the first place, who </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">know their only destination is a casket or a jail cell? Color me shocked.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">So yeah, I got my fat white ass kicked on more than a few occasions with </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">some aches and pains that still suck because of it. It's all good </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">though. I understand and I'm not angry about it anymore. And it made me </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">plenty strong enough to deal with the people I do now. Getting punched </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">n the face by someone you're trying to help periodically happens. Helps </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">to not fall to pieces and panic when it happens.</span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">19. Do you ever feel like your religion devalues you?</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Nope.</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">20. Does your religion give you peace of mind?</span></strong><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">No. But I don't need my religion for that. The psych medication has </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">given me peace of mind. Helping other people understand mental illness, </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">help their loved ones, and help themselves gives fulfillment which also </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">contributes to peace of mind. I feel like spirituality is a component </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size: large;">but it's not a major focal point of my existence.</span></strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">21. Do you believe in reincarnation?</span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">I don't see why it couldn't be a possibility.</span></strong><br />
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You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-66923256838918272612013-07-24T06:59:00.003-07:002013-07-24T06:59:49.836-07:00Soren Kierkegaard Quote<span class="bqQuoteLink"><strong>Hello and Happy Wednesday!</strong></span><br />
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<span class="bqQuoteLink"><strong>Today's quote is brought to you by Soren Kierkegaard:</strong></span><br />
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<span class="bqQuoteLink"><strong><span style="color: #990000;">There is nothing with which every man is so afraid as getting to know how enormously much he is capable of doing and becoming.</span></strong></span><br />
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<span class="bqQuoteLink"><strong>Have a wonderful day everyone!</strong></span><br />
<br />You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-90109874771207792512013-07-20T06:38:00.001-07:002013-07-20T06:38:25.984-07:00Twitter and Facebook<strong>Hello and Happy Saturday!</strong><br />
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<strong>Be sure to check ymr out on facebook and twitter, and also the new twitter account detailing the ymr documentary at MusingsByMe!</strong><br />
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<strong>Always on the look out for new participants, so if you're thinking about it, please email </strong><a href="mailto:ymr@bell.net"><strong>ymr@bell.net</strong></a><strong>. Would love to hear from you!</strong><br />
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<strong>New interview coming up next Saturday so be sure to check back!</strong><br />
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<strong>Have a great day everyone!</strong>You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-22464125889341008432013-07-17T05:15:00.000-07:002013-07-17T05:15:05.185-07:00Orlando Aloysius Battista Quote<span class="bqQuoteLink"><strong>Hello and Happy Wednesday!</strong></span><br />
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<span class="bqQuoteLink"><strong>Today's quote is brought to you by Orlando Aloysius Battista:</strong></span><br />
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<strong><span class="bqQuoteLink"><span style="color: #741b47;">The greatest weakness of most humans is their hesitancy to tell others how much they love them while they're alive.</span></span></strong><br />
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<strong>Have a wonderful day everyone!</strong>You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-87474041144386975652013-07-13T05:33:00.001-07:002013-07-16T11:21:04.316-07:00Doug Doan<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: normal;"><b>I wish to thank The Wise Fool for his interesting and enjoyable interview! I really enjoyed reading your answers and I thank you for sharing with us TWF!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: normal;"><b>Today we have a new interview so please welcome Doug Doan. Doug is an Agnostic and I know you will enjoy his interview as well. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: normal;"><b>Here Is Doug Doan's Introduction:</b></span></div>
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<b style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> I am a 52 year old divorced man with 3 grown kids who is currently a hotel manager, but has been in several careers including sales, customer service, counseling, and religion. I am an avid fan of the internet; yes, including facebook! I have started several blogs, and enjoy that medium, although I have not been as active lately. I struggle with depression/anxiety and ADHD. Thankfully, they are well controlled with several medications, but they sometimes get intertwined with my religious struggles and it's hard to sort out.</b></div>
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<b><br /><span style="font-size: large;">1) What religion do you practice?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000; line-height: normal;">I am a serious agnostic. That means I take the issues of life, meaning, and spirituality very seriously, but have not found a religious framework that has enough evidence to be worth believing, and I doubt I ever will; but I'm open to it.</span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: normal;">2) Are you a convert/revert or were you raised within this religion? If you converted, what did you need to convert? And what did you practice prior to converting?</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I spent most of my life, including all my childhood, in a strong fundamentalist/evangelical Christian culture. I went to Bible College and Seminary. I was a Pastor for several years, as well as a Christian Counselor. I even was Captain of the Counselors at a Billy Graham Crusade!</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>About two years ago, in the midst of a deep depression in which I was getting no relief from prayer/healing I began to wonder whether the whole thing was true or not. This launched me on a year of intensive study of the Bible, Christianity, apologetics, evolution, and the like. At the end of the year I had to admit that the evidence for the Bible/Christianity was way more sketchy than I had supposed. And, I came to believe in evolution, which, in my way of thinking, invalidates the major premise of the Bible (Creation, Fall, Redemption). I have been living as an agnostic for a couple of years now, because the type of problems I found with Christianity exist in most other religions, as well.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Well, there's the agnostic/atheist dilemma. Some would say that an agnostic is actually an atheist who isn't being honest with himself. It's all in the definition, I suppose. When I think of an Atheist I think of someone who KNOWS there is no god or supernatural force. When I think of an Agnostic I think of someone who hasn't found enough evidence yet to justify a belief in a supernatural being/force, but is definitely still open to the possibility. Some would say that the former is a "hard atheist," and the latter is a "soft atheist." Like I said, it comes down to definitions.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I think there are differences in Agnostics/Atheists in terms of their stance toward religions and religious people. There is definitely a class that would be considered "militant," meaning they are hostile to religion and actively work towards discrediting it and bringing it down. I don't consider myself militant, although the teacher in me likes to share the things I've learned in my journey with others.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>4) What is the Afterlife within your religion? For example: what happens when a person dies? Are there places for reward/punishment? (such as a Heaven/Hell concept)</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>As an agnostic I have not found enough solid evidence to prove the existence of an afterlife, although the "Near Death Experiences" are intriguing to study. Personally, I would be pleasantly surprised to find there is an afterlife. If there is one, I don't think it has anything to do with rewards and punishment. That's something man has made up, relatively recently in fact (300-100 BCE).</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>IF there is an afterlife, I imagine everyone </b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">will be there.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I've always had trouble with religious dogma. Much of my spiritual journey has been about trying to find a belief structure that is a good fit for me, and holds water intellectually. Eventually, they all fail. So, as an Agnostic I have become comfortable saying "I don't know." To me, this is preferable to any dogma that must be believed "by faith."</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Most of my friends and family are still Christians and we get along well.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>9) Would you ever join people of another faith to celebrate one of their holy days? Please explain why?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Yes. In fact I went on a church-hopping journey last year and visited a dozen houses of worship including Buddhist and Jewish.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I am hesitant about any religion that attempts to take over any government.</b></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: normal;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>11) How much does your religion affect your daily life and how much thought do you give it when a making a decision? Does it affect in any way your decision on abortion, gay marriage, etc?</b></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>It has an effect in that I am not affected unreasonably by any dogmas in my decision-making process, influencing me to chose things that go against common sense, or my own desires. I am less apt to fear eternal consequences to my trivial decisions. On social issues I am much more open to gay marriage because there is no supernatural law against it. Interestingly, I still oppose abortion for the same reasons I did before.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>12) How would you react/feel if your child wished to marry outside your religion?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I'm pretty open to my kids choosing whatever faith and mate they want.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>13) In your opinion, if someone is not of your faith, will they go to hell?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Definitely not!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>14) Who do you think is not a practicing---in your religion? ie who is the public domain claims to speak for your religion? Do you agree with them or not?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>There's a long list of agnostics on wikipedia... <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_agnostics" style="cursor: pointer;" target="_blank"><span style="line-height: normal;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_agnostics</span></a></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Contemporary public figures that are popular today tend to label themselves Atheist, such as Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens. Although not agnostics, per se, they do a good job dismantling the Bible, Christianity, and religious belief in general.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>15) Have you ever been the target of a hate crime? Please explain.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>No. Although I do have a couple of friends who still try to reconvert me.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>16) Do you ever feel like your religion devalues you?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>If anything, I feel more "important" now, knowing that my actions and decisions are up to me, not a higher power.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>It gives me less mental confusion since I don't have to make pieces fit that don't fit anymore. However, the Christian myth can be very comforting having a God who is in control, who watches over us, and who is preparing a place for us in the afterlife. It was difficult to give that up.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>18) Do you believe in reincarnation? Why or why not?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">No. Not enough evidence.</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></b></span></div>
You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-1467965593706255392013-07-10T04:41:00.003-07:002013-07-10T04:41:35.775-07:00Shirley MacLaine Quote<span class="bqQuoteLink"><strong>Hello and Happy Wednesday!</strong></span><br />
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<span class="bqQuoteLink"><strong>Today's quote is brought to you by Shirley MacLaine:</strong></span><br />
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<strong><span class="bqQuoteLink"><span style="color: #0b5394;">I think of life itself now as a wonderful play that I've written for myself, and so my purpose is to have the utmost fun playing my part.</span></span></strong><br />
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<strong>Have a wonderful day everyone!</strong>You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1682689764476812265.post-46455914218797003822013-07-06T04:59:00.002-07:002013-07-06T04:59:42.185-07:00documentary unfolding<strong>Hello and Happy Saturday!</strong><br />
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<strong>You, Me & Religion is going to the docs! Be sure to check out the twitter account MusingsByMe for all the latest info as ymr turns into a documentary. (ps- ymr follows back!)</strong><br />
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<strong>Have a wonderful day everyone!</strong>You, Me & Religionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11182081644024956860noreply@blogger.com0