The etymology of "heresy" has to do with making a choice. Think about that.

Thanks for the food for thought. I pray and believe I have made the correct choice - that is all one can do, is it not?

Etymology is a good word.

quote:

Originally posted by oz-crumley:
Also, Jewish scholars in the time of Christ (and earlier) would commit whole books of the Old Testament to memory.

They would also pass stories down thru generations, embellishing them as they did. This was not a bad thing, but was in the greatest tradition of Jewish midrash.

Much too much to type now. More later.

I knew someone that treated midrash with calamine lotion.

They say that when two Jews are asked a question there will result three or more answers. The path to truth is a process of questioning. The processing of information is what we call LIFE.

L'Chaim - To Life!

If you don't 'get it', you don't get it!

I didn't get it for a long while. And once I did get it, I'm adding to the getting it. What I am still getting, does not in any way replace what I already got. I simply get to add to the gotten.

By the way, DS, you're obviously either confused or mistaken regarding the tradition of those engaged in Midrash as opposed to the strict duties of a Sofer. Either that, or you're just trying to drop a name, as it were, to impress some readers here, or stir up something. Possibly all of the above.

Ah, Faith vs Facts again:

I cannot speak to Faith, other than my experience, which tells me that the Sun shall rise in the East again each morning and set in the West, with an extremely high probability of being correct.

Facts are statements that can either be proven or disproven by taking data and testing the question in various ways to fully understand the answer. As long as the answer matches the expectation, or theory, all continues to be well, and we move on to the next test. When such a test fails to confirm the hypothesis, then the theory is brought into question, and new thoughts must be applied to resolve the situation in a more perfect manner.

This is the Scientific Method and has resulted in the Progress you notice about you in such every increasing velocity of new technology to the betterment of Man.

In the March issue of Scientific American there was an article titled: The End of Cosmology?
It states that in 1908 our galaxy, The Milky Way, was the extent of the Universe. Today, in 2008, the size of the Universe has grown to incorporate more than 400 billion such galaxies, out to the farthest point from which Man can detect information, or light.

Some will be uncomfortable with all this uncertainty, and constantly changing appraisals of our Universe, but not I. For the search just brings me closer to the Architect of the Universe, God, Allah, or one of the many other names for the Great Mind that we all believe to somehow be behind the scenes. Maybe it’s only a thing called Chaos and it runs the show with randomness to keep things in a state of constant change, for the betterment of all life, not just Man?

By examining our fellow creatures, the environment, and ultimately the Universe, by testing hypotheses with measurements and gathering facts, we continually refine how we perceive the Creator's creation.

Is not that the greatest love a man can offer to his Creator, the attempt to be like the Creator and do things that bring a harmony into alignment with the actuality of the Universe and our little part of it, this tiny Blue Ball moving in the vastness of not-so-empty space, we all cling to and cherish?

It just seems to me that if all the answers are in a single book, and some people over there have it and some people over there have a different book, who is correct? Faith resolves this dilemma, by shutting down the questioning process and accepting AN Answer, to the exclusion of the possibility of better information and a fuller understanding of the so-sought-after Creator.

We each choose our path. Until further data has been accumulated, any hypothesis can stand alone. I choose to be open to new information with the belief that I was given the talent to find it by the Creator and will continue to question until I am done as a living being. I am satisfied with that process and am thrilled by the results it has produced to date. There is much more to do. If we all continue to argue about Faith the progress will be very slow and will likely affect the survival of Mankind. Information is Power and the defense against the uncertainty, which causes Man so much trouble.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: patrask,

quote:

Originally posted by Braling II:
By the way, DS, you're obviously either confused or mistaken regarding the tradition of those engaged in Midrash as opposed to the strict duties of a Sofer. Either that, or you're just trying to drop a name, as it were, to impress some readers here, or stir up something. Possibly all of the above.

I'm rather surprised by your response considering that (a) I wasn't referring to a Sofer, and (b) I didn't drop any names.

Doug Spaulding, Hmm! Littl' late for a get together.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.shirh...0%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

Patrask, if you read the first few paragraphs of Genesis 1 in the Old Testament, you will see that it coincides beautifully with the latest ideas pertaining to the Big Bang. How everything was a void and then, BANG, there was everything.

Scripture always warns against NOT believing in the declared word, because, it says, when it becomes fact, it's too late. The door will be closed by then to enter into the kingdom of heaven. It talks about people who don;t have enough oil in their lamps for the journey. And the oil runs out and there is much road to travel. It talks about people hammering madly upon a closed door, never to reopen. I'd say, life is this one opportunity to believe.

quote:

Originally posted by Phil Knox:
Doug Spaulding, Hmm! Littl' late for a get together.

Clearly you folks have no idea what midrash is considering that you constantly reference sofers! Good luck on your journey.

quote:

Scripture always warns against NOT believing in the declared word, because, it says, when it becomes fact, it's too late. The door will be closed by then to enter into the kingdom of heaven. It talks about people who don;t have enough oil in their lamps for the journey. And the oil runs out and there is much road to travel. It talks about people hammering madly upon a closed door, never to reopen. I'd say, life is this one opportunity to believe.

Please! This belief system is right out of the dark ages! What you are refering to is all metaphor! You know metaphor - it's what Ray writes.

Midrash people, midrash! Take it seriously and throw a little light on the scriptures (for a change). A little oil for your lamps, if you will.

Shalom.

We'll talk later.

I don't know why anyone even discusses anything with Doug Spaulding. His mentors are people who are so off the track with scriptures that arguing or even discussing things with them prove futile.

They have no idea of God, as in scripture. They have no idea of eternal life. Spaulding mentions Bradbury's metaphors. Ray's idea of salvation and eternal life is akin to Spaulding's, from what I've been reading. Both have a humananist liking. Oil has always referred to the Spirit. And what's your take on Spirit, metaphor as well?

Doug Spaulding will have to take his own ride. For now, he's caught in some sort of religious gobble-t-gook with unknown underpinings of baggage that only Spaulding knows and that only God unloads.

Ah, Doug.
"You folks"? "Constantly"? Feeling a bit persecuted are we? I was merely attempting to remind you (since you must know) that the scriptures of the Torah were preserved accurately and without any possibility of change by Sofers; as opposed to those who engage in midrash, which is anything but scripture.
By "name-dropping", (I did say "as it were"), I refer to your habit, when entering into religious discussion, of chosing a term that you know will not be familiar to most of the readers here in order to (rather transparently I think) lend credence to what you hope will be perceived as your authority on the subject, or at least convey deep study of same. Sadly, this ruse fails with the most cursory examination of your conclusions and your reactions to the opinions of others, which reveal more emotion than deep thought.

Perhaps Doug is not dropping obscure (to us) terms for the purpose of seeming important-

Perhaps, he wants us to investigate these terms.

Does anyone know the true ending of Faust? We quote it, and know the plot, but most people get the ending wrong.

quote:

Originally posted by libRArY:
I don't know why anyone even discusses anything with Doug Spaulding.

Feel free not to!

quote:

Doug Spaulding will have to take his own ride.

As will we all. Already boarded, in fact. As the sacred scriptures say, "the path is narrow...", so I don't expect to meet many along the way. Just the open-minded.

See you on the path, Mr Trask.