The Blind Sage

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In the account of Paul, while on a famous journey to Damascus, he had a mystical experience. As so many mystical experiences do, this one produced light- and energy-phenomena. In fact, the text said that a bright light glowed all around him. This energy apparently affected his physical eyes, and produced blindness.

This blindness was actually a great spiritual gift. For Paul was, in his life as Saul, a rather famous student of a famous teacher named Gamaliel. Pride was one of his greatest natural weaknesses. Nothing increases humility like helplessness, and so, God gave him the gift of helplessness, so that he might also cultivate the spiritual jewel of humility.

Later, this blindness apparently served its purpose, and, at the hands of another Christian, "scales" fell from Paul's eyes, and he could see again. But most scholars believe that he never saw "perfectly" again. His vision was forever after poor; in one epistle, he comments on what large writing he creates, so that he can read it. This poor vision was likely the "thorn in his side" about which he prayed so fervently to God for its removal. But God did not cure him; he simply told him, "In thy weaknesss shall My strength be made complete."
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Stories from Alternative News

Thanks to Mick Gallagher.

thepeoplesvoice.org Newsletter
092107

A Fed Panic and a Massive Bailout of American Banks Paid For by the Entire World - Rodrigue Tremblay

"Manias, panics, and crashes are the consequence of an economic environment that cultivates cupidity, chicanery, and rapaciousness rather than a devout belief in the Golden Rule." - Peter L. Bernstein, Foreword to Manias, Panics, and Crashes (4th ed.) by C. P. Kindleberger

"In a crisis, discount and discount heavily." - Walter Bagehot (1826-1877), British economist

AMERICA, THE ONCE FREE - Peter Fisk

I have grown sick, embarrassed and, ultimately disillusioned with what
has happened to my country. The United States of America- at one time
those five magical words mesmerized both citizens and foreigners alike.

ORB Survey And 1.2 Million Iraq Deaths Ignored By Australian And Anglo-American Media - Dr Gideon Polya, Countercurrents

In February 2007, as we approached the Fourth Anniversary of the US-UK-Australian invasion of Iraq, I published an article in Countercurrents entitled "US Iraqi Holocaust and 1 million Excess Deaths". I detailed and documented the following horrendous circumstances in Occupied Iraq:

"as of February 2007:
(a) the accrual cost has been $2.3 trillion;
(b) there are 3.7 million Iraqi refugees;
(c) the post-invasion excess deaths (avoidable deaths, deaths that did not have to happen) total 1.0 million (ONE MILLION);
(d) post-invasion under-5 infant deaths total .6 million;
(e) there were 1.7 million excess Iraqi deaths associated with the Western-imposed 1990-2003 Sanctions War;
(f) there were 1.2 million under-5 year old infant deaths in the 1990-2003 Sanctions War; and
(g) Coalition deaths total about 3,360."

It is now September 2007. And after a further SEVEN months of US-UK-Australian war and occupation, the horrendous human and economic cost has inevitably increased.

George W. Bush's Thug Nation - Robert Parry, Consortium News

It's said that over time, Presidents-- especially two-termers-- imbue the nation with their personalities and priorities, for good or ill. If that's true, it could help explain the small-minded, mean-spiritedness that seems to be pervading the behavior of the United States these days, both at home and abroad. On a global level, the world reads about trigger-happy Blackwater Security contractors mowing down civilians in Baghdad, the U.S. military killing unarmed people under loose rules of engagement in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and the CIA rendering suspected Islamists to secret prisons or to third-country dungeons where torture is practiced. Inside the United States, too, a police-state mentality is taking hold.

ACTION ALERT: Stop the Unconstitutional 'Protect America' Act - Michael Boldin

The single largest anti-Constitutional contribution to the Bush Regime by the Protect America Act (PAA) is its effective cancellation of legislative and judicial oversight on warrantless wiretapping. It authorizes open-ended surveillance of Americans' overseas phone calls and emails without a warrant. When this bill was signed into law on 08-05-07, legislative and judicial power in the executive branch instantly grew by several orders of magnitude. The Constitution's separation-of-powers principle had its arms ripped off.

09/20/07

Condoleezza Rice: saleswoman of lies - Palestinian Information Centre, From Khalid Amayreh in occupied East Jerusalem

Condoleezza Rice, the unglamorous American Secretary of State, arrived in Occupied Palestine on Wednesday to promote the putative American-proposed peace conference, slated to take place in November. Rice will meet with Zionist political and military leaders in an effort to convince them to show some flexibility vis--vis the so-called core issues that define the Palestinian question. These include, inter alia, ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 as well as finding a solution to the plight of nearly five million Palestinian refugees brutally uprooted from their homes by Zionist terror when Israel was created six decades ago.

Bush Speech on Iraq and Democrats on Impeachment - Stephen Crockett

Since George W. Bush is completely ignoring the views of both the vast majority of American citizens and the majority of the members of Congress concerning the ending of the Iraq War, impeachment hearings should be started. Bush will not conform to democratic norms. He will not respect public opinion or democracy. There are plenty of reasons to hold immediate joint impeachment hearings for both bush and cheney.

THE END OF AMERICA - THE POLICE STATE IS RIGHT HERE - RIGHT NOW - Carolyn Baker

As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly unchanged. And it is in such a twilight that we all must be aware of change in the air--however slight-- lest we become unwilling victims of the darkness. - Justice William O. Douglas

Wolf's just-published book, The End Of America: Letter Of Warning To A Young Patriot,... offers an even fuller picture-- a succinct and engaging explanation of how our civil liberties have been hijacked in the past decade. It is the most poignant, powerful, genuinely patriotic piece of literature I have encountered since Thomas Paine's Common Sense. No wonder then, that the book's cover greatly resembles that 46-page tract by Paine written in 1775-- as well it should.

Bush Nominates 9-11 Zionist Judge as Attorney General - Christopher Bollyn, Truth Seeker / Rumor Mill News

It is widely reported that george w. bush will nominate former Manhattan federal Judge Michael [Bernard] Mukasey to replace Alberto Gonzales as attorney general. With the fraudulent "War on Terror" in full swing and with 9-11 cases in legal limbo, this is a critical appointment at a crucial time. As I had expected, bush has appointed a radical Zionist with close ties to the State of Israel. Mukasey, if confirmed as U.S. Attorney General, will protect the Zionist state and its agents who are suspected of involvement in the false-flag terror attacks of 9-11.

The Crushing of Fallujah - James Petras, Global Research

The mass propaganda media has taught the US public to believe that the extermination of thousands of Iraqi citizens is in their best interests: they can sleep sound, as long as 'our boys' kill them 'over there'. Almost the entire population of Iraq is opposed to the US military and its puppet regime--yet the media refer to the patriots defending their country from the imperial invaders as "insurgents," minimizing the significance of a nation-wide patriotic liberation movement.

I am reading William Shirer's Berlin Diary, a journalist's account of Nazi political propaganda during the 1930's, as I watch the US 'news' reports of the violent assault on Fallujah. The US mass media 'reports', the style, content, and especially the language, echo their Nazi predecessor of 70 years ago to an uncanny degree. Coincidence? Of course! In both instances, we have imperialist armies conquering
countries, leveling cities, and slaughtering civilians-- and the mass media, private in form, state appendages in practice, disseminate the most outrageous lies, in defense and praise of the conquering 'storm troopers. Call them SS or Marines. Both in Nazi Germany and the contemporary US, we are told by the mass media that the invading armies are "freeing the country" of "foreign fighters", "armed terrorists", who are preventing "the people" from going about their everyday lives. Yet we know that of the 1,000 prisoners there are only 4 foreigners (3 Iranians and 1 Arab); Iraqi hospitals report less than 10% of foreign fighters. In other words, over 90% of the fighters are Iraqis--most of whom were born, educated, and raised families in the cities in which they are fighting.

Bush, Iran, and Israel's hidden hand - Kathleen and Bill Christison, Redress Nuclear hypocrisy in the Middle East

Former CIA analysts Kathleen and Bill Christison argue that a US and/or Israeli attack on Iran to bring about regime change and strengthen US and Israeli dominion over the Middle East is likely to take place before the Bush administration leaves office unless a concerted effort is made to impeach bush and cheney. The internet is loaded these days with reports of the inevitability of a US, or a US-Israeli, attack on Iran. Some writers allege that the attack is imminent. Others, including the writers of this article, argue only that the attack will happen sometime before January 2009, when the bush administration leaves office. Many of these stories have by now been picked up by the mainstream media. In fact, it is probably safe to say that today, a majority of the traditionally cautious and so-called respectable foreign policy experts in the US think it is at least possible that bush will attack Iran before he leaves office.

Palestinian Propaganda Prize for Israel- Nicola Nasser

The inter-Palestinian war of words and the mutual violations of the freedom of press and expression by the Hamas - led government of Ismael Haniyyeh in the Gaza Strip and the Fatah-led government of Salam Fayyad in the West Bank have presented Israel with its biggest propaganda prize that is overshadowing the violations of human rights committed by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).

Nablus Fierce Battle Killed & Injured Israeli State Terrorist Unit - Hiyam Noir, PalestineFreeVoice

Gaza City September 18 2007: Invading Israeli State Terrorist units launched wide scale attacks into the Al-'Ayn refugee camp in Nablus in two stages on Tuesday morning. In the first incursion, more than fifty Israeli armed vehicles stormed the camp just before dawn, and imposed a curfew. Members of the Israeli State Terrorists units seized four Palestinians and blasted through the walls in the alleys between the buildings, trespassed through Palestinian territorial land - and stationed themselves inside Palestinian homes.

George W. Bush: The Quiet Dictator - Irregular Times

As of this week, the bush administration's descent into totalitarian depravity has reached a new low so despicable that even a few Republicans are beginning to criticize it. It was revealed this week that the bush administration is planning to keep people as prisoners for their entire lives, even though there is no evidence that those people have committed any crime against the United States. The lack of evidence against these people is so striking that the American government does not even have enough grounds to bring them before a form of military tribunal that has been set up by George W. Bush precisely for the purpose of evading the standards of justice set by the United States Constitution.

The Cross

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The cross is a very ancient and pre-Christian symbol. As the symbol of the four directions, the cross appears among the spiritual symbols of many native Americans, including both the Mayans and the Aztecs. It also appears in Buddhism, Hinduism, and both ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek religion, among many others. It is perhaps the one universal symbol among the human spiritual movements throughout the ages.

But when Jesus came, this symbol of the yin and yang forces of the cosmos changed. (The receptive energies of the cosmos were symbolized by the horizontal bar of the cross, the active by its vertical bar.) After Jesus, the cross took on its most popular form in the west, with the long vertical bar and the short horizontal bar, lifted high. (In other cultures, the equilateral cross was more popularly used, and there were also other forms. In many forms, it was combined with a circle.)

After Jesus, it became the ultimate symbol of "dying to the world," or being conquered by, surrendering to, the Spirit. To "die" to this world, in mystical and general Christian symbolism, was to die to full dominance by sensuality or materialism.

The cross also signified survival of physical death as a Soul. The Soul is intrinsically immortal. This is why translations of the Bible that say that Jesus offered "everlasting life" are incorrect. For when God creates a life, a mind, it is already everlasting. (Jesus used the Greek adjective aionian, meaning "timeless.") So, he did not promise his disciples "everlasting" life, but "timeless" life-- a life outside the flow of spacetime altogether (in only the now). So, the cross became the
symbol also of this special altered state of mind called "timeless life."

In time, the cross grew to represent the Holy Spirit, Christ-spirit, or God. Thus, it became a beautiful symbol of Love. Its symbolism also includes balance, similar to the Chinese Tai Chi Ch'uan, or "yinyang" symbol. The point at which its two bars converge is the point of Tao, the Origin of the cosmos.

There is so very much more that could be said about this fascinating subject. Years ago, a book was written here about the symbolism and complex history of the cross. But, no matter how multiple were its ancient meanings, its modern significance is that it is the ultimate symbol of the life and death of Jesus Christ.
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Spiritual Teachers and Egos

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The ego is not the "enemy" of the enlightened. Instead, it is her teacher. As part of the Mind, it is also the creation of the One, and so, has a valid reason for existence.

Still, yielding to its domination (it is always wanting to control everything) is ignorance and darkness. So, especially in a spiritual teacher, we should look for the concealment of the ego, not its prideful display.

The ego is a small but real part of the identity of the Mind. Specifically, it is the "role" that Mind is playing in the "stageplay" of this earthly life. Everyone, including the sage, has one. But the sage, in wisdom, conquers or overcomes her ego with Love.

That means that she reidentifies with the Spirit of Love, or Lovemind. This process begins with a de-identification vis a vis the ego. She says, "I am not just this body," and, "I am not the identity that adheres to, or within, this body. I am not the timebased ego."

Gradually, her identity is transformed: "I am not a physical body" grows into, "I am a nonphysical mind." In time, that evolves into, "I am not just this conscious mind, but an ancient Mind that has lived for many ages-- a Soul." With the passage of more time, this realization blossoms into, "This Soul is part of the Mind of the One. So, It is Love Itself. I am an incarnation of Love, of the One."

This does not lead to selfconscious pride; if the thought leads there, it is anti-enlightenment. This realization leads to the egoless state. It is full enlightenment. This is becoming a sage, or master.

But, free of ego, and free of the need to manipulate others to approve of her (receiving her validation from within only) the sage or master would never, could never, claim to be a "sage" or "master." Thus, you can rest assured that anyone who ever claims to be any sort of "master" is working from an unhealthy ego; she is proving her absence of true masterhood. For one major mark of a master is always her humility. The unenlightened is always so very insecure that she feels that she cannot "afford" humility, and so, is very rarely humble.

So, any so-called "spiritual teacher" who puts herself "on display" is a fraud and a phony. Perhaps she is not simply deceiving, but selfdeceived as well. But any "teacher" who talks about herself rather than the Way is fake. You need to run, not walk, in the opposite direction!

Specifically, any teacher who tries to impress people with her "famous" students, or her "many" students is only pretending. The greatest masters in all human history, Jesus and Gautama (the Buddha(, did not value their disciples in terms of numbers. And anyone who tries to show you how "important" she is by saying that she has "thousands" of followers is only childishly, and ignorantly, selfdisplaying the ego.

Anyone who boasts of how "well-known" she is, how "famous," has also missed the entire point of enlightenment, and denied it. She is suffering from one of the most serious diseases in the whole of mysticism-- egotism. It is a disease that makes the pathetic ego-selfesteem feel better for a few minutes, but it seriously wounds the
Soulmind.

A teacher, in our world, must use an egoname. Jesus, Gautama, and other fine mystics used them. But, in the life of a true teacher, the ego or name must never be the center of the teaching, or the work. Any "teacher" who boasts or brags about her "many incarnations," and any teacher who amusingly claims to have been great beings from the past is laughable from a spiritual perspective. She is also quite pathetic. And she is certainly not enlightened-- not even close!
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A New Love-Adventure for Love Ministries!

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Love comes to us in many forms, sometimes unexpectedly, sometimes challengingly, sometimes outrageously! But the entire world is filled with Love, and it is our commitment and true assignment to respond to It wherever we find It.

A few months ago, while visiting neighbors, the donkey was "assaulted" with an abundance of kisses by a lama full of Love. He covered the head and face with kisses, and snuggled up, putting his great head and jaw in the crook of the arm. He radiated Love, and a real need for Love.

Later, he moved to Indiana, and so, we called his new owner and asked permission to visit him. As soon as we arrived, the lama bolted in our direction and, within an instant, his nose was an inch away from the donkey's. Again, he spent nearly half an hour snuggling, kissing, and posing for pictures-- some of which were touchingly, movingly, even amusingly, exquisite in their tenderness.

The next day (last Monday), the donkey called to express his appreciation to the owner. The man was just gushing, incredibly enthusiastically. He went on and on about how that llama had never behaved that way before, and begged us for pictures as evidence. For none of his friends would believe the story about this ultraloving llama.

In fact, the man was so astonished and so impressed that he offered to give the llama free.

At that moment, the Spirit within said, "Yes." For this beautiful, Love-filled, sensitive, intelligent creature had been treated like a plow, or a piece of old furniture, and not with the dignity due a living aware, sentient creature. He had been rather seriously Love-starved by his three (only) previous owners.

Long story short: Today (Saturday, September 15), we are going to pick up "Safire" (pronounced exactly like the jewel, "sapphire.") We are going to bring the poor, lonely, Love-starved, emotionally distressed creature, filled with such Love, to Ohio and integrate him with a community of twenty or more other llamas.

We know that all of you are animal-lovers, as we are. We celebrate this real Love-sharing, as it is a genuine expression of the Lady of Love, the Goddess. If you saw Safire's eyes, you would "fall in Love" with his bright, gentle, Light-filled Soul. Taking care of such a large and fine creature is one of the greatest and most delightful assignments ever bestowed by the Goddess of Love. And, realistically, it is also not easy, or cheap. But how in the cosmos could we possibly have said no to this deeply sensitive, gentle, warm creature? No way!

Many of you, our very kind friends, have expressed a sincere desire to give practical aid to Love Ministries whenever it is needed. Out of respect and gratitude, we have refrained from spending any extra or unnecessary penny. We also hate the connections between spirituality and money. That is one of our passions. You know that we are sincere about this, as we have always been. But if any of you would like to donate a dollar, or three, or five, to take care of Safire, that input would be welcome!:) In fact, if you could donate a tiny monthly sum of only one to three dollars, that could make all the difference in the world to this warm, tender creature. Please think and pray about this, and then, get in touch with us at rmfrancis@juno.com or use the paypal donation button on the side menu. You can also mail a check to:

Love Ministries
5100 Liberty-Fairfield Rd.
Liberty Township, OH 45011.

You will never regret it. And you can visit Safire at any time! Thanks, my dearest friends, from a bottomless Heart of Love,

Galaxies of Love,

shi and the Love Education Team of Love Ministries

Christ and Jesus

Christ and Jesus
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To understand many of the words and teachings of Jesus Christ, you must use some discernment. There is a difference between Jesus the historical man, and the Christ, the Holy Spirit (God) who still lives in your heart and mine.

Here is one good example: Christ said, "I and the Father are one." (Jn. 10:30) And Jesus also said, "The Father is greater than I." (Jn. 14:28)

Now, logically, both statements cannot be true of the same being. So, they must originate with two beings. And they do. The first statement is from the everlasting Christ-spirit, and the second from the human and historical Jesus.

In many early Christian documents, writers made this careful distinction. That we all are part of the Christ (Holy Spirit; God) is implied, for example, in the gnostic Gospel of Phillip, where the early Christian author writes that, when converted to the faith, we do not become simply "Christians, but Christs." To the unaccustomed ear, it might well sound strange to speak of "Julia Christ," or "Kevin Christ." But, the truth is, we are all called to follow Christ within as the Way. For He said, through Jesus, "I am... the Way." (Jn. 14:6(

We cannot now "follow" Jesus, for he is no longer alive on earth. But Christ still lives, and never died. He is a "model" for us, the Scriptures say. Jesus predicted, "The things I do, you also will do; and you will do even greater things."

No one is as advanced, as complete, a being as Jesus Christ. For he is, in Western culture, the very archetype (symbol) of a completed and enlightened man. But that does not make us less than Jesus, as a species.

For he was truly "man," born of woman, although he was also as truly God. He was, in short, Love in incarnation. It is not blasphemy to declare that Jesus is a model, as the Scriptures say, "for you to follow his footsteps closely." Indeed, the true "blasphemy" would be to ignore this lovely specimen of God.

So, when people teach that "Jesus saves," it is the realization of the deeply interior Love-nature that saves. It becomes conscious (aware) to your conscious mind. And from what does Jesus Christ save? He saves, by grace, from the nightmare of ignorance, with its hatreds, fears, and assorted miseries. He also saves us from terrible slavery to our lower humanimal nature-- slavery to abject cruelty, loveless sexuality, greed, and similar abominations. By grace, we are liberated from a legion of interior "demons," who lose all their power in the Presence of Christ(Love).
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Spiritual Blindness

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Those with absolutely zero spiritual insight, who understand absolutely nothing about God, and very little about the Scriptures, are "blind" in their hearts. Yet-- often for money or fame-- they have set themselves up as religious leaders. This is based, not on their ability to love, but upon some shallow academic degree. They have failed to see God as Love, and hence, are "spiritually " blind. This is, by far, the very worst kind of blindness, for it affects not just the body, but the Soul.
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The Holocaust and the UK

Thanks to Marcia Lehman.

Dear Friends of the Heart,

It is our balanced and moderate policy to try, in the "Universal Love Digest," always, when possible, to present both sides of any explosively controversial issue. The piece on the Holocaust was, as it claimed to be, a simple reminder to all of us. It was not designed to promote, but to resist, any kind of religious, cultural, or racial prejudices. Please keep always in mind that the "Universal Love Digest" is not, and does not claim to be, the "infallible Word of God." It is, instead, a simple sharing of news. And news comes from many sources, none of which is guaranteed by the uld.

Read widely, and read wisely.:) And don't believe everything that you read! That having been honestly said, nevertheless, we renew our pledge to present only reliable, practical, and, most of all, spiritually positive and constructive materials for your edification and education. We are pro-people-- people of all colors, cultures, and helpful ideas.

The editors
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Marty Morand is professor emeritus, Indiana University of PA, where he served as director of the Institute for the Study of Labor Relations. He sent, to a friend, the following:

The Holocaust is part of the UK's national curriculum. It's actually one of the few historical realities all UK schoolchildren are required to learn about. No one has complained about that or proposed that it should be changed." See full letter below.)... In a way this is related to the attack on Jimmy Carter whom I knew and who is not only the best past president the US ever had but the most effective president as defender of Israel. He has been maligned as anti-Semitic and anti-Israel because there has been a misguided conflation of criticism of Israeli government as an anti-Semitic attempt to destroy the nation of Israel -- not too dissimilar from
Cheney's characterization of Congressional opponents of the war in Iraq as unAmerican and disloyal.

... The Holocaust is part of the UK's national curriculum. It's actually one of the few historical realities all UK schoolchildren are required to learn about. No one has complained about that or proposed that it should be changed. According to a newspaper report (unconfirmed) there appears to have been ONE school in the north of England where a teacher is said to have felt uneasy about teaching the subject to a class of mainly Muslim children. But there are literally tens of thousands of classes filled to the brim with Muslim schoolchildren where the matter is taught routinely without the slightest problem.
...The Russian people sacrificed more to fight and defeat the Nazis than any others. Why no mention of the French or Dutch, who "looked on" and did nothing? Not to mention the Poles and Lithuanians!
...In fact, Holocaust Memorial Day (which happens also to be, depressingly, my birthday) is now a government recognised and sponsored event in UK. That's a welcome development. I just wish there was also a memorial day for the victims of British imperialism, who are, historically speaking, as numerous as the victims of Nazism.

Revelation

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The Book of Revelation is a very deep, and highly symbolic, allegory of spiritual growth. This book has been severely misunderstood, for centuries. Writers with microgroups (cults) have been extremely confused as to its meaning. They have produced dozens of "prophecies," proved false by the passage of time. Revelation is about your life and mine, not about governments, calendars, or the "end of the world." (This phrase is not found a single time in the entire book.)

This book tells the story of interior spiritual development, using symbols. I have explained it, verse-by-verse, in my The Apocalypse of Love: Mystical Symbolism in Revelation. This commentary on Revelation contains a full glossary of the terms used. These include such symbols as "dragon," "angels," "plagues," "throne," and dozens more.

If you want a copy of this commentary, just say the word!:)
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"Atheists" and Mystics Share Skepticism

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Watch the baby when tossing out all that bathwater! Your article against swallowing the whole Bible was very bold, even startling! But you did fail even to mention the galaxy that separates "Jehovah" from "God.":):) It is similar to that galaxy that separates the atheist from the mystic, although both have fully rejected the cultural, anthropomorphic, historical, and Scriptural godimage common to this society.
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