Point taken. Assertion. You are over-analyzing my words again.

All I mean is that DM must be dealt with aggressively. All I'm saying is that I think it better to be aggressive in dealing with this matter than passive.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2008 05:05AM by zeuszor.

Quote
apostate
To use an analogy, light house keepers don't extinguish the light because they can see no ship on the horizon.

I think this is a really good approach. Keeping that light shining may seem like a thankless job, but it is the best approach. Occasionally, we can pick up our binoculars and scan the horizon; we can check our radio to see that it's working; we can consult our logbook to see what ships might be in the vicinity; but each of us can only do what is required of us. Of course, if there's a sign of danger then we have to be alert to it; we have to be ready to take whatever action is necessary. It is at this point when we have to examine our priorities. And our actions must be sustainable and reasonable. Being a lighthouse keeper is a tough job, made more difficult if we don't adhere to the protocols, if we don't pace ourselves...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2008 05:28AM by Jack Oskar Larm.

Speaking of checking radios and consulting logbooks. Can everybody please check there is space in your private message folders to accept new messages. Thank you.




"Don't look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Grab a torch or a candle and make your own".

thanks for that, private eyes. I thought my prose was starting to get too purple...but obviously you were on the same wavelength. BTW, my folder is virtually empty...

SOME VERSES FOR YOUR MEDITATIONS

Mat 7:13 ¶Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide [is] the gate, and broad [is] the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14 Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Mat 7:15 ¶Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.


Bhagavad-Gita 7:3

Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2008 01:07PM by zeuszor.

ASININE JC-RELATED QUOTE OF THE NIGHT

Jack said:

I think Ezra is just plain stupid. Perhaps a classic example of someone who feels a need to comment after shining the master's shoes. My advice to Ezra is to take some time out after exhausting him/herself with such chores. Yeah, I know it can be tiresome to have to try and absorb new information when any information is tackled on the defensive.

Yes, none too bright, he. Look at this:

[welikejesus.com]


But onto the actual topic of this thread, I remember distinctly when i first started writing to Dave (well before I joined the community) I was asking him questions about himself, and I don't know what I was expecting him to reply, but he said something like, "I'm overweight, bald, and I (ahem) pass too much gas (ahem)." Then he asked me if I would be more interested in sharing what I thought about the teachings of Jesus. I was busting up laughing when I read that email, and was very pleasantly "disarmed" to see that Dave was not interested in going on about himself.

So much for ego maniac!

"Well, Dave didn't want to talk about himself, so he must be OK! Lah dee dah dah dum."

Not an egomaniac? This is a man who calls himself the Divine Authority, the Anointed Apostle. Duhhh. And I am the mentally disturbed one?

Maybe Ezra is mentally retarded. Seriously. I am not making fun of him either; in fact, I feel sorry for him.

You may as well try and reason with a rock if you are trying to get through to this guy. Thick as a brick, he.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/08/2008 01:32PM by zeuszor.

Quote
zeuszor
Point taken. Assertion. You are over-analyzing my words again.

All I mean is that DM must be dealt with aggressively. All I'm saying is that I think it better to be aggressive in dealing with this matter than passive.

Zeus, don't over react to me saying I prefer to take an assertive approach as opposed to your stated "aggressive" approach. Stop telling me how to communicate on this forum, or what I "must" do.

Given it's still the holidays in most parts of the World and people may have a bit more time to read. I thought I'd share a few thoughts about some books I read lately. They are designed to be humorous, but you may be able to pick up a few things regarding what we have been discussing lately. Like how people may follow someone they haven't met and whether the Bible should be followed literally:

Join Me by Danny Wallace - 2003
The True story of a man who started a cult by accident

When I first started reading Join Me I worried a little about where society was taking us. Here we read about a bored guy who places an ad in a London paper simply saying “Join Me. Send a passport photo to…..” – and people did.

As the membership grew the author, Danny, had to come up with a reason for the ‘collective, not a cult’ and the result was the call for Good Fridays – for members to do a random act of kindness every Friday – originally to old men but later expanded to everyone.

It is a lighthearted read with a good ending in one respect – thousands of RAOK’s as they call it happening around the world each year – but scary in another. Because in the process Danny became obsessed with his ‘joinees’ to the point where he lost his girlfriend of three years as the quest to get 1000 joinees became more important than his relationship as he lied about his whereabouts and what he was doing with his time. Perhaps even scarier is the number of people who are willing to follow someone (they ended up calling him The Leader) without knowing anything about him or exactly what they were joining.


The Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs - 2007
One Man’s humble quest to follow the Bible as literally as possible

In this Book AJ Jacobs takes a very scientific approach to living according to the rules laid out in the Bible.

He spends the first 9 months of his year living according to the Old Testament which gives the reader insights into some of the more obscure rules such as not mixing fabrics (did you know there are experts in New York that will examine your fabric to make sure they are not blends?) and not touching women in case they are ‘impure’ The last four months (he goes over a little due to the birth of his twin boys) are spent on the New Testament and provide little in the way of interesting stories or insights.

The book is an interesting read but could have been so much more. He treats the whole exercise as a project and to my way of thinking doesn’t really benefit from the experience. Certainly the reader learns more about the rituals of the Old Testament but I feel the book could have offered so much more by being less of a diary and more about the interactions with other people, any changes in the way he felt about his own beliefs – anything to make me feel like it was more than an experiment that he undertook because he got a book deal! However, it is a funny read, if you're not too easily offended.

Hey Private Eyes,

Loved your books.

Do you have one about kids who've "Run away to Join the Circus" only to find out they've joined a Freakshow, and mutilate their bodies so they can still be part of what they've chosen?

No postings from Dave today. Must be preoccupied........I think he said he was going to Quaker Yearly Meeting some time last week, and kept posting while he was on the road. He posted yesterday. Maybe he doesn't have internet access right now? Most unusual.