Where I'm at...

[_Yong Xi]

True. I wouldn't be too hard on Bob. I think he is genuinely concerned about my spiritual well-being. He's just blunt about it.

Hmmm....I hope you're right.

From what I've seen of Bob's posting, the only thing Bob cares about is how smart and righteous he can make himself look.

He would have made a good Pharisee.

Oh, and don't forget 200+ pound world class runner!

[_rcrocket]

True. I wouldn't be too hard on Bob. I think he is genuinely concerned about my spiritual well-being. He's just blunt about it.

Hmmm....I hope you're right.

From what I've seen of Bob's posting, the only thing Bob cares about is how smart and righteous he can make himself look.

He would have made a good Pharisee.

Oh, and don't forget 200+ pound world class runner!

Let's not overstate things. I run. People pass me. I pass others. I finish in between. Some laugh at me; some admire me.

[_moksha]

I would not only tell you to "be gone"...but I would tell you where to go.

;)

Or what to sit on?

[_Yong Xi]

True. I wouldn't be too hard on Bob. I think he is genuinely concerned about my spiritual well-being. He's just blunt about it.

Hmmm....I hope you're right.

From what I've seen of Bob's posting, the only thing Bob cares about is how smart and righteous he can make himself look.

He would have made a good Pharisee.

Oh, and don't forget 200+ pound world class runner!

Let's not overstate things. I run. People pass me. I pass others. I finish in between. Some laugh at me; some admire me.

Good to see you have backed off that claim. In all fairness, you merely described yourself as an "elite" 200+ pound long distance runner and not world class.

[_rcrocket]

Good to see you have backed off that claim. In all fairness, you merely described yourself as an "elite" 200+ pound long distance runner and not world class.

I am not in the elite class. I have finished with elite class runners.

[_Some Schmo]

This is why I'm baffled when others say that belief is a choice. Maybe for some it really is, but for me, it's a choice I tried to make over and over again that just didn't work. My disbelief wasn't suspended so much as it was hurled into the air until it come crashing down, again and again. Eventually, it just got too heavy.

I have thought much about this topic, and I have come to the conclusion that there's no doubt it's a choice, but it just doesn't feel like one because it's made unconsciously and with the motivation to support whatever is unconsciously most comfortable.

You may consciously think you'd be better off if you could just believe, but I think there's something going on in your world that makes the choice to not believe more appealing.

The fact of the matter is that on certain issues, nobody knows for certain what to believe. By the very nature of unknowable things, you have no choice but to choose something.

[_cksalmon]

But you're still (and will remain) tops in my book, Chris.

My best to you.

CKS

[_CaliforniaKid]

Thanks, man.

Really, thanks.

[_barrelomonkeys]

I really wanted God to exist, and I wanted to be a person who believes in Him. This is why I'm baffled when others say that belief is a choice. Maybe for some it really is, but for me, it's a choice I tried to make over and over again that just didn't work. My disbelief wasn't suspended so much as it was hurled into the air until it come crashing down, again and again. Eventually, it just got too heavy.

Ditto!

I've been told repeatedly (by a bunch of EX-MO's!) that I can choose to believe! I don't understand this at all.

[_Doctor Steuss]

I choose to believe...





... and it takes what might be an unhealthy amount of effort.