I would hope that the original poster might reconsider his deletion

Boo! I am the Holy Ghost! See me wrapped in my sheets! Hear me rattle my chains! I am SO MUCH BIGGER AND SCARIER IN UPPER CASE! And I'd have gotten away with it too, if hadn't have been for you meddling kids!

Aw gee, do you think that might have been Jesus after all?

I guess now we'll never know, honey.

With that, I can only agree.

You can't judge my response until you see what I was responding to.

I don't think I am the one who is being immature here.

I take great exception to the suggestion that I have somehow bullied poor Alan into withdrawing a serious reflection on the philosophy of religion.

You can't judge my response until you see what I was responding to.

Why should you be hopping mad? Doesn't one transparent emotional manipulation deserve another?

yourpost was not genuine itself

Imagine that,the OP is back up and the holy ghost chain rattling comment is still disingenuous emotional manipulation. I can understand why Alan might not have appreciated it that much.

Twirlip;142699]I refer you to the many posts, including my introductory post to these forums, in which I have opened myself to the risk of attack and ridicule by making religious statements, even being so brassy as to mention Jesus (if only in passing) in a thread about schizophrenia.

I do not think I am perfect (unlike Alan, apparently, because his message was literally written as if it came from the mouth of the Son of God), but I do not need lessons in religious toleration or respect for points of view differing from my own. As an atheist, I married a Christian. My daughter went through a Wicca phase. I'm sort of hovering on the edge of Christianity myself at the moment.

I could refer you to where I was verbally skinned alive by two aggressive atheists on another philosophical forum because I mentioned God.

What Alan wrote was many paragraphs of high-flown prophetic religious speech, much of it in capital letters, and all of it written as if it came from the mouth of the Son of God Himself. To a non-religious person, it was a pompous and pretentious form of religious evangelism. To a Christian, it might well be blasphemous. (I've no idea.) It was certainly presumptuous, to put it mildly. And to anyone with a grain of sense, it was out of place in the Philosophy of Religion forum. It almost certainly broke the rules on "evangelising".

I am not saying it was total rubbish (who can say? - certainly not me), but it was certainly a ripe target for some gentle mockery.

I was not in the least bit angry about it. I was contemptuous of Alan for withdrawing it. And I am angry at those who presume to criticize me for my response without even knowing what I was responding to.

This is how I perceive God

There is no cause to my existence I simply "was", "were" and "AM" always forever, no beginning and no end existing forever in the glory of my light. Having no Cause I therefore was the Effect and Affect and shape on everything.

back before anything was conceived , I was "infinite pure "mind" and "thought" these was no dark only light within my infinite domain , so I moved upon the great void of dark and said "let there be" light'

Aware of infinite potential in vast unplowed fields of nothing, I strode with great beams of Radiant Light toward the infinite horizon of eternity, sowing seeds of existence, before the timeless moment of creation.


I am the boundless Mind, Original Self-Awareness the cause of everything, relative to nothing I am "This" I am "That" I "Was" and I "Am" and I always will "Be" I am "Eternal Awareness" I am "Every Where" I know "Everything" I am
"Everywhen" I am the "Ever Existing One"

On the panorama of bleak blackness," I AM" "The Absolute", sowing universal energy. Reality was my aim and the beauty of my achievement, was the "Illuminating" the darkness with beams of dazzling radiant translucent iridescent glory was the first event of reason. I formulated everything in the first thought of my Mind and knew the first numbers and called them "Zero" and "One",

With the simplicities and realities of the fundamentals of' "one, and 'zero", "I made everything". I am the Prime Mover and there was no proponent to my "First Cause". I am the "Immovable Rock" and the" Alpha point". I took these first numbers and weaved them into the fabric of the reality, creating all the limitless universes on the infinite timeless foam of nothing, which now makes all up existence. Indeed, I am the Almighty One. If you are, wise.

I am the creator of the totality of all existence known by many names and titles but you should just all refer to me by the title that can never be confused by anyone. Call me The "Almighty One".

I am mystery and all mystery is mine to reveal when I open the book of minds

I AM the Ceaseless Creator of all things

I AM LIGHT

I AM LOVE

I AM LIFE

Imagine that,the OP is back up

I don't really understand why some people, the minute you mention God, run screaming around carrying a sign proclaiming all the evils that religious peoples have perpetrated. It seems foolish to allow my fears and prejudices to take precidence over my courtesy toward others views and beliefs. I would never learn anything that way. Not very philosophical.