“Debating you is like setting myself on fire. I’m too intellegent to do either.”

You can’t be all that intelligent considering you do it all the time.

I haven’t twisted ANYTHING you have said. The questions I asked are direct and are basically yes or no questions. The fact that you dance around questions has nothing to do with you attempting to con everyone by saying that I take what you say out of context.

I’ve learned that when you don’t have a rational response (99% of the time), you twist what we say into nothing we said by removing it from context and assume it as a statement of some absolute. Debating you is like setting myself on fire. I’m too intellegent to do either.

Have a nice cowardly life hiding under your bed.

“And my brain says that there is no god.”

But you brain is limited.

“There is no love. Just raw animal instinct.”

Apparently you aren’t married. Right?

“rational adults”

I.e those who delude themselves into thinking that have all the answers.

“Knowledge is power.”

Yes it is as long as that knowledge is provable and undeniable…like many theories those so-called “rational adults” have so much faith in.

“After all, it’s saying that something can’t be taken on its own merits, so you just have to believe… My view IS the merits.”

Certain views you embrace is nothing but faith. The con is where you try an convince that faith is irrational. Remember that conversation we had when you tried to prove the a fetus isn’t a human? You don’t know and I don’t either. If you have undeniable and provable facts to back up you view then you would have a case….but you don’t. I don’t either, and don’t profess to “know it all”, as you seem to do. You are nothing but a human, and your limited knowledge cannot even begin to prop your own ego up to the point of an understanding true reality. You don’t have all the answers, so please do us a favor, humble yourself, and don’t BS us into thinking that you do “know”.

“I said it was absurd, irrational and ridiculous.”

Well as long as you recognize that it’s only your opinion and nothing more. OK.

“The fact that you insult Catholicism is more indictative of your very limited experience with organized religion.”

You know there was a reason the Martin Luther broke away from the Catholic chruch, i.e. the biggest “institution” that Progressive Rex mentioned. Catholic’s “all or nothing” attitude in both teachings and church laws, is one of the reason’s for the Protestant reformation. Pointing out the faults of the Catholic church doesn’t show my limited experience with organized religion in the least. If you moved from being a Catholic to being a Protestant, you should have recognized a huge difference. If you didn’t, then once again your experience was limited.

“The fact that you defend faith.”

You defend your own faith in yourself…no difference.

I totally agree that many have take organized religion and turned into an institution just like liberalism has institutionalized higher education.

“…and the entrenched concept becomes an institution, no longer beholden to the idea, but only serving to perpetuate to the institution itself.”

Like Jerry Falwell and Pat Roberts have done? I totally agree. This, however is not the way it is at the grass roots level. Focusing on the “big fish” is not a very accurate way of characterizing oganized religion as a whole.

i just choose my partners VERY carefully, and only have monogamous relationships. no unwanted pregnancies, no diseases.

incidentally, i’ve met the dalai lama (in bloomington, indiana where his brother lives — there’s a large buddhist temple there). he’s a fascinating guy. wears a wristwatch, which i found surprising. and his sister-in-law runs a tibetan restaurant in bloomington that has incredible food.

do your best to teach your children and hope they turn out alright. that’s really all i can say. as a society we have to recognize what the reality is here and now. and it ain’t what you’re talking about.