[kj] Pantheism v. theism?(Match postponed)

[Geordie Wanker]

i won't bother with the grammar since i've only got an hour but i'll
give the buddhist perspective if anyone is interested. reject, agree,
ponder or question as you please:

there are more hungry spirits on the planet than people. we just don't
have the karma to see them directly. some people do have the karma to
see particular spirits, e.g. the ghost rob moss saw.

enlightened beings are watching us all the time but they never judge us.

humans did not evolve from bacteria but arise in depence upon causes,
mainly giving, moral discipline and patience. the continuum of the
mind has no beginning and all sentient beings wander from life to life
without much freedom or control, sometimes they are born as animals,
sometimes human, sometimes in hell etc. it is not possible for
something formless, i.e. the mind, to arise from form, e.g. the body.
there is a relationship between the mind and body, of course, but this
ends at death.

buddhism in no way functions to enslave people or make them
subservient. the statement below is hopelessly ignorant and too
sweeping a generalisation. buddhism, if applied correctly, causes no
problems whatsoever and can only function to make people happier.
other religions have no inherent characteristics from their own side
but can be used for good or evil, it just depends on your motivation.
how can christian teachings on, for example, compassion possibly cause
any sort of problems??? if religion is misused that is not the fault
of the religion but of the person who is misusing it.

i personally don't believe in a god who is omnipotent but i do believe
in enlightened beings who are omniscient, i.e. know all past, present
and future phenomena directly and simultaneously.

i'm not quite sure what "the cobwebs or religion" is meant to mean
since religion is a personal experience and therefore not stuck in a
particular time, but i'll say this: a mind contolled by anger than
abides in a state of self-induced mental agony (i.e. peter west's)
doesn't know the meaning of the word "free."

On Wed, 16 Mar 2005 19:13:27 -0000, peter.west410
<peter.west410 at ntlworld.com> wrote:
> Its an illogical question.
>   There is only Humans and Animals on this planet,No-ones going to come
> down,No-ones watching and judging us.We have all evolved from bacteria from
> millions of years ago.
>   All forms of religion and other ideologies are inplace to make the
> general populace subservient. Religion enslaves the people.
>    Dust away the cobwebs of religion and free yourself.
> 
>           PW