wordweevil

I haven't read St. Augustine's Confessions but learned recently that his common-law wife bore a child by him before he abandoned them at his mother's insistence. Is there any indication that he, so to speak, paid child support? (Or otherwise saw to the care and feeding of his own?)

I recently heard a radio program that included some data which indicated that most congressional and senatorial candidates received much more money for their campaigns from sources outside the districts/states they represent than from within. I would like to have that data and check its source. I believe this is an important issue that needs to be publicized since it appears to be a gross disenfranchisement of Joe Citizen.

The primary commandment is to "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart...etc. This is followed by the threat of hell-fire if you don't. How is it that to threaten someone with bodily harm to coerce them into having sex is rape, but the most popular conception of God on this site seems to be that of an entity who does the same thing on a spiritual level. Has it never occurred to anyone that this concept of God, promoted by Paul of Tarsus, Pharisee and Roman, flies in the face of other statements attributed to the Christ which contradict this tortured and perverted doctrine? Why worship a spiritual rapist?

Recently I read an interview with Brian Swimme, a mathematical cosmologist in which he mocked the "mechanistic model of the 19th century". I question such mockery.

To call phenomena so reliably associated in sequential time that there are no known, verifiable exceptions anything but cause and effect is to pervert conventional rules of naming.

An explicit inclusive description of man would include the nerves, their form, chemistry, activity. It would include their exquisite and elegant intricacy, and an organization so marvelous as to appear miraculous.

But it is at this level of understanding that the term “miraculous” is shown to be less accurate than “mechanical”! Given its properties,the neuron must do what it does. Even self awareness is actually the subjective awareness of neuronal activity. Awareness may occur without consciousness of the self/ego/soul/identity, but neither occurs without that "mechanical" neural activity, ergo mechanics, not miracles.

Since the US congress, and by proxy both major political parties have refused to modify campaign finance laws to give anyone but the wealthy a voice in selecting the candidates for office I submit that the US is not a Democracy, but a Plutocracy. The sophistry the parties have used to defend their position is that to limit the rich's ability to purchase the best government money can buy is that it would be a violation of free speech. The truth is that money is not speech, it is power! The whole purpose of democracy is to allow the many a voice with which to contend with power. The money spent on political campaigns makes clear that this principle has been effectively nullified, hence PLUTOCRACY, not democracy is the form of government in effect today.

I understand the 4th primary law of logic to be " the law of rational or logical inference". I am trying to find an expression of that law which is minimally referential to a knowledge of logical forms, i.e., one which is accessible to plain folks like myself.

Are there reliable statistics which demonstrate a substantial increase in emphasis on religion and religious issues in the political scene since 1980. A link to the source of your data, if available, would be appreciated.

I know a lady who has a great, probably quite valuable, collection of dolls. There are hundreds if not thousands. She would like to bequeath them to a museum or collector who would keep them together and make them available for viewing. (She's an older lady, but sharp and healthy so this isn't a hurry up kind of thing and she isn't likely to be anyone's patsy.) Any help would be appreciated.

Lucifer and Prometheus are parallel figures in mythology. In Milton's Paradise Lost, Lucifer, the light bringer, is cast as The Adversary. In the book of Genesis the original sin of Adam and Eve was to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. All in all, this seems to indicate that there is something wicked about seeking to shine the light of understanding on life. Why, when the signature attribute of human Being is the power of choice, would this be so? Is it really necessary to check one's brain at the door of the Church? Is ignorance really our only avenue to Life more abundant? Or is the Gospel According to Thomas which begins- "Let him who seeks not cease seeking until he finds..." - the true gospel?

Caution: I do not believe in an anthropomorphic "god", so spare me the inane superficiality of the conventional, Pharisaic Christianity of Paul of Tarsus.

This information would seem useful personally and in relating to others. One might be a better friend by dispensing a swift kick in one case but in a different case that swift kick could be devastating. Also, I've noticed that whereas vulnerability is closely associated to loveableness, there are also those who seem , consciously or un-consciously, to cultivate an air of vulnerability which is effectively manipulative. Again, I'd like skills in recognition and response, both in oneself and in others. Suggestions?

Superstition is basically defined as belief or attitude based on fear and/or ignorance and contrary to the laws of science or rationality. Religion pretty much fits this definition, but there are thousands of variations in religion and, as is evidenced by all the conflict about religion, there is a need for a user-friendly means of discrimination.

I attended a seminar (disguised sales convention) for small sawmill operation a few months back and the term "flitch" was used for planks sawn from logs before edging. I'd never heard the term and was unable to find it in my dictionary so wondered if this was just some local made-up term, an archaic term, or what.

I'm told that LORD in small caps signifies that this is the translation of "Yahweh" (or tetragrammaton?) while God, printed conventionally indicates translation from "Elohim". Checking this out, I noticed that some words and short phrases are in italics. What does that signify?