hi tiffani,

as i remember now, part of your family is into
fundamental religion, and many of us are like you,
in this regard.

david mentioned these in the prologue
of divine cosmos, commenting that their exclusivist
nature is extremely distasteful to some.

the nature of exclusion is separation.
"the original sin", is described as
"separation from god", also.
it seems the most direct route to fixing this
is to accept that "god is with us."

how easy it would be to exclude the exclusivists,
how comfortable this becomes. however our
challenge is to "include the exclusivists",
because god is likely with them too, even though
they believe otherwise, or do they?

you touched on a means of inclusion:
1) recognize inspired moments as spiritual experience.

2) recognize people vary by what inspires them.
3) recognize many paths to god.
4) reading written word is one way to get inspired.
5) books of written words help churches.
6) popular churches are not the only way.
7) popularity is a subset of the whole.

i like the part in the prologue that mentions
addiction. this complements the 12-step program,
innovated by alcoholics anonymous. this program
is a means of overcoming addiction in efforts to
align ourselves to "god's will".

the last step of the program comes after seeking
conscious contact with our "higher power."
it is simply: "awaken and carry the message, and
practice these principles in all our affairs."
these principles involve honest moral inventories
and work to overcome "the original sin."

pat

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