the retired marine that took on the home owners association for the right to fly his american flag won the case against them and earned the right to fly his flag.
however...he was then sued by the home owners association to be forced to pay their legal fees.
stupid...he's appealling.
For once, I agree with Yeru and Dakota. No matter what kind of neighbor he is, the HOA is punishing him for bringing a constituional right to trial, not for being a bad neighbor. This is a dispicable act on the HOA's part. They just want to screw the guy for making them look like idiots. They probably got all sorts of hate-mail because of it, and now they're going to make this guy pay. Sounds almost like organized crime.
ash
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sincerely,.
district overbeer of the" "pirate treasure" class
LOLOL @ XJW.
Very cool.
ash
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do you think most people would serve him?
I don't tell God, "Pay my bills or I won't love you." --What kind of "love' is that??? It makes me wonder how your relationships must be running, if that is the way you think 'love' is.
That's Falacy number one:
We are all rewarded by human relationships. A kiss, a hug, a kind word, running a bath for your mate when they got home from work, sacrificing for each other......these are things we can actually experience, because all of these reactions can be felt in the physical world. And yes, I know what real love is, one without the baggage of a 'God' getting between us. If anything, love itself is a religion to me. Just ask some people on the board who know my wife and I.
Alright. I love God because I find in Him beauty of every kind. Wherever I look, I recognize His being there. I love God because this creation of His is a miracle, and it is astounding--every detail of each thing, from the temperature, the seasons, the nature of water, the atmosphere and air, the plants and aniimals, --well, everything. (Except flies. "God in his wisdom made the fly, and then forgot to tell us why." Ogden Nash) His goodness shows up in the sunrise every morning. I love the mountains and fields and mist. I can take up too much here, but I have a lot of awe here for God, and it is simply easy to believe in God from nature alone, and to love Him for what He has done. Even if they disappear tomorrow, I will always know the good things He can do.I cannot live outside of His creation, either. I'm forced in a certain way to accept this gift whether I acknowledge it or not. So, to argue that I'm benefitting from creation is rather pointless, I think, since I've nowhere else to go!
Prove he created it first, and you might have a point. And you can't use the bible. Using a book that proports God to exist is not a way to prove God.
Another reason I love God: He is divinely humble. He stoops to conquer. He will even accept our prayers when we pray to Him as a last resort. He is not that proud, nasty monster someone told you He is. I am inspired with admiration for this.He is the perfect judge. He doesn't judge people on what they haven't known, but what they have known. He goes by what's in the heart, not by hours on a time card.
How do you know this? Again, from an ancient book made up by our ancestors. How many burning bushes have you witnessed with a booming voice coming from it? If you have, you'll be the first in a long time. God is nowhere around here, so how would you be privy to this information, save from the information from the collabortion of legends called the bible?
Another reason: Jesus, on the cross, prayed for the forgiveness of those crucifying him. I am truly drawn to him for this. It is amazing. I wish I could be like that, too. I love him because right here I see what Goodness is, and I see that goodness from God meant providing me the opportunity to become good, too.
Again, from the Book of Dead Legends.
All of your feelings, your hopes, are based on a book that, at parts, is laughable with inaccuracy. Again, it starts with reward.
Do you really worship God because he simply shows you what 'goodness' is?
If God decreed that he was going to kick all of our asses in the afterlife, would you still be so happy for his advice? Doesn't everything always come back to the reward, and this reward is what makes people 'love' Him (or the idea of a strong, kind, humble, sacrifical big brother of sorts)
Also, as to good and evil, how do you define it? Am I evil for denying 'God'? If so, then being a good person doesn't matter I suppose. That Crumbum doesn't deserve to make my acquaintance if He can't love a person for who they are, and not for what they believe.
ash
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sincerely,.
district overbeer of the" "pirate treasure" class
Aztec.....
But, but, but, *sniffle* I like my intestines where they are! In my belly!
ash
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do you think most people would serve him?
Yizu,
If God warns people about behaviors that cause medical disorder, then why not give us info on things that we don't cause? Heredity that causes cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease.....and death.
Without the rewards which you say you don't need to worhship God, how would death, cancer, and things like that ever get resolved?
Relgion or belief in God starts with reward.
Reward-->Hope-->Faith-->Love-->Worship. Without God dangling some sort of afterlife in front of people, then the God Chain never gets started.
The fact is, of course, that there is no God, and that men made him up because, at a certain point, they began to understand the hopelessness of the situation; at best, you live to 80 years or so, and then you croak. So, way back when, some fella made up pie-in-the-sky stories to make people feel better. Thousands of years later, here we are debating scriptures of a being that doesn't exist, based on the rewards some ancient ancestor concocted and told to his tribe while eating meat off of the bones of an antelope in front of a fire.
ash
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do you think most people would serve him?
My theory of 'God's Forgiveness/love' as applies to Christians:
They do 'good' things, they go towards heaven, 'bad' things, towards hell, and this either produces a euphoria or dread, and they apply this to God, making an idea reality in their minds with these feelings.
BAD DEEDS/THOUGHTS=Hell/Eternal Death<-------------------------------------------------------------------->Heaven/Unearthly Reward--GOOD DEEDS/THOUGHTS
The father up the scale towards heaven, the more 'loved', 'forgiven', 'spiritual' they feel.
I these feelings are like a human relationship in some ways, but people need to 'spirituality' authenticate it with the scale for a reason. God is never actually telling people he loves them, or giving them a physical hug, or acutally rewarding them in ways that are able to be sensed.
If your son/daughter/mother/father does something kind, you give them a hug or a kiss, thank them. This makes you feel good. People apply the feeling they get from human relationships and apply it to their idea of God, solidifying His existence in their minds.
That's why any religous book's reward structure is essential to all religions.
ash
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sincerely,.
district overbeer of the" "pirate treasure" class
stay clear of the poop deck lest she braodside you with cannons a blazin
Not so, matey. I just have to give 'er an ale, and I can swab her deck, and then I can climb the gantry onto the poop deck, lest she make me walk the plank.
Thar she blows! LOL
ash
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do you think most people would serve him?
I am no longer controlled by my temper. I'm not controlled by a need for revenge. My life is not ruled by regrets over past mistakes because a) when I chose to do what was right I didn't have to deal with the consequences and b) I know I'm forgiven for all the wrong things I DID do. All of these I directly attribute to God, not my own efforts. That's just the tip of the iceburg.
Some people use therapy as a way to learn how to control their impulses. You just call your therapy 'Jesus'.
Give yourself some credit. Whatever bad habits you changed were because of your strength and resolve to change things....not because of some invisible guy who only shows up some of the time, and only in people who are Christians. (remember, good athiests are going to burn!)
You did those things, you changed your life, and you forgave yourself for what you did. Would you consider yourself 'forgiven' if you were still doing the things that bothered you in your past? Did you change? Then who is the catalyst no matter what? YOU!!!
ash
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do you think most people would serve him?
A Pastor once said that they are always screaming, "ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME!"He said they sounded like a bunch of "ME ME Birds"! Now, being deaf, I don't know how that sounds, but from the way he says it, it sounded pretty darn funny
ha! What horsepucky! Me birds??!?! This fella wasn't much on literature, was he? LOL
There are many giving, kind people who think that God is a load of garbage. Where do they stand? Where do athiests who work in soup kitchens stand?
Take away heaven....take away any reward from God. Then, where would that 'ME' Preacher's congregation be? At the slots, probably, or in the Powerball line. LOL
Humans are selfish, and choose to serve God because there's something in it for them. Anyone who says otherwise is either a fool, or lying.
Why do people confess sins? Because they go to hell if they don't.
Why do people go to church? Because they will be punished by God if they don't.
Why shouldn't people have premarital sex? Because God will smite them like Phineas in the Isrealite camp.
LOLOLOL. What crap!!!! The only reasons for religion are fear and reward! Admission of that will make sense to me, at least.
ash
P.S.--anyone who chimes in and says they love God 'just because', do me a favor and honestly list your reasons for loving/worshipping God. Give me more than 50% reasons that aren't selfish, and I'll eat my bum. (REAL REASONS, and you can't repeat one twice).
this will be interesting to watch as it develops..... http://cnews.canoe.ca/cnews/canada/2003/09/17/195235.htmlreligious groups fear new bill.
by kathleen harris - sun media.
ottawa -- mps face another political hot potato today with a vote on a controversial bill religious groups fear will outlaw the bible.
Outlawing the bible would never happen. Outlawing actions that come from bigoted teachings is another thing. I am thinking that the line is being drawn in the sand as to encouraging actions based on teaching, not outlawing the teachings.
Say you have a church, and in the pulpit, some fiery preacher denounces Gays as being from the devil. He reads a bunch of scriptures about the men of old stoning sinners, etc. You then have some brainwashed people, extremists, who will take this and use it, not to use in their own lives, but to push it on other people, making lives harder for whatever specific group they are targeting (abortionists, gays, unmarried couples who have sex).
Why do you think there are still hate murders? Because extremists use that religous privilige to get away with encouraging bigots to action. Just think about protests in front of abortion clinics. At the very least, those types of people are exposing the people who go for an abortion to even more trauma then they would originally have.
Religion should not preach exclusion. It should preach tolorance. The Jesus in the bible would never preach to hurt people, only to love them. It's a damn shame that people who read the rest of the bible decide to act on hate because of that. That's where the law comes in.
The last thing humans need is more things that divide us. Love should be the only religion worth following, and the only doctrine that is preached from the pulpits.
ash
