From: Luci Fer<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

Yes Dubal do the job right, force them away from the word by your rants, we need more like you.  Got some friends?  Need some?
<HR>
From: tired of tangents<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

actually, this nom de plum is a misnomer.  I rather enjoy a great many tangents.  Some are incredibly entertaining.<BR>
<BR>
I exist.  Therefore I am.  I am not gardenguru.
<HR>
From: Syn O'Nonymous<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

um, it's nom de PLUME!<BR>
and I am not the guru either.<BR>
No, really.<BR>
<BR>
All I can lend to the other discussion is to offer a couple movie quotes.<BR>
<BR>
From "The Fifth Element" (1997)-<BR>
"I am a meat popsicle."<BR>
<BR>
From "L.A.Story" (1991)-<BR>
"I keep thinking I'm a grown up, but I'm not."<BR>
<BR>
From "A Clockwork Orange (1971)-<BR>
"If a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man."<BR>
<BR>
Finally, from "Fiddler On The Roof" (1971)-<BR>
"As the good book says, if you spit in the air, it lands in your face!"
<HR>
From: Misti<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

D.P.~<BR>
Have you ever heard of The Church of the Heavenly Wood? Check it out at http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/9565. <BR>
...Just saw "Ed Wood," which Chris bought from Dollar General. Very inspiring and touching. Now I want to buy all of Ed Wood's films. Especially "Plan 9 From Outer Space," which was funded by Baptists! Ha!<BR>
<BR>
31 Flavors and Then Some,<BR>
Misti Velvet Rainwater Lake
<HR>
From: Chris<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

Dubal~<BR>
<BR>
Gawd, where do I begin? This is a debate I hoped I'd never have again (I was a philosophy minor in college in another life). Your entire argument is circular: X is the Truth. Why is X the truth? Because so-and-so (the Bible) says it is. Well, sir (or ma'am), how can you prove to me that your final authority is sound? You can't. <BR>
<BR>
You might then use supposed 'miracles' as evidence. And again, I say to prove it. Miracles--modern and ancient--are like flying saucers: LOTS of anecdotal evidence and not much else. To those who are left cold by science and the scientific method, I only ask that they realize how much our world is based upon them. And that's a good thing. Why was the Renaissance a time of enlightenment and reawakening? Because the world WAS emerging from a <BR>
darkness--an intellectual darkness imposed by religion. Fundamentalists want to bring us back to that darkness. And they have as much 'evidence' to support their claims as did those responsible for the Spanish Inquisition--and just as much tolerance for differing points of view. <BR>
<BR>
Dubal, you're right in attacking moral relativism. All is not relative. Hitler and Stalin were not just 'doing their thing'. But, as Bertrand Russell and many, many other humanists have pointed out, ethical behavior is not contingent upon a transcendent source. <BR>
<BR>
Just one lost soul's opinion...<BR>
<BR>
Sorry for all this, you poetry-nuts out there. Personally, I think pasta debates are much healthier.
<HR>
From: Chris<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

On second thought, Misti's right--go with the Church of the Heavenly Wood. Misti's always right. I never learn. :)
<HR>
From: the guppy<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

so, after hurling spaghetti noodles against my fridge, i kneel and pray to them...and i say "god, in your strange patterns of starchy goodness, would thou offer me a garlic press so that i might enjoy your presence the way it was intended?"  god pretzels and contorts as a strange wall-walking creature.  i insist to inquire, but fall short of questions, being too utterly amused by his movements.  i get no answers, and no garlic press, but it's better than renting a disney flick.<BR>
<BR>
gup
<HR>
From: Midnight Whispers [email-masked]<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

*Blinks for a few moments and then laughs softly* God's nightgown! Ever should I see a message board that never 'heatedly discusses' the right and wrong of God.... I'd be a happy camper.<BR>
<BR>
Of all the wars that ever started over religious differences, you'd think we'd atleast learn to ignore. It is so obvious you can't get along about it. The Bible come in 26 different versions in English alone! How can anyone agree? Even within religions people argue whether this means that or that means this.<BR>
<BR>
*Smiles softly and shakes her head* Not that I am trying to change your opinion about God. Not that I dont want you to discuss your religion. Those of you that still carry hope that someone will convert because of your preaching. With the vast learnings of religions that I carry with me, I ne'er seen it done here online. Should the topic become heated, lets move it outside a public board, less the to that argue look unattractive. (And to me it really does)<BR>
<BR>
I don't carry a belief, but I have a pretty good idea. *Winks* (Dogma)<BR>
Less it harm none, do what thou wilt...<BR>
Lil ole Midnight<BR>

<HR>
From: Er.. me again.<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

*Kicks her typo demons* Pesky things always make me spell badly. *Blushes and rushes out*<BR>
Mid
<HR>
From: B.K. <BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

Question with boldness even the existance of God because if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear.   Thomas Jefferson<BR>
<BR>
When choosing two evils I always try the one I've never tried before  Mae West<BR>
<BR>
To believe in god is impossible, not to believe in him absured.  Voltaire<BR>
<BR>
A faith that cannot survive collision with the truth is not <BR>
worth many regrets.   Arthur C. Clark<BR>
<BR>
Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo. H.G. Wells<BR>
<BR>
It ain't those parts of the Bible I can't understand that bother me, it's the parts I do understand. Mark Twain<BR>
<BR>
The only good is knowledge, the only evil is ignorance.<BR>
                                    Socrates<BR>
<BR>
When they told me at twelve that there would be no animals no birds, no fish, in heaven, as they had no souls. I told them to forget it, I didn't want to go.  B.K.<BR>
<BR>
bk
<HR>
From: BK again<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

h; You are as bad as Dark Angel for making me cry.
<HR>
From: Cee<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

forgive me for taking so long to respond ,, life and work and the family does beckon me back to reality once in a while <BR>
<BR>
<BR>
~BK~ yes , im new to the blender , ive been reading everyones work , and i finaly gave into a friend of mine , who siad i should give it a try ,, thank you for your comment about 'meet me' im sure there will be much more to come from me , that are happy , now that warm weather is Suposed to be kicking in ...<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
~Misti~ your kind of writing , is the kind i live for , honesty based , straight from the heart , so clear you can see it if you close your eyes .. im looking very foward to what you come out with next .. i guess im corney in the sense that i live for pure emotion ... ive even sent a few of my friends this way , just to read your poem , and im a little suprised none of them made a comment about it on the board .. when they have commented to me .. keep the wonderful work up !!<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
~guru~ How dare you NOT think that because you proclaim to be here for no other reason but to "spread the word" that you are doing nothing less than preaching your false superiority complex. Don't you understand that is exactly what you are doing? Your book certainly doesn't tell you to do that. It certainly does not allow you to "worry" about us lesser creatures, as you think we are.  ((I could not agree with you more !! thank you)))<BR>
<BR>
and on that note im off to write and read ,,, lates<BR>
~Cee~
<HR>
From: kevin urenda<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

Cee-<BR>
you should pay attention to who the magnet is.  It isn't guru - you owe him an apology.
<HR>
From: Sarah<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

hey who had the soapbox last? i want it now!<BR>
<BR>
alrighty religion! yeah! from the reformed (thank god)lutheran girl who grew up in conservative lutheran german wisconsin! Where you wear sauer kraut on sundays...<BR>
<BR>
jinkies:<BR>
<BR>
do not put religion upon others.  And if you are going to defend your religiosity, please make sure to go back to the original translations.  You will then have a better understanding of what you are saying.  Seeing as when most of the bible was written in greek and hebrew, the meanings and translations have been slightly jaded over the years and have lost their original meaning.  Unless you have a degree in hebrew and greek, I refuse to believe in anyone who totes around key verses to spout off in case of emergency.  Since you quoted mostly romans as well, which is not any of the gospels, which carry the key doctrine for the christians sects of today.  You forgot the gospel in the nutshell as it was so called when I was growing up.<BR>
<BR>
john 3:16 for god so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  <BR>
<BR>
So where in that lovely gospel does it say those who believe in god or jesus in whatever form they believe in him, are going to hell? I believe in god, I believe in Jesus, but according to that one key verse, I am not going to hell.<BR>
<BR>
Religion is screwed up, you gotta question what you believe to find what truth is meant for you.
<HR>
From: Harem<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

To DubalPoet,<BR>
I think you misunderstood me completely.   What I was trying to say..... is that LoveBlender is a place for writers to release their feelings, their thoughts, their ideas, their passion, their frustrations, etc.  It is not a place to push opinions, or religious beliefs, or anything else.  Each writer has thoughts and feelings that are uniquely his own.<BR>
The ideal concept of love is to find someone who you can live forever with, be faithful to, and have total trust, kindness, understanding, forgiveness, open communication and all the stuff that dreams are made of (including passion).  The Bible says that with her breasts may you be intoxicated constantly....(to the man). So everyone would love to find someone like that. But it just doesn't happen much anymore. And yes, it may be because people have become selfish, and ignore the golden rule, and moral standards of the Bible.  So everyone is frustrated and looking for this ideal love that seems to be always just out of grasp. So the majority of mankind is getting hurt, being disappointed, and just plain frustrated.  Being able to put that frustrated unfulfilled passion into prose, is very therapeutic for many. Releasing the anxieties and forcing them to paper to rid oneself of the agonies within. I myself have prayed for a love like the type the Bible espouses, but it has never happened to me. Writing is an outlet for my hearts melody, releasing the waves of my soul, an outlet for my longings. In short, what I am trying to say, is that here is not the place to argue about religion or how people should act or live or who is right or who is wrong.  I myself find it as natural to be faithful to my mate, as it is to breathe..... But not everyone is that way... and I will not force my ideas or feelings onto another. I believe that the love blender is an outlet for writers to voice their needs, their desires, their inner frustrations, disappointments, viewpoints, ideas., and not a place to decided the right and wrong of ideas and feelings.  I hope I have been clear enough here to say that I am not condoning fornication, incest, adultery, etc., etc.  But being realistic enough to say, that it exists, and people have the right to vent their feelings in poems, prose, short stories.... and this serves a very healthy purpose to get it off ones chest..... Writing is an art of expression... regardless how different and varied the expressions.  There is a time and a place for everything under the sun. <BR>
<BR>
*****
<HR>
From: Angel<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

Gala~ I , too, loved the 'angel' one...wonder why;)<BR>
(sorry can't recall entire name at the moment)
<HR>
From: Midnight Whispers [email-masked]<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

On a lighter note, something to get us all on some other topic other than religion...<BR>
<BR>
Did you know that Tylenol Extended Relief and Tylenol Arthritis are the exact same capsule? Yet they come in different packages and different prices. Is that illigeal? *Thinks* I am sure it is somewhere.... or not.<BR>
<BR>
*Grins* Any who... <BR>
Want a taste of religion? Bite a priest! J/K<BR>
Out of my mind for a moment.<BR>
Midnight<BR>
<BR>

<HR>
From: Misti<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

Personally, I love the taste of communion wafers.<BR>
(got that gem from "Saturday Night Fever")<BR>
<BR>
Cee~<BR>
Thanks for the compliments! I don't know when I'll submit another poem. Lately I've been hanging out at www.projectgreenlight.com schmoozing with wannabe Hollywood players. I'm working on my second screenplay and I want to hurry up and finish it so I can write a bad B movie before cracking down and putting my heart and guts into "Jenny's Christ," which will be dedicated to the memory of Nicole Brown Simpson.
<HR>
From: Chris<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

This is interesting timing for such a debate... See, in New York, where I'm from (and the whole Northeast in general, I would guess), religion is an intensely personal thing. People just do not come on to you about it, 'witness' to you, etc. What a jolt it's been being in the South, though. It really is a different country. I come out of a community of ethnic Catholics, believers in alternative faiths, Quakers, agnostics, atheists... Here in East Texas, everyone seems to be a follower of one branch or another of evangelical Protestantism. I haven't had more thought and discussion about my Eternal Soul since Metaphysics 101 in college. I was raised to respect the faiths of others, but, as with our friend Dubal, it gets awfully difficult when those others refuse to leave such life-and-death matters up to you and you alone. Amen. End of sermon.<BR>
<BR>
(Hey gup, you had the best response yet, man! I cracked up.)
<HR>
From: Kirk, Blender-Keeper<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

Hey, if y'all can take a break from the bible-thumpin'<BR>
and unthumpin' (or whatever the opposite of thumping is..)<BR>
<BR>
The March Blender is here.  Very happy with the Front Page Picks.  (Deep dark secret, I'm not always, but that has more to do with me than the absolute quality of the selections I think.)
<HR>
From: Galadrial<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

Kirk!<BR>
<BR>
You big old adorable softee, romantic at heart!<BR>
<BR>
YOU PICKED A RIDGE POEM!!!!!!!!!<BR>
<BR>
Will congrat the other picks as soon as I stop swooning!<BR>
<BR>
Thank you!  And welcome Argyle...<BR>
<BR>
Oh Maddy girl....you rock!<BR>
<BR>
SQUEAL!   A ridge poem!  Squeal!
<HR>
From: deevaa<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

My guy made it!!! *grins* <BR>
<BR>
I submit one work, just one work of his and he makes it, I hate that. Same thing happened with the guppy. <BR>
<BR>
Smouldering was right, I am a poetry pimp.<BR>
<BR>
I'm gonna hang up my pen and just post other peoples work.<BR>
<BR>
(((tries to hug Gala but she's too busy bouncing)))
<HR>
From: TheDubalPoet<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

People,<BR>
<BR>
Again you come to me with accusations of pushing my religion upon you.  I have simply stated what I believe.  Have I ever said Buddhims is wrong?  Have I ever said Islam is wrong?  

[[snip the author saying they are crud on God's Shoe]]
[[snip author saying they are a nut for God]]
[[snip author uses poetry to testify since the memes might stick in your head]]
[[snip author stating that complexity is evidence of delibreate creation]]
[[snip inerrency... oh never mind]]
<BR>
In Jesus name...TheDubalPoet
<HR>
From: deevaa<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

Oh for crying out loud.... Kirk? Must the preaching stay?
<HR>
From: B.K.<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

Hey you all, forget religion, the new March Blender is on the page! <BR>
<BR>
Gala; Woman the Ridge poems need a book of their own. They are all so wonderful I love the latest, and every one before that as well. They give me goosebumps when I read them.<BR>
<BR>
All you Front Page Picks, very well done. Kirk had to wade thruough six hundred poems, wow, 'Bravo,' to you all! <BR>
<BR>
<BR>
Thanks, Kirk. ~smile~ *)*<BR>
<BR>
bk<BR>
<BR>

<HR>
From: deevaa ([email-masked])<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

Colour me a perky little pixie!!<BR>
<BR>
Argyle making front cover without even knowing he was in the running, was almost as great as the freaking fabulous new G4 Mac hard drive that just arrived at my desk!!<BR>
<BR>
*grins and does the deevaa dance*<BR>
<BR>
~*~(_\_)~*~(_/_)~*~(_\_)~*~<BR>

<HR>
From: terry<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

Congrats to all the Front Pagers....Excellent Digest!<BR>
<BR>
t.
<HR>
From: Galadrial<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

<BR>
<BR>
OMIGOD...if this isn't a scam...<BR>
<BR>
I just got notice that I won a laptop computer...Xanga has a drawing...and I won?<BR>
<BR>
Okay. Pinch me...Valentine Ridge, and a Laptop the same day?<BR>
No way...it's gotta be...but oh boy---it if is! <BR>
<BR>
Jiminy Cricket!<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
                                    Gala<BR>
<BR>
 Hey Dee---you thought I was bouncing before?
<HR>
From: Dark Angel<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

Dear Dubal<BR>
<BR>
You have no doubt noticed I say little in this section.  Understanding that, I will say with all due respect that your ministry may best be served elsewhere.  May we return to our discussions and creations now?
<HR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

Dubal....<BR>
<BR>
someone needs to be crucified....
<HR>
From: deevaa<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

You won the laptop Lisa??? hahaha!!!!!!!!!!! WOW... you go girl!!!!!
<HR>
From: kevin urenda<BR>
Date: 4 March 2001<P>

Gala-<BR>
since you referred ME to xanga (along with a few others I am sure), I think you deserved the laptop!<BR>
Congrats!<BR>
(You know I think you should already be a fixture on the Blender Digest - so props for that as well)<BR>
<BR>
Congratulations, for that matter, to ALL the front-pagers!
<HR>