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I just tested if I could post a long post -- and I could post it here. While not at some other forum! Strange.

Love and attachment We are told to love, but not to become attached. But isn't (some) attachment inherent to love?

How do you know? A stone may not need you either -- so if there's a relationship between you and that stone, it can be only love?

How do you know God loves you?

There is a lot of dissent among Christians regarding this topic. Some say that Adam and Eve, and then later on, everyone else commits cosmic treason against God. Others have very different explanations for the happenings in Eden, the guiding line being man's disobedience and God's mercy: Man, being blinded by the wonders of the world, thinks he can live without God, and disregards Him. In this, man sins. God, loving His creatures, redeemed man and atoned for man's sins. The sin transcends the sinner in the sense that children are born into a sinful world -- with people around them sinning, children learn to sin. Thus, there are two sources for sin: one is the inherent disobedience to God (thinking one can live without God), the other is the sin people have learned to commit by seeing other people do it. Yes, such is a particular Western idea of God. It mirrors man's fear of God and repulsion by service to Him. In this view, God is merely an absolution from evil, not a source of good. This article deals with these matters very well. This is so by a strict works-based understanding. There are basically two groups within Christian churches/denominations: works-based and grace-based. The works-based concentrate on the works, while grace is a mere, abstract, unimportant extra. The grace-based churches teach that we depend on God's grace for our salvation. Even though we have sinned, or not performed a lot of good works, we can still be saved since if God finds a true love for Him in our hearts, He will save us. Again, there is a lot of dissent on this issue. My understanding of Christianity is the things of the world should not confuse one. The things of the world are many, from good health to bad health, from rich to poor. If one is to define oneself by the things of the world, then one will be slave to it. But to God, worldly measures do not determine what a person will mean to Him, and how He will judge this person. Again, there is dissent on this. Some claim that only humans have souls. Some other Christians refrain from making claims about this -- the general instruction being that humans must treat *all* Creation with respect, and this also covers the way humans treat animals. This is one of the points where I am a bit troubled. It seems that Christianity presumes that a living entity can be ultimately hateful towards God. I'm not sure whether this is possible. But if humans are to have free will in whether they will serve God or not, then the possibility of ultimately rejecting God is open. God, in His omniscience, knows who will eventually reject Him and who will accept Him, so there is no need for second and third chances. Personally, I also think the one-life concept is more immediate, the threat of hell is there to shake people from their complacency and laxness. It says "Love God NOW, serve God NOW, don't put it off, don't hope that some other time you will get it right. Don't try to buy yourself time for indulging worldly pleasures, they only remove you further from God. NOW is the time to serve God."

Most cats love cow milk, but not all cats can digest it. Kittens have the necessary enzymes to digest milk, but grown-up cats don't have those enzymes anymore, and milk may give them diarrhea or cramps. Mabye some cats, who have been regularly fed milk retain those enyzmes. Next to cheese of many kinds, a good thing to feed cats is sour cream. I'm not sure it can be bought everywhere; it seems to be more of an European thing. Also, some only mildly salted vegetable soup or such with noodles also seems tasty to some cats. Ideally, cats shouldn't eat the same cooked food as humans, as there is too much salt in that. But because of keeping their teeth healthy and firm, cats must eat some firm food as well, something they can chew on. Pet shops usually have some things precisely for this purpose.

Wonderful! Yes, cats sharing the same territory can be quite aggressive towards eachother. But they also have empathy for eachother. If a cat is crying, other cats will come. When we had two cats, this happened: I was cleaning a wound one of the cats had, and he was very sensitive and cried a lot. The other cat came, meowed angrily at me, and also bit me in the leg. Or the other day, I was cleaning Spelca's mouth with camomille tea (she has inflamed gums), and she cried. Soon, the two neighbour's cats came. Spelca came to our house thus: This spring, on the afternoon of March 29th, I prayed to God to give me a sign of His presence, and a sign I would understand to be from Him. It rained, and I thought a rainbow would be such a sign. But there was no rainbow. And nothing happened that day. The next morning, father brought home a cat -- a stray that one of his students found at their home, but didn't want to keep. So this is how Spelca came to our house. I believe God makes signs -- and they are such that people can understand them in accordance with their abilities, and those signs are such that require to be acted upon. May God grant me the wisdom and strength to be a good servant to Him.

As for women's brains: They might on average be smaller than the average male brain, but size hardly matters. What matters is the type of brain and the way it works. There are some characteristic differences between male and female brains -- this article about brains sums it up very well.

Bhakta Don Muntean, Can you describe this tumor-like infection? Is it under the skin, the size and shape of an almond? Or is it on the surface of the skin -- a wound? If it is under the skin, under his jaw and near his throat, and symetrically on both sides of the throat, then it is likely to be his glands (those same kind of glands are also placed in the armpits and in the groin, like in humans). If it is the glands, then such a swelling is possible; but for it to lessen, may take months. Can you observe the cat having other unusual signs? (Teary eyes, hair without shine, inflamed gums, fever ...?) How old is the cat? Do you know what breed it is? How do you know he is in pain? Does he cry more, is he more sensitive? (This last cat we got is a stray, and she came with several diseases, so I'm now quite familiar with these things ...) I know quite a few things about cats, and also some tricks (like how to give them pills). Just let me know and I'll do everything I can to help! I have prayed for Narasingha. May he get well soon, and not suffer. And if his time is nigh, to depart peacefully. * * * I have a cat now too, Spelca [shpel-tsa]. She is a stray who came to our house this spring. I once must tell you the story around her arrival ... I will be praying for your cat and you.

Thank you for your replies. I must say that in a strange way, I feel attracted to atheists. That is, there seems to be something in them crying for help, but it is covered with the coat of hatred and anger, and "reason". So I try to get to that crying something. So far, I could tell that most of the more militant atheists I have spoken to, are unhappy and feel they live empty lives (they have said so themselves).

The issue of women being less intelligent than men is not just about the differences between the genders. It is connected to one of the central pleasures of the material -- sex. It is in the interest of atheistic men to keep women stupid (literally!), so that they can get from them whatever they want. And in an atheistic society, women are raised to believe they are nothing without a man -- so women willfully engage in illicit sexual relations, as this, per their conditioning, makes them feel worthy. A woman who is chaste (be she atheistic or not), is looked down upon and ridiculed by atheists of both genders. Note the underlying cognitive dissonance: It is usually claimed that women are not less intelligent than men. But if (material) women were indeed equally intelligent to (material) men, then why do they let themselves be sexually exploited, and why do they depend on men so much? So as soon as female intelligence is addressed, indirectly, sex is addressed as well. Hence the fierceness of such debates.

Some atheists are eager to ask all sorts of questions about God, wherever they can. While they might start out politely, they end up being extremely hateful, resentful and resort to swearing and calling names. But they won't leave on their own accord. How can a theist act meaningfully and responsibly in such a situation?

Here's an interesting article on some common misconceptions in Christianity (ie. in a particular, but popular Western theology): http://www.orthodoxpress.org/parish/river_of_fire.htm It explains how it happened that God has become to be viewed as wicked, merciless, bound by necessity. Also, that hell is eternal torture for those who hate God -- namely

Theist, First of all, I am glad I came here to this forum. I like the brevity and the conciseness of thought that I am finding here. It's good. Yes, I thought so too, intuitively. I was wondering though how to put it in words. Maybe that is not necessary, but said person may honestly wonder why you are ignoring them. It seems so, and no worldly comfort is in sight!

theist, And this can backfire -- "If you aren't speaking with authority, then you aren't worth listening to at all." What do you suggest to handle such a situation? How exactly is this to be supported? What do you say, do, if someone shoves his way to the front? Yes. I have great troubles shaking off the sense of elitism. (In elementary school, all children in my class were Catholic, and I was the only one that was not. They would shun me for that. And later too, I've made some bad experiences with elitism -- I am quite conditioned into it.)