>>>I merely wanted to point out --
>>>
>>>-- that there is more to the Bible than the 2nd and 3rd books. And more to those than a handful of verses. Hence the Alexander Pope quote.
>>>
>>>-- asking silly questions about a subject which people have held sacred and serious for millenia is not something that should be taken lightly, whether you hold the same beliefs or not. Hence the CS Lewis reference.
>>>
>>>Perhaps Steve meant it satirically; to point out the ridiculousness of partially quoting a source to defend a position.
>>>If that is the case, Steve, I sincerely apologize.
>>
>>You're getting warmer.........:-)
>
>Ok, then :)
>It's a touchy subject to me - I'm forever getting into arguments with people ( both religious and non-religious ) who use biblical sound-bites willy-nilly, as supporting reference or just to try to be funny.
>
>I don't see real satire enough anymore to recognize it the first time :)
>I had a knee-jerk reaction - don't say it :) - and, again, I apologize.

No need, Trey. The real delight comes in breaking out of a provence. Otherwise we're forever being alarmed by the moo-ing of our own sacred cows. I am satisfied that there has never been a God that was too terribly impressed with our theologies. A set of texts and symbols are revelatory of the possibilities of human experience in a given place and at a given time. Thumb-wrestling over petrifacts is an addiction. We're alive now and tribalism won't get it anymore. Yet someone(s) chose to close the cannon. Up with that, I cannot put :-) There's no fun in that disFUNctional. One has got to keep up. Yet most are pulling back into a previous set of beliefs. And become quite the bully about it too. "Homey don't play dat!" Why go into a restaurant and eat the menu? If I wanted to drive to L.A., would it make sense to stop a the highway sign that said Los Angeles and announce "here we are"? Texts and symbols are true in that they are metaphorical references to something beyond human knowing. We've run out of continents to stick flags in and realized there are no "them", it's just "us". I'm sure lots of life times will come and go before this becomes predominant in our thinking. T.S. Elliot's "Wasteland" is about people living inauthentic lives. I'd rather go with some sheer delight.