LuvToFly

I believe for every drop of rain that falls A flower grows, I believe that somewhere in the darkest night A candle glows. I believe for everyone who goes astray Someone will come to show the way. I believe, Oh, I believe. I believe above the storm The smallest prayer, will still be heard. I believe that someone in that great somewhere Hears every word Every time I hear a newborn baby cry, Or touch a leaf Or see the sky, Then I know why I believe. Every time I hear a newborn baby cry, Or touch a leaf Or see the sky, Then I know why I believe. Had to sing this in school - a LOT - "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

See my Sig line! Whoa there, Clint. Let's get you back on your horse... "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

AerOhio has the world's only Ahmish Skydiver, as far I know anyway, that may have changed recently, but I do not think so. You like my disclaimer? Is that for real? Do you know his name? Wow, if someone is really from the Amish faith, what does their flight suit look like. I have seen pins holding together clothes as an expression of "plainness." Don't know about you, but that gives new meaning to a hard opening to me - (Okay, okay, it is probably not a super-plain Amishman that is jumping - ) "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

Hey there Lisa (and Andrea)- Just looked: 1,650 views to this thread 100 replies to this thread 150 or so replies to the survey And very little carnage - even though it was a question about religion? Oh, some very minor friction perhaps - but with that may views and posts you'd think it would have blown up by now. See boys and girls can play together nice and express their thoughts about religion and God too!

Don't count on it. She dissed me when I went down to the tunnel and I know her! You have to be very special to meet the Mama. Just teasing you Andrea.

Hey there Heather... Seems what you are saying is that we all allow each other to worship, believe or not believe - and still respect each other despite those differences. Also seems that would cut a lot of tension between folks of different beliefs if they knew they could express those beliefs and not be persecuted for feeling that way. After all, that's why we left Old England (By the way, WAS actually on the Mayflower - just in case you were wondering. Ticket was cheap, but food was lousy)

Oh, Good Lord. Sigh.....ok, we'll go over this one more time....anytime someone comes onto the site out of the blue and starts getting into the controversial threads without so much as testing the waters out first in the forums, it sends off warning signals for trolls. Your friend had the robot in the corner waving his arms around and saying, "warning, Will Robinson, warning"! As a moderator, we have to continually stay on the outlook for said trolls. As I was reading the thread, I started wondering who this guy was, where did he come from today of all days, to start posting on only this one thread and the other one you started. Then he said he was your friend. Bingo....oh boy, that explains a lot. It's hard for me to understand how you can be so sensitive to that one line that I wrote, when you are the one blantently starting threads on controversial topics. What did you expect? You jump out of Deland, right? I am probably going to be headed down there in not too long to get some tunnel time in FL, etc... Can't wait to meet you in person. Maybe what appears to be a failure to communicate can be straightened out then -

Rosa, Hope you are feeling better soon. "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

Oh boy...that explains a lot. You may consider yourself PM'd for the blatent derogatory - "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

Jack, Just to give you some level of Phillip's family's pain, the day this happened to them, the very hour, they left their very beautiful newer home, and never went back in. Never. They just all left, the father, the mother and his little sister. That day. They put the house up for sale immediately, and had other people move their stuff out - vowing never again to step foot in what must have been a nightmare for them. I don't think those who have never raised a child will ever understand the loss of this. Those of us who are parents have had this nightmare all our lives as we have taught our kids not to run out in front of cars, and not to play with sharp objects, and so on. I fully understand how such an event would constitute a tremendous nightmare for you and your family. But know that there are those out here that are praying for you, for your son, and for your entire family that this will be a time of healing, for everyone involved - Tom "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

Jack, I am so sorry to hear of this event in you and your family's lives. Sympathy and compassion go out to you for what had to be a very difficult week - There was a close neighbor who lived across the street from me when I was at my old house, and last year, the exact same thing happened. Their 15 year old boy decided to hang himself in his clothes closet. They looked for him for a while because he was no where to be found, and then his mother opened the closet much later and he was there - There was no getting Phillip back however - he was long gone. I knew this child, spoke with him, saw him for years... Thought about this a lot and wondered how a parent (I am one too) could ever endure the hardship and the pain of such a thing - May God richly bless your efforts to restore your son to full health, and may his heart be healed also of whatever the inner pain or despair might have been to bring him there. He has a family that loves and cares him - and that makes all the difference - Regards, Tom "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

Really is a Poll - and with some threads stemming from the subject in the poll as a spin off. See the poll questions at the top to get an idea of what subject is .. "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

Appreciate your desire to be inclusive, nothing wrong with that! But consider this research I acquired before posting this poll: Major Religions of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents Last modified 6 September 2002. (Sizes shown are approximate estimates, and are here mainly for the purpose of ordering the groups, not providing a definitive number. This list is sociological/statistical in perspective.) Christianity: 2 billion Islam: 1.3 billion Hinduism: 900 million\ Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 850 million Buddhism: 360 million Chinese traditional religion: 225 million primal-indigenous: 150 million African Traditional & Diasporic: 95 million Sikhism: 23 million Juche: 19 million Spiritism: 14 million Judaism: 14 million Baha'i: 6 million Jainism: 4 million Shinto: 4 million Cao Dai: 3 million Tenrikyo: 2.4 million Neo-Paganism: 1 million Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand Rastafarianism: 700 thousand Scientology: 600 thousand Zoroastrianism: 150 thousand ----- That's 22 Major religions. Can you imagine separating out just the Christian component in order to provide better choice for this.. (right) poll? You'd have to break out groups from 2 billion Christians. You would be listed folks all the way from Seventh Day Adventists, to the Amish, and back again. From this you have to extrapolate the literally thousands of sects, off-shoots, moderates, liberals, and so on and so on - Dude - Get Serious. This poll function on DZ.COM could not support the 22 major ones let alone a comprehensive inquiry because no one wants to wade through 22 choices here. It's not a research project. It's just a simple whattia think... ya know?? T.B. "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

Oh, oh. pot-callin'-the-kettle-black alarm... It's a POLL - the threads are a bonus and completely optional. This has been well established through several posts here - That means you either: A) Didn't bother to read it B) Didn't understand it C) Read it, but didn't see that it is chiefly a poll (been said a few times before in this thread! D) Read it, got that it's a poll, and being a super troll to the thread, anyway... I feel nice today, and so I am picking "B" "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

Well what did you expect from someone who calls herself Bytch? You got me.. never quite thought about it that way... But in another post you said that "Bytch" is good, and "Bitch" would be the not-good equivalent. That would mean you were the good stepsister of the grumpy one... "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

I'm getting that feeling, Bill.... And your point would be? This is Talkback, not a topical forum. Noise is expected here. Note to self: Moderator does not like suggestions of hijacking... "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

I'm getting that feeling, Bill.... "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

Hey, looks like a moderators hijacking

It hits me a lot of time after I land. Not really about getting down safely, which is really great too! But just feel real grateful to who I consider to be God that I have the health and means to experience something that few other people will - That is usually followed by some kind of loud, "WooHoo" because skydiving is so much fun... "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

Wow, you are!! But it's cool. Still disagree about Love and trust - but that's cool too. We will agree, to disagree, okay? Peace - "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

Actually, I put that in there as a preemptive strike. I have not seen a single one of these threads in the history of this website that hasn't gone exactly like I describe. I gather that.. but hey, let's innocent until proven guilty - It would be a shame if folks could not discuss this and be respectful of each other as well, but maybe that's as good as it gets @ DZ.COM. Haven't been on here long enough to know, but trying to think positive - "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

I can see why - but it does not have to go in that direction if everyone respects one another's religious or spiritual views. Although I appreciate the sentiment Lisa, this thread is not about me, and have no desire to make it so. Also, the skin is just fine. Those of us in green don't have a choice. Especially when a thread deals with a hot button subject like religion. How true "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

I agree. I also think this is another one of the many, many religious/political/patriotism/etc. threads that I loathe so much about talkback. Nothing turns my stomach more than one group of people motherfucking another group simply because they interpret things (written, spoken) differently than one another. Not really sure what you are talking about. No ones been jamming anyone else on this thread. Also, remember the main purpose of the post was the poll. The question was what do you think about the concept of God, not what groups of people do you loathe or hate. I am kind of surprised at folks that have chimed in to angrily say that their religious beliefs are their own business, when no one has asked them for them, or to reveal them. What's that all about? Hey folks, you can just enter your vote on the poll, or cruise and dump out without doing anything. But no one is asking anyone to cough up anything about what you believe. Having said that, I do think folks have been very respectful of other people's views on here when they have been voluntarily expressed - and the evidence of that lies largely in the thread as a whole - However, I will say that there are a lot of threads in TalkBack where your use of profanity fits right in with the topic. This is not one of them. It's like a TV Dude. Do you turn on shows you hate, and sit there and get all pissed off because they turn your stomach? You just change the channel. If you don't like this kind of stuff, you just don't watch it, right? So, if you are not interested in a way to participate, and it pisses you off, you may want to forego this thread. "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

You are correct in that statement. The words used in parenthesis were not meant to be literal, but an example of what people consider to be deity. Although it may be true to a Buddhist that Buddha is regarded as "a mere prophet," to many in the Western world, he seems more highly revered in that he has statues throughout the world where people congregate, and an entire faith is named after him. So in terms of names and religions, as Christ became Christianity, Buddha became Buddhism. This does not make him a deity for sure - but it draws the association with deity for a lot of Westerners - to whom this is largely addressed. You and the other poster obviously know the distinction, and I also trust will anyone who is Buddhist - Thanks - "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky

Hey there Nick - It seems that at the heart of belief is the ability to trust God. And whether that be expressed individually, in a most private setting - or in a group - it seems that if one really believes, there is a trust dynamic set up. One trusts God to be there, to care about them, and to empower them to live the best life they can. Some do not agree with that, I understand, but it seems that this trust would be a minimum requirement for a relationship with God. I mean, eventually, one cannot love what one cannot trust. I believe it is all about relationships - and the relationship one holds with God is probably just about the most important one for those who believe such - "The helicopter approaches closer than any other to fulfillment of mankind's ancient dreams of a magic carpet" - Igor Sikorsky