NSi,
yeah, i agree that things were simpler back then - but people were still people, and i think humans deserve some credit. personally, i find it hard to believe that in *any* time in our history someone could come around, claim to be God incarnate and get away with it, unless they were able to back it up somehow. but, this once again centers around the idea of faith. either you think the whole thing is a bunch of crap, or you somehow believe it. as for me, there have been too many moments in my life where what some people might call "amazing coincidences" happened to me, but i believe were divinely inspired. and these things always seemed to happen as i was deeply contemplating religion. as a small example, one night around 3am i'm driving home in the rain going down a winding road at 45mph... i was not christian at that time, but was deep in thought about spiritual things. suddenly, as i went around a rather sharp turn, my car skidded out just a bit, enough to scare me, but not in a terrifying way. at that *exact* moment the radio DJ said "and if you're out there driving in this rain, be careful around those curves!" and chills went down my spine... now, i know most people will say it was coincidence or whatever, but i know exactly how i felt at that moment and where my state of mind was and it felt exactly as if God was showing me that he was out there, watchong out for me. laugh if you will, but this happened... and i choose to interpret it the way i do.
moments like that solidified my belief in God, C.S. Lewis' book "Mere Christianity" solidified my christian beliefs... let me suffice to say this. there are tons of people out there with tons of evidence and ideas and whatever that they say proves christ was a fraud. there are an equal number of people out there with tons of evidence and ideas and whatever that they say proves christ was genuine. you gotta to choose to believe one group or the other. i have made my choice, no one is gonna talk me out of it unless they are able to come up with irrefutable evidence to the contrary that i cannot help but believe. persoanlly (like nin says) i think god keeps us in the dark and will never let us "pin him down" because it forces us to think about things, and find our own way. read John Updike's book "Roger's Version" if you are interested in this type of thing. it centers around a priest and a computer graphics programmer who hotly debate the existence of God and whether or not it can ever be proven one way or the other. great reading...
so, i cannot refute your reasoning, but i do not share in it. it is your own to do with as you wish! hopefully there are no hard feelings, i wasn't trying to belittle your argument... this is just exhausting stuff and i didn't have the energy to fully explore your post earlier today!
peace to you!
- tron -
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"tron is big and tron is full of action... it's a hell of a ride!"
-from the Tron 2.0 box