Hello,

Just fyi, the link, associated with the words, "BUSH VOWS TO DEFEAT al-QONGRESS IN MESSOPOTOMACA" sends one to http://some-site.com/, which does not provide very interesting reading. lol

Just an fyi.

Appreciatively,

Seamus

The same thing is true of the "Growing up an atheist" link -- it just leads to "some-site.com" which hardly seems related or intended.

Enjoyed the Tom Clark video. Interesting and inspiring ideas were presented. Compatibilism is kinda blowing my mind right now.

George Michael - John & Elvis Are Dead Lyrics

Close friend of mine as a child fell into a slumber No sign of life since '75 Then one day he just, what do you know I guess God just called his number

He called me up he called me up and said "I've been awake about a week I'm thinking about asking the doctor If he could put me back to sleep" Then he laughed and said "Hey all the girls they look the same" Don't they know just what their mothers Paid in blood, and tears to change

But the words that made me cry The thing he softly said It stayed with me, it keeps messing with my head He said, "If Jesus Christ is alive and well Then how come John & Elvis are dead?"

Youth, beautiful youth We walked through the walls until we found the truth And said "Change it, it's ugly just change it" Everyone we used to know Must have given up, so long ago You can see it, it's written on their faces And the inside of their clothes

But the words that made me cry 'Cos I knew just what they meant He turned to me and said "Hey boy, if Jesus Christ is alive and well Then how come John & Elvis are dead?"

"Tell me if Jesus Christ is alive and well Then how come Marvin & Elvis are dead?"

I said "If Jesus Christ is going to save us from ourselves How come peace, love and Elvis are dead?"

On Naturalism Tom Clark had me convinced. if you reject the view of supernaturalism and embrace science, nature and environment as governing causality, then the idea of a spirit or soul becomes impossible. many people no longer believe in a god, but they want to hold on to the idea of a soul because of the implications the soul has for free will and the possibility of existing after death. how many of you belive in a soul? Why?

I believe in the soul of poetry and the soul of art. I'm also attracted to the 'soul' of negative theologies. I don't believe in a soul that is distinct from what I would refer to as self-consciousness.

The 'idea' of a spirit or soul isn't impossible. Recognizing the falsehood in one's belief in a soul, (a positive account) analogous to the physical self, is not fatal to one's contemplation of differing senses and meanings of a soul.

The soul of Western religiosity relies heavily on positive accounts and are therefore in competition with scientific ones. However, science does not compete with art. It leaves the contemplation of nature and human existence open because there seems something deficient about an intelligence of facts, something incomplete about the 'named' world.

What about the intellect of personhood, of grace, of responding to tragedy...?