Rocky

Btw, by definition, Kata, witnessing instantaneous healings would be qualitative, not quantitative proof, if anything. Quantitative evidence has to do with numbers... which might be related to what Raf said.

Easter is after Tax Day this year.

And the photo IS of the same David Craley that edited the Way Mag.

I don't need your apologies. If you're going to post remarkable claims, it is your responsibility to provide the links and the back up documentation. Full stop.

Where's the documentation that he was "born without a brain?"

Figure it out. If you can't figure it out, don't bother telling people to do some convoluted search process.

Indeed, Thomas Paine, one of the most influential of the Founding Fathers, was a Deist. He took a lot of crap for his essay on the Age of Reason. Because it undermined the superstition that dominated religion in that era.

I prefer to try to read to infer what the writer is trying to communicate. If I was teaching a class on English grammar, I'd agree with you. OTOH, did you go on Quora to ask the writer of that question for clarification? Did you post some snark there too about the grammar?

Why don't you just post the YouTube link here?

Maybe I'm dense, but I read the question, even with the commas, as that it was only a subset of atheists who believe that Jesus never existed.

As you seem to have noticed, I used an "I" statement (I don't see how...). Just claiming it WAS germane doesn't automatically make it germane. It's also not a great leap to recognize that I was implying that I had never become FB friends with him but simply referenced HOW I came to understand that he's on FB. Thanks for the clarification. I never implied that I trust FB friend suggestions. I don't recall ever having met Craley. But obviously am familiar with his name.

I don't see how that's germane to the question or the response. But thanks for letting us know how you feel. Also, my point is that if Thomas wants to know what's up with Mr Craley, he could go ask him himself.

He's on Facebook. FB, from time to time, suggests I friend him.

It also just occurred to me that both... sitting through 40 years of boring twig fellowships AND listening to those tapes and transcribing them are failures of imagination. IOW, whoever has done either of those things can't IMAGINE anything better to do or think about. Are the things of God really that boring?

Somebody who had nothing better to do with his/her time. Can you imagine sitting through 40 years of twig fellowships teaching/listening to the same old dull, well-worn "teachings" delivered by the same old dull, boring "leaders?"

Perhaps if DG was indeed highly successful, he was able to retire and devote time to what he thought was a calling. I never met him... and don't care to do so now.

"God knows who else..." reads/hears only what they want to? Pretty much EVERY one (in the world). Therefore, Dude, again: YOU are responsible for making your message clear to the reader. Don't blame the reader for not understanding your message. Try to figure out a different way to get your message across. I understand your expression of frustration. Please try again to make your message more clear to your intended audience.

I know, I was replying (directly) to TLC.

Stated another way, "which purpose I apparently did not make adequately clear to readers." It is my view that responsibility for clarity of communication resides almost exclusively with the writer... not that I think you were being rude.

By golly, some might even consider such a practice ANTI-Christ.

I'd suggest that it might be more fair to characterize it thus, "cults usually primarily benefit the few on top." If there was no other benefit, there would be no cult(s). Those not at the top generally get a strong sense of belonging. When that subsides, those people leave.

Yeah, that ain't gonna happen. And I agree, it SHOULD be flexible enough to cover Hindu, Muslim, Jainist, etc. too. But that also ain't gonna happen in many places in the good ol' USofA.

Yes, it is. My representative in the AZ House gets mocked.

Raf, I know it sucks to have to deal with family in that situation. FWIW, I don't think the underlying problem/issue is who is right or who is wrong. But I hope you find a way to reconcile those things with your family, or they with you.

Not speaking for DWBH, because I don't have anything close to his medical related background, but to this layman, my guess would be that the docs were taking huge leaps in explaining the situation to you thinking that without burdening you with the explanation of the technical aspects of the disease, all they really wanted was to motivate you to try harder to breathe deeply. Because regardless of the mechanism for the healing, the deep breathing was a necessary factor. Btw, I have had broken ribs and know the pain that prevents a person from wanting to breathe deeply. My broken rib tore into the pleural sac and eventually I had to go to the ER because I could hardly breathe. After even getting a chest tube for drainage didn't help, I had to have a thoracotomy so the docs could cauterize the tear. I ended up spending more than a week in the hospital.