Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

Sorry, have been staying out of this one, but ...

Given that the only teachings of Christ that all the gospels agree on is the Sermon on the Mount, a Christian would:

• be a gentle, merciful, peacemaker
• agree with an adversary quickly
• never look on a woman with lust, or swear
• turn the other cheek
• love their enemies, do good to those that hate them
• keep their good deeds secret
• forgive men their trespasses
• not serve God and mammon

He explicitly said that just professing belief in him and not doing everything on that list wasn't good enough. So on that basis, I have to say that there are not billions of real Christians out there, but very few of them. And not many leaders of so-called Christian churches qualify. The very few of those that do qualify that I have met have been wonderful, exceptional people: but rare.

Never splite your sides, Scott. Too painful.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=64394&sectionid=351020202

We heard about the man on the bulldozer, but we didn't get to hear about the 30 Palestinians kidnapped by Israel the day before.

See Eliot?

The early followers of Christ were the first CHRIST-ians, Malcolm.

Malcolm: "nor have billions of people believed in "Jesus"..." etc. There may be different branches of Christianity. However, they all share a belief in Jesus Christ and his teaching. The definition of Christian is, one who professes a belief in Christ and who follows his teaching.

Perhaps you meant the other "Christian" Malcolm? You know, the hero from Pilgrims Progress.

Why you bring in " Papal infallibility" and the "Trinity" does beat the hell outta me though (diversionary tactics perhaps?).

In any event, no need to become apoplectic over the fact that the God Botherers of the world far outnumber the atheists now, is it?

Now, if you don't want to believe in God old bean, that's swell by me. I will, however, be praying for your conversion. It is, of course, the Christian thing to do, is it not?

After all, you really don't seem to be such a bad sort.

For a lawyer, I mean.

Scott Dunmore: "Paul, I don't doubt your intelligence but when are you going to start thinking outside of capitalist dogma?"

Well, it's been around a long time. Probably since the one caveman decided to swap a shell for a stick - rather than just beat the other guy to death.

Your point three; think about it. Can economic growth possibly be endless?

Well, no.

Economic growth will end one day; the same as the earth will eventually end (you fellas have a specific date?). So what? Your point is?

If people wish to live their lives on the edge of apocolyptic doom, that's their choice - and there's thousands of cult religions to meet their needs (including socialist environmentalism). The only time such things concern me is when they try and force the "Kool-Aid" onto me and mine. I doubt I'm Robinson Crusoe in those feelings.

If people wish a life of poverty best talk to someone else. It's something I've thankfully avoided and something I'm keen on others avoiding (only if they want to of course).

Graffiti, Sydney's Glebe, years ago:

Time is just nature's way of stopping everything from happening at once.

John Pratt, what Glenn Carle is saying now is pretty much the same as many of us were saying before his country started its stupid "War on Terrorism", which soon became the even stupider "War on Terror". Why do the Americans always have to destroy hundreds of thousands of lives and sacrifice thousands of their own and reach a point where only defeat can come of their stupidity before they wake up to themselves?

Has the threat of terror always been there? It looks to me as though whatever threat we face is a direct result of American terrorism in the world. That, and our endorsement of it. The ones we call terrorists may be mad, but it might be helpful to consider what made them mad in the first place. They don't seem to be mad at the world at large. Only at those who have for so long now been attacking them whenever they felt like it.

Thank you Bill.

Paul, I don't doubt your intelligence but when are you going to start thinking outside of capitalist dogma? because that's all it is, the same as socialism.

Your point three; think about it. Can economic growth possibly be endless?

Ever increasing consumption of resources.

I agree with you about taxing carbon, daft as a brush, but don't confuse Ruddism with socialism. It's nothing of the sort.

Past the tipping point my friend; as I said, party while you can, let the devil take the hindmost and then some.

John Pratt, try Douglas Adam's Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time Of the Soul. Long before I discovered the Magritheans dressed as Halliurton workers in the Hitchhiker's Guide movie I've been dead impressed with Adams' philosophising.  His idea of humans learning to fly by falling towards the ground while thinking about something totally different is an appealing one, as is his tackling of the Norse gods inability to cope with modern society and lack of faith in them.

Another fair set is Piers Anthony's Incarnations series, focussed on the problems of mortals assuming godhood as weary predecessors passed on the mantle (except for Death, who has to be killed). Anthony ultimately postulates that life is simply a process of keeping matter moving to avoid dissipation by entropy.

My personal belief is that a god exists if you believe it does.  If an arbitrarily sufficient number of people believe, your god is stronger than others.  However, it is my humble opinion that it is a number of people thinking on the same frequency while focussed on the same outcome that is the proverbial mountain-mover.

Somewhere along the line, though, enough people might decide they don't need to anthropomorphise any more, leaving their gods impotent and lonely.

Peter Hindrup's teamwork, F Kendall's landscape flash, there has to be something here.

F Kendall, I've been experiencing something similar to that for years, except in reverse.  The Clipsal land behind the pub has been putting out a vibe for years.  I walk through it every day, sit and watch it, try to feel what is happening to it.  It's about to become the home of around twenty thousand people (15-20 storey buildings) so I'm not surprised the place has its own aura.  I wonder what had happened, or is going to happen, on the place where you stood?

Peter Hindrup, brave or foolish, I might be, but I don't think so.  I try to stay away from the Dark Side, and am fully aware that I'm not a Jedi...yet  ;)

A good start:

1. Understand Australia: Australia is a vast and isolated land with a small population. It cannot be compared to Germany or any other European nation for that matter. Doing so makes as much sense as comparing an apple to an orange. One would think this to be self evident.

2. Understand the Australian economy: It's plainly obvious many don't or seemingly are content deluding themselves about it.

3. Understand why economic growth is a major goal: Without economic growth Australia simply cannot enjoy many of the things it now takes for granted - even expects as a natural right. Take a look at third world nations and the old communist bloc to understand where sustained periods of negative growth ultimately ends.

4. What Australia wishes to achieve: Apart from apocalyptic visions (most extremely tenuous), nobody has yet given an insight into what it'll cost, and what it's meant to achieve. Mr Rudd won't even give a target figure on emissions that he can judged on - and he can't guarantee that China simply won't take up the slack or increase it. It's actually fairly pathetic.

Plan:

Australia already has at its disposal all it needs to implement change without either hurting economic growth or Australian lifestyle. Australia has a massive surplus - and there simply isn't any excuse to have such a surplus. By using incentives through the tax system, people will change their behaviour where they can. People will not be able to change behaviour, even with punishment, if it's impossible. I think China, India and the United States have made this point clear.

Simply punishing people is lazy socialist dogma - which throughout history has ended in abject failure - no doubt this plan will also fail. The carrot will always be more effective than the stick. Who wants to be a millionaire isn't who wants to lose a million dollars!