God

[chris]

I would say that anyone who follows the example of a person they've never met as their main life strategy is asking for trouble, IMHO.

this is quite a statement. one i wholeheartedly agree with. lets face it. john lennon was a great songwriter. a fine poet. and maybe even a decent painter. but he isn't a role model. celebrities were never supposed to be role models.

i'd suggest its up to each of us to decipher who, exactly is worthy of looking up to...and who is only worth appreciating. we should know better. maybe it takes some luck in having caring parental figures in our lives...maybe.

i would never vouch for john lennon as a man. this is because i couldn't as i didn't really know him. as much as just about all of us would like to think we know paul mccartney as a man, we do not. we know...only what he chooses to let us know about him.

they could both write a song better than anyone...except maybe for laz i have long admired the music they wrote. but on the day i met the woman i was to later marry...when she asked me what i wanted to do with my life, i replied, with full honesty...that i wanted to be like my dad.

[mr h atom]

good point by both chris and mervap...

but....(and you knew that was coming, right ?)

...isn't that, though, what everyone who follows god/jesus/mohammed/buddha/etc etc etc do every day...and many, if not most, to wonderful success?

i realize that is NOT what either meant...not by a long shot...but, from humble beginings great things can grow

the mighty oak starts out as an acorn dropped to the floor of the earth....

in the end: we will, all of us, make of that which is around us exactly what we set our minds to

[EwaldK]

God is a concept
by which we measure
Our pain.

--John Lennon

Not to ruffle any feathers, but I love the music the man produced and would buy his music today but I sure wouldn't follow him spiritually. He was a man with a lot of hurt inside and wasn't afraid to project that pain. Though I did not know him personally at all, from the books and interviews out there, he hurt a lot of people around him. He was a bad example of how to lead a life. After separation, divorce he choose to alienate and not visit his only child at the time. There is some figure floating around that Julian saw his Dad like 6 times between the separation and his death. Maybe a good example of a creative artist but surely am glad he wasn't my father. I was very luckily and had a father that was a great example to show me how to lead my life with my children.

Influental and brilliant people are hardly ever nice, caring, cooperative or social.
They are often arrogant, egocentric, stubborn, neurotic and psychotic.
John Lennon was no exception.

[mommasturn]

good point by both chris and mervap...

but....(and you knew that was coming, right ?)

...isn't that, though, what everyone who follows god/jesus/mohammed/buddha/etc etc etc do every day...and many, if not most, to wonderful success?

i realize that is NOT what either meant...not by a long shot...but, from humble beginings great things can grow

the mighty oak starts out as an acorn dropped to the floor of the earth....

in the end: we will, all of us, make of that which is around us exactly what we set our minds to

Yes, but so few people nowadays do this. They feel entitled and are mostly self-concerned.
So back on the GOD subject, I don't think the "bible" is a direct quote from anyone. It is a collection of stories and even though it is quoted in red when Jesus was said to speak, A human, (several of them indeed) decided what to include and what was important. That said, I still feel that the point of "Jesus's stories" is to say, hey man chill out with all of the fanatical rules and laws, be kind to one another and be helpful and loving. So next time you see someone helping out for no benefit of their own, feel that "love" and spread it around if you can.

And when you see someone using god's word to their advantage, be warry regardless of their position in this world.

[mr h atom]

could not possibly agree more..on all counts.

[mervap]

I found this article by Leonard Pitts to be quite interesting.....

http://www.miamiherald.com/living/colum ... 21804.html

[chris]

i'm not sure one can sum up a topic as religion quickly. (nice article, by the way, mervap.) but as adults, its only natural for one to have doubts, to question...to wonder. and for those who have faith, i hope you get the answers you have been seeking.