"During European witch trials between the 15th and 18th centuries, people accused of witchcraft were commonly burned at the stake. ... Church and civic leaders led the charge, executing as many as 50,000 people across Europe in what is now France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia and Scotland"
"Welcome to the home of open-minded discussion and exploration of spiritual topics, moral issues and life's big questions, brought to you by the WonderCafe2 community."
I know these two statements don't appear to have much in common on the surface, and of course i
n no way am I equating Airclean and Unsafe’s accusation against me to the atrocities of the (mostly) Church sanctioned witch burnings only a few hundred years ago, but being labelled a "false prophet" is most definitely one of the first steps down a road we probably don't want to go down again. And it's simply not conducive towards any kind of “open minded discussions” that this site is supposed to espouse. As a society we should feel free to express ourselves without the heavy handed criticism and paranoia of the religious right. First it's on some anonymous internet forum, next it's in our community. It's a slippery road we travel once we start labelling people as ‘agents of the devil’. It leads down a road we’ve been down before, and it that road never ends well.
I reported Aircleans post today. I was kind of waiting to see if he held any kind of remorse, but in his mind he's seems to be fighting to devil himself, instead of just some guy on an internet forum.
Airclean and Unsafe, if you two could believe just one thing I’ve ever said here at the Cafe, then let it be this: “
attachment” is our biggest enemy. It's not the devil, the anti-christ, a false prophet or even Satan himself we have to be worried about, it's our own attachments to things. Especially those things that run past their due date. If money is held on to too tightly then greed and selfishness are sure to follow. The same goes with the old and outdated dogmas we grow into believing. The more they crystallize, the harder they become. We were not meant, as human beings, to believe in just one thing forever and ever, we are meant to expand. And I'm not talking a belief in the Christ here, I'm talking about the
doctrines that surround that belief in Christ. If those doctrines create an "
us vs them" attitude then attachment is rearing it's ugly head.
***
As a former moderator, a current administrator and a general member of this forum, I believe this whole "false prophet" accusation should be taken seriously. Even if symbolically, Airclean should know that this kind of behaviour is not tolerated anymore. The WonderCafe is supposed to be a home for
open-minded discussion, not a
Christian-views-only site where all other views are damned and treated with disdain.
Calling someone a false prophet needs to come with some serious proof, which is another reason I waited a few days before reporting. But I only heard religious rhetoric by both Airclean and Unsafe. Not a single shred of evidence, except in the case of Airclean where he openly, and with Trumponian irony, pretty much claimed himself to be the only spokesmen for the Holy Spirit here, and that we should all listen to him because of this claim and this claim only. Go figure that he called "
me" a false prophet. Oh yea, and Unsafe wrongly accused me of never saying things like "I believe" or "in my opinion", etc. Which is simply not true Unsafe, talk about cherry picking quotes.
***
So I've been thinking of taking a break from the Cafe for a while now, I suppose this time is as good as any. I’m sure I’ll be back one day but not as Admin anymore.
I'd like thank those who’ve liked my posts in the past, an open mind can be an amazing thing. And thanks to the Revs, John and Stephen, I actually learned a lot from both of you, (though not enough to be a Calvinist mind you! {wink} ).
For Airclean and Unsafe, I'll leave you with the video below with nothing but tounge-in-cheek in mind, I don't want to leave here with any hard feelings. The video seems so
approprié for you both considering Christianity is the "
sign of Ichthys", yet I wonder if either of you really know why. Please, watch the video right to the end. It makes a lot more sense if you knew about the movie and the books it was based on.
I will, however, leave you with one last prediction, how could I not since you already believe me to be false prophet. But I'm
not pretending to speak for God here, in any way, shape or form. I'm rather speaking basic astronomy when I say to you that:
the Age of the Fish is ending now and is being quickly being replaced by the Age of the Water Bearer, (aka the man bearing the pitcher of water whom the disciples were instructed to follow). If I were to attribute any kind of meaning to this event then that would be astrology. The "passing of the ages", however, is as basic an astronomical fact as predicting that spring will follow winter. The Zodiac is like a great 26,000 year clock, with a new constellation appearing on the horizon once every 2,160 years. That new constellation is Aquarius.
Cheers, so long and thanks for all the fish.
Neo-Rick