1.Obviously, I spoke of the 'devil' (in quotes) with tongue-in-cheek. I believe in the existence of evil, certainly, but tend to dismiss the usual depictions of Satan.
2. No, I reject the idea of a chosen people, apart from the fact that we are all chosen in a sense. Jesus certainly lifted up the Samaritans in the Gospels and they were despised as 'unclean' by the ancient Hebrews. My view of God is that the Lord is just, and justice and a chosen people don't coexist easily. Besides, with maybe 100 million or more gallaxies out there I often wonder if God focuses so much attention upon this one tiny planet and spotlights this one small group. Maybe. Just not sure. This concept of a chosen people, by the way, is a major reason we're in the mess today in the Middle East. I have great sympathy for the Jewish people, who were persecuted for centuries by Christians and others, but the idea that God is heavy into apportioning real estate always struck me as a primitive notion. I have been on pilgrimage to the Holy Land four times and every time returned with more sympathy for the Palestinians. Had we been compassionate and evenhanded, both genuinely pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian over the years, we might have avoided the mess, even including 9-11. Frankly, I believe the Pope agrees with me, but that is conjecture on my part.
3. I'm not totally convinced that the Hebrew people ever were slaves in Egypt. Scholars haven't found a single piece of evidence that they were there. Read Theophile Meek's book *Hebrew Origins.* I certainly have some doubts that Moses turned his rod into a snake, and I can't imagine God sending an angel to murder the firstborn of every Egyptian family. Etc. Most of the plagues, by the way, can be seen as exaggerated examples of natural occurrences in Egypt,
4. Speaking of dualism, I find that in some aspects of Christianity. Isn't that what God vs. Satan is all about? Our Jehovah Witness friends go so far as to see the earth contolled by the devil. Didn't he take Jesus on to a high mountain and promise to give him all the kingdoms of the world if Christ would worship him? Now, if he could give all the kingdoms he must reign over all the kingdoms. Thus JWs say, every nation is under Satanic control, which is why they refuse to salute the flag, vote, and more. Now I reject JW teaching, of course, but this particular teaching of theirs shows how easy it is to quote scripture to justify all manner of belief.
5. The tendency on CAF is to accuse skeptics like me of egotism, placing our own opinions above those of the church, etc. Not entirely. I respect most faiths because none of us has the full truth. I join other seekers and pilgrims. What I do maintain is that we should have the freedom to seek (and find) spiritual truth rather than accept what is given us by any religion. Certain forms of Christianity (traditional Catholicism and fundamentalist Protestantism, etc) and certainly Islam insist that we accept their teachings, period. I feel the right and even responsibility to weigh things and decide what seems to me reasonable and what I can't believe. Some will dismiss this as egotism; others will accept it as my choice. As for fearing God's retribution for my 'disbelief', I don't fret for a moment about that. God certainly is fair and my guess is that he respects those who use their God-given brain as long as we follow the essential principles: love him and one another.
6, Twice I spent time in a Trappist monastery in Quebec (Oka). I have tried to be well-read in Catholicism as in other faiths. I have read most of the Church Fathers and find Origen my favorite - a wicked heretic, I understand. Early on he realized that much in the Gospels was to be taken symbolically and not literally. My problem with the Church Fathers is that despite incisive and brilliant minds they didn't have the benefit of modern telescopes and microscopes and their writings are filled with misinformation that was widely believed at that time. If I could believe all that Catholicism requires, I would be a good Catholic, as I greatly admire its work among the poor, through its hospitals, and its schools around the world. But one has to be honest with oneself. Polls seem to suggest that half or so of Catholics in the US share my doubts about major doctrines. So, I certainly don't feel isolated or a pioneer of any sort. Many have traveled this route before.
7. For those of you who believe that God ordered Joshua to murder the inhabitants of Jericho and Ai and that he commanded Saul to murder every remaining Amalekite, I assume you believe also that the ends justify the means. I have some difficulty with this, and especially where God is concerned. How many abortions, for example, have been justified based on that concept? Millions.
God bless everybody who seeks to live by the teachings of Christ, which - as he said - were basically love him and one another.
