Lilith of the Garden

I've heard many Christians in prayer when they ask for forgiveness of their sins and this line keeps getting repeated:

"Lord, I know I am unworthy, and fall short of you every day. I pray that you forgive me of my sins, even those I am unaware of, and..." yada, yada, yada.

Doesn't anyone else find this to be a really unhealthy way of thinking? I keep being told that I should view God as a father figure, but I know that no kid who talks to his/her dad like that has a healthy relationship with him or grows up with even one ounce of self-esteem.

What justifies this kind of thinking? Are you really so beaten up spiritually that you go around constantly feeling that you're not good enough, never will be, and are screwing up even when you don't know it?

Everything you've ever heard about Satan you've heard from sources who despise him; your pastors, the Bible, Sunday school teachers, etc. If someone who worshiped Satan wanted to talk to you about what Satan stands for would you take the time to listen? Would you sit with that person and genuinely hear them out? Would you consider what they said even if it contradicted what you've been taught? After all, if you want to find out what Republicans are like, you don't go just asking a bunch of Democrats.

I was raised Christan but had a falling out with it when I was around 21 or so and became a Pagan. For the longest time I figured I simply didn't believe in the Christian god anymore. Recently I had a strange dream where I was standing in a grand Cathedral and I was visited by an angel of God. It was a male angel and he had no wings but I knew he was an angel. The most vivid memory I have of the dream was how he looked at me with disgust and said, "you are like me, but you are not of him." After that he tried to cast me out and, when I refused, we battled. I don't remember if the battle ended or not but, if it did, I don't recall the outcome.

I have no clear understanding of how to interpret this dream, if it even means anything. Anyone want to comment with any (serious) thoughts?

I was raised Christan but had a falling out with it when I was around 21 or so and became a Pagan. For the longest time I figured I simply didn't believe in the Christian god anymore. Recently I had a strange dream where I was standing in a grand Cathedral and I was visited by an angel of God. It was a male angel and he had no wings but I knew he was an angel. The most vivid memory I have of the dream was how he looked at me with disgust and said, "you are like me, but you are not of him." After that he tried to cast me out and, when I refused, we battled. I don't remember if the battle ended or not but, if it did, I don't recall the outcome.

I have no clear understanding of how to interpret this dream, if it even means anything. Anyone want to comment with any (serious) thoughts?

We are seeing undeniable proof all over the world that social programs are a death sentence to nations. Socialist countries like Greece are collapsing under the weight of their own entitlement programs while their citizens riot in the street over the mere mention of their precious free programs being taken away. Now many European nations are looking to follow suit, yet we here in America keep moving TOWARDS such a system! Why do liberals keep pushing for socialized programs when the proof that they will destroy us is so very obvious?

With all these cities boycotting Arizona (which is really dumb) do you think anyone would make a fuss if Arizona said it was seceding from the union? All the liberal states don't seem to want them there anymore anyway.

I love studying American history, particularly the Constitution. I want a book that gives an in-depth look into the writing of the charter, an analysis of what it says and preferably a focus on the Bill of Rights. Anyone have some good reading material for me? Thanks!

Liberal comes from the word liberate which is to be freed from an oppressive controlling entity. How then can you be for a multitude of programs that grow the federal government and expand its power over your day-to-day lives? You're fine with the government controlling your healthcare, you're fine with government distributing wealth, you're fine with government raising taxes to fund public projects that people eventually become dependent on and so on.

What exactly are you being "liberated" from?

Okay, this is going to be hard to explain so bear with me. For years now I've been having an odd occurrence when I try to sleep. When I'm just about asleep and half already dreaming about something, I will suddenly, without any warning, see (literally see!) a flash of static snow before my eyes like you'd see on a television just before it shorts out. The image is often coupled by a pop sound that can range from very faint to headache inducing. After it's over, my mind will literally go blank for a few seconds. Whatever I was dreaming about will stop and I'll usually wake up. I've tried to research this online but have come up with hardly anything. Does anyone know what this is or where I can find more information on it? I know it sounds weird but I'm really confused. I want to know what's going on.

Do you believe every story in it actually happened exactly as stated or do you think it's a collection of stories that one can derive positive life lessons from? I've heard it argued either way and, I must say, the latter makes WAY more sense.

I'm really sick of people getting upset that I don't celebrate the holiday season the same way they do or that I say "happy holidays" instead of "merry Christmas." Is it really that important to Christians that EVERYONE worship the birth of Jesus on December 25th? Can't you and your family do it and leave the rest of us alone? I thought this was supposed to be the season of joy, love, peace, etc.

My battery doesn't even last 45 minutes anymore on a full charge! Please tell me how to re-calibrate!

Hey everyone, I need help from fellow tarot readers. I need a good spread for planning a path to a goal. The one that I have in my book just doesn't fit the situation. If anyone has a diagram of a good spread for this I'd appreciate it.

To everyone else: Tarot is fake, tarot is stupid, tarot is of the devil, yada yada yada... Just spare me the rants please.

In his speech on the new financial regulations his administration is imposing (another stake through the heart of our free market system) Obama said this...

“I’ve always been a strong believer in the power of the free market. It has been and will remain the engine of America’s progress, the source of prosperity that’s unrivaled in history,”

...In the same speech as this...

“My administration is proposing a sweeping overhaul of the financial regulatory system, a transformation on a scale not seen since the reforms that followed the Great Depression.”

That makes as much sense as saying, "I'm a Christian who loves God so much that I use Bible pages as toilet paper." Does anyone actually think that Obama believes at all in capitalism, or does he just want to be the dictator of the new People's Republic of America?

Okay, I have 2 credit cards, a Visa with a $1000 limit and a Wal-Mart card with a $125 limit. I got both cards when my credit was young but still very good. Now, both cards are near their limits because of some emergency expenses (mostly medical or car repairs). Despite the near limit balances, I've made all payments on time and each payment has been significantly over the minimum payment. For example; the Visa minimum is usually around $30 a month and I always pay at least $50. Last month, I paid $100. The other card I always pay double the minimum payment.

Based on this, will my credit score be hurt because the balances are high even if I'm making my payments on time and for over the minimum? If so, how badly?

My partner and I DESPERATELY need a second car but we still have just under a year until our current one is paid off. Is is possible for a bank to make a car loan where you make either no payments or drastically smaller payments for the first year and then they turn to normal payments after that? I was approved for a credit card last December so I have good credit. All our car payments thus far have been on time and in full so do you think a bank would make that kind of loan?

At his 100 days press conference, Obama said that the methods used by the Bush administration to get info from terrorists were too harsh. He stressed several times that there were alternative ways of retrieving this information, but he NEVER ONCE gave an example. Well, what other techniques are there? If I've got someone who knows about an emanate danger to my family and friends, I'm going to use any means necessary to get that info out of him/her.

What is Obama going to do to terrorists? Put them in time out? Make them sit in the corner and think about what they've done? Is he going to take away their T.V and internet privileges for a month? How about we ground them? Yea, I'm sure then they'll talk.

What was your most memorable moment? For me, it was all the signs people made. A lot of them were really creative. I was also happy to see a lot of young people there (especially college students since Obama had a big college student backing). It really made me feel more confident in the people of this nation. What were your memorable moments? What did you take away from the experience?

I've heard a lot of liberals saying that they consider conservatives traitors. They curse them for rallying at the tea parties this Wednesday and say that they are being anti-American. Is that how you feel about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and the rest of the founding fathers? They stood up to the British government (THEIR government at the time) and said no to over-burdensome taxation without representation. Do you not see that it is happening again? The federal government passes new laws that ignore the will of the people and are spending us into bankruptcy. We are holding tea parties because the Boston tea party started the American revolution. This is a call to Washington that there will be another one if they don't remember their place and you are calling us un-American traitors for it. The founding fathers were considered traitors at the time too and look how history remembers them. Don't you think you should take a moment to remember what real patriotism is?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090408/ap_on_go_pr_wh...

This is a blatant case of scratching the backs of his political backers. Does anyone want to try and defend this decision or does everyone see this the same way?