[disrgr]

Well, Ms. Boop, I have to admit you lost me with this last post! :) I can only conclude that we have such widely divergent views on what constitutes "reason" that neither of us quite gets the gist of what the other is saying. It sounds for all the world to me as if you are asserting that what you personally believe in as reasonable/rational translates into a universal value--make that THE universal value--against which all people must be measured.

Whereas what I am saying is that every person--including/especially atheists--must decide for her/himself what is rational, and that for me at least, the Buddhist guideline of trying to do that which causes the most happiness and the least suffering is a pretty good yardstick.

I am puzzled by your reference to "surviv[ing] the voyage". Do you mean the "voyage" of life? Because obviously no one survives that. To what were you referring?

Also, if it's not too much trouble, would you mind elaborating on the "tangible" nature of your god? You're Christian, aren't you? In my 40+ years as a Christian I never found the Christian god to be tangible, and am very interested in the fact that you do. Or are we each using the same word to signify different things again?

Anyway, it's been an interesting discussion, and I thank you for it! May you be well and happy!

[betty boop]

In my 40+ years as a Christian I never found the Christian god to be tangible, and am very interested in the fact that you do.

All I meant to convey by the word "tangible" is that the Presence is "felt" -- not via direct sense perception, but in an interior state of awareness. Don't know if that helps, disrgr.

It's not my job to "measure" people. I do believe, however -- as a Christian, and as a life-long student of classical philosophy -- that there is a "divine measure," according to which one day we shall each of us be judged.