Tsuzuki

Occultists also know of Zion.<blockquote>"By the Waters of Babylon we have sat down and wept, but we have ever remembered Zion, and that Memorial is a Witness testifying that we shall yet return with exultation into the House of our Father." <div align="right">- Golden Dawn Celebration of the Equinox</div></blockquote>

<blockquote>"Knowledge is the father of human intelligence, and faith is its mother.There were two trees in the Garden of Eden, the tree of knowledge and the tree of life. It is knowledge which should and which can fertilize faith; otherwise she exhausts herself with monstrous abortions and gives birth to nothing but phantoms. It is faith which ought to be the recompense of knowledge and the object for which he strives, without her he ends by doubting himself, becomes greatly discouraged and very soon despairing. Thus the believers, on the one hand, who despise science and misunderstand nature, and the scientists, on the other hand, who insult, reject and would like to destroy faith, are both of them the enemies of the light and dash out to contend with one another in the outer darkness where Proudhon and Veuillot raise their voices turn and turn about, in a way which sounds worse than tears, and go on to grind their teeth. True faith cannot possibly come into conflict with true science. Also, every explanation of dogma which science demonstrates as false ought to be rejected by faith. We are no longer living in the days when it is the fashion to say: I believe it because it is beyond reason. We must say nowadays: I believe because it would be unreasonable not to do so; Credo quia absurdum non credere.Science and faith are not two engines of war set on a collision course: they are the two columns destined to support the pediment of the temple of peace. It is necessary to clean the gold of the sanctuary so often tarnished by the grime of priestcraft." <div align="right">- Eliphas Levi, The Great Secret</div></blockquote>

We, as intelligences, are uncreated, but our spirits are as created as our bodies. Procreation as spirits is the method of adoption.

I just started watching Claymore with my fiancee. It's pretty good.

I just added the "sustain this" button to my Mormon Magus blog.

Oh, that's okay. One of my hobbies is building computers from spare parts. I just don't have much money these days.

I'm at the low end of the XP spectrum. About 1.5 GHz and 512 MB of RAM. I'm way overdue for an upgrade. I also like the fact that Win2K isn't bloated. I might install XP if I can strip it down.

Me Anime: Old-school, new-school, and everything in between. Got started with Starblazers (Yamato) and Robotech (Macross) back in the early 80's. Some of my favorites would be Macross, Escaflowne, Magic User's Club, Full Metal Alchemist, Kimagure Orange Road, Death Note, Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Initial D, Hikaru no Go, and too many others to list. Video games: Mostly RPGs, fighting games, and shooters. Pen and paper RPGs: Mostly Dungeons & Dragons, GURPS, and Mage: The Ascension. Sci-Fi: Doctor Who, Babylon 5, Stargate, Heroes, and Smallville are among my favorites.

What are you into?

I'm still using Windows 2000.

I normally hate marking books, but with scriptures I'll have one set for marking and another to keep pristine.

What is fundie TV? I'm in Utah. Whatever local station that's owned and operated by Fundamentalists. From a post on mormonapologetics.org: I guess we missed it.

I think they're airing on fundie TV in Utah and SoCal.

Not really. I'm a paradigm pirate, I can change my statements of belief (creeds) at the drop of a hat. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradigm_piracy See. Told ya. Now I know more about who you really are. :) That's not who I am.

Not really. I'm a paradigm pirate, I can change my statements of belief (creeds) at the drop of a hat.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradigm_piracy

One of the reasons why the Articles of Faith are not a creed. Our oneness with God and with each other is based on our hearts, not our ideas.You need to understand that for a long time, wars were fought and people were oppressed because their creeds were a little bit different. This still goes on even now in some parts of the world. Ever hear of the word "heretic"? That's you and me. Ever wonder why some refuse to admit that we are Christian? It's because their creeds do not allow our inclusion. The Gnostics, Arians, and Cathars suffered the same fate. Creeds are serious business. People kill over them.

"...creed, which deprived its members the privilege of believing anything not contained therein..." "...creeds set up stakes, and say, 'Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further;'..." I just caught this, btw. I didn't know you were funny, Tsuzuki. Yes you are... you're a very funny guy. :) Well, it does. Since we don't have creeds, we can disagree all we want and still both be equally LDS. Ain't it great?

I like to use Joseph Smith's definition, as I've illustrated above.

"All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence." - D&C 93:30That pretty much sums it up in Latter-day Saint language.

Are not the Articles of Faith a COJCLDS creed? Not as such, no. They are canon, and as such are binding on church doctrine, but they are not the same thing as a creed. Members aren't required to hinge their beliefs on them. They are more a reflection of what we already believe as a whole. However, I think they might fit Ray's definition of a creed. You'll have to ask him. Edit: And of course you can use anything as a creed, even things that weren't designed for it, but that is hardly universal. The fact that me and Ray are in disagreement just adds more weight to my position.

As do I.

I think I'll side with Joseph Smith on this issue.

68 pages... No thank you. I do know a little bit about what it really is, though, and at this point I'm not interested in reading more. 68 pages is not very much, but suit yourself. If you do decide to read some of it, here are some of the best parts: "What is Magick?" - 2 pages "What is Chaos Magick?" - 7 pages "Principles of Chaos Magick" - 3 pages "Sigil Magick" - 4 pages "Belief - A Key to Magick" - 5 pages

In response to Ray and prisonchaplain: "Sunday morning, January 1, 1843.--The speaker of the House of Representatives called on me to say we might have the hall for preaching this day. Had a pleasant interview with Mr. Butterfield, Judge Douglas, Senator Gillespie, and others. In reply to Mr. Butterfield, I stated that the most prominent difference in sentiment between the Latter-day Saints and sectarians was, that the latter were all circumscribed by some peculiar creed, which deprived its members the privilege of believing anything not contained therein, whereas the Latter-day Saints have no creed, but are ready to believe all true principles that exist, as they are made manifest from time to time." <div align="right">- Joseph Smith, History of the Church, vol. 5, chapter 12</div> "I cannot believe in any of the creeds of the different denominations, because they all have some things in them I cannot subscribe to, though all of them have some truth. I want to come up into the presence of God, and learn all things; but the creeds set up stakes, and say, "Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further;" which I cannot subscribe to."<div align="right">- Joseph Smith, History of the Church, vol. 6, chapter 3</div>

There are a ton of other books I could recommend too, but that one's a good start. This one here is a good intro to chaos magic, and it's a free download. http://www.philhine.org.uk/writings/pdfs/orchaos.pdf Anyway, forget everything you read in your candle magic and love spell books. I think you forgot to say: You're getting very sleepy, pushka... sleepy... sleepy... sleepy. And don't forget you need to also use a nice pocket watch. Just keep practicing. Practice. Practice. Have you read the pdf yet?